Show me the Loot!

Passing out a few more catalogs, Zanir and his retinue retired for the evening. Everyone was eager to compile their orders, also needing time to gather up their resources, to make sure they could afford everything they wanted.

Orders were passed out, to the various teams and departments. They wanted assets brought back into headquarters. Crops, seeds, raw materials, even dirt could be traded in, so people were scrambling to gather whatever could be transported.

Accompanying the head of the Rangers' medicine department, they left the reception hall towards the direction of the medical ward. Chatting along the way, they got to introduce themselves properly.

"Really terrific products you have there Zanir, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Oscar. I'm the head of the medical department around here, or at least what passes for one."

"Thank you, Oscar, for allowing us to study some of your medical supplies. It's an area that we've been meaning to improve on lately. We hope to be able to produce something that can help those who have sacrificed so much for us."

"Your group doesn't have a healer? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Yes, we've been looking to acquire one, for now though, we've been lucky enough to avoid any fatal accidents."

Arriving at the medical ward, they could hear the sick and injured nearby in quarantine. Given what medicines they had, the troops would have to wait for the healing to take effect. The slight wince on Oscar's face didn't go unnoticed by Zanir. He saw that the healer truly cared, probably wishing he could do more to ease their suffering.

Entering a smaller supply tent off to the side, he was amazed at how many different vials, jars and urns were collected onto shelves. Kept neat and orderly, there were sections for the various bandages and antidotes. Several different types were there, as this world had far more venomous and poisonous creatures.

Giving his permission, Oscar handed him various samples of the cures and ointments they had. Absorbing them into the system, he'd already instructed some of the goblins to work with the system to study them. With their help, the system wouldn't have to run nearly as many calculations.

Thanking Oscar, he let him know that he'd bring back some anatomy posters for his operating room. Traveling back to the bazaar outside, he saw people were still out, even if it was quite late. Being directly outside the Ranger base, and having several guards walking around, meant that it was still quite safe for the travelers.

Entering his tent, he went to get some rest. Tomorrow, the Rangers would be bringing in the materials for the orders, and also some products to pay him with. He was really looking forward to what they had since their organization was larger than Trostin and more well-connected. Also, they had other sites, which meant even deeper pockets.

Snoring slightly while he slept, Marcus and goblins were working together with senior Lee in an underground lab. System screens were beeping and blinking, as the group worked together, experimenting with the systems simulations. Having double checked the printouts, they had Marcus step up with a dropper vial, moving slow and cautious.

Being undead, he could suppress his heartbeat, which was perfect for delicate operations like this. Pressing the dropper with the slightest of pressure, a single drop of a red liquid fell. Landing into another vial full of cloudy white liquid, the contents began to vibrate rapidly, as the liquid evaporated.

Smoking, the noxious vapor quickly dispersed as the group saw a pinkish substance leftover. Cheering and clapping the scientists moved the finished product into a vacuum chamber, where the system analyzed and then absorbed it.

"The first experiment is a success!"

Unbeknownst to our conked out champion, his people worked hard overnight, to help develop cutting-edge medical products. Waking up, with a great big stretch, Zanir got up and got ready to head out to the marketplace. Not before a quick breakfast though!

Teleporting into the spatial world, he grabbed a breakfast dish from the restaurant. For once, he picked someone else dish. It was a two-egg omelet with cheese and some kind of peppers. Noshing down his food, he went directly to senior Lee's tent.

Seeing that the tent was empty, it didn't take him long to notice a new addition. Back behind his desk, there was a hidden entrance, that opened when he approached. Heading down, he had to admit that the underground lab was kinda cool, even it if was a bit cliche.

Noticing how tired the group looked, he gave them the day off. Thanking them for the items, he looked over them, pleased with each one. Knowing what he had in stock, now that he had read the descriptions, he teleported back to his tent.

Greeting Nathan as he passed the entrance gate, he made his way over to the medical district. Dropping off a large urn filled with a pink ointment, he instructed Oscar to apply it to the injured men. Remembering his earlier promise, he also passed him some highly detailed anatomy posters.

Leaving Oscar to heal the wounded, Zanir made his way to the marketplace. Upon arrival, the guards directed him to the warehouses in the back. Meeting several of the department heads from last night, he greeted them, and they got to work.

Explaining the orders, he listened to their requests, while absorbing the materials. Metals and ores were taken in, to be forged into weapons and armor. Furs and cloth, along with scales and chitin were absorbed for the clothing.

Various woods and stones were absorbed, some to be carved for decorative purposes, while others were destined to be formed into tools and utensils. There were even a few animals and ingredients, that people wanted to have prepared into dishes.

Absorbing them all into his system, he was overjoyed, since this would help expand his world by a significant margin. After taking care of business, the Rangers had the men bring out a few smaller boxes.

Handing him the first box, the Ranger explained what was inside.

"These are all ancient seeds. Without the proper conditions to grow them, they're useless to us, but you might be able to make use of them."

Thanking the elder, he absorbed the seeds, amazed by the results.

[Material analyzed:

Name: Corn

Type: Crop, Vegetable

Rating: Level 2

Description: Corn is a staple crop, used in many dishes and cultures. Coming in a variety of colors, this crop can be prepared in many different ways.]

[Material analyzed:

Name: Rice

Type: Crop, Vegetable

Rating: Level 3

Description: Rice is one the most widely grown crops. Versatile and nutritious, this crop comes in countless varieties and has adapted to many climates.]

[Material analyzed:

Name: Potatoe

Type: Crop, Vegetable

Rating: Level 2

Description: Potatoes are hearty crops, known to many as a dietary staple. Although they can be eaten raw, there are a wide variety of preparation methods available to cook them.]

Seeing the staple crops that he needed just fall right into his hands, Zanir was very excited. All of these ingredients could be used almost endlessly when it came to cooking. Several worlds of possibility revealed themselves.

Careful not to get too distracted, he shifted his attention to the next elder. Another small box of goodies was making it's way over. Good things kept coming in small packages, true to the old adage.

"These are from the communication department. The shells contained inside are called Relay Shells, and they allow you to speak over long distances."

Opening the delicate box, he saw two bright orange seashells, resting inside. Absorbing them into the system, he reviewed the prompt.

[Material analyzed:

Name: Relay Shell

Type: Utility, communication

Rating: Level 3

Description: These shells are born from identical twin Relay Crabs. Synchronized at birth, the shells never lose their connection, until one of them is smashed.]

Wondering how far the range was, he pushed the thought aside, as another elder brought him the remaining small box.

"Please take this offering from our armory department. The metal contained within has never been melted, despite our best efforts. We hope the experts in your company can use this."

Checking the last small box, he saw a curious dark blue ingot. Doing a double take, he had to confirm it was actually metal, as the object looked more like a brick of water than an ingot. Cool to the touch, it even seemed to ripple when he poked it. Finally absorbing the material, he laughed when he saw what it was.

[Material analyzed:

Name: Arctic Alloy

Type: Metal

Rating: Level 6

Description: Made from several strange frozen and sub-zero compounds, this metal won't react to heat. Processing is only possible with the application water at near freezing temperatures.]

No wonder they weren't able to melt it, they were trying using a traditional forge. Thankfully, the system was able to identify materials for him. Thinking he was done with the rewards, for now, Zanir was about to thank the Rangers but was interrupted by the last one there.

"If you'll proceed with me over to the animal pens, our husbandry division would like to offer you a few our prized eagles."

"Thank you senior we've been sorely lacking an aerial scout."

"Our eagles are the finest! Let me tell you about them..."

According to what the excited old man told him along the way, the eagles were very well trained and could grow up to a few feet in length. Approaching the pens, he saw that they were indeed very impressive.

Much larger than any eagle he'd ever seen on TV, these all had plumage that looked like sticks and leaves. When he saw one of them fly up into a tree, it almost seemed to blend right in. Having been raised for forest operations, they had developed a highly efficient camouflage.

Speaking to the caretakers, they reacted quickly, moving to bring out a few eagles. After all, it wasn't every day, that the head of the department personally came down to the pens. Before long, an adult mating pair and a few baby eagles were brought out.

Feeding the eagles to calm them down, he was able to absorb them. Noting the system prompt, he was finally pleased to have an air unit.

[Material analyzed:

Name: Forest Eagle

Type: Animal, Avian

Rating: Level 4

Description: Forest Eagles have been bred in the forest for countless generations, adapting to perfectly suit the terrain. Moving almost undetected in their domain, they yield only to their Ranger allies.]

Moving on, they brought him past the eagle dens, to some fish breeding ponds. There he was able to absorb some fish that the system picked up as tuna and carp. None of them were magical, but a few more seafood options never hurt.

Thanking the group of men, he excused himself, saying that he had to go check on the orders. Heading back to his tent, he wanted to take a little time to consolidate the gains he'd received. Absorbing everything and talking business had taken a few hours.

Now that it was late afternoon, he would close up his tent, and head back to his spatial world for lunch with his family. He had plenty of new ingredients to cook with. Making a new dish would be easy.

Feeling creative, he also remembered that he had those unused upgrade points. Maybe he could make more than a new dish...

'Didn't it say something about combining creatures?'