Chapter 14 - The First Frontier (2)
Chapter 14 - The First Frontier (2)
'It used to be so quick...'
In the game, tiny pixelated units would scurry around the map, and every time they did, massive buildings or facilities would be built in a snap.
But that was just how the world looked to the player outside the monitor.
To me, now that I'm inside it, all I see are the production units and priests working hard, building the essential facilities for the settlement one by one.
Sitting idly inside a makeshift tent, I yawned and watched them work.
"It feels a bit wrong for us to be the only ones resting."
Hermann, who was next to me, muttered something carefree.
Of course, even those with relatively high status and positions, including Vivian and Adrian, were currently lending a hand.
They weren't showing it, but Rosaria and Seira also seemed to be feeling awkward about it.
"What can you do? We have to follow His orders."
Sitting on a folding chair, I shrugged and chuckled.
The fact that we're resting so comfortably isn't actually our choice.
It's because the Player personally herded us into the first completed tent barracks and ordered us to rest.
It's only natural. Even if the situation is so desperate you'd borrow a cat's paw, you can't waste the precious stamina of combat units on manual labor.
[Post: Wait, their stamina is draining way too fast. Is this really the right way to do it? Wouldn't it be faster if I made the high-stamina combat units do it?]
L Bullshit again.
L If you work them like that, your combat units will die in a random event that pops up.
L Rather than explaining it, they need to experience it 10 times to realize it themselves, but because of Leon, I can't really wish for that to happen.
I glanced at the screen shimmering in the corner of my vision.
The Player is still streaming their gameplay on the UltiField Gallery.
Thanks to that, the game is progressing little by little, relatively easily avoiding mistakes that beginners usually make.
L Damn it, I just got wiped again. Why don't I get a guy like Leon?
L I don't usually like watching streams, but I keep watching this one.
L Hey, the link is up on foreign sites now too. Check this out. Even the foreigners are shocked by Leon's stats.
In my memory, these guys were never this kind or interested in newbies.
But this time, it was a little different.
It's because of me.
'Are they that curious?'
The Player is a crazy lunatic who started a game they'd never played before on the hardest difficulty the developers intentionally created.
And a unit with legendary talent born under such a player.
Thinking about it as an outsider, it is a combination that would pique my interest too.
Wondering how long they can hold out, or if they actually succeed in clearing it, maybe I could use that OP unit as a mercenary.
"Danger! It's a Magic Beast!"
"I'm going!"
It was then that, with an ear-splitting screech, something massive descended from the sky, flapping wings covered in membranes, and attacked us.
It's a Magic Beast bat mutated by demonic energy.
As soon as I heard the ultrasonic waves it emitted, I reflexively jumped up, drew my sword, and lunged.
Kicking off the ground, I launched my body, stepped on the head of a golem that the Technology Bureau people were using for construction, and soared into the air once more.
Using momentary acceleration on my body toward the monster bat, which was as big as a bull, I stood my sword up and sliced its body in half in one stroke.
The nearly 2-meter blade cut through bone and flesh, cleanly bisecting the body of the screeching bat.
'I was faster.'
Immediately after, I felt a force trying to move my body appear and then vanish, and I smiled.
Since I took care of it before the Player could react, I was able to avoid being hindered by that pathetic control.
L Why is Leon so fast? I looked for Leon as soon as the notification popped up, but it says Leon already killed the Magic Beast.
L Does that make sense? You must have been doing something else and clicked late.
L It's an established theory that while not displayed, every unit has an 'aggressiveness' stat. Is Leon's high even in that...?
The community users seemed to view even that positively.
Aggressiveness, huh. Maybe it's not wrong, since I'm probably more serious about clearing this than the Player.
"Fortunately, it seems the basic construction has finished as scheduled."
After experiencing just a few minor attacks from Magic Beasts like that.
Vivian, who had used her mana to control the golems with sorcery, wiped away cold sweat and sighed.
Finally, the first settlement completed its basic facilities.
A Nexus and a temporary stone bunker to protect the Nexus.
Various warehouses and wooden fences made of wood, which is an essential material for early-game tech, and so on.
We still have to sleep in tents, but this is enough to say the basics of an initial settlement are all set.
"It's..."
"It's truly pathetic."
When Seira hesitated, I said the words she wanted to say for her.
The initial settlement is so poor that even the commoners, let alone the nobles within the Exploration Team, feel awkward about it.
This life will continue until the Player keeps upgrading the tech.
Until the second Exploration Team is selected and arrives, we have to survive here with only the given supplies and even carry out missions.
"B-but God is watching over us. With His grace, things will get better soon."
Priestess Lea tried hard to preach hopeful words.
Because she firmly believes the Player is God, and because she has actually seen His existence and miracles, her faith and eyes did not waver.
"...Perhaps."
Knowing how strong of a motivation that hope can be, I didn't say anything.
Because I felt it was enough for only me to know the fact that the God they believe in so much is actually a newbie who knows nothing and needs to be taken care of one by one.
[Post: Once you've settled, you absolutely have to find Magic Iron Ore next. It's essential for upgrading early-game tech; you can't do anything without it.]
L That's why you settle near Magic Iron Ore from the very beginning lol.
L This is correct. Even if you need things like Dragon Scale Stone or Mana Cloth in the late game, Magic Iron Ore is essential to get there.
One of the fairly standard strategies spread across communities, including the UltiField Gallery, is to secure Magic Iron Ore, one of the essential resources, right after settling down.
Magic Iron Ore is an essential material that goes into almost all technological advancements, just like steel in modern civilization.
That's why players these days don't even look at other resources when choosing the initial settlement location; they only settle near a Magic Iron Ore mine.
My Player did that too.
And now, we are going to find that place.
"Leon, He..."
"I know. You and I are going to carry out an exploration mission from now on."
Early dawn.
As I woke up and prepared for activity, a will inhabited my body.
I got dressed, grabbed my weapon, and came out, and Rosaria came out of the tent next to mine.
'Since it's an exploration mission anyway, I guess they're sending two vanguard units with good stamina and durability. Reasonable.'
Rosaria's face was stiff, perhaps nervous about heading into an unknown space with just the two of us, but I didn't think much of it.
The Player is following the standard strategy.
If they're doing it by the book, there's no reason for me to refuse.
"It's called an exploration mission, but it feels like the destination is already set. Does He know where everything is?"
"He probably does. Since He's looking down from the sky."
Without even a single common map or compass, we headed into the rough forest.
The only thing we had to rely on was the will moving our bodies.
I affirmed Rosaria's words.
Because being able to look down at a fairly large area of the map as if from a satellite is the Player's privilege, after all.
"You never know when a terrible Magic Beast might appear."
She, holding her spear, stuck a little closer to my side. Our arms were almost touching.
If we're too close, it's hard to respond to sudden situations like drawing a sword or aiming a spear, but I didn't bother pointing it out.
Because I can usually sense those situations before they happen.
"It looks like it's over there."
Fortunately, we arrived at our destination without any particular events.
It's an open-pit mine not too far away, where a significant amount of Magic Iron Ore is exposed on the surface.
According to the lore, it's a precious resource unique to the Corrupted Land, created by demonic energy seeping into iron ore, right?
"What on earth is that?"
It seems Rosaria didn't know about Magic Iron Ore.
She looked surprised at the things exposed on the surface, emitting a faint aura.
"Let's take a closer look."
The Player was demanding a more detailed exploration.
We walked a bit further and marveled at the Magic Iron Ore mine, which looked bigger than a decent-sized playground even before development.
"I can feel an unknown power. As expected, He must have known about this."
"That's right. Now, let's go back and..."
The strange feeling started when we had confirmed the entire location of the Magic Iron Ore mine and it was time to head back.
In the forest, still dark as dawn hadn't fully broken.
My eyes, looking around to get a good look at the surrounding terrain, saw 'it'.
'Underworld...!'
The mark engraved on the casually abandoned stele is a mark I can never forget.
A mark symbolizing the Underworld, one of the three major factions of the Demon World along with the Swarm.
Those guys, a group of vampires, have built underground fortresses all over the Corrupted Land and have their soldiers sealed inside.
Every time the Player attempts to settle, those underground fortresses, which were hidden perfectly, pop out like landmines and screw the Player over.
'It's about to explode!'
A group of vampires is sleeping near this open-pit mine. And they will wake up and go on a rampage soon.
Because the clearer the mark becomes, the closer the time for the sleeping vampires to wake up.
"W-what's wrong!?"
"We have to go. Before it's too late. The Player needs to discover that...!"
In my haste, I ignored the Player's control to return to the settlement and started moving.
"Ugh!?"
Naturally, an immense strain was placed on my body, and I felt a heaviness as if I were moving while wearing lead weights all over my body.
'Shut up and listen to me. Just ride the bus!'
I could feel the Player's confusion, but I gritted my teeth and took a step forward.
It was a matter of whether we could protect the settlement we had just finished and clear the stage, and furthermore, whether our lives would be safe or not.