Over the next few hours, Linetta completed the forging of not one but two spears with the minerals she could find in the cave.

With her control over earth-attribute objects, it was not difficult for her to fuse metals and create sturdy weapons. In fact, the top weapon and armor makers in the seven witch kingdoms were all earth-attribute witches.

Linetta's spears were black, mostly due to the meteorite iron, tungsten, carbon, and titanium used in their production.

After Linetta reinforced the two black spears with mana, they were comparable to High-grade Magic Weapons, unbreakable to Rank 3 Beasts.

Linetta moved to the Stalactite Milk Pond right after completing her assignment and consumed her share of the Stalactite Milk.

The more she drank, the less she had to carry – was what she thought.

However, Vaan's lecture on the Magic Domain's storage space allowed her to save the trouble of manually carrying the Stalactite Milk.

Even so, the Stalactite Milk exceeded the capacity of her Magic Domain's storage space. Thus, she still had to drink a portion of it to store everything.

While she was busy with that, the Lillias watched her.

On the other hand, Captain Rhys and the young warriors meditated to condition themselves for the journey outside the cave.

Meanwhile, Vaan strolled around the cave, seemingly looking for something. Furthermore, his stroll coincidently overlapped with the places Linetta visited to collect her minerals.

The escort group's members noticed Vaan's action, but no one chose to bother him.

They thought Vaan was searching for more hidden treasures, but they didn't have their hopes up. Even if Vaan did find something, it wouldn't belong to them.

Sometime later, Vaan returned to the group, satisfied with his stroll. However, his expression was calm on the surface.

"Don't be too disappointed, Brother Vaan. The Stalactite Milk Ponder was already an amazing discovery. We shouldn't expect to find any more treasure in this cave," Captain Rhys consoled.

However, Vaan simply replied with a slight smile.

Ding!

<A True Witch with an Earth Spirit Body has been detected in the vicinity>

<Physical intimacy with this Earth Spirit Body has been determined to be beneficial>

…

The system suddenly notified Vaan in his mind. However, the system didn't mention the specifics of the benefits.

'It seems like I have to dual cultivate with Linetta again to find out,' Vaan mused thoughtfully. He had anticipated Linetta gaining the Earth Spirit Body. Thus, he wasn't surprised in the least.

A short moment later, Linetta finished drinking the Stalactite Milk to her satisfaction and stored the rest in her Magic Domain with spatial magic.

"I suppose preparations are complete now, my Lady? Will we be heading out right away?" Captain Rhys inquired.

However, Linetta shook her head.

"No. There's still one last bit of preparation needed before we head out and face the Rank 3 Dark Hellhound."

The moment Linetta cast her glance at Vaan after saying that, Captain Rhys's lips immediately twitched. He understood what she implied.

"Are you willing to assist me in mana recovery again, Vaan?" Linetta turned to Vaan and asked.

"It would be my pleasure, my Lady," Vaan replied with a smile.

…

'Goddammit—!'

Shortly after Vaan and Linnetta disappeared into the tent, the young warriors from the escort group started cussing in their minds.

It was the first time they had to endure such mental torture on an escort mission.

The moment Linetta's euphoric moans echoed out of the tent, the young warriors all pictured themselves in Vaan's position and got excited.

They couldn't help themselves.

Nevertheless, Vaan and Linetta ended their dual cultivation after battling in bed for five rounds. It wasn't particularly long, but long enough for Linetta to recover sufficient mana for the battle ahead of them.

At the same time, Vaan was the biggest beneficiary of their exchange.

=====

[STATUS]

Name: Vaan Raphna

Race: Human (90%)

Age: 20

Unique Physique: [Heaven-Swallowing Physique], [Earth Spirit Body (Low-rank)]

Cultivation: N/A

Spirit Contract/s: [Unnamed Fairy (Low-rank Earth Spirit)]

Skills: [Basic-level Weaponcrafting] [Intermediate-level Heavenly Massage] [Basic-level Hand-to-Hand Combat] [Intermediate-level Cloud Evading Steps] [Expert-level Mental Focus] [Expert-level Magical Foundation] [Expert-level Mana Application] [Expert-level Mineral Interaction] [Basic-level Dagger Mastery]

Ability: [Heaven-Swallowing Space] [Magic Vision (Low-rank)] [Regeneration (Low-rank)] [Earth Acceleration (Low-rank)] [Earth Manipulation (Contract-dependant)] [Telepathy (Contract-only)]

Stats: [150 Defense] [23 Strength] [31 Speed]

Unnamed Fairy's Mana: [100/100]

Elemental Affinity: [50% Earth]

Elemental Resistance: [50% Earth]

…

=====

During Vaan's stroll around the cave, he had gathered valuable minerals. But more importantly, his main objective was precisely to look for an earth spirit.

The cave had an incredible natural earth treasure like the Stalactite Milk. Vaan believed there would have been at least one earth spirit in the area.

Even so, Vaan was still surprised when he actually found one, an adorable female fairy that was only the size of his finger.

Furthermore, the fairy was willing to enter a contract with Vaan and now resides within his Earth Spirit Body, allowing him to use the fairy's abilities.

The unnamed fairy had been hiding, but she wasn't timid. Rather, she was playful and hoped someone would find her—as if she was playing a game of Hide and Seek.

As such, the unnamed fairy easily entered a contract with Vaan after he found her—which wasn't particularly difficult with Magic Vision. Vaan saw right through the earth spirit.

Nevertheless, it was only a low-rank earth spirit. Thus, its abilities were limited.

Even so, beggars can't be choosers.

Vaan was more than happy to contract the unnamed fairy, which enabled him to use Earth Manipulation with the unnamed fairy's mana.

With the unnamed fairy's abilities, Vaan will have an easier time forging more complex weapons.

Vaan wanted to communicate with his contracted earth spirit, but unfortunately, he would have to wait.

The unnamed fairy went dormant right after entering his Earth Spirit Body.

After Linetta packed up the tent, she turned to Captain Rhys and said, "All preparations are complete. We are ready on our side. How about your side, Captain Rhys?"

"We've been prepared for quite a while now, my Lady. We can set out anytime," Captain Rhys replied.

"Then let us head out. We've stayed in this cave long enough."