My Servant System

Chapter 576 Chapter 575: Planning the Next Excursion

"Oh? So you're looking for elementally attuned materials of all kinds, correct? That's not a bad idea at all, but make sure you get two and a half or three times the amount you think you need. Some materials are rather... complicated to work with, requiring an intricate control over the temperature or pressure, lest they shatter or break."

Anput nodded at the Marquess' words, her obsidian eyes serious as she tapped her fingers against the table, contemplating everything that she had said so far.

"The materials I think we would benefit from the most would be entirely earth oriented materials, since I could take advantage of their natural toughness for some good armor, especially if I alloy it with other materials catered specifically for each person? Or if I focus my works around further amplifying Kat's enchantments, which she could work on with Leone or entirely on her own..?"

The Jackalkin pursed her lips before she shrugged, scooping up her fork and spearing a cube of juicy beef seasoned to perfection and bringing it to her lips.

"Well, if you want something earth oriented, there are a few places around the Empire that are rather lucrative in that regard, but it all depends on what you want to do. If you wish to fight for the materials and harvest them from monsters, there is Poliakcia Mountain down south that is filled with all types of nasty critters. Chitins and mandibles would be the primary resource down there, and the monsters are resilient and persistent.

If you instead want to just go for resources, there is the calmer Ungrida Canyon to the west, filled with a certain type of monster aptly named Resource Tortoise that have ores and gems growing off of their shells. They're resilient as well, but they die easily enough if you know what to do, and with some pickaxes they can be some lucrative monsters. Again though, most adventurers there are more focused on cracking those Resource Tortoises open and harvesting what they can instead of fighting, though robbery is a very~ large problem in Ungrida."

We all looked at one another as we weighed the two choices, with Jahi frowning as she likely was? forcing herself to drop her personal preference of going for the fights to instead focusing on the group as a whole, which meant going to Ungrida Canyon.

"Ungrida Canyon... where is it exactly? How far, and how large?"

The Marquess smirked at her daughter before glancing at the Countess, who drummed her fingers on the table for a moment as she searched her memory for the information we needed.

"Ungrida... That's in the Dreadli March, right? Relatively neutral territory in terms of politics, especially now with the 'forced absence' of the Sariel Family. From the Capital, it shouldn't be more than a day and a half away, maximum two days. As for Ungrida itself, the Canyon stretches for around a hundred miles and is roughly eight hundred feet deep on average, with a large amount of caves and caverns littering its walls.

A massive place, and a majority of the monsters are those Resource Tortoises, though to balance out them are the far rarer, yet extremely deadly Reaper Wendigo. Dangerous to most parties and immensely strong, they hunt down whoever remains in Ungrida at night and slaughters them all, which usually makes Ungrida a day time only place to visit."

"Yup. From what I've heard - since I've never been - those Reaper Wendigo are tricky to deal with since they are tricky to locate once they start hunting you. Really quick, really strong, and really smart too. Not easy by any means, so don't be out during the waning hours of the day."

We nodded again at the Marquess' warning, with the conversation going from which destination we should go to to when we should go, which none of us had a solid answer for.

"We need some more materials here and to get a little more practice in before heading out, but we are on a - albeit long - time constraint for us to get stronger, so managing time wisely is something we should put a lot of effort into. Especially since the things that we are to face aren't just some average monsters..."

Jahi gave us all a look after she said that, adding "So I would suggest taking off a week from now, which leaves us time to get some progress done on our own personal projects and prepare for the excursion, which should be a week in length including travel times?"

"Sounds good to me; Anput, you're the one who is to make the final decision here, since you have gear to finish forging. What is the timeframe for all of that? What materials do we need from Zhu'Rong Caverns so that you can finish those things up?"

The Jackalkin frowned as she stabbed another beef cube, observing the juices that seeped out before lifting it to her lips, biting into it as she thought for a few moments.

"Not... too long. One or two more resource runs into the Caverns should do it, and then just another day and a half, two days of forging? I have a lot of prep work done in regards to the things that need to be completed, so..? A week sounds good to me, honestly."

Jahi took a deep breath as she looked around the table, her eyes eventually landing on the Marquess as she asked "Could I take two of the Banshee's then? I don't want to take chances with our own safety, but also with the materials as well since I'm not familiar with the area. And two carriages would be ideal considering why we're going..."

The Marquess' ruby eyes rolled around as she sarcastically asked "Anything else, oh daughter mine? Perhaps a gold covered sink to take with you? Ooh, or a stallion with the shiniest coat in the Empire?"

The Mom daughter duo just stared at one another, with Jahi eventually sighing and looking towards the Countess as she asked "How did you manage to deal with her for so long?"

"Liquor, sex, and a good grasp on how to deprive her of those two things as well."

We all chuckled at the Countess' words, with the Marquess raising a brow as she glanced at her wife, rolling her eyes again as she retorted "I'll have you know I was perfectly capable of being celibate, and I haven't relied on liquor in decades! If anything, it was you who was being deprived whenever you decided to-!"

The Elf just smiled at the Demoness, who promptly fell silent as she looked away, not trusting her wife's smile and instead just saying "Fine, I'll get you the two Banshee's and carriages..."