[Aura of ??? : 80 (+40)]
[Crystals : ~4000 (+600)]
[Ghoul mother cores : 40 (+12)]
[Ghoul golem cores : 22 (+4)]
[Ghoul golem cores (broken) : 6 (+2)]
The golem ghoul collapsed onto the ground.
Its body disintegrates.
Hikari picks up the core and drops it into a wagon.
A flick of her boot, she grabs the bridle and continues the march.
She approaches the bridge.
She had watched steam tank after steam tank cross it without incident.
She even watched the bridge get fixed.
Still, she doesn't trust it even after traversing it a few times.
She dropped her bridle.
Then she pulled it by one arm so that if the bridge falls, the bridle isn't wrapped around her waist, pulling her down into the abyss with it.
Carefully, she stepped.
Thud. Her boot touches the other side of the crack.
She quietly heaves a sign of relief and continues.
The forward encampment was not too far off.
It was more fortified than the one around the elevator shaft.
Much more fortified in fact.
Thick walls.
It used to be a proper raiding town.
Raiders slay the surrounding monsters and harvest their mana crystals.
The low density mist provides a low risk, low reward way for many to make a decent living.
It had been abandoned since the ruined city had been looted dry.
It is just now reinhabited for a major raid on it.
Humongous runes etched into its walls that span its height.
They glowed.
As Hikari approached, she could feel its overbearing presence.
It was nothing like the barrier formed by the lanterns hanging on her body.
The influence of the mist disappears completely.
The inside of the barrier felt just like on the surface.
She turned her head.
Several ghouls approached the wall.
The sentries atop the walls did not bother raising their weapons.
As the ghouls approached, their movements got slower and slower.
Until they hardened and their bodies disintegrated.
"Wow."
She thought.
It was after all a barrier that shielded a permanent establishment rather than a temporary encampment.
Must have been expensive to maintain.
The gates open for her.
Luckily no gatehouse.
She had already destroyed one since the raid began.
She entered the town.
A left turn.
She dropped her bridle.
The men began unloading the supplies.
Behind her, a convoy of steam tanks rolling into town.
They turned right.
Their sides open.
The cargo was unloaded.
Hikari raised one arm.
She stretches.
At least she was not short of exercise.
A group of men in thick coats approached the wagon carrying the crystals.
Two ghoul mother cores and two golem cores mixed with smaller crystals.
That was Hikari's kill count for the trip.
She had gotten familiar enough with the terrain to dive into the mist after the ghoul mothers that spawned ghouls from a 'safe' distance.
There were even some medium sized crystals mixed in.
They were not dropped from the ghouls but crystals formations that Hikari found while she dived the ghoul mothers.
It looked like several of them could add up to the value of a golem core.
The men loaded the cores into carts and pushed them towards a building that looked like a furnace.
"The crystal processing plant."
Ria had told her about it.
At its peak, it processed as much as a thousand mana crystals in a day.
Hikari watched as the contraption hummed.
Special canisters were filled up with the extracted crystals.
The leftover crystal dust was compacted into blocks.
The processed materials were much more compact, making them easier to transport back up the elevator.
"Neat."
She was done for the day.
She made her way back to her allotted resting area.
The town was quite spacious.
She walked past a pair of sentries having a smoke.
Their eyes widened as she strides past, their sticks dropping out of their mouths.
The current number of troops was a small fraction of the population the town was built for.
She could step freely without fear of crushing anyone.
The main streets were wide too.
They were built to transport large quantities of cargo.
As she goes, she walks past the command post.
The building seemed to be an old pub.
The stone roof held even after being abandoned for so long.
Wouldn't trust the ale still left in the barrels though.
Seven and a half days.
That's how long she has been here.
Fifty wagons worth of supplies she pulled.
She knows this because the scribe reads out the numbers aloud soon after she docks the wagons.
She stopped counting herself after the first trip.
She stops to listen to anything going on inside.
Security is not particularly tight.
But there wasn't anything going on.
The officers appear to just be drinking and talking about what they will do when they return to Moradale.
"Curious."
She could have sworn she had been hearing the officers bicker about how they were behind schedule.
She continues around the bend.
Her allocated spot.
A full empty warehouse.
She ducked her head through the entrance.
It was bigger than her chambers.
Tall enough for her to stand.
She can't raise her arms and stretch though.
She disassembled her armour, piling the piece of wyvern skin neatly.
Her salamander skin coagulated into a single pile.
She keeps her inner fatigues on.
The soft layer of soft fabric keeps her comfortable during the long marches.
She did some stretching.
Just like she did after her daily workouts.
She disassembles her inner fatigues and socks.
They had not changed since the start.
She opens a crate.
Body powder.
Every soldier uses it.
Fights infection and prevents itches.
Shipped in from the Herdial capital.
No mana required for it to work so it works even in the furthest corners of the world.
She lays out the square cloth pieces all along the ground.
She tears open a bag and sprinkles the powder as evenly as she could.
It was an effective method.
Despite rewearing the same fabric over and over again.
She doesn't feel itchy at all as she marches.
It's quite cold down in the Carla depths so she doesn't sweat as much from just marching.
She had gotten used to the surroundings.
She no longer sweats very much in her armour as she marches at a steady pace.
She opens another crate.
Giant blocks of soaped sponges.
Ria had instructed the soap merchant not to cut it into smaller blocks.
She held one in her hand and scrubs herself.
She wished she had packed this well for the wyvern raid.
She opens yet another crate.
This one holds just a bit of water.
Like her clothes, she reused it over and over again.
Fresh water is precious down in the depths.
There are none to be found here.
Not even a poisoned lake that could be purified.
Most of her trips ferrying supplies from the elevator shaft to the town contained at least one water tank.
She reaches her fingers into the crate.
The water swirls around her.
It was a tiny amount compared to the size of her body.
It will still suffice.
She just has to give them more rounds.
Rune word.
She still doesn't quite understand it.
She had it since she returned from the wyvern peaks.
Ella seemed to know it but couldn't explain it to her.
It just seemed to improve her telekinesis control by a lot.
She lifts one knee and lets the whirling water scrub away the soap from her knee cap down to her feet.
Slowly, she let it move back to her hips and stomach before letting it move around her leg.
The water wasn't clean anymore, but just providing a medium for her telekinesis is good enough.
She tips her toe back towards the crate and drops it back in.
Stashing it for however longer she needs to be down here.
The water does lose a bit of its mass.
She feels the tiny droplets all over her body.
Telekinetic push.
The droplets scatter all over the room.
It was a decent substitute for a towel.
She resassembles her clothes.
They keep her warm as she sleeps.
She sits upright leaning against the walls.
She circulates her mana as she always does.
It doesn't feel far off from being at the estate.
In fact, she is only a day away.
She could dash back to the elevator shaft, board it and emerge back in Carla and hop back towards the estate reaching it before dinner.
Not before she finishes up down here though.
She reaches for a long crate.
The sword of the wyvern order she obtained from the wyvern raid.
She didn't bring it initially as a big heavy sword wouldn't have done well against the ghouls.
It would have been great against the golem but there wasn't supposed to be that many golems and ghoul mothers at the starting area.
The heavy sword would have just tired drain her energy from marching.
Now she needs it.
The crate carrying the sword could have been a fresh change of clothes for her.
But she is going to need the sword more.
She tries to channel a bit of mana.
"The runes."
A pleasant surprise. The sword responds to her mana much better than she remembered.
The balance felt better too.
A heavier counterweight attached to the handle.
Broader arm guards.
More runes etched into them.
Rubbery layers wrapped around the handle for a better grip and less strain on the hand.
She notices a letter tied to the counter weight.
The RazenHeir seal.
She opens the contents.
The invisible ink used specially by the RazenHeir house.
Visible only to those who internalize the mana flames.
How's things down there?
It wasn't easy bidding for an elevator slot to bring you everything you need.
I hope it's enough to keep you going.
If you're reading this, it means you got your sword. Hope you like the upgrades.
The blacksmith figured that the sword's weight distribution was strange. Maybe it's just because you pulled a centuries old sword out of an ancient structure. Ella worked all day and night enchanting the runes for you.
Even the baby fawn general has something for you.
Old records of a guide to hunting in the mist.
Hunt for the crystal formations.
They are worth at least as much as a ghoul mother core and a lot less trouble.
Watch out for the floating eyes.
If they spot you, they will summon monsters from deeper in the mist.
If you kill them, they will summon even stronger monsters.
People had killed them before.
The records are incomplete as to what they actually drop.
Anyways, just avoid them.
For safety, look for grey salt formations.
They are everywhere.
People never try to harvest them because they don't sell for much.
They disrupt the mist aura and provide safe spots.
Ghouls wouldn't notice you if you sat next to a grey salt formation.
Here's a record on effective ways to kill the ghouls.
Using some kind of frost based piercing weapon will harden their flesh at one point and cause their bodies to lose balance, giving you an easy kill.
I think you might have seen one of the houses down there who uses this.
I'm not sure where you can get a source of frost though but I have a feeling you'll come up with something.
That's quite a mouthful.
As for when you will get to use all of this advice, the official orders haven't reached the frontline yet.
But a push will be made to clear the blockade on the way to the ruined city.
After which, it will be up to the order of Silora and its anointed one to take the city.
In the meantime, you'll be free to go around clearing the ghouls.
Harvest the crystals if it's safe.
Once you return, we will be making a trip to Moradale.
Perhaps a nice dress for you if you manage to find enough.
Good luck, Ria.
Hikari puts down the sword.
She goes to sleep.
She has a long day tomorrow.