The massive project to reclaim the western expanse was given the name Reconquista Oeste. It was the first big endeavor helmed by the Panhuman League, the organization managing the continent unified under the Libertadores. The aim was to “reconquer” the land of the seven countries that had been taken over by Country Eater and other monsters, foremost of which was Crystania. Everyone took to it with great fervor.
What would have required at least ten years of planning in a world without Sol was nearly finished in a single year. This miraculous achievement was thanks in large part to brand-new infrastructure that seemed to be from several eras in the future. There were two main factors that characterized this new era: the reintroduction of lost technology previously thought to have been buried by time and a never-ending stream of futuristic tools and weapons produced by the weapons development outfit founded and headed by Gawain. And thanks to various abilities of Player and the Elven Queen’s control over the World Tree, both could be kept running at full power without ever running out of mana.
Teleportation was now widely available, making it possible to move even the entire Floating Continent and its surrounding islands across great distances and, within a certain range, keep highly important facilities connected on an almost permanent basis. People and goods could flow freely, drastically shrinking the world.
Recently, Julia, the Saint of Healing, had also founded Panacea, an organization dedicated to providing healing and rejuvenation to all. As a result, the workforce had swelled significantly and become far more productive. People were happier too, as work no longer felt tiring and they were receiving compensation commensurate with the effort they put in. Besides the periodic rest that they had to take and the occasional splurging spree using the money they had saved up, most everyone spent almost all their waking moments throwing themselves into their work.
Originally, the fact that this undertaking was deep in the heart of a former taboo territory, where human civilization couldn’t have been farther away, would have been the greatest obstacle of all. Though the boss, Country Eater, was gone, monsters far too powerful for normal humans to handle still roamed freely. At least, they had, until the Divers and the Wayside Knights went around and cleaned house. The former was a group of top adventurers handpicked by and directly answering to the Adventurer’s Guild, and the latter a chivalric order under the direct command of the Panhuman League and headed by Captain Leticia and Vice Captain Lydia, Frederica’s two former personal guards. For those armed with Player’s support, a few more levels under their belt, and armis magicka created by Gawain, monsters on the surface—dungeons were a whole other deal—were no longer much of a threat.
Every once in a while, they would encounter a monster still beyond them. Standard protocol was to make a safe retreat and report back to Sol’s group. The monsters in his service would then, for some reason, gleefully rush out and take care of it right away. By now, a monster suddenly being launched high up into the air in Atriesta’s vicinity or the All Dragon coming back dejected that she had punched something too eagerly and reduced it to nothing no longer caused a commotion. In the beginning, everyone’s jaws had dropped every time, though.
What the people had found most surprising was seeing the All Dragon worriedly shooting looks at Sol’s face to make sure that he hadn’t gotten tired of her when she made mistakes. Of course, learning that her “true” form wasn’t the giant terrifying Astral but the adorable little girl ranked very high for many people too. But for the workmen who had been in the first group to arrive, there was no beating the spectacle on the first day, when the greenery that had swallowed up the defenseless ruins wilted and died in the blink of an eye, pristine water surged into the dried-up waterways, and two hundred years of weathering was undone with a wave of Aina’noa’s hand.
The workmen remembered being surprised by both the reminder of how incredible Sol’s monsters were and how much easier their job had suddenly become. Those who had gotten used to life here felt most keenly how humans truly could get used to anything. They were sure that if they went home and shared their experiences, they would be laughed out the door.
The most dramatic change that everyone was unconsciously getting used to was the way they could traverse the great western expanse several times a day through the teleportation circles on the floating islands. What was being gradually accepted as normal was changing day by day here in the west. This was true not only in Atriesta, but also major cities throughout Crystania and even hubs in the six other former countries. The world was plowing forward like a noisy steam engine, growing and becoming more prosperous at breakneck speed.
On this big, beautiful planet, stories were spun and progress made not only when Sol was around. That was because everyone who dedicated their blood, sweat, and tears to the development of the world in their respective jobs were all protagonists in their own right.