BXBX NOVEL Chapter 209 208: That Last Little Mile
Returning my gaze to the women by my side, I said "Shall we go down to Zhu\'Rong Caverns?"
Everyone nodded, likely for different reasons; Anput wanted to stretch, Leone wanted some more materials, and Jahi wanted the practice.
Though, I could also see the mild relief in each of their eyes as they likely thought that letting me have my own fun down in the Caverns would result in them having an easier time later tonight.
Sadly, that\'s not how it\'ll work...
Though, I let them have that small glimmer of hope as we returned inside, each going to our rooms to grab our gear.
As I changed into my armor, I could feel Jahi\'s palatable gaze on my skin, and after a coy smile to my towering lover, she flung herself forwards and took me before returning to strapping on her own armor.
Helping her suit up, I gave her a deep kiss before strapping on my dagger and stepping outside, where the other two were waiting.
Considering their flushed cheeks, I knew that they had heard, but...
Walking past them, I could tell, without even looking, that they were both pouting at my back.
Making our way down to the Adventuring District, we entered the Guild Hall and grabbed a Request each.
Like before, we had mainly Harvesting Requests, looking for specific monster parts down in Zhu\'Rong Caverns, so it seemed like we would get a good opportunity to experiment again.
Thankfully, Jahi had relented and allowed us to return to our normal roles, meaning Leone and I were walking behind Jahi and Anput, where we would remain to provide support to the two women in front of us.
With easy Requests for each of us, we dived into the Obsidian Valley yet again and decimated a few hordes as we made our ways down to the Plains of Yama, where most of our Requests were located.
Jahi had selected a Request asking for a Firefang\'s skull, specifically an adult male Firefang\'s skull, which, while odd, did pay 7 Gold and 30 Silvers, so...
We would need to explore parts of the Plains that we haven\'t yet; specifically, the far left side that was home to these monsters.
With our packs already filling up from the always profitable Ghoul Cores and Crystals, we stepped onto the Plains and made our way over to the left, deciding to start with the Firefangs.
The habitat that the Firefangs lived in was covered in tall grasses that came up to my shoulders, while trees littered the landscape, towering way above our heads.
When we had seen that Elder Firefang during our first excursion into the Caverns, its size and power was impressive, but now...
Stalking through the grass, we cleared a path deeper into the savanna like area and glanced around, before Anput and I glanced towards the tree a dozen some odd feet in front of us.
Our ears twitched as we stopped, and we scanned the branches of the tree, before my eyes widened as I saw the giant cat monster creeping down the trunk, its ruby gaze locked on us as it quietly made its way down.
Jahi and Leone followed our gazes, and upon seeing all four of us staring at it, the Firefang jumped into the grass, standing at around 6 foot at its shoulders.
Which was double the size of an average tiger, so...
Warily staring at it, we cursed softly as it lowered its large frame, sinking into the grass with ease.
"Yeah, not fucking happening..."
Hearing Jahi mutter, we watched as she sent her Light Discs flickering out, cutting through the tall grasses around us and clearing a large circle, giving us room to fight.
When she was done, Anput and I nodded to one another and turned towards opposite directions, listening intently for the beast.
With such quiet movements, impeccable body control, and a frame that just barely fits under the grasses around us...
Paired with the slight breeze that made the grasses around us ruffle randomly, Anput and I had a hard time locating the monster.
Pursing my lips, I continued to rake my gaze over the grasses around us, before Anput let out a grunt, making me turn.
Seeing her hurl a spear into the grass, I furrowed my brow before hearing something cry out.
Sending her discs towards the cries, Jahi cleared the area, revealing the Firefang whimpering, Anput\'s spear embedded in its stomach, pinning it to the ground.
Nodding to one another, we approached the monster carefully, before Jahi snapped the monsters neck.
Drawing my dagger, I set to work hacking the monster apart, attempting to locate a core or something inside the mass of muscle in front of me.
While I worked on that, Jahi severed the beasts head and had Leone look at it, using her knowledge about Alchemical ingredients to locate anything valuable in its skull, before having her join me, directing my blade as I searched its body.
Sadly, the Firefang that we found was female; apparently, Female Firefang\'s have red fur with orange stripes, while the Males have black stripes.
So, she had taken the skull and retrieved the fangs, which had a venom stored inside them, before having me find the beasts heart and core.
With a mountain of flesh beside me, and blood soaking into the ground, I sighed as everything that remained of the beast slowly turned to dust, leaving only its blood and retrieved parts behind.
Imbedding my mana slightly into the core, I prevented its decay and stored it in one of my pouches, before getting up and cleaning my blood stained armor and skin off with a quick splash of water magic.
When we finished up we returned to our hunt, searching for another Firefang, preferably a male.
It took us some time, with us stumbling upon a tribe of Lava Goblins in the middle of the grasses, as well as a small group of Lizardmer, which we dispatched with extreme prejudice; none of us seemed happy about encountering the things that populated that city where we almost lost our lives, so...
When we did finally find the Male Firefang, we killed it in much the same way as the first, but this time Anput and I tried something slightly different.
Instead of waiting to find it, we sent out a flurry of smaller projectiles, which we could expand should they hit the Firefang.
When I felt one of my small spheres of ice impact a solid wall of muscle, I had it shatter and spread over the body of the monster, before rushing forwards and finishing it off.
It was after that kill that the system asked [Would Host like to wait until later for the System Update? Or would Host prefer to undergo the Update now?]
Slicing into the Firefang, I gently shook my head as I said \'No, wait till tonight. with no idea what it\'ll do to me physically or mentally, I would rather be alone, so that they don\'t notice a change...\'
[Very well Host. Just be warned, all experience gained from this point forwards is null; there is no overflow until you undergo the Update.]
Nodding, I could feel the system grow quiet, and I returned to butchering the beast in front of me.
While I was excited at the idea of this Update, I curbed that joy and pushed it aside, focusing on the present.
We were still in a dangerous place, so I needed to be alert.
After debating who would transport an entire skull, we all watched as Jahi shrugged it over her shoulders, the spare cords we carried to fix any broken pouches allowing her to carry it.
With the harder of the Requests done, we exited the savanna like area and returned to the flat, rolling Plains, where I needed to harvest a bunch more Obsidian Grass and a new herb called Flaming Lavender, which grew near the Lava Lake, where Leone needed to harvest some of the black sand.
Anput harvested some herself, explaining that the sand was a good insulator and many smiths in the Capital wanted this black sand, as it retained more heat than normal sand.
When Anput finally got her own pouches of the sand, we then had to search the stalagmites that grew around the Plains, attempting to find a chunk of Charred Iron.
Finding the blackened metal in abundance near a Lava Goblin Tribe, we made our way back up to the surface, where we turned in our Requests and items, earning a good profit again.
[ Earnings:
Jahi: 7 Gold 30 Silver
Anput: 6 Gold 50 Silver
Leone: 6 Gold 50 Silver
Kat: 7 Gold
Party: 34 Gold 77 Silver 29 Copper
Personal Payout: 10 Gold 47 Silver ]