My Servant System

Chapter 660 Chapter 659: Ungrida Canyon (2)

The Khopesh in my hands was covered in a sharp gale, the red metal glimmering with a pale green light that reminded me of a rather fun holiday - if it was turned into a nightmarish weapon meant for slaughter, that is.

It's curved, sharp outer edge sliced down through the air and attempted to slice into the neck of the Resource Tortoise, its grey flesh hardening beneath a shell of brown mana, but as soon as the gale I had surrounding the Khopesh collided with it as well, the shell shattered and allowed the blade to sink into the leathery flesh below.

Releasing a gargled cry, the Resource Tortoise's head dropped to the ground with a thud, thick grayish red blood flowing freely from the stump as the entire monster stumbled side to side for a moment before slumping forwards, joining its decapitated head on the ground.

"These are..."

Jahi frowned as she looked down at the two corpses beside us, her great sword still clean despite a desire to cover it in viscera.

"Weak? Yes, however they are lucrative. Now begin to harvest them please~!"

The Demoness' frown deepened as she turned her amethyst gaze towards me, before she looked over at Nirinia, who was also frowning as she stared at the pickaxe that Leone had handed her, while Anput happily made her way to Jahi to hand her one as well.

Though, the Jackalkin summoned one herself and hummed quietly as she began to hoist it over her head, going for a powerful swing down to punch through the Shell Stone and get to the goodies stuck inside.

Letting out a sigh, Jahi stabbed her great sword into the earth and moved over towards one of the corpses of the Resource Tortoises, staring at it blandly before sighing once more as she began to swing away, joining Nirinia as they began to rapidly dismantle the monster for its valuables.

They were large monsters, so 'rapidly' was subjective, the rest of us standing around and making sure to guard over our two Resource Tortoises, all while we stared out around the second shelf and kept track of the various parties doing the same around us.

The monsters on this shelf weren't over populating the area, but they were abundant enough that - unless one got really greedy - there was no need to worry about kill stealing from someone else, though there were certainly parties that looked like they were trying to do so.

While we stood guard, I curiously asked "Do the Resource Tortoises have higher quality resources on the lower shelves? Is it just Resource Tortoises that populate all of these shelves during the day?"

I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone knew, wanting to break the 'silence' that had descended around us and wanting to satiate my curiosity; did this follow the same game like rules that I knew and love, or was reality different?

"They become reduced in number but increase in the quality of the resources they carry. Instead of roaming around freely like this, they are territorial and tend to have contingents of monsters guarding them. Specifically various types of worms that feed off of the materials the Resource Tortoises molt when more valuable resources begin to grow out of their shells."

One of the guards provided that tidbit, and I nodded towards them before looking back out over the shelf, observing the various parties around us and their progress as they took down monsters of their own and began to harvest them.

"Shouldn't we head down another level then? Try to get some stronger, higher level resources for ourselves instead of just base level stuff? Or is the risk far too great for that?"

I tapped my finger on the flat of the Khopesh as I awaited an answer, watching in interest as a Catkin man slid beneath the snapping jaws of his prey, distracting it as his party's tank bashed their shield into the tortoise's beak, stunning the monster for just a moment.

"It's... entirely up to a consensus. We are capable of dealing with the monsters on the third shelf, and we could certainly gather some resources from the third shelf, but it is - again - up to the group as a whole."

As a swordsman slashed their blade towards the neck of the Resource Tortoise - mimicking my earlier attack - I couldn't help but smirk as I watched the man's blade shatter against the barrier of mana that the monster summoned, surprising him greatly.

"Well, I would say it'd be rather valuable for us going forwards. The stronger the materials we harvest, the stronger the gear we can make. Especially if we get some nice gemstones as well; that would be perfect for some enchanted stuff."

"It's not like we have anything to do when we return to the Capital anyways, but I am NOT doing it for free! I demand compensation!"

I turned away from the scene of the poor swordsman getting his arm bitten off to instead focus on Nirinia, who had looked up from the corpse and was pouting at me, her jade eyes narrowed as she added "I expect enchanted gear of my own! You ARE employing a future Knight of the Empire, after all! Hmph!"

Raising a brow, I stared at her for a moment before snickering, her haughty, arrogant tone far too different from normal to not make me laugh at her current appearance.

"I am being serious, Kat! Don't laugh at me!"

Snickering again, I looked away and heard Anput say "I'd like to go! Can we?! Can we go?! Ooh, you said they have higher quality materials right?! Higher quality Shell Stone alone would be worth it! Jahi, can we go?!"

"Anput... are you a child?"

The Jackalkin growled at Leone, and I had to glance back to see the glaring contest between the two, always enjoying these rare moments of non sexual playfulness between them.

Leone knew that she would act the same way, yet she still said that to Anput - who knew she would do the same thing Leone was doing if the roles were reversed, yet neither cared.

"Yes, we can go. I would prefer to do whatever we can while we are here so that we don't need to return, though we will still need to stash these all somewhere before we delve further."

Jahi's voice made the two women huff as they turned away, Leone returning to watching the various monsters wander around while Anput resumed mining away, making the Demoness sigh softly.

"Alright, let's finish up... this really is a boring place, but damn is it lucrative..."