Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 68

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 68
68. The Emergence of a New Zone
┼ Additional Construction Zone Options
└ Spirit Special Zone
└ Amusement Park Zone
└ Military Zone
‘What is this. There’s really only one choice that makes sense.’
Three options presented themselves, but two of them were clearly traps.
The Spirit Special Zone.
By name alone, it would be a district built solely for spirits. Likely an upgraded version of the Nest, or so I reasoned.
‘What that means is, building it would be pointless.’
Whether I constructed it or not, the spirits would continue dwelling in the forest and sleeping in my bed regardless. So the Special Zone was a trap choice.
‘Next is the Military Zone.’
Didn’t the name alone sound ominous?
The spirits were already plenty strong without any military training whatsoever.
If I carelessly built such a zone and some suspicious training facility sprouted up, the Waystation next door would certainly keep close watch on it.
The attitude of the Waystation’s proprietor—the Grand Lord, who had been rather favorable to me lately—might very well shift as well.
‘So this choice is also one I should avoid.’
That left only the Amusement Park Zone.
And truthfully, my heart had been drawn to this option from the moment I first saw it.
An amusement park. A playground of wonder.
Wasn’t it a word that made one’s heart race just hearing it?
‘Is this what they call childish wonder?’
I laughed bashfully and rubbed my nose.
‘With the Festival coming soon, it’s not a bad choice at all. And the spirits would enjoy it too.’
My deliberation was brief.
I selected the Amusement Park Zone.
The Amusement Park Zone is now forming.
A deep humming sound filled the air—
The magical power suspended in the sky seemed to shift and flow.
Northward, in the direction where the circuit lay.
[Amusement Park Zone]
Circuit 1
When I checked the skill window, the Circuit that had previously belonged to the Suburban Zone had been reassigned to the Amusement Park Zone.
‘So the northern spirit territory has become the Amusement Park Zone.’
For now, only the Circuit stood as a structure, but as time passed, there would be more attractions to enjoy.
If new buildings didn’t appear on their own, I could always build them myself.
‘I can’t wait to try racing.’
Unfortunately, using the Circuit would have to wait a few more days. The Karts I’d ordered hadn’t arrived yet.
‘So first, let me go build some other structures.’
To showcase a more spectacular Amusement Park Zone to the Festival visitors, I needed to upgrade the buildings.
* * *
I opened the skill window and checked the ‘Construction Available List.’
And I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows. The material requirements were absurd.
Construction Available List
┼ Museum LV. 1
└ Material: Excavated Ruins (50/50)
└ Material: Mana Stone (30kg/30kg)
└ Material: Cement (22kg/100kg)
└ Condition: Building Administrator Assignment (0/1)
┼ Spirit Forest LV. 3
└ Material: Jeong Ryong’s Mana (0/plenty)
└ Material: Delicious Fertilizer (0/plenty)
└ Material: Attention and Affection (0/plenty)
┼ Refinery LV. 4
└ Material: Water Wheel (0/1)
└ Material: Mithril (3kg/50kg)
└ Condition: Building Administrator Assignment (0/1)
The materials for the Museum and Refinery posed no real problem.
‘What about the material requirements for the Spirit Forest?’
The problem was the Spirit Forest’s materials.
‘Jeong Ryong’s Mana? Delicious Fertilizer? Affection and care? And the quantity required is ‘a lot’?’
What kind of absurd material requirements were these? Even an elementary school student’s wish list would have more sincerity than this.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it. How was I supposed to make sense of this?
‘Wait, hold on.’
Now that I thought about it, there was one interpretation that made sense. Wasn’t there a friend who had walked into the Spirit Forest on her own two feet not long ago and made it her home?
The one who had become a tree—Lani.
‘But does a building’s own will count as building material?’
And before that, was she even treated as a building? In the first place, wasn’t the very idea of the Spirit Forest being a “building” strange?
I shook my head to clear away the thoughts that were spiraling into absurdity. There was no point in scrutinizing a skill like that.
‘In any case, this is Lani’s doing.’
Which meant I had to talk to her directly.
The moment I set foot in the Spirit Forest, the windbreak trees that had grown back up to my waist despite the logging I’d done before welcomed me again.
In the center of those trees stood one that had never felt the bite of a saw.
A tree about my height. The tree that held the entrance to the Underground Section. That was Lani.
“Hey, Lani.”
I raised a hand in greeting lightly.
Smack—
A sharp branch slapped across my face in return.
‘What? Did I do something wrong?’
Wondering if she was just being prickly, I carefully turned back to face her again.
Smack—
Another slap came flying.
I began to think through the history between Lani and me. Then something clicked into place.
“Is this about me moving the Spirit Forest outside the City Walls?”
Rustle—
“Listen, I did this all for you. You think I moved it because I wanted something for myself?”
Even as I spoke, my conscience stung.
The truth was, I had moved her simply because I thought the forest looked unsightly inside the walls.
“Of course, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you first. But I was so busy too. You know how much work I have.”
Rustle—
“You’re not saying you don’t care, are you? Because that would really hurt my feelings.”
Quiver—
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push it that far.”
I kicked at a loose stone. I had no idea how things had turned out this way when I’d come to find Lani for a good reason.
I’d come wanting everything to work out well for all of us, so why did I keep making excuses and stubbornly defending my pride?
Feeling ashamed of myself, I stared at the ground as an awkward silence flowed between us.
[Hmm?]
Undine, the forest’s guardian, looked between the two of us alternately, then padded straight through the middle without a word.
That mysterious look in her eyes—as if to say she had no idea what we were doing—stabbed painfully at my chest.
“Ahem. Anyway, you were the one who set up the Construction materials, right?”
Rustle—
Yes. Perhaps I had been too thoughtless toward Lani.
In a way, Lani herself was one of the founding contributors of the Spirit Domain. She’d even opened up the Underground Section, creating the perfect space for the engine room.
“I get it. I’ll pay more attention from now on, so just help me out this one time.”
I coaxed Lani and channeled as much of my Mana as I could, extending it toward her.
Lani drew in my Mana through her branches the way roots drink in water, and her limbs swayed contentedly.
“I’ll bring the fertilizer right away. Understood?”
Rustle—
I left the Spirit Forest on good terms with Lani and immediately checked my skill window.
Construction Available List
┼ Spirit Forest LV. 3
└ Material: Jeong Ryong’s Mana (3/a lot)
└ Material: Delicious Fertilizer (0/a lot)
└ Material: Affection and Care (-1/a lot)
……
Lani.
Truly, she was not an easy tree.
* * *
Setting aside how to mollify Lani, I decided to focus on the Museum and the Smelter for now.
Construction Available List
┼ Museum LV. 1
└ Materials: Excavated Ruins (50/50)
└ Materials: Mana Stone (30kg/30kg)
└ Materials: Cement (100kg/100kg)
└ Condition: Building Administrator Assignment (0/1)
┼ Foundry LV. 4
└ Materials: Water Wheel (0/1)
└ Materials: Mithril (23kg/50kg)
└ Condition: Building Administrator Assignment (0/1)
The museum could be built immediately once I assigned a Building Administrator, thanks to the materials we’d accumulated in the warehouse from the excavation tournament and spare supplies gathered over time.
The foundry, however, would require another thirty kilograms of Mithril due to the aftermath of a recent delivery.
Of course, that was more than enough for half a day’s work.
“Today, focus on Mithril mining, if you would.”
[Understood!]
At my request, Noum, the foreman of the mining operations, responded with vigor and immediately dashed toward the Mine. That should be sufficient to gather plenty of Mithril before the day’s work ended.
‘A Building Administrator for the museum, then.’
The role of a Building Administrator was to oversee a facility.
For a museum, that would make them a curator, helping visitors through their tour. Noum and the Salamanders, who couldn’t speak, were naturally excluded from consideration.
‘The Undines do enjoy people, but they’re far too shy.’
That left only Sylph as a candidate—and specifically, the one who enjoyed talking the most.
[Oh! There you are! I’ve been looking into this thing called F1 Racing, and you know, the impact that superstars have on the market is much bigger than I thought! So I’m thinking, what if we cultivate promising spirit racers ourselves and use them for promotion?]
Perfect. You’ve earned the post, chatty Sylph.
“I hereby appoint you as Building Administrator of the museum.”
[If we do that, surely the number of visitors to the Spirit Special Zone will increase significantly…. Huh?]
I gave the talkative Sylph a firm pat on both shoulders and finished with a gentle stroke of her head.
“In the museum that will soon be built, continue to provide curation to all who visit with that same spirit of scholarly curiosity and hunger for knowledge.”
The talkative Sylph, now Museum Director Sylph, who had been staring blankly at me for a moment, suddenly snapped to attention with a crisp salute.
[Yes, sir! I, Sylph, am hereby appointed as Building Administrator of the museum, effective immediately!]
With that, the construction conditions for the museum were fulfilled.
Construction of Museum LV. 1 begins.
The museum began to rise in the Underground Section, near the entrance, growing from the walls as if it were one with the cavern—a three-story structure.
‘It suits the atmosphere of the Underground Section quite well.’
The Underground Section possessed an air of mystery throughout.
The enormous engine pulsing with blue light at the center was proof enough of that, and with excavation sites scattered in every direction and structures sprouting from the walls, it all contributed to the sense.
This mysterious quality appeared to be the very concept of the Underground Section.
Construction of Museum LV. 1 is complete.
[Hee-haw!]
The moment the museum was finished, Museum Director Sylph gleefully soared into the building.
Before entering, I first checked the facility’s information.
Museum LV. 1
A repository of knowledge must always be protected.
Those who have visited the Spirit Special Zone even once….
“Well now. Look at that.”
The museum’s building effect.
This was yet another new kind of effect.
‘But it’s exactly what I’ve always wanted.’
A museum.
This building with its dull, pedantic name was beginning to grow on me.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————