Jonathan moved on towards the walls, wanting to test their structural integrity. He could see Edgar hard at work on the mountainside, carving out chunks of rock with razors of wind, and then passing them down to the people waiting below. They then carted the rock away and started to pile it up on the walls, where a few fire mages would fuse the rock together. It was a very efficient means of construction, and it used every bit of the natural advantages that a System bearing world possessed.
Jonathan headed towards the epicenter of this bustling activity, and saw Granj bellowing orders at his charges. Upon seeing Jonathan, he paused, and bowed low. Before he could say that none of that was necessary, everyone else bowed as well. Jonathan moved forwards, taking their reactions in stride and stopped in front of the construction crew.
“This is incredible work,” he said, taking in the towering wall of dark stone standing in front of him. The sides were completely smooth, and it looked as if it was made by machines, rather than by human, or other, hands.
“Thank you, honored one,” Granj said, using the name for Jonathan that had seemingly spread throughout the city in the time that he had been training.
Concealing a sigh, Jonathan nodded in response. He would get used to the deferential treatment eventually. Jonathan kept moving, heading for the wall itself. He was eager to see it properly. The rows of builders split before him, and he made his way up to the wall, laying a hand on it. The rock was very smooth, and seemed to be perfectly cut. In addition, if Jonathan was not mistaken, there were even more people in the city than there had been a few days ago.
Jonathan walked along the wall, and did a quick headcount of the people that he could see moving around the city. There were easily hundreds in sight, all of whom were doing their own thing. It seemed that the people flocking to his banner saw him as some sort of divine protector, rather than a leader, as none of them had come to him for advice. They already knew more than him about such matters in any case, and he was more than willing to let them govern themselves. Besides, defending this area was something that he had been doing already, and the presence of the people here was not going to change that. In any case, it would be useful to have a bit of extra manpower. Edgar seemed to have acclimated to the new situation well enough, and Jonathan could see the man joking around with some of the workers on the cliffside as they transported rocks down to the construction zone.
The city was still small, but it would only grow over time as more and more people came to join its ranks, and the walls would eventually spread outwards. Perhaps when he defeated Granath once and for all, it would become the new capital of the world. To be fair, he didn’t really care about such things, but it was still an interesting thought. He would be moving on to the next circle if he managed to defeat Granath, but he supposed that it would be better to leave this circle in better hands than its previous ruler. What better hands than those of the people who lived there? The citizens of this circle were hardy folk, and as far as Jonathan could tell, suited to life here almost perfectly. They seemed to have adjusted to this world as if it were their own, and in fact almost none of them were unhappy about their lives here. They were simply trying to make do with the lot that life had given them, and it was far better than it could have been. Although Jonathan was filled with a pure, roiling rage at the gods for having sent him here, most of the citizens of this world were a lot less vehement in their hatred. Edgar was the only other person that Jonathan had met that was willing to join him on his epic journey for justice. Everyone else was content to live out their lives.
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Perhaps that was because of Edgar’s natural talent and strength, as he was clearly meant for something beyond Tier 1, but other than that total apathy to their situation seemed to be the prevailing feeling among these people. Most of the people who had come here were among the weakest beings in the old world, and were used to living in poverty. When someone like Jonathan came, possessing incredible power and talent, they could not help but flock to his cause. It was an interesting state of affairs to say the least.
Jonathan stepped back from the wall a few minutes later, and turned towards the anxiously waiting citizens behind him. Although he was not the leader, they still clearly looked up to him, and wanted to know his opinion on the strength of the wall. After all, he was the most well versed in the strengths of the various monsters of the Ash Heaps here, as most of these people had never seen battle before, and were very low level.
“You all did a very good job here. Did you have experience building walls in the past?” Jonathan asked.
“Yes,” Granj said, stepping forwards. “I used to draw up blueprints for the walls of newly constructed cities. I got little pay for it, save for the promise of my life from Granath, and a few Leviathan Marks. However, this is far more rewarding, as there is actually a purpose to it, rather than simply prolonging that worm’s hold on this world.”
“I’m glad that you feel that way,” Jonathan said, “as we do not have any money to pay you with.”
“As if we would ask for money!” Granj scoffed, shaking his head. “Everything that we do here, we do for the benefit of this world. This is not simply some meaningless expedition. We truly believe in your cause. If we are to survive however, we need to be protected from the monsters outside, and you will not always be there.”
Jonathan nodded, but gulped silently, as he felt the weight of responsibility that had been placed on him. These people trusted him with their lives, and their very path forwards was dictated by his presence. He clenched his fist, causing the metal of his gauntlet to creak. He would not let them down.