Part 4: Day 1 - 2: Exploration and Megahut
Day 1, 10:59 amNo one care about how their home should look like, and there’s not much time left to build for five inhabitants. A big house is out of the question.
The most space efficient design would be a barrack for everyone to sleep in one place. However, Arcanuse and Slaan are married couple! Won’t it be awkward to share the same room with three other men? This isn’t a chicken coop! Everyone should get their own room!
Reducing a house by one category, and we got a shack. It has enough space for one or two bed and a few furniture. However, we wouldn’t be able to finish all four shack in one day!
Shrinking it down by another category, and we get a hut. A mere shelter with a bed. Slightly more comfortable than a coffin. This will do until someone bother to come up with some designs.
BUT! It would look like a big house if we stick five huts together, right? The mysterious elder has no comment.
The daunting task of building this mega-hut will be left to the capable big sister of the group.
As for the jobless Radio Free Kobold? Everyone told him to rest his poor body. What he did for the group is enough.
He drops the axe from his bruised arm in silent. His cunning heart realized: He is a deadweight.
He knows what he can do after considering tasks that doesn't end up with bone fractures. He understood what he can do.
Since he led the group safely into this land, this legs and luck of his can at least help him scout the surround land! Thus, he departed without telling anyone to not worries them.
Day 1, 12:41 pm
Thinking their sickly brother is resting somewhere, the rest of the group works toward building the mega-hut. Hats is in charge of chopping trees, Arcanuse and Happerry makes the planks, while Slaan build the house.
Day 1, 4:42 pm
The mega-hut is only half done. Productivity slowed down as Happerry become bored enough to take interest in a random grass.
Arcanuse also hated this.
Radio Free Kobold have been hobbling with heavy breath to continues his duty of exploration. He found a large pond on the north with some lotus plants and frogs. A good water source.
Day 1, 10:43 pm
Slaan selflessly finished building her room without any light source while the other gets a sky view. Everyone collapses from exhaustion without a thought about Radio Free Kobold.
He is currently lost in a mountainous area filled with rare mineral vein at northwest.
Day 2, 1:43 am
Slaan jolts awakes from a nightmare of the sect’s destruction and fleeing for her life with her husband.
To shakes off the terrible memories, she decides to finish up building Radio Free Kobold’s hut. How could she let the sickest person to sleep on the ground? But to her surprise, she can’t find him there!
Where could he be?
Slaan tries to find Radio Free Kobold, but she found an old box crate instead.
Inside, she found multiple stack of Rabbit Pelt in good condition! What cruel people would hurt so many rabbits!
Day 2, 5:08 am
Everyone awaken at 5am to begin their day with foundation training. For now, they can only swing these wooden axe as practice weapon.
Day 2, 7:25 am
After breakfast, Slaan finally finished the mega-hut. Hats and Happerry gets a shared-lantern for ‘their’ room.
The mysterious elder threateningly suggested to takeover Radio Free Kobold’s room while the sick man in question remain missing in his ongoing exploration.
Now that the mega-hut is officially ‘completed’. It’s time for Slaan to construct all sort of workstations for more dedicated products and refinement. Kitchen needs stone for oven, so that will have to wait.
Speaking of food, Happerry decided to work on collecting wild herbs and fruit from ginkgo and pear trees. Anything would taste better than rice cake.
Things are looking up with the mega-hut and workstation.
As Slaan build more workstation, she recalls other similar workstation she had seen in the sect. Most of them need stone material to build like the kitchen. If only someone could explore to find a place with lots of mineral…
Speaking of the explorer. Radio Free Kobold can sense great danger southeast from our new home. It is an instinctive feeling of flight or be killed. Still, how can he not inspect the danger that could harm his brother and sister? He was the one who brought everyone here! The safety of the land is his responsibility that he owns to all!
Following his sense of danger haphazardly discovered a demon beast in hibernation. It’s a powerful being that only an inner student of at least Refinement Realm can contend against. It will certainly wake up at some point in the near future.
Bearing the grave news, Radio Free Kobold rush back to inform every one of the danger. Someone need to takes care of it!
The mysterious elder refused to pick a fight with a demon. Instead, he threatening suggested Radio Free Kobold to live in a hut further away from the demon. He will not move unless one of us get assaulted.
“This is another trial that must be overcome by yourself.” The mysterious elder said wisely. He is right, this is our home and It is time to decides who will cultivate to become an Inner Student.
Compatibility speaking, sister Slaan is certainly better than the rest and… have nothing to lose. However, she refused.
Slaan have always been the big sister who takes care of everyone since childhood in the thieve hive. Even in Taiyi Sect, she is the reliable big sister who is good at practically everything including building houses. Everyone would falls apart if she were to give up everything in order to fully dedicate himself into cultivation.
“Nope.” Arcanuse prefers to stay being the king of games with his lovely wife.
Although Hats wanted to refuse it, but thinking about his past as the princess’ gigolo who have to fled for his life and joined Taiyi sect for protection, he ponders if he can go back to the gigolo business after he become a gorgeous woman? This beautiful face would certainly benefit with an extra feminine feature. More importantly, as an Inner, he only needs to sit in a nicely decorated room to cultivate all day, and someone would bring good food to please him. Isn’t this a good deal?
“I will do it.” Hats chucks down the expensive elixir with glee. Just like that, he don’t need to don’t work hard like everyone anymore. Waking up 5 to 7 every morning to build foundation is awful.
Even if it’s not the best cultivation law for him, he can now learn it without effort. Such a deal doesn’t often drop from heaven.
Skimming through the manual, it seems to be a great law that enable superb control of ones’ treasure weapon. Good, letting the weapon fight for himself is perfect for the lazy him. The problem is facing the heavenly tribulation earlier than other laws. Well, he will deal with it when the bridge is crossed.
Before a student can cultivate on any law, their body must be strengthening and hardened. This ‘foundation’ is necessary for the body to be able to endure the absorption and sustaining Qi energy without exploding like a thin balloon.
In a brief moment of breaking through into the new realm of cultivation, Hats have a vision of the future as an immortal. The handsome and ever youthful divine being who stood atop the peak of life, and the immortal maiden of heaven whom is the embodiment of beauty. His preference is leaning toward the left side.
Thankfully, Hats don’t need to go through these muscle building training that could ruins his beautifully perky chin.
A whole new world has opened to Hats.
From todays on, he will be responsible for the safety of everyone in the Cult of Bèn Sect…
Or maybe the Cult of Bèn Garden? Cult of Bèn Group? We can change the suffix later.
But what does Bèn mean? There’s a lot of words that sounds like Ben, but Hats only gives a mysterious smile for other to contemplate the meaning behind the most important name in their existence.
Perhaps Hats wants us to remember our roots or declaring this is beginning, our origin?
To remind us the time we fled from the enemy? To remember to seek our revenge?
And a great message of us being together, from dust to dust.
Everyone is so touched by the other meanings and failed to see what Hats have actually written down.
The pigeons have been sent all over the world to all sects and cultivators. Proudly declaring our great name and existence to all. There is no turning back.
A sect needs a master, and Hats would naturally have to take on the position.
He is the face who represents all of us.
History is written. Hats - the very first sect master of Cult of Bèn.
Now that Hats is out of the workforce, Radio Free Kobold will take over the logging and hunting/exploring task. He found quite a lot of boxes all over the place. Maybe a bunch of merchant cart have crashed all over the place in the past.
While the rest will work on building more cultivation buildings, gatherings, and… considers starting a farm?
As for Hats, he can choose to work on cultivating to the next level, or visit nearby area:
Mountains – Collect resources (Infinite loop) such as meat or ores.
Other Sects – Pay a visit to other sects with a greeting gift and trade random things with them.
Village – Random encounter and events in the mortal world. Can visit market to purchase local specialty or invite/kidnap new student. The sect could use more manpower.
The time it takes to visit each place is determinate by the distant and flying speed of the cultivator. All of them should take Hats slightly more than one day for a full round trip.