[STATS:
Name: Althea Witt
Age: 25
Level: 4 (1430/10000)
Life: 300/700
Spirit: 290/700 (-5%)
Physical: 105 (-5%) +40
Agility: 107 (-20%) +10
Defense: 74 +91
Mana: 500
Physical Potential: B
Mental potential: SS+
Skills:
Active: Elementary Appraisal (D), Perfect Aim (D), Quick Shot (D)
Passive: None
Elemental Affinity: Wood, Water, Earth
Titles: None
Overall rank: S
Current Status: Gestating: two life forms, weakened state ]
[WEALTH: 9,711 gold and 79267 silver, 15287 copper]
[EQUIPMENT:
Head: None
Ears: None
Body: Leather Jacket, cotton undergarments +2 Defense
Synthetic Vest +3 Defense
Rainbow Silk Undergarments (A). +80 Defense, +10 Agility, +50 Spirit
Arms: Arm Brace +1 Defense
Legs: Leather Pants +2 Defense
Hands: Bellagio Bow (B): +40 ATK
Leather Gloves +1 Defense
Feet: Leather Boots +2 Defense, +0 Agility ]
Althea took a good look at her beautiful stats, before returning to the present, to the hopeful sight of the river, even if it was a little far away.
She made a mental note of the location and, considering the terrain, she mused it would take another day to get there.
Also considering that they had already paid for the daily entrance fee to the Royal territory, she decided to defer the trip to the next day. She was rich, but she was not about to waste that precious silver.
She patted the dust and leaves that hang on her body. She climbed back down the trees, and headed back to her team…
…with eyes brighter than ever.
___
Royal Territory.
In contrast with Althea's lax attitude, her companions were very, very, edgy.
It had been four hours after dusk and there was no sign of Althea, leaving her team frantically walking to and fro in worry.
They knew her strength very well, the low-level monsters in this area were no match to her.
It was just that…
"What if she got poisoned again?"
They all froze and went pale at the thought.
The three of them couldn't relax and ended up waiting outside the door. Sheila even awakened her unhygienic old bad habit of biting on her fingernails.
Fortunately, after another hour, a familiar silhouette finally came to view.
When they saw her walking towards them as clean and beautiful as always, they all heaved a sigh of relief.
Maya quickly ran to hug Althea, which earned her a gentle pat on the head.
It was just that mother-hen Sheila couldn't help but nag a bit. "What took you so long?"
"Found some interesting things…" Althea just said vaguely as she patted her stomach.
"Hungry." She said, and there were no more words of nagging that followed.
She and Fufi ate a burger on the way down, but this pregnant woman needed to eat for three people, so she didn't say it just to shut people up.
Sheila and Harold looked at each other helplessly before walking with her back home.
They heated up the food prepared for her and gave her the utensils, making sure she could eat as quickly as she could.
They also did not forget to check her state, making sure she has no injuries. And they even tried to be subtle about it.
Seeing her team genuinely concerned for her, Althea's heart warmed.
___
The next day, she told the team that she would be going somewhere for a few days.
Everyone frowned. They still remembered the stressful hours the night before. "We will go with you!" They said and Althea looked at them in distaste.
"Too slow." She shook her head. "I can't concentrate on my experiments if there are other people around either."
"But…"
"I'll be fine."
"How long would you take?"
"At least a whole day."
"..."
"..."
"...we'll see you off." Sheila's shoulder slumped as she said so, giving up in trying to convince the other woman.
But… this was technically the first time she would be away from Althea for so long since they met. How could she not be uneasy?
Harold, Sheila, and the kids joined in the fun, low-key asking where she was headed.
Althea knew they asked so that in case she didn't go back on time, they could go find her. She didn't lie to them, of course. They deserved this bit of honestly.
As they walked, they saw Priya with many others squatting down and collecting. She saw that Priya collected a lot of 'wheat' which she later found out to be locally named Flute (Lv1).
"Don't you run out of things to pick up?" Sheila asked curiously.
Priya shook her head. "Actually, we discovered that the growth rate in this continent is amazing. Some very simple, very small plants tend to refresh every few days, while larger ones—though unconfirmed as they're still growing—should take a week or less."
She said, pointing at a plant with its root stable in place. "In theory, as long as the roots are still there. If cut or destroyed, I heard, the plant will no longer refresh."
Althea nodded, she had indeed noticed this phenomenon as well.
But one thing was a mystery to her. Strictly speaking, as long as the people didn't cut out roots, there would never be a food shortage here.
So… why was the food in the restaurant so horrible?
Speaking of which, she saw a couple of people who just came from the restaurant wearing a frown. "I can't get used to the food here."
The man nodded, disgust evident on his face. "I agree."
Althea's sharp eyes observed the other customers and, unsurprisingly, none of them were satisfied.
Soon, another set of friends came out, sighing. "Well, at least we're full right?"
"Just add Gouji fruit to your gruel, and it tastes a whole lot better." One said, "If we could find a way to process it, even better."
"That makes sense. But then the cost of eating will now double."
Althea eavesdropped in interest. Sure enough, someone would find a way to improve the food somehow.
Terran was divided into 4 continents: North, South, East, West.
Her continent, East, was famous for its gourmet culture. She looked around and saw that dislike of the people. Her people would really have a hard time adjusting in this place.
If they didn't innovate, that was.
However, looking at the people around, actively trying not only to survive… but also try to make their lives better—
She had a feeling that, as long as people were given a safe enough environment, this wouldn't be much of a problem at all.
In a place where they no longer needed to worry about their basic needs, their lives, their safeties… she believed that the creativity of her people would lead them to create a good life for themselves and, maybe, for others.
She wondered, to what degree her territory would be able to encourage this, and she felt quite excited.
Another goal: Added.