I left the Town Hall before a vein might’ve exploded in my head, finding Mia patiently waiting near the Monument’s construction site. The look in her eyes was asking ‘what did you this time?’, so I lowered my gaze in order not to meet hers.

There was an obvious sigh and I felt my ears burning up, especially after a chuckle followed.

[Did you use Soul Upgrade on Alice, master?](Mia)

“Yes and no…”

[Chaotic tendencies?](Mia)

“Chaotic tendencies…” – I confirmed

[There might be a reason for it and is a good thing overall, really. Due to the upgrade to Tier 2, Alice received another skill called ‘Prayer’. It’s an area of effect type of skill and even at basic mastery it covers 10 square meters. The healing is about 25HP/second for 10 seconds and has a low cooldown.](Mia)

“I wanted to upgrade Stephanie to Tier 2…” – I complained like a child

[Having our one and only Farmer upgraded might have been a great deal in other conditions, however when dealing with potatoes, I doubt such specialization is mandatory...](Mia) – she tried to comfort

“So I might’ve made the right choice unconsciously you mean? What about Anne? I wanted to use the miracle on her tomorrow…”

[Indeed. A Tier 2 Tailor would be of immense help to our camp right now…](Mia) – she said accusingly

“Could you please stop throwing salt in my wounds? It is enough that I wanted to pick a person and I selected another… or somebody did for me at least. How’s the construction going?”

[And here I thought master was good at changing the subject… Hehe! Is going alright and we should finish faster than expected. Also, the first carts carrying copper ores have arrived, so I gave permission to Denise and four others to start building a furnace and some molds, based on the instructions I provided. Regarding the Tailor, don’t worry as Anne already prepared under my instructions and made use of the furs and leaves from the World Tree to create some clothes.](Mia)

“Do you even need me here?”

[If you will not be here, there won’t be any surprises since nobody else would be able to be as ‘chaotic’ as you, master. As a result, it would be excessively peaceful.](Mia)

“Yeah, yeah… did you tease me enough yet?”

[Almost.](Mia)

Seeing her giggle like that made me think back to when she first appeared in my divine domain. At that point, her emotional maturity was equal to that of an infant. Seeing such growth, how could I be unhappy?

“That’s good then. I will try to go and make myself useful by helping Denise and the others…”

I left behind the smirking AI to properly deal with the completion of the Monument and headed towards the South side of the camp where the river was passing through. I remembered Alexandra and the fact that there are over three hours already since she left and didn’t returned yet, but due to the fact that there wasn’t a drop in Soul Points growth per day, I knew she was still alive and kicking. I only hope she doesn’t scare all animals from the forest away…

[Michael! Did big sister send you to help us?](Denise)

“Is this how they see me? Mia’s helper? I guess it could be worse…”

“Sure... How’s it going so far? What are you doing?”

They explained how they created the furnace using clay and lit a fire inside. They felt stumped regarding how to melt the ores given that they didn’t have a proper container, therefore I taught them how to create the vessel and bathe it in fire in order to improve its resistance.

Regarding the molds, we used stone chisels to carve in some slabs spearheads and arrowheads. I wanted to have those first. Regarding the mesh for the paper mill… that is going to take more time.

Unknowingly, another three hours passed and the production of the furnace was coming along nicely. It was very likely that after leaving the tools we created dry a bit over the night, tomorrow we can give blacksmithing a try. I didn’t know which of the six of us dancing around the furnace was happier, but I could already see a properly armed unit diving the shit out of the dungeons around our camp.

[Michael! Come quick! It’s Alexandra! She returned and she is heavily wounded!](Mia)

“She’s what!? Where? Let’s go!”

It felt like having cold water poured over me when I heard Mia saying that. She told me that Alexandra was already in bed in our house and I asked her to go bring Alice ASAP. Fucking ‘chaotic tendencies’!

Thinking about it, is very probable that I already knew how this was going to end, as soon as I told her to go and hunt…

I rushed inside the dormitory and saw her. There were claw marks on her hands and legs, severe lacerations on her belly and collarbone, really close to her neck. This moron…

“You entered the dungeon…”

[Yup! I need big sis to patch me up quickly so I can go back there and…](Alexa)

Seeing my very-not-smiling face she stopped talking and looked down, after which continued in a smaller voice.

[…only to the entry of the dungeon. I let the things I picked up from the Murlocs I killed there… I could not carry any with me because… of… the injuries.](Alexa)

“…”

I was slightly shaken by the words ‘picked up from the Murlocs’ since I instantly remembered the Dismember manual, but I kept a stern face. It was required to scold her, otherwise things like this will repeat in the future.

“Do you understand what you did?”

[I cleared the dungeon alone?](Alexa) – she tilted her head cutely

I staggered a bit once I heard her reply. There was also the smug look on her face…

“She cleared it? Don’t be swayed! Don’t be swayed!!!”

“That’s not relevant Alexandra! Do you realize in how much danger did you put yourself in?”

[It wasn’t that dangerous… I cleared it easily, but the red one used a strange skill at the end and brought back to life some of the dead Murlocs behind me. A whole 50 of them! I was just caught by surprise and the water wall I used for protection didn’t work very well given that they could breathe in water apparently…](Alexa)

“Holly fuck! The boss had a resurrection skill!? No wonder she was wounded… No! Remain stern! Scowl a bit as well for dramatic effect!”

“Alexandra…” – I said with a deeper tone

[I… I am sorry… I won’t do it again…](Alexa)

“Oh shit! Now she’s close to crying!? For Reaper’s sake… I’d prefer fighting the Murlocs alone instead of dealing with this type of situations. Isn’t this kind of unfair?”

“Haah… Is good that you came back alive. Mia! Come in! I know you’re outside…”

[Hehe! We were caught Alice!](Mia)

[…](Alice)

This little devil! She’s becoming naughtier by the day… Looks like Alice is quite shy indeed. She went full tomato mode again since she was caught because of Mia…

“Alice, I’ll leave treating Alexandra to you. Mia, how is the construction going? Can I remove some of the workers?”

[The Monument is almost finished. Do I need to come with you?](Mia)

“No, it should be fine. I will take Laurence and the other original dungeon divers and secure the items Alexandra brought out of the dungeon. Are they by the entrance?” – I asked looking at the pouting Hero

[Can I come as well?](Alexa) – she asked with a blooming smile

“No! You are grounded until further notice!”

[You’re mean! Big sister?](Alexa)

[… ╮(╯▽╰)╭…](Mia)

“Are you two done? I asked a question, Alexandra…”

[…near the entrance.](Alexa)

“I’ll leave the rest to you Alice.”

[I…I’ll do my best…](Alice)

After grabbing Laurence and an eight other members of the Adventurer unit, we rushed to the entrance of the Eastern dungeon. I was a bit worried that drops might disappear after a while, either taken by animals from the forest, or reclaimed by the system.

To my absolute happiness though, as soon as the dungeon entered our field of view, a small mountain of piled up things greeted us.

“Holly fuck, there are some weapons there!”

I was once again caught by surprise and shouted, drawing the attention of everyone else on me. Could there be actual items? Like I saw in the demo? There are some books as well!!! Maybe some spell books… or unique lifestyle skills… I really wanted a blacksmith.

Seeing the big amount of items on the ground, I had Laurence send two people back at the camp and grab two carts. We literally could not carry all of them by hand...

In the meantime, myself, Laurence and six others began sorting through the items littering the ground.

"Those are weapons and while they look shabby, they can replace what we're currently using due to the superior quality. The only good one is that lance over there."

I took my time and explained the different type of weapons out of which some spears and some rusty short swords would be the only ones that we could use. The rest could become scraps and melted down. The lance on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise.

Fishscale Vortex

A weapon passed down generation after generation in the Murloc race, wielded only by the strongest member.

Benefits: +3 STR attribute points; +5 Magic attribute points;

Passive skill: Hydro-fury - increases the damage of water type skills by 25%.

Active skill: One last stand - brings back to life for a total of 5 minutes a total number of corpses equal to the owner's Magic + Intelligence + Wisdom / 10. Applicable in an area equal to the owner's LvL *10. Cooldown: 24 hours

I could barely contain my excitement! Not only did this lance was excellent regarding its length and sharpness, its passive skill was stupidly strong for a water user like Alexandra. Given that it dropped from the boss and she soloed it, she deserves to receive it. After she is not grounded anymore… Anyway, the item had such a strange history?

"The active skill is quite strong. If we manage to lay waste to a big chunk of the enemy forces with ranged attacks, we can use it and force the revived enemies to become cannon fodder, while we attack safely from behind them. That way we can minimize the damage we take during a dungeon raid. What's your take on it Laurence?"

[We should give it to Alexandra. Given the fighting style I have seen previously in the first expedition, she will be the only one to use it to its full potential. However... she managed to clean those huge numbers alone? That's quite surprising...](Laurence)

"That's her forte after all. Given the blessing she received, she is the strongest when she is fighting. You, I need to become a proper commander able to direct troops in the battlefield."

[Understood. Also... Alexandra was hurt because of the active ability granted by this weapon, right?](Laurence)

"Indeed."

[Given the prowess of our strongest fighter, it stands to show just how much of a wildcard this skill can be, if used at the right time. It will become a good ace in the hold to have.](Laurence)

"Indeed. Have the others finished sorting out the items?"

[Yes. As you can see over there, there are 16 of the spears you have mentioned. With just one glance, I can tell that they are sharper and stronger than the ones we are currently using. It would be great if we could have the entire unit equipped with such weapons. There is also three of these strange wooden things, but we didn't know what they are, as well as some smaller type of spears. I don't understand how we can throw them really...](Laurence)

"A bow and arrows! That is excellent! With three of such weapons, Denise and Anne should have enough to re-create more of them. Hmm? Are those clothes?"

[I thought so as well in the beginning, but they are a bit heavier than regular clothes...](Laurence)

I quickly used Identify and found that they were in fact different pieces of equipment. Like for example, chest armor, gloves, pants, etc. They did not have any bonus attributes, however they were surely a better armor than the clothes the elves were brought to Midgard in.

After scanning through some piles of meat which my skill recognized as fish meat, I turned my attention to the five books. Four of them were just as thin as the Dismember skill we got in the first dungeon attempt, while the other was slightly bigger and thicker as well.

The smaller booklets were titled [Cook], [Tame],[Dismember] and [Sculpt]. I could obviously tell what each skill did and I was slightly annoyed at the fact that I got the Dismember skill again. Luckily, it appears that Laurence knew of the previous dude that received it and was quite overwhelmed due to the fact that he was the only one with proper ability to transform a carcass into usable meat... and other parts. Now that a second person could get it, maybe we can set up a butchery or something for the two of them...

"Now this is interesting..."

The last book had a title reading [Apiculture]. This was on the level of a technology, but there wasn't any notification prompting me to learn the skill, or a notification saying that my civilization learned the technology.

Which meant...

"It's a book with instructions... Laurence, can you read it?"

[???](Laurence)

Obviously, he had no idea what to do with the book and he wasn't able to understand what the characters written on the pages of it meant.

"I need to have Mia start a class where reading is being taught. For writing... we can take that up again once Simone finishes her research. I should get that ink going as well on my end given that it might be easier to create. After all, honestly, writing is by far more important than what you are writing on. "

Once the two carts arrived, we loaded the good stuff on it and returned to camp. After we handed the meat to the random elf no.11 which had the Dismember skill, I saw that he was one of the guys which resided only with one girl at home. The girl was part of the production unit, so I didn't think much about it and handed the duplicate skill to her.

"In the future, we'll set up a shop where you will be able to provide processed meat for everyone else. In the meantime, both of you work hard!"

[[Yes sir!]]

I am pretty sure that I set up a flag of sorts there, but I decided to just wing it as usual… Chaos mustn’t be doubted! Chaos should just happen!