Chapter 57 - 57 54 Spirit Crystal Servant Please Follow_1

57: Chapter 54 Spirit Crystal Servant (Please Follow)_1 57: Chapter 54 Spirit Crystal Servant (Please Follow)_1 On the first day, a sparse few. On the second day, a couple here and there. On the third day, they arrived in groups. On the fourth day, the whole lot of them swarmed in. There was simply no resisting the tantalizing aroma of the Blackwell Tribe’s cooking. The current Leader here was known to be powerful and kind, so if they arrived too late, they would lose their spot. Gaven and his men naturally turned away no one. However many came, that many were taken in. Miners were tossed to Zack, warriors to Cangya, and all other miscellaneous roles to Gos. So far, Gaven hadn’t really encountered any troublemakers. Most of those who came voluntarily were of the lowest tiers, whether Gnolls or from other tribes. Then there was Half-Ogre Roar, with enough intimidation to keep everyone in line. His Nodular Gnarled Club was always starving for action, eager for a troublemaker to give him a chance to practice. By the fifth day, it wasn’t just Gnolls wandering around; some Goblins were also lurking outside, seemingly interested in joining but too afraid, given the traditionally poor relations between the two races. For these Goblins, Gaven had a plan in place: the Spirit Crystal Mine was the perfect place for them. The Goblin Chief was rather astute. From previous interactions, he had gotten a whiff of what was to come, and before the due time for tribute, he had prepared an ample supply of Spirit Crystal Stones to proactively offer, bringing extra in hopes of testing the waters. Gaven saw right through their intentions. If they could successfully trade for food, they would dig up more; if not, they’d dig just enough to meet their obligations. Goblins weren’t as hardworking as Gnolls. Known for their deceit and laziness, it was another reason why Gaven preferred Gnolls over them. To stimulate their productivity, Gaven offered Goblins a generous price: half a cart of moldy grain. To prevent them from being robbed on their way, he kindly sent a Half-Ogre to escort them back to the Spirit Crystal Mine. The Goblins loitering around the Blackwell Campsite suddenly found a new purpose. They followed the half-cart of grain to the Spirit Crystal Mine, and it was believed that the Goblin Chief would squeeze every bit of potential out of them. … Without warning, Gaven snapped out of his trance. He stretched his limbs, feeling well-rested, and decided not to enter the trance state again. He stepped out of the tent. The night was still deep. The Blackwell Campsite was quiet on the ground, with only the fires crackling under ten hanging pots, simmering with tomorrow morning’s breakfast. Looking down from the slope where Gaven was, the outline of the Blackwell Campsite was starting to take shape. The development of the Blackwell Tribe had far outpaced the excavation of the Blackwell Mine; at least half of the Gnolls now slept outside the mine’s entrance. Though it was late spring, the Rocklands experienced large temperature variations between day and night, which still felt cold for Gnolls, being cold-blooded creatures. As a result, Gaven spread out the hanging pots. Ten pots equaled ten circles for sleeping—the Gnolls huddled shoulder to shoulder around the pots’ fires. The Gnolls had long adapted to the cramped communal living, and this arrangement didn’t pose much trouble for them. Each of the ten hanging pots also represented ten small squads. As numbers grew, it became impractical to share meals from the same pot, so forming squads was inevitable. This was a simple and crude military-style management system. Rather than becoming a large village, Blackwell Campsite was evolving into a major military camp with civilian elements embedded. Inside the Blackwell Mine, the constant sound of digging continued. The Blackwell Tribe now had enough members to implement a two-shift system for non-stop mining, day and night. For the Gnolls, the process of mining was akin to building their own nests; their enthusiasm was remarkably high, requiring no prodding from Gaven. The two-shift system wasn’t Gaven’s idea but was established by Zack, who had recently been promoted to the overseer of Blackwell Mine. Before this, when the Blackwell Tribe was short on manpower, they implemented a grueling fifteen-hour workday. Aside from eating and sleeping, it was nonstop mining and tunneling. Even slave masters weren’t as brutal, yet all the Gnolls considered it completely normal, leaving Gaven, the archetypal capitalist, dumbfounded. Intermittent rhythmic barking echoed in the surroundings; it was Cangya leading the Gnoll soldiers on patrol, exchanging information with each other. In this moment, a sense of pride welled up from within; after all, this was the foundation that he had built in just under a month. With this smooth start, the journey ahead would be all the faster. It seemed a bit early to start training. Most of the Gnolls from the day shift had been asleep for less than five hours, and once he began causing a stir, many would be roused by the noise and join in the training. They worked hard every day, so he decided to let them sleep a bit longer. After all, it was his kind heart. He had to find something to do for himself, though. Gaven’s gaze fell on the Spirit Crystal Stone in the small wooden box at the head of his bed. Now that he had some free time, he decided to create his own Psychic Sorcerer’s Spirit Crystal Servant. Gaven sat at the table, poured out the Spirit Crystal Stones into a pile, and placed them between his hands. He closed his eyes and calmed his mind; the invisible force swelled within his psyche, beginning to gather—Affinity for Spirit Crystal. Entering a state of Concentration was as easy for Gaven at this point as drinking water. The Spirit Crystal Stones between his hands slowly started to float, one by one. As Gaven infused his psychic energy, the floating Spirit Crystal Stones emitted a faint glow, slowly melting until they turned into a clear liquid and merged together. The mass of melted Spirit Crystals grew larger, reaching the size of an adult’s fist, and then no more Spirit Crystal Stones melted into it. The first step, the dissolution of the Spirit Crystal, was complete. The second step was to choose a personality. Artisan, coward, friendly, heroic, liar, careful, nimble, observant, composed, resolute, wise, focused, tranquil, and empathetic. As Gaven lingered on different temperaments, the Spirit Crystal Sphere shone with a variety of soft glows. S~eaʀᴄh the Nôvel(F)ire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Spirit Crystal Servants were intelligent creations. Once a personality was chosen, their primary disposition would lean significantly towards it. Those characteristics skewed towards negativity were generally beyond Gaven’s considerations, even if they could provide useful synergistic bonuses. After all, he planned for his Spirit Crystal Servant to follow him for a lifetime; he certainly did not want a deceptive character by his side, even though he could easily discern their lies. From the mindset of ‘what you lack, you crave.’ Gaven’s attention ultimately settled on the heroic character. In his previous life, he had spent too much time in the dark shadows and had a certain fondness for personalities filled with sunshine. Moreover, whenever he thought of the word ‘hero,’ his mind would involuntarily go to Zalanda and her indomitable, competitive spirit. No, no, this was absolutely not the direction his thoughts should continue in. Once the personality was set, the next step would be shaping. If the Spirit Crystal Servant ended up modeled after Zalanda, how could he ever face her again? Gaven hurriedly shifted his thoughts to another typical heroic figure. Not right, not right, not World War II heroes. If he ended up with a Spirit Crystal Servant in the likeness of a war hero or a great figure beside him, even he would get goosebumps. Anime? Anime was good. The characters were more abstract, their personalities more defined, making them perfectly suited for Spirit Crystal Servants. When it came to anime hero figures, the first name that sprung to mind for Gaven was Artolia Pendragon, a character Zhang You was very fond of, to the point that he even bought a figurine of her.