Chapter 167 (1/2)

Territory Pioneering 1

I’m starting to feel a little anxious about this.

Maybe I should just start by experimenting.

“Let’s see here….”

I placed my hand down in the middle of the patch of purple gromwell and shot out recovery magic. Within seconds several patches of the plant around me began to glow with that familiar dim light. There’s no doubt that these plants are the source of the glow.

I wonder if by absorbing recovery magic instead of raw mana these plants begin to act like a healing potion.

But this effect seems insignificant. There must be hundreds of the plant glowing around me right now but the feeling just reminds me of taking a hot bath. How many of them would I need to regrow a lost limb? It isn’t exactly the most convenient thing.

“….”

Now that I think about it, I’ve seen mana potions before but I don’t ever recall seeing healing potions in this world.

It’s possible that items like that are rare. There are medicinal herbs used to cleanse the body or that act as an anesthetic, but there aren’t any herbs, at least to my knowledge, that are capable of healing lost limbs.

The herbs that goblin gave me just sped up the body’s natural healing rate.

Actually, if there were such a herb, it could potentially do terrible things. Imagine eating a random plant and having a new arm sprout from your body.

“That must mean….”

It may just be my assumption but all of the evidence seems to suggest it. From what I saw at the markets in town and at the Adventurer’s Guild there are no potions are herbs available to heal. If you’re worried about getting injured on a quest, you bring along someone capable of using recovery magic and you buy mana potions so they can continuously heal.

“It seems likely.”

I should’ve brought the noble mage with me. I’m sure even Ester-chan could’ve given me an answer. When the members of the Twilight Company arrive I should remember to ask them about it.

“….”

My priority now should be attracting customers.

I need to find some way of earning fifty gold coins per month.

“From what I can tell, the effect doesn’t diminish over time…but it’s not terribly efficient.”

During all the time I spent in Kalis, I never saw a single place where you could stop in and get healed quickly. This should work. There’s no reason for me to change my plan yet.

“…for the time being, I should begin constructing a building.”

I can worry about everything else later.

Status window, open.

NameTanakaSexMaleRaceHumanLevel113JobAlchemistHP101400/101400MP220550300/220550300STR8210VIT12010DEX13999AGI10112INT16392102LUC101

Good, my level is still increasing.

I’m glad I worked so hard during the conflict. My level went up by five. It’s not as dramatic an increase as the last time I checked. There must be some scaling I don’t know about that occurs with levels the higher you get.

Still, five levels are enough for what I need.

Skill window, open.

Passive:Magic Power RecoveryLv. MAXMagic EfficiencyLv. MAXLanguage KnowledgeLv. 1Active:Recovery MagicLv. MAXFire MagicLv. 45Purification MagicLv. 5Flight MagicLv. 55Remaining Skill Points5

My skill points increased as well.

I don’t know what I would’ve done if I stopped earning one skill point every level.

I guess it’s about time I decided on what skills to learn.

“Civil Engineering Magic! Civil Engineering Magic! Civil Engineering Magic, please!”

I screamed out in my mind.

I silently prayed for a few seconds before the sound of a chime echoed throughout my mind.

It’s done.

Passive:Magic Power RecoveryLv. MAXMagic EfficiencyLv. MAXLanguage KnowledgeLv. 1Active:Recovery MagicLv. MAXFire MagicLv. 45Purification MagicLv. 5Flight MagicLv. 55Environmental Engineering Magic5Remaining Skill Points0

Environmental Engineering Magic?

It’s a little different from what I wanted. Maybe it just adjusted itself to better fit this world. Well, there’s nothing I can do now.

Ah, that level five purification magic hurts whenever I look at it. Such a waste. I only ever used it once to send away Edita Sensei when she was a ghost. There’s no point regretting it now, but I do wish Edita Sensei had taken advantage of me in when she was in her ghost form.

Anyway, I should be able to start building now.

“All right, stone wall!”

Following my command, I pointed my hands down at the earth.

And a magic circle emerged before me.

A mound of earth began to grow out of the earth and became as tall as me.

It’s like a large monolith.

“It worked.”

It’s exactly as I pictured it in my mind. If I didn’t know better, I could easily mistake it for a modern-day concrete wall. I pushed on the wall with all of my strength but there was no give in it. Let’s try one more thing.

Yakuza kick!

Gogon!

The wall didn’t budge. In fact, my foot is hurting now. I felt uneasy about it because of its low level, but it seems sturdy enough for what I’ll need it for.

“…I did a good job.”

Now that I’ve confirmed its sturdiness, it’s time to get on to the real work.

I flew up into the sky and conjured a massive magic circle a few hectares in size in the middle of my territory. Several walls sprouted up out of the ground and formed one gigantic square around ten metres tall.

I had originally intended on enclosing my entire territory within these walls but now that the soothing glow was gone there was no reason for me to do so and I didn’t want to make a giant sectioned off area with nothing to put in it.

I cut away a few metres of each of the walls facing the Penny Empire and the Pussy Republic. At either side of these two openings, I summoned four identical cylindrical pillars.

With a few more flicks of my wrist, the two gates were complete.

With soldiers stationed on either side, it will look like a proper entry gate.

“This is quite enjoyable.”

It was fun burning down the grass but this is even more satisfying.

“Good. Now, let’s try a road.”

While still floating in the air, I activated my Engineering Magic once more.

A stone square rose out of the ground. It was only a few centimetres high but it was several metres wide. I extended this square out from one gateway to the other. I can have all of the other roads branching off this main street to form the rest of the town.

I feel like I’m building a town in a game. It’s great fun.

“This is going great.”

The stone walls look even better than I imagined. I’m really happy that it’s this easy to create everything I want.

Now that main street is done, a well is necessary. No people will stay here if there’s no water. There is no river in my territory and if I can’t find a place to build a well, I’ll have to bring some in from outside my territory.

Though, I’m sure there has to be water flowing beneath my land. This is a grassland after all.

“Please, be there….”

Hole. Dig a hole.

Another silent prayer to myself.

“Dig earth!”

Please, I need there to be groundwater. I can’t get started on anything else until I find water.

Another magic circle formed a few metres in diameter beneath me. The design on this formation was different from the one that created the stone walls. The centre of the geometric formation slowly sank into the ground with a loud groan. A depression around thirty centimetres squared appeared beneath me.

At least I know this magic can be used to dig holes easily.

But the water is what’s important now.