Swamp Territory, at the construction camp for the Baron's Mansion.
"The Lord is back!!!"
"Look, the Lord and Lady are back!"
As York led Lucia back to the camp, several merchants from the chamber of commerce and some militiamen eagerly gathered around them.
"By the God of Truth! My Lord, my Lady, what in the world was all that just now?"
Lawrence, the head of the chamber of commerce, looked especially eager. He immediately stepped forward to be the first to ask.
York and Lucia exchanged a glance, and then Lucia smiled and began to speak.
"Mr. Lawrence, I imagine that as one of the heads of a chamber of commerce that travels to the Royal Capital, you probably understand this sort of phenomenon better than we do, don't you?"
"This...?"
Lawrence seemed to hesitate, but then he asked in a tone of feigned ignorance, "Could this truly be a Miracle sent down by the God of Truth?"
Before York or Lucia could answer, the guards and many of the craftsmen standing behind Lawrence burst into excited discussion.
"Gods! Is it really a Miracle sent by the God of Truth?!"
"No wonder the Lord and Lady left in such a hurry earlier, without even a single squire or militiaman."
"The Lord and Lady must have received some kind of revelation from an Oracle. That's why they went alone."
"That must be it. The God of Truth must have sent down an Oracle, but it's not the kind we common believers are privy to. This must be something big!"
"..."
Watching the commotion around them, Lucia gave a slight smile.
"Mr. Lawrence, I don't believe this is the best place to discuss these things."
"Besides, York and I have just returned and haven't had a chance to rest. Why don't you join us in our tent, and we can discuss it further there?"
"By the God of Truth, please forgive my rudeness." Realization dawned on Lawrence, and he quickly offered an apologetic smile.
After that, the key people present quickly made their way toward the central tent of the construction camp.
——————
[Player has exited Scene Mode.]
[First-time activation of the Magic Pet function. Rewarding exclusive Clan Skill: Magic Beast Breeding.]
[Magic Beast Breeding Level 1 (1/1): 1. Giant-toothed Rat]
(Prerequisite: Must build a Beast Cage or possess a Beast Nest containing a Leader Level Demon Beast.)
(Note 1: Vassal Clans are better at raising Demon Beasts, but they must be fed periodically to increase affinity. This reduces the risk of Blood Contract Retribution when forming a contract.)
(Note 2: If the Giant-toothed Rat King (Leader) dies, the Giant-toothed Rat population is guaranteed to go on a rampage.)
(Upgrade Requirement: The Player or a Vassal Clan must tame the leader of a second type of social Demon Beast.)
(Current BUFF: Demon Beast Breeding Speed +5%, Demon Beast Growth Speed +5%, Blood Contract Retribution risk -50%)
[This feature will be revealed to the current Patriarch of Swamp Territory in the form of a blessed Miracle as soon as the game session concludes.]
[You may also write your own script to inform the current Patriarch of Swamp Territory of the benefits of Magic Beast Breeding. Would you like to write a script? Countdown: 05:23:18]
Sitting at his computer, Lince studied the new scene rewards, deep in thought.
'So, Magic Pets can only exist as creatures tamed by the clan. It doesn't open up new gameplay styles, like cultivating a Demon Beast faction or something...'
'It looks like the game's initial tutorial mission really locked in the core gameplay and even selected the game's main focus.'
'I was hoping to hedge my bets—cultivating a human Knight Clan on one hand while secretly building a Demon Beast faction on the other. It seems that's not an option anymore.'
'After all, this reward is called a Clan Skill, and even the BUFF is generated for the clan.'
Still, a person can't be too greedy.
So, Lince didn't dwell on the Giant-toothed Rat issue for too long.
As for the matter of the Oracle informing the Swamp Territory about Magic Beast Breeding?
And they wanted him to write a script?
'Forget it.'
Lince knew his own limitations. Rather than trying to write some cringeworthy, pretentious dialogue himself, he'd much rather let the game's system handle it.
After all, back when the tutorial guided him to bind York as his subordinate, Lince had seen that the game's built-in system was quite reliable. Besides, he was playing the game, not the other way around. He wasn't going to write it!
That being said...
Looking at the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard's Growth Level after the hundred-day simulation, Lince finally understood just how difficult it was for a Demon Beast to grow.
'And that's with the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard having a Magic Well. A hundred days passed, and its Growth Level didn't even increase by one percent.'
'If it were growing at a normal rate, each stage of the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard's development would likely take decades, maybe even a century at the bare minimum. The further it progresses, the harder it will surely get...'
Lince began to ponder.
Should he find an opportunity to take out some of the neighboring Demon Lords?
That way, he could provide the Rock Dragon Giant Lizard with some good flesh to consume for growth, seize more territory, and maybe even find some Magic Plant Elixirs to accelerate its development.
But after careful consideration, Lince temporarily abandoned the idea.
He knew that if the territory grew too large, York wouldn't be able to hold it on his own, not even with the help of his father, Baron Eric.
What's more, even if Lince conquered more land and had York try to sell it, it would be incredibly difficult to find buyers.
After all, the Wilderness of Swamp Territory backed right up against the Demon Beast Mountain Range.
If too many Low Tier Demon Beasts were wiped out, or if a larger human population was drawn to the area, it would be very easy to trigger a Beast Tide prematurely.
This wasn't just fear-mongering; it was something that had truly happened in the Western Realm of the Silver Lion Duchy.
In fact, just twenty-five years ago, a small-scale Beast Tide had erupted prematurely on the border of the Western Realm.
The Beast Tide wasn't considered large-scale, but it still destroyed ninety-five percent of the human territories previously established in the Western Realm, leaving only two holdings intact.
In the twenty-five years since, the Silver Lion Duchy had actually managed to establish more than ten new territories in the Wilderness.
The most famous of these, and the territory closest to Swamp Territory, was the military stronghold of the Korola Highlands.
After that point, no one ventured any deeper into the Wilderness to pioneer new land.
In the eyes of many of the Nobility, once past the Korola Highlands, humans had no geographical advantages to effectively defend against an invading Beast Tide.
Pioneering too much land would not only risk provoking a premature Beast Tide.
In the event of such a tide, the Wilderness outside the Korola Highlands would be completely indefensible.
And even if it could be defended, the resulting losses would be far more than a typical noble could bear.
Therefore, most of the Nobility had a very poor outlook for York's Swamp Territory.
Even York's father, Baron Eric, the Lord of Gale Territory, harbored grave concerns deep down.
Fortunately, the existence of a Tier Three Demon Beast had given Baron Eric just enough courage to place his bet.
After all, opportunities for a clan to grow stronger were incredibly rare.
Even if someone in the Smith family could advance to become a Middle Tier Earth Knight, they would still need to perform meritorious deeds to be promoted to a Viscount.
One option was to achieve great merit on the battlefield. The other was to pioneer a territory worthy of a Viscount's status and then petition the Kingdom for a promotion.
There were no other paths.
After all, on the Oakland Continent, the existing Three Great Empires of the Human Race and their many Kingdoms still abided by the ancient declarations and covenants made by the human gods.
These decreed that the human gods and their mortal kingdoms must not engage in civil war. In the face of a large-scale invasion by Alien Gods or an Alien Race, the human gods and the mortal kingdoms were obligated to form a joint army to repel the invaders.
As a result, for the past three hundred years, with no nation-destroying wars against alien races on the entire Oakland Continent, the only thing humanity could do was attempt to expand its territory through pioneering.
This, of course, had many advantages.
After all, with limited human territory and finite resources, a long period of peace and the subsequent population explosion would inevitably cause conflicts over land.
Thus, the decree that permitted pioneering could significantly delay such conflicts. Even the small-scale clashes with alien races that erupted on humanity's various frontiers every few decades served as an effective outlet for population pressure.
If the need arose, humanity could even form a joint army under the edict of the Three Great Empires to proactively launch a large-scale war against certain alien races.
The same logic, of course, applied to the alien races.
It was just that not a single large-scale war against an alien race had occurred on the Oakland Continent in nearly three hundred years.
Trying to achieve great merit to be promoted to a higher noble rank was nothing short of a fool's dream.
As for small-scale conflicts, such as minor Beast Tides, the greatest share of the glory would never fall to the lesser nobles.
Therefore, York's decision to pioneer was born of necessity, and his father Baron Eric's gamble was an expected move.
The minor Beast Tides of the Western Realm varied in scale, generally occurring once every thirty to fifty years.
The Silver Lion Duchy's position on the border of the Western Realm was relatively remote, so the last time a Beast Tide appeared, it had only involved one Tier Five and two Tier Four Middle Tier Magical Beasts.
As for Low Tier Magical Beasts, there were no more than fifty, ranging from Tier Three down to Tier One. The Tierless Demon Beasts were the most numerous, with their various packs adding up to nearly ten thousand.
Although the losses caused by the Beast Tide were considerable, it was, thankfully, ultimately crushed by a coalition army of the Duchy's Nobility.
It was precisely because he understood the specific circumstances of the Silver Lion Duchy, York's home, that Lince was not in a hurry to expand his territory at the current stage.
For now, stability was the best course of action.