The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 275: Understanding the improvements

Chapter 275: Understanding the improvements

"The preliminary results suggest the burrow to be a network of interconnected tunnels. We don’t know every danger that lurks inside. But traces of desert spiders were discovered. We have marked those tunnels. We couldn’t explore deep into any of them, Lords."

"What’s important for now is that we did find evidence that supports our first find – the presence of a Devil’s corpse inside. But there might be something else."

"We detected traces of Earthen molt. For those who aren’t familiar with it, it’s just crystalized dirt. But it often indicates the presence of dense Earth elements."

The Twins and Bashar spoke in turns. They sat in the highest room of the left spire. As Nashar explained, Lord Red Hare reserved this room for confidential meetings.

The room took up the entire top floor of the spire. Like the rest of the castle, red dominated. The furniture had white cushions with golden liners. Plenty of drinks and local snacks were on the table to enjoy during the meeting.

Hex listened to everything with a dazed look in his eyes. He wasn’t absent. He only struggled to make light of the things he read. He berated himself for sympathizing with a character like the Witch – she caused death and mayhem on a world scale. He knew that. Yet, the vision of a weak girl, ostracized by the world and those who were her own, kept popping up.

Somehow, the vision of the girl always merged with his memory of his childhood. He remembered how every kid in the cloister poked fun at him, like her, all because of his dark hair and eyes. He, too, would have to do all the chores in and around the Temple.

"..So, we start tomorrow with the exploration? What do you think, Lord Fateless?"

The memories of the past occupied Hex so much that he missed a part of the meeting. Only when he heard someone call him out did he start to focus on the conversation before him.

"Why not today in the evening?"

Even though he missed a part of the meeting, he heard enough to know the risks. One of the main risks in exploring after a sandstorm was the attention garnered. The Lords in a certain region kept an eye out in each other territories. Moving in daylight would risk exposing the find. None of the Lords in this region could resist the allure of a Devil.

Hex knew why. The Devil Crystals contained valuable insights. Using them provided the Lords with a shortcut to improve. The rarity of such items exceeded the value of coins. All the Lords would fight over it.

’I think that’s why Lord Red Hare proposed a partnership as soon as I appeared. He couldn’t risk variables in his territory, threatening his future gains.’

"I agree with you, Lord Fateless." Lord Red Hare said at once, as he sipped his Cactus juice. "Unless the spies are at our level, they wouldn’t risk traveling during the night. And if there is a moron brave enough to do that, he would stick out. If we move fast enough, we can finish exploring in a few days. I doubt that news will reach that Vulture in time."

Sterling and Hex hadn’t idled. They gathered the basic information at a rapid tempo. That’s why Hex understood the reference. Lord Red Hare referred to the only other two-spire Dunelord in the region: Lord Feathered Death.

They failed to get his real name but the title spoke volumes. The Lord specialized in collecting corpses. His abilities enabled him to transform the death into feathered creatures. When he learned about the ability, Hex felt his horizon widen. The bizarre nature of Blessings and Techniques in Edune surpassed his understanding of Blessing and how people progressed.

’I am certain the Knight Scrolls has all the information I need. But I spent too much time on other things. And even tonight I won’t be able to check it out.’

Hex decided to schedule his time in the coming days. He couldn’t neglect any of the things. The diary was important but so was the information in the scroll, in other books, and his training. He needed to allocate time for everything.

With that in mind, he started to plan the exploration with Lord Red Hare. The Transformed Knight would head the operation. He decided to split their team in two. They would take turns in clearing up the tunnels.

Hex asked for the first shift. He believed the first part to be a bit easier to clear. And while Red Hare explored, he could check the Scroll a bit.

Lord Red Hare didn’t have any objection. He even seemed to welcome it. Hex believed even if he didn’t ask for the first shift, Red Hare would have assigned it to him. He most likely wished to observe his capability first.

Once the Lords agreed on the matter of shifts, the teams were divided. Hex got Bashar, Zevar, and the Twins. Sterling, Quid, and Nashar would join Red Hare’s team. They would have a few others with them but they were less significant.

They also agreed to leave in batches. Smaller teams leaving and not returning during the night would attract less attention. They ironed out a few more details and left for their rooms.

"Where are Gronke and the captain?" Hex asked Sterling once they were in his room. He hadn’t seen those two ever since they arrived.

"They are doing some other stuff," Sterling shrugged. "It’s hard to keep track of everyone. And those two are Refined Knights. Something might have caught their interest. Anyway, I hope you can explore the periphery at a great speed. Leave the cleaning up to the weaker ones. The sooner we are done, the sooner we can continue our journey."

Hex nodded. But he didn’t miss the vagueness with which Sterling spoke about the two Refined Knights. He refused to believe he would let those two wander off. He was sure they were up to something.

’I should keep a way out for myself. If things go south, I will run north.’

The remainder of the day he spent dividing his daily tasks and giving himself targets. He also used some time to train his new abilities.

All his Ice-based Techniques seemed to have improved. The durability of his Frost Dragon armor even increased by an entire stage. The crystals making up the armor fitted better and even supported each other. It could regrow in the blink of an eye. His range and density increased also.

’I can see why gaining an understanding of the element is crucial to ascend. Without it, the higher stage loses its meaning.’

Before he knew it, night fell. Watching the castle come to rest, he looked toward the direction the burrow was. He was ready to test his newfound powers against the spiders.

’Let’s see who crawls away from whom.’