Chapter 109: Trade Relations
Over the course of the session Lucius had absorbed about 6.6 million helios, of which only 1 million went into growth.
He had to save 2 million Helios for both Alpha and Hannibal's cruxes. And after that, he had to take into account the upcoming cost of evolving all the leaflings, which would amount to about 3.5 million, with an additional 35 million for the sobriquets.
He also wanted to finish the milestone quest as soon as possible, as there was a chance that the rewards would help increase the rate of growth of the commune.
So sadly, his growth would have to wait for a while. Though at the rate he was going, within a week he would meet the required helios.
Besides, he wanted to take this time to allow his crux to catch up with his body. From what he could tell, his crux was extremely weak, and he hadn't exhausted all the possibilities for spell creation.
And if it ever came down to it, he doubted that a stronger body would be of much use against an enemy that used magic. Especially now since he did not have access to the radiant index.
"Pagan, go get Asclepius," he ordered, before turning to Hannibal and Alpha.
"Are you two ready?" he asked, to which both of them nodded their heads.
"It took me and Pagan only a few days to complete the process, so you guys should be up before the leaflings have evolved," Lucius explained, before opening his shop.
┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
─────⋅☾System Shop☽⋅─────•
[Evo points] -100 Helios
[Solis fragments] - 1000 Helios
[Sobriquet] - 1,000,000 Helios
[Language Encyclopedia] - 10,000,000
(Current Helios: 5,600,300)
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛
"See you guys in a bit," he said, before selecting two solis fragments and using them on the two of them.
They passed out the moment the fragments were used, and after checking their statuses with a solar pulse, Lucius took them into the cottage.
"I'll start construction tonight," he whispered to himself, as Asclepius and Pagan came into view.
"I'll be frank, I don't feel safe giving you a higher rank with your performance during the hunt," Lucius said, looking toward Pagan.
"I'm giving you this second mission as a second chance to prove yourself," he added after a moment of thought.
"Asclepius will be visiting a few shroom clans, and you'll be going there as her security. You're to show no aggression... regardless of what provocations they may throw at you. However, if they so much as move to harm Asclepius, kill all of them," he said, to which Asclepius gave a dumbfounded expression.
She had taken Lucius to be a peaceful creature, and who could blame her? He had even banned the devouring of sentient beings.
"And then loot their den, take everything of value," he added.
"Why don't we just do it right now, Lighted One? Surely there will be enough of those creatures left over to bend to your will," Pagan asked.
"Being barbaric will only get us so far. If other creatures find out we have a history of senseless violence, they might be less inclined to join the commune," Lucius replied, before stopping to think for a moment.
"And others might see us as a threat that needs to be taken out. We still don't know everything about this forest, it's better to act things out in a logical manner... at least until we have considerable control of the area," he explained.
~Amongst the leaflings, Pagan is probably the least merciful,~ Lucius thought to himself.
Pagan didn't seem to hold any sense of remorse for anyone, perhaps besides Lucius. Even during the night when half the commune had been wiped, Pagan didn't seem the least bit bothered by their deaths.
~Ironic,~ Lucius thought to himself.
"I shall do your bidding Lighted One," Pagan said, with what sounded like a tinge of disappointment.
"Asclepius, tell them that I offer a place in my commune. They will be fed and taken care of so long as they obey," Lucius said.
"I will do my best to get them on your side," Asclepius replied.
"As will I," Pagan added.
"Ahh... Pagan, you don't have to. I think Asclepius is enough," Lucius said immediately.
He didn't need the shrooms thinking that his commune was full of crazy 'Lighted One' cult leaders.
"Which clan are you heading to first? I need to know where to start looking incase the two of you don't return," Lucius asked.
"There aren't many clans close by here, most of them are closer to the clan lands on the other side of the forest," Asclepius said, pointing towards the west, away from the river.
"I'll be visiting a well-known clan. Their structures are quite vast, so I doubt you'll miss it," she explained.
"Clan lands?" Lucius asked, it was his first time hearing of these.
"An area of the forest with vegetation near identical to my people. It's similar to how the forest here is a representation of the other creatures in your clan," Asclepius explained.
~So an area of the forest with a fungal infestation?~ Lucius wondered, imagining a forest filled with mushrooms.
"Hmm, this might be more dangerous than I thought," he murmured out loud.
"Pagan, I understand you feel confident because you can use magic, but don't let your guard down. The poison that shrooms emmit can wreak serious havoc on your insides, and even I found it hard to keep my mind straight after using solar cleanse," he warned.
"Not to mention that elders are a higher tier than normal shrooms," he continued, remembering how the shri'kilian causes evolution.
"Are there no other options?" he asked after a moment of thought. Talking to shrooms in this section of the forest was one thing, but in an area filled with mushrooms, there was no telling what tricks they might have.
"Lighted One, let me prove myself. I promise to fulfill your request to your exact liking," Pagan said.
~I can't hold their hands forever anyway,~ Lucius thought, trying to convince himself.
"Okay, just make sure to avoid the area where our old camp once was. There are odd creatures lurking around there, if you see any that look like they are rotting, run away," Lucius warned.
The two of them nodded their heads in understanding, though they were a bit confused about the odd creatures he was talking about. Once they left on their journey, Lucius began construction on a cottage to house the pods.