The routine was quite pleasant. Lucas woke up at sunrise and began his body training. By the time he finished, only a few people in the shelter had woken up.
Afterward, he dedicated himself to practicing the teleportation circle. With every minute he spent on it, he could see the progress bar steadily increase.
After a few hours, Lucas returned to the shelter and gave Sean a lesson on runesmithing. This was one of his most peaceful moments, as Sean was still at the very beginning stages of runesmithing—at least by Lucas’s standards.
Spending an hour with Sean, Lucas then went to Sarah, who had just freshened up. They headed directly to the basement, where Lucas demonstrated better smithing techniques and provided pointers to improve her existing methods.
Sarah had a natural talent for smithing. Her strength and stamina were remarkably stable, making her an exceptional candidate for the craft compared to most.
Lucas firmly believed in automation to streamline work and focus on future developments. With a steady supply of planks and relatively good-quality ingots, tasks were progressing much faster than before.
Lastly, Lucas wrapped up his morning routine with a sparring session with Jerry and a leatherworking lesson with John. By the time they all sat down for breakfast, the morning had been well spent.
"I’ll take some food to the Kobold, excuse me," Lucas said, placing a freshly cooked chunk of meat on a wooden plate before heading toward the crude hut.
Peering inside, he found the room completely trashed. Scratch marks covered the ceiling, walls, and floor, as though a wild animal had been left unsupervised and wreaked havoc.
"You sure know how to make a mess, huh?" Lucas said.
The Kobold looked at him without reacting. For the first time, it was calm, though the hatred in its eyes was palpable even from a distance.
*"You… you don’t know what you’re getting into… My leader will be here any time now. I’ve already contacted him, you bastard,"* the Kobold growled weakly, its exhaustion from trying to escape evident.
Lucas glanced at the rune on its chest. The Kobold’s bruised and bloodied chest leaked crimson between its scales.
"I’m waiting for your leader to get here if that’s true. Keeping you captive has been very productive," Lucas said, nodding in admiration.
’Although I know it’s lying… Let’s see where this goes,’ he thought, setting the plate just inside the Kobold’s reach.
The Kobold’s eyes locked onto the meat, and it lunged, only to miss its mark and slam its face into the wooden plate. Ignoring the pain, it devoured the meat greedily, swallowing without chewing. When the food was gone, it looked back at Lucas with anger, though all Lucas saw was unrestrained greed.
"I’ll return later to ask about your people and your territory. Be a good boy and stay here until then," Lucas said with a smirk as he stood to leave.
The Kobold growled, its frustration boiling over. *"I will never tell you anything!"* it roared.
"What’s your leader’s name?" Lucas asked casually.
"Grizzak," the Kobold blurted out instinctively before clamping its mouth shut. The surprise in its eyes was unmistakable as Lucas turned to leave.
’The Kobold is not only a prisoner but also someone who will reveal everything truthfully, even against its will, let’s see if it’s loyalty breaks first or the mind...’ Lucas thought. While he disliked the idea of breaking its mind, there was more at stake than the creature realized. Testing the limits of its loyalty and resilience was a necessary experiment.
Returning to the pile of planks, Lucas gathered every tool he had on hand. It was time to finally build some furniture.
Using a saw, he cut the planks into various size groups, each carefully measured and calculated. Once everything was prepared, he began assembling.
’I don’t have the basic tools… My only choice is to use the ropes,’ Lucas thought.
He went to the storage room and found several meters of rope neatly coiled. While crude in appearance, the ropes were surprisingly durable.
Starting with the bed frame, Lucas arranged planks into a queen-sized rectangle. He then carved rectangular notches into the ends of the longer planks and corresponding triangular holes in the shorter ones. The process took time, but once complete, the planks fit together snugly with a few taps from the hammer.
The border of the bed frame was complete.
’Now for some reinforcements,’ Lucas thought, picking up the ropes. Over the next ten minutes, he tightly tied ropes to each corner of the frame for added stability.
Next, Lucas connected additional planks inside the frame to create a solid sleeping surface. Using the same technique, he added four legs to lift the frame to a convenient height.
’It’s not durable enough… I might need to cheat a little,’ Lucas thought with a sly grin, retrieving his rune scriber.
Carefully, he inscribed runes along the bed frame. With each rune, the wood emitted a faint sound, resonating with latent energy. When he finished, he stepped back to admire his work.
The light brown bed stood at the size of a standard queen bed. The planks inside the frame provided sturdy support for a mattress, and the four legs lifted it to a comfortable height.
Finally, Lucas lay down on the bed, analyzing its comfort.
’I really need a mattress now,’ he grumbled. While the bed was solid, it lacked the softness needed for proper rest.
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Lucas sighed, rolling off the bed and sitting on its edge. The lack of a mattress made him wonder what kind of raw material he would need to make it, all he had was stuff that could make the outer layer and that was it, but he shook the thought away.
There was more to do, and distractions wouldn’t help. He picked up his tools, moving toward the pile of remaining planks.
"Chairs next," he muttered, visualizing a simple design in his head. The shelter could use a proper sitting area, especially with the group growing more cohesive.
The next few hours, Lucas made everything for all the huts with the planks and other resources he had.
"YEEEAAAAGGHHHHH!!!!"
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And just when a smile crept on his face, a scream came from the other side of the shelter and Lucas dashed toward it the next second.