Departure

Some time later, Ian arrived at the residence provided by the Ravina clan, entered the room, cursed the Helis for not using beds or mattresses, threw himself into a corner, and passed out from exhaustion.

Ian was not in fact a great ruthless hero who feared nothing as he appeared to be on the last day. It had been hours and hours of uninterrupted performance, with his mind under pressure, artificially controlled emotions, and meticulously manipulated actions.

In the following days, Ian recovered the legacies, his other possessions, and took advantage of the free time to cultivate the body strengthening technique and engage in other activities. Of course, he did so in a somewhat relaxed and carefree manner compared to the madness before. He also set up a small laboratory and started requesting all kinds of materials from the Treasure Elder.

It didn't take long for Javi to pay a personal visit since no one else was allowed on the premises. Before he even entered the courtyard, the smell of sulfur engulfed him causing a small bout of coughing and forcing to circulate energy to create a small protective membrane over his skin. The guards responsible for the security of the place were duly backed away from the entrance for salubrious reasons, no one could judge them.

"Ian, allow me a word or two!" Javi shouted as he knocked on the door.

"Just a moment, I'll be right there!"

A few dozen minutes passed, to the disgust of the Marshal, who stood outside like a fool. The clan members watching from afar were dumbfounded, their guest was rather shameless in making this important personality who welcomed him stand waiting.

"Come in, come in... I was about to look for you anyway." Ian opened the door, allowing a cloud of dirt to escape, and came face to face with the First Elder, who frowned.

"What have you been up to, junior? The clan is extremely alarmed by your actions." Javi inquired, making a face at all the mess.

"Follow me, and you'll soon understand." Ian said with a muffled voice due to the makeshift mask he was wearing.

Inside one of the rooms, past the laboratory itself with countless glass jars with God-knows-what inside, several objects in the shape of balls with a wick in the middle lay stacked, a few dozen of them. Javi's eyes lit up when saw this scene.

"Before we depart, I intend to leave a small stock with the Ravina Clan. Although these projectiles are not very effective against warriors above the Bronze Body, they can do a great deal of damage to enemy lines, allowing you to place greater pressure on the strongest part of the opponent. "

"How many can you manufacture?" The Marshal asked, saliva almost dripping from his mouth.

"When are we leaving?"

"I had planned for two weeks, but I can..."

"Then two weeks will be enough, I have full confidence to deliver 250 hand grenades and three barrels of explosives. This is the limit. Even though I wear a mask, consume pills and medicinal herbs, my cultivation is too low and I don't have the ideal tools for the laboratory. I might end up critically poisoning myself."

"All right, all right. But what would these barrels be?"

"They are basically explosives that have a very powerful charge and are capable of causing damage to Gold Bodies, but are difficult to handle."

Immediately greed landed on the Marshal's countenance. How nice would it be to have such an artisan locked up in the basement? As soon as the idea came, it was gone. Ian was not the kind of person who could be manipulated. The risk of the Ravina Clan's stronghold blowing up in the process had to be considered. My dear readers, this is not a probability, but what would occur! Besides, this young man has proven that he recognizes and repays kindness, in the future the profits will be multiplied.

"Do you need any helpers? I can provide anything."

"I work alone, but I have some more sensitive orders that I would like the senior to help with..." It was Ian's turn to be greedy.

After receiving a list with hundreds of items for personal use as well as overpriced materials for bomb-making, Javi remembered what had prompted his visit in the first place.

"With all the confusion of the last few days, we didn't even talk about the most important thing, which is the species you will choose to live with. Which one do you have in mind?"

"I would like one related to support techniques, technology..." Javi nodded. With Ian's skills, it wouldn't be difficult to excel in those areas.

"Of the seven intelligent races of Sombreal, two of them stand out in their requirements. Glopers who have a great affinity with nature and are the best when it comes to herbs, water pills, natural elixirs, medicine and the like. Gnomes, on the other hand, specialize in mechanisms, matrices, scarlet pills, smithing, etc. In addition to these, there are the Dark Elves and Vampires, who, because their life expectancy is so high, have acquired a great deal of knowledge and are the possessors of the greatest scholarship on the Continent."

Ian began to ponder his options. Glopers were related to botany, natural chemistry, and some spirit-focused arts, but his trump card in this world was the technology of the humans from Earth, specifically the destructive kind. Gnomes worked with metallurgy, matrices, and classical chemistry, the most rational choice. Dark Elves and Vampires sparked a strong curiosity in Ian. In his previous life, they were species related to tales and fiction... But he shook his head and discarded those last options. First, he needed to establish his foundations in Sombreal.

"If possible, I would like to reside among the Gnomes."

"Then I will arrange the diplomatic contact, and 14 days from today, we will travel." Javi responded satisfied, as their domain was practically neighboring, so contact with the Haller clan wouldn't be strained by distance.

The days until departure were calm. Ian trained, worked in the makeshift terrorist factory, and rested. His wife asked for a few more days and only returned on the eve with piles and piles of suitcases... He could only think of a sexist joke from Earth, but we won't contribute to that negative culture in the narrative. It truly worried him; they couldn't use teleportation matrices due to carrying too much baggage, and the minimum requirement was a complete Base Body, which one of the group members didn't meet (guess who xD). Etri had only a giant lizard, and the Ongma wouldn't be able to carry much. There were also 30 metallic chests just for the legacies, plus materials that were gifted by the Ravina clan...

"Relax, our caravan will consist of eight giant lizards. Leave the logistics to me. I won't be offended to receive some gifts in the future, ehehe." the First Elder said when he noticed Ian's anxiety.

And so, on the first day of the fourth month of the year 15202, they left the borders of the Heli Domain toward the center of the continent.