Chapter 176: The Adventurer Party
To conduct a thorough investigation of the Demon Forest, it was necessary to prepare a forward base. This effort was more about supporting the adventurers affiliated with North End City than it was for the personnel of Paraiso.
While it would be possible to learn operational strategies in the field, the presence of seasoned adventurers made it clear that learning from them would be far more efficient.
Moreover, conducting investigations from The Tree would inevitably lead to a resource-heavy operation, potentially causing significant disruption to the surrounding ecosystem. Thus, it was essential to deploy a select few elite individuals.
Additionally, North End City thrived on the resources that adventurers brought back from the Demon Forest. By encouraging this economic activity, the city itself could flourish, as Ringo had assessed.
Purchasing valuable samples from the adventurers was not a bad idea either. This would also create employment opportunities for the locals, which was another aspect they aimed to promote.
There was a rumor that Commander Eve had shown interest in adventurers, casually asking, “Is there an Adventurers Guild?” This could lead to The Tree becoming the central hub for the Adventurers Guild.
But that was a matter for another time.
Paraiso had established a gateway to the Demon Forest.
A runway was constructed on the outskirts of North End City to serve as a logistics hub. From there, roads leading to the city and the Demon Forest were developed.
Walkers roughly leveled the ground, while tracked and multi-wheeled heavy machinery created smooth roads. After approximately 50 hours, they connected the airbase, North End City, and the candidate site for the forward base.
From there, multi-wheeled transport vehicles swiftly transported materials to construct a temporary base.
They leveled the land and built a barrier using iron fencing and barbed wire. A massive roof was erected over the site, along with capsule-style accommodation facilities. Prefabricated structures were set up to serve as a general store and dining hall, completing the base.
Completing all preparations in just five days astonished the adventurers heading to the Demon Forest. No one would take lightly the words that Paraiso was conducting investigations in the Demon Forest anymore.
“Seriously, a whole town has been built here…”
“Wow, they even have shops!”
As the adventurers made their way to the Demon Forest on foot, they were first amazed by the ease of walking on the paved road, then cheered at the sight of the gates at the forward base, and finally froze at the sight of the general store.
“Hey, is that a dining hall…?”
“Are they serving food?”
Though it was a takeout service, a dining area was indeed prepared at the forward base. Even if it rained, the massive roof allowed them to eat without worry.
The accommodation facilities were capsule-sized but stacked in individual rooms, providing a degree of privacy. The prefabricated construction method also allowed for easy expansion as needed.
“I heard that Paraiso is getting involved in the Demon Forest, but this is serious…”
“I heard some party is acting as guides…”
The management of this base would be handled by several automated machines, but to facilitate interaction with users, Communicator Androids were also employed.
Ringo seemed to have calmed down somewhat, or perhaps it was for the sake of diversity, as multiple races using random genetics had been introduced.
While the randomness might pose a problem with multiple races being present, Commander Eve had muttered, “The furries will be thrilled,” with a wry smile, but it was a trivial matter.
Furthermore, once things settled down, there were plans to employ locals.
“Ma’am, the base’s preparations are nearly complete. The guide party is scheduled to arrive tomorrow.”
“Good. The backup system for the Communicator Androids is functioning without issues, right?”
“Yes, Ma’am. We will maintain a directional communication network with the Walkers at all times. If we could utilize a wide-range communication antenna, we could increase our flexibility a bit more.”
“The radio waves seem to have attracted that Wyvern, after all… Until we can implement various countermeasures, we can’t expand the range.”
She chuckled at Ringo’s complaint.
Well, considering efficiency, expanding without concern was not necessarily wrong. However, Commander Eve had issued a policy that they need not expand their influence unnecessarily.
For the time being, the priority would be the development of the Afrasia United Kingdom’s territory, and expansion would not be pursued. Ringo was on board with this, but for a Super Intelligence tasked with expansion, it was likely a frustrating choice.
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The next day, a transport truck carrying the guide adventurer party departed from North End City. They planned to regularly run trucks from North End City to the base just before the Demon Forest. This included raising awareness about the service, and they intended to escort this adventurer party.
“Why are we moving so fast? I don’t get it!”
“And it’s super fast!”
“Are we going to get to ride this next time too? This is amazing…”
Since it would be wasteful to run the truck empty, they loaded it with supplies for the base. The adventurer party was seated in the available space, which was far more comfortable and less bumpy than the shared horse-drawn carriages they usually used.
Once this transport truck was fully operational, it would undoubtedly reduce the burden on the adventurers. This would lead to an increase in the resources and materials they could bring back.
“Thank you, Sulfareas! Are you really going to keep this up for us?”
In response to that question, Alpha Sulfareas-Cosmos nodded.
“As long as there are adventurers like you, we intend to assist you.”
“Wow! That’s generous!”
The party leader, a dagger and short bow user, Reidas. The attacker, a spear and hand axe user, Nadira. The gatherer, Graver.
These three were designated as the guide adventurer party for Paraiso’s advance team. Their reputation was that they were bold yet cautious, with excellent teamwork, making them the stars of expectation. Observing their past actions, the guild master’s judgment in selecting them was likely sound.
“But why do you all want to enter the Demon Forest again?”
“Hey, Graver, you don’t need to ask that!”
“No, wait, Nadira. I’m not taking Graver’s side, but I’d like to know too. Sulfareas, what’s the deal? Of course, if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.”
Upon being asked, Alpha Sulfareas nodded thoughtfully.
“To put it simply, we are interested in the environment of the Demon Forest. The diverse monsters and the various resources they provide. There seem to be many useful things, and we wish to confirm them firsthand.”
“…I see? While we are tasked with guiding you, do you want us to introduce the monsters?”
Alpha Sulfareas flicked her distinctive beast ears and looked up.
“Yes. I would like you to share what you know about the value of the materials, the ecology, behavior, and diet of those monsters. Also, how to navigate the Demon Forest itself. We at Paraiso know nothing about that forest. We wish to avoid unnecessarily provoking the monsters.”
Alpha Sulfareas was chosen for this advance team due to her species being the most adept at stealth among the Communicator Androids assigned by the Strategic AI, Cosmos. Her species was based on the forest hunter, the Black Leopard.
Unlike Commander Eve’s species, hers was slightly more beast-like, exhibiting features of beastmen in her ears and tail, as well as her limbs. She also possessed whiskers as sensory organs, granting her a far superior ability to detect the presence of her surroundings compared to ordinary individuals.
Her gender was female, and according to Ringo, females were more useful as the base species. Whether that was true or not was unknown, and Eve had not pursued the matter further. If it were completely random, male forms should also be selected, but unless specifically instructed, Ringo tended to choose female forms.
“I apologize, but we would like you to accompany us for a while. I may cause you some inconvenience.”
“No, no, we’re being compensated well! We’ll accompany you as much as we can! Right, Reidas?”
“Don’t say that. Well, that’s how it is. Sulfareas, I don’t think you’ll ask for anything unreasonable, so it’s all good for us to earn safely!”
Though only a few days had passed since their first meeting, they had already gained a considerable understanding of Alpha Sulfareas and, by extension, Paraiso’s nature. They were very rational and, despite being conquerors, did not exhibit tyrannical behavior. At least, as long as they did not oppose them, they were very good rulers.