After Ethan and the girls had all changed into their thatched outfits, he opened the remaining Black Iron Treasure Chest.
[Stone Arrows ×10]
[Powerful Sinew Bow ×1]
[Mineral Water ×10]
"It’s actually a weapon... and it’s another bow and arrow!"
Everyone’s eyes lit up.
Grace immediately stepped forward and activated her SS-Rank Talent—Resource Doubling.
A soft white light enveloped the rewards.
Moments later, the supplies doubled.
Now they had 20 Stone Arrows, 2 Powerful Sinew Bows, and 20 bottles of Mineral Water.
Together with the two ordinary wooden bows they had obtained earlier, Eden Garden now possessed two Wooden Bows, two Powerful Sinew Bows, and twenty Stone Arrows.
These weapons finally gave their Tribe a respectable level of offensive capability.
Just then, "Gurgle~"
Someone’s stomach growled.
Soon, another stomach answered.
The girls looked longingly at the food and water before them, quietly swallowing their saliva. However, not a single person stepped forward without the Tribe Leader’s permission.
Grace noticed their expressions and smiled gently.
"Everyone has worked hard today. Each person will receive one ear of corn. One bottle of mineral water will be shared between every two people. Fill your stomachs first. We’ll think about the future after we’ve recovered our strength."
"Yes, Tribe Leader!"
The girls immediately began distributing the food in an orderly manner.
Some of them cried as they ate.
"It’s a good thing Teacher Grace became our Tribe Leader. Otherwise, we might not even have anything to eat."
"I’ll follow Tribe Leader Grace forever!"
"I want to have children for Tribe Leader Grace!"
The moment those words came out, another girl rolled her eyes.
"Are you stupid? Tribe Leader Grace is a woman. How are you supposed to have children with her?"
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
Almost instinctively, everyone’s eyes turned toward Ethan.
After all... Among everyone present... He was the only man.
Ethan suddenly felt dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on him and couldn’t help scratching his nose awkwardly.
Grace also noticed the scene.
For the first time, she truly realized that, regardless of everything else, a man was still indispensable to the long-term development of a Tribe.
Her gaze unconsciously landed on Ethan.
Although he had panicked after witnessing Mia’s death and even vomited on the spot, that only proved he was kind-hearted and had never experienced such cruelty before.
Back at college, Ethan had always been a polite, obedient, and hardworking student.
He got along well with both teachers and classmates and rarely caused trouble.
Perhaps... He wasn’t suited to being a leader.
But he could still become an important pillar of the Tribe in other ways.
Just as that thought appeared, Grace quickly shook her head inwardly.
Why was she thinking so far ahead already?
Meanwhile, on Jessica’s side, the girls watched Grace’s group happily eating corn and drinking water.
Their own stomachs growled even louder.
A few girls finally couldn’t bear it anymore and secretly took two steps toward Eden Garden.
Seeing this, Jessica immediately shouted, "Don’t you dare go! The food given by the system is probably drugged!"
The girls immediately stopped.
"Then... what should we do now?" one of them asked weakly.
Jessica looked toward Eden Garden.
She watched as Grace, Ethan, and the others entered the thatched huts one after another, leaving only a few girls outside to keep watch.
The more she looked, the angrier she became.
Why did they even have their own Tribe and thatched huts?
Jessica clenched her fists.
"Hurry up and gather thatch! We’ll build our own shelter!"
Grace, Ethan, Emily, Elena, and the others were sitting inside the thatched hut.
Feeling the cold wind seeping in through the gaps in the walls, Ethan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Although the hut leaked from every direction, it was still far better than sleeping out in the open.
At the very least, it could block most of the cold wind.
Grace clapped her hands, drawing everyone’s attention.
"I will now announce the rules of our Eden Garden."
"First, there will be no internal fighting or forming small cliques."
"Second, Eden Garden does not support idlers. Regardless of your Talent, everyone must contribute to the Tribe if they wish to remain a member."
"Third, no one is allowed to hoard supplies. Everything we obtain must be handed over to me for unified management and fair distribution."
"If anyone violates these rules, Jessica and Mia are examples of what happens when people choose a different path."
Everyone subconsciously looked toward Jessica’s group at the edge of the mist.
They had no supplies. No food. Not even a single thatched hut.
A chill ran down everyone’s spine. Only then did they truly realize the importance of following the right leader.
Ethan was the first to nod.
"I agree. From now on, we’ll follow your arrangements."
The others nodded one after another.
Grace smiled faintly before beginning the assignment of duties.
"Everyone with the Woodcutting Talent, please step forward."
With the sound of rustling footsteps, eight girls walked out of the crowd.
"There are only four axes at the moment, so you’ll work in pairs. Head to the western side of the Tribe, near the edge of the mist, and begin cutting trees. One person will chop while the other transports the wood back to the Tribe. When the one chopping gets tired, switch places."
One of the girls hesitantly raised her hand.
"Teacher Grace... how long do we need to chop?"
Grace thought for a moment before answering gently, "Work until it starts getting dark. Don’t push yourselves too hard, and don’t overexert your bodies. Safety comes first. The more wood we gather today, the warmer everyone will be tonight. If we collect enough, we’ll even have enough fuel to cook meat for dinner."
Hearing that, the girls looked at one another before smiling.
"So we’re chopping wood for everyone. Then let’s work hard!"
"Tonight we’ll all have a warm place to stay."
Seeing their enthusiasm, Ethan couldn’t help adding with a smile, "Everyone’s efforts today will become the foundation of Eden Garden tomorrow. The more we contribute now, the easier our future will be."
The eight girls nodded seriously, picked up the four axes, and happily left to begin cutting wood.
Grace then looked at the remaining students.
"The rest of you, report your Talents one by one and explain what they do."
"I have a C-Rank Talent — Vegetable Planting. The vegetables I grow mature faster and have a higher survival rate than normal."
"Stand on the right. Next."
"I have D-Rank Mining. I’m better at locating and extracting stone and ore."
"Right side. Next."
Before long, another group of students with life-support Talents below B-Rank had been sorted out.
There were six of them in total.
Grace looked at them and said, "You have an equally important task. Form small groups and search the surrounding forest for edible plants, fruits, water sources, medicinal herbs, stones, vines, or anything else that might be useful. Bring everything back to the Tribe before dark, and never leave each other’s sight."
Compared to chopping wood, this assignment sounded much easier, and none of them raised any objections.
Inside the thatched hut, only six people remained.
Grace, Emily, Ethan, Elena, Sophie, and Christy.
These were the only people in the Tribe who possessed A-Rank Talents or above.
Among them, Christy’s Talent was S-Rank Tailoring.
It allowed her to dismantle wearable protective equipment, fuse materials together, reshape them, and adjust their size to perfectly fit the wearer, even slightly enhancing their defensive properties. Although they didn’t possess any armor at the moment, everyone understood that her Talent had enormous strategic value. There was no need for someone like her to perform manual labor.
To everyone’s surprise, Elena had awakened an SS-Rank Talent — Divination.
It could predict fortune and misfortune, divine opportunities, and foresee certain future events.
Emily looked toward Grace and calmly asked, "At the moment, I’m the only one with an offensive Talent. Do you have any plans for the Tribe’s future development?"
Grace didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she turned to Ethan.
"Ethan, everyone else has already revealed their Talent."
"Now... it’s your turn. What exactly is your Talent?"
Hearing the question, Ethan’s expression immediately became unnatural.
"My... my..." He opened his mouth several times, but no words came out.
Seeing him hesitate so much, Grace instinctively assumed he had awakened some embarrassing or low-grade Talent.
Her expression softened.
"It’s alright. No matter what Talent you’ve awakened, every Talent has its own value."
"Even if it’s only D-Rank, nobody here will laugh at you."
"And don’t worry. Since you’re the only male member of our Tribe, I won’t assign you overly exhausting work."
"So..." She smiled encouragingly. "Just tell us honestly."
Ethan took a deep breath. His face gradually turned red.
Finally, as though he had made up his mind, he lowered his head and muttered,
"...I awakened an SSS-Rank Talent."
The moment those words left his mouth, the entire thatched hut fell completely silent.
Grace froze.
Emily’s calm eyes suddenly narrowed.
Elena blinked in happiness.
Even Sophie and Christy stared at Ethan with their mouths slightly open.
An... SSS-Rank Talent?
That was the first SSS-Rank Talent any of them had ever heard of.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Finally, Grace swallowed and asked, "...What’s its name?"
Ethan wished he could dig a hole and bury himself.
After hesitating for several seconds, he answered in an increasingly quieter voice, "...More Wife, More Blessing."
Silence. Complete silence.
The expressions on everyone’s faces instantly became strange.
"...What?"
Christy rubbed her ears. "I think I misheard."
Sophie looked at Ethan, then at Grace.
"Did... did he just say... More Wife, More Blessing?"
Even the usually composed Emily couldn’t hide the twitch at the corner of her mouth.
"An SSS-Rank Talent... With a name like that?"
Grace was equally stunned.
She had imagined countless possibilities.
A Combat Talent. An elemental Talent. A summoning Talent. Even a Talent capable of controlling time or space.
Never in her wildest dreams had she expected the legendary SSS-Rank Talent to have such an... unbelievable name.
Grace couldn’t help asking,
"...Ethan... Are you absolutely sure you didn’t read it wrong?"
Ethan’s face became even redder.
"I... I checked it three times. That’s really what it’s called."
For several more seconds, nobody knew what to say.
The atmosphere inside the hut became indescribably awkward.
Grace took a deep breath before asking seriously, "Then... what exactly does your Talent do?"
Ethan scratched his cheek awkwardly and replied in a low voice, "According to the system, whenever I become truly intimate with one of my wives, the system will randomly grant me a blessing or reward. The stronger the relationship, the better the possible rewards."
The hut instantly fell silent again.
Grace frowned slightly.
"So... are you saying your Talent only works after becoming intimate with a woman?"
Ethan nodded helplessly. "...That’s what the system says."
Grace narrowed her eyes.
"Ethan, are you absolutely certain you aren’t making this up just to take advantage of the girls?"
Ethan immediately raised both hands.
"I swear I’m not lying! If you don’t believe me, I can show you the system description later."
Grace quietly observed him for several seconds.
Judging from Ethan’s anxious expression, she couldn’t find any signs that he was lying.
Finally, she sighed. "Alright. I’ll believe you for now."
"But whether your Talent is truly as you described or not will have to be verified over time."
She folded her arms and continued calmly, "Until then, you’ll stay with me most of the time."
Ethan blinked. "Huh?"
"I’ll assign you as my advisor."
"You’ve already shown that you’re good at observing details and analyzing situations. Besides, since your Talent is so unusual, it’s better for me to keep you nearby. It’ll also make it easier to confirm whether your Talent is genuine."
Hearing that, Ethan finally let out a sigh of relief.
"As long as I can contribute to the Tribe, I’m satisfied."
Grace nodded slightly. She had another reason she didn’t say aloud.
Since Ethan was the only man in the Tribe, and his Talent was unlike anything they had ever heard of, keeping him close would also allow her to ensure his safety while observing him herself.
On the other side, Christy’s eyes quietly sparkled.
"So... that’s how his Talent works..."
A mischievous smile slowly appeared on her face as an idea quietly formed in her mind.
Not only Christy. Even Sophie lowered her head, seemingly deep in thought.
Seeing their reactions, Elena simply smiled helplessly.
She had already guessed this would happen the moment Ethan revealed the name of his Talent.
Meanwhile, Emily remained expressionless on the surface.
Inside, however, she couldn’t help grumbling.
That scoundrel... even his Talent is as shameless as he is.
Even so, she silently reached a decision.
Regardless of how ridiculous Ethan’s Talent sounded, he had become an indispensable member of Eden Garden.
As the Tribe’s strongest combatant, she would protect him whenever necessary.
It wasn’t because he had taken her virginity.