NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Map.
"Then next is… The Research Center? I need to start preparing for the potential of meeting other Prospects."
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"Yeah, I expected as much." Alchemy frowned.
"What's the matter? Is it something I can help with?" Sapphire asked.
"You don't happen to know of an ore deposit nearby, do you?"
"Ore… Ore… I don't think so." Sapphire shook her head.
"A shame. That just means we're going to have to make contact with those bears soon. Worrying."
Alchemy wasn't sure about sending her Thornskirmishers out to hunt the bears. While she hadn't seen them for herself, she could make assumptions based on the reports her Thorns gave her.
'Probably High defense. It's not necessarily a bad matchup for the low-damage thorns, but it would be a pointless massacre if they can't pierce their defense and inject their toxins. Even if I got the materials, I'd need to figure out the issue of having nothing resembling an R&D department.
"Ah, right. I haven't checked how much land I've gained since ascending to the Tribal Stage. Probably 4 acres, maybe 6?" Alchemy hummed, pulling up her status screens.
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"10?! That's… Still not that much, but 10?! I've never seen such a big increase from Tier 0 to Tier 1. Not to mention that my CON stat is going to break 100 soon. How high have my rolls been?"
When leveling up, the amount of stat points gained was randomly selected between 1 and 6.
"Map."
A new facet of the system opened in front of Alchemy, showing a grid of her land. Her buildings were highlighted in green, her units in blue, her two heroes in gold, and several red dots scattered about the outskirts of her land.
Among those red dots, however, was a small group bunched together. At first, there were 12 dots, but after a few seconds, that number lowered to 11, and after a few more minutes, it dropped by another two.
`Perfect timing.' Alchemy hummed inwardly.
She needed something to distract her from all the management sim dredge.
"Hey, Sapphire. You wanna take a small trip to the edge of our territory?"
"Uhm… Sure! But why?"
"A group seems to be fighting. Since the chance has presented itself, I think we should go with Nera and test out her combat capabilities. Think of it as a bonding experience. You two will be close allies from now on, after all."
Alchemy immediately ran out the door and into Nera, now wearing simple clothing. It was only a one-piece dress with holes in the back for her wings and an extra pair of sleeves, but it was enough.
"Ah, Mother Goddess. I was coming to see you as you commanded. Why do you seem to be in a hurry?"
"We're gonna go check out some fighting at the edge of our territory; grab some Thorns and come with us."
"As you command." Nera bowed, moving aside for her Mother and Sapphire.
Dashing westward at her top speed, Alchemy couldn't help but shout at the oddly euphoric feeling of the wind pushing against her face and blowing her hair back.
She hadn't had the chance to test her limits prior since she suddenly gained so many levels, but she was easily faster than any Olympic runner from Earth! It was such a freeing feeling.
As Alchemy ran, the sound of buzzing got closer from behind; when she turned behind to look, she saw Nera in her Gigant form catching up to her while carrying Sapphire.
At the same time, Sapphire was panicking profusely, causing Alchemy to chuckle lightly.
"Even with a 30% debuff to her Strength, she's managing to outpace me. I suppose that's what makes her a Hero…"
It barely took any time for Nera to catch up, and their targets came into view.
It was a familiar face to Alchemy, a small group of wolves fighting against an equally small group of clothes-wearing Monkeys.
"Your orders, Mother Goddess?"
"Show me what you're capable of. Make them look like jokes. Oh, but don't kill them; I want to see if I can gather any information." Alchemy ordered, confident that Nera wouldn't have any issues with her high stats.
"Leave it to me~" Nera chimed playfully, placing Sapphire next to Alchemy.
"N-n-n-never again! Please!" Sapphire cried, feeling her knees go weak. She had never moved that fast before.
"Oh? But you'll be running that fast on your own in no time, you know? Plus, wasn't it fun? It was like your first miniature car ride!"
"W-what's a car? Is it as fast as Miss Nera?" The sudden increase in pace still shook Sapphire.
"Similar. Only about a dozen times faster."
Sapphire stopped in her tracks, shivering from the image of something that could move that fast. Did her master have experience in riding dragons?
"Wait a minute! She's in her big form! I just had them make her a dress and she destroyed it already… Ugh, maybe I'll be able to find a material that's both stretchy enough and comfortable to wear…" Alchemy sighed.