Bab 31: Hunter Gatherer

I received another enchantment for 2 Tokens.

NEW ENCHANTMENT!

Destroyer I

(Increases the power and cleave of the tool by 80%)

The new enchantment seemed to be better than the Reliability I enchantment. It gave me the option to switch them so I was left with only the Lightweight I enchantment and the Destroyer I enchantment on my {Silver Pickaxe}, costing me a total of six Tokens.

The sun was pretty much completely set so I had to make some preparations for the night. I had quite a few Minions now and I could somewhat rely on my Elite Minions to take care of the zombies during the night. I put all three Elites Minions on standby and got them to separately command the rest of my Minions with their Minion Leadership abilities. With that, I could sleep with at least some certainty.

I had a quick look at my Minion tab.

[Resource Division] (62 Minions)

- 3x Woodcutter Minion

- 3x Miner Minion

- 17x Scout Minion (Mining)

- 10x Scout Minion (Woodcutting)

- 6x Scout Minion (Resource Gathering)

- 6x Scout Minion (Hunting)

- 1x Scout Minion (Farming)

- 8x Basic Scout Minion

[Combat Division] (35 Minions)

- 1x Advanced Warrior Minion

- 1x Warrior Minion

- 6x Scout Minions (Swordplay)

- 6x Scout Minions (Archery)

- 12x Scout Minion (Combat)

- 9x Basic Scout Minion

[Utility Division] (6 Minions)

- 3x Builder Minion

- 2x Basic Scout Minion

- 1x Minion Manager

I had over a hundred Minions now, especially with the strength of my Elites, I shouldn't have to worry about being overrun during the night. I set up a few lines of code and let the Minions take watch over the night. Chloe and I returned to our huts as I lay down on the bed. I had crafted a slightly more comfortable cover but I still didn't have a blanket as such. I could have made some animals into a cover of some sort but I preferred to just keep building my army. Comfort wasn't really that great of an issue for me anyways.

As time went on, I heard the groaning of zombies outside. It was then changed to the sound of sword-swinging and flesh ripping. To the sound of the battle, I slowly closed my eyes. If anything major were to happen, one of my Elites would inform me, and with that, the world slowly went into nothingness as I drifted off to sleep.

I was softly awoken by nothing in particular.

With my new enchanted {Silver Pickaxe} I prepared to go off to the mountain once again to grind for more rocks. At this rate it might take weeks until I had enough, at the moment, the best I could do was get Chloe and my Minions to gather as many rocks as I could and for me to dig at the mountain.

I had planned for Chloe to check out the settlements nearby but I assumed that she would be able to do multiple things at once. Whatever the case, I decided to leave that to her while I went out to gather more resources.

My body was a bit sore as I pulled myself up from the bed. The mining the previous day had taken quite a toll on my arms, however, my pickaxe was significantly lighter now so it would be easier to use. I opened the rough, rustic wooden door of the hut and pushed it as it screeched on its crudely-built hinge. It was probably around time for me to upgrade my living quarters, however, I wanted to focus on my weapon first and deal with this later.

I began trekking towards the mountain once again as I sent my Minions out on their respective expeditions. Most of them were slightly injured due to the night but there weren't any casualties or major injuries. I had set up groups of four, with three resource-gathering Minions and one combat Minion to guard. It was a good way to keep the damage to my Minions at a minimum during these unstable times.

After a few minutes, I arrived at the lonely mountain I was at the previous day. Practically nothing had changed. I made my way to the same spot I stood at yesterday and extracted my enchanted {Silver Pickaxe} from my inventory.

I raised it, tensing my body, before swinging hard into the dense, tough rock of the mountain. The pickaxe crashed into the stone and a small gust of cleave scraped some of the surrounding rock off of the side. Particles and fragments of rocks were scattered across the floor as my pickaxe smashed into them with quite a strong force.

{+2 rocks}

{+3 rocks}

{+1 rocks}

One single swing had collected much more rocks than it did yesterday. It had collected almost three times as many rocks in one single swing and the swings were also much easier to do. My resource-gathering speed had increased significantly so I continued to smash into the uneven, rocky wall.

Swing after swing, I smashed into it, littering the ground with countless pieces of dust and fragments of rock. With every swing, my pickaxe flew into the rock, smashing it and cleaving all around the area, eventually gathering quite a lot of rocks.

I continued for a few more minutes before I needed to take a break, even with the Lightweight I enchantment, the pickaxe still wasn't exactly light. In about an hour, I managed to gather over 500 rocks. It was enough to craft another Miner Minion. I shook my arms a little bit before I stood up once again, I wiped the dust off of my pants and continued to swing my pickaxe into the rough stone edge.

Again and again, my pickaxe continuously smashed into the rock. The satisfying alerts of rocks being collected were quite motivational to look at. I continued at it, swinging in a smooth circular motion. I was beginning to get used to the movement and could do it more quickly than I was before.

For almost an entire hour, I hammered away at the mountainside. I took another break to catch my breath and rest my arms. At this rate, I might be able to get the sword within a week.

I continued mining for the rest of the long day.