Chapter 7

The two of them quickly counted the number of dead bugs, which amounted to about 20. Unfortunately, the largest ones at the back were not lured out. Next came the physical labor. Henry was responsible for tying up the bugs below, and then Kegan would drag them up with ropes. Each bug weighed around 800 pounds, or more than 350 kilograms. Fortunately, the cave entrance was not high and was on a slope, and dwarves were quite strong. It took all their might to drag the 20 bugs up. Kegan smiled at the sight of so many bugs.

"We're rich, little Henry!" The dwarf, exhausted, sat on the ground, panting and laughing at Henry.

Henry nodded. "Yes, we're rich. But we still need to peel off the shells of these bugs."

Kegan smiled. "We can ask the villagers for help. A simple cut is not complicated. We only need the heads and the hardest part of the back. The shells from the limbs can be used to make armor and given to the villagers as compensation for their labor." Henry thought to himself, 'No wonder he's an experienced adventurer.' Despite Kegan's usual simple-minded appearance, he was surprisingly adept at utilizing abandoned resources and hiring locals for free labor.

"Alright, you rest here and guard the loot. I'll go to the Brown family and ask them to help us hire a few people. After all, you did most of the work just now." With that, he stood up, looked at the dwarf sitting on the ground, panting, and shook his sore arms. He picked up his crossbow and headed towards the Brown farm.

After about 25 minutes of walking along the main road, Henry returned to the farm. "Mr. Brown, are you there?" he shouted as soon as he entered the house.

Brown, hearing someone call him, shouted back, "I'm in the backyard, tidying up the tools. What's up?"

Henry caught his breath. "Kegan and I killed a large number of burrowing bugs in the cave to the west. We need you to help us hire a few villagers to process the loot. We only need the heads and the back shells, and the leg shells can be used as payment. What do you think?"

Brown pushed open the back door and came into the house, looking at Henry in surprise. "Good heavens, how many bugs did you kill?"

"Twenty. We're almost dead. You know those things weigh 800 pounds each, and dragging them out of a cave that's over ten meters deep is no easy task." Henry picked up the water jug on the table and drank deeply. He had sweated a lot today.

"Twenty! How did you manage that? I mean, each bug has six legs. The shells from so many legs can make several excellent armors." Brown, with a look of disbelief, agreed.

Henry nodded. "Please go hire the villagers first. I'll rest a bit and drink some water before we set off. I'm exhausted. Do you know the cave to the west?"

"Of course, I grew up here. There's no place around the village that I don't know. I'll hitch up the wagon and find some people, then come back to pick you up." With that, Brown picked up the reins, went out to the stable, and led out a horse, then hitched it to the wagon and headed towards the village.

After watching Brown drive away, Henry found a chair and sat down. He activated the interface.

Human, male, 14 years old, absolutely neutral. Occupation: Mage Level 4 (12813/20000), Druid Level 4 (10812/12500). You have leveled up. You accepted a quest to clear the burrowing bug cave, killing all 20/25 of them.

"Level up" he muttered, and the panel changed.

Mage Level 4 (12813/20000), Druid Level 4 (10812/12500)

1st-level spell slots: 3

2nd-level spell slots: 2

1st-level divine spell slots: 5

2nd-level divine spell slots: 4

New 2nd-level divine spells: Resistance to Fire and Cold, Flame Blade, Flame Trap, Slow Poison, Know Opponent, Divine Favor, Barkskin, Find Traps, Cure Moderate Wounds, Charm Person or Animal.

After leveling up, Henry felt a significant boost in power. Indeed, no one gets rich without unexpected wealth, and no horse gets fat without eating leaves. Unfortunately, he had no 2nd-level spells, and a 2nd-level spell scroll cost about 128 gold coins. Even if he completed this quest and earned around 10,000 gold coins, he could only buy a few scrolls. Magic was a money pit, and he needed to earn more.

Feeling light and relaxed, Henry sipped water and gazed out the window, recovering his strength. Soon, Brown returned with four villagers and four wagons.

"Henry, come out. Let's set off and try to return before sunset." The old man called from the wagon.

"Coming, coming." Henry put down his water cup and rushed out, closing the door and jumping onto the wagon.

"Go!" "Go!" The villagers urged their horses, forming a line and heading towards the cave. Brown's wagon moved quickly, and they arrived in no time.

Kegan saw Henry and the others arrive and immediately stood up. "Hey, here, here."

The villagers were amazed. "Wow! How did you kill so many bugs?" They looked at the huge burrowing bug corpses scattered on the ground, exclaiming as they pulled out their daggers to start cutting and processing.

"You don't know, when I was being chased, I ran so fast. I leaped to the cave entrance, and I bet my beard that I jumped at least five meters high." Kegan watched the others work and began to recount his adventure, though the exaggeration was questionable.

"You must be lying. I've never seen a dwarf jump five meters high. I believe you're strong, but jumping that high is a joke. Besides, your beard is only half left." Old Brown couldn't stand it anymore and started to argue.

"Damn it, my beard was set on fire by Henry, and it was too early. And I definitely jumped at least five meters high." The dwarf's stubbornness kicked in, and he turned to Henry. "Henry, you were there. Did I jump five meters?"

"I can't remember clearly. I was so nervous, and it was so dark at the cave entrance. I was focused on what was behind you." Seeing the argument involving him, Henry decided to play it safe.

Indeed, with more people, the work went faster. By evening, they had finished processing the corpses. The heads and back shells, which belonged to Kegan and Henry, were loaded onto the first two wagons. The leg shells, used as payment, were placed on the last few wagons. They decided to transport everything to Brown's house first and then redistribute it.

The setting sun cast a warm glow, and the wagons, loaded with the rich loot, returned to the farm. After washing with well water, the leg shells were divided into five portions. One portion belonged to Brown. The others loaded the remaining four portions onto their wagons and took them home. Kegan and Henry's portion was temporarily stored in the barn, which was empty since it was spring.

After the distribution, the villagers drove their wagons home, and Brown started preparing dinner. With a large amount of bug shells, he could earn at least 300 gold coins. The old man prepared a particularly lavish dinner: large pieces of white bread, stewed chicken, and a roasted suckling pig.

"This is delicious, the best dinner I've had in days. It would be even better with some wine." The dwarf couldn't stop talking even with a mouth full of food.

"You came at the wrong time. The wine we brewed before was all sold in the city. The new batch won't be ready until September." Brown, gnawing on a chicken leg, replied.

"Kegan, we need to go to the treehouse tomorrow. The cave isn't fully cleared, and the five largest bugs at the back are too much for just the two of us." Henry felt it was too early to celebrate. He tore off a small piece of bread and gave it to Louise, along with a piece of chicken. The pixie's diet was simple; in the wild, they mainly ate fruits and nectar, occasionally catching small bugs.

"We can set another trap tomorrow and burn them out." Kegan shrugged nonchalantly.

"Heavens!" Henry felt defeated by the dwarf's naivety. "The last five are in the deepest part of the cave. You won't even make it to the entrance before they catch and tear you apart. I doubt they would mind eating a fresh dwarf."

"What do you suggest, then?" Kegan realized his idea was unrealistic and threw the ball back to Henry.

"We need to go deep into the cave and fight them there. We need Jett's help. Tomorrow morning, we'll take all the bug heads to find her. Mr. Brown, would you mind lending us your wagon tomorrow?"

"Of course, you can use it freely." Brown agreed readily.

After dinner, everyone went to their rooms to prepare for sleep. The old man and the dwarf, exhausted from the day's work, soon fell asleep. Henry lay on his bed, opened the system interface, and prepared his spells and divine spells for the next day's battle. The little pixie had already made a small home for herself with a piece of old cloth at the head of the bed and was asleep.

1st-level spells prepared: Grease, Burning Hands, Shadow

1st-level divine spells prepared: Entangle, Stone's Power, Cure Light Wounds, Flame Blade, Faithful Armor

2nd-level divine spells prepared: Barkskin (x2), Flame Blade, Cure Moderate Wounds

Today was truly a challenging day, and tomorrow's battle might be even more intense. After praying, Henry yawned and thought to himself. Since coming to this world, he found his nerves much stronger. He never would have done something as adventurous as burning the bug cave before. Maybe he should find a deity to follow? Otherwise, if he died, he would end up as wall paste for the God of Death, Clavicus Vile. But that was out of the question. Not only did he have many secrets, but years of atheistic education made it hard for him to have faith in a deity. The moonlight shone through the window onto the bed. Louise turned over, and Henry smiled at the little creature, stopped his wild thoughts, and closed his eyes to rest.

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