Chapter 86: Asra Returns Loaded With Surprises!
"..?" Mardin looked at the Lord, not understanding what he meant by stepping back. Either way, he obediently retreated a few steps.
But before he could complete his first step, a sudden change occurred right in front of him!
A slight tremor began at first, then suddenly, the ground burst open and a giant beast emerged, widening the tunnel opening they'd just come out of.
BOOM! The giant beast nearly landed right on top of the geology expert's body, since he was still close to the opening. But the beast noticed him at the last second and landed beside him instead, causing a violent shockwave that sent gravel flying in every direction.
"AAAAH!!!" Mardin screamed in terror and dropped onto his backside, his legs having turned to what felt like noodles, unable to support him. In truth, he didn't even have the strength to crawl away from this demonic beast that had burst out from underground.
"My lord!... huh?!" He wanted to shout at the Lord to run before the giant beast noticed them both and devoured them together. But his mind suddenly stopped working the moment he saw the Lord. Kaiden wasn't afraid at all! Quite the opposite — he stepped calmly toward the beast and patted its massive head, smiling with contentment.
"Good girl... now, carve out another opening and connect it to the previous ones. After that, you don't need to come back. Go do whatever you want. I'll have them add spices to the boar and roast it." Mardin couldn't hear what Kaiden was saying, since he was communicating with Ibla mentally. Had he been able to hear it, he would have been shocked at the Lord describing this terrifying beast as a "good girl."
Mardin then watched the giant beast, after receiving its pat, retreat back into the tunnel and vanish, leaving behind a third opening connected to the two previous ones.
Mardin wasn't foolish. He quickly realized this giant beast was under the Lord's authority and complete control. He stood up awkwardly, brushed the dust off his clothes, then straightened the messy strands of hair that had scattered when he fell. He regretted his hesitation. Had he listened to his lord and stepped back immediately instead of questioning the Lord's intent, he wouldn't be in such an embarrassing state.
"My apologies, are you alright?" Kaiden asked with concern.
Hearing the Lord's apology, Mardin quickly waved his hand, insisting he was fine and that the fault had been entirely his own. In truth, he wasn't bothered in the slightest. Quite the opposite — his admiration for the Lord only grew.
This wasn't strange, since the danger of the place they'd been sent to had been etched into the summoned residents' minds and instincts from the start. So when he saw that the Lord possessed not just a thriving Territory, but also terrifying beasts that obeyed his commands, his respect and admiration for him grew significantly.
Kaiden believed Mardin's words, having watched his loyalty points jump right before his eyes, from 75% to 85%. *Seems like this is a world where the strong are respected... hmm.* He mused to himself and left it at that, then returned to what he'd wanted to ask about.
"Is this expansion enough?" Kaiden gestured to the newly widened opening.
"Enough! More than enough, my lord!" Mardin answered, nodding his head firmly.
Kaiden hummed in agreement. The opening had become wide enough to fit a large truck through without any issue.
A few minutes later, the eight-person mining team arrived. Stone mining operations were halted immediately, officially replaced with iron ore mining.
Ding! Clang! The echoes of metal being struck began ringing out inside the mine, and raw iron ore of various sizes started tumbling down. Kaiden felt a deep sense of happiness watching this lively scene. He then left them to their work and went to attend to his own business. He wanted to open the horse package he'd obtained that morning — he already had a ready stable, but too many things had kept him occupied.
...
Moo~ Upon arriving near the horse stable, the lone cow greeted him in her own way, from inside the fenced livestock pen built beside the stable, wagging her tail happily.
Kaiden laughed at this simple sight. He walked over and stroked her forehead affectionately. Dairy production relied heavily on this massive cow. There was also a bull of similar size with a gentle temperament, along with several sheep and a number of goats scattered around the pen. Kaiden stood there and chatted briefly with the livestock keeper.
"Roughly two hundred liters of milk daily?!" He was caught off guard hearing the keeper's answer about the estimated daily milk production. That amount was far more than he'd imagined.
According to the keeper, most of the credit for this went to the lone cow, who alone produced roughly half that amount. Finally, Kaiden ordered him to keep tending the livestock well and feeding them properly, then continued on his way to the horse stable.
He opened the stable fence's gate, took a deep breath, then opened the Appaloosa horse package.
The package transformed into shimmering white points of light that gathered on the ground, expanded in size, then faded away, leaving behind eight adult horses.
They were all a shining silver color, noticeably larger than the horses from his previous world. Their chests were broad and muscular, their stance remarkably proud, with smooth gray manes covering their bodies, along with long, muscular legs hinting at tremendous strength.
A neigh! The moment they arrived, one of the males neighed with vigor, rearing up on its hind legs and waving its front hooves in the air. But the instant it saw the Lord standing before it, it suddenly calmed down and became as docile as a cat. It dropped to one knee and lowered its proud head obediently, followed by the rest of the horses, who did the same, bowing collectively to show their loyalty.
Kaiden smiled lightly watching this sight, then opened the information window for all the horses to examine them. Unfortunately, he wasn't lucky this time — they were all Common rank. He didn't mind much, since he hadn't expected too much to begin with... he'd wait for future foals, hoping luck might grant him a Rare-rank horse king someday.
Hearing the commotion, the horse keeper came running out of the stable eagerly, a huge smile spread across his face.
His excitement was understandable — ever since arriving, he'd felt frustrated being out of work. Especially whenever he saw his neighbor tending the livestock and glancing at him with a smile, whether intentional or not, it had filled him with a great deal of envy.
Now, his suffering had finally ended. He greeted the Lord quickly, then immediately began arranging the new horses' living quarters, glancing at the livestock keeper watching the events out of the corner of his eye, and noticed the smile wiped clean off his neighbor's face — feeling immense satisfaction at the sight!
Kaiden didn't notice these small dynamics. After giving the horse keeper a few instructions, he left him to his work and departed.
"Now, all that's left is finding a water source..." Kaiden murmured to himself, mentally reviewing his quest list. Most of today's quests didn't require his personal involvement, except for the urban planning quest, which had been postponed to the evening.
As for the ruins discovery quest, Kaiden decided to leave it until Asra returned, so he could send her out again. He felt she'd be far more efficient than sending the Emerging Heroes.
"Come to think of it... she's late..." Asra had left since dawn, and now it was already lunchtime and she still hadn't returned. Kaiden felt a prick of worry. The world had changed, now filled with all kinds of beasts of Rare rank and above. But there was nothing he could do except trust that Asra could handle herself.
While he was worried, a small dot appeared in the distant sky. As it drew closer, Kaiden heard a familiar, mature female voice ring out in his mind.
"Master!"
Asra landed gracefully before him, walking toward him on her small legs.
"Welcome back!" Kaiden stepped forward quickly and embraced his beloved pet's head with overwhelming joy, then began checking her over quickly, searching for any injuries.
Asra quickly picked up on her master's behavior, her golden eyes filling with warmth. Her master cared about her... her master was the best father anyone could ask for!
But despite her happiness, she pulled back slightly and placed a broken piece she'd been carefully holding into her master's open palm.
"Huh?" Since he'd been so worried about her, he hadn't noticed the small piece she'd been carrying in her mouth until she placed it in his hand.
"Sir, I felt like this thing was valuable... so I brought it." Kaiden heard Asra's voice, and looked down at the small piece resting in his palm. His eyes filled with shock and surprise. He knew exactly what this small piece was! At that same moment, a system notification appeared before him, confirming he wasn't hallucinating.
[System Alert: Congratulations! You have gained a Black Iron-tier Crown Shard ×1]
End of Chapter 86.
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