14 Settling Outpost

Man learned to band together and endeavor, clasping hands together. Man developed language letters—an incredible advantage for getting plans together.

"One, two!"

A choir that stood the test of time, sharing minds and spreading labor.

"Mako, that's not how gravity works!"

"Mankind founded the concept of lever. This is indeed how gravity works."

It took two hours for all wounded usalians to regenerate into great health, with the help of mental exercise and direct interference in the healing process. Nagan himself had already mastered the control of the bio-nanites; it merely took an hour and a half to heal the bones of his messed arm, and another half hour to fully recover everything.

It took an extreme mental strain to overclock the regeneration process however. The aftermath of the overclocking will etch within the mind of its performer for quite a while.

Nagan had already gone through worse things than this.

After the accidental encounter with the wood monster, the corpse was brought to the shore settlement and was immediately processed into many materials. Nagan found out that the vine-like fur was strong and firm enough to be turned into rope, and the rest of the bark-like skin possessing a great tensile strength and elasticity for numerous tools.

In which the expedition team began to operate on the resources near the shore of the river. Because while this was a completely different planet than Earth, the wayward search for this planet was using a clear comprehensible reference of Earth as the target exemplary.

The animals, the local fauna, while differing greatly from that of human's beloved mother nature, it was still in one way or another similar to everything that humans had discovered before.

And so do the glass-like minerals akin to an obsidian that could be easily carved into a great cutting tool by just bashing the mineral with another rock in a precise place. Numerous makeshift processes and improvisation took place which makes the process quite deliberate and slow. But after six hours, the expedition team had acquired all sorts of primitive crafting and utility tools for their mundane creation.

"I found an iron-like ore!"

"Don't play around, Willow, iron ore can be hardly found on any type of rocky shore because of their- Oh damn, it is an iron ore."

Now that the expedition team had more stuff than a mere shovel, they decided to harvest the forest wood into logs and useful lumber. Although in technicality, using serrated rock and stone axes to take down trees wasn't the most effective thing, it got the job done.

"WEEEEEEE!"

"FASTER! LET'S GOOOO!!"

"We need that wagon! Don't break it!"

The familiar sunset enshrouded the sky within its orange hue, as clouds disperse and permitted the stars to poise amongst the presence of other radiances.

And then lit was the bonfire, laying in the middle of the expedition outpost—pushing its smoke and hope onto a faraway land. Noisy usalians frolicking in the background on their break time. Some were resting near the fire, while some were arguing with the member of the logistic team who were there to procure resources, and deliver the provisional dishes from the meat of the trunkless mammoth beast, local fruits, and wild vegetables of the forest.

"... The meat tastes like shrimp," Nagan commented, still trying to explore the unrecruited taste of this planet. "How's the immunity strengthening program?"

"I have already prescribed the amount of 'nelberry' and the instruction to stimulate the bio-nanites to everyone." Brimming with grace and confidence, Charles Hammington the First just happened to be the leading figure of the logistic team. Her expression was smug and snug, enjoying the foreign air outside of her homeworld. "They are currently taking turns in screaming on the grass every hour. I assume that everyone in the expedition team had already performed this program."

"Only Mako and Willow left."

"Ah right, those two are the most picky out of the bunch. Not even having an ounce of palate for our homeworld grass."

"Why are you eating grass in the first place…"

"In one way or another, it will be much more appreciated if we can get ourselves some herbs and other taste enhancers. Our chef in the homeworld is quite passionate when it comes to dishmaking~! Also, the Queen rallied me to tell the Patriarch that there's no need to hurry when it comes to establishing yourself in this wayward world."

"Where's the Queen right now?" Nagan inquired.

"For that, I'm more or less as informed as much as the expedition team," Charles answered, placing a checkmark hand-gesture underneath her chin with a tilted head. "However, she mentioned something about Earth and the likes. Maybe she is scouting for a proper land that we can occupy when we start to establish our presence on Earth."

"I see…"

"Can the Wayward Crystal just perform a soul link between you and the Queen?" Hoppington suggested.

"Ahahah. It can, I just need the right timing to do it."

"Charles!" shouted an usalian near the portal, "The Construction Section built another furnace! Did you tell them to do that??"

"Wait, what? Why are they building another furnace?"

"They said that they don't know!"

"Then why build it!??"

"Looks like you're taking quite the tough role there, Charles," Hoppington commented.

Just like the expedition team, the logistic team branched themselves into sections. Nagan was surprised that unlike being chosen by Owen, the members of the logistic team assigned themselves into their role, followed by a democratic vote on whether said usalian fit for the appointed position or not.

Owen seemed to solely focus on supervising the usalian. Sometimes the usalian would come to the queen for suggestions but most of the time, they just opened the necessary memory package and acted accordingly to the needed situation. 

"Between you, Charles, and Immortal Dragon Overlord, which one is the smartest?" Nagan asked casually amidst his feasting.

"Who knows. It is surely better if the three of us are capable enough to be your beacon, whenever and wherever you need it." Hoppington herself was also feasting on the ration. She seemed to enjoy the 'karrot', this wayward world's variant of wild carrot. "Did you know, Patriarch? When we were brought to this world, the Queen didn't give us these names. In reality, it's quite the opposite.

"One of the first memories given to us when we were born, is about nominative determinism. It is a theory that people's jobs or interests are connected to their names. Just as we were met with the shining gaze of light that is our Queen, we vowed upon the stars and pledged our existence into a name, to pray for our future and what we want to be."

Hopscotch finally joined the conversation after listening for a while, "That explain, Immortal Dragon Overlord-"

"I hear that!" echoed in the background.

'The Queen must care deeply for all of you if she imparted that kind of foundation the moment you're born,' is what Nagan wanted to say. But he felt like it was too redundant, for he believes that all of the usalian had already etched that fact into their hearts.

"Say, Patriarch," Hoppington continued, "Does that also work the same way in your end?"

"Who knows. Unlike all of you, it's my parents who gave me my name." Nagan sighed with a smile in deep reminiscence. "It is, however, still a prayer and expectation in one way or another. But instead of my prayer, it's that of my parents."

"Are you proud of your name?"

"Most definitely. There's not a single moment I regret carrying the name that they gave me."