Jiro, Mirana, and Riku were gathered at the table, their expressions lighting up when they saw Lassim.
"Hey, Lassim!" Jiro called out, waving him over. "How did it go? Find any stones?"
Lassim walked over and dropped into a chair, feeling a small amount of exhaustion settling into his bones.
He reached into his pouch and pulled out the two Thunder Source Stones, placing them on the table. The stones glowed with an inner light, their blue and purple hues flickering with contained lightning.
"Managed to find these," Lassim said, a note of pride in his voice. "It was tough, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it."
Mirana leaned forward, her eyes wide with amazement. "Wow, those look incredible! And you found two on your first day?"
Riku nodded approvingly. "Impressive, especially given how elusive they can be. Any trouble out there?"
Lassim pauses to remember, then recounted the encounter with the spark rats. "I disturbed a nest of spark rats while digging for one of the stones. They weren’t happy about it and attacked me."
Jiro’s eyes widened in surprise. "Spark rats? Those are nasty! How did you handle them?"
"It was a little annoying since there were twenty of them," Lassim admitted. "But I managed to fend them off using my techniques. Thankfully, they were a bit skittish. After my elemental spirits and I killed a few, the rest scattered back down their hole."
Jiro clapped a hand on Lassim’s shoulder with a smile. "You’re doing great! The first day is always the hardest. It sounds like you’re on your way to meeting your quota."
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Mirana nodded in agreement. "Just be careful."
"Thanks," Lassim said, appreciating their support. "I’ll be more prepared tomorrow. I’m thinking of bringing some tools to make digging easier and maybe try to be more observant to avoid disturbing any more nests."
Riku chimed in, the serious Spirit Ascension cultivator who had been a servant for the longest so far, "Good idea. We have some shovels and other tools you can borrow, like a pickaxe if you need it. It’ll save your hands a lot of pain."
Lassim reached into his pouch again and pulled out the small, fingernail-sized budding TSS. "I also found this," he said, showing them the tiny fragment. "It’s pretty small, though."
Jiro examined it closely, then shook his head. "It’s definitely a Thunder Source Stone, but it’s too small to count towards your quota."
Mirana suggested, "Maybe it might be useful in the future if you bury it in the ground where there is a lot of Thunder elemental mana density. It might be able to grow into a full stone eventually. If the concentration is high enough, maybe someday it might grow into a Thunder Source Stone mine, given a few thousand years."
Lassim sighed, seeing as how that was pretty impractical for his immediate needs. "That doesn’t really help me for my weekly quotas, but I’ll think about it for the future if I come across a place like that, I suppose."
As the conversation wound down with Lassim receiving and finishing a plate with a cold sandwich that the rest had also enjoyed, Lassim excused himself to take a shower.
The hot water eased the dirt off his sore knuckles, washing away the grime and tension of the day.
Clean and refreshed, he crawled into his bunk bed in the corner, his mind already planning for the next day.
The next morning, Lassim woke early, determined and focused. After a quick breakfast with the group where Mirana made some eggs, he packed a shovel and pickaxe into his magic pouch, ready to scour the Tempering Fields with renewed vigor.
"Zaphy, I need your help today," Lassim said out loud as he stepped outside, feeling the familiar weight of the storm overhead.
"I was thinking this morning that I want you to fly in the sky and search for stones in a different direction than me. We’ll cover more ground if you can fly around and look for potential spots and remember where they are. After I search in the morning, we’ll head directly to the spots you found in the afternoon."
"[Got it, brother!]" Zaphy replied, her voice eager and full of energy as she materialized with her large form standing on the ground next to him. She then soared into the sky, her form blending with the storm clouds.
Lassim headed towards the Tempering Fields with Zaphy overhead until they went separate ways, his spirit sense sharp and attuned to the fluctuations of lightning mana.
He began his search methodically in a different section compared to yesterday with [Tempest Steps] active as he moved across the field with calculated precision.
The storm’s perpetual darkness and the occasional lightning flashes created a hauntingly beautiful yet dangerous atmosphere.
The morning passed quickly. Lassim’s new tools made the digging easier, allowing him to unearth several Thunder Source Stones.
By midday, he had already found seven stones with his increased pace and knowledge of what to look for, a significant improvement over the previous day.
Each time his spirit sense detected the familiar convergence of lightning mana, he would stop and start digging, the shovel and pickaxe proving invaluable in saving his knuckles from pain in breaking through the hardened ground.
"[Zaphy, any luck on your end?]" Lassim called out mentally, pausing to catch his breath and wipe some rain drops from his brow as a light rain picked up near the spot where he had just dug up another stone.
"[Yes! I found several spots with strong energy signatures. I’ll lead you to them,]" Zaphy responded, sending a tugging sensation to where she was for him to go towards.
Her excitement was palpable, and Lassim felt a surge of happiness as she was able to help him. She also felt more free than ever before as she flew through the thunderstorm overhead.
In the afternoon, Lassim visited the spots Zaphy had remembered.
Each discovery of the next stone felt like a victory, bringing him closer to his goal.
One thing he started to admire was how each of the stones were similar but formed slightly differently, some larger and more intricate, others smaller but just as powerful. The variety of shapes and sizes added a layer of amusement to his search, seeing the natural formations of how the Thunder source stones looked, making each find unique.
As he worked, Lassim couldn’t help but think back to the spark rats from the previous day. The memory of their aggressive defense of their territory and stone made him more cautious.
The thought of another ambush kept him on edge, but it also drove him to work smarter, using his spirit sense to scan for signs of life before digging.
Thankfully there were no encounters today or hidden underground nests to disrupt his search. Yesterday may have just been an unlucky occurrence.
The sunless sky darkened further as the storm intensified, the lightning strikes becoming more frequent and the thunder louder. More areas near Lassim began to lightly rain down and cover the Tempering Fields with scattered puddles of water.
Lassim saw several disciples, mostly at the Spirit Growth rank, leave their pillars and head back towards the sect after they got wet.
’Hmm… The water must make the tempering from the lightning strikes more painful I guess,’ Lassim thought to himself as he traveled to the next stone location.
Despite the increasing intensity, Lassim pushed on, driven by the need to meet his quota.
The storm seemed almost to resonate with his determination, the lightning strikes illuminating his path as he moved from one marked spot to another.
As the day drew to a close, Lassim tallied his finds. Fifteen stones in total, a fairly remarkable achievement compared to the two he had found the previous day.
He smiled as his change in strategy increased progress. The idea to split up with Zaphy and have her search for the whole morning made the process a lot easier in the afternoon.
Returning to the sect, Lassim couldn’t wait to share his success with Jiro, Mirana, and Riku. He was quickly enjoying their company more and more as they all three had to suffer together.
As he entered the servant quarters, he saw his companions gathered around the table, their expressions lighting up as they spotted him.
"Hey, Lassim!" Jiro called out, waving him over. "With that smile, I take it you fared better than yesterday?"
Lassim walked over and dropped into a chair.
Silent, he reached into his pouch and pulled out the fifteen Thunder Source Stones, placing them on the table in a small pile. The stones glowed brightly, their energy filling the room with a soft, pulsating light.
"Fifteen stones today," Lassim said, unable to hide his grin. "One of my elemental spirits, a Thunderbird named Zaphy, helped a lot by scouting from the sky. We covered a lot more ground today."
Mirana’s eyes widened in amazement. "That’s incredible! You’re making great progress."
Riku nodded, his usual serious expression softened with approval. "Keep this up, and you’ll meet your quota in no time."
Riku’s gaze lingered on the stones before he looked back at Lassim. "Tell me more about this Thunderbird. I’m curious because I’ve been collecting Lightning worms to feed some of the thunderbird hatchlings the sect offers as mounts to disciples."
He reached into his satchel and pulled out a small bundle of wriggling, luminescent worms. "Think she’d want to try some?"
Before Lassim could respond, Zaphy materialized beside him, her presence filling the room with a crackling energy.
Thankfully, the ceiling of the servant residential building was a bit tall, probably built with accommodating the bunk bed setup in mind.
Zaphy eyed the Lightning worms with visible distaste and gave them a quick poke with the tip of her beak. "[Those look unappetizing,]" she remarked, her voice echoing with a soft, electric hum to the minds of the group.
Lassim chuckled. "She’s preferred other things in the past that were stronger sources of Lightning mana. They were often small rocks we’d found in merchant stalls or a random plant that we didn’t know the name of. But she doesn’t really need to eat since she’s an elemental spirit anyways. I think she just enjoyed the sensation more than anything." He shrugged at Riku.
Mirana admired Zaphy, her fingers lightly stroking the gold-tipped, rune-covered feathers. "You’re lucky to have a flying elemental spirit companion. Mine’s a bit different."
With a gentle gesture, she called forth a small creature that appeared on her shoulder. It was a ferret-like being with soft blue and white fur, its eyes marked with a mask-like blue coloration.
The ferret chittered softly, its bright eyes surveying the room. "This is Aelion," Mirana said, her tone filled with affection. "He may not fly, but his agility and sharp senses have saved me more times than I can count."
Lassim smiled at the cute creature. "Well, I’m sure Aelion supports you well. Just like Zaphy and my other companion, Mari, does."
Jiro leaned back, folding his arms. "Indeed."