POV : FORT BONE

Atlas entered Bonetown with his weary army. They had fought, they had won, but they had also struggled. The new updated memorial wall was sad proof of that.

‘I've got to figure out a way to make these guys stronger and tougher,‘ he thought. ‘The easiest way is going to be upgrading armor.‘

He looked over his army with a critical eye, mentally going down a checklist.

‘Let's see... I'm wearing level 2 Frankenarmor, so I'm fine. All of the original Portal Crushers, and veterans, are wearing level 2 armor, and they've been doing all right.‘

Atlas frowned as his gaze shifted to the newer recruits and veterans.

‘They're wearing a mix of level 1 and level 2 armor. We don’t have enough coins to give everyone level 2 armor, though. It's just too expensive. It was fine when there were 20-something people, but now that we're in the hundreds, our town just can't support it.‘

His thoughts whirred as he weighed his options.

‘What should I do? Maybe if we get a bonus or find some sort of hidden mana coins?Arrrghhh! These kinds of thoughts are driving me crazy!‘

He sighed, already feeling a headache coming on.

‘Maybe I'll chat with the council group about our finances.‘

Atlas was an overpowered, badass warrior, but what he wasn’t was an accountant or a smart planner for finances. That was one of the reasons he had brought John along, and he was definitely going to ask him.

"Hey, John, I wanted to ask you something," Atlas said.

"What's up, bud?" John replied casually.

"How are our finances looking?"

John scratched his head. "Well, we've been reviewing them with Amber. We're not doing too bad. There's been a drop, though. Did you want to go over it in detail?"

Atlas waved him off. "Nah, I just need a high-level summary. I think we should call the council about it and talk over everything. We’ve got a big chunk of coins from Nadir’s faith settlement and our bonuses coming in. So, that’s about 2,000 coins?"

John nodded, thinking. "Yeah, based on our summary, there is a stockpile in our master coin total. Did you have a plan for how to spend it?"

"We need stronger armor and weapons for our recruits," Atlas said bluntly.

John looked a bit puzzled. "I thought we were doing all right with the bone armor?"

Atlas shook his head. "The bone armor is great for crafters or exporters who just want to use crossbows and stay at a distance. I'd consider it level 0.5 armor. But it’s free, and that’s why we started using it."

John’s eyes lit up in understanding. "Makes sense. But it's the main army with the mix of level 1 and 2 armor you're worried about, right?"

"Exactly."

Atlas paused for a moment and then continued. "To upgrade a weapon or get level 2 armor, it costs 50 mana coins. For level 3 gear, it’s 200 coins."

John raised an eyebrow. "Does anybody have level 3 gear?"

Atlas shook his head. "Nope, no one in the army has level 3 gear. My armor is the best in the whole empire, I consider it level three and a half."

"Three and a half?" John asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

Atlas ignored the question. "So, how many men are we talking about outfitting?"

"We've got 400 men in the army total," John said. "We usually field 200 at a time unless it’s a massive engagement like the raid on the Faith Settlement. But we’re going to need a lot more because we have to man all the walls. Probably another thousand men."

Atlas nodded. "Yeah, that's about right. But if we’re looking to equip 2,000 men, we’re in trouble."

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John sighed. "Conservatively, we need to provide for that many. But our reserves aren’t going to touch that."

Atlas let out a frustrated breath. "So, what do we do?"

***

As the War Council gathered, the familiar hum of strategy discussions filled the room. The shadows of past victories seemed to lean in, listening intently to the plans that would shape the future of Fort Bone.

Atlas stood at the head of the table, laying out the situation with the armor and the army.

Alexander, always quick to jump in, leaned forward. "“Yup, we got our tails whooped pretty bad in that last scrap. If it weren’t for Atlas, the trolls, and, well, me, we’d have been done for. That would’ve been a real mess, too—half our folks were out there fighting.”

He smiled at his own self congratulations, but in the back of his mind, he thought about how Wang Bo or Wilfredo would have reacted if they were in the meeting.

‘They would have definitely kicked me in the ass for implying they were no good. Hank would have been pissed, too. Hehehe.’

Amber cut through his thoughts. "With our current finances, you could have ten of the SFB championship team improve to level 3. Including you, Atlas."

Atlas waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, I don’t need an upgrade anytime soon.”

‘It would cost way too much to remove all those mana coins, and my armor’s holding up fine.‘

"But there are still around ten people who could use level 3 armor," Amber insisted.

Alexander started ticking names off on his fingers. “Let’s see now, there’s me, Stu, Hank, Wilfredo, Wang Bo, Isabella… Hmm, am I forgettin’ anyone?”

John cleared his throat loudly, making sure to draw attention to himself.

Barbara rolled her eyes. "You also forgot me."

Alexander shrugged, all casual-like. “Well, oops. Guess I don’t really think of y’all as part of the main bunch no more.”

John sighed. "I guess that’s fair."

Barbara shot him a sharp glance. "That’s bullshit. Just because I’m heading the MASH Corp doesn’t mean I’m not in every fight."

Alexander looked down, properly chastised. "I’m sorry, ma’am."

Barbara crossed her arms. "That’s fine, don’t forget how many lives we saved in the last fight. Our medics were crucial."

Alexander nodded, looking like a boy caught taking a nap in Sunday school instead of paying attention. "I’m sorry."

Atlas, amused but wanting to move the conversation forward, cleared his throat. "So, if we upgraded those guys, how much would that cost?"

Amber did a quick calculation. "That would be seven, not including John."

John shook his head. "I’m fine without an upgrade."

"No way, bud," Atlas interjected firmly. "You’re the heart and brains of our settlement. If someone gets extra armor, it should be you."

John shrugged again. "I’m not really in the main army most of the time."

"But you came with us on the Faith settlement raid," Atlas reminded him. "And there’ll be more times like that. We can’t have a weak link. If you have bad armor, you’re thar weak link. Besides with the One Armed Bandit buff, and your new sword, you kick ass too."

John thought about that. It was true, in his head, he still wasn’t a “main warrior”, but he really had somehow become much more lethal.

TITLE: ONE-ARMED BANDIT

Description: For losing your arm three times in the wasteland, you have been awarded this achievement. Nicely done. Are you a lefty?

Bonus: When attacking with one weapon, you'll receive a 20% higher critical hit rate versus all enemies.

He wasn’t just an administrator anymore. With his broadsword and the gene booster, he was becoming one of the best fighters in the Fort Bone Empire, even if it had snuck up on him.

"So that’s 1600 for 8 sets of level 3 armor. That’s pretty much our whole reserve coins," Amber said, doing the math.

Atlas’ mind churned with strategies and possibilities for the future of Fort Bone, but the realization that their financial situation needed careful management gnawed at him. ‘Armor, weapons, manpower... it’s all necessary, but expensive. We have to be smart about how we spend these coins.‘

John, ever the realist, leaned in with a practical tone. "Atlas, before we move on with any big upgrades, we need to be absolutely sure about how we’re going to sustain this. Spending coins is easy. Keeping the flow of income steady? That’s where we need to focus."

Atlas nodded. "Yeah, I know. I just hate how we keep getting bottlenecked by resources. And our enemies are only getting stronger. We need to stay ahead."

Isabella, who had remained quiet for most of the armor conversation, cleared her throat. "Atlas, before we dive too deep into logistics, we can also think outside of just combat strategies. We have a lot of skilled people in Fort Bone, artisans and crafters. If we can't afford to buy armor, maybe we can invest in improving our own production methods."

Amber perked up, "We do have some of the best blacksmiths around! What if we created our own line of upgraded armor, like some kind of Fort Bone-exclusive battle gear?"

Alexander piped up with a half-smirk. “Fort Bone exclusive gear, huh? That’ll have the tourists flockin’ in. I’ll claim the first set.”

Barbara laughed lightly. "At least you'd wear something practical for once, Alexander."

“Hey, my golden armor looks dang good!” Alexander shot back. “And I only wear that in town! The ladies eat it up! Out in the field, I wear proper gear.”

John ignored Alexander’s outburst, his gears clearly turning. "That could work. If we invest in the blacksmiths, we’d be saving a lot in the long run. Plus, we wouldn’t have to rely on vending machines or traders for the armor."

Atlas leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table. "Yeah, that’s not a bad idea. I like it. We’ll still need to find ways to bring in more coins, but maybe we can cut down on how much we’re spending by keeping more of the production in-house."

Amber said, “That would work. We outfit the 8 leaders in level 3 armor, have you guys pass your old level 2 gear to some of the veterans like Randy and Titus. And then we use blacksmiths to see if we can incorporate bone into the level 1 armor to make level 1.5 armor for the entire army.”

The council all agreed.

Atlas looked around at his council, seeing the collective determination in their faces. The road ahead was long, but with a team like this, it seemed like there was nothing they couldn’t achieve.

“Alright,” Atlas said, standing up, “we'll set up a meeting with the blacksmiths tomorrow and start ramping up production.”