Chapter 25: "More manpower..."
Leo had decided to take full advantage of the little boy’s ability,and had him replicating the ash paste. When Leo had come up with this crazy idea earlier on,even he to did not believe that it would work,but after Gemini successfully formed a second batch identical to the first,same texture, same faint smoky scent, same slow, stubborn hardening,Leo had stared at the boy with a mixture of relief and unease.
"It worked...!"
"Somehow, it worked..."
Leo murmured as he wondered to what extent the replicate ability could go.
"Does this mean he can replicate not just items but other resources..."
"Can he replicate the system issued summoning jade...!"
Leo face had a awkward look.
"That would be crazy..."
For the current Leo,what he lacked now was manpower,and the idea of replicating the summoning jade, though fanatical,took root in his mind.
"But the ability rank is too low..."
At the moment,Leo had unknowingly managed to advance both of his abilities to uncommon rank,yet Gemini’s ability was still stack at the common rank. Every time he replicated an item,no matter how big or small the item was,he had to rest for two hours, while recuperating both his energy and stamina.
"Let’s hope his ability advances sooner..."
Leo prayed as he left the little boy to his task.
As the sun climbed and the forest heat thickened, the rhythm of the two, settled into something almost hypnotic.
Leo drove the stone hoe into the earth again and again, loosening the stubborn soil before scooping it out with the rudimentary spade. The ground resisted at first,it was dense with roots that twisted like old veins, but slowly, grudgingly, it began to yield.
Each trench line became clearer, straighter, a rough outline of the future etched into the land.
Sweat dripped from his brow, cutting thin paths through the dust on his skin. His palms burned, blistering where bark and soil scraped against them, but he didn’t stop.
There was something anchoring in the work,something that quieted the constant awareness of how exposed they were.
Something that made him let down his guard.
As for Gemini,he worked in eerie precision.
The boy knelt beside the ash pit, his small hands moving in steady, deliberate motions.
His eyes never wandered, never questioned.
Each batch of ash paste emerged identical to the last, as though shaped by memory rather than effort. The paste glistened faintly under the sunlight before dulling as it began to set.
"Keep the mixture thick..."
Leo called without turning.
"Not too much water..."
Gemini nodded once, already adjusting.
By midday, the trench had taken form, shallow rectangle carved into the earth, edges uneven but promising.
The inside of the rectangle carved trench were more partioning trenches, dividing the rectangle into six sections,each measuring different dimensions.
Leo climbed out, his legs trembling slightly, and walked its perimeter. Twenty feet by sixteen, just as he had imagined.
"Crude, but real..."
He patted himself for the great work,as he crouched and pressed his fingers into the soil walls.
"Firm enough.."
"Good..."
He muttered to himself.
"Good enough..."
Leo exhaled, as tension he had not noticed finally slipped from his shoulders.
"We are not just surviving anymore..."
He said under his breath.
"That is enough...!"
He called out to the little boy as he slumped on a mound of soil.
"Let’s rest for a while..."
"Here...!"
Leo instructed as he retreived two wooden mugs,a small jar of hot goat milk and some poached eggs from his inventory.
The little boy dragged his feet over, received the mug of hot goat milk and two poached eggs.
"Thank you big brother..."
"You deserve it..."
The two enjoyed their little rest and snack in silence.
"We need to be done setting the foundation by late noon..."
Leo said.
"Help me all the small stones and pebbles you can find..."
Two hours later,the two had piled up a little mound of pebbles and small stones. Leo divided the ash paste into two,he used half of it to mix with the pebbles,before pouring it into the trenches. Each trench floor was cover by a two inch thick layer of the ash paste and small stones mixture.
"Now that that is over,it is time to bring the big boxes out..."
Leo had stored the two uncommon rank chest and one common rank chest in his inventory before leaving.
"Time for some magic..."
He said as he retreived the three system issued chests.
"You first..."
The common ranked chest was the first to be unlocked.
Leo had done his calculations. Each stone from the system issued chest was a foot long and half a foot thick, thus he would require a total of three hundred and twenty seven feet of stones for the foundation and currently,there were fifty system issued stones at the hideout,which he had brought with him in the inventory.
System Alert: You have opened a common chest.
Gain:
Wood × a hundred
Stone × fifty
Clay × ten baskets
Iron Ore × ten
Hide × ten
Grain × one sack
Vegetables × five basket
"That a hundred now..."
Leo had a wide smile,as he watched the items appear out of thin air,as for the common ranked chest,it turned into an ordinary storage chest.
"Never seize to amaze..."
"Let’s see what you two got for me..."
Leo focused on one of the two uncommon ranked system issued chests.
System Alert: You have opened an uncommon ranked chest.
Gain:
Wood × Five hundred
Stone × Two hundred and fifty
Clay × fifty baskets
Iron Ore × fifty
Coal × 10
Copper Ore × ten
System Summoning Jade × 1
Hide × fifty
Grain × five sack
Vegetables × twenty-five basket
"No way...!"
Leo exclaimed.
He had expected the amount to double or triple,but certainly not this. Now he had enough stones for the foundation,and more wood than he could use,but mostly,the system summoning jade was both a welcome and a surprise.
"More manpower..."
Leo thought as he quickly picked up the system issued summoning jade,and used his ability, inspect.
