Richard knew that his father wouldn't be back for over an hour. The furniture store was twenty-five kilometers away from their home, and adding the traffic every morning in the city, his estimate was actually a conservative one. Even more so, his father wouldn't have the opportunity to catch him sneaking into the Permonium Sanctuary.
On the other hand, his mother was still inside the Sanctuary, and she wouldn't be back until lunchtime. Overall, this was the best opportunity he had.
Not wasting any more time, Richard hurriedly crouched under his bed, grabbing an empty box. "Vara, gather all the Fays and the equipment outside in here," he ordered, pointing at the box beside him. "I'll be back within three minutes!" Richard stood up and ran down toward the dining room, stuffing all the food into his mouth.
The young boy quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face in their bathroom. Within one minute, Richard finished his morning ritual, ran back to his room, and changed out of his pajamas. He asked the Fay Queen if everything was set, and when he received her affirmative answer, he grabbed the box filled with sixty-eight Fays, including their Queen. With his other hand, he picked up the wooden house before going downstairs.
When he finally reached the basement, Richard put down the box on the floor, ordering Vara to evacuate it. Richard stared at the six-foot-tall teleportation machine. This machine was an imitation of the true teleportation machine leading to the Permonium Sanctuary. It was later called the Agassi Platform, dedicated to the scientist who cracked the code of the alien technology, Theodore Agassi.
After countless years of effort from human scientists, they had finally managed to replicate it and sold it to the public. As a matter of fact, the worth of a single Agassi Platform was staggering—more or less fifty million diamond notes. Given a hint of his father's background, he could surely fork out that much money.
Returning to the present situation, Richard lifted the wooden house and threw it onto the Agassi Platform. Next, he took the box filled with furnaces and other equipment that the Fays had made for him while he was asleep. This was the only way he knew to destroy these things to avoid further jeopardizing his secrets.
Any equipment and non-sentient organisms that were teleported to the Sanctuary would always be bound to be destroyed due to an unsolved problem during the imitation. The only teleportation machines that could bring anything into the Sanctuary were those found in the ruins. That was what Richard had gathered so far since he had become addicted to the Permonium Sanctuary at the age of six.
Thankfully, clothes that humans wore were not destroyed when teleported. However, clothes that were not worn by humans were destroyed. This was just one of the mystical occurrences surrounding this imitated machine.
Richard heaved a deep breath before he grabbed the Fay Queen and the other Fays, placing them in his clothing. At this moment, he would have his answer about the fact that only adults thirty years old and up had the capability to enter. To be successful, a man had to take risks, believing that the decision he made was right. He hadn't understood what this line meant before, but now he knew it by heart. Now or never!
He was only twelve years old, but his resolve and passion to become a Fay Master were greater than those of any man. This had been his dream since the very first day he heard of such an existence. At this point, no one could stop him from reaching that dream!
Richard took his final step before bright lights overwhelmed his vision. He closed his eyes, unable to endure such a dizzying sensation. After a while, he felt a scorching heat scalding his skin. Opening his eyes, Richard jumped in fright at his current condition. He was standing a foot away from the mouth of a volcano. A small misstep would undoubtedly send him to heaven.
Treading carefully away from the mouth of the volcano, Richard sighed deeply, wiping the sweat from his forehead. His luck had nearly killed him. In fact, the number one cause of death for humans in the Permonium Sanctuary was when they first teleported to this world. Some had been teleported to the deepest ocean, some to the center of a volcano, and others with the worst luck had directly appeared in the mouths of monstrous creatures of this world.
"Master, what are your orders?" an emotionless voice inquired from behind Richard, pulling his consciousness back to reality.
It was only then that he realized he had succeeded in entering the Permonium Sanctuary. His eyes dampened with various emotions that he didn't know how to express at this significant moment in his life. Everything he thought was impossible had now become a possibility. Who said that only thirty-year-old humans had the right to enter this magical place? All of those beliefs were now lies in his eyes.
Richard wiped away his tears and turned around, only to be greeted by a mesmerizing woman. She was clearly more gorgeous than his mother. Richard instinctively turned to look around him. 'Dad won't slap my head, right? Hehehe.'
His eyes didn't linger on her for long before Richard jumped to stare at the other Fays. It was true that after Fays entered the Permonium Sanctuary, they returned to their normal physical forms, with an average height of six feet, golden hair, and pointed ears. Most importantly, they possessed a powerful strength twice that of a human.
Richard smiled to himself, noticing that he was a foot taller than their waists. He now saw himself as an awkward ruler of these towering beings. However, he set those thoughts aside and ordered, "Let's go down the volcano first. Afterwards, some of you will scout the surrounding area for food. The additional details will be discussed when we find a suitable Nest. Let's go!"
Everyone heeded their Master's orders without complaint. Richard looked at the sight before him—a vast forest with enormous trees at the foot of the volcano. Clearly, a long time had passed since the last volcanic eruption. Based on the current state of the volcano, it would erupt sooner or later. This was the rough guess he made while walking down.
It would definitely take them an hour to descend, given their current pace. He walked side by side with the Fay Queen in silence. Richard was not in a rush; he wasn't worried as he had a lot of time to spend. An hour in the real world was equivalent to three days in the Sanctuary. That was one of the basic pieces of knowledge humans knew about time in this vast world.
An hour later, the company settled down in a clearing that was a kilometer away from the volcano. They took a quick rest before everyone started their respective tasks. Seven Fays acted as scouts to find valuable resources for the Nest. They needed to look for basic resources like stones, metal ores, water, and some edible fruits or plants necessary to support the development of the Nest. They didn't need to find timber as it could be seen in all directions.
Richard understood the difficulty of finding a place where there was an abundance of metal ores like copper, bronze, and iron. He didn't have any knowledge of these things, so he asked Vara if there were any smiths among the current number of Fays. Richard was disappointed to hear the Fay Queen's negative answer.
"We have a tailor, an alchemist, an architect, and two farmers," Vara told him. Richard smiled at the Fay Queen's response, relieved to hear that his Nest possessed all the essential professions. This was indeed good news. He felt confident they could manage without a blacksmith for the time being. He could wait for one to spawn in the Nest.
Richard summoned all the mentioned professions under the shade of the large trees. They didn't have a Meeting Hall at the moment, so they needed to endure for the time being. Making all the necessary plans in his mind, Richard began to give his orders to start building the Nest.
"Clear all the non-fruit-bearing trees within a radius of six hundred meters. Use the timber to build temporary housing and some of the necessary structures like the Tailor Shop, the Medicine Shop, and the Smithy. Find arable land for farming; it's better if the land is near a riverbank. If there are any beasts that an be turned into livestock, try to catch them to bring back here.
"Alchemist," Richard paused and looked at the Fays in front of him. "Try to scout the area to find plants suited for curing minor injuries. That will be all. If any of you have questions, don't hesitate to raise your concerns," he voiced, wanting to clarify any doubts they might have.
Richard waited for several seconds before a cold voice spoke beside him, "Master, are we really going to build our Nest here? Sorry for my objection, but I'm concerned about the current state of the volcano. It will surely erupt any moment now."
Richard didn't know if the Fay Queen was angry or anything; her face was devoid of any emotion. However, he expected her to raise the situation they were in, as he noticed how she kept turning to look at the location of the volcano. Richard answered her skepticism with confidence, "Given the current level of magma in the volcano, I can deduce that it will not erupt for three to five years. This is the most pessimistic conclusion I have. Therefore, eight years from now will be the most likely eruption of the volcano. Whether it happens sooner or later, my decision to build the Nest at the foot of this volcano will not change. In fact, considering the spawning time of special Fays, which occurs once every five hundred total population, we have sufficient time to wait for a Terrain Master to spawn within three years."
Vara silently listened to Richard's words. She understood his principles. In fact, she would have responded with a similar answer if she were asked the same question. Terrain Masters were a special profession under the basic profession of Architects. They were adept at terraforming certain areas. For example, if a Fay Master wanted to add a mountain to his territory, he would definitely need to find a Terrain Master to do the job. Also, if a Fay Master's territory was a mountainous region without any arable land suitable for planting crops, he would need the service of a Terrain Master to flatten some areas. However, each of these tasks required a higher Grade Level of Terrain Master for it to be possible.
"With a disparity of eight days for every special profession to spawn, I can certainly say that we can have at least eight to fifteen Terrain Masters within three years. This is given that luck is not on our side during that period. However, if we are fortunate, we can have three times that number."
The Fays who had gathered for this meeting couldn't help but listen to their Master's words with their mouths agape. They couldn't believe that a twelve-year-old boy could achieve such feats in leadership. This was rare even in the current generation when all humans had the chance to enter prestigious academies. Their Master was definitely gifted. The doubts in their minds about the competence of their leader were completely cleared. They now believed that their future was certain.
Vara was even more surprised by Richard's proficiency in conveying his thoughts on the matter. The probabilities he provided were on point, which impressed the Fay Queen even more. She now considered her Master not just a young boy, but a twelve-year-old human being whose mind was now on par with that of adults. Her loyalty toward him hit the highest mark. Vara would now die for him.
She didn't add any words in between and silently stood beside Richard as always. Having the courage to raise their concerns, the other Fays also asked Richard questions. In fact, their concerns mostly centered on the beasts lurking in the depths of the forest. What would they do if they encountered one? How would they respond to such a situation?
Richard understood these queries from the Fays since they didn't have any soldiers to respond if such unnecessary events broke out. He answered them calmly, saying that they must not engage with the beasts and should run back to the Nest as fast as they could if needed. Above all, they must never behave in a way that might agitate such monsters.
After an hour, when Richard finished answering all their questions, the crowd dispersed to start their vital assignments. Richard massaged his forehead, understanding the stress of being a Fay Master. In fact, such feelings made him feel more alive. He loved the challenge it brought him.
Having some time to spare, Richard opened his stats interface.
Name: Richard Madwen
Fay Master Level: 0 (236/500)
Age: 12 years old
Time Spent in the Permonium Sanctuary: 2 hours, 15 minutes, 30 seconds
Nest Name:(Name not yet entered.)
Fay Queens Owned: 1/4
Stats:
Strength: 11
Constitution: 12
Agility: 15
Skills:None
Equipment: Ordinary Clothes, Ordinary Pants, Ordinary Shoes
Richard couldn't help but feel embarrassed by his stats. Well, there was still something to celebrate: he was halfway to leveling up. Nonetheless, he still needed a suitable skill for himself, which was necessary to improve as a Fay Master.
In the midst of pondering what skill he should obtain, Richard was disturbed by Vara's chilling voice, "Master, one of our scouts found an iron deposit, but it is guarded by a strong forest beast."