The Omnistore System

"Kevin here came up with an idea to make finding the noxlight flower a bit easier," Keyara announced as everyone gathered around the fire after finishing their dinner. All eyes turned to Kevin when his name was mentioned.

Keyara looked at him expectantly and suggested, "Would you like to explain it yourself?"

Caught in the spotlight, he hesitated but then grinned, ready to share. "It's not some genius-level plan, just a simple one that struck me when this beautiful lady sitting right in front of me, share some facts about the monster I tangled with earlier today." He gave a flattering tone and pointed at Viana. "The monster's name was Shadowcrest Lupine, and she told me it has a knack for guarding rare herbs and consuming them when it feels like it. So, my plan is to track down these monsters instead of hunting for the noxlight flower itself."

The group seemed impressed, albeit with a touch of skepticism, as Robert chimed in. "But how can we be certain it's guarding the noxlight flower and not some other herb?"

The teenage boy didn't mind the interruption and replied with a smile. "We don't have to be certain. Every herb they guard tends to be rare and valuable, so it's a win either way. Plus, while we're tracking them, we can keep our herb-finding devices active. Who knows, we might get lucky and track down a noxlight flower that way."

Keyara nodded in agreement and added, "It might not be hitting two birds with one stone, but it certainly gets us closer."

"But wouldn't we need to find them in order to hunt them?" Stuart asked, considering the plan.

"It's easier to spot a big monster than a tiny, almost invisible herb," Yelena chimed in, earning nods of agreement from the group.

"Is everyone on board with this plan, or does anyone have other ideas?" Keyara inquired. No objections were raised; everyone nodded in agreement.

"Starting tomorrow, Ken and Zaria, you'll scout for any signs of that monster. Viana seems to know about it, so get some intel on its habits and behaviors from her," Keyara instructed, glancing at the duo. She then turned to the rest of the group. "The rest of you, carry on with what we did today. We aim to gather at least 20 of those flowers before meeting the merchant. I want to clear our debt on the first go, giving us the freedom to decide whether to stay in this forest or return to civilization. That's all."

And so their meeting concluded, and without lingering much, they dispersed to their respective tents. The only ones left were those assigned to the first lookout shift. Keyara had tweaked the setup this time, cutting down the shift hours to just three per group. Previously, the five-hour shifts left the second group with insufficient rest.

With the new three-hour shifts, everyone could get the needed rest. Nights in this area were relatively shorter, around 12 to 13 hours, so they only needed about three or four shifts, depending on their preference for an early start the next day.

Kevin and Keith decided to skip their shifts for the day, planning to take the last one instead. They headed to their tent earlier than usual, and to Kevin's surprise, Benny was sharing the tent with them this time.

Kevin felt the urge to have some fun with Keith, but he held back. Even though Keith was in a better mood today, she was still a bit saddened by yesterday's events. Besides, with Benny around, he didn't want to cause any trouble. So, with nothing much to do, he eventually drifted off to sleep, with Keith already asleep in his arms before him.

**************

Keyara and her party set out early in the morning, the moon not yet vanished entirely. They were prepped, their tents packed, and breakfast consumed. It was only an hour or two until the moon would rise again, and most of the creatures that hunted in the night had already retreated to their dens, at least all the dangerous ones.

Kevin and Keith didn't have a shift last night, but they learned from Stuart that the howls and roars of the creatures persisted through the night, sending shivers down their spines.

Once again, they embarked on their quest to find the noxlight flowers, this time scouring the path while hunting monsters along the way. They moved toward the base established by the merchant within the forest.

Kevin pondered over why the merchant desired this herb in such vast quantities. 'To sell them?' he mused, considering the straightforward reason. However, it didn't quite add up. They wouldn't have ventured here merely to sell these flowers for profit, especially when they are not making any. They are exchanging them for items far more valuable than hundreds of these flowers.

He scratched his head, mulling over the same question: 'Why trade so much for just 10 or 20 of these?' But no answers came to him. This herb wasn't in the book "100,000 Common Herbs Found in the Miyar Continent", he got from system. All he had was info from the Cultivations Association's site.

He glanced at Viana, realizing she seemed to know more about these flowers than anyone else he knew. "Guess I'll be learning a thing or two from her," he muttered to himself.

So, with a grin, he was about to ask her when Ken's voice cut in, loud enough for just them to hear. "We found something!" he announced, gesturing for them to come closer.

Everyone hustled over to where Ken and Zaria were crouching near a small pool of liquid that looked like blood. Zaria was inspecting it closely, taking a whiff, while Keyara inquired, "What is it?"

As Zaria sniffed around and checked the surroundings, Ken chimed in, "Looks like there was a monster brawl here last night, and one of them was the Shadowcrest Lupine we've been hunting."

Zaria added, "It seems the Lupine emerged victorious and headed off in that direction," pointing towards a specific path.