[BEAST EVOLUTION PATH]
[Available Evolutionary Beast: Forest Troll]
[Nickname: Timber]
[Rank: Initiate ★★★★★★★ (On the Verge of Evolution)]
[Evolutionary Requirements: Nature Energy: 420/1500 (+Passive Absorption), Water Energy: 340/1000 (+Active Absorption)]
[Progress to Next Evolution: 38%]
A soft chime of satisfaction washed over me, followed by a strange binge of relief.
'It seems Timber would naturally evolve without any outside effort. No wonder he always stayed near the well, plunging his roots into the water. He had already been preparing for evolution all this time.'
My attention drifted toward Timber, who stood near the well, roots partly submerged while quietly absorbing water for his growth, all while playing with Nepoleon.
Our eyes met.
He made a face that unmistakably said, Master?—as if asking whether I needed anything.
'How considerate. What a great guy.'
I simply nodded, silently conveying that I didn't need anything, and he reciprocated with a nod of his own before returning to what he had been doing.
Moments like this reminded me just what a great decision it had been not to kill Timber and instead tame him.
Still, now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
Pulling my thoughts together, I focused on the task ahead.
I had newly unlocked territory that needed to be put to use, along with beasts that still needed grooming before evolution.
My gaze shifted toward the swamp and then to the woodlands.
Let's say I had already cleared those areas.
Then what exactly would I build there?
I already had a house and a storehouse to keep food and rations.
Granted, the house itself wasn't spacious enough for Aldric, Kaira, and me to live comfortably or privately. I definitely needed another residence.
But even if I built another house, there would still be plenty of unused space.
So what exactly should I build if I wanted this place to function like a proper village?
I started pacing back and forth, deep in thought, when suddenly it hit me.
I had a brilliant idea.
"Why don't I just build a farmhouse?"
Then I could summon normal domestic animals there.
Seriously, I was getting tired of eating mana-affected beasts roaming around the forest. It was high time I ate something nutritious—something closer to what I used to have back on Earth.
So it was decided.
I would build a proper two-storied house along with a farmhouse.
Keeping that thought in mind, I took a stroll around my territory while gathering everyone except Pride, who was flying around somewhere in the sky doing God knows what, and Nepoleon, who was currently trying to assert dominance over Lunaira.
That Rooster of mine had somehow become obsessed with her.
Could it be that he was bullying her?
As the parent of both, I definitely needed to teach them proper discipline.
No one gets to become a delinquent here.
Sigh...
...I am getting off track again, aren't I?
Clearing my throat softly, I turned my attention to the team gathered before me.
"Alright, team! I've decided. We'll be building a two-storied house along with a farmhouse where we'll take care of livestock!"
"Livestock?" Kaira asked almost immediately, sounding oddly enthusiastic. "Like those farmers from the outskirts of villages?"
I honestly had no idea what she was referring to, but I nodded anyway.
"How exactly?" she continued, brows furrowing. "We're deep inside the Jura Forest. There shouldn't be any harmless beasts here that could be categorized as domestic livestock."
She paused, seemingly piecing something together.
Then suddenly, her eyes widened.
"No!" she blurted out, horrified. "You absolutely can't do that! You can't just tame beasts, make them depend on you, trust you, and then kill them for food! That's inhumane, Marfin!"
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She had clearly misunderstood something.
"You're going to tame beasts and use them as livestock, aren't you?" she said, looking genuinely disturbed. "Don't do that. That's just cruel."
"..."
I stared at her for a few seconds before shaking my head.
"Of course not, silly," I said with a sigh. "What kind of person do you take me for? You'll understand once I actually start farming livestock. Just trust me for now."
"You weren't going to do that?"
She blinked, visibly relieved.
"Oh God... I'm sorry for drawing such a conclusion."
"It's alright," I reassured, leaving the matter behind us.
A few seconds later, I pulled out two modern blueprints from my inventory—designs Zero had constructed for me.
I walked everyone through the process while outlining the plan ahead.
"So, first things first—we clean the area. Kaira and I will handle the woodland. Aldric and Timber, you two will clear the swamp."
"What about me, Master?"
I felt a light tug on my sleeve.
Turning toward the source, I found Lys carefully carrying the goblin infant.
"You'll take care of him," I said, gently patting her head. "That's your mission until he grows up, alright?"
A faint blush spread across her cheeks.
"Without any doubt! My Master."
A soft chuckle escaped my lips.
"Alright then!" I clapped my hands together. "Let's get to work!"
At my words, Aldric and Timber immediately headed toward the swamp perimeter while Kaira and I made our way into the woodland.
I pulled two axes from my inventory, handing one to Kaira while gripping the other myself.
"Thank you," Kaira said with an embarrassed smile. "This is definitely better than ripping trees out from the ground."
"It's the least I can do for someone willingly helping me."
"Haha! I should be the grateful one," she replied with a grin. "I get to stay safe and eat good food in the middle of nowhere inside the Jura Forest. So don't worry about it. I'm happy to help build whatever you want."
She hesitated briefly before adding,
"Honestly... it's kind of fun."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Chuckling lightly, I watched Kaira walk up to a large tree, raise the axe, and swing it down.
THUD!
The tree collapsed almost instantly.
The power of a strength-type cultivator.
Not wanting to be left behind, I coated my own axe with carefully controlled gravity and struck.
[Stamina 100% -> 97%]
The tree trembled violently, bark cracking beneath the force, but unlike Kaira's strike, mine wasn't enough to bring it down.
So I swung again.
And again.
Somewhere along the way, the work stopped feeling like work.
Kaira and I chatted idly while chopping trees side by side, occasionally laughing over random nonsense.
It was... surprisingly fun.
By the time the sun dipped below the horizon, we had already cleared the woodland within our territory.
At nearly the same time, Aldric and Timber returned, apparently done with the swamp as well.
The remaining swamp line now lay beyond the boundary I had unlocked, so I didn't bother ordering them to clear further.
After all, I still had no idea where my next expansion would be.