81 – Improving mounts cuts travel time.

After the Cleric made the document official, we left the office to meet with our group.

They introduced themselves to Elena and we moved to the southern edge of the city, stopping at a too small building that didn't look like the breeding farm in Riverfield.

A Merchant Tigea greeted and guided us inside.

Much to my surprise, we went down a long staircase that ended at a large warehouse-like room.

There, animals were kept in spacious spots behind fences. The room didn't have a wall to the left, overlooking the valley above which Paarjo floated. The light of the suns entered through there.

I caught a glimpse from the corner of my eye and quickly looked away, choosing to stay at the entrance instead of joining the rest. It wouldn't be ideal if my Lancer class influenced the animals.

Elena and Pokora stayed with me, sitting to my sides on a bench next to the door.

Yolin joined the rest, looking at the mounts and commenting something when pointing at some.

“What are your bets?” Pokora asked while looking at the group talking with the merchant.

“The Goliath is looking at the Kavnak with a spark in her eyes,” Elena commented with an amused tone. “Her classes have zero synergy with a flying mount, however.”

I looked at her, interested in that comment. “Which one would be good?” I asked her. “Taking synergy into consideration and all that.”

The three thousand year old woman gave me a smile and replied, “A ground lizard would be a smart choice, but smaller than your Ratnak. Her main tools are shields, after all.”

I nodded in understanding.

“I bet she'll go for an Unnak,” Pokora decided with certainty, gesturing to a chonky black lizard with short legs. “Their diet is way easier to manage than a Ratnak's, too.”

I looked at the group and tried making a guess. “I bet Lapia is going to choose a flying mount,” I decided. “She's a wizard so having the higher position would be incredibly advantageous.”

“Which one? That bet is too broad, Natasha,” Pokora retorted with a chuckle.

“Hmm,” I nodded and tried giving it a good thinking, but realized I didn't know the animals enough to come to a conclusion. “I don't really know,” I chuckled.

“A Turop would be good for Gentleman Bonte,” Elena supplied, pointing at a lithe gecko-looking animal with little enthusiasm. “They are known for being a good mount for Scouts. Plus, he's short enough to ride it with no problem. I don't like them, though. They eat mostly insects.”

I gave her a glance then looked forward. Right, her class is about bugs.

“How about Alyssa?” Pokora asked, looking at the Luzo.

The woman in question was looking over the fence at some animals from the horse family. She was looking at them deep in thought.

“Maybe she'll keep her Bhin?” I wondered with a shrug.

The two next to me nodded.

“Probably,” Pokora muttered.

“A Bey'tu would be good for a Cardinal,” Elena supplied, holding her chin. “They have very good reaction time.”

I turned to her and asked, “Because of the four eyes?”

She nodded.

“How come they have four eyes?” Pokora asked from my right.

“Well,” Elena began. “They come from the Khalay Swamp. They evolved the upper set of eyes to see past the illusions used by predators there. That's also a good reason for any Cleric to get one.”

I nodded, a little impressed by the animal.

“A Great Ram would suit Bromisnar,” Pokora commented with a light laugh.

A giggle escaped me at her words.

We continued making bets as to what animal they would buy.

Whenever they mentioned an animal I didn't know I'd ask about it and both would tell me a little about them.

Surprisingly, reptile mounts were highly popular due to their versatility in both combat and traversing difficult terrain. Having scales was a big point in favor of survival, too.

After around thirty minutes, and selling the Bhin to the establishment, our companions made their decision on their mounts.

Lapia bought a large red fox, much to my surprise. The animal was smaller but longer than a regular horse.

Alyssa bought the Bey'tu Elena had mentioned. The animal was a pretty thick boy and his body was completely black.

Thelea got herself an Unnak as Pokora predicted. It was pretty cute in my opinion.

Bonte chose an Untu, which fit him quite well. Cats are sneaky by nature after all.

Bromisnar went for a horse as well, but his was a massive beast a little over three meters tall. It looked like a Percheron on growth hormones.

I appraised the animals while they approached us.

[Vulupitas, Lvl 503]

[Bey'tu, Lvl 502]

[Unnak, Lvl 509]

[Untu, Lvl 500]

[Northern Grand Stallion, Lvl 501]

I stared at the fox and horse with raised eyebrows. Quite on the nose... And those levels are pretty high for mounts.

The three of us stood up from out seats and started walking towards the exist next to them.

“What names did you choose?” I asked them with a smile.

“Delazh,” Lapia replied with a satisfied smile. “It's an Elvish name that roughly translates to 'good girl',” she added.

“Valuk,” Alyssa answered. “Dragon Tongue for 'observer'.”

“I named mine after a flower,” Thelea confidently supplied. “Kathnik.”

Bonte coughed and covered his face. “Red Killer,” he muttered in a low, mysterious voice.

We were all silent for a few seconds.

Bromisnar cleared his throat and politely coughed. “I went with Giorgio,” he proudly shared.

Mutters of approval were shared among the group, letting the edgy name go.

I checked my pocket watch while leaving the building and saw it was barely ten in the morning.

Starting the day early does wonders for time management.

I walked up to Sonya and mounted up, then offered Elena a hand.

She took it and climbed up, then sat in front of me on the saddle. “Excuse my intrusion of personal space,” muttered the Elf.

“Are you comfortable?” I asked her, fixing myself on the saddle to not be glued to the woman.

She nodded, swaying her red hair.

“Good to know,” I replied in a gentle tone. “If you feel like stopping along the way, let me know.”

She twisted and looked at me in the eye. “Where are we going?” she inquired.

“Ah, yeah... I didn't tell you,” I nodded with a tight smile. “We're going to a dungeon.”

She nodded and looked forward. “That sounds good,” she commented with an interested voice.

Lapia approached on top of her fox, and gave me a wink. “Do we depart right now?”

“What does the leader think?” I turned to Pokora.

She nodded. “Let's go, we may reach the dungeon by nightfall if we make the most of it.”

We all agreed so we rode towards the elevator that brought us to the city.

I closed my eyes and relaxed my body while going down. We told the concierge back at our place that we would go on a short Chase for a week at most, so that was covered. Lapia and Yolin made sure to set things up with no issue.

After going a full kilometer down, I opened my eyes and guided Sonya out of the platform.

The Watchers on the settlement bid us farewell and we went on our way north towards the dungeon.

I pulled a map of Lumin Kingdom I bought on the way to the Breeding House and checked the general location of our destination. There were no towns or cities near the mine, but there was a small dot with a tag that read 'Abandoned Gold Mine – High Tier Danger' on top of it.

Elena was reading it as well since my arms were around the Elf's body. The woman was short enough for me to see the map over her shoulder.

I ran a finger through the road connecting the mine to Paarjo. The forest was too thick for a shortcut on mounts, and the road was some 2000 kilometers long and didn't meet a single settlement on the way.

The forest around us tightened while we advanced on the road.

“Alright!” Pokora called in a loud voice, moving to the front of the group. “Let's go two hundred for four hours, then we'll stop for a break and have lunch.”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” I replied with a big smile and kicked Sonya's flank.

Just like that, the eight animals shot forward at neck-breaking speeds no animal should be able to achieve with such ease.

They did it anyway.

We moved through the road with ease, our animals quick enough in their reflexes and dexterity to follow the curves without incident.

Elena laughed and spread her arms, enjoying the high speeds.

We crossed the first group of pedestrians some twenty minutes after we departed. They were a dot that quickly disappeared behind us.

We followed Pokora's pace.

By the time the suns went over the peak up in the sky, we stopped to have a light meal and water our mounts.

Unsurprisingly, the animals were not tired at all. Their high levels were paying off in full.

After finishing a salad Alyssa put together, we continued on our way.

***

After seven hours of travel, we made it to the mine.

The place was at the bottom of a cliff side. A tall and wide hole of around five meters welcomed us into darkness.

After fifty meters, however, we came to a caved in section of the tunnel.

“Alright, then,” I sighed and dismounted Sonya, then walked to the debris.

“Natasha will clear the way...” Pokora began, then chuckled. “While the rest of us wait outside.”

“I'll help,” Lapia spoke up and dismounted. “My space spells will help move the stones around and help prevent another cave in.”

“Fair enough,” Pokora replied and turned her mount around. “Be safe,” she added and left.

The rest followed her, taking Lapia's mount along.

I undressed to my underwear to take advantage of my glow and redid my braid into a bun. “Do I just punch through?” I asked, touching the artificial wall. I sank my fingers on it and grabbed a fistful of rock, then pulled it out and dropped it on the ground.

It felt like clay.

“Do you have a pickax or a shovel in your inventory?” Lapia asked, taking a step to the side.

I shook my head. “None of those.”

“Punch away, then,” she chuckled. “Don't use too much strength, though. We don't want the back to compress too much.”

I balled a hand and reared my right arm back. “Alright,” I muttered and punched the wall.

My fist impacted the rock and made a hole on it, spreading dust and small pebbles all around. The impact cracked the wall and made the tunnel shake for a few seconds.

I punched again, breaking more stone and widening the hole.

Lapia used spells to shift falling rocks to the sides of the tunnel, preventing them from hitting my head.

“Should I go faster?” I wondered, wiping dirt off my body. “I doubt it's a small cave-in.”

“Sure,” Lapia replied from behind me. “Your back is amazing, Natasha.”

I posed and flexed my muscles, tightening my back. “Is it?”

She giggled and smacked my ass. “It is,” she confirmed. “Now get to it.”

I nodded and rolled my shoulders, then went at it at five punches a second. It was a healthy start in my opinion. The tunnel shook like an earthquake as I made my way through the wall. I used enough strength to prevent my arms from sinking into the wall instead of breaking it down.

Lapia shifted the rocks and debris to the back, keeping the area around my feet clear of rocks and stones.

After around a hundred meters the ground started going down in a gentle slope. My glow illuminated the space enough that I noticed it pretty easily. Plus, if the ground felt rough it meant I was going straight forward instead of following the slope.

All in all, it was a fun activity.

I felt powerful in a very destructive way at seeing my bare fists drill through solid rock like it was clay.

Lapia was capable of even shifting the dust away, preventing me from choking on the amount of it that came out whenever I punched a hole.

I also learned that punching holes on walls wasn't as easy as I thought. If I punched straight, the rock would crack but it wouldn't do much in clearing the way. Instead, I had to swing a little so the impact would make a large, concave dent.

After about four hours, we stopped for the day.

“This tunnel is massive,” I commented while we walked back.

Lapia nodded. “I would bet they were after deep ores. The depth influences how much E'er they have absorbed, which also makes the vines bigger, by the way.”

“Ahhh,” I breathed out in amazement. “That means there should be big diamonds down there, right?”

She turned to me with a confused smile. “Why do you need diamonds?”

I looked at her in puzzlement and remembered I had kept the diamond dildo plan hidden. “For a sex toy,” I admitted with a cheeky grin.

Lapia's eyes widened and her face tightened, trying to hold back laughter. “Wait,” she said in a shaky voice. “You mean to tell me you brought us all the way here to get diamonds for a sex toy?”

I gave her a big nod. “Yes, that is correct.”

“HAHAAAAAA!” she wheezed and bent over while hugging her stomach.