A Hardworking Army

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Two weeks have passed since Ervas and Veronica's party found shelter in the Squirrel-kin beast-woman tribe…

(Veronica)

[Experience Points have reached the required level!]

[Individual 'Rank' has increased from level 50 to level 52!]

[Furthermore, the Individual's 'Job' has increased from level 99 to level 100!]

[The Levels of the [Mining; Level 2], [Cooking; Level 1], [Butcher; Level 1], [Alchemy; Level 2], [Crafting; Level 2], [Chant Revocation; Level 2], [Strengthen Followers; Level 2], [Commanding; Level 2], [Coordination; Level 2], [Self-Enhancement; Following (Ervas); Level 2], [Slime Binding Technique; Level 2], [Parallel Thought Processing; Level 2], [Mana Control; Level 3], and [Fast Speed Thought Processing; Level 2] Skills have increased!]

[You acquired the [Surpass Limits; Clones; Level 1], [Automatic Mana Recovery; Level 1], and [Increased Mana Recovery Rate; Level 1] Skills!]

(Ervas)

[Experience Points have reached the required level!]

[Individual 'Rank' has increased from level 82 to level 85!]

[Furthermore, the Individual's 'Job' has increased from level 99 to level 100!]

[The Levels of the [Spirit Magic; Level 4], [Botanist; Level 4], [Crafting; Level 2], [Butcher; Level 2], [Cooking; Level 2], [Alchemy; Level 2], [Surpass Limits; Mana Usage; Level 4], [Soul Materialization; Level 1], [Phantom Materialization; Level 1], [Mana Drain; Level 4], [Self-Enhancement; Following (Veronica); Level 2], [Telekinesis; Level 1], [Surpass Limits; Telekinesis; Level 1], [Commanding; Level 3], [Strengthen Followers; Level 3], [Parallel Thought Processing; Level 3], [Fast Speed Thought Processing; Level 3], [Night Vision; Level 1], [Abnormal Status Resistance; Level 1], and [Phantom Form; Level 1] Skills have increased!]

Dozens of dark-colored metallic spiders wandered through long cave sections filled with colorful crystals, jewels, and minerals.

Some were walking around the walls and ceiling, using their sharp claws to pulverize the roots of the precious materials, thus making the large chunks fall to the ground, which was then retrieved by another group of metallic spiders that placed them inside another mining cart-shaped metallic spider.

"Oh? It seems that we found rubies again" said one of the spiders, baring its claws and crushing the roots of the crimson jewel sediments.

Clash!

"Ah! I got it" said yet another metallic spider.

The giant crystal, which was many different jewels merged fell to the ground, where one of the spiders carried it to the mining cars.

"Thanks, me"

"No problem, me"

The spiders talked with each other as if they had all their own personalities, but they all were the same person's mind.

"Hey, someone come here! I need some help killing this giant bug!"

"Coming, me!"

"Wait for a second, you're not a warrior-type clone, me!"

"Oops, my bad! I will go back to mining then"

"I am a warrior-type clone, so I will go, me"

"Thanks, me. I appreciate it"

"No problem, me"

The amount of 'clones' inside this cave, which was, in fact, a dungeon, was outstanding, dozens after dozens of these metallic creatures wondered the caves constantly.

They mined, carried the materials back to the Squirrel-kin tribe, and also killed monsters every hour.

They were like restless working machines.

If a human were to encounter such creatures, it might think that it is a new species of intelligent metallic arachnid monsters and then run away for its life.

But they were clones of a Living Armor, made from the liquid metal-like materials of its outside body.

Every creature shared the same soul with that Living Armor, and at the same time, the same mind.

Each time they talked, it was as if that individual, Veronica, was talking with herself, dozens upon dozens of times.

It was natural that alter egos and split personalities would blossom, if any other being were to do this, it would most likely fall into insanity and madness.

But every clone seemed to work in harmony and without any issues.

Alongside the creatures, Squirrel-kin women were working as well, although they only prepared food for them, or killed monsters with the help of the Warrior-type clones, gaining levels and sharpening their hunting skills.

Most of the monsters in this dungeon were not suitable for consumption, but the creatures didn't seem to care, as they ate it all. The various bugs were grilled and served with a variety of herbs and sauces.

It had become a tradition for them to have to take a break and have lunch, despite not feeling any fatigue.

Thanks to Veronica's 'Digestion' Skill, which she shared with every clone, they were able to regain Mana by digesting food. This was enough reason for them to have lunch and dinner every day, alongside a few other snacks through the day, like eating raw monsters wandering around.

"Phew, another day, another hot pot! I hope everyone likes it! I poured all my love into it!" said Pekorina, as she cooked into a large pot made out of pure copper, a luxury that no mere commoner would have.

Copper was a special mineral that had an impressive antibacterial capacity. Veronica decided to make most tools for cooking with it and replace the ones made with the materials of her armor.

Although her armor was sturdier, copper had its own capabilities that could not be beaten by her. She could not add the properties of copper to her armor either, as she had already done to her weapon. And because her weapon was mixed with many other materials to increase its strength, the pure copper properties became weaker.

Little Squirrel girls led by Amelia and Acathea served every spider-shaped clone a plate with delicious hotpot alongside another filled with grilled bugs covered in a rich gravy. If one did not mind the lethal poison in here, most bugs in the dungeon tasted delicious.

Although veronica was the only one that could 'not mind' the poison, sadly.

"Ah! Lunchtime, I was starving!"

"Thank you, little Acathea!"

"Hey, can I have seconds?"

"You ate that fast?!"

"I was hungry!"

"I want seconds as well!"

"And me!"

Pekorina and the Squirrel girls were overwhelmed by Veronica's clones' request for seconds, but they were already accustomed to such behavior.

"Wait for a second, please! We are cooking more!" said Pekorina, pouring ingredients after ingredients in dozens of pots that were boiling with potatoes, vegetables, mushrooms, and many other things.

"Phew, today everyone seems hungrier than before…" muttered Acathea, twitching her small, black-colored bear ears atop her head.

Meanwhile, Veronica's main body was working in the Squirrel-kin tribe.

Alongside Ervas and many others, she was creating new equipment sets suitable for the Squirrel women's slim and flexible bodies, as heavy armor seemed to hinder their overall fighting styles.

"Ah! Another chainmail made with my thread is done, it is a clone too, what a nice plus!" said Veronica, putting the chainmail made out of metallic threads over a pile that already had over a dozen of them.

Each creation she made was now both equipment and her clone. Equipment with consciousness and that was even able to use skills to help its wielder… it would certainly revolutionize the concept of equipment in any society.

"Even after two arduous weeks, I am still incapable of creating greater Clones. They can only be eighty centimeters, if they are bigger, their entire bodies begin to fall apart into liquid metal and cannot do most tasks," said Veronica.

"So the only way to make greater constructions is to use… many clones stuck together?" asked Ervas, as he used Alchemy and his Mana to engrave magic circles over the equipment, granting them greater durability and the ability to give their wearer a slightly stronger physique.

"Exactly! Like all the carriages I created," said Veronica.

In the two weeks that Veronica and Ervas had spent in the Squirrel-kin tribe, they had been working non-stop. Their arduous hard work made most of the tribe feel inspired to work as hard as them. And due to Ismene's request, many groups were created that aimed to help Veronica and Ervas accomplish their goals swifter.

They were currently with the crafting and alchemy group, which included Ismene as the head.

There was also the Cooking group that included Pekorina, Amelia, and Acathea, who often divided into two, one that worked in the tribe and the other that cooked for the clones in the dungeon.

There was a Hunting group, led by Veronica's main body and the strongest warriors and huntresses of the tribe.

There was the Physical Training group, led by Jason, which taught different fighting techniques to rookie tribe members that were just recently getting used to their strength and had changed jobs twice.

And last but not least, there was the Magical Training group, led by Ervas (although he was now working in the Crafting and Alchemy group with Veronica), which taught how to use magic to the tribe members, alongside helping them awaken their Mana Veins. Those that had talent would also be taught Spirit Magic and make their first bond with a spirit. Now there were over a dozen of Spirit Magic users.

Before Veronica and Ervas appeared in the tribe, Spirit Magic was considered rare and mystical, but now it was just another tool for fighting and developing in the tribe.

There was an Architect group in the making, but not many tribe members were talented in the construction of facilities, so it was delayed for now.

Veronica had been developing her abilities by leaps and bounds as well, and she had designed large carrier-type clones constructed by putting various clones together instead of a big one, which she was incapable of creating, which were used to explore the outside of the Devil Forest while carrying various tribe members for hunting and mobilizing.

Alongside this, she created large warrior-type clones that were born by the combination of dozens of smaller warrior-type clones. But because they were quite complex to create, only twelve were currently the limit and were most of the time guarding the tribe when Ervas and Veronica's tamed monsters were not guarding the surroundings.

Alongside Squirrel-kin, several plant-type monsters roamed the tribe as well, helping and assisting the tribe members. As Ervas powers developed, more and more plants mutated into monsters and became his subordinates. Although most of them were still weak, many of them were ranking up and trying to catch up with the main plant monsters' team.