We finally arrived at the spot Garth had mentioned. It was a pleasant, big, open valley with a forest right next to us and a river 30 minutes away by foot. I climbed a nearby mountain to get a sense of the area, and to be fair, it was gorgeous.
Not to mention the mana density; The ambient mana was almost as dense as in the dungeon. This would greatly accelerate not only my cultivation speed but also the speed of the others.
Since we were on the outskirts, the more powerful beasts wouldn't come here either. There were a few ninth-ranked beasts further inland, but they were far enough away, so it shouldn't be a problem with us only half a day from the ocean by horseback.
I set up temporary shelters made of dirt, and people settled in. Once again, Garth took charge of being the chief. All the people listened to him more anyway.
I went out to scout the land. With the best sensing and memory capabilities, I was the obvious choice. My databank in my inner world stored everything in real time so I could recall every moment and analyze it later.
I brought my horse, Arion, the dog pack, and Rex, the baby dinosaur. I named the baby Rex because it looked like a dinosaur and was growing as big as one. In the two days since it hatched, Rex had grown to the size of a small dog. While smaller than the hunting pack dogs, Rex would soon catch up.
Part of my scouting was to find some food for Rex as well. He (I'd verified) wasn't ready to hunt by himself yet. Rex was only a Red core. His core was growing quickly, but it'd still be at least a month until he was ready to hunt the type of game that lived here.
The valley's surroundings were pleasant, and the dogs and Arion could go wild. To the west of where we came was a giant forest, with the ocean beyond it. The forest was around the same elevation as the valley but very hilly, especially towards the north.
To the east was an enormous mountain range. Most of the mountains pierced the clouds, and some bigger ones might have even breached the stratosphere. The mountain range wrapped around north, closing off the valley and meeting with the forest.
The plains we settled in expanded south and southeast, following the mountain range. The nearby river flowed down from the mountains in waterfalls before reaching a slow point across the plains and continuing west through the forest and out to sea.
If the "village" were to expand south, it would need to cross the river. I used a shabby dirt bridge as a temporary solution to scout south. Anything made out of magic would eventually disappear and be unreliable for the long term.
The leader of the hunting dogs, whom I named Grey for his silver grey coat, also discovered that a group of chimera eagles lived on the mountain ridge close to us. I hoped to talk with them later. They were around ranks six and seven, so their leader was probably rank eight and would be able to understand and converse with me.
I wanted to negotiate with the locals first. Despite my previous cold-blooded actions, I only ever killed for survival, whether it was the daemon in the Duchy, the dungeon monsters, the slavers, or animals for food.
After scouting everything within a three-kilometer radius, I worked on creating a map for the upcoming village. I used a big sheet of paper found in the slavers' caravan. It would fit a lot of detail, and considering the strongest people besides me and Garth were rank fours, they needed detail.
When I returned from scouting, the people were hard at work. Although we had no master craftsmen, they pooled their knowledge and progressed.
They had already built a few wooden huts. Most people were working adults, so we had a good proportion of workers compared to the whole population. There were only five elders; even then, most were experienced fighters or merchants on the younger side. There were also only three kids, but thankfully, no babies.
-----
Over the next week, I continued scouting and addressing threats while the rest of the village expanded. There was now enough living space for everyone, with houses for families and single rooms for the rest.
I called them houses, but at best, they were cabins or big tents. Our main concern was protection from the elements. When we found a better spot, we'd probably move our civilization there, and our main priority would be survival, not long-term settlement.
Garth and I were in the so-called "Chief's home." It was a regular room with a big table in the middle, where I stored the map I'd created. We could hold strategic meetings around it. Garth used it to meet with the townspeople.
During this week, Garth also found out I was a boy. So far, I had just let him think I was a tomboyish girl, mainly because I couldn't be bothered to address it. As we bunked together, I had to tell Garth.
His reaction was hilarious.
-----
"You what, mate?"
"I'm a boy."
"How?" He asked incredulously.
"Well, you see, when a man and a woman love each other very much—"
"No, I meant, how do you look so much like a girl?"
"Long hair?" I tied my hair into a ponytail to see if it made me any more masculine.
"Nope, still a girl."
"What about now?" I morphed my face to have a giant scar across it.
"More like a female general in war. Maybe it's your physique. You're slim, and wearing oversized clothes doesn't make you look any stronger."
"I'm physically stronger than you."
"Not the point, and you have those nanomachines or whatever; it doesn't count."
"Well, this is how I look, so deal with it."
"I never said I had a problem, its just very confusing."
"Yeah, imagine the pain I go through." It was confusing for people around me, but it could sometimes get infuriating.
'Not to mention trying not to offend anyone's pronouns and get canceled.'
A random thought came to me, but before I could make sense of it, I already forgot it.
-----
At present, almost everyone in the village should have figured out that I was a boy. This village was slowly becoming more and more built up. Everyone shared food and supplies, but we would need our civilization as the town expanded.
Today, we will be taking the first step by naming our town. Everyone gathered before the town center, and Garth explained what was happening. I stood beside Garth, but my role was very minor.
"Today, we take the first step in our journey to a new civilization. We have come far, and we have survived. We will continue to survive and continue to thrive. We will name our town!" Everyone applauded Garth.
It wouldn't be strange to think of Garth as a blessing or angel in their eyes. He had come and saved them from the clutches of the slavers, leading them here. As the village head, he continued to help them and always made time for them.
"As the man who made this all possible, I think Alexander should be the one to decide the village name!" Garth proclaimed.
This was not what I expected. Garth cleared the way as I stepped up.
"Hello, everyone. I know you are all very excited for this moment, and that is why I have spent the last few days trying to think of a special name that will fit this town."
As all politicians do, I lied through my teeth, but now that I thought of it, I had a pretty good name.
"We have come so far and survived on our own. We are a tenacious town, and we have even dared to settle in one of the most dangerous places in the world!
As such, I propose the name Greyhound Village! Not only does it encapsulate our escape from slavery into freedom, but the Greyhound is also a proud hunting dog like the ones we have here.
They are a tenacious breed that thrives even in the most dangerous situations, just like ours. That is why I want this town to be remembered as the' City of Greyhounds,' the city of the people that lived." I handed over the stage to Garth
"Thank you, Alex, for that very thoughtful name. The village's name will be decided later today with a vote. If anyone has any other suggestions, please come up now."
Leaving Garth to do his things, I helped out around the village. A wall was currently being constructed to the north. That was where the mana was densest and closer to the middle of the heartlands.
The monsters would likely come from the north, making it the most important place to defend. In my free time, I helped construct the wall by moving rocks and inscribing magic. My barrier magic was already top-notch, and my inscription skills were not far behind.
To my surprise, Greyhound was chosen as the name at the end of the day, and Garth erected a little gate with Greyhound spelled out in ink. Where the ink came from, I didn't know.
"That was a really good choice, Alex. How did you come up with it?" Garth asked me as we got ready for bed.
"It just came to me. Also, couldn't you tell me I was going to be speaking?"
"Well, it just came to me while I was speaking that you haven't had a lot of interaction speaking to everyone since you broke them out."
"You're the one doing everything."
"Still, I couldn't do this 'project' alone. I wouldn't want to do this alone." Garth sighed. He proposed the village, saying it would be fun, and without me, Garth would have had to do much more by himself.
"Shut up, you sappy old goof."
"We're the same age."
Garth was still a growing kid, so he went to bed early. My soul was still growing, but my body didn't need anything, so I stayed cultivating before heading to bed.
I didn't need to eat or drink anything, but when I did, my mechanical intestines digested it, so I needed to go to the bathroom. I also brushed my teeth because my hair and nails were still organic enamel and proteins. There was something about them I couldn't replicate with metal.
The nanomachines could replicate my skin and organs perfectly, so no one could tell I had altered my body. Normally, I keep my body without organs, but when touched or eating, I circulate warm liquid to give the feeling of blood pumping and regenerate my intestines to digest the food.
Eventually, when I mastered matter manipulation, I wouldn't need to do all this human stuff, but until then, I did it. I was a little thankful for that. It was the only part of my routine that reminded me I was still human.
Finishing up my bedtime routine, I went to sleep. Any intruders would be detected by my barriers or stopped, so I fell asleep with no worries.