Chapter 137

Chapter 137: Rin's Talent and Yeona's First Steps

Crown Prince Aslan's party departed, and peaceful daily life returned.

The Mage Tower construction was also completed.

I climbed the Mage Tower after dark, accompanied by Ashley and Dr. Jack.

A nine-story spire-type Mage Tower.

Standing on the open-air ninth floor, I looked out over the Outpost.

"It has developed so much."

The guild branch, the Rift Management Bureau branch, the Fusion Bar, the bakery cafe, the tree house lodgings, several inns, the general store, the infirmary, the Hunting Dungeon Portal Station, several rental guild offices, the shower facility, the campsite, the water supply room, sentry guard posts, and more.

More buildings would be added going forward. There were still plots designated for future construction.

Additionally, beneath the Bedrock Zone lay the small underground city of the Eckard Family dwarves.

Ashley, standing beside me, looked at me and said.

"Heh! Looking down at what you have built, are you proud?"

"I am. Starting from bare land, I built all of this."

"I am sure. Activate the Mage Tower, and you will be even prouder."

"All right. I just place the Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone on the pedestal in the center of the magic circle?"

"Correct."

I placed the Lightning-Attribute Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone on the pedestal.

Then.

CRACKLE!

A powerful spark surged, and the magic formula, the magic circle, began glowing blue and reacting.

The other Magic Stones installed around the four sides of the Mage Tower resonated in turn, and the magic circle engraved across the entire tower lit up.

'Quite a lot of money was invested in this Mage Tower.'

Twenty Highest-Grade Magic Stones.

One hundred High-Grade Magic Stones.

Five hundred Mid-Grade Magic Stones.

Roughly 6.5 billion won worth of Magic Stones had gone in.

The Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone served as the core, while the rest were for energy.

The glow of the magic circle across the tower subsided.

The Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone on the pedestal crackled with sparks and floated into the air.

Watching it, Ashley said.

"The Mage Tower has been successfully activated. Look down at the township."

Resonating with the Transcendent-Grade Magic Stone, the Magical Engineering street lamps installed throughout the Outpost township flickered on.

"The Outpost is lit up."

"Not just the street lamps. The aerial defense turrets will also be operational from this moment. Furthermore, a Barrier that makes the Outpost appear as nothing but an open plain when viewed from above has also been activated. Aerial monster attacks will be drastically reduced from now on."

"That makes sense. Thank you for all your hard work, Ashley. And Dr. Jack, thank you as well for linking all the Magic Stones."

Dr. Jack looked at me and said.

"This is only the beginning. Now that the core Mage Tower that supplies energy to the Magical Engineering devices is complete, we need to start building the devices in earnest."

"What are you planning to build first?"

"First, I intend to build a Magical Pump and set up a water supply and sewage system within the Outpost. We plan to draw water from the lake."

Until now, the Outpost had relied on water tanks for most of its water.

Water was hauled from the nearby lakeshore in tanks.

I had been transporting those tanks via Acresia and placing them at the water supply room.

'That was quite a tedious task.'

I had been supplying enough water for approximately two hundred people.

That water was then purified through water filter cartridges before use.

"If we draw too much water, will the lake not dry up?"

"Upon investigation, I confirmed that groundwater feeds into the lake. That is why it has always maintained a consistent water level."

"Then there should be no issue."

"Indeed."

Hunters staying within the Outpost were waving at the Mage Tower and some were cheering loudly.

The general reaction seemed to be excitement about the new Magical Engineering street lamps.

"The Hunters seem pleased."

"They certainly do. Since they are this happy, we had better develop this place into an even more comfortable town."

Dr. Jack said he would continue collaborating with Ashley, Ruina, and Maxim to build various Magical Engineering devices and advance the Outpost township.

He also expressed his ambition to assemble a research team composed of Awakened scientists.

"Please do as you wish, Doctor. My guild and I will provide full support."

Dr. Jack had recently become an official member of our guild.

"Thank you, Guild Master."

***

The Adult Dryad had been teaching Rin various techniques during her stay.

'The Adult Dryad has essentially become Rin's master.'

Under that guidance, Rin's abilities grew even faster.

She had made especially remarkable progress in controlling Wooden Golems.

"Not bad, squirt."

"Win is not a squiwt! I am a big sister now!"

Rin had raised a roughly 2.5-meter Wooden Golem and was sparring with Eriksson.

"Big sister or not, you are still a squirt! You are still pint-sized!"

Eriksson dodged the Wooden Golem's vine whip and teased Rin.

"Uncle Eriksson, you are mean! I am going to tie you up!"

While controlling the Wooden Golem, Rin simultaneously cast an area-of-effect Vine Binding at Eriksson.

Eriksson rapidly slashed the vines growing up from beneath his feet with his daggers, cutting them away before they could bind him.

Then.

CRASH!

A boulder the size of a head, thrown by the Wooden Golem, struck where Eriksson had been standing.

But he was already gone.

He had slipped past the Wooden Golem and was standing right in front of Rin.

"Still, our little squirt has improved a lot."

TAP!

Eriksson flicked Rin's forehead with his index finger.

'That guy just flicked my precious daughter's forehead......!'

In truth, it was more of a gentle touch than an actual flick.

"Uuuu!"

Rin rubbed her forehead and puffed out her cheeks.

"Look at her puffed up like a blowfish. Heh heh!"

"Hmph! Uncle, you are mean!"

She whipped her head away from Eriksson and ran straight to me, who had been watching.

"Papa!"

I caught Rin and lifted her into my arms.

"Rin, your Wooden Golem control has really improved."

"Weally?"

"Really. At this rate, you might end up stronger than Mommy and Daddy when you grow up."

"Hehe! If that happens, Win will get stwong and pwotect Papa and Mama and Yeona!"

"Ha ha! Our daughter, so dependable."

The Adult Dryad, who had been watching alongside me, then spoke.

"Rin. Growth. Fast. Very. Could become stronger. Than both of you. Now."

She was saying Rin's growth was so fast she could potentially surpass both me and Ria.

Rin's potential was apparently that exceptional.

Then the Adult Dryad said something I had never expected.

"Rin. Possibility. Sufficient. Dryad Lord. Potential. Present."

"Dryad Lord......? Rin?"

"Correct. Potential. Sufficient."

A Dryad Lord was something like a sovereign of the Dryad species.

The Adult Dryad explained.

"Dryad Lord. Awakens. Tree of Life. Teldrassil. Opens. Gathers. All Dryads."

It seemed to mean that when a Dryad awakened as a Dryad Lord, a Tree of Life called Teldrassil would open, and all Dryads would gather to it.

"Then a Dryad kingdom would be formed?"

"Correct. Forms. Dryad Kingdom."

"I see......"

If Rin awakened as a Dryad Lord, would I have to part with her?

The thought alone stung my heart.

"Papa, you wook sad."

"It is nothing, Rin. Daddy is not sad."

I then asked the Adult Dryad.

"Would becoming a Dryad Lord make Rin happier?"

"Yes. A dream. For all Dryads. Teldrassil opening."

"I see."

Then there was nothing I could do.

For Rin's happiness, I could only cheer her on.

Rin, who had been tilting her head as she listened to our conversation, then threw her arms around my neck.

"Win does not want to be a Dwyad Lord. Win wants to wive happily with Papa and Mama and Yeona and Bell for a wong, wong time......!"

She may not have fully understood the conversation, but she had sensed the gist.

I patted Rin's back.

"It is all right, Rin. Even if that happens and you go far away someday, Daddy and Mommy and Yeona and Bell will come visit you all the time. Daddy can go anywhere, remember?"

"Weally......? You will come see Win a lot?"

"Of course. You are Daddy's precious daughter."

"Papa......!"

I carried Rin and headed for the Rift house.

When we stepped inside, Yeona greeted us.

"Dada!"

"Our second daughter, did you miss Daddy?"

Yeona looked as if she was about to crawl toward me.

Then she pressed her palms against the floor.

'Wait......?'

She pushed against the ground with straightened arms, lifting herself up.

Since Yeona had turned six months old, I had occasionally held her hands and helped her stand on the ground.

But standing up on her own like this was a first.

She was standing, but it looked precarious, as though she might topple at any moment.

'Should I watch a little longer......?'

Then Yeona began to move her feet.

She toddled toward me, wobbling unsteadily.

"Dada."

Calling for Daddy as she walked.

Watching her, my chest swelled with emotion.

"Yeona......"

Only six months old and she was taking her first steps.

Witnessing my second daughter's first walk, tears welled up involuntarily.

As expected, being Awakened meant she was starting to walk early too.

Most babies took their first steps around eight months at the earliest.

I had once read that among non-Awakened babies, there was a British baby who had started walking at six months, which had become a huge story in Britain.

But that was an extremely rare, exceptional case.

"Papa, Yeona is wawking......!"

"I know, Rin. Your little sister is walking."

Ria, who had been in the kitchen, also spotted Yeona walking and clapped her hand over her mouth.

Yeona toddled slowly and unsteadily toward me, then fell right in front of me.

But she did not cry.

She pushed herself back up and reached both hands out to me.

She wanted to be held.

"Yeona......!"

I scooped up Yeona, who had walked so hard to reach me, with my right arm.

Rin in my left arm, Yeona in my right.

'What am I going to do with these adorable daughters of mine?'

I felt like I had the whole world.

"Yeona, you are amazing. You did so well."

Rin reached over and gently stroked her beloved little sister's cheek.

Yeona smiled happily.

Ria came over.

"Our Yeona, already taking her first steps. Mommy is so moved."

"Mama!"

Yeona, apparently delighted from all the praise, then used her Competentia skill.

On all three of us at once: me, Ria, and Rin.

Then, apparently having spent a considerable amount of mana, she promptly fell fast asleep.

"This little one......"

I laid Yeona down on the baby bed in the living room.

"Papa, put me down too! I am going to go gwow some plants!"

"Go ahead."

Once I set her down, Rin dashed outside to grow plants to S-Rank during the buff's duration.

Then I should make use of the buff Yeona gave me too.

The skill I would use was.

[Advanced Dungeon Creation LV 4]

Dungeon Creation, a sub-skill of Acresia.

The vast open-field dungeon I had recently created rippled within the open Acresia.

I applied the Special Environment Configuration option to the dungeon.

With the Advanced Dungeon Creation ability, I could apply up to three Special Environment Configuration options.

'A ceiling that lets in light.'

'Nutrient-rich soil.'

'Brush formation.'

Rin had recently been wanting a larger farm.

As her abilities grew, the small farm at the Rift house no longer satisfied her.

This was a farming-exclusive dungeon I had created for Rin.

When I applied the Special Environment Configuration options, the dungeon's ceiling vanished and light began streaming in.

Grass began sprouting from the ground.

'It is starting to look like the interior of the dungeon where Eos's castle was.'

I would keep this dungeon a secret for now and present it as a gift in a month, on Rin's birthday.