“Live baobark trees are. They dry out quickly when they’re cut down, though, and burn easily. We should be able to propagate them with cuttings, and if I can use your slime fertilizer, I can get saplings ready to plant. Do you want me to try?” Hudom offered.
“Yes, please.” I didn’t know too much about maintaining a mountain, but even I knew that we couldn’t just cut down trees without plans of planting more. Otherwise, we’d just be destroying nature like the cursed land was doing. I wouldn’t and couldn’t do that.
Hudom knew a lot more about plants than I did, so I’d be taking his advice on that front. My job would be to specify my plans for the mountain’s new infrastructure. Since I’d have the final word, until I announced at least the general direction of the project, no one could make any specific suggestions or notes.
“Our top priority at this moment would be to carve paths and clean up the mountain. If I release the huge bush slime, it’ll take care of much of the underbrush around the cottage. I’ll also send out all of my goblins to knock down branches. Once the metal and iron slimes transform, the goblins will have enough tools as well,” I said.
“You have nearly a hundred goblins if I recall. They would be a great asset to the project,” Sebas said, having witnessed my goblin brigade in the City of Lost Souls.
Just last week, my goblins had surpassed a hundred to a total of one hundred and thirteen. That wouldn’t even be close to the numbers I’d need for full-scale development, but that was a great number for our project. “They can perform simple tasks as well as humans, and the hobgoblins are very strong. I think making the paths will be more efficient for me and the slimes to do together, but they can handle the branches. Once we set up paths and clean up the mountain, I’d like to work on the cursed land itself.”
Another landslide could hit any minute, which would make cleansing cursed energy more difficult. Fortunately, using the hex I’d learned in that morning’s class would let me prevent cursed energy from spreading, with the bonus of using and reviewing the knowledge I’d gained. “And the goblins will try to make alcohol whenever they get a chance, so they need something they can burn their energy on.” On top of white liquor, they’d begun distilling liquor with other ingredients like the wheat and potatoes from the slime farms...and the leftover fruit I’d brought back from the Sea of Trees too. At least, their endeavor also benefited my research sometimes, like when I discovered the drunk slime that liked to consume alcohol mid-fermentation. However, the drunk slime would most likely further evolve into a slime that would aid in the goblins’ distilling.
I would always cherish the birth of another type of slime, but if they were so focused on distilling, I would really need to do something about their operation. Staying holed up in the Dimension Home couldn’t be good for the goblins’ health either. This was a great opportunity not just for the goblins but for me to train.
“Train?” Mizelia asked when I brought up the idea.
“If I have the time. Remember how I went back to my home village the other day? Even though I had no problem crossing the Sea of Trees, I still feel like my damage output is lacking when I’m fighting monsters deep in the forest,” I said.
“You went into the Sea of Trees and came back, so you can’t really sell yourself short. Are monsters deep in the forest really that bad?”
“Many of them are large and tough. There are plenty of small and annoying monsters, but those I don’t have trouble dealing damage to,” I said, thinking that I would have had a really tough time against tyrant raptors and the cannonball rhino’s boss if Glen hadn’t been there with me. I probably could have taken them down with some kind of slime strategy, but that didn’t address how I felt my own strength was lacking. While I didn’t want to be like Glen, I would like to work on buffing my body with physical and magical energy. Besides, Glen ran off saying that he wanted to buy instant meals, so I expected to see him again before long. When I did see him, I wouldn’t put it past him to demand another sparring match.
“Well, let us know if we can help.”
“We can use enhancement magic too.”
“I’ll be there too.”
“Thank you!” I told the group. Finding time to train could be a lot of fun. Restraining the urge to hammer out the details, I brought our conversation back on track. “So the goblins will help us trim the mountains... I would love to see the site with my own eyes.”
“Then I’ll take you there,” Hudom offered. “I’ve been shown almost everywhere we’ve explored, so we can go any time that works for you.”
“Anytime that works... Lord Rosenberg?” I asked.
My tutor smiled heartily. “Ryoma already knows how to perform most tasks surrounding cleansing cursed energy. I’ll continue giving what advice is needed, but the rest comes down to practicing in the field and exploring methods that suit him best. I can help you out if you need me to, so this is up to you, Ryoma.”
With the ball back in my court, I decided to have Hudom show me around the mountain that afternoon. “If that works with you, Hudom.”
“You got it, boss.”
“And, Lord Rosenberg. If I give you the documents regarding the lost spell later, could you look them over?” I asked.
“Of course.”
I’d had the files ready, but I hadn’t had a chance to give them to him since we’d jumped into my cleansing training. Tomorrow, I’d talk to him in detail about it. I’d been subjected to way too many unplanned tasks and changes in jobs in my previous life, but talking it over with the group and making step-by-step decisions made it enjoyable. This was the kind of environment I wanted to maintain while we worked hard to accomplish our goal.