This was exactly what he wanted! Just like his Yi Power, he finally had a minion that could give him a constant stream of Minion Growth Crystals. He found out that these crystals were the most important thing he needed, especially with his growing collection of minions. Leveling up his minions could mean the difference between life or death, literally. If he leveled up his Muscava fly one more time, he would get another second of slowed time. That could save him someday!
Patty immediately sent the minion to do the job. The system screen soon changed to the top of the snowy mountain right next to the Tendora minion exercising under a willow tree. The sudden appearance of a crystal tree didn't bother the minion as it continued to exercise and give Patty his daily Yi Power.
Soon after the roots of the Minion Crystal Farmer tree touched the frozen soil of the mountain, it started to glow a bright white light, finally activating its magical and lively properties. The branches and leaves were all made out of crystals, with the leaves being more transparent than the thick branches. The trunk of the tree was made out of dark spruce wood, which had small tendrils like small octopuses' tentacles.
Those tentacles wiggled and slithered through the air, absorbing all of the nutrients and sunlight that it could touch. The unseen roots underneath were using their body heat to melt the ice and snow to produce all the water they needed to survive.
LEVEL UP
LEVEL UP
LEVEL UP
…
In the meantime, Patty used all of the crystals he had to upgrade the farmer to whatever level he could. He knew that he should save some of those for other useful minions, but this tree was an investment. If he leveled it up more, then it could give him more crystals in the long run.
[Level: 32/50]
[Growth Crystal Required for Level Up: 540]
[Ability: 3200 MGC/day]
From now on, he would get 3200 Crystals a day! That was equivalent to leveling up one minion to level 26 in one go. That was worth it. He originally had only 6100 MGCs but now, he could earn that much in just two days! This would solve his need for more crystals.
"Congratulations, Master! You can finally level me up!" the minion said as it bounced up and down beneath the crystal tree. It wanted to jump and consume one of the crystals hanging off the branches. Without Patty's permission, he wouldn't be able to get it even if he wanted to.
"You'll get your turn," Patty reassured the slime.
"Master, I think it's a good time for you to use your consumable items and install them to your territory."
Patty agreed with the slime since it wouldn't do much good sitting in his inventory. The consumables in his inventory were in the form of a card, like those trading card games that he played when he was a kid. It had the rating class of the item on the top left and just below it was a picture of the consumable in a 16-bit resolution. Under that was a description that gave him an idea of its uses.
First, the slime told him to scroll past the peak of the snowy mountain down ways into the path that the Flag Bearer minion traveled. Back then, this part of the mountain was covered in a fog, but it seemed that when the Flag Bearer walked through it, a part of it was uncovered.
"Should I upgrade the Flag Bearer too?" asked Patty.
The slime nodded furiously. "Yes. Of course, Master! That little flag will be crucial in our defense and progression of your kingdom. Without it, your kingdom will be inhospitable."
Patty leveled it up once just to see what would happen.
LEVEL UP
And as Patty scrolled down to his supposed territory, the slime's words proved correct. The land that the Flag Bearer settled down in was in the middle of a raging blizzard with visibility only within a few meters. This was not caused by weather, it was the permanent climate of the mountain itself, meaning that this blizzard will never let up as long as the mountain still stands.
However, as Patty zoomed in to a very small part of the map, he saw a dome-like barrier in the middle of the flatland where the blizzard couldn't penetrate inside. Hail and sleet speeding through the air splattered into a million little ice crystals as soon as they hit this invisible barrier. As Patty zoomed in even closer to the very middle of this strange place, he saw a vertical black flag planted in the middle and was hoisted up by a flimsy-looking wooden pole.
"Do you see now, Master? That flag minion protects your territory from any invaders or extreme weather. Its very job is to make sure that the citizens of your kingdom will be able to live properly, even in the most extreme of conditions," the slime proudly said.
Now that he saw its ability, he immediately understood the value of this Flag Bearer minion. He had ignored it all this time because he didn't feel it was useful, but seeing it ward off the cold temperatures to the point that there was barely any snow on the ground of his territory at all, made him want to level it up too.
"Why is the dome so small? Is it because I haven't leveled up the minion yet?"
The Diplomatic Slime jumped from Patty's shoulder and into the virtual world like he was jumping into a window. It fell through the air without much expression. It wasn't affected by the freezing wind at all. Patty didn't know if it was because it was a slime or because it was an S-class minion.
The slime then entered the dome without a problem. The Flag Bearer minion recognized the slime as its comrade and let it pass.
"Ahhh…it's very cozy here," the slime melted into the soil. Without the wind blowing, most of the snow has already melted. Although it was still cold, it wasn't freezing to the point that it was inhospitable. The temperature there was almost the same as the temperature at the bottom of the mountain.
With one level, the Flag Bearer created a 100-meter radius of the barrier where his supposed kingdom could flourish. But he didn't understand how that was going to happen. Were there even people in this virtual world? And if so, then how could they even survive the trek up this freezing mountain and reach this spot? Whatever, Patty thought. He didn't have to think about that kind of stuff. He could leave it up to his loyal minions.
"Master, drop the Consumable Bamboo Hut into the screen."
Patty did as the slime said and he immediately saw the world turn into a grid. Even the colors of the world became black and white except for a green field that encompassed the whole territory that the Flag Bearer protected.
"Do you see those green squares, Master? Those are all the available spaces where you can install the bamboo hut."
Patty saw a floating construction of the Bamboo Hut. This construction looked a little bit grayed out and it was a little bit transparent too. And as soon as he dragged the hut to a green space, it suddenly locked into place. Seeing that it was near the center just in front of the Flag, Patty decided to land the hut there.
[Use your Consumable D-class Simple Bamboo Hut]
[Y/N]
As soon as Patty picked yes, the construction suddenly materialized into its correct place. The construction was instant. One second the place was empty, and the next, a Simple Bamboo Hut materialized into place. It was as easy as that.
The slime then jumped as it walked towards the hut and opened the door. The whole place was a cozy little hut that only had four walls and a roof. It didn't have any furniture, just a plain old bamboo mat on the floor.
"I'm feeling lonely here," the slime said. "Flamie, come here!"
The D-class Flame Sprout materialized beside the slime and immediately lit up the room. Not only that, the slime felt the very warm heart coming off the minion and melted on the floor. "Ahh…that's the spot."
Flamie looked at the slime and flickered its flames. Patty found it cute that a literal blob of flame was looking at the slime looking guilty thinking as if it caused the slime to melt. Even though it was such a simple creature, Patty felt a tinge of intelligence in its pitch black dot eyes that were floating in its flame body.
"Don't worry, Flamie. I'm simply elated," the slime said lazily.
Flamie heard that and immediately perked up. Its flames got more intense, but the heat didn't increase.
"You slime! I should be the one relaxing!" Patty scolded the slime.
Patty's strict words caused the slime to shoot up and turn into a rigid block. "Don't worry, Master. I am doing all that I can to recruit more loyal subjects for you."
"In this place?" Patty was doubtful.
"Hehe," the slime smiled with no mouth. "The Flag Bearer has already cast the net in the pond. It is now my job pull them in."
"?"
The slime reassured Patty. "We're about to welcome your very first loyal citizen, Master!"