Dimension System - Chapter 78

After checking everything in his spatial world and confirming the progress Zanir was ready to head back outside. It was nice to take a break and relax, catching up with his friends and family was just what he needed to feel recharged and refreshed.

Returning to his tent in headquarters, he met with Devil and Angel right away. He wanted to know how the banquet went. Speaking with his clones and reading their report, he confirmed that everything went pretty much as expected.

The Rangers had retrieved the goods for inspection and were beyond impressed. Rugged and sturdy equipment, met with top notch design, had not only met their needs but greatly exceeded them. Reluctantly, even their own expert inspectors had to admit that they were very high quality goods.

Naturally concerns arose about the goods being too expensive. The Rangers didn’t want to feel like they were shortchanging Zanir or taking advantage of him. Everyone could tell that a lot of effort went into crafting them and they didn’t want to disrespect the craftsman who had labored to create the products.

Continuing their discussion during the banquet, the Rangers reported that several of the remote squads had reported in. Having made journeys into the distant and harsh terrains, the exploration squads scouted the area. They went into places that most would naturally avoid like deserts, high mountains, swamps, and so on.

Normally these squads would have remained out in the field for several more months, however, the order was given out for all squads to return. The Rangers could only hope that their teams had each found something valuable to contribute. Each expedition was incredibly dangerous but brought back treasures that financed the majority of the organization.

Thinking quickly Devil had proposed that Zanir evaluate the items to negotiate the barter. It would seem that he could give some of the work to his subordinates, but he was a long way off from being able to hand over the operations. Wrapping up the report, he was glad that they could at least stand in for him during the more boring business meetings.

Emerging from his tent with a few guards, he was greeted by some Rangers who had been waiting outside. They had been waiting to escort him to the warehouse area, where the expedition teams had gathered their findings for inspection. Occasionally the crowd would cheer out when they passed by and people would shout out with gratitude, having been reunited thanks to the recent activities.

Approaching the warehouse area, they noticed an increase in traffic. All of the carts that had been coming in yesterday were either unloaded, or in the process of being unloaded. The poor warehouses had been overloaded beyond capacity with raw materials like stone, wood, sand, dirt, and more.

Each of the warehouses being used by the Rangers had the entrance doors open, with even more material piled in front. The alleyways and space in between the warehouses had been filled, at this point workers were even stacking some on the roofs! More and more carts were coming in as time went on, much to the workers frustration and Zanir’s delight.

Due to the sheer amount of materials packed in, a temporary stage had been built nearby. General Raul stood on the platform with several other Rangers. Catching sight of Zanir, he called out, motioning him over.

“Finally, you’re here! Come up onto the stage we’ve got the important findings up here.”

Making his way over to the platform, he greeted General Raul and the expedition captains. Speaking with the general allowed him to clear up some of the confusion about the materials piling up. According to Raul, all of that was the Rangers order to bring in raw materials as part of the payment for the goods. The Rangers didn’t know how much their treasures would be worth, so they wanted to use whatever else they could.

Eager to get started, the weary expedition leaders begun their presentation of the strange items they had found. The first successful expedition was a party who was sent to explore a vast desert region. He described their journey through the hostile environment that was fraught with danger.

Not only was the area hot and dry, but water was scarce and difficult to find. They were beset upon by giant scorpions and bandits. Having barely survived the last attack, they stumbled upon an oasis. It was there that the party encountered a strange cactus.

Based solely on appearance, it looked like a normal cactus, except that some of the flowers were bearing blue fruits. Approaching cautiously, they further examined the cactus, finding that it gave off a very strange feeling. Respecting the gut feeling they were getting, the team continued observing the cactus until something happened.

A few hours later the camouflaged team observed a vulture land at the oasis for a drink. After sating it’s thirst the vulture attempted to eat one of the blue cactus fruits. The moment it bit the fruit, cactus needles extended at a rapid pace piercing the vulture.

Observation continued over the next few hours, as the cactus appeared to drain the vulture entirely of it’s blood. Once released, the cactus showed no further signs of activity. The shriveled up vulture corpse was eventually dragged away by another vulture, who was not attacked by the cactus.

Seeing that it only attacked if the fruits were disturbed was a relief. From that point the team was able to dig up the ground around the cactus safely, packaging it up without incident. Once they alerted headquarters, the team was instructed to bring the specimen back right away.

Opening up the crate, everyone saw that the cactus really did look very ordinary. Activating his dragon hand, he absorbed the killer cacti, curious to learn more about it. As usual, the prompt he received helped clear up some of the questions he had.

[Material analyzed:

Name: Vampire Cactus

Type: Plant, carnivorous

Rating: Level 3

Description: The Vampire Cactus has developed to use a symbiotic relationship with water fruits to lure prey into striking distance. Using some of it’s energy to nourish the fruit, prey is attracted, allowing both to grow.]

[Material analyzed:

Name: Water Fruit

Type: Plant

Rating: Level 1

Description: The water fruit is a staple crop predominantly grown in dry arid regions. They are known for their extremely high water content and thin blue membranes. When popped the water inside is released and the membrane deteriorates.]

Briefly reviewing the results, he was pleased with the new plants. Especially after the system informed him that he would be able to graft other fruits onto the cactus. Thanking the team leader, Raul allowed that team to return home. Moving on to the next team, Raul motioned the leader over.

Stepping forth the second leader recanted the tale of his expedition. They had gone into the treacherous Bosmer swampland. The area was filled with deadly and toxic creatures, along with plenty of natural hazards.

According to the leader it was a normal journey for the most part. Well as normal as a journey through that kind an area can be. Until they spotted a massive steel scaled python writhing in pain. It was thrashing wildly and knocking over all of the nearby trees.

Upon distanced observation, the team saw the python die out. As the violent thrashing stopped it’s jaw opened up. Having been foaming at the mouth, the team conjectured it may have been poisoned. This was of note due to the highly venomous nature of the steel scaled pythons.

Thirty minutes later, the team observed a small toad exiting the python’s mouth. Emerging from amidst the foam, a brightly colored toad appeared.