The First Legendary Beast Master novel Chapter 176

Chapter 176 Routine

One week after they had been transferred to the Ascended Rank area, Karl and the others had gotten into a solid routine. Breakfast in the fort, hunt anything that they had spotted on night watch, return for lunch, then either rest or make another loop in the afternoon if there were still signs of more monsters.

They were also beginning to amass a rather considerable amount of money, thanks to the Giants' habit of carrying gold and silver in their pouches.

It was a mystery who was making coins for them, or who they had stolen them from, but the raw materials were still valuable, and they could make a fortune trading it in when they returned.

But that wasn't the only thing that they had gained. Everyone was feeling much more confident and comfortable with their powers, and the last few days the Giants had seemed to fall without much of a fight.

It was difficult to tell if they were getting stronger or if the last few batches were weaker than usual, but they had a good feeling about taking the strength tests after they finished the mission.

[I sense magic in the area. Strong magic.] Hawk announced that morning, just as everyone was getting ready for breakfast.

"Hawk says there is magic nearby. He didn't say magical beast, just magic." Karl whispered as Doug dished out the breakfast. _{freeωebnovēl.c૦m}

They let Hawk lead them away from the fort, headed for the strong sense of magic, and only stopping for a moment to deal with a small group of Lizardmen.

Hawk swooped down and landed next to a small pile of rocks. They were piled on top of each other to look vaguely like a person, and the hunters and trappers used the design as a trail marker. If you followed the direction of the marker, you would find the next waypoint and landmark on a trail.

[It's under here.] He instructed, then poked at a larger rock nearby.

Shattering the stone wouldn't be a problem for him, but he was concerned that if he broke it, he might break the magical thing. Some of them were fragile, and Hawk understood that the group was trying to get as many good things as they could while they were here.

Just like the last time that they were out, but with fewer magical plants and more monsters.

Thor flipped the stone with his horns, and a large pile of glittering gems was revealed, just sitting under the rock, as if they belonged there.

They weren't cut stones, just raw gemstones, but that was clearly where the magic was coming from, and now that the rock was moved, everyone could feel it.

They had patrolled past here yesterday, only a few metres from this spot. If Karl looked hard toward the bottom of the hill, he could likely still see the blood stains from the battle a few days earlier as well.

These gems had to have just appeared here, unless something had buried them here and left no signs of disturbed ground.

Doug went through them, cleaning them off in a pouch full of water he had created, and then stacking them on the ground in an order that only made sense to himself.

"They're imbued gems. You don't usually use them in this form, they're normally carved and set into magical jewellery and items. These all have different properties, but I have sorted them by their basic elements, or aspects.

Do we want to sort them now, or after?" Doug asked.

"We can do it after. We've still got a zone to clear for the day." Bob gently reminded them before they could get distracted by the shiny objects.

Doug sorted the stones into small pouches and tucked them in his robes. That must mean they were exceptionally valuable, if he wasn't willing to leave them in his backpack with the rest of his gear.