Chapter 125: Mission Shift

[Continuous Quest: Amber Light]
[Quest Stages: 4]
[Quest Difficulty: Hard]
[Quest Participants: 5/5]
[Quest Time Limit: None]
[Quest Description: You seek the Resonance Amber and have found a Kulast wizard in the ancestral lands of the Kulast dwarves willing to assist you. She informs you that all Resonance Amber is sealed by a Kulast artifact, which she requires to strengthen herself. Since your goals align, she is willing to help you find the amber, but first, you must earn her approval.]
[Quest Requirements: Reach "Close Friend" status with Akara; Akara reaches Level 3 (12 stars) (0/100%); Help Akara train her subordinates: Kulast Wizards 0/9, Kulast Warriors 0/63]
[Quest Rewards: Akara’s Guidance (one Level 3 designated blueprint), Akara’s Gift (several Level 1-3 designated blueprints), Wizard’s Heart/Warrior’s Might (several Level 2-3 equipment fragments)]
[Note: Akara’s Guidance is exclusive to members of the Zhu Liu Giant Squad; other rewards can be exchanged with Akara based on individual player contributions.]

Gazing at the mission details on the interface and listening to Liu Zong’s explanation, Xu Ying and the others had eyes full of excitement. While they didn't hold high hopes for Akara’s Gift or the equipment fragments, the "Akara’s Guidance" Level 3 blueprint was of immense importance to them.

It could be said that even if they stopped doing subsequent tasks and simply waited, they would still receive a Level 3 blueprint as long as someone else completed the remaining objectives. If they put in extra effort, the rewards would be even greater.

Seeing this, Yuan Ying cheered with excitement, while Reina blinked her watery eyes, clearly tempted to press Liu Zong’s head against her chest. If Liu Zong hadn't moved quickly, he might have been smothered by Reina’s "face-cleansing" maneuver.

The next steps were straightforward. Liu Zong and his team did not need to review Akara’s other tasks or hunt for the conspirators behind the Kulast warriors. Their current objective was to use Akara’s power to construct a teleportation portal—a small one leading to the territory of the Yadala Insectoids.

According to the blueprints and materials provided by Akara, constructing this portal required the "Architecture" skill, while the raw materials needed to be gathered using skills such as "Foraging" and "Mining." Fortunately, Akara, knowing they were newcomers unfamiliar with the area, provided a map highlighting the easiest locations to gather these resources.

Once they had the map, the team moved quickly. They had already spent over half of their three-month free-roaming period dealing with the affairs of the Kulast dwarves. If they failed to complete the portal within the next fifteen days, they would be unable to return to complete the subsequent tasks after notifying their school.

Knowing time was of the essence, Xu Ying and the others proposed splitting into smaller teams. Since Liu Zong’s auxiliary skills were Herbology and Architecture—and the construction materials did not include herbs—he did not need to participate in the gathering missions.

Liu Zong’s role was to remain at the camp, continuously building small wooden huts with sticks to level up his Architecture skill. Without this, their chances of successfully constructing the small teleportation portal would be slim, even with all the materials.

The remaining four split into two teams. Xu Ying, who possessed mining skills, teamed up with Lu Shang—who lacked both mining and foraging skills—with Lu Shang acting as the guide to locate sufficient ore. Yuan Ying and Reina, both skilled in foraging, worked together to increase their collection speed.

The five agreed to return to camp daily to hand over the gathered materials to Liu Zong, who would then process them while continuing to grind his Architecture level.

Additionally, Liu Zong had to maintain contact with the Kulast dwarves arriving in the area, informing them of the whereabouts of those who had gathered there previously. This was crucial for the unfolding situation. Liu Zong suspected that the enemies Akara feared were already aware of her movements. While they might not attack her directly, they would certainly accelerate their actions against the other ancestral spirits in the forest.

Previously, when they saw the ancestral spirits targeting Song Zhen and his group, those spirits would force them out of the ancestral camp. Liu Zong had speculated that one had to follow these warriors to find their respective ancestral spirits. Reflecting on it now, he realized that wasn't necessarily the case. After all, if an entity as immobile as Akara could monitor everything in the forest, there was no reason to believe her peers could not do the same.

Thus, as Liu Zong pieced together wooden huts, he constantly reviewed every action he had taken since entering the forest, wondering if he had overlooked anything. From time to time, he would rise to drink some soup from the pot—leftovers from Yuan Ying’s old meat broth, which he kept simmering by adding moss and meat scraps.

After his meal, he would rest briefly before resuming another 45 minutes of architectural practice. He repeated this cycle three times before stopping for a longer break, during which he patrolled the perimeter of the camp.

Following the patrol, he would dedicate an hour to training his spear technique. Since he already knew what was missing from his secret martial art, he stopped obsessing over perfect execution and instead focused on the coordination between his breathing and visualization. After this, he would meditate for half an hour before returning to his architectural training.

Time slipped away. During this period, several Kulast warriors passed by, though they weren't from the ancestral camp; they were wanderers who had heard rumors and hoped to try their luck. Liu Zong did not keep them; he simply told them that everyone had gone to see Akara to seek her counsel. Given that she was the only female wizard and a sage of a thousand years among the Kulast dwarves, the others held her in high regard. Upon hearing this, they nodded in agreement and headed off to find her without bothering him further.

After two full rounds of this routine, Xu Ying and Lu Shang returned with a large quantity of ore. However, it was evident from their expressions that they had something important to say.