Race against Time

"Done then."

Little Piggy's grin was so wide. "Remember our deal, mortal, or I'll kill you myself." He oinked with his childish high, pitch nasal voice.

I knew that killing me was never going to happen.

I rolled my eyes. "Can you now go and check the Rocky Mountains then?"

Little Piggy's face turned grumpy. "Fine. But know this is your last command for this month, and you can't stop me from roaming free after this."

If it's so disobedient, then I don't have any use for it than maybe a meat shield? "I don't care what you do after this as long as you check those Rocky Mountains if it's livable or not."

"Heh. I want you to beg on your knees and plead with your head grinding on the mud . . . but this would have to suffice." Little Piggy showed its butt and flipped its tail before its tiny wings fluttered and carried him in the air.

He then zoomed towards the Rocky Mountains while humming a tune. "All the food I can eat ~ All the place I can go ~ Hmm . . . tender pork steak I'm coming~."

I shook my head at Little Piggy's retreating form until he disappeared on the horizon.

"Let's go home. I still need to rest first and forage as soon as I wake up." From all that happened, my body and mind were at their limits, and I needed to re-energize.

Athena merely blinked and followed behind me as we traversed back to my territory. If we hurry, it was a thirty-minute or so walked from the shore back to the barren village.

"Should we wait for Little Piggy to return first, My Lord, before we build our fence around the perimeter of your house? If he returned with good news then . . . our resources–"

"No need," I cut in. I knew what she was going to say — saving our resources to build in the Rocky hills instead of building it on the lower ground where the flood might reach and topple everything to mud.

"If little piggy indeed brings good news, then I'm merely going to build a second house up there," I said, and Athena's face lightened.

It was the first time that I saw her eyes shone when she looked at me.

"That's good thinking, my lord."

I knew she would be able to get it.

"By continuing building in the ground, we have a reserve encase Little Piggy brings in bad news. But if the Rocky Mountains turned out to be livable, then we will merely relocated there. Just a small house and farm to get by that Daedalus could finish on time.

"Besides, I need to establish my house first in order to claim the territory as my own and enter Roselake Town. We don't have time to wait for Little Piggy to bring back the good news. It's a race against time, and we have to keep all options open until then."

I hadn't forgotten about the System that had said that I needed a pass to enter the town. But if I was the mayor of my territory, I think I didn't need that pass.

Right System?

<Right Host. If you already established and named your territory, you'll get a badge that would let you enter any towns, cities, and allied kingdoms."

Good to know.

Four days from now, I think Daedalus could already start building my house if all went smoothly.

<As long as he starts even just a single brick from the blueprint, you'll automatically claim and name your territory and get that identification badge>

And by tomorrow, Little Piggy would already have returned with the news. If it's good news, then we will abort the plans here and relocate to the top.

However . . . if it was bad news, then we didn't have a choice but to continue building in the lower lands, get those tokens, and start building that dam.

<Break Water>

I looked over at the night sky. There were still dark clouds looming over the horizon, and there was a threat of rain.

With the glowing crystals as light, I took up the tools that Daedalus made lying near a small hut as soon as we arrived at the Barren Village.

[Acquired, Gold Hammer]

[Acquired, Gold Pickaxe]

[Acquired, Gold Axe]

Gold?

<Daedalus is a master builder that could level up whatever he made. With limited resources, he could already make Gold tier Tools from common ores>

Tier?

<Tools in this world are categorized as Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum>

<If the ores were a little rarer, Daedalus would already have made Platinum Tools that could forage ten times more than Golden tools>

That's good news.

I looked over at the golem, who was busy building my fence. I was surprised that he had already built a meter of the wall with so little time. If this kept up, he would surely finish the wall in less than four days. The third night was the earliest, enough time for little Piggy to come back before all his effort would go to waste when Little Piggy brought in a 'bad news.'

Then my eyes flickered at the small hut made of logs. It was nothing fancy, but it gave off a homey vibe. It's just a nine sq. meter hut made of logs and a roof made of dried leaves held together by nets.

I went inside and was amazed that it had a single bed constructed from wood and leaves as bedding. It even had a side table where a lamp was situated. There was also a bucket of water next to the bed, together with a smooth stone and four pieces of leaves.

What drew my eyes was the lamp. It was sculpted of gold in a shape of a bird holding a [Glowing Crystal] on its beck.

With just a tiny piece of the [Glowing Crystal], it illuminated the room like a 12 watts bulb.

What's more, the bird's tail operated like a lever that dimmed the [Glowing Crystal] enough to have a comfortable sleep.

Haa . . . I skimmed my jawline.

Why were the villagers use fire when they could mine [Glowing Crystals] for light?

<Glowing Crystals couldn't be mine with a low-level tool>

I see . . .

My eyes twinkled and touched the [Glowing Crystals].

ǁ G L O W I N G C R Y S T A L ǁ

–– a piece of rock that glowed in the dark. Its glow lasted for thirty days before its light diminishes completely, and another crystal took its place.

–– need a [Golden Pickaxe] to mine

ǁ E N D ǁ

System . . .

<Yes, Host?>

I think I'm going to be rich.

<Yes. As long as you do all the quests in the System– >

I shook my head. Not that.

If there was no source of energy and Golden Tools were hard to come by, then I think I would be a pioneer of light.

<Oh . . . I see . . . Funny when evilness is often associated with darkness and you became the bringer of light~ >

But I wasn't going to rejoice just yet since I hadn't seen the town and cities. I want to confirm if I was the first to use this [Glowing Crystal] like a bulb.

I picked up the leaf on top of the smooth stone and examined it.

ǁ V E R B A N A ǁ

–– a piece of minty leaf. Its refreshing scent, skin softening and anti-bacterial properties are popular among women.

–– used by a lot of people, especially women, during baths.

ǁ E N D ǁ

Huh. I was surprised at how thorough Daedalus was.

Gotta' thank that guy.

As I went over to Daedalus, I noticed another hut beside mine that had 'Athena' named on the plank plastered on top of its wooden door.

It must be where Athena was going to wait while I took my needed rest.

While Ulysses was nowhere to be seen. That guy was probably gathering plants in the forest. I muttered to myself.

"Daedalus."

Daedalus stopped working and faced me with a robust rocky face that didn't know what to portray except a serious expression.

"Thank you for the hut and added bath."

Daedalus merely shook his head and answered, "It was Lady Athena who ordered to put a bucket of water in your quarters, my Lord."

I blinked, surprised. I didn't expect that answer, and my eyes hovered at Athena.

She merely looked at me with her deadpan face.

"Is that so? Thank you, then."

"I am merely doing what I must, my lord. It will be a disaster if you die of a cold all because I didn't remind Daedalus to add a bucket of water in your room for you to wash off the rain."

". . ." Why do I feel like she is insulting me?

I ignored Athena's remark and spoke to Daedalus. "Anyway, where did you get the water? You haven't constructed the well yet."

"It was Iskemo who found a small river running towards the sea when he was mining for ores and stones."

"I see . . ." I got to check that when the sun is up tomorrow.

Water was very important after all.

"I will take a bath and rest first. I will help you forage by tomorrow, if everything went according to plan. But if not . . . I'll have to leave as soon as possible to acquire those Grade-A Tokens."

"Understood."

I left Daedalus to his work and faced Athena next. "You can rest in your quarters while I take a short nap. Wake me if something is up."

"Understood."

Once I retreated inside my room, I took off my clothes and washed my hair and face before using the Verbana to wipe off the remnant of the rain from my body.

I didn't have to worry about the floor since it was covered with stones and pebbles. The water would merely seep through the soil.

After wiping myself and hanging my clothes to dry, I jumped into the bed butt naked for all I cared.

The moment my back laid on the crunchy but warm leaves, exhaustion took hold of me, and I slept within seconds.