Elena woke up to find a small pile of Loot Tokens on either side of her. Originally, she’d planned to immediately check on the Command Center after waking up, but seeing Malik’s expectant expression she had them gather up their tokens and bring them to the Arch of Champions.
The first pile she threw through the Arch was Alexanders. Almost all of his tokens were from Low-Grade F- Tier monsters, and as such weren’t particularly valuable. Despite that, he had over twenty-five Loot Tokens from monsters and Elena’s luck had been good so she drew nine pieces of White Common Gear in addition to the other Resources pulled.
Before dealing with the Gear, Elena took Malik’s pile from him and threw it through the Arch. Compared to Alexander’s pile there were almost three times as many tokens. However, this was because Malik had only hunted beasts, not monsters. As such, he was able to harvest a Meat and Pelt token from each. Although there wasn’t any equipment, Malik’s harvest included almost eighty Pelts which would come in handy as Elena tried to expand.
“Good job.” Elena said to Alexander, handing him a pair of leather gloves from the Gear she had just pulled. She and Malik both already had a pair, so he was the obvious choice.
“You too.” Elena said to Malik as she handed three pieces of Gear to him.
When he received the items, he immediately sent a triumphant glare at Alexander. Although Alexander had Eclipse, that was only because Malik couldn't use it. Clearly he was still Elena’s favored Champion.
This made Elena chuckle to herself. Had Malik’s brain turned off when he felt threatened? He’d been the one to explain to her what each type of White Common Gear was for, so why didn't he see what kind of Gear he’d gotten?
----------------------------------------
LEATHER BELT (BELT)
A leather belt that adds three Pouch slots which become quickdraw Inventory slots when unfilled.
White Common
----------------------------------------
BACKPACK (BACKPACK)
A backpack that adds 10 Inventory slots.
White Common
----------------------------------------
COIN PURSE (POUCH)
A coin purse that can hold up to 100 Tokens.
White Common
----------------------------------------
The afterlife had an Inventory system much like an RPG game. You could access it from your system pane and put items into a subspace, and take them out from the same interface. A quick draw slot allowed you to take items in and out of your inventory with just a thought instead of having to navigate the menu.
After reaching five points in the Exploration stat a person gained the Inventory Skill which granted a hundred slots. However, there were two pieces of Gear that gave Inventory slots. Every five points after that leveled up the skill and granted another hundred slots.
Other than that, only Belts and Backpacks provided extra Inventory slots. Backpacks granted a larger number, but Belts could be extended using Pouch type items, most of which had special restrictions.
Elena could have equipped the backpack herself, but it was a pain to carry it around. Especially when she had a workhorse like Malik who could do it instead. He was weaker than Alexander in a fight, so he needed to be useful in other ways.
Elena did, however, equip a belt. She’d drawn two and the quick draw Inventory slot was especially convenient for carrying around a weapon. She put the Monk’s Quarterstaff in one slot and a White Common quarterstaff in another, leaving one open.
She also got two pieces of armor from the draw: Leather Greaves and Leather Bracers, Leg Armor and Arm Armor respectively. They were the last two pieces she needed for a full set of basic armor.
Although some Green Uncommon and above Gear would occupy slots outside of the basic armor, a White Common full set included Gloves, Shoes, Body Armor, Leg Armor, Arm Armor, a Cloak, and a Hat.
Elena went to the newly upgraded Command Center after she'd completed her role as a judge for the dick measuring contest between her two Champions.
----------------------------------------
COMMAND CENTER
A massive tent with a desk for the Lord and a large command table filled with maps. There are also desks for two Administrators. All territory activities can be directed from the Command Center.
Standard-Grade Command Tent
Durability: 100/100
Shield: 10
FACILITIES
Commander’s Desk Lvl 1
A desk where the commander can review their citizen’s information.
Cost: 3 Wood
1/1 Built
Commander Table Lvl 2
A table covered in maps that allows a Lord to develop their territory and provides two points of interest each day.
Cost: 10 Pelts
0/1 Built
Administrator’s Desk Lvl 1
A desk where administrators plan out territory public works projects. Employs one Civilian as an Administrator.
Cost: 5 Wood, 5 Pelts, and 1 Iron
0/2 Built
UPGRADE
A massive tent with a private room for the Lord and up to four Administrators. A separate room has several tables filled with maps. All territory activities can be directed from the command center.
Durability
200
Shield
20
Cost
440/160 Wood
219/120 Pelts
21/25 Iron
Build Time
16 hours
----------------------------------------
The biggest benefit was the two Administrator’s Desks which she quickly built and then assigned two Administrators. She also built the level two Command Table. This gave her a second intel report everyday which would come in at 20:00 every night.
For her first construction queue, Elena set two Civilians to the task of building a ring of Palisades around the circumference of her territory, right inside the Novice Barrier.
----------------------------------------
PALISADE
A wooden barrier designed to act as a makeshift fence.
Low-Grade
Durability: 100/100
Shield: 1
FACILITIES
Thorns Lvl 1
Whenever this Building takes damage, it deals 1 damage to the attacker.
Cost: 1 Wood
0/1 Built
UPGRADE
A wooden barrier designed to act as a fence.
Durability
200
Shield
2
Cost
420/5 Wood
Build Time
20 Minutes
----------------------------------------
Palisades would become the first line of defense for her territory against monsters after the Novice Barrier fell. If she built enough, it was possible to endure the monster tide without a single Soldier thanks to their thorns Facility. At higher levels the damage reflection would be even higher but the resources needed to upgrade them would be too much even for her since they would need Iron.
She planned to build four defensive layers. Two rings of Low-Grade Palisades at the edge of her territory, then a ring each of Standard-Grade and High-Grade Palisades further in, with a final ring of Pinnacle-Grade Palisades surrounding the core facilities like the Command Center and Arch of Champions.
Her territory covered almost three hundred and twenty square meters and just the first ring would need 200 Wood, so this would be a massive undertaking that consumed countless resources, but Elena was determined to make it happen. If her Civilians started now, they might be able to finish by the time the monster tide arrived in five days.
Elena dedicated her second construction crew to building a path to Gnarsh’s Domain. This was also a long term project and Elena didn't expect to finish it before the monster tide but she wanted to at least start. If her defensive plans were running behind she'd reassign this queue to also build Palisades.
Both Alexander and Malik were assigned to guard the two Civilians tasked with building the path. This would give them the opportunity to get some hunting in while protecting the territory's assets.
Elena planned to use the last queue for general construction. In other words, whatever other buildings she needed would have to compete for space in this slot. Right at the top of that list was the General Store.
The afterlife was a game which was defined by powerspikes. Each powerspike unlocked a new feature and significantly increased the speed at which a Territory grew. The first powerspike could be considered the building of a Command Center.
Without a Command Center, it's nearly impossible to find any of the resources out in the world, whether that be Dungeons, resource caches, or anything else. The difference between a Lord with a Command Center and one without is night and day.
The next spike is the General Store. Access to the cash shop completely destroys the feeling of scarcity and poverty that defined the early stages of the game. Elena could already be considered a powerhouse during the Preparation Stage with a mere four combat capable Citizens, but the Battle Royale Stage involved battles between hundreds of Soldiers and dozens of Champions. The cash shop was the main reason Lords were able to raise armies of that size.
The spike after that would be the Notice Board, unlocked by upgrading the Arch of Champions again, which would grant access to the Mission system. After that was the Research Center which completely overhauled how Lords played.
The typical trajectory for a Lord was to build a Command Center during the Preparation Stage, then, after the monster tide, build a General Store during the Duel Stage. After completing the Duel Stage, Lords would build a Notice Board in the early parts of the Battle Royale Stage, and then build the Research Center near the end.
With anticipation, Elena set the General Store to begin construction then sat back and waited. Two hours later, a magnificent stone and wood building was sitting next to the Arch of Champions.
Just from its appearance alone it was clearly a higher tier building than the others Elena had built so far. The Camp territory level was dominated by tents, but this building had several types of exotic materials mixed in, including crystal clear glass.
“Welcome in young Lord! Feel free to browse my wares.” When Elena entered the store she was greeted by a lithe woman with pink hair wearing a very modern looking clerk outfit. “Feel free to browse on your own or ask me if you need any help!”
The General Store was about the same size as a gas station and was split into two parts based on what type of currency you needed to use. The first part was the one that accepted Gold. Although there were several stands, only one of them was lit up, showing that Elena was able to purchase things from it. There were only a few items but all of them were extremely valuable.
----------------------------------------
SURPLUS BASICS
Everything a Lord needs for an affordable price and no purchase limits!
Item
Cost
Common Experience Voucher
6 Gold
Daily Draw Token
1,500 Gold
Low-Grade Dungeon Token (Tutorial)
500 Gold
White Common Skill Scroll (Generic)
150 Gold
Green Uncommon Skill Scroll (Generic)
500 Gold
White Common Ability Scroll (Generic)
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
150 Gold
Green Uncommon Ability Scroll (Generic)
500 Gold
----------------------------------------
The other part of the store was the important part, the part that only accepted Lifespan as payment. She’d grilled both Malik and Alexander before they’d left to learn everything she could about how to best spend the limited lifespan she had to gain an advantage and had a plan for what to do.
Unlike the Gold part of the General Store which only had one available stall, every single stall in the Lifespan part was unlocked from the moment Elena walked in. She browsed the placards, searching for the one’s she’d learned about: Sign-In Rewards, Daily Deals, Weekly/Monthly Cards, Top-Up Station, First Purchase Rewards, Special Deals, Regular Packs, Bulk Gold, VIP Special Packs, Limited Time Deals.
Elena walked over to the stall labelled special deals and looked at the only items there. Each was a luxurious wooden box with a sign above it detailing what was inside.
----------------------------------------
ADVANCED CONSTRUCTION PACK
Unlock the Administrators Office Building to help develop your Territory efficiently!
Unlock - 3 Years (1,500 Top Up Points)
Administrators Office Blueprint
25 Uncommon Speedup Vouchers
55 Common Speedup Vouchers
1,500 VIP Points
1,500 Gold
200 Wood
50 Iron
----------------------------------------
ADVANCED EXPEDITION PACK
Unlock the Stables Building to discover a new way to travel!
Unlock - 3 Years (1,500 Top Up Points)
Stables Blueprint
25 Uncommon Speedup Vouchers
55 Common Speedup Vouchers
1,500 VIP Points
1,500 Gold
1000 Grass
200 Wood
----------------------------------------
Both of these packs provided cash shop exclusive blueprints, each of which was vital to the proper development of a Lord’s territory. Without the Administrator’s Office it would be difficult to keep up with construction needs and without the Stables it would take far too long for expeditions to Dungeons and other landmarks. Any Lord that skimped out and pushed off these purchases would quickly fall behind their peers and die. Elena bought the two packs without hesitation, spending six years of her life just like that.
“Good choice young Lord!” A bright and cheery voice erupted in Elena’s ear, startling her. It was the clerk from earlier. “It seems you know quite a lot about some of the exclusive perks of our humble General Store.”
“I have competent subordinates.” Elena said slightly uncomfortably. She hated having to deal with people like this the most.
“Well isn’t that nice!” The pink haired clerk responded. “I just wanted to let you know that you’ve qualified for quite a few rewards thanks to your purchases today! Not only are you now able to claim our extra super special first purchases rewards one and two, but you’ve accumulated enough VIP points to reach VIP 2! We’ve granted you one free week of VIP benefits to try it out before you decide to purchase more. Also! If you earn just two thousand more top-up points you’ll be able to receive the first level of our top-up rewards.”
Elena choked out a thank you while squinting to avoid the smile the clerk gave her that was bright enough to match the girl’s hair. She’d known most of the information the clerk had told her already, but it was always good to trust but verify when it came to subordinates.
The two rewards the clerk had mentioned, the first time purchase and top-up rewards, were natural benefits Elena already had her eye on. The first purchase reward was simple, a Champion and some items to strengthen them. For most Lords, this would be the first champion they received, something of a pity prize for being able to survive long enough to build a General Store. The top up rewards were even more important. The first tier of four would allow her to recruit an Architect. Without one, even if she had the blueprints for the cash shop buildings, she wouldn’t be able to build them.
Since that was the case, Elena browsed through the stall labeled “Regular Packs”. All of them were guaranteed to provide top-up points and according to Malik they provided good value for the price.
----------------------------------------
CHAMPION’S BLESSING
Champions are the backbone of society, strengthen yours!
Unlock - 5 Years (2,500 Top Up Points)
20 White Common Class Shards
30 White Common Skill Scrolls
30 White Common Ability Scrolls
10 Rare Experience Vouchers
2,500 Gold
2,500 VIP Points
----------------------------------------
FAST DEVELOPMENT PACK
Sprint ahead of your peers, grasp your future today!
Unlock - 5 Years (2,500 Top Up Points)
10 Daily Draw Tokens
10 Rare Speedup Vouchers
240 Uncommon Speedup Vouchers
2,500 Gold
2,500 VIP Points
1000 Pelts
1000 Wood
100 Stone
100 Iron
----------------------------------------
ABILITY BOOST PACK
The basis of everything is personal strength!
Unlock - 5 Years (2,500 Top Up Points)
30 Rare Experience Vouchers
5 Low-Grade Aptitude Vouchers
2,500 Gold
2,500 VIP Points
200 Pelts
200 Wood
20 Stone
20 Iron
----------------------------------------
TERRITORY CONSTRUCTION PACK
Build better, build now!
Unlock - 5 Years (2,500 Top Up Points)
3 Rare Speedup Vouchers
36 Uncommon Speedup Vouchers
2 Rare Construction Vouchers
24 Uncommon Construction Vouchers
2,500 Gold
2,500 VIP Points
500 Pelts
500 Wood
50 Stone
50 Iron
----------------------------------------
COMBAT PACK
Build better, build now!
Unlock - 5 Years (2,500 Top Up Points)
55 White Common Skill Scrolls
55 White Common Ability Scrolls
2,500 Gold
2,500 VIP Points
200 Pelts
200 Wood
20 Stone
20 Iron
----------------------------------------
In the end, Elena chose the Fast Development Pack. Unlike the other rewards, she was able to understand the benefit of Daily Draw Tokens. Moreover, she could save them until after reaching the High-Grade Camp level to double the rewards she got from them. Once she was finished, Elena walked over to the First Purchase Rewards stand to claim her prizes.
----------------------------------------
FIRST PURCHASE REWARDS
Receive a powerful Champion after your first purchase, and for your first two purchases after you’ll receive amazing bonus packs!
Purchases: 3
Next Milestone: Completed
Milestone
Rewards
1
Berserker Class Champion
10 Rare Experience Vouchers
10 Daily Draw Tokens
10 Low-Grade Dungeon Tokens
2/3
200 Gold
10 White Common Class Shards
10 White Common Ability Scrolls
----------------------------------------
The rewards were very generous considering Elena got them for free. They were more than enough to create a strong champion capable of single-handedly facing ten enemies. For other Lords this was a huge boost in power, but for Elena it was merely a nice cherry on top. She immediately moved on to claim her top-up rewards.
----------------------------------------
TOP-UP GIFT
Spend big to receive lavish rewards! Gain top-up points on select purchases.
Top-Up Points: 5,500
Next Milestone: 12,500 Points
Milestone
Rewards
5,000
Architect Discipline Artisan
20 Rare Experience Vouchers
2 Rare Construction Vouchers
100 Uncommon Construction Vouchers
500 Common Construction Vouchers
5 Common Custom Resource Tokens
12,500
Starfield Lord Aura
15 White Common Discipline Shards
40 White Common Ability Scrolls
15 Daily Draw Tokens
20 Rare Construction Tokens
360 Uncommon Construction Tokens
20,000
Starfield Attack Effect
Quality 5 Blue Rare Gear Token
Quality 10 Purple Epic Gear Token
5 Epic Experience Vouchers
10 White Common Skill Scrolls
10 White Common Ability Scrolls
30,000
25 White Common Class Shards
40 White Common Skill Scrolls
Blue Rare Gear Set Token
----------------------------------------
Although an Artisan was less valuable than a Champion, overall the Top-Up Rewards were far more lavish than those for the first purchase. Moreover, that was just the first of four levels! If Elena was able to finish out the top-up rewards she’d gain tons of rare and valuable goods including gear that was on par with Eclipse, her current strongest piece. Unfortunately, if she wanted to do that she’d need to spend sixty years of her lifespan. Even though the rewards were great, she had to spend carefully, only getting what was most worth the price.
With her goal completed, Elena decided to browse some of the other wares in the store. After unlocking VIP status she now had access to another stall in the Gold part of the General Store, the VIP Shop. She was only VIP 2 so there weren’t many goods available, but she was now able to buy Resources directly for a cheap price. Elena was now a nouveau-riche with almost six thousand gold so she was tempted to buy a few things just to try it out, but resisted the urge.
Access to the VIP shop wasn’t the only benefit to being a VIP. She also got several buffs and a daily gift. At VIP 2 the only benefit was a 4% bonus to all drawn Resources. So, in the future, if she drew 100 Wood, she would instead get 104. It wasn’t much but at higher VIP levels it would be significant.
She would have these benefits for just a week unless she was willing to spend some Gold to extend her VIP status. Unfortunately, it was just too pricey! Three thousand Gold for a week or ten thousand for a month! The daily gift for VIP 2 was a White Common Skill Scroll, a White Common Ability Scroll, and a White Common Class Shard. The total value was maybe 500 Gold, so purchasing VIP would only be worth it if she got a full month at once, but Elena simply couldn’t afford that. She would think about it once she reached VIP 3 or VIP 4.
Since she was done her, Elena decided to visit the Sign-In Rewards stall before leaving. She would be able to pick up her daily VIP gift as well as a few small items from the Weekly Sign-In Bonuses.
----------------------------------------
WEEKLY SIGN-IN REWARDS
Sign-in everyday to receive loads of rewards!
Unlock Epic Pass - 1 Year (0 Top Up Points)
Daily Reward Available!
1 Day Missed - Spend 100 Gold to Catch Up!
Day
Free
Epic
1
100 Gold
1,000 Gold
White Common Class Shard
2
Common Speedup Voucher
Uncommon Speedup Voucher
12 Common Speedup Vouchers
3
Common Construction Voucher
Uncommon Speedup Voucher
One Hour Construction Vouchers
4
Uncommon Experience Voucher
5 White Common Skill Scrolls
5 White Common Ability Scrolls
5
Common Research Voucher
Uncommon Speedup Voucher
Uncommon Research Vouchers
6
Common Training Voucher
Uncommon Speedup Voucher
Uncommon Training Vouchers
7
White Common Class Shard
2 White Common Class Shards
----------------------------------------
The weekly sign-in rewards were middling and even if you paid to upgrade to the Epic level they were still only so-so. Elena grabbed the 100 Gold for the first day, then used it to catch up to the second. Although many of the rewards were trash, the final reward, a White Common Class Shard, was quite valuable.
Ten Class Shards combined to form Class Scrolls which could be used to increase the level of a Class. Compared to strengthening a Skill, Classes provided far more benefits and as such upgrading them was hard. A single shard was well worth a hundred Gold.
Right as Elena moved to leave, Elena noticed one other box on the stall. She frowned slightly since Malik had never mentioned it, then pulled up the status pane.
----------------------------------------
NOVICE WEEK DAILY SIGN-IN REWARDS
Welcome to the afterlife! Sign-in every day during Novice Week to obtain a powerful Rouge to help you explore dungeons!
Daily Reward Available!
1 Day Missed - Spend 100 Gold to Catch Up!
Day
Reward
1
500 Gold
2
Rouge Class Champion
3
10 Daily Draw Tokens
4
15 Common Experience Vouchers
5
20 White Common Skill Scrolls
6
White Common Gear Set Token
7
Ring of Thieves - Quality 10 Purple Epic Ring
----------------------------------------
Elena sucked in a sharp breath when she saw the description. In an instant, she realized why Malik hadn’t mentioned this benefit earlier, he didn’t know it existed! Very very few Lords could build a General Store before the end of Novice Week so it made sense that he’d not seen it before. Moreover, the cost to make-up missed days doubled for each day, so even if a Lord built the General Store on the last day of Novice week, they would have to spend an exorbitant amount to catch up to the last day.
Without hesitation, Elena claimed the first day’s rewards then paid to catch up to the second day and claimed the Champion token. With barely suppressed greed, Elena eyed the reward for the seventh day.
Shaking her head, Elena walked out of the General Store. She’d accomplished her goals and had things to do. Waiting around staring at the rewards wouldn’t make time pass faster, it would only waste it!