After the Battle Comes the Profits

The twelve Mortallis archers quickly spread out, taking positions in trees and on rocks around the clearing. Each adjusted her aim and fired tiny but incredibly precise arrows, taking down five bees before they could get close to the group.

The dwarf Benki, meanwhile, spun his axe with expertise, shielding Joe from any bees that escaped the archers' attacks. Despite his short stature, the dwarf was agile and precise, cutting down any creature that dared approach.

Flórida, however, was the star of the battle. Her armor gleamed under the filtered light of the trees as she moved with impressive agility. With her lasso spear, she ensnared groups of bees, turning the loop into sharp blades at just the right moment to maximize damage. When the swarm tried to surround her, she spun her spear like a powerful propeller, taking down several enemies in a single motion.

"Don't get distracted, Joe!" Benki shouted, noticing a shadow boar stealthily emerging from the bushes, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the bees.

The young boy turned just in time to see the massive animal charging at him. Before he could react, Flórida was already there. The queen launched her lasso with precision, capturing the boar's front legs and pulling it down with force. She then pressed the red button again, replacing the loop with blades that pierced the animal's flesh, finishing it off.

Meanwhile, the Mortallis archers continued their efficient work. Every arrow fired was a perfect hit, but the swarm seemed endless. For every bee taken down, two more seemed to appear from nowhere, as if the hive had unleashed its entire army for this battle.

Benki began to retreat, realizing the group was becoming overwhelmed. Joe, his courage renewed, ran to assist Flórida, positioning himself beside her with a green branch in hand.

"Are you crazy?" Benki shouted, but Joe only smiled.

"If she can fight these bees, so can I."

Flórida glanced at him briefly, as if acknowledging his determination, and then refocused on the enemies.

The battle continued for what felt like hours, though only a few minutes passed. The bees attacked mercilessly, but the group's coordination began to turn the tide. The Mortallis archers shot with mastery, often hitting four or five bees at once. In this way, they eliminated the last of the swarm, while Benki and Flórida dealt with a second shadow boar that had appeared.

Joe wasn't left behind in his bee-fighting efforts. Spinning the dry branch with speed, imitating Flórida's movements, he took down dozens of bees coming his way.

When the final enemy fell, silence returned to the clearing. Joe was exhausted and panting, with small cuts on his arms, but he was smiling. Flórida, even with her armor marked by battle, looked as imposing as ever.

The twelve archers descended from their posts, lining up before their queen in a show of respect. Benki looked at Joe and shook his head in surprise.

"You truly have a lot of courage, Mr. Joe!"

Joe patted Flórida's carapace, and she responded with a gentle wiggle of her antennae.

"Thank you for always taking care of me," he said affectionately.

The clearing was now littered with the bodies of boars and bees. The group gathered what they could, carrying some of the prey as trophies and valuable resources for their journey, while leaving the majority wrapped up for the dwarves to retrieve later.

At first, the artisan dwarf crafted a wooden platform to completely immobilize the bone-crusher beast, allowing young Joe to carry it. But ever inventive, using pieces of wood and a makeshift wheeled contraption designed by the artisan, and with the strength of 50 ants, they transported the bone-crusher along with other captured animals with great ease.

Carrying so much weight at a slow but steady pace, it took them a few hours to reach the artisan dwarf's home. There, he placed some animals into containers where they would be washed and treated.

Minutes later, several of Benki's trusted dwarves arrived, eager to help. After quick instructions, they took the larger animals, which were still under the effects of sedatives, to specific locations until decisions could be made about their fate.

Once the dwarves had left, Benki, the artisan dwarf, began preparing a fine meal with the meat of one of the smaller catches. Removing the thorns was dangerous and exhausting work, and any carelessness could cause someone to prick themselves and pass out.

Meanwhile, Joe watched the dwarf's work closely. It wasn't long before he offered to help. A few minutes later, a notification popped up in his system:

🔺😎 [System Alert!] [Congratulations! "You have acquired knowledge of skinning, thorn removal, and handling venomous animals."]

All the hard work paid off, as the meat from the catch was incredibly tasty.

Well-fed, Joe knew the next step was to head home and rest. The next day would bring new challenges, and one of them was meeting Bargaf, a figure who promised to be as peculiar as the artisan himself. So, it was time for farewells:

"But it's so early! Are you leaving already, Mr. Joe?"

"Tomorrow morning, we'll meet again, Mr. Benki."

As he walked home, Joe felt confident. Accompanied by Florida and the rest of his ants, he quickened his pace to reach home as soon as possible.

Once home, he decided it was time to check how much XP he had earned. After all, the entire day had passed, and now it was time to review his profits. But first, the most important task: bath time.

After his bath, full-bellied and comfortable in his room, it was time to review the finances:

"Per Joe! Show me the XP results from the ants."

[Immediately]

Healer ant = 1 unit

🦗 Level 0.1 / 💚🌿 1.1 / ⭐⛏ 1 p/hr / 😶⭐ = 26.4 XPs

Worker ants = 50 units / That fought / 🙂⭐ = 660.0 XPs

Worker ants = 178 units / That excavated /

🐜 Level 0.1 / 🤎 0.1 + / ⭐⛏ 1.10 p/h x 12 hours = 13.2 XPs x 178 ants = 🙂⭐ 2,349.60 XPs

Excavator ants = 26 units

🐜 Level 0.1 / 🤎 1.0 / ⭐⛏ 11.0 p/h x 12 hours = 132 XPs x 26 ants = 🙂⭐ 3,432.0 XPs

Queen 🐜 Level 2

🤎 5.4 / ⭐ 2,500 XPs per combat x Sonispinos / Shadow Boars / Noctiguara / Bone-Crusher = 2,500 / 🙂⭐ + 20% of a thousand ants = 430.2 XPs, total = 2,930.20 XPs

Total XP: 9,398.20

Amazed at how much XP he had earned, little Joe was about to level up his ants when, suddenly, a notification appeared:

🔺😎 [System Alert!]

[Restrictive Vault active! You accumulated 2,930.20 XP from the queen ant and 6,467.40 XP from the other ants, totaling 9,398.20 XP. You can withdraw 10% of this amount, or 918.25 XP,] the system informed.

"Thank you very much. Transfer that 10% to me."

[918.25 XP available for use]

🔺😎 [System Alert!]

[Restrictive Vault active! Your previous deposit of 20,772.27 XP x 2.65 has accumulated a total of 55,046.51 XP.]

[Would you like to withdraw this XP?]

Little Joe thought for a moment before giving the order:

"Per Joe! From now on, summarize the XP earnings and always repeat this operation: withdraw my gains and then deposit all of them. Got it?"

[Perfectly!]

[All XP withdrawn and deposited, totaling 64,444.71, with fees for 10 days deducted upfront for maintaining this automated action. Remaining in the Restrictive Vault: 59,844.71 XP.]

"Am I being robbed by Sime?" Joe wondered suspiciously. But he quickly did the math and realized those 10% XP were more like an extra bonus for him, which wouldn't be deducted later. Obviously, he was profiting.

His only doubt was: was this intentional to favor him, or was the Sime system truly bugging out?

In any case, he wouldn't worry about such minor details and would simply enjoy the benefits without any complaints.