Back in his cave, the first thing Zoe did was sense his remaining lifespan.
“I have about... 93 years left, huh?”
With this much lifespan, it wouldn't matter if he burned through it a few more times.
The fourfold increase in total magic power from the Fruit State was simply too incredible. Experiencing that feeling of casting spells without having to worry about magic power, only to return to his current state where he had to budget every bit of magic power...
“What a massive sense of disappointment.”
Zoe sighed, withdrew the red crossguard, and gently brushed his fingers over the inscription that read, “The flames of the crucible bestow power upon steel.” He then began to study it.
“Are these inscriptions related to the magical effects?”
Zoe took out an iron sword he had forged himself, dismantled the wooden hilt, and removed its original guard.
Then, he fitted the red crossguard onto the iron sword and reattached the hilt.
As the assembly was completed, the inscription on the crossguard shimmered slightly.
Gripping the sword with his tentacles, Zoe actually felt as if the entire weapon had become a single, unified entity.
Not only that, but the balance of the entire sword had also become absolutely flawless. From hilt to tip, every single inch of the weapon had a perfectly proportioned weight, like a masterpiece meticulously crafted by a master blacksmith obsessed with forging.
It made Zoe question himself in his mind.
Did I really forge this?
Zoe took out another iron sword, split off two tentacles, and held one sword in each.
Swinging his tentacles, the two iron swords clashed heavily in midair, dazzling sparks bursting from the blades.
Judging by the feedback from both sides, Zoe already had his answer.
The iron sword fitted with the red crossguard had its blade completely intact, still gleaming with a sharp, cold light.
The other iron sword it clashed with, however, had already been chipped with a prominent nick.
“Is the magical effect a comprehensive enhancement of the sword's blade based on its original foundation?”
Sharpness, center of gravity, hardness, and toughness had all been completely upgraded and reinforced.
“The flames of the crucible bestow power upon steel” essentially meant enhancing the strength of the steel.
Zoe dismantled the crossguard again and stored it back into his Reincarnation Space.
At present, he had his own combat style, and a sword was of little use to him.
If he could forge a more powerful sword, perhaps it might come in handy.
Once he raised the proficiency level of his [Common Forging] technique, he would see if he could forge a sword suited to a slime's combat style.
...
Nothing else happened in Slime Territory during the Month of Bitter Winter. Amidst the heavy snows of the Great Hera Forest, Slime Territory did not remain quiet during the winter months; instead, it developed rapidly.
Blast furnaces were built one after another to the north of Slime Mountain, where iron ore was continuously refined and smelted into iron ingots.
These iron ingots were then forged by monster blacksmiths into various farming tools, axes, and so on.
These simple farming tools helped the monster blacksmiths practice their craft and quickly master forging techniques, so they could later learn how to forge various weapons and even armor.
With these farming tools in hand, the monsters of Slime Territory were already rubbing their hands in anticipation, planning to start developing the southern part of Slime Mountain in the Month of Melting Snow (January) right after the Month of Bitter Winter.
Under the command of their great slime lord, all monsters could head to the south of Slime Mountain to cut down trees and clear fields in the planned phase-one farming zone.
They would then become proud free peasants of Slime Territory, owning a fifty percent share of the fields they cleared, farming them individually, and only needing to pay thirty percent of their annual harvest as tax.
And once they became free peasants, they could apply for a house or a self-build plot at the foot of Slime Mountain, sparing them from living in collective shacks.
And so, the Month of Melting Snow arrived.
The snow from the Month of Bitter Winter had only just begun to melt when the axes and farming tools forged during those snowy days were eagerly claimed by the monsters. Following their plan, they began expanding toward the south of Slime Mountain.
A large portion of the monsters who had gathered during the Month of Bitter Winter had neither the opportunity nor the qualifications to learn smelting and mining knowledge.
Clearing fields to attain the status of a free peasant was their only hope of remaining in Slime Territory.
As a result, these intelligent monsters who had gathered during the Month of Bitter Winter all put in their utmost effort, desperately taming the primeval forest.
The felled trees were processed and transported back to the foot of Slime Mountain, where they were quickly used as building materials.
By now, the number of monsters in Slime Territory was nearing one thousand.
The food supplies for the winter had been almost completely exhausted, but Lucas, the merchant who had promised to arrive in the Month of Melting Snow, came exactly as scheduled, temporarily resolving Slime Territory's food crisis.
“It's developing too quickly.”
Having arrived in Slime Territory, Lucas looked at this almost completely transformed domain and sighed in awe.
Lucas hadn't kept a single penny of the profit from his last trade; he hadn't even paid off his loans. Instead, he went all-in on building up his caravan, expanding its scale.
He had thought that with the increased scale, he would be able to satisfy Slime Territory's demand for supplies this time.
To his surprise, Slime Territory had developed even more drastically over a single winter. Despite expanding his caravan's size, he still could not fully meet Slime Territory's demand for resources.
“Did the human side have any complaints or reactions regarding Slime Territory?”
The pigman elder, who was accompanying Lucas on a tour of the territory, asked with pointed intent.
As Slime Territory grew larger and larger, the pigman elder had also begun to worry about the humans' reaction.
“The Grand Duchy of Rose wouldn't care about a single monster tribe in the Great Hera Forest.”
“On the contrary, the emergence of a powerful, orderly monster faction in the Great Hera Forest is actually more beneficial to the Grand Duchy of Rose.”
“It can help the Grand Duchy of Rose better extract resources from the Great Hera Forest, while also lowering the mortality rate of adventurers and attracting more of them.”
The Hera Plains belonged to the world of monsters. If the Grand Duchy of Rose reached its hands too deep, it would draw the ire of a True Demon King.
And among the True Demon Kings, even the weakest of them possessed the power to destroy a nation.
The Grand Duchy of Rose certainly had no legendary human powerhouses who could stand against a True Demon King.
“Is that so...”
Yet, as he followed Zoe and watched Slime Territory develop and grow, the pigman elder's ambition had also begun to grow larger and larger.
Perhaps that lord could establish a city of monsters where intelligent monsters lived and gathered in this Great Hera Forest.
This time, Lucas was not in a hurry, so he did not leave immediately and instead decided to stay for the night.
The inn in Slime Territory was naturally far from luxurious; it could only be described as barely passable, and the food was merely tolerable enough not to cause despair.
The next day, as Lucas was about to set off with his caravan, a female adventurer responsible for escorting them chose to stay behind.
She was a woman who was a bit too old to be called young, yet too affected to be called a girl, sporting a buzzcut and acting more masculine than most men.
“Gianna, are you really staying behind? You have to realize, this place is...”
The captain of the adventure party said, glancing at the surrounding monsters without finishing his sentence.
“Captain, I've already been here twice, and I've made up my mind.”
“I only became an adventurer to make a living and secure a better life.”
“So, I plan to open a tavern here next, providing food, drinks, and lodging.”
Gianna was certain that if this homeland of monsters continued to develop, its future would be incredibly promising.
This place was highly likely to develop into an important staging post and rest stop for adventurers exploring or even passing through the Great Hera Forest.
This was her opportunity.
When their party had originally accepted this escort quest from the Adventurers' Guild to cross the Great Hera Forest and reach this homeland of monsters, it was an opportunity bestowed upon her by the goddess of luck.
With so many coincidences allowing her to discover this homeland of monsters ahead of others, how could she let such an opportunity slip away?
“I understand. That is, if Lucas has no objections to you abandoning the quest midway.”
The captain ultimately did not stop Gianna. Seeing that this was a well-considered decision on her part, he simply respected his teammate's choice.
Standing nearby, Lucas had remained silent the entire time, listening to their conversation.
“Ms. Gianna, I deeply admire your courage, decisiveness, and vision.”
“If you don't mind, my chamber of commerce is willing to establish a long-term partnership with you, securing the materials needed to open your shop and supplying you with future resources.”
“Were it not for my chamber of commerce's capital being tied up, I would also be willing to personally sponsor you with some funds.”
Lucas praised Gianna from the bottom of his heart.
“Thank you for your approval, Mr. Lucas. Having the endorsement of an outstanding merchant like you makes me even more confident in my decision.”
Lucas smiled and nodded, then bid Gianna farewell as he departed with his caravan.
As for Gianna, she applied to the Council of Elders for a business permit for outsiders, as well as a self-build plot to construct her tavern.
The Council of Elders brought up this application during their meeting the following day. After half an hour of discussion, they decided that any business run by outsiders must hire local monsters to work, and the business would be subject to an additional thirty percent business tax.
Gianna signed the covenant, secured a street-front plot on the main street east of Slime Mountain, and hired monsters to begin initial construction.
This plot of land was much larger than Gianna had anticipated, thus exceeding her estimated construction budget.
Fortunately, the Council of Elders thoughtfully offered her a three-year low-interest loan, solving her urgent financial trouble.
Slime Territory now had its first permanent human resident.
It was easy to foresee that if Slime Territory continued to develop, it would surely attract even more humans to reside there.
Even if humans discriminated against monsters, they would still act honestly in front of glittering gold coins.
Rate on N.U.
