The Grand Journey Toward a Mobile Nest

As we stepped into the guild building, the first to greet us was Luna. "You've all worked hard. Since you completed such an important request, you can look forward to a generous reward." She must have already heard the details. Leaning her chin on her hand at the reception desk, her tail swishing lazily, Luna waved at us with a gentle smile.

Just as Luna had said, the promised reward for the request was enormous, and the bonus on top of it was substantial. I lifted the heavy pouch in my hand and couldn't help but smile.

"After the commission fee, it's still a massive amount. I think this is the first time I've earned this much at once."

"This money... how many grimoires could I buy with it?!"

Everyone was beaming, clearly thrilled by the huge payout. Of course, it wouldn't last long before being spent.

"With this much, I can buy decent armor and still have plenty left over."

"I'm going to absorb rare monster materials to secure new genes."

"This should be enough to prepare for breaking through to the 5th circle."

There was no better place than the North to gather the resources needed to grow stronger. The craftsmen's street in Edenberg, where all kinds of monster materials gathered. The Edenberg Magic Library, which housed most of the North's magical systems. Private training grounds equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, and tutoring centers run by high-ranking adventurers either as a hobby or to give back their talents. As long as you paid a reasonable fee, you could grow stronger faster here than anywhere else.

Everyone seemed determined to use this opportunity to grow seriously. I looked at Neon with a puzzled expression.

"Wait, you're already knocking on the door to the 5th circle? Didn't you just reach the 4th circle a few months ago?"

"In the black magic system I learned, the important thing for advancing to the next stage is accumulating karma."

"So all that real combat experience filled in your gaps."

"Just think about how much I've suffered."

As Neon smiled, scenes of his hardships flashed through my mind.

Those days of suspiciously obsessive attention from northern monsters as he grew stronger. After suffering that much, it would actually be strange if he hadn't grown quickly. I understood right away.

"You'll probably have good news soon. Once you reach the 5th circle, dodging monster attacks should become much easier."

"If you're short on money, just tell me. I can lend you some of what's left after I buy armor."

"Argo. I need money."

"You really need to start saving some."

I was confident Neon, being the smart mage he was, would handle himself well. But Adela was like a child left by the water's edge, and it made me incredibly anxious. She'd sunk hundreds of gold into securing useful genes with a single goal in mind. Since she used the abilities she gained in battle, it wasn't completely meaningless spending, but it was definitely inefficient.

When I looked at her with worried eyes, Adela puffed out her chest proudly and lifted her chin.

"Once I get the genes this time, I'll make it soon."

"Really?"

"Yeah. An elite mobile nest. Just thinking about it is exciting."

Never mind that the mobile nest was the Water Realm. I smiled warmly at Adela's declaration that she would finally create her colony after so much effort. An increase in our forces was always welcome.

From what she'd said, she planned to build a colony composed of special types like acid artillery or perhaps even only higher species. That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠meant we could expect a meaningful boost in combat power. As the moment approached when all the money spent would finally pay off, my voice naturally softened.

"Do you need anything?"

"We need to build a structure in the Water Realm for the colony to live in."

"You're not going to dig tunnels?"

"You said it yourself, Argo. Once you taste the conveniences created by civilization, you can never go back."

She'd completely become a civilized being. No matter how much of a northern monster she was, once she tasted civilization's comforts, there was no escaping them.

"Besides, a properly built fortress is much sturdier than ordinary tunnels."

"That's surprisingly realistic. But doesn't the Water Realm have no routes for intruders to enter?"

"There's always the option of dragging enemies into the Water Realm and fighting them on home ground."

"So you're planning to refine the method we used against that immature Nepentula."

It wasn't a bad idea. However, building anything beyond an ordinary structure—especially a fortress at the level Adela wanted—would require an absurd amount of time and money. When I pointed this out, she answered with a confident expression.

"Just give me the blueprints and materials. The worker ants can handle the construction."

"Should I look into a stone processing guild right away?"

"We don't need that. The stone required for the fortress can be mined from the granite zone we discovered through adventurer requests. What we really need are high-grade materials like magic stones or mithril."

This was getting really serious. She'd clearly been steadily gathering genes and planning this out, because her plan was incredibly detailed. The competence on display was so different from the usual ditzy Adela that I couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠help but blurt out what I was thinking.

"Who are you? You're not Adela, are you?"

"Stop teasing me."

I stroked the pouting Adela's head, finding her adorable. She didn't reject my touch and instead puffed out a breath, looking up at me with triumphant eyes.

"How about it? Doesn't this make up for all the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠money I spent?"

"Of course it does! At this rate, you don't even have to pay back the three times you borrowed from me!"

"Yes!"

At the words that she wouldn't have to repay her debt, Adela clenched her fist in joy. I'd been worried because she spent every coin she earned and had even borrowed from me three times, but with this level of preparation, there was no longer any need to worry.

"By the way, how much funding do you need for the fortress construction?"

".....Several thousand gold?"

"Even after covering most of the material and labor costs with what you've already spent?"

"That's the minimum estimate."

"Looks like I'll have to work hard."

"Lend me money."

"I can't lend you that much."

Several thousand gold, by rough estimate. That wasn't money an individual could casually throw around. No matter how well adventurers earned, gathering that much capital would require several years of requests at Silver rank. Even if I emptied the emergency funds I'd stored in the guild bank, it wouldn't even reach one percent. Still, since it was a plan my companion had worked hard to prepare, I had no intention of ruining it.

"If you keep working hard, it'll be possible someday. Good luck."

I cheered on Adela as she searched for ways to earn money.

"This won't do. I'm going to find a worthwhile request."

"Then I'll head to the magic library."

With the request completed, we scattered to reorganize ourselves. I watched Adela hovering around the guild's request board and Neon heading toward the magic library, then leaned back in a suitable chair.

Using the noisy chatter of adventurers as background music, I gazed up at the ceiling. The massive bones of a large monster hanging from it filled my entire field of vision. I savored the rare moment of peace for a brief while.

But I soon realized it was time to properly tally up my gains and quietly closed my eyes. I sank my consciousness deep inside and gently prodded the Mystery dwelling within me.

Soon, beautiful clusters of light bloomed outside my body, revealing all kinds of skills. To others, they would look like mere glowing orbs, but to me, each one represented pure possibility. Countless possibilities brimming with endless opportunity.

"Let's see... how much experience did I gain this time?"

I tapped the clusters of light, checking the experience points I'd accumulated. Since raw numbers didn't really convey the feeling, I preferred to judge by the size of the light orbs. When I manifested the experience as a glowing sphere, it appeared far more brilliant than anything I'd gathered before.

It was roughly the size of a basketball. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠If the experience I'd collected until now had been like faint starlight, this was like moonlight. The enemies we'd faced this time had clearly been high level, and summoning the Lesser Dragon to assault the secret branch must have contributed greatly. Just looking at it made me feel full.

"Which skill should I unlock with this?"

I struggled to hold back the grin threatening to spread across my face. Like most games, the skill tree required exponentially more resources the further you progressed. I'd somehow managed to unlock skills through the mid-game, but the late-game skills demanded so much experience that I'd never even considered them. With this much, though, it was finally possible.

The late-game skills I'd been forced to stare at like unripe grapes until now!

"This should be enough for just one, not two?"

After calculating the required experience against what I had, I used it without hesitation. The beautiful moonlight-like orb seeped into the chosen skill.

Watching the hard-earned experience vanish like water poured onto sand brought a sense of emptiness, but I quickly shook it off. It wasn't like this was the first or second time I'd felt that way.

"Still, it's a shame no matter how many times it happens."

I'd already unlocked all the support skills like increased mana capacity, improved summoning efficiency, and increased summon limits, and raised their proficiency as high as possible. Opening skills from other classes wouldn't provide efficiency worth the invested experience, so I poured it in without further hesitation.

Soon, the skill that had absorbed all the experience began to shine brightly as it unlocked. A vast amount of information flooded into my mind, teaching me exactly how to use the newly acquired skill.

I closed my eyes, organizing the skill's usage in my head, then stood up with a smile. Now that I finally had the chance to use a skill I'd been wanting to test for so long, I headed straight for the request board without hesitation.

"Adela! Let's go take on a request!"

"Time to make money!"

At my call to take on a request, Adela shouted with an excited face, grabbed the request form she'd already selected, and ran toward the reception desk.