Ch.143143. The Purified Forest for the Naru Tribe

The corrupted forest is no more.

The chaotic energy has been purified, transforming it into a cleansed forest. Even the remaining corrupted resources have all been harvested as I raised the purification level of my Chaos Stone Purification Cauldron.

What remains now is purified land and resources… though actually, those haven’t appeared yet.

Still, one thing is clear: this is an ideal foundation for the Naru tribe who had been barely surviving in the treetops. With nothing blocking their view, no gray wolves that used to inhabit the forest, and absolutely nothing else—it’s the perfect place to commemorate a new beginning, a fresh start.

“There’s nothing here…”

Chunbong, who had excitedly emerged from the swamplands with the Naru tribe, muttered dejectedly as she looked at where the corrupted forest once stood.

In truth, unless they were quite elderly Vanprs, neither Chunbong nor any of the Naru tribe would remember the corrupted forest.

Considerable time had passed, and the Naru tribe had been pushed from the corrupted forest to the swamplands over an extremely long period.

So most of the Naru tribe here probably only knew about the corrupted forest from stories told by their elders.

At least, that’s what I had thought.

“…Where did everything go?”

“We were farming here not too long ago…”

“I don’t see any wolves either.”

Before the swampland became more tainted.

Back when the corrupted forest was somewhat less filled with chaotic energy, they apparently used to come to the forest to gather food and even farm.

Well, not wanting to cause any more confusion, I gathered the Naru tribe.

“What does it matter if there was a forest here before? Now it’s a clean forest filled with purified energy instead of chaotic energy—actually a better place for you all to live.”

“…That’s right. The corrupted forest wasn’t really a forest anymore anyway.”

Fortunately, Chunbong, the chief of the Naru tribe, took my side.

I suspect the memories of their difficult life in the treetops played a big role in making them grateful for their current survival.

Still, I offered a few strategies to console the disheartened Naru tribe.

“Plant trees and create your own forest. I’ll provide the resources you need. And I’m planning to plant a World Tree here.”

“Gasp! A World Tree?”

“But the World Tree should be in the Elven village…”

“Not that World Tree. We have an Elven Queen in our village. She’s from another dimension, and it seems she stole a World Tree seed from her dimension when she came.”

Whether she stole it or just brought it, I’m definitely going to receive it.

And while I had planned to plant it near my hut’s farm, the distance to the purified forest isn’t that far. If the Naru tribe establishes their settlement here, they’ll have to come work at our farm anyway, so it’s almost the same as planting the World Tree here.

A level 0 biome is a level 0 biome, after all.

“I absolutely need the help of you half-elves to grow and nurture that World Tree. As a human, what could I do besides water it?”

“Yes… I’m so glad you need our help.”

Regardless of what I say, it seemed that with the sub-quest completed and the Naru tribe’s affinity at 100%, they would believe almost anything I said or offer full support.

The territory has now expanded to a level 1 biome, and I turned on construction mode to build simple wooden houses here.

This isn’t like the detailed construction mode in my base where I can select every little detail, but rather a simplified construction mode for NPCs or slaves within my territory.

If the necessary materials are available, I can build simple structures or facilities for the convenience of the territory’s NPCs, like fences or pastures—features that would be too tedious to build manually.

“Wow!”

“Houses!”

Even such a simple function seems magical when they see small, simple houses appearing before their eyes.

I built a total of 30 small wooden huts for the 35 members of the Naru tribe.

Since my tech level isn’t high enough to build bathrooms yet, I figured the simple wind-blocking houses would be sufficient for natives who had managed just fine in the swamplands.

Besides, 30 houses is actually quite generous for 35 people.

Even if each person took one room, it would be almost a perfect match, and some Naru tribe members lived as families.

“I’ve built plenty of houses, so now that you’re safe, reproduce diligently and expand your village.”

Like the Black Monkeys and the Naru tribe.

The monsters and NPCs living here can reproduce.

That’s how they’ve maintained their species over the long years and increased their numbers.

In the future, if attacks come from outside like the Gobling incident, NPCs or slaves working on my farm could die or get injured.

If their numbers decrease, ultimately I’m the one who suffers the loss.

Therefore, as in Farming World, creating an environment where the species in my territory can increase their population is also the responsibility of the farm owner.

The Naru tribe showed no signs of embarrassment, only delight.

What is there to be embarrassed about?

In nature.

In this food chain environment, reproducing abundantly is also an important means of survival.

The reason the Naru tribe barely clung to life in the treetops, trembling even in a level 1 biome, surviving only due to the habits of the monsters living in the swamplands, is because there are only 35 Naru tribe members left alive.

Not only are they weak, but they’re also few in number.

Rather, I could almost see their burning passion to reproduce, fueled by my consideration.

After creating the basic framework for their settlement, I took the Naru tribe to our hut.

Since this would be a place they’d visit frequently, they needed to learn the route, and I also planned to clear the path and lay down a road.

“Wow, oppa. Are these… no, are these people Vanprs?”

“Yeah. You’ll have to manage them from now on, so take a good look.”

“Hello, Vanpr-nims! You’re the Naru tribe, right? I’m Kim Sujeong. Let’s get along well!”

“H-hello. The master’s family… mistress!”

“…When did they sort out the titles so neatly? Hearing someone call me ‘master’ makes me feel like I’ve gone back to the 18th century.”

Still, Kim Sujeong cheerfully took care of the Naru tribe without any resistance.

Well, we have to accept what we must.

No matter how much these NPCs and natives are living, breathing people rather than game characters, we shouldn’t impose Earth’s moral standards or criteria here.

It’s not that we can’t, but there’s no particular need to.

For the Naru tribe and other natives, the laws of the wild that apply in the Rift Dimension are rules they’ve become accustomed to and adapted to over a much longer time.

Forcing them to live like humans by imposing Earth’s rules overnight would not only be difficult for them to follow but would also make control more challenging.

As long as we maintain appropriate boundaries and positions.

Treating them humanely is entirely up to us.

“But… I couldn’t tell because they were all covered in mud, but why are they so pretty and handsome?”

On our way to settle the Vanprs in the Forest of Purification, we stopped by the lake near the eastern sewer to have them wash off all the mud.

The reason they had been smearing mud on their bodies was simply to camouflage themselves in the swamplands to avoid attacks from swamp alligators. Now that they weren’t living in the swamplands anymore, there was no reason to continue covering themselves in mud.

There was also the issue of cleanliness, and if they were going to work on my farm and interact with us, they needed to be clean.

I even ordered the Black Monkeys and Goblings to wash themselves in the river.

The Vanprs who came after washing, with only their essential parts covered, were quite handsome and beautiful.

“The elven bloodline doesn’t lie.”

Their skin is white and fair.

According to Lee Jihyun, this is almost the same as applying mud potion to their bodies every day.

“While elves naturally have good skin, I think this is the effect of the swamp mud. Since we already have living test subjects, we could sell potions right away when they’re produced.”

Chunsik had a slightly younger, puppy-like feel to him, while Chunbong looked like she was in her early to mid-twenties—cute with a round, pretty style.

Why do I suddenly think they’d do better streaming than working on the farm?

Moreover, it wasn’t a lie that elves have good figures—every one of them was well-developed.

“Next time I go, I should buy some clothes for them.”

“…Yeah… they all look young but have better bodies than us… I’m only a B-cup…”

“Please spare me the TMI.”

“I’m a B-cup too…”

“Jihyun…”

“Yes, boss…”

I hadn’t thought much about it on the way here, but once we started talking about appearances, all sorts of thoughts naturally arose.

The one consolation is that looking at the Naru tribe’s information, there’s quite a discrepancy between their actual ages and what I had assumed.

Seeing that Chunsik, whom I thought was in his late teens, is actually 78 years old, for instance.