Free Web NovelChapter 26: Step 26 to Greatness: One Must Protect Their Home, Not Abandon It
After dumping a bit of wolf and chicken remains into the pit, Adrian and Huginn made their way back to the camp.
With the bird in the lead, he opened his inventory to look at the various cards he was yet to use.
First was the fence card, which he planned on using as soon as he got back to the tribe settlement. After all, even though they had Freki on guard duty, there was no saying what would happen if a stronger foe appeared.
Next were the boots. He had planned to use them today, but the training and exp farming took most of the day.
"I’ll use it after checking all the cards. That way, I can get home sooner."
He was so engrossed in the cards that he didn’t realize he called the tribe settlement his home. Maybe that’s what he had come to believe after spending more than two days there.
After those two came the four cards he got from killing the slimes. The first was the farmland card. It was just as it said. Upon using it, the card would replace a 15x15 meter square area with a fertile block of land.
Adrian nodded and decided it was also something he needed to use soon. While meat was good, surviving on an exclusively carnivorous diet would lead to problems down the line.
Besides, the tribeswomen already foraged for some berries and other things, so he wouldn’t have much trouble with finding seeds. Even water wasn’t an issue, thanks to the stream.
"I can’t drink it directly, but it can be used for irrigation without issues. Next card!"
The pen expansion card could be used on the existing pen where the chickens lived. Expanding the place would increase the limit of animals that could be kept in there.
It was the next card that Adrian was excited about. Rock salt quarry was a building card just like the longhouse. The only thing was, it needed to be placed inside an existing ’supporting’ structure to be built, unlike the longhouse that could be placed anywhere.
Thankfully, the tribe settlement already had an adequate place for it.
The cave.
Since everyone lived in the longhouse, the cave had been abandoned by the tribe. Adrian was already planning to do something about it, but thanks to the quarry card, he found the right use for it.
At last, there was a familiar-looking card. It was another recruitment card, but it was blue, and also it didn’t mention what he would end up recruiting.
The common pet card gave him Huginn. The uncommon card gave him Freki. Both of the pets were greatly useful in their own right. That’s why Adrian’s expectations from a rare (blue) card were even higher.
However, he didn’t use it just yet. While improving the score for daily settlement was important, what Adrian wanted to improve more was the tribe’s favorability.
If he kept summoning things out of his ass, it would only get more difficult to increase the favorability later. Instead, he was planning to use the card in an emergency or in bulk so the tribeswomen would have no choice but to become overwhelmed.
"Hm... at this rate, I might get another mate soon."
As he said that, he arrived at the settlement, but something was off. The happiness they all had before he left was replaced with silence. ƒreewebɳovel.com
The women were huddled together next to the longhouse and were discussing something. Even Sera, who couldn’t understand the tail or head of their conversation, looked worried.
Huginn flew over to Freki, who was resting nearby the women while its eyes remained fixed on the clearing beyond.
"What’s going on here?" Adrian asked. "Why do you all look so... troubled?"
"Male!" Amika exclaimed, rushing over to his side. "It is terrible! We must move!"
"Move?" Adrian smiled awkwardly.
He was just singing praises of the sight the women had chosen, and now they wanted him to leave?
Impossible.
But before telling them that, he wanted to know what had put them on edge. Thanks to Mika, he didn’t have to wait long.
"Amiya and Amika found some other tribe’s footsteps while foraging," she said with her arms crossed.
Adrian nodded. It made sense why Amika wanted them to move. Given their pitifully low numbers, defending against another tribe would end up badly for them.
However, he looked around and noticed none of them were willing to move. They had a great house there, and they were even raising animals. Moving meant handing over all of their fruits of labor to another tribe.
Adrian didn’t care about the others, but he was unwilling to leave. At least, not without a fight. Besides, it was a good opportunity to raise their favorability beyond the threshold.
"There’s no need to move," Adrian announced, patting Amika’s cheek. "This is our home, and we don’t abandon home just because of some intruders. We kill them instead."
Before the women could argue about it, he took out the reinforced fence card and used it. In the next second, the entire clearing was bordered by a strong wooden fence with thick, thorny vines covering the joints for extra protection.
That wasn’t all. Even the fence came with an attachment slot. He quietly slotted it with the uncommon [Refined Venom Gland] that was produced as a byproduct while creating the [Crystallized Venom Gland].
As that happened, the green vines around the fence turned purple as if they got covered in venom, which they had.
"We would need to prepare a lot of things," he said, stretching his neck before smiling. "So, get me whatever I tell you to, alright?"
The women who had been worried moments ago suddenly found their hearts become calm again. There was something in Adrian’s voice that made them feel at ease.
After saying his piece, he walked inside to use the crafting table. Adrian already had multiple blueprints ranging from armor to traps. He was confident that as long as they get the necessary materials, even the seven of them could defeat seventy others.
"Nine of us," Adrian smirked. "I forgot to count Huginn and Freki... well, if I am counting them, I should also count the third recruited guy. So, ten of us. Not bad. Not bad at all."
