Chapter 63: A Day of Work
Little Joe smiled, already thinking about the number of ants that would soon be at his disposal. Meanwhile, always watching silently from a distance, the dwarf Finerg wondered if perhaps he had befriended a powerful and crazy young man.
"Per Joe! How many micro screens can I create now?"
[Exactly 24 micro screens for ants]
He felt a bit disappointed, as he had ordered a hundred more ants, besides the screen ones, and now he could only use a quarter of them.
So, he bothered the queen and asked for the 24 ants, then began creating screens for them. Soon, he was configuring them for heavy labor. He had only 0.80 XP left.
Worker ants:
01 🐜 level 0.1 / 📏 3.5 cm / ⚖️ 6 grams + 20 XP = 10 / 50x 10 grams🦾 = 500 grams
🐜 💨 0.25 m/s / 🤎 00.1 + / ⭐⛏ 1.10 p/kg / 😶
Since there was little XP for so many ants, he managed to increase the strength of only 16 ants, bringing the total to 37 ants carrying up to half a kilo and 87 ants carrying 300 grams of load.
Queen 🐜 level 0.1 / ⭐ XP / 🙂 ⭐ 10% 64 ants = 6.4 XP
The queen also had a reserve, much lower than Joe expected, but soon she would gain enough to use on any other ant.
The ants worked tirelessly, and after 5 hours of digging, even Finerg suggested the ants carry a wooden plank into the small tunnel they had dug, while they pulled the plank back out with a vine to discard the dirt.
After 5 hours, they took a break while little Joe counted the XPs: 682 XPs earned by the worker ants, plus 12.4 XPs gained by queen Florida through indirect contribution from the ants under her command.
Now, 35 more ants received an "upgrade," bringing the total to 72 ants capable of carrying 500 grams of weight.
By 2:00 PM, a bunch of dwarves from Finerg's family wanted to help. They provided more ropes and a longer plank with edges, which removed 100 kg of dirt at once. So, the ants only had to dig the earth while the dwarves pulled the dirt away and disposed of it.
Little Joe wasn't happy with how things were progressing. After all, many hours had passed, and despite the XPs earned by the ants, the tunnel was still small. By 8:00 PM, he left the ants continuing their digging while he accompanied the other dwarves to their village.
The ever-polite Finerg took little Joe to his house, where he prepared a large enough tub for heated water for Joe's bath. Then, he served a good meal to his guest, and they talked for hours until they finally decided to sleep.
But then little Joe remembered Ylsean's Diary, which was inside his suitcase, well protected. He kept the rustic lantern lit and read another page:
**Ylsean's Diary**
"The test was not easy. Of the 3 hours we had, I managed to answer less than half of the 100 questions, which were on a subject I thought I knew everything about.
My brother did better than me, answering 75 questions about energy stones. Miau, however, far exceeded expectations, as not only did she answer all 100 questions in half the time imposed by my father, but she also added some related topics and corrected some terms my father had intentionally made mistakes on, of course.
As had been agreed from the start, now it was time for the final rewards and punishments. I hung my head low, defeated and ashamed, as I watched my brother receive an energy prism from my father.
It was something my father wouldn't even let me get close to. Well, as for me, there would be no reward, but rather a punishment, which would be designed by Miau Lee, as per the rules.
And, as long as this punishment didn't lead to my death, she could do whatever she wanted to me—whip me, hit me, throw me in the mud, even beat me—all in front of my father, who wouldn't lift a finger to defend me. After all, he too had accepted the terms of the contract he had imposed.
'Let's go to the main hall,' ordered my father.
Upon arriving, I noticed a huge table in the room, well covered with tablecloths of the finest fabric, reserved only for visits from royalty.
'Bring the sharpest knives possible.'
A battalion entered, placing various knives of different sizes and shapes.
'Now it's your turn, Miau Lee. Do the honors,' said my father, handing control to my slave.
I trembled like never before in my life, my dear diary, for I knew Miau Lee was a master in the art of the short blade. Even though I knew a bit of fighting, I wouldn't last a minute against her.
'Bring more tables, benches, and chairs, and be quick! Also, bring your official combat swords. The hall has authorized their presence for this occasion.'
Everyone looked at the baron, who simply nodded in agreement.
In total, five tables were set up in the banquet hall: the main one in the center and the four others around it, arranged to seat all the soldiers without disrupting those at the central table.
After Miau Lee gave express authorization for combat weapons to be present, more than 150 uniformed soldiers were invited into the room, dressed in their ceremonial outfits and with their two-edged swords gleaming.
Each one positioned themselves next to a chair or bench, awaiting orders, while I only trembled. Suddenly, a very large chair arrived, placed at the head of the large table.
It was almost like a throne, and I was led to this chair. I froze when Miau Lee approached me with an excessive number of knives in her hands.
She looked at the large chair, surprised by its exaggerated proportions, until my father calmed her, saying:
'Don't worry, Miau Lee. It was made exclusively for your performance. Its wood won't break at the first impact, so you can use your strength and technique with the mastery you always demonstrate in your art.'
Finally, Miau Lee came even closer, locked eyes with me, and asked:
'Do you trust me, Miss Ylsean?'"
And once again, little Joe fell asleep clutching Ylsean's diary tightly.
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Kall_Berti
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