Richard anticipated that he would spend more than two hours in the Permonium Sanctuary before immediately encountering a crisis. Iron was vital for any Nest; they couldn't always rely on the free items given to them by the system. They needed to produce their own axes, spades, nails, hammers, shovels, and other important tools necessary for the development of their Nest.
Richard analyzed the situation for a moment before he asked the Fay who had seen the Forest Beast guarding an iron deposit, "Do you have any idea about the Grade of the Beast?"
The Fay recalled what he had seen and answered, "It was most likely a C Grade Beast. The way it had given me chills all over my body when our eyes met makes it suitable for that Grade."
After asking three more questions, Richard dismissed the Fay Scout and allowed him to have his well-deserved rest. According to the Fay's description, the beast was three feet tall and six feet long. It had two horns on its lion-like head, while its body resembled that of a goat. Given that the Blue Grade Fay had been apprehensive while staring at it eye to eye, this creature was definitely a tough foe to beat. A C Grade Beast was equivalent in power to ten Yellow Grade Level Fay. This would be a formidable opponent for the other Fay Masters, but not for Richard.
Making up his mind, Richard turned and looked at the beautiful woman who silently stood beside him. Vara raised her eyebrow, noticing her Master's sheepish stare. Without saying a word, she left Richard and summoned four Yellow Grade Fays to join her.
After they left, Richard opened the final stats that he needed to see; the stats interface of his Nest.
Nest Name: (Please enter the desired name you want for your Nest.Warning! Nest names can never be changed after confirmation.)
Without thinking about it any longer, Richard entered the Nest's name, filled with excitement.
Nest Name: Moirai
Nest Rank: Unranked
Nest Status: Small Village
Residents: 68/1,000 (Maximum Population Limit scales with the Fay Queen's Level)
Total Male Residents: 46
Total Female Residents: 21
Total Number of Children: 1
White Grade: 0
Green Grade: 36
Blue Grade: 23
Yellow Grade: 8
Orange Grade: 0
Red Grade: 1
Violet Grade: 0
Human: 1
Moirai was a Greek word meaning "fate." Richard had chanced upon this word while surfing the internet. Upon learning its meaning, he had committed it to memory. At that time, he promised that this would be the name of his Nest. Now, it had become a reality, just like the meaning of the Nest's name—fate. He was undoubtedly fated to have a Nest in his life.
Looking at the Nest stats, Richard felt bored. There was nothing interesting about it; he didn't even need to look at it to know something. The only satisfactory information was the total number of residents and the corresponding statistics. This would definitely alleviate his concerns about knowing his current Fays' Grade Levels. As for the other information, he didn't care about it for the moment; however, in the long term, it would certainly help him. The knowledge of the demographics of the Nest was vital for any Fay Master to better utilize the population. Richard noted that in his mind.
After he finished looking at his Nest's stats interface, Richard roamed around the busy Nest. Everyone was doing their part without complaint. The sound of wooden hammers striking timber echoed around him He saw unfamiliar building techniques of using only the available materials found around the vicinity. He noticed the unfamiliar building techniques being employed, each using only the materials found nearby. Richard had thought that constructing structures without nails or conventional tools would be challenging, yet the Fays handled it with remarkable efficiency. Brown dust permeated the air, making the surroundings teem with life. All the Fays he met on the dusty road bowed to him respectfully. Richard responded with a smile. This was truly one of the essences of being a Fay Master—witnessing the growth of his realm.
While walking around, Richard began to formulate a future plan for the infrastructure of the Nest. However, he still needed the help of the architects for this. For now, he considered the current status of the infrastructure of the Nest. After he finished strolling through the small village like an Emperor, Richard returned to the shade of an enormous tree. There was now a rectangular table filled with fruits. Richard instantly heard his stomach protesting at the sight of the food. He raised his head only to be welcomed by the blinding light of the sun. It was definitely time for lunch.
When Richard approached the table, a man and two tall women bowed to him. The man in the middle politely bowed before saying, "Master, we have already prepared your food. I hope you'll love it."
Richard smiled at him. "Well, I think I will wait for Vara to come back," he said, anxiously sitting in a chair and waiting for the Fay Queen. His Fays had been so diligent that they had already produced a wooden table and five chairs within an hour. Richard's hands itched to grab a particular fruit that looked like an apple but was rounder and bigger than the latter. However, he still controlled himself to wait longer.
To distract himself from his hunger for the time being, Richard considered having a conversation with the three Fays. He first peered at their stats and learned their names. The one who greeted him was Zalis, who was a Blue Grade Fay. The petite woman was Amisar, who was at the same Grade Level as Zalis. Richard widened his eyes when he saw the stats of the last woman, who had a large physique with shoulder-length hair; she was actually a Yellow Grade. Her name was Gartha, which he found suited her characteristics.
"You are called Gartha, right?" Richard asked, ensuring he was being respectful. The other party only nodded and kept silent. Richard wasn't sure if the Fay woman was shy or had just decided not to say anything further. "Well, do you want to be my guard?" Richard asked her, which made Gartha freeze on the ground for a moment before she regained her composure.
"Master, it is a great blessing to serve you, but I don't think I'm qualified to be by your side," Gartha replied, neither accepting nor rejecting her Master's proposal.
Richard immediately countered her downgrading of herself. "I don't care who is beside me. I just want them to be able to protect me from harm. Honestly, my real intention was to make you my combat trainer. Well, do you accept or not?"
The Fay woman was taken aback by her Master's honesty. She didn't give her answer right away; instead, she observed the young boy in front of her. He was only a foot taller than her waist, but looking deeper into his eyes, she saw the fire burning within, wanting to be ignited even more. Gartha also sensed a bit of apprehension emanating from the young boy. He was exuding an aura that commanded deep respect from everyone around him. This was the aura of a true ruler—the reason why she hesitated to accept his offer.
After a lot of deliberation, Gartha agreed to be her Master's instructor. "Master, when do you want to start?" she asked afterwards.
"I am now your student. I don't have the right to answer your question. It is now up to you how you will discipline and train me," Richard replied, making Gartha respect the young man even more. With that mindset, she didn't need to enforce any disciplinary actions on him. In fact, it was she who needed to be disciplined. Her Master never failed to amaze her every time he opened his mouth.
Finishing what he had to say to Gartha, Richard turned his attention to Zalis. "You are Zalis, right? Do you want to be the head steward?"
Zalis, who hadn't expected anything like this, immediately accepted his Master's proposal. Unlike Gartha, who was unsure about her job, Zalis was eager. They both served Richard, but their levels of work vastly differed. Still, Zalis found this to be a very good job. Serving the Master was undoubtedly a great honor for an ordinary individual.
"Well, I hope you can take good care of me and Vara in the future," Richard said, only to see the sheepish smiles of the three Fays. "Ahem! I mean, I hope you can clean my bedroom and prepare my food every day, as well as take care of Vara."
Zalis chuckled at Richard's naïve face. "Of course, Master. I will do my best."
Richard could still see their meaningful smiles. Nevertheless, he shook his head, dismissing their thoughts, whatever they may be. Richard then turned to the other woman, who was now staring at him with hope.
"You must be Amisar. Sorry, but I don't have any job for you," Richard said, which resulted in a dejected expression on the woman's face. He pouted his lips as if he was thinking about something. "Sorry, but I really don't have a vacant job for you," he added, his voice even more sorrowful.
Amisar nodded her head, accepting her fate. It wasn't that she wanted to have a job, but she was truly hopeful to serve her Master in any way possible. However, hearing his answer, she had no choice but to acknowledge her Master's words. "Well, can you please tell the workers to take a lunch break for an hour and a half?" Richard asked Amisar, who immediately heeded her master's orders without grumbling.
After she was done, Amisar returned to the large tree, only to hear the joyous laughter of the trio. "Oh, you're back. How was your new job?" her Master asked upon seeing her.
"It's go…" Amisar stopped midway in responding to the young boy's query. She didn't know whether to be upset with what her Master had done or to thank him for his benevolence. Nonetheless, their laughter once again drifted in the warm wind.
On the other side of the forest, five silhouettes ran through the thick woods, undeterred by their troublesome path. The dense shrubs and vines clung to their feet as they moved forward. They moved as fast as they could toward the location of the beast.
As they neared a cluster of trees, they noticed the brown silhouette of the beast. It was indeed what the scout had described. Its lion-like head rested on the ground, with two majestic horns curving upward. They gleamed under the patches of sunlight. The beast's fur was a patchwork of earthy tones—deep browns and soft golds. It indeed had the body of a goat, with strong legs poised to spring into action.
Vara stared at it for some time before turning to look at the four Fays behind her.
Vara broke the silence, her voice low and commanding. "Listen closely. This beast is stronger than we anticipated. It's a C+ Grade Beast."
The four Fays nodded solemnly, understanding that the mission had now become a level higher than before. The grading system for beasts was not just a simple scale; each letter grade was also divided into three sub-grades: -, base, and +. With the beast in front of them classified as C+, they had to be extra careful. However, with Vara, a Red Grade Level Fay, leading them, this fight was guaranteed to be in their favor. What they needed to prevent was for the beast to go berserk. It would be a nightmare if it did.
"We need to bring it down as fast as possible to prevent it from going berserk," Vara said, her gaze steady and fierce. "Kael, you distract it. Use a sound to draw it away. Elys, Lira, and Nex surround and attack it after it gets distracted. I'll attack the beast from behind."