After submitting MARS to the Alegria Beast King’s royal family and formally introducing Raus and his companions to H.R.H. David, we entrusted H.R.H. David to Raus and his group, then moved to the conference room.
There was much to discuss, including the development of the former Torrent Forest site, the construction of the MARS facility, and the expansion of the barrier.
Glacian’s barrier is formed by two overlapping spherical barriers.
One covers the city of Glacian itself, but the Beast King Castle and the Beast King Palace are not included within the barrier.
Although Glacian is a coastal city, it is surrounded by forests, and to guard against enemies from the sea, the Beast King Castle also serves as a fortress.
For this reason, it is built on a small hill, but it is located a little distance from Glacian, thus it is outside the barrier.
While it’s not impossible to expand the barrier, since the Protect Fielding is also a spherical barrier, expanding it to include the Beast King Castle would naturally extend it towards the sea.
The sea area is within the barrier up to a short distance from the port, but expanding it any further would hinder Glacian’s defense, making barrier expansion difficult.
Therefore, a portion of Glacian’s barrier overlaps, forming an figure-eight shape when viewed from above.
Since Protect Fielding is a magic that improves and develops natural barriers, there is no loss of effect or cancellation even when they overlap, and it seems several cities besides Glacian use it.
The minimum range of Protect Fielding is a diameter of 10 kilometers, so Glacian has two starting points. Normally, with the Beast King Castle, which is the center, located in the suburbs, the barrier’s starting points are the Beast King Castle and the former ducal knight order, now the Alegria headquarters of the Beastar’s Guild, respectively.
This time, the barrier that includes the Beast King Castle side will be slightly expanded, and the Torrent Forest, which falls within that range, will be completely cleared to build the MARS facility on the site.
The site area is a vast 170,000 square meters, equivalent to four Tokyo Domes.
However, more than half of that is planned to be the Coliseum.
Some high-ranking monsters are incredibly large, making it difficult to move them even within a Tokyo Dome-sized space.
Therefore, twice that area is planned, but honestly, it’s questionable if even that will be enough.
Expanding it further would lead to stricter facility management and the need to further expand Glacian’s barrier, posing numerous problems, so it was decided to compromise with this plan.
A similar-sized expansion will occur on the opposite side and behind the Beast King Castle. This area will be used to expand the noble district and will be designated for the construction of villas and secondary residences for nobles from other countries.
Alegria is located in the heart of the Philia Continent, making it a key transportation hub. It is also a scenic island floating in the Nadal Sea, thus many nobles from other countries desire to have residences here.
Until now, there was no available land, so such nobles had to be turned away. However, with this expansion, the noble district of Glacian will be significantly enlarged, creating considerable space.
Therefore, by expanding the noble district, there will be enough room to accommodate not only Alegria’s nobles but also nobles from other countries.
Four Tokyo Domes is an unbelievably large area.
Naturally, there are security concerns, so the Beastar’s Guild plans to establish a branch office or substation. This branch will also include a dormitory and training grounds, utilizing the increased site area.
“Great Yamato Tenshaku, the Coliseum is of immense size. Isn’t this too large?”
“It is certainly large, but some large monsters are tens of meters long, and there are even monsters like Fortress Whales that exceed 100 meters in length. To be honest, I feel even this is not enough.”
During the meeting, there was a noble who questioned the size of the Coliseum.
More than questioning, it was more of a raised eyebrow. The Coliseum has a diameter of 500 meters, and the arena where simulated combat with monsters will actually take place has a diameter of 300 meters, which is more than enough for normal use.
However, when considering monsters tens of meters long, especially M-I rank Fortress Whales exceeding 100 meters, I feel this may still be too small.
“A-are there such large monsters?”
“Many high-ranking monsters are quite large. Therefore, a vast area is needed for the illusions to move.”
“I see. Is that why this facility is so enormous?”
There are large monsters even at lower ranks, but for monsters that Hunters hunt, half of this area would be sufficient.
I believe only Ancient Classes would actively hunt large high-ranking monsters, but unexpected encounters can happen, so I think it’s something that should be experienced at least once as a form of preparation. This can also serve as preparation for the Alliance.
“I see. The fact that up to 30 people can engage in simulated combat means that training can be conducted in preparation for the formation of an Alliance, which is indeed a good point.”
“Indeed. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the Scholar’s Guild, so the Beastar’s Guild cannot use it freely. However, being able to train in preparation for emergencies is quite beneficial.”
It is also envisioned for use by the Grand Beastar’s Master and Associate Beastar’s Master, and several Ritter’s Guilds have already submitted applications.
“Only one phantom can be created, so situations like a Labyrinth are not reproducible.”
“No, being able to engage in simulated combat with large high-ranking monsters is valuable in itself.”
“Fighting against An or Catastrophe Species is unthinkable without an Alliance.”
While training against phantoms might not be directly useful in actual combat, it allows us to learn about monster attack patterns, and it should provide experience in group combat, so I don’t think it’s entirely useless. At most, effects like the roar of a Gold Dragoon that paralyzes or shrinks the body cannot be reproduced, so if such knowledge is not acquired separately, the training would lose its meaning. This, on the other hand, is purely a field for research.
“That is why research by Scholars is also important, isn’t it?”
“I was unaware that the roar of the Gold Dragoon had such an effect, but I know that some of the ‘Bull’ species have similar effects. If so, it would not be strange for other monsters to possess similar, yet different, means of attack that affect the mind.”
“Yes. This, unfortunately, cannot be replicated by MARS.”
“Since they are phantoms, that is understandable in a way.”
It was impossible to replicate magical attacks that affect the mind. It might be possible with more research, but while the gazes of monsters like Catoblepas and Third Eye Bull can be replicated, something like a roar might affect everyone who hears it, posing a danger if replicated carelessly. Therefore, this aspect will be entirely elucidated through research by Scholars. Even with Magic Stones, at least minimal information can be obtained. In a way, it’s almost counterproductive, but not everyone can defeat them, and since there’s no guarantee of encountering them, it may end up being just theoretical knowledge.
“I believe we have understood the utility of MARS by hearing it directly from the developer.”
“Yes. Not only Hunters and Beastars for simulated combat but also Scholars for research. Given the scale of the facility, Crafters and Butlers will also be essential for its maintenance. As people gather, the activity of Traders will also increase.”
“Indeed. Furthermore, by expanding the barrier, space can be secured on the east and north sides. These will be for nobles from other countries.”
The redevelopment of Glacian will involve not only the MARS facility but also the simultaneous expansion of the noble district on the east side.
However, there are few nobles in Alegria, and the current noble district is sufficient, so the expanded space is planned for nobles from other countries. For this reason, it has been named the Prestige District.
“The Prestige District will be limited to land readjustment, and construction will begin upon request. Several nobles have already submitted requests, so it will be necessary to complete it as early as possible.”
“The land division is already complete. Once the barrier expansion is finished, we will make arrangements so that work can commence at any time.”
Prime Minister Limone undertook the arrangements for the Prestige District work while looking over the documents he held.
While the construction requests will come from nobles of other countries, at least basic roads and plots must be prepared to avoid future disputes, so all plot sizes are being standardized. Within those plots, nobles are free to build whatever mansion they desire, so Alegria anticipates that actual construction will begin in about six months at the earliest.
“And as for the crucial MARS facility, we have already requested the Trader’s Guild to procure materials and the Crafter’s Guild to dispatch artisans. However, work cannot commence until the barrier expansion is complete.”
While the Prestige District would be beneficial for Alegria’s national interests, the MARS facility is the main focus, so not only Emperor Glisina but also her subordinates have great enthusiasm and expectations.
Therefore, personnel and materials have already been arranged, but regardless of what is done, the barrier cannot be expanded without dealing with the Torrent Forest. And since construction cannot begin without expanding the barrier, everyone’s gaze turned to us.
“Great Yamato Tenshaku, for the sake of expediency, we have not issued requests to Hunters. This has been communicated beforehand, so you will be responsible for this on your own. With that said, I must ask again. Can it truly be finished in three days?”
It is understandable that Emperor Glisina feels doubt and anxiety. The area to be developed this time is 200,000 square meters, equivalent to about five Tokyo Domes, and it includes three sections of the Torrent Forest. The two on the east are about 3,000 square meters each, not very large, but the western forest is considerably larger, estimated at 300,000 square meters. It would be impossible to clear all of such a vast forest and still harvest torrents. Also, the development is not that extensive, so the plan is to only clear about half of it. Even so, 150,000 square meters is an immense scale, and by normal standards, it could not possibly be completed in about three days. Furthermore, monsters inhabit it, so it could easily take years.
“Yes. I have done it several times before.”
However, I am an Element Human, and Prim and the others are Ancient Classes, so environmental destruction with immense Mana is something we are adept at. That in itself is a problem, but during the Prada development, Mana and Meena used the Supplication Magic “Braiding” to carve out a channel connecting Veil Lake and the Nadal Sea. We even altered the terrain while fighting monsters, and this has happened before. It is true that I have never dealt with such a vast area before, but my largest area-of-effect spell deployment, since evolving into an Element Human, can reach a radius of 300 meters. If I wanted to, I could finish it in less than a day. Furthermore, Mako’s area-of-effect spell has a radius of 400 meters, and her Unique Magic Field Cosmos can be deployed with a radius of up to 1 kilometer. Therefore, if Mako were to go all out, it could genuinely be completed in less than a day. Of course, I have no intention of attempting this without practice, so I have tried it several times in Mylight. The result was that the mountainsides of Mylight were severely damaged, and I received quite a scolding from old man Linus.
“Th-there is such a way…?”
“Yes. However, if we do that, the materials will be damaged. So, I plan to hunt normally up to a certain point.”
I replied to Emperor Glisina, who looked astonished and struggled to find words. When I tried it on an Orc settlement, the control was difficult, and I got lazy and took a shortcut. As a result, I couldn’t even retrieve the Magic Stones. It also caused actual environmental destruction, and the ground was left with craters as if a meteor had fallen. Therefore, I do not intend to go that far this time.
“V-very well. We will notify the Crafter’s Guild and the Priest’s Guild to begin work as scheduled in three days.”
“Understood.”
If things proceed as planned, the designated area will be cleared and become barren land with not even a stump remaining in three days. This will allow for the expansion of the barrier, after which the Head Priest’s Master and the Grand Beastar’s Master can expand it with their ritual magic, and the Crafters can work safely. Once that is confirmed, our work will be complete. Recently, I’ve been dealing with troublesome matters and paperwork, so I’ll let loose as a stress reliever.
