Chapter 345 Part 2
Amazing.
Is this Hannes’ work?
No, I believe I heard that the Farmers are flocking to this place in droves.
The Tree Magic spell, Grow Plant, is amazing.
No, it’s outrageous, even.
Beautifully organized rice fields..
Some of them seem to not have been sowed yet?
But some are shining golden.
Looks like those are ready for harvest.
I can also see players planting rice.
How big of a mass production system have they set up here?
This swampland has turned into large-scale farmland.
No, it has been converted into a huge rice field.
What a drastic change!
Production Jobs players are incredible!
No, our appetite is amazing!
「Oh, if it isn’t Keith.」
「Hello. This place is incredible!」
「It is, isn’t it?」
Fiona also seems to be quite content.
What’s the situation of the Swampland Floating Island?
It seems like about half of it has already been developed, just by looks of it.
No matter where you look, it seems like construction work is underway.
「Oh! Keith!」
「So you came here, huh?」
It’s Adele and Irina.
Mio and Yuka are with them too.
They seem to be active here now as cooks.
The food stalls seem to be thriving.
What were they making, fried rice?
I just had lunch earlier, but I’m already getting hungry again!
Unfortunately, both Margrid and Saki seem to have already logged out.
Well, that can’t be helped.
I entrusted the South Sea Pearls and South Sea Black Pearls to Fiona, and left it to her to make my equipment, including the necklace.
I’ll also sell the Ice Flying Dragon Hides, Claws, and Needles here as well.
I’ve also managed to sort out a variety of items, so that should be fine.
Let’s do some shopping here as well.
Household goods.
Cooking tools, as well as pots…
Some tools…
Mostly for woodworking and stonecutting.
In any case, I’ll keep these for the base I’ll be making with the Fool’s Lithograph.
I have a certain ambition.
This is just the first step towards it.
While waiting for Fiona to settle the accounts, I killed some time by chatting with Adele and Irina.
How’s their Lesser Hydra doing?
It seems to be doing quite well in the swamp.
I heard that the Stonecutters are setting up raised footpaths even beyond the Area Portal’s effective range.
How far are they planning to expand the rice fields?
Well, they seem to be a good foothold for battles.
It seems that road construction has begun to reach some of the small islands scattered in the swamp.
They’re serious.
I’d like to think it’s impossible, but I also can’t help but think that they could end up turning this entire map into cultivated land.
I can’t believe we’ve made it this far thanks to a bundle of ears of rice I brought in one day.
It’s quite awestrucking.
「So, have a look!」
「It’s been quite a hit recently.」
Adele and Irina’s faces looked mischievous.
And the dish they showed to me was…
Ohagi?
That’s right.
Thank you very much for those.
I’ll take a few extras while I’m at it.
And some onigiris as well
Let’s put them in the Item Box.
I’ll make sure to enjoy them at dinner.
After settling the accounts, I left the Swampland Floating Island.
I’ll be heading east.
I’m aiming for the northwest edge of S2W2 on the wide area map.
I’ll hunt some Argentavis on the way.
I haven’t had enough battles.
I tried to check their positions with Call Monster, and it seems there are quite a few.
Delicious?
I’m sure they are delicious.
I won’t let them get away!
《【Physical Reinforcement】 Level Up!》
《【Magic Effect Amplification】 Level Up!》
《【Magic Range Expansion】 Level Up!》
I got all these Level Ups by the time I arrived at the location where I had planned to install the Fool’s Lithograph.
Of course, the Argentavis had all been deliciously converted into experience points, but…
Even on the S1W3 map, I’ve mainly hunted Chimeras.
It seems that the popularity of each Map fluctuates dramatically.
At one time, there were probably a lot of players looking for crystals on the S1W3 map.
But you don’t see that many players there these days.
But every now and then, there will be a few noticeable parties.
All of them rode on horseback on the ground, and seemed to be putting up a good fight against the Chimeras.
Hmm.
It’s very active everywhere.
But, you know…
Please refrain from going near the area around the secret base I’ll be setting up soon, okay?
What time is it?
It’s nearly 3:30 PM.
I’ve roughly decided where I’ll be installing the Fool’s Lithograph.
It’s a place right on the very edge of this Map’s border.
It’s not uncommon for monsters from each Map to cross borders and attack on other maps.
But it’s rare for them to act beyond their own borders for a long time.
It’s a little interesting to watch the movement of monsters with Call Monsters.
In this place, it should be relatively easy for me to aim for monsters in all these four maps.
This sounds fun.
Alright then.
Time to use the stone tablet!
《Fool’s Lithograph will be used! This will create a Relay Portal. Are you sure you want to proceed?》
《Yes》《No》
Huh…
This is what the Info screen said.
There’s an option to say No here.
But naturally, I’ll choose Yes.
《Relay portal has been set up! 『Keith』 will be registered as the installing player.》
《Please perform basic settings.》
Well then.
This is where it gets interesting.
There are several selection screens.
Depending on the settings, this could turn out to be my very own secret base.
I can almost see myself laughing.
The first thing to do to confirm the effective range of the Relay Portal.
The basic radius is 50 meters.
There was an extension function on the right.
Is this the one mentioned in the report?
By using one Mana Crystal, the radius can be expanded by 5 meters.
This can be repeated for a maximum of 10 Mana Crystals.
I place 10 Mana Crystals on the Fool’s Lithograph.
The Mana Crystals disappear one after another, but I don’t mind.
With this, the effective range will be 100 meters.
That’s about the size of a small park.
Next is user settings.
By default, it’s set to the installing player and their party members.
In the case of the Relay Portal Fiona set up in the eastern sea, it seems she made it available to all players and NPCs.
You can also designate friends.
You can even designate individual players.
But, you know…
This is going to be a secret base.
So I’ll leave the settings as they are.
And then, initial facilities.
From this point on, everything is completely optional.
What about installing a well?
That’s 1 Mana Crystal.
Of course, I’ll do it.
What about installing a shed?
That’s 1 Mana Crystal.
Of course, I’ll do it.
What about installing a fence?
That’s 2 Mana Crystals.
Let’s do this too.
What about installing a barrier?
That’s 1 Mana Crystal, huh?
This probably won’t be necessary for the time being.
And this one is important.
It can be made so that it cannot be seen from outside, much like an Instant Portal.
That costs 1 High Mana Crystal.
Too expensive, perhaps?
No, I won’t have any regrets.
After all, this is my secret base.
Let’s do it.
Oh, this one is also important.
Only the installer can select it as a Return Home teleport destination.
This one is nice.
It costs 1 Mana Crystal.
Let’s do this one too!
Well, is that enough for now?
I don’t need a watchtower, and I don’t need to think about adding another shed.
All I’d have to do would be to create those myself within the range of the relay portal.
If they’re absolutely necessary, I can add them later.
That’s a privilege of the installer.
I don’t mind having to build stuff myself.
I mean, I have my Summoned Monsters.
And just like Master did with his own house, it would be a good idea to keep some Summoned Monsters in my base.
I look at the completed Relay Portal.
It feels far from a village in the forest.
Even without camouflage, I get the feeling that players might overlook it just as well.
There’s a reasonably tall fence within its effective range.
Well, it’s a matter of mood.
It means that you can do whatever I want inside this fence.
I can cut down trees…
I can grow crops…
I wonder if I could get some fruit trees from Hannes or the other Farmers?
There’s a lot I can do here.
It may be small, but it’s my castle.
Alright then.
Let’s set up some defense.
It’s time to use the Portal Guard spell!
So, which Summoned Monsters should I assign as guards?
Well, let’s try this out as an experiment first.
For now, I’ll just recall all of my Summoned Monsters.
And who will I summon?
Jericho, Bunraku, Goukame, Shishiku, and Modulus.
「Portal Guard!」
What happens when I use that spell?
A selection screen appears.
《You can assign Summoned Monsters under your control to protect the Portal Area you are currently in. Please select your targets.》
For now, let’s select all of the ones I’ve summoned.
And then confirm.
I wonder if this will do fine?
《Jericho, Bunraku, Goukame, Shishiku, and Modulus have been set as guards to this location.》
《You can select 1 more Summoned Monster to be a Portal Guard target.》
Huh?
The last time I looked at the spell description, wasn’t there a maximum of five?
Whatever.
Let’s add one more then.
Should I summon Kiyohime and use Portal Guard?
《Kiyohime has been set as a guard to this location.》
《That is the maximum number of Summoned Monsters that can be selected to be Portal Guard targets.》
Hmm.
Let’s see how this goes.
Alright then, everyone.
You can engage in Production activities.
You can also hunt any approaching monsters.
This base is in your hands, alright?
Well then.
Let’s put the sewing tools, cooking tools, and other tools in the shed.
The same goes for the wool I brought for Modulus.
I’ll store all of my lumber and wood scraps there as well.
And I’ll leave one of my Item Boxes here.
One is enough for my everyday use.
Well then.
What about my lineup?
It’ll be centered around aerial movement.
Let’s go back to Couturier, Kotohogi, Aotsuki, Sputter, and Ignis.
Time to increase our fighting power.
I also have room for two new Summoned Monsters.
I have already made up my mind on what one of those new Summoned Monsters will be.
Let’s go out of the effective range of my secret base.
Surprisingly, my eyes saw a large green marker.
But the shed and fences have all but disappeared.
The camouflage seems to be working properly.
Now all that’s left to do is to turn this into a castle worthy of a Demon King.
…Just kidding.
Well then.
The time is exactly 4 PM.
Let’s do some hunting while we move towards the place where I’ll find our new friend.
Shall I have dinner while on Aotsuki’s back?
I have the onigiris and ohagi that Adele and Irina gave me.
The perfect Portable Food.
I’m really looking forward to it.
NEXT CHAPTER
RELEASE RATE
Summoner is Going
Speed up schedule by 10 hours
Current schedule: Every 80 Hours
Thanks.