The Seed of Ingeniosity

The night fell on the Musclewood Tribe. It was once again time for the Shamans to meet with Five to discuss the recent progress. The latest decision they took was the annulment of the merge with the Ocelot Tribe and the Iguana Tribe.

The reason was simple; they had already reached a critical population density. The Musclewood Tribe consisted of two thousand individuals. It was already a lot for a barbarian tribe. The standard of the region was such that a medium tribe would only have six hundred tribesmen; the Musclewood Tribe already had more than three times that number.

With the addition of the two tribes, the Musclewood Tribe's population would have easily reached three thousand. It was an important problem. First of all, the Ocelot Tribe and the Iguana Tribe had completely different cultures; although the hunters interacted with each other in the past, there was still some strain between the tribes.

Furthermore, the ruling council would also become too large and with so many different opinions, it would become harder to make a decision. The two tribes were not offended by the rejection; they understood the situation. They themselves were reluctant to leave the land of their ancestors and with the introductions of the licensing system of the dungeon.

Naturally, the Musclewood Tribe swore a few additional oaths with them and gave them preferential treatments. The Musclewood Tribe wanted allies, not just business partners. They needed friends to help them in harsh times, not people who would leave them as soon as difficulties arise.

They gave the two tribes the permission to send fifty tribesmen to the dungeon at all times and would only take 10% of their loot but in exchange, the two tribes would help protect their territories. In times of danger, they would assist the Musclewood Tribe.

...

The Shamans traveled through the forest quickly and reached the entrance of the dungeon. Instead of discussing outside as usual, now that Five had already cemented his relationship with the Musclewood Tribe, the discussions were held inside the dungeon behind the waterfall.

The Shamans could enjoy the warmth of the dungeon while Five would receive a few additional DP from these meetings.

"Did you do something to the townsmen? We allowed them to enter the dungeon today but they left very quickly for some reason. They even left the village."

Five listened to the Shamans with an amused expression. 'Seems like the players are eager to complete their quest. They only have two days. They should arrive there tomorrow...'

"I just told them to do something for me. I hope they did not cause any trouble," answered Five.

The Shamans looked at each other, perplexed. "They did not. We sent a few scouts to keep track of their movement. The other group of players is also doing the same."

"It's fine. That other group of players should be allowed into the dungeon as from tomorrow, right? I know you've increased the number of visitors to my dungeon and I am thankful."

Old Luke smiled. "We are mutually benefitting from each other. There are no other major issues. The other tribes are not looking for trouble; many prefer to spend time with their family since it's so cold outside."

Ester intervened. "Senile old man. There is still the issue of the Helyum Shard. The townsmen made a formal request to receive some shards. They want to research it. We are still leaving this matter on the stand but we know we won't be able to delay our response for too long."

"The Helyum Shards? Did you find a way to use them?" asked Five.

"To be honest, we did. Our blacksmiths are the best among the barbarians," said Old Dale.

Five fell into deep thoughts. "Then, I have a proposition to make. Will you be willing to share some of your blueprints and recipe with my monsters?"

"Impossible. We are not even sharing our ancestors' knowledge among ourselves, how could we share it with an outsider?" categorically refused Old Luke.

"He is right. Our ancestors worked hard to develop these items; we cannot share it like this," continued Ester.

Five listened in silence before answering. "Why is it so? I thought you have truly agreed to merge together but in the end, you are still keeping some barriers between each other. You still consider yourselves members of your individual tribes. You must think of the collective interest of the tribe!"

"Do you seriously believe that the other Shamans have absolutely no idea of the recipes you hold? Since you are all working together, it is obvious that you know the materials used by each other to some extent. Maybe you even got to watch the manufacturing process. You are already one single tribe; let go of the barriers between you."

"It can only help in merging your tribes completely. Furthermore, you will be able to help each other and enhance each other's recipes."

The Shamans glanced at each other to check the others' reactions. What Five said was indeed the truth. Of course they had a rough idea of the recipes of the other tribes. It was precisely for this reason that they were not using their most prized recipe; if they did, they would have effectively leaked out the recipe.

Five continued. "I understand that it is a hard step to take. You also don't want others to benefit from your tribe's recipe. You want everyone to put in something of equal value. But this is where I come in! My craftsmen might not be as knowledgable as you but I do have other things to trade for the recipes. For example, I have these relics I took from the other tribes."

He took out eight small objects from his inventory and put them on display. The Shamans' interest was instantly caught. They naturally knew the value of relics. A tribe would usually have three to five relics; they were useful for combat or could have lifestyle effects like improving the fertility of the tribesmen. As a matter of fact, it was one of the relics in Five's possession. The description stated that if a man wore it during the act, the chances of impregnation would increase drastically.

Ester and Orla blushed as they saw the item. The Shamans were quick to identify the relics and had a rough idea of their purpose.

"I have no use for these items but I am sure you are able to use them. Will you be willing to trade a few recipes with me?"

The Shamans fell silent. They were indeed attracted by the offer. Relics were simply too far. It had been decades since a relic had actually been crafted. They required rare materials from Boss Monsters. They were definitely worth a few normal recipes.

"We do have a few recipes we would be willing to trade," said Old Luke.

The Shaman all acquiesced. Even Orla, the only representative of the Blue Eagle Tribe was actively nodding her head.

"Then, let me call a few people; they would be more suited than me to hold a discussion."

The Elder Gnome and the Elder Dwarf soon arrived and they started discussing among themselves. Five took a step back as he was not very proficient in any crafting profession. The Gnomes were adept at enchantments and the dwarves were naturally talented when it came to smithing. Unfortunately, the Shamans had no knowledge of Engineering and Necromancy.

Five watched the exchange taking place. He wanted the Musclewood Tribe to be more united than ever. He did not want factions to start appearing which would only lead to the breakdown of the tribe and the easiest way to achieve this was to unite the Shamans. By encouraging them to share their ancestral knowledge, the bond between the tribes would become stronger than ever.

There was one more reason why Five brought up this topic: the Seed of Ingeniosity. It was the second artifact he obtained from destroying the dungeon, Tinyland. At that time, the artifact was on cooldown but more than seventeen days have passed and the artifact could be used once again.

It was true that it could just be used on any monster but Five had another plan. He wanted the Shamans to use it. The blueprints obtained were proportional to the user's profession Grade. It was clear that the Shamans were more knowledgable when it came to crafting and if they were the ones to use it, the resulting recipe would without a doubt be far more useful than if the monsters were to use it.

It was why Five was interested in obtaining some of the crafting recipes of the Musclewood Tribe. He could use these recipes to level up the monsters' profession while accumulating better recipes for later.

As the monsters and the Shamans finished their exchange, Five took out the Seed of Ingeniosity which instantly attracted the attention of the Shaman. The scene where Five used the Cube of Resourcefulness was still vivid in their mind and this new artifact had the same aura.

"This is another artifact that I want to use," declared Five with an amused expression. He explained the effect of the Seed of Ingeniosity as the Shamans became increasingly restless.

They would all agree that the recipe would be shared with everyone, including the monsters of the dungeon. As Five was essentially giving them another recipe, the Shamans all agreed to give the monsters another blueprint for fairness.

Ester was the one selected to activate the Seed of Ingeniosity. The Shamans competed with each other but they all acknowledged that Ester's crafting knowledge surpassed theirs. The old woman proudly stepped forward and touched the tiny shining crystal.

[System prompt: 'Ester' has activated the Seed of Ingeniosity. As its owner, do you want to proceed?]

"Yes."

The small crystal flickered and out of nowhere, a long and clean piece of paper appeared in Ester's hands. On it was the following:

[Recipe of Voodoo Doll(Grade 4)]

A Voodoo Doll is an item used to curse a target. The Voodoo Doll should have the general appearance of the target to be effective. A grade 4 Voodoo Doll can only hold one curse and its effects can be dispelled by Grade 4 items.

Profession Requirements:

Enchanter(Grade 4)

Alchemist(Grade 3)

Tailor(Grade 2)

Raw materials and Instructions

.

.

.