Sean had never been much of the leader type, which was not to say he was a follower but he did shirk away from responsibility.

He didn’t always do this intentionally, sometimes it was just a matter of circumstance. And other times it was because his presence wasn’t enough to command the room, so he fell into the background.

However, from the moment he’d met his subjects, they all seemed to hang onto his every word.

After they’d left the starting hill, Sean had been blitzed with questions. Everyone had an issue, whether it was the peasants asking for things for their kids or the warriors asking him about guard schedules.

Castle Defense, to all appearances, was less like a game and more like a real life scenario.

“My lord, are you sure you want to set our village here?”

Leopold had quickly become Sean’s right hand in the hour it took to arrive at the spot Sean had found. The warrior was now his liaison with the other subjects so they’d stop pestering him while he was talking to the system.

“I think It’s a good spot for a village. There’s a river not too far and there's a lot of grassland so we won’t have to cut too many trees. And there’s some rocky hills not too far away that have a pretty good view of the area. You don’t agree?”

“If I may, my lord,” Leopold said as leaned his foot on a fallen tree stump. “I would advise we move closer to where the hills and river meet in the bend, so we can use the river as a defense on one side from incursions. The farming land should be better too.”

It was sound advice, almost too sound for someone who was supposed to be a NPC.

“Good idea. I’ll go with your suggestion.”

Sean led his subjects to the suggested area, and had the four peasants carrying the altar sit it down on the ground. The area was clear of obstacles except a few sporadically placed trees, and the river that bent around the rocky hills.

“Everyone stand back! The system says to clear these areas for the starter buildings and supplies to spawn.”

Once everyone moved Sean said yes to the prompt asking him if he wanted to place the core—The yes was said internally. He’d learned to give his system commands mentally rather than aloud.

[Core placement confirmed, establishing residence.]

The ground started to shake like an earthquake. Sean stooped down low so he wouldn’t tumble over.

“System, is this supposed to happen?”

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[Yes.]

“Everyone stay calm, it'll pass!”

The ground cracked open like a giant sinkhole, and buildings started to rise from the ground. Sean and the subjects backed away even further from the area.

In the middle of the chasm the Altar and core sat unperturbed. The buildings were rising around it. And after a few minutes a full village had risen out of the ground.

[core set. Starter village is complete. Toggle system to mental commands?]

The system talking in his head was uncomfortable, but useful. “Yes, toggle the system to mental commands.”

“It’s safe now everyone,” Sean shouted. “Follow me.”

Sean charged into the tiny village to explore, and the villagers followed. They were studying their new home just as intensely as he was.

The village was a set of two rows of wooden houses; All the houses in the rows were single story buildings, and had built-in chimneys and thick crystal-glass windows. And between the two rows was a dirt road.

The dirt road led to a much bigger house with smaller buildings around it that was slightly elevated on a mound. The mound had risen from the chasm during the core setting process.

There were also a few different buildings that rose up a short distance away closer to the river.

“Spread out, check the houses! Lord Sean will assign buildings,” Leopald shouted to the other villagers. “My lord, do you want me to accompany you to the manor house?”

“Yes. Thank you Leo. Do you mind if I call you Leo?”

Leo smiled. “It’s fine, my lord, but you need not ask.”

“It’s just good manners too, ask Leo. Also I’ve been meaning to ask, do you have any memory of what your life was like before you met me?”

“Life, my lord? I’ve always served you as far back as I can remember.”

“Interesting….”

Sean looked at the villagers exploring their homes and grimaced. God had made the villagers real flesh and blood with knowledge of their duties, but gave them no memories from which to draw on. It was as if they existed solely to serve him which was sad when he thought about it.

“Let’s see about my house, Leo.”

Sean and Leo climbed the steep hill up to the manor house where a mini complex awaited. At the outer edge of the complex was a short wooden fence that circled the top of the hill. Inside of the fence was the manor, two small buildings similar in size to the villagers houses, and a large barn. They approached the barn first.

“It looks like all of the supplies are here, you’ll need to distribute them after you assign the buildings, my lord. The peasants are eager to start their farms,” Leo said after they opened the barn doors. The barn was filled to the brim with supplies, from farming and crafting tools to food stores of wheat, dried meats and barley.

“We'll save it for tomorrow, today we get situated and assign tasks and buildings, and maybe prepare a meal with what food we have,” Sean said.

“As you wish, my lord.”

Sean and Leo walked to the smaller buildings next.

Upon close inspection he discovered that both were barracks, filled with weaponry and rows of beds. Leo and he explored every inch of the place, the former with a giddy smile as he strapped a one handed short sword to his waist—it was a steel sword.

It reminded Sean of the weapons he’d seen in movies.

“To the manor house now,” Sean asked to snap Leo out of admiration for his new weapon.

“Of course, my lord.”

The manor house was by far the biggest house in the village. It was two stories high and very wide—It needed to be in order to fit in all the rooms.

On the inside there were dozens of rooms. The first floor had a dedicated kitchen, a huge dining area, a study, and a sitting area. And the upstairs had six bedrooms with one being a large bedroom that served as the master bedroom.

No bathrooms though. He’d need to figure that out sooner rather than later.

“Well, I guess we’re into the thick of it,” Sean mumbled.

“Yes. Yes we are, my lord,” Leo said.