Bai Chen sat atop the skull of a Great Jaggi, drumming his fingers against the bone while waiting for the transport crew.
Even the Astera Outpost had struggled to keep up with his quest-clearing speed—
So it wasn't surprising that the Forest Village's supply line had already begun to overload.
But waiting two whole hours without a single delivery?
That was pushing it.
Finally, a group of Lynians appeared, hauling a wagon up the forest path.
Yoomlana hired them—serving the same function here as the Felynes
Once they finished loading the Great Jaggi onto the cart, Bai Chen signaled to Nergigante.
The elder dragon spread its wings, lifting them toward the next quest zone.
High in the clouds, Bai Chen sighed.
│ "This pace is too slow. Half my time's spent waiting for logistics."
He looked down at the Monster Balls hanging from his belt.
│ "Basarios has the strength to haul several monsters at once…
But since it can't fly, it's too slow. Might not even be faster than waiting on Decter."
He frowned, thinking for a moment.
│ "Forget it. Once I take over all their contracts, I'll have Yulan rebuild their transport system."
By the next afternoon, Bai Chen returned to the Forest Village.
Yoomlana was already waiting beneath the colossal tree.
As soon as he leapt down from Nergigante's back, she hurried over to greet him.
│ "Elder Bai Chen! Thank you for your hard work—lunch has been prepared for you."
Last night, Bai Chen had agreed to teach them how to tame monsters.
Yoomlana had immediately bestowed upon him the title of Honorary Elder.
While the Astera Outpost still struggled to befriend the Ancient wyverians,
Bai Chen had already become one of their upper council, second only to the Grand Elder himself.
If the Commander heard that, even he might finally show surprise.
Bai Chen gave a short nod.
│ "No need for formalities. Prepare the next round of quests. I'll head out after lunch."
He walked past Yoomlana toward the dining hall.
Yoomlana stared after him, at a loss for words.
│ "Our new elder… isn't he a little too diligent? He just cleared ten quests last night."
She quickly called for the quest clerks to prepare another set, then joined him inside.
Watching Bai Chen and Nergigante devour their meal, she ordered the cooks to double the portions.
Once, the village had rationed meat carefully—
But after Bai Chen's latest hunts, they had enough to feed everyone for months.
Yoomlana smiled as she accompanied him through the meal.
That afternoon, she returned with twenty new quest slips.
"These have been piling up for ages," she explained.
Bai Chen scanned through them.
Seventeen three-star tasks.
Three four-stars.
He nodded in satisfaction.
│ "The four-stars will take longer, but the three-stars shouldn't be a problem."
To save time, he assigned a nearby three-star quest to Basarios
and a four-star hunt to Zinogre.
Since neither monster knew the routes, he asked Yulan to send two Wyverian hunters to guide them.
This was a test—
to see if he'd still earn system rewards when his companions completed quests on their own.
By the time Bai Chen had finished two of his own missions, the notification came through.
Basarios had successfully captured its target.
The reward appeared in Bai Chen's system list instantly.
His eyes lit up.
│ "It works! If I can tame a Shagaru Magala someday, I could send it to handle whole missions for me."
The realization hit him like a rush of pure adrenaline.
From now on, he wouldn't need to handle every low-tier commission himself.
He could focus entirely on the critical hunts.
Another sleepless day later, they'd split into three teams—
And by dusk, all twenty quests were complete.
After dinner, Bai Chen finally allowed himself to rest in the quarters Yoomlana had arranged.
In her office, Yoomlana gazed down at the thirty completed reports stacked before her,
a broad smile forming across her face.
She hadn't expected Bai Chen to be this capable—
And more importantly, he'd proven to everyone that co-hunting with monsters was possible.
The two wyverians she'd sent with Basarios and Zinogre returned practically glowing,
raving about how exhilarating it was to fight alongside monsters.
They'd even begged her to let them become knights like Bai Chen.
All good news.
│ "We'll need to prepare a grand gift for Elder Bai Chen."
The commissions she gave him hadn't included any gold rewards—
not because she was stingy,
but because she had no idea what would be worthy of him.
After a moment's thought, she nodded to herself.
│ "Gather some golden eggs and rare materials. Even if he doesn't care for them, it's at least a show of gratitude."
That night, Bai Chen woke from his "Rest" skill, yawning as he stepped into the hall.
Two Wyverian attendants waiting outside straightened immediately.
│ "Elder Bai Chen, the Grand Elder, wishes to see you."
He nodded.
"Lead the way."
When they entered the meeting chamber, Yoomlana was already there,
her expression brighter than ever.
│ "Elder Bai Chen, how was your rest?"
│ "Good enough," Bai Chen replied, noticing the new stack of quest scrolls on her desk.
│ "You've worked hard these past few days," Yoomlana said. "You should rest a bit longer."
│ "I'll rest when I return," he answered simply.
│ "Return?" she blinked. "You mean back to your outpost?"
│ "Just for a day. I need to handle a few matters there."
The craftsman was still at Outpost.
If Bai Chen didn't check in soon, the man might report him missing to the Commander—
And he couldn't afford that before his upcoming long-term expedition.
Yoonlama nodded in understanding.
│ "I see… then these new quests will have to wait."
But Bai Chen shook his head.
│ "No. Give them to me. I'll let Zinogre and Basarios handle them while I'm gone."
Better to keep them active than have them sleep away their time in the arena.
Yoonlama's face lit up again.
│ "Excellent! I'll assign guides for them right away."
And as she watched him depart, she couldn't help but think—
│ "Our new elder… might really be too diligent."
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