I wasn't there to judge or question these choices. But these small details could be the key to solving our problems. It seemed that the aim was to recruit these three people to help us face the challenges that lay ahead.

  However, there was a tricky question: how to pay for these services? Traveling to where these people were, making sure they agreed to come to the village... all of this seemed to be a major obstacle. I would have to rely completely on Starko'gus' methods, which had not yet been fully explained to me.

  He always said that the kingdom was a place of great possibilities. Perhaps, if I explored the place more, I could meet other people willing to help. But for that, we still needed the necessary resources - mainly financial.

  Perhaps... if necessary, I could try to sell something in the kingdom. Although I wasn't sure how much the things I owned were worth, I could still try to find some value there. The problem was that, without knowing what I had in my hands, the risk was great.

  I only knew one thing: the difficulties were far from over. And I would have to make difficult decisions, quickly.

  But I didn't want to worry about that problem right away, because there were still others that needed to be solved. The expedition was about to begin, and I knew that my attention had to be focused on the preparations.

  ***

  By midday, everything was ready. The planning was complete, and soon we would set off on an expedition to the kingdom of the dwarves. The idea of exploring that place intrigued me, but at the same time, the weight of the mission made me cautious.

  When I announced the expedition, I realized that the orcs were once again reluctant to participate. They really had a closed view of other species they didn't know. Only Dait offered, and I chose him without hesitation.

  Despite being younger, he had shown himself to be one of the few orcs willing to leave his comfort zone. What's more, he was one of the few to be in that strange country, which gave me more confidence in his ability.

  Until then, I had let Gashdo take the lead, as he always had. He already coordinated his people, and a few ants wouldn't be a problem. The change in logistics, it seemed, wouldn't change much.

  When I asked Dait to join us on the expedition, he accepted immediately. His youthful excitement was something I knew well. I remember when going to a new place was exciting, a promise of new experiences.

  But in this case, my motivation was different. I wasn't going to explore or simply travel. My mission had a more pragmatic purpose, almost like a business trip, as were my jobs in my previous life.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  To help us with transportation, I relied on Anthalia and other ants. Starko'gus soon felt a little strange when he climbed on the back of one of them, but he quickly got used to it. He said it wasn't that different from riding a winged horse, and of course, this generated a series of questions in my mind - which, out of respect, I decided to leave unanswered.

  Dait was still not fully balanced on top of the ants. They didn't have the long, stable body that he was used to riding, so I decided to accompany him and, together with Anthalia, we continued our journey. I asked him if he felt comfortable and, to my surprise, the answer was positive.

  He said he felt light, as if we were practically nothing to them. I had already heard about the incredible strength of ants, but hearing this from Anthalia, especially after her evolutionary process, made me believe this story even more. It seems that famous saying about an ant being able to carry twenty times its body weight wasn't just a fallacy.

  We decided not to take too many supplies. With my [Silk Thread], I tied the supplies to the backs of the other ants. They weren't enough to last a week, maybe two or three days at the most, but if we had to, we would hunt to top up the reserves. I didn't worry too much about food. The provisions would last for a while, and the focus was on using them quickly, if necessary.

  After confirming again with Gashdo that he was in control of the village, we set off.

  ***

  A few hours seemed to have passed. The sun was almost at its lowest point, about to set. We were a long way from our village now, and the feeling of distance caused me a slight apprehension. But I soon realized that my concern was misplaced.

  Anthalia commented that her [Mental Link] with the other ants was actually stronger than mine, which, to be honest, made me think. I had never paid much attention to it, but now I understood that she had an exceptional talent for [Coordination].

  She could sense the presence of the ants in her anthill, even if they were a long way away, something that reminded me of a mental GPS. Of course, this had its limitations. She didn't know exactly where the ants were, but at least she was aware of their presence.

  What's more, we had an excellent guide. Starko'gus, with his experience, mentioned that he had memorized a way back through the forest. He was sure that, for the rest of the journey, he would be able to follow a more precise trail, tracing parts of several paths until a safe route was formed. This method, according to him, also helped to throw off predators and possible threats.

  Curious, I asked how long it would take to reach the dwarf kingdom, and Anthalia told me that when her anthill needed to move, it took about 15 days to cover the distance between our village and the dwarf kingdom.

  This made me think about how long and challenging our journey would be, but at the same time, I was determined to keep going. Every step took us closer to our goal, and I knew that this expedition would have a big impact on what was to come.

  Starko'gus seemed to have no limits in his fast pace, mentioning something like a month for the completion of our journey. For him, being an experienced explorer, this didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. He was used to spending months away from home, facing the challenges of the unknown, and this was reflected in the calmness with which he spoke about the time it would take.

  Dait, on the other hand, gave a more measured response. Even though he was young, he already had a good idea of the limitations of his species and the reality of long journeys. He avoided going into too much detail about his personal life, but I couldn't help noticing that he spoke with a certain wisdom when he mentioned the times when he traveled as a nomad with his family. He said that, due to various factors, the journeys used to take at least two months and a few days.

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