CHAPTER 496: CHAPTER 248 WINTER FLOWER_3

After all, a year here and a year in the Homeland Sea are clearly not the same concept. A day here could also mean a single day and night, possibly lasting thirty to over forty hours. One year here was equivalent to two years back in the Homeland Sea.

Lucilia nodded upon hearing this and asked, "Does this mean we’ll have to split into teams?"

Alka nodded, agreeing with their idea. After a moment’s thought, he said, "Lucilia and I will rotate in leadership. Julia and Matilda will also need to rotate joining the teams. The others will be scheduled based on their strength and the danger level of the places we’re exploring."

Hearing Alka’s suggestion, everyone thought for a moment and nodded. This was indeed very suitable. After all, if they divided into two teams, someone who understood the local language would be needed to gather information. Previously, only Lucilia could speak the Island’s language, but Alka had later learned it due to the lingering essence of the Priest’s soul. So naturally, the two of them would rotate leading the teams.

And Julia and Matilda were the only two in the team with healing abilities—although one specialized in healing and the other possessed some healing capabilities—so they also needed to be assigned to separate teams. This was to ensure that team members could survive critical injuries. Moreover, they had their ultimate safeguard: the [Stagnation] Spell, a true life-saving Divine Artifact. Unless they were completely wiped out, they could survive. Julia, Matilda, Simon, and Jason were all very skilled with this Spell. Chadite had also mastered it.

"Then, on my rotation day, I can try to enter the town to gather more information, especially about the outside world," Jason suggested after some thought. "If it’s just one person, it wouldn’t be unusual for their Magic Power to be stable, right? Plus, if I move around the town often, I’ll become less conspicuous."

This proposal made everyone thoughtful. Because this way, Jason would undoubtedly face certain dangers; such activities carried a definite level of risk.

"Okay, but be careful. Take a puppet with you each time you go out," Alka said after a moment’s thought. The puppets had an extensive link with Lucilia, allowing them to exchange information and enabling Lucilia to quickly know if Jason was safe.

"Then you’ll be responsible for communicating with Balazs, selling him some of the Treasures from our ship, and giving him a list of the supplies we need," Chadite added.

They would need some supplies for the ship, and Alka and Simon also needed materials for forging. They also planned to perfect the Puppet Legion during this time; clearly, the Island’s resources alone would be insufficient. This would also help Chadite better understand the prices in the outside world, so she could avoid being fleeced in future maritime trades.

Then, everyone discussed the details further. For example, Chadite’s involvement was crucial. After all, if they wanted to excavate the ruins without her, one could well imagine how slow the progress would be. It was even possible that, without her, they might damage or cause the excavated sections of the ruins to collapse. To address this, Chadite would need to travel between the two locations during her active periods, marking future excavation sites in advance. She also needed to avoid contact with strangers on the Island during her activities.

Simon also needed to create tools more suitable for excavation. Previously, they had only done temporary digging, but now it was evident that long-term excavation would be required. Therefore, better, faster, and more practical tools would have to be manufactured.

Alka also needed Chadite to provide more detailed maps of the Island—not just a map of the entire Island, but one subdivided into enlarged sections. This way, Alka could better pinpoint the locations of the Treasures. After all, many of the white dots indicating potential locations overlapped, and not every blue-marked location had prominent ruined structures. Many were entirely buried deep underground. All of these locations required more detailed maps for accurate marking.

Once these finer points were settled, everyone began their preparations.

「The next day arrived.」

Naturally, it was time to start the trial runs. On the first day, Alka was to lead the team, accompanied by Chadite, Matilda, and Jason. They would first form a group to excavate ruins in the surrounding area. Of course, they also carried heavy backpacks; these were excavation constructs Simon had forged the previous night. Designed specifically for excavation, these constructs could remove large chunks of earth and also perform precise clearing in small areas. Combined with Alka’s and the others’ abilities, their excavation speed wouldn’t be any slower than before; it might even be faster.

This was how they would operate for the foreseeable future.