Isekai Dungeon Architect

Haimdel, a small town not too far from Westford across the forest where Aria had first appeared in this world, was not something we can compare with a city like Westford.

Unlike a city that was considered to be one of the biggest in the northern part of the continent, a small town, especially one such as this one on a smaller scale, was like a small village.

Unlike the towering walls of the city, this town was small and there were only small walls surrounding this place.

While there were guards and adventurers here as well, the scale was not as grand as the city that Aria has seen as her first destination in this world.

The houses were smaller here, the roads were narrower, and there was no central castle for the adventurer's association or dungeon in this place.

Still, being bigger than a small scale village, the town was still packed with all kinds of stores and resting places.

"The food here isn't all that bad," Aria wondered as she chucked down on another glass of what was called Taill.

While not a byproduct of grapes, this delicacy was native to this town, a light liquor made with certain fruits and berries available around the town.

Since this town was the closest to the great city of Westford, it was also a hub and resting place for the adventurers and merchants coming to and going away from the city.

There were more inns and recreational places than houses as well. The residential activities also mainly included looking after the adventurers that came to this town.

"You know what? That's your fifth glass already. How are you handling that thing?" Reddy was surprised once again at how Aria was handling this special liquid.

While it wasn't high in alcohol content, the taste and scent of the thing was just too potent.

Not everyone could handle it, especially those who weren't fond of sweet and citrusy things.

However for Aria, this thing was more fun than all the other options available around here.

"Haaa… this is not the time to be talking about the Taill. Aria, if you like it that much, I can make it any time you want. We won't be lacking ingredients on our way anyway.

Can we please come back to what we were talking about before?"

Vice was well versed in all kinds of drinks around the world and he had learned how to make most of them. He knew how to make elixirs from the east, the Blood potions from the south, and even the things that his companions did not know about.

Making these things wasn't anything new for him, however, getting a proper mount for their journey was something far more important.

And they were already deviating from their original conversation a little too much.

"T-that's right, Miss Aria! Even if we get the carriage, we cannot get proper mounts within the town." They needed to leave for the forest soon, so even Cass was worried about this.

A mount was not only the creature that drove the carriage but also the ride that was supposed to take them all the way to their destination.

If it were any normal journey, a proper horse would have been enough. However, this was not about going from one town to another or from one city to the next.

They needed creatures that they could keep up with the pace that they wanted, and more than one of them at that.

Simple horses would never be enough to cross the Primordial forest. They needed strong beasts that could help them even during combat.

"Fine, fine. I wasn't the one that distracted us, ok? Reddy started talking about how a flying mount would be much better.

Whose idea was it to take the ground path, huh? We could have gone through the air route from the start."

Aria tried to defend her point, but the elf just shook his head.

If they kept arguing about how it was better to go through the sky paths, they would never get back on track.

In the first place, if they wanted to go to the inner areas of Primordial forest as Aria wanted, they could not fly over there.

The mysterious forest did not allow any outside entrance through the sky. While lesser known among the humans, it was a well known fact among the long living species that the Primordial Forest could only be accessed through specific gates present on the edge of the forest.

"The flying mounts are out of question, ok? Can we please think about what we can get as a better option on the ground?" As a guide, Vice wanted to smash this table and go away from here.

These ladies were frustrating, and the only other guy that they had here was too meek to speak up when he actually needed to.

"What options do we have anyway? What's fast and strong enough to pull our weight? Please don't say the wolves." Aria just got out of Westford, she did not want to deal with more wolves anytime soon.

Still, the Direwolves that are found around these parts were most certainly a great option. But they weren't going to be that good within the different environments that they would have to pass through.

"If not wolves, we also have the Ox and other beast type monsters." Vice pulled out the map of this town and the area around it.

While this place was relatively safe, not too far from here, there were two different hunting grounds.

The hunting grounds were the places where the hunters gained their job EXP.

Those who benefited from killing monsters outside of the dungeons were included within the hunter category.

Whether they be mages or alchemists like Reddy, if they gained Experience during hunting, they were hunters… Reddy wasn't one, but she was a great on-field support.

"The hunting grounds here are surely an option, but hey, look here." Aria had already analysed the map of this place and she was more interested in the lake situated in the middle of two certain hunting grounds.

It was an important point within these two places as it was the only water source for the two hunting grounds.

Beasts did not crowd the place since it was pretty big, however, the existence of a waterbody was too big a variable for their current situation.

"What if we find a rare beast there?" Aria wanted to go to the lake instead of the hunting ground and look for something unique instead of the obvious available options.

They were strong enough to deal with most of the beasts that were found around this part of the nation so even if they go on by themselves, they would be able to deal with most things.

Subduing the beasts wasn't that big a deal either.

Taming potions existed and they had some of them already.

With the help of these potions, taming the beasts would become easier. In case the beasts resist, they can just deal with them with force.

In any case, they had their options, and Aria wanted to find something outside of these options.

"Can't we all go by ourselves? I mean, it would be like a side quest. We go and find the beast mount we can, bring it back, and then we can decide on which ones to bring with us.

I don't think it would be a big problem even if we have our individual beasts, right?"

That was her suggestion.

Instead of going with a reliable big and sturdy beast like how Reddy was suggesting or one that was fast and mobile like how Vice wanted, or one that was safe and friendly like how Cass would want it, they could just go and bring ones that were good enough according to them.

"I don't dislike the idea." Even Vice liked the sound of the suggestion.

He wanted some time alone to think about a few things anyway. The decision to come along with this bunch was made in a hurry, so there was still much left to contemplate.

"This way, everyone can have a shot at it. We can think about what to do with the remaining beasts later."

Aria knew the taming potions was a temporary cure. If they truly wanted to keep the beasts, they would have to train them properly. And they did not have a tamer with them.

Once the potion effect was gone, the beasts would prove dangerous to the people. They would either have to be released back to the wild, or killed on the spot.

And you would not want to see your chosen creatures die unnecessarily, would you?

"Hmm… looks like we are doing it then." Reddy also agreed to do it this way.

Now that Aria had decided on it anyway, there was no need to think about it too much.

They will get a beast, they will get the supplies from here too, and then they will leave for the primordial forest.

It was a simple idea, so they were going to execute this plan… right after they finish this short break of theirs.