Chapter 120
Under a sky covered with white clouds, I kept walking through the dense forest.
“Hey, how long do we have to keep walking…?”
Karin whined with a tearful face as she massaged her swollen legs.
We had walked for about an hour straight through the uneven undergrowth, so it had been quite a long walk.
Resting wasn’t a bad option, but settling a base first took priority.
“If we find some land suitable for a base, we can rest then, so hang in there and follow me.”
“Ugh, at this rate I’m going to collapse…”
When Karin drooped her shoulders, Lapin offered her back.
“Karin, should I carry you?”
“Huh…? Really…?”
Karin, almost entranced by Lapin patting her back, soon came to her senses and shook her head.
“N-no. You must be tired too, I’ll just walk…”
Karin swallowed her tears and eventually followed in silence.
‘…Anyway, a forest farm, huh.’
I kept moving my steps while looking at the trees around me.
‘Isn’t there a good spot somewhere?’
I needed a pair of sturdy trees that wouldn’t budge even in strong winds.
First stage of the Forest Farm! Build a house on a tree!
Because the place the system designated for building a house was none other than “trees.”
‘Building a house on trees, huh.’
I had seen something like that in books or overseas documentaries.
A house harmonized with the scenery of nature—commonly called a “tree house.”
‘It looks difficult to build on trees… but I have the system.’
Like always, I would manage somehow.
I turned to the others and spoke.
“You guys, hurry up and look too. That way we can rest or not.”
“We’ve been searching since you mentioned trees earlier…”
“Villed, look over there.”
Lapin was pointing somewhere.
‘…Can’t see well.’
Only after carefully checking what Lapin was pointing at did I realize what she had found.
Her fingertip pointed toward four trees in the far distance.
But since they were far away, I couldn’t tell if they were suitable for a house.
Still, I decided to trust Lapin.
‘…She’s a chimera, so her eyesight must be good.’
I immediately dashed in that direction.
“Ahh! If you run that fast, I can’t follow…!”
Karin screamed.
She had already been showing signs of dehydration from the forced march…
I secretly took out two water bottles from subspace and tossed them to Karin and Lapin.
“You two rest for a bit and come slowly.”
“Ah, thanks! But where did this come from?”
Ignoring the puzzled Karin, I kept running.
If I used Shurk’s ability, I could arrive quickly, but with eyes watching, I couldn’t use it carelessly.
After all, Exam Overseer, Professor Ruber, was monitoring this island.
‘Even if I use a spirit’s power at night when visibility is low, I should refrain from using the mask during the day.’
While running, a sudden thought came to me.
‘I never realized before because I always used Shurk’s ability for long-distance running.’
When I used Shurk’s ability, stamina consumption while running decreased drastically.
Thanks to relying on that power, I hadn’t often felt the results of my own stamina training, but now I could clearly tell.
‘…I’ve actually gotten a lot stronger, haven’t I?’
I almost doubted if I was the same person who once had such poor stamina.
I was running fast, but even after a long distance, I wasn’t out of breath. My legs even felt springy, as if they had developed muscle.
‘It could be because I’m on the lighter side too.’
I could feel the results of my training.
Eight months of push-ups, squats, sit-ups, and all the odd jobs in the livestock shed.
None of that effort had been wasted.
‘Should I increase my training now that I’ve grown this much…?’
I thought that after finishing the exam and returning to the livestock shed, it might be good to revise my work schedule.
…After running several kilometers nonstop, I finally arrived at the four trees Lapin had pointed out.
I stared intently at the trees in front of me.
They were pine trees standing straight like pillars.
‘…They do look sturdy.’
As with all construction, the foundation was the most important.
A tree house was no exception.
‘Alright, let’s give it a try.’
I recalled the tree houses I had once seen in books. The way they blended with nature carried a kind of romance.
‘Since these trees will serve as the main pillars of the house, I need to choose carefully.’
I circled around each tree, examining them.
‘They seem quite old.’
They felt thick enough.
I tapped them with my fist—solid, and without a hint of shaking.
I could feel that their roots were firmly anchored.
‘Alright, I like this one.’
Approved.
I checked the other trees nearby that would serve as the opposite pillars.
‘This one looks similar. Doesn’t seem any different in quality from the first one.’
I inspected all four trees.
Fortunately, they all seemed suitable as pairs.
‘…The spacing looks perfect too.’
As if by design, the four trees stood in a square formation.
One tree at each corner, each about five meters apart.
It was the perfect layout for a tree house.
‘If completed, the house would be about 7.5 pyeong in size? Of course, I’d need blueprints to know for sure.’
By rough estimate, it seemed I could build a house that was neither too big nor too small.
‘Not just the trees, but the surrounding environment is good too.’
Houses built in mountains or forests often collapsed under heavy rain or other natural disasters.
Especially if built on slopes, they were even more dangerous.
‘But here… I don’t see any such risks.’
This place was flat land without a hint of a slope.
‘Doesn’t seem like there are any monsters nearby either.’
I checked the ground.
There were no signs of hunted animals or monster tracks.
‘So this place… is a safe zone.’
It had the perfect conditions.
The ideal site.
It perfectly matched the blueprints provided by the system.
I couldn’t help but be impressed with Lapin for spotting these trees.
‘How good must her eyesight be, to spot this from so far away… No wonder she’s a chimera.’
‘Alright then… let’s designate this as the base.’
As I thought that while focusing on the system, new text appeared.
Forest Farm Base Construction Start!
At the same time as the message appeared, detailed blueprints and the specialized knowledge needed to build a tree house were implanted directly into my mind.
‘…It’s so vivid.’
Now I didn’t even need to rack my brain over drawing blueprints.
‘Building a house on trees seemed extremely difficult, but this feels doable.’
The survival period given for the exam was four days. If a house was to be built, it was most efficient to finish it within a day or half a day.
Fortunately, with the system’s estimates and my abilities, I could build it quickly.
‘Besides, this environment is perfect for gathering materials.’
It was full of trees. I could secure as much lumber as I needed.
‘Half a day… no, even faster than that.’
I pulled a hand axe out of subspace and looked around.
‘The most important part of building a house is the basic framework.’
First, I needed to secure the “cross beams” that would support the floor.
Without beams, the structure wouldn’t be able to withstand the load and would collapse.
Thanks to the system, I could easily understand construction.
I found a medium-sized tree—not too thick, not too thin—and chopped it down.
Thwack—! Thwack—!
The sound of the axe echoed through the forest, and with a crack, the tree fell with a thud.
‘Good, I don’t even need to rely on Shurk’s ability for this.’
I trimmed the branches and cut it to the right length.
Carrying the log on my back, I moved it between the opposite trees.
Then I began carving grooves into the trees to fit the beams.
I carved one side, then matched the other in the same way. With the system’s help, I could calculate the positions quickly and precisely.
‘So I just need to slot the log into this groove.’
I placed the cross beam into one groove.
After adjusting the angle, I slowly pushed it into the other side.
Creak—!
The sound of wood rubbing against wood echoed.
It fit perfectly into the groove.
I held my breath and carefully removed my hand from the cross beam.
…The wood stayed firm without a tremor, meaning it was properly secured.
‘Yeah, setting the beam in place is the easy part. The problem is fastening it.’
Simply slotting the cross beam in wasn’t stable enough.
‘Now let’s tie it down.’
I pulled out rope from subspace and wrapped it several times above and below the beam, fastening it tightly to the tree.
…How was it?
I pressed down on the beam to check, but it didn’t shake at all.
‘This is more than satisfying.’
Repeating the process three more times, I had four beams forming a square.
On top of them, I lifted the trimmed logs one by one.
Though thinner, these would serve as the “horizontal supports” that held the floor.
Again and again, I laid the horizontal supports parallel on top of the beams.
‘This kind of looks… like ribs being attached.’
At a glance, it really did.
Dozens of supports lined neatly across the beams looked like ribs in formation.
‘The more supports, the easier it is to bear the weight.’
The supports weren’t just add-ons.
They dispersed the load and prevented the beams from twisting or bending.
‘Good, the supports are all set… now for the next chapter.’
Next came the floorboards.
‘If the supports are the ribs… then this part is adding the flesh.’
I selected timber wide enough to be used as planks and chopped trees of the right thickness with my axe.
Logs thicker than my wrist were just right for flooring.
After cutting them to even lengths, I laid them one by one across the supports.
‘It looks a little rough… but this should hold even if someone rolls around on it.’
I placed the boards tightly, adjusting the spacing carefully so no gaps formed.
Normally this kind of work required precision, but thanks to the system, it was quick and easy.
‘Six, seven… good. This should be big enough for three adults to live in.’
I climbed up and pressed my weight onto the floor.
Thanks to the system, there was no creaking and no sense of instability.
Standing still on the floor, I slowly looked around.
‘Now that the floor’s complete, it actually feels like something’s been built.’
The flooring was wide and sturdy.
The square structure was firmly secured.
Now if I built walls and added a roof on top, the house would be complete.
‘Didn’t take as long as I thought…’
I even made a wooden ladder so that Lapin and Karin could easily climb up and down from the tree house.
“Villed!”
Just as I was about to place the ladder, someone’s voice rang out.
Turning my head, I saw Karin with wide eyes and Lapin blinking beside her.
So they finally arrived.
“Are you building a house?”
Karin gawked, glancing back and forth between me and the tree house.
I continued working as I replied.
“I figured I’d build while waiting for you guys to catch up.”
“Wow, to make it this fast… Where did you learn how to build a house?”
“I just remembered what I read in a book.”
Though I brushed it off casually, Karin’s eyes sparkled as she approached.
“That’s amazing! It’s only the floor so far, but it’s still cool! I want to try climbing up!”
Karin carefully climbed the ladder and stood on the floorboards, but after realizing the height, she broke out in a cold sweat and hurried back down.
“Without walls on all sides, it feels a little scary. I’ll go up later.”
Maybe she had a fear of heights.
Well, without walls and only the floor, it could feel frightening.
“By the way, Villed. What should we do to help?”
“Hmm…”
I stroked my chin.
Honestly, I was building the tree house with the system’s help. That was enough support.
If others tried to help, it might actually get in the way.
Even felling and trimming trees was much more efficient alone.
So it seemed better to have them take care of something unrelated to construction.
“Check if there are monster tracks nearby and gather some food like fruits or mushrooms, but don’t go too far.”
“Got it. Lapin, should we start over there?”
“Yeah.”
Lapin and Karin held hands and hurried off together.
Just as I was preparing to put up the walls alone—
Forest Farm registration is now available!
To register, please say “Register”!
‘…Huh? Already?’
I blinked and spoke.
“Register.”
As soon as I answered, the system window flashed, and fanfare sounded from nowhere.
Ta-da! Tada-da-dan! Congratulations! You’ve completed farm registration!
Forest Farm designation complete!
‘So just building the floor is enough for it to count as a house.’
Having the tree house registered as a “Forest Farm” the moment I built the floor left me conflicted.
‘I’ll probably take care of it for the next four days… but this is disposable anyway, isn’t it?’
This was a remote island we had reached after traveling hours from Grand Galfell.
Of course, once the exam was over, I’d never return here.
That meant the Forest Farm would eventually be abandoned.
Even if it was registered as a farm, wasn’t it meaningless?
‘The system pressured me into building a Forest Farm right away, but maybe I chose too hastily.’
…Just as I was regretting that thought—
Please designate a gate to travel between Animal Farm and Forest Farm!
My eyes widened.
It was a message I had already seen before.
And not that long ago either. It was when I built the Sea Farm.
At first, I doubted the need to make one since the sea was so far from the livestock shed, but thanks to the warp that linked them, running the Sea Farm became easy.
So then, just like that time…
‘…I can warp from here to the livestock shed?’