Chapter 398 - 388: Gains from Organizing the Territory

Trading a useless piece of land for a huge sum of money was an incredibly good deal.

After realizing this, Moira Lynch had only one thought. ’I paid too much.’

’I should have haggled more back then.’

Moira first went to check on the situation in the valley.

After all, this was the place that had first caught her eye.

Although it was an unregulated territory, the scenery was beautiful, with both mountains and water. Otherwise, Moira would never have chosen it.

All in all, Moira was very satisfied with the place. Next, she checked the surrounding area.

She spread out her spiritual power, taking in the entirety of her territory.

To the west was a huge lake, while to the south and north were two dense forests.

To the east, the direction Moira had come from, was a plain. From there, it was a straight walk that would lead you into the valley in less than ten minutes.

If not for the barrier she had just purchased, Moira would definitely have found a way to plant something on the eastern side, just in case.

But now that she had the barrier, the matter was no longer so urgent.

Moira now had 58,000 Game Coins left. She couldn’t afford any major renovations for the time being, but she could still hire some people to clear out the rubble and debris.

The game system had a function specially prepared for life-skill players who wanted to experience the farming lifestyle in the game.

You just had to input your requirements, and it could generate your desired renovations and layout with a single click. It even provided a construction crew.

Of course, none of this was free. It all came at a hefty price.

Moira looked at the prices, then at her savings, and decisively tossed the task to Patience.

"Master, I’m not sure about this," Patience hesitated. "I’ve never tried anything like this before."

"It’s okay if you haven’t done it. There’s a first time for everything. I believe in you. You don’t need to rush; just take your time. We’re not aiming for speed, just for quality."

Then, Moira briefly explained her requirements.

Given her own traits, Moira naturally wanted to transform this territory into a world of ice and snow.

Otherwise, having to run to The Northlands every time she wanted to perform an Enchantment was just too troublesome, not to mention she could easily be discovered.

But she didn’t want the entire territory covered in ice and snow—just the valley area would do, because she still needed to plant things in the surrounding land.

"Oh, right. While making it snow, see if you can preserve the plants inside the valley. If that’s really not possible, then just find some cold-resistant plants."

Patience felt its vision dim as it processed the massive pile of chaotic, fantastical requests Moira had proposed.

"I... will do my best."

With that, Patience’s voice vanished. It had to go look up some information now.

Moira had great confidence in Patience’s ability. She believed it would be able to perfectly complete this arduous task.

’Yeah, Patience is much easier to work with.’

With that feature in the game system, if you weren’t satisfied the first time, you had to pay again to generate new blueprints. It wasn’t like her money grew on trees.

Having sorted out the design blueprints, Moira returned to Aethelburg.

As soon as she entered, she saw the Steward she had met before.

"Where is your City Lord?" Moira asked. "I have business with him."

Moira was probably acting in such a whirlwind rush that the Steward thought she had come to regret her purchase and was looking for the City Lord to get a refund.

’That won’t do.’

Just a moment ago, word had gotten out that the City Lord had money, and managers from all over had come sniffing around. That sum had long since been divided up. The Lord’s Keep had no money to give back now.

Seeing Moira about to head inside, the Steward quickly stepped forward to block her way, saying with a smile, "The City Lord has gone out to inspect the city. If there’s anything you need, you can tell me."

Moira glanced at the Steward and nodded. "Telling you is fine too. I want to hire some people to clean up my land. Can you help me hire some workers? I’ll pay their wages."

The Steward had originally thought Moira was here to ask for money; he never expected she was actually here to give it away.

He was well aware of just how large the piece of land the City Lord had sold was. A few dozen people would be nowhere near enough to clean it up.

"Ah, of course! I’ll go write up a notice for you right away. How much should I set the wages at?"

Moira thought for a moment and said, "Just set it at the normal market rate."

After giving her instructions, Moira didn’t stay long in The Lord’s Keep. Since Shane Rhodes wasn’t here, she decided she might as well head back to her territory.

After Moira left, the Steward immediately rushed off to write the notice and recruit workers.

Upon returning to her territory, she planned to first check out the forests to the south and north.

What Moira needed most right now were materials that could withstand Enchantment. That was the only way she could secure a steady stream of income.

Once she had money, everything else would be easy to handle.

Soon, she arrived at the southern forest.

This forest was incredibly dense. Surprisingly, the leaves of some of the trees were purple, and their canopies were much larger than those of ordinary trees, making them stand out in the green forest.

"Identification."

Standing before one of the purple trees, Moira used her Identification Skill.

[Golden Beauty Tree: A mutation of the Beauty Tree. It possesses a unique fragrance. Only one Golden Beauty may appear for every thousand Beauty Trees, making it extremely rare. A Magic Wand crafted from it will carry its unique fragrance and an essence effect, making it very popular among female players.]

Moira’s eyes lit up as she read the Golden Beauty’s description.

’This is a real treasure!’

She did a rough count of the Golden Beauty Trees here—there were several dozen of them.

She broke off a branch from a Golden Beauty Tree to attempt an Enchantment. When the system showed it was possible, Moira was ecstatic.

With these Golden Beauty Trees, she wouldn’t have to worry about raw materials for a long time to come.

Having reaped such a great reward from the southern forest, Moira, with a taste for more, headed to the northern forest.

This was also a forest, but it was clearly composed of different species than the one to the south.

Moira looked at the trees, which had few leaves but grew in gnarled, menacing shapes, and felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

She could have sworn she saw facial features on them. ’It’s not real. It must be my imagination.’

Moira comforted herself with this thought, but she still used her Identification Skill on the trees.

[Treant: A creature formed when a tree is infected by a fungus. They have low intelligence and prefer to move in groups. They usually remain rooted in the ground, motionless like real trees. However, once awakened, they will attack whoever disturbed them.]

[Weakness: Treants are terrified of fire.]

[If you are willing to water them, they will become your most capable assistants.]