With the plants all settled, the only thing left was the most crucial and important item of all: the Ancient Tree Seed.
But even though Andrew was eager to plant it, he didn't dare to imagine just how much energy the Ancient Tree Seed would require to take root and sprout.
The Blazing Light Tachi back home was already a bottomless pit; this Ancient Tree Seed probably wouldn't be much better.
But no matter what, for the sake of acquiring resources, he had to give it a try.
As the Ancient Tree Seed was planted right in the center, all the Dragon Element energy in the air seemed to be drawn towards it by an invisible force of gravity.
Growing stronger.
But Andrew soon made an awkward discovery: the energy produced by the few plants he had just put in was nowhere near enough to support the sprouting of the Ancient Tree Seed.
In just two or three minutes, all the energy that had been generated in the air was completely absorbed, and Ether energy once again became dominant.
The soil, which had just begun to teem with life, degraded back to a barren state. The crops that had been growing rapidly all reverted to the condition they were in on the balcony, barely able to grow at all.
From then on, any sliver of Dragon Element energy the plants produced would be ruthlessly extracted and absorbed.
And yet, even with all that, the growth of the energy core was as minute as a strand of hair.
If this continued, not only would it take who knows how long for the Ancient Tree Seed to sprout, but even the herbs and other plants he needed right now would become impossible to cultivate.
Conversely, however, if he succeeded in cultivating it, its ability to convert energy would be absolutely unparalleled by any other plant.
Did this mean he'd have to find another place for it and slowly nurture it through a war of attrition, just like with the Blazing Light Tachi?
But wouldn't that mean it would take until who knows when to see any results?
Fortunately, things hadn't reached the worst-case scenario. After carefully sensing the flow of energy, Andrew realized that the problem was simply that his current crops were too few to satisfy the seed's demand for energy.
Once the crops reached a certain scale and the energy they produced exceeded the seed's demand, he could officially begin cultivating it.
To put it bluntly, it was like constructing buildings in Red Alert. When the power is insufficient, all construction times are drastically extended. Only after enough power plants are built can things return to normal.
And for Andrew right now, he was in a state of severe power shortage. But once the Ancient Tree Seed successfully sprouted, the energy production efficiency would likely undergo a qualitative change, like swapping out a motor for a massive, high-horsepower water pump.
Andrew sighed and dug the Ancient Tree Seed back out of the ground.
"Looks like I'll have to wait until this place has gone through a few planting cycles and can support large-scale cultivation before I can plant you."
But Andrew wasn't worried about this.
After all, the most needed herbs could now be grown here, which at least completely solved the urgent problem of lacking healing potions.
And after successfully growing the equally important Antidote Herb, he could combine it with Blue Mushrooms to synthesize Herbal Medicine.
Add to that the Nulberries, which could cure elemental blights, and Andrew believed he had enough to handle most situations.
Now, when facing potential threats, his power, health, and resistance to abnormal statuses would all be guaranteed.
But then Andrew suddenly realized something.
Does the Ether corrosion from the Hollows count as an abnormal status? Could Nulberries get rid of it?
Andrew stroked his chin, thinking seriously.
After all, Nulberries cured all sorts of elemental blights, so the Ether element should also count as an element, right?
However, how to verify this became the biggest problem.
Given that he had previously stayed in the center of a Hollow for a week without being affected at all, it was impossible to test it on himself.
Besides, Ether corrosion was no joke. It was the kind of thing that could leave real, lasting side effects.
And asking one of his friends to deliberately get corroded in a Hollow just to test a cure? That would be purely monstrous.
"Sigh... If only I could run into some real scum of the earth right now. I wouldn't feel bad experimenting on them."
But that was just a passing thought. For now, at least, he wasn't likely to meet anyone like that. He'd just have to wait for an opportunity.
By the time he finished, the sun had fully set in the west, turning the vast, azure sky of the Outer Ring a golden yellow. The scattered clouds drifting in the air were also bathed in the sun's radiance.
In the distance, rows of oil wells indicated the livelihood of the people living here. On the way over, the swarms of Hollows had made it clear how weak the Outer Ring's defenses were against them.
Andrew had come to the Outer Ring not just to find a plot of land for himself, but also to see if Hollow outbreaks would still occur in a space filled with abundant Dragon Element energy.
In the few months since coming to this world, Andrew had never given up on investigating the Hollow disasters and searching for a solution.
And this was his first experiment.
After he finished tidying up the crops in the greenhouse, Nicole and Belle arrived in front of the building with the entire Silver Squad, having finished their shopping.
After subtracting the three million Dennies for rent, another half of the remaining two million had vanished in this shopping trip.
Daily necessities were only a small part of the expenses; the majority was spent on furniture and a videotape player.
For the Silver Squad, who knew practically nothing about this world, videotapes were indeed the most convenient way for them to learn.
After everyone had claimed a room of their own, Nicole suddenly sidled up to him with a coy, affected look on her face.
"Andrew, about Anby and the others... do you have any plans for them?"
Hearing Nicole's question, Andrew shared the conclusion he had reached after careful consideration:
"I'm planning to have them learn some common sense here first. Until they can live like normal people, I'll have to trouble them to help me guard this precious piece of land."
This farmland—or rather, Andrew's greatest asset at the moment.
Although he had backups for every type of seed, if something were to happen here, it would take a very long time of breeding to be able to cultivate on a large scale again.
The time and energy that would be wasted in the process was incalculable.
Moreover, the plants from the world of Monster Hunter were absolutely unique in this world.
And beyond their uniqueness, their powerful effects made it impossible for Andrew to entrust their care to any other person or company.
The Silver Squad was, for now, the best choice.
Here, they could lie low and also focus on their studies together. Plus, it seemed the Sons of Calydon, who managed this area, had become friends they could rely on for mutual support.
But regardless of what other plans he had, what Nicole was most focused on was Andrew's first sentence.
"So, Andrew, do you have anyone in mind to teach them?"
That question really stumped Andrew. He, Belle, and Wise all had their shops to run and couldn't be here all the time.
And what about hiring a teacher from elsewhere?
From his conversations with them, Andrew had discovered that they didn't lack academic knowledge; the only thing they were missing was some normal, human common sense.
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