Chapter 188 - The Manager

When Wain saw Black Rabbit running, he smiled and headed toward him. In a minute, the three of them were sitting and drinking tea. 

Frigus didn't like the hot drink, so the cup in his hands immediately became iced, and the tea cooled to a minimum temperature.

"Get out all the food you've got, or I'm going to starve to death." Said Wain taking a sip of black tea.

"Sure, but I mostly just have sweets, but there are baked goods as well. Sometimes it's not bad for a tea party." Answered Black Rabbit and put his hand in his mouth.

In a few seconds, he pulled out a large variety of food from the chest. Wain nodded and began greedily devouring it. He could control himself, but at that moment, he wanted to eat as much as he could to get full.

...

"Wain, I want to ask you something." Suddenly Black Rabbit said.

"You want me to help you through Awareness, too?"

"Yes." Mimic nodded. "I realize there's no point in trying now. I need to spend some time in your Void first to get used to the energy here, and we also need to establish a relationship with you. All other conditions are met."

"All right, I don't mind. I didn't expect it to be so dangerous to give a name, but it was definitely worth it. Right?" Said Wain looking at the Ice Knight.

"Sure, I've gotten a lot stronger. It's like evolution, but a little different. It's an offshoot of the general path most monsters take. I don't think you can become something meaningful and powerful if you don't even have a name."

"Huh, in my case, that sounds a little offensive. In the World of Darkness, though, I use an alias. Okay, time to finish with the tea party. What are we going to do about Delicate Icefruits?"

"Wait until they're ripe, divide them up, and eat them. That's obvious." Said Frigus.

Black Rabbit didn't say anything. He examined the fruit first, then offered his option.

"It's a useful but rather problematic fruit. You need monsters who can remove the pit from the fruit and also those who will do the picking, but I don't think eating them as apples is the best idea."

"Hmm? What do you want to do with them? I understand that Delicate Icefruits can somehow be used in alchemy, but it's not possible for us yet." Said Wain.

"I understand, but we can use these fruits more effectively. I'm not an alchemist, and my knowledge is poor, but I'm sure if we combine the fruit with Ice Crystals, the effectiveness will increase greatly." Said Black Rabbit.

"Combine? What do you mean?" Mumbled Wain puzzled.

"It's simple, we won't eat the fruit, we'll boil it in a huge cauldron. I think in Snow Desert, someone must have fire powers. In this cauldron, we'll be adding pre-crushed energy crystals to the dust."

"I see. You'll end up with a semblance of a primitive potion. I want something more, but this is probably the best possible outcome given the circumstances and our resources. Frigus, will you do it?" Wain asked.

"Yes." The Ice Knight nodded. "It shouldn't be a problem, but I think Black Rabbit would be better suited to this role."

"Of course!" Said Mimic contentedly. "Wain, I am not as strong as Frigus, and during battles, he must lead the warriors. This job is not for me. However, I am sociable and have experience in organizing such projects. It would even be too easy for me."

Wain shrugged. "I don't mind. It would be someone else's job anyway, but not mine."

"Great!" Said Black Rabbit.

"What kind of monsters are you going to use?" Frigus asked.

"Hmm, I think goblins will do. There are quite a few in this area, they're bigger and more agile than the usual ones. Trolls would work, too, but they have another mission."

Wain nodded. "It's a good choice. Goblins would have no trouble cutting fruit evenly and stirring liquid in the cauldron, but it might be problematic for them to crush large quantities of crystals into dust. They'll spend too much energy on it."

"Don't worry. I have an idea. I didn't see Ogres, Orcs, or Oni in Frozen Land, but any large, heavy monsters will do for this task. Golems and massive beasts will suffice. The crystals will break under their weight."

"Not bad, then I leave it to you." Said Wain.

"I'll make the best of it."

Crackling.

Suddenly there was a loud cracking sound, like the sound of cracking ice. Wain turned around and saw that one of the fruits was already ripe and had broken off the branch. 

Whooooooosh.

The next moment, Frigus sprinted toward the fruit. The ice beneath his feet cracked, and he turned into a blue flash. Black Rabbit ran as well, but not for the fruit, but to save the cup that had been in the Ice Knight's hands a second ago.

"Gotcha!" They said at the same time, holding different objects in their hands.

"Looks like the fruit is ripe. We need to get ready. Frigus, throw me a fruit." Said Wain.

The Ice Knight did as he said, and Wain moved the fruit in Ring of Damned.

Crack. Crackle. Crackle.

The next moment there was multiple crackling. Wain, Frigus, and Black Rabbit were focused. Delicate Icefruits were only two hundred, and they had to gather each of them.

The fruits began to fall, and Wain and his partners turned into flashes of different colors at that moment. 

They ran from tree to tree, catching fruit and keeping an eye on their surroundings. They had to pick two hundred fruits in a minute, or they would lose some of the crops.

There were three of them, but it was pretty hard to do. After all, that meant each of them had to catch about one fruit per second.

If anyone had entered that cave at that moment, they would have thought there was a battle going on between three powerful opponents. 

Because they were moving very fast and the ice was breaking beneath them with every step, the place was beginning to look like a battlefield.

After a minute, the three flashed to a halt.

"Great, looks like we got it all." Said Wain.

He moved the fruit to the Ring of Damned, Black Rabbit also used his ability and kept the fruit inside him. Frigus found another option, he froze the fruit and held a massive block of ice with over sixty fruits in it.

"Okay. We got the fruit sorted out. Black Rabbit, I'm relying on you. If the monsters don't want to help you, tell them it's my order, and you're in charge now." Said Wain handing the fruit to Mimic.

"Sure, I'll get right on it." Said Black Rabbit and headed off in search of the monsters he needed.

"Frigus, how is the exploration of the Snow Desert going?" Wain asked.

"Honestly, not very much. I decided it was better to focus on Ice Caves first, so most monsters live here. The climate is about the same in both areas, so relocation wasn't a problem."

"I see. We need to redirect forces to Snow Desert. There probably aren't any more resources in Ice Caves. At this point, two types of resources in one territory are the maximum. I'm sure there's something in Snow Desert. We have to find it." Said Wain.

"Of course." Frigus nodded. "I know what you mean, but unfortunately, I don't know how we can explore the area under the sand. If we dig under it, it will just crumble, and all the mines will be destroyed instantly."

"Have you tried freezing the sand?"

"Yes. It works, but not as well as it should. Only I and a few other monsters have enough powerful skills with the ice attribute to turn crumbly sand into a block of ice. It's inefficient."

"Damn, nothing is growing on top of the desert, and we can't get down there. What to do..." Wain pondered.

"Maybe we should try to dig a deep hole and eventually turn the place into a quarry." Frigus suggested.

"No, that's not efficient. We will spend too much time on it, and we may end up with nothing. The resources may be all over the area of Snow Desert, but so may be in a certain place."

Frigus didn't know what to say. He had no idea how to explore the desert effectively. It was a difficult task.

"Right..." Wain muttered. "We don't need to dig down from the top, we can go in from the side!"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Since I combined the two Voids into one, Snow Desert and Ice Caves are now one big area divided into two regions. That means we can get to the underground part of Snow Desert from here." 

"Not a bad idea. It's the best possible option." Said Frigus.

"Then tell the Trolls they have work to do. Let them dig a wide cave, several tens of meters wide. It won't just be a mine, but an underground route to the other side."

"Got it. Will do." Frigus replied and headed toward the ice tunnel.

"Whew. It's so hard to lead. It's too exhausting for me, but it looks like I've solved all the problems. I need to fully explore the area and then try to attack the other Voids. By the way, how many monsters are in my command?" Wain muttered, and his Seal of Darkness glowed brightly.

[Nameless

Race: Human

Chronicle: First

Voids: 1, Frozen Land Rank-E, Small

Warriors: 1368]

'Hmm? The last time I remember, there were a few fewer monsters. Are they multiplying? Wain wondered since there were 1359 monsters before.

'I need ten thousand warriors to make the Forgotten Monarch's Sword seal disappear. That won't be easy to do. I'll need to capture some Voids the same size and Rank." Wain muttered.

He wanted to see which Voids he could declare war on, and his Seal of Darkness glowed brightly. The ground beneath him turned to ink, and he found himself in a strange space. Dozens of small stars were floating around him. They were Voids.

Wain picked a green star, and information about the place appeared before him.

[Dark Jungle

Owner: Rilad Oner

Size: Small

Chronicle: First

Rank: F ]

'Hmm, even though it's Rank-F, it's a Small zone. Maybe try to attack? Wain pondered.

Last time during the rise of Ice Caves, they were attacked by a Void whose Rank was one notch higher, but Wain easily handled their leader. 

Sure, Purple Pilgrim was a powerful opponent, but he was a Pearl Hunter and did not live in the Snow Desert.

Wain was confident that he and a few strong monsters could easily take Rank-F Void.

Click.

Wain touched a star, and a message appeared in front of him.

[Nameless, do you wish to declare war on Void, Dark Jungle?]

"Yes." Calmly Wain replied.

[Accepted.]

In the next moment, a large amount of energy began to emanate from Wain's body, and his desire for war reached the owner of Dark Jungle.

However, Wain couldn't just attack any Void and infinitely increase his power.

[Owner of Dark Jungle, Rilad Oner, declined your offer.]

'As I expected. Finding a suitable opponent will be quite difficult. I doubt those whose Rank or Size is worse will agree to war. It's too dangerous and threatens total annihilation.' Wain thought.

The Voids owners saw only partial information about each other. Wain and the others did not know how many Warriors were in the other Void's territory. Of course, he could guess based on Rank, but it was only a rough estimate.

He also didn't know what territories were in the enemy Void. This could be the deciding factor because if Wain attacked a Void with a volcanic zone, his ice monsters would be at a disadvantage and would most likely lose. Void's name was not always an accurate pointer.

During wars, it was not only strength that mattered, but also tactics, preparation, and strategy. Even a Void with a smaller Rank and Size could win under certain circumstances.

'Hmm, I wonder if I can somehow find out the hidden information? Maybe there are some artifacts or special skills?' Wain pondered.

He shook his head and muttered, "Okay, thought about that later."

Wain went back to the ice cave and decided to do something he hadn't had time for the past few days.

"I don't know if I have the skills to reveal information about the enemy Void, but it's time to improve my skills.." Said Wain and opened the menu.