Chapter 412 (1/2)

Randidly yawned languidly. He was actually quite pleased with the day's hall, and with this chance to grind up his Cooking Skill. Even more positive was the performance of the Grove Defenders Skill. After an hour, the creatures he summoned faded back into the ground, but for that hour, they were in the thick of the fighting, ripping through the cats that were foolish enough to come close to them.

They even visibly improved in their fighting. Some of the mistakes that they made earlier which had put some of the other squad members in danger were by the end almost impossible, considering their increasing proficiency. It was also nice to know that they could gain Skills, and have those Skills leveling up. So taking the time to train them might also be worth it...

Unfortunately, the Mana cost was a little debilitating, even for Randidly, who had such a large Mana pool. He had no idea how anyone else would be able to manage it, considering the cost. Plus, it appeared they lacked the ability to stack; when he attempted to summon another batch of Grove Defenders, while the first was active, there was an error.

Randidly grimaced, looking at the bottle in his hands. And after he finished grinding his Cooking.. it was time to spend a little time working on improving his Potion Making Skills, because this...

Effective Mana Potion Lvl 39: Restores 214 Mana over 30 seconds.

Donnyton had produced someone who was more capable than Randidly at producing potions. Now, this was a good thing, obviously, but it still hurt Randidly's pride somewhat. He wanted to be self-sufficient in some ways and having to rely on someone else for Potions...

ESPECIALLY potions. This was his thing, first and foremost, growing crops and refining them into potions. That was how he had gotten his start, how he had earned Shal's trust...

Unfortunately, Randidly's long stint in Shal's world was a period of great growth in EVERYTHING but his Potion Skills. Most of his downtime went to thinking about Mana Engraving, rather than Potion making, as the craft of choice.

Not that Randidly would have done things differently, but this was still aggravating that the potions were superior to his own. Perhaps there was a process that he didn't know of, he consoled himself. Maybe they just have superior ingredients. But these all sounded like excuses to Randidly, feeling bitter in his heart.

Then he chuckled aloud, somewhat amused. Honestly, he should feel blessed that he was even this talent in potion making, considering how dominant he was in terms of both close and long range fighting. He was a generalist, although that was shifting somewhat, and he couldn't be bitter that he wasn't the best at something when he spent so little time pursuing it.

Letting out a breath, Randidly stood, stretching, savoring the feeling of the morning sunlight on his skin. Aside from the intimidatingly large cathedral behind them, it seemed like a normal hill in the middle of the forest. Small birds chirped. Leaves rustled.

There was a soft step behind him.

”How's it looking?” Randidly asked casually, stretching his shoulders and neck.

”How close did I get before you noticed me?” Annie asked, pouting. Randidly just gave her a look until she laughed and continued. ”Well enough. The monsters out here are few and far between, and lower level than the cats, but they are vastly more powerful. Almost Tier I Raid Bosses, each one. Some have families too, and those are ALL that level of strength. Not just like a Raid Boss with minions.”

Randidly clicked his tongue. ”Well, it's not like that's not something we can handle. Did you really expect it to be as easy as those cats?”

Shaking her head, Annie said. ”Maybe I just hoped the Raid Dungeon would pussy out. But anyway, there's something else. A few miles South there is a village. WIth people. Like human ones, just living there?”

That gave Randidly pause. ”What? Humans....?”

”Well, they look more like fantasy elves,” Annie said dismissively, waving her hand. ”Long and willowy limbs, pretentious faces, you know. Think they know woodcraft.”

It took a bit of effort, but Randidly resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Annie's confidence was a curious thing, in Randidly's eyes, but he supposed he shouldn't confront her about it unless there is proof its simply bravado. Her pregnancy had kept her coddled and swaddled for several long months, so this was finally her chance to stretch her legs.

Hopefully, nothing was so tight that she pulled something.