Let’s Strengthen The Base

I stared at my home, shining like a palace of light, as if I were looking at a dream.

“No way… I actually have a base…!”

Back when I took a part-time job as a carpenter, my foreman told me about it.

If a facility had a fence and a gate, and the combined level exceeded 50, it became a “base.”

The foreman had also said this:

“Even then, only huge, impressive buildings—basically forts—ever become bases! A regular house like that won’t have nearly enough levels, so it’ll never become a base! Well, unless it was a house built by some legendary master craftsman… maybe then.”

At the time, I listened as if it were a fairy tale.

I never thought it had anything to do with me… and yet—

Still unable to believe it, I opened my status window.

And there it was, unmistakably listed beneath my own status.

“So this is a base status…!? Something said to be granted only to the chosen few in the whole world…!”

A base skill was meant for the base’s leader—meaning the one who became king.

A person appointed by the king as the base’s manager could also use part of that power.

Either way, it was a privilege reserved for the royal class—the highest authority in this world.

As I stood there overwhelmed, my body was wrapped in the same light as the base.

“So leveling up came from becoming the owner of a base… Compared to before, that’s an upgrade I can actually accept. And the new class I gained is exactly what I need.”

I switched classes right away.

“Alright. Time to tighten up the defenses around the house. But before that…”

I temporarily changed to Stonecrafter and carved a nearby rock into a new tool.

With the newly made shovel in hand, I passed through the gate and started working in the yard.

I dug a hole and planted sharpened Gisu-wood stakes at the bottom.

Then I covered the top with branches and leaves to conceal it…

That made the first one.

Next, I set another trap in the grass near a tree in the yard.

“For something this primitive to be over level 20… I might’ve made something insane.”

I considered placing traps outside the fence too, but decided against it.

If Monaka came over and got caught, it would be a disaster.

She had good manners, so she probably wouldn’t climb over the fence to come in.

But just to be safe, I set up a sign in the yard.

“Danger! Traps Set!”

Apparently, unless they were very high level, monsters didn’t understand human language.

Monsters that showed up in this forest shouldn’t be able to read that warning.

When I stepped outside, the entire forest had turned orange.

Meanwhile, the principal’s office was in an uproar.

After being told they were being demoted, the principal and vice principal had been discussing how to restore their honor.

Then a message popped up with a ping! on the crystal panel mounted across the wall.

“Base detected! A student of our academy has established a base!”

The two of them doubted their own eyes.

“A base!? That cannot be!”

“That’s right! There’s no way a base could be built in only two days since classes started! Principal, wasn’t our plan for that to happen two years from now?”

“Exactly! The fastest record for establishing a base at a frontier academy was 793 days after enrollment began! To surpass that record, I prepared a special education curriculum!”

“Then the magitech device is wrong! The device at the location of that light point is malfunctioning! Order the janitor to fix it at once!”

As he spoke, the vice principal approached the wall-mounted crystal panel and touched the message.

The display switched to a map of the area around the Royal Pioneer Academy.

On the map, a blinking point of light marked where the base had been established.

“See? It’s clearly wrong! It’s pointing to a forest far outside the residential district! That’s the dump, where no one—”

The two of them snapped their heads toward each other.

“N–no way…!? That can’t be… that can’t be…!”

Muttering as if praying, the vice principal manipulated the crystal panel.

He touched the point of light and selected “Surveillance” from the window menu that appeared.

The map switched, displaying the current scene at the marked location.

There was Leopin, stretching comfortably as he cast a long shadow.

Behind him stood a single-family home that still looked impressive, complete with a wall and a gate…

And wrapped in the light that proved it was a base, it shone so brightly it rivaled the sunset itself…!

“K–Kyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!?!?”