It had not taken long for Nessyra to call in a meeting, as the very next day, Alistair found himself in an impromptu meeting within his almost blank carved-out space if it weren't for the gathering array runes he had carved out. They had set up their usual circle with the furniture they had taken from the trial around the usual projector, this time showing their new planet alongside its moon, which was temporarily designated Sapphire and Jade. Notably, the projector was powered by a small gem attached to a cord, and Alistair noted the stark difference when compared to the nice accommodations they had during the trial. They technically did have an operation center they could have used, but it was currently going through rework and expansion, so they had chosen to hold their meeting here.

Most of the people were the usual suspects; however, Braxik had earned his place in their circle for now, eagerly talking with James as they animatedly talked about setting up different kinds of production lines and infrastructure, with James listing one request after another while the bearded demon listened intently nodding along making the occasional suggestions. Alistair himself was discussing with Riseth which sites they should investigate for treasures and points of interest first, based on a list of potential targets. James had already set up his drone network and had them map out and scan the entirety of the planet's surface. With the current number of drones, it would take months to finish even a basic outline, but it would still make their own exploration more targeted as the drones would mark down any points of interest before moving on as there was a lot of ground to cover.

Alistair and Riseth paused their discussion as the projector view shifted to Jade, who zoomed in on a section of the ocean near the largest continent, highlighting multiple red dots beneath the ocean surface. The room's attention turned to Nessyra as she finished typing on a physical pad and looked up to address them, ensuring she had everyone's focus.

"As you all know, the moon orbiting our new home seems to house another enlightened species. Befriending them or, even better, bringing them under our wing is crucial. We can't afford to have a hostile force in our proverbial backyard," Nessyra stated.

The implications were clear: if this race turned out to be extremely aggressive and hostile, conflict was likely inevitable—a prospect none of them were comfortable with and all hoped to avoid.

"Fortunately, it doesn't appear we're dealing with an aggressive or expansionist species like our own," Nessyra continued. "Our scanners detected only one centralized location for their civilization, no clear borders or indicators of conflict or advanced magitech. However, we do detect a lot of magic and at least two individuals of Grade 8."

Alistair and many of his family let out a sigh of relief. Aggressive and expansionist races like humans and demons, while not rare, were uncommon. Most species and cultures preferred peaceful dealings and only waged war when necessary or for what they called the greater good. Alistair was a little surprised to learn that the civilization already had two individuals at Grade 8, which was unusual for a non-expansionist species at this point in time.

"I initially planned to recommend we send an envoy. However, as a safety precaution, it might be better if Alistair, Riseth, Simon, and I go as soon as possible. This would not only demonstrate our strength but also show that we care and consider this matter important enough to send our leaders directly," Nessyra suggested.

"Isn't that very risky for an underwater species we know little about?" Simon interjected, and Alistair, along with many others, seemed to agree with him.

"We would, of course, train for underwater combat first and keep the Kaiakos hovering above their city, maintaining a crystal beacon for us to teleport out if needed," Nessyra reassured.

Alistair wasn't entirely convinced, and he could tell Simon wasn't either. But he knew they had to do this themselves. Sending a capable follower could risk their lives if they misjudged the situation, and he voiced this concern, sparking a discussion. They shared their experiences with underwater combat and suggestions on effective magic. Fortunately, Melissa mentioned that teleporting underwater wasn't an issue and was a common method for those with low water affinity to stay mobile. Not wanting teleportation to be their only means of escape, Alistair questioned what other options they had.

"Other than teleportation, many upgrade their flying skills to work underwater. Others rely on their overwhelming power or find a mount or summon that can provide the mobility they lack," Melissa explained.

Alistair rubbed his forehead, exchanging a look with Simon, who relented with a sigh. "Fine, I guess we do some underwater combat training."

Glancing around the circle, Alistair saw everyone else in agreement and gave Nessyra the signal to continue.

Nessyra nodded, giving a quick glance to Braxik, "The next topic is our own currency. We got lucky. Braxik has let me know that we have multiple confirmed low-tier veins of mundane gold that our automata have dug up, so we will be able to proceed with our own currency plans instead of using USC."

Alistair let out a sigh of relief. They had discussed this at length during the trial. While they had a large sum of USC, they had no means of creating more. This wouldn't be an issue if they could find a suitable material, like gold, to use as currency for their followers to spend on services and rewards for their own service and hard work. This was one of the main reasons they acquired a Planetary AI, as managing the currency would be significantly easier with the AI monitoring the situation. If they hadn't found a suitable source, they would have needed to get creative or use USC, neither of which would have been ideal. Neither humans nor demons would work long without compensation, and the same applied to the other species following them, with perhaps the exception of the fairies. He was just glad they finally had a use for the big chunk of gold he had recovered from that Aztec-like dungeon.

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The discussions continued, with Alistair's input being minimal as Nessyra and Braxik primarily led the presentations on various projects and findings. Alistair found Braxik's segments particularly engaging, focusing heavily on converting lakes, aquifers, and other water sources into energy sources and plantations for their crops. These projects resembled rice terraces but with the twist of using magically infused water, fostering the growth of mundane plants that could potentially evolve into higher-tier varieties through selective breeding and propagation, a suggestion Alistair had made and would take some time to be realized. The blueprint for those terraces was discovered in the sub-sections of the Qhut'al, which was the same species as Es'el, who had mastered the use of elevation in their agricultural practices and turned it into an art form. These terraces had proven highly efficient for cultivating a diverse range of crops while also powering themselves and adding to the landscape's aesthetic appeal.

Alistair continued to hang back, giving occasional opinions unless it directly involved him. The first such instance concerned his mana heart treasure, which would be placed in a water chamber to act as a mana source for projects situated far from any Dragon vein. He agreed to its use, recognizing that it would benefit both their efforts and the environment in the long run.

Nessyra hesitated as she looked over the next point in her agenda, meeting Alistair’s eyes before firming her resolve.

“There is one energy source on this planet we could use. However, most of you will find it distasteful,” Nessyra began. “The local butterfly subspecies could technically be used as a fuel source.”

“You want us to burn butterflies to fuel our engines?” Melissa asked incredulously.

Riseth looked a bit torn, while Simon chuckled at the prospect, drawing reproachful looks from Alistair's mother and sister.

Nessyra seized the moment to explain. "I know they are beautiful, and we wouldn't remove all of them from the environment. They breed quickly when their numbers dwindle; they absorb ambient atmospheric mana and refine it within their bodies before expelling it back into the atmosphere, making them good candidates. Plus, they are hardly sentient and act solely on instinct."

"The way you describe them, they are already helping the planet. Capturing and breeding them just to burn them feels a bit ungrateful," James added.

Nessyra looked a little torn, seeing her usual ally not siding with her. Alistair could tell she wanted to refute the argument as overly sentimental and irrational.

"There is also a bit of karma involved, even if it's negligible. Let's keep our options open for now. I'm not comfortable burning living creatures en masse, even if they lack the mind to comprehend it," Alistair added, effectively ending the discussion as the majority of the room nodded in agreement.

Recognizing it was a lost cause, Nessyra moved on to the next topic: individual requests to build and settle in different planned districts and the associated rent they wished to implement. This subject, however, failed to capture the interest of anyone present except for Nessyra herself.

Five days later, Alistair, Riseth, Nessyra, and Simon had finally settled most matters and had some time to dedicate to their training. The completion of the AI Core chamber took a lot of micromanagement off their hands, allowing them to train in underwater combat at the nearest beach. They first had to scare off some lower-level beasts that had staked their claim on the local beach. During their regular trips outside, they could see the construction projects visibly advancing, with both internal and external structures beginning to take shape as both people and automata hustled and bustled to build their new home.

Alistair found the terraces being carved and grown with earth magic along the foothills and lower mountainsides particularly intriguing. They breathed life into the rock faces, giving the surroundings more character and unique charm as they spread across the landscape. The runoff from one of the partially finished terraces flowed to the crimson foothills, nurturing the Dragonstalk bamboo they had planted there, which had adapted remarkably well to the environment. The bamboo already grew quickly enough for harvesting, though it would take time before it blossomed and provided more precious seeds for further propagation.

The Dragonstalk bamboo, according to the description they had received when they bought it, was an artificially created plant perfected over countless generations of crossbreeding and had a unique growth pattern. After an initial rapid expansion, it redirected its growth into its bamboo stalks, halting further spread and focusing instead on strengthening itself. This behavior was in stark contrast to most bamboo species, which typically expand aggressively. Presumably, the creators had successfully bred this trait out of the plant, making it more stable and manageable. Also, due to its exceptionally high mana conductivity, the material was integrated into their infrastructure. The vibrant red hue of the processed bamboo stood out, adding a unique aesthetic to their buildings and infrastructure while enhancing the magical transition and flow.

Resni, in particular, had been eager to craft weapons from the material. The resulting weapons were a striking crimson red, reminiscent of something out of a fantasy setting. They were robust and lightweight, though Resni noted that the material was better suited as a component in an alloy due to its mana conductive properties. Nevertheless, she was more than content to use the material as it was, finding it stronger than most steel and comparable to pure mithril weaponry. However, it wasn't as strong as the adamantine she was accustomed to working with.

The beach they trained on was a beautiful expanse of deep blue waters, with sand banks transitioning into green, hilly grasslands filled with grazing beasts, some curious, others wary of the strange new beings that had arrived in their world. However, Alistair had to shake off his idle musings as he needed to focus on his training, especially since he did by far the worst due to his low water affinity. Simon was also struggling, whereas the demon sisters were doing a lot better and were bound to finish long before they could upgrade their flying skills to work underwater.