Ch.171171. Invasion, Omen (1)

About two months had passed since the suspiciously powerful bandit attack.

It was spring. On this bright spring day when flowers were blooming and birds were chirping in the Aleinos Forest, the “Primitive Theme Park,” which had been preparing to open throughout winter, finally opened its doors.

This theme park, primarily targeting elf tourists, had conducted extensive advertising in elven kingdom media before its opening. They had even invited 100 randomly selected elf families for pre-opening evaluations.

And as a result, while there were some negative reviews, the Primitive Theme Park gained confidence from the mostly positive feedback. After several more test runs and adjustments based on visitor feedback, it finally opened…

The theme park, which was more faithful to the primitive theme than any other, quickly established itself as an immensely popular tourist destination.

It became so popular that they had to limit the number of visitors for comfort, and reservations were already backed up for three months, instantly propelling the Primitive Theme Park into the realm of trends.

In truth, just being able to see ancient creatures in person was already worthy of considerable praise. Even modern people would want to visit at least once if they could see dinosaurs with their own eyes.

But this alone wasn’t enough to become a popular tourist destination, and indeed, the Primitive Theme Park had long since added various attractions beyond the initial draft.

Notable examples included experiences like riding boats pulled by “Scaled Orcas” along the coast to circle the island, or mounting primitive beasts similar in size to jet skis for fun rides.

In addition, experiences that had been planned from the beginning—such as sharing vision with spirit bodies to experience being chased by primitive beasts, or extraordinary adventures in primitive natural environments—seemed quite satisfying to nature-loving elves.

Thanks to this, elf tourists could visit the Primitive Theme Park to enjoy the fresh spring in a novel location and spend pleasant leisure time experiencing various tourist courses.

Thus, while the Primitive Theme Park didn’t require much investment in facilities since most were covered by my magic, the profits were surprisingly substantial.

Since I could supply most raw materials with magic, except for labor costs, the capital expenditure was extremely low. This allowed for affordable entry fees while still maintaining enormous profits.

Moreover, the theme park’s revenue didn’t solely depend on its operation.

While the income from tourists was certainly substantial, it only accounted for about 40% of the total. The remaining 60% came from breeding the primitive beasts in the theme park.

The living areas for primitive beasts, which originally only housed small raptors and rodent-like primitive creatures, had now been expanded and divided into three distinct zones as various primitive beasts were introduced.

First was the Wild Simulation Zone, the most orthodox area. After much trial and error with various primitive beasts, it was designed to maintain balance and recreate the wild ecosystem as accurately as possible.

Second was an area where visitors could share vision with freely controllable spirit bodies and flee from ancient beasts—essentially a horror game experience.

This was the smallest of the three areas, inhabited only by three “Catricus” beasts that served as the “it” in this game of tag.

These mid-level primitive beasts, roughly the size of a standard passenger car from my previous life, weren’t exactly wild creatures but rather pet beasts that Kezak and I had tamed through force.

Their overall appearance resembled raptors, but with long, flexible arms and legs and a sleek body shape specialized for navigating complex environments like jungles.

Despite their ferocious appearance, their personalities were almost cat-like, making this chase more like play for them.

And finally, the third zone—the one accounting for 60% of the total income. This primitive jungle was, naturally, a ranch.

Specifically, it was a ranch for breeding primitive beasts called “Gorgonia,” which was generating income beyond my expectations, to the point where I was seriously considering expansion.

This was because the value of the byproducts from these “Gorgonia” beasts was truly beyond imagination.

Gorgonia had an appearance that seemed like a mix between a reptile and a bull, with six legs as their distinctive feature. In terms of lineage, they were direct ancestors of basilisks.

Unlike basilisks, however, these beasts possessed neither petrification abilities nor deadly venom. Instead, all the resources that would have gone into such special abilities were invested elsewhere.

I named this feature “Bio-reactive Armor.”

On top of each scale covering a Gorgonia’s skin were hard, shell-like materials that exhibited anti-magical properties, capable of deflecting even aura-coated blades.

Of course, everything has its trade-offs. This armor couldn’t be coated with magical power, and the durability of the shell itself wasn’t particularly outstanding…

The true value of Gorgonia’s “Bio-reactive Armor” ability lay in how it functioned like reactive armor on a tank when exposed to powerful attacks.

When the armor was subjected to attacks containing more than a certain amount of impact, it would momentarily explode using its inherent magical power as fuel, counteracting the impact by discharging force outward.

This ability, which allowed them to withstand attacks of a higher grade than they normally could, albeit as a consumable defense… While perhaps subtle on its own, it showed its true worth when processed into equipment.

For Gorgonia, reactive armor was essentially equivalent to fingernails, so harvesting it from these rather docile creatures and attaching it to armor created equipment that seemed straight out of science fiction.

In a world where the gap between grades was almost absolute, equipment that could withstand higher-grade attacks, even if only once, would naturally be in high demand.

Moreover, this reactive armor was, of course, consumable. If left alone, its biological characteristics would deteriorate, and its consumption rate in battle was quite severe.

Thus, this ranch was exclusively producing consumable goods with extremely high demand.

In a situation where it was impossible not to make money, I was dumbfounded by the amount that had accumulated, enough to inadvertently stimulate my greed…

[…Gregory, could you come here for a moment?]

“Huh? Oh, sure.”

With Sophia’s sudden call for reasons I couldn’t fathom, I returned to the Aleinos Forest with a puzzled mind.

※ ※ ※

After spending quite some time enthusiastically managing the Primitive Theme Park, I returned to the Aleinos Forest, pondering why Sophia had asked me to come.

There must have been some reason she called for me, but not knowing exactly what it was, I continued to think deeply as I quickly made my way through the forest.

Using a simple technique of folding space, I instantly traversed several forests and moved to the center of the Aleinos Forest where Sophia would be…

“…Hmm?”

My eyes fell upon a Minerva that was different from Sophia’s Minerva.

This Minerva, with distinctive blue feathers, was trembling considerably as if terrified of something, and had a cloth with some kind of emblem wrapped around its body.

From the Druid Conclave emblem on the cloth, I immediately recognized that this Minerva was a messenger sent from the Druid Conclave.

“…A messenger?”

[Hii, hiiiek─!!]

As soon as I spoke, the Minerva jumped up in surprise and, upon turning to see my face, appeared even more terrified.

And then…

“Gregory!”

“Sophia?”

As I turned my head at Sophia’s evidently delighted voice, I saw her approaching me, unusually well-dressed and holding what looked like a piece of paper.

“I came running because I was surprised. Sophia, so the reason you suddenly called… is it about the Conclave?”

“Yes, it seems so. It’s… an issue concerning both of us.”

“…Concerning both of us?”

“Ah, it’s not exactly a major problem. Actually… a general summons has been issued from the Druid Conclave.”

“…A summons?”

When I asked again, sensing something ominous, Sophia also appeared restless as she handed me the paper and spoke:

“In the east, a major invasion by orcs has begun.”

The words from Sophia’s lips carried enough significance to make even me feel tense.