Contrary to what Mike had been hoping for, the next day was not in fact better. The sleep he had gotten had helped to calm his emotions a bit, but he still felt the lingering pain deep within. It wasn't physical pain, but it hurt all the same. He finally decided to check his notifications, reading over them without leaving his bed.
*Class level up x3! Mighty Feller of Giants (level 33)*
*Race level up! Human (level 32)*
*[Settlement Notification] A siege has been repelled, and the settlement still stands. For fighting off your first siege as a settlement, all defenders gain one class level.*
*[Settlement Notification] The leader of this settlement has fallen. As there is no current secondary leader in place, the primary defender of this settlement will inherit leadership.*
*As the primary defender of this settlement, you have inherited control of this settlement.*
*Title gained! Settlement Leader (Rare)*
Settlement Leader (Rare)
Gain +10% to all stats when within your settlements aura. Mana is easier for you to control while in your settlements aura.
*You now have access to the Settlement management menu.*
*[Settlement Leadership Notification] This settlement no longer meets the requirements to be a settlement. If the requirements are not remet within 10 days, the settlement will be demoted to an encampment.*
Mike took a brief moment to process what he was reading. Apparently he was the primary defender, whatever that meant. He assumed it was due to him killing Klint, but was not sure of that yet. He opened his new menu, finding it nearly as complex as the dungeon management menu had been. Thinking about it, Mike had already forgotten about that menu, and reminded himself he needed to ask Martin if he had come to an answer. He looked through the settlement menu, perusing the basic options he had available. He stopped when he got to one menu, which was labeled “titles”.
Available Title slots: 2/3
Current Title Holders:
Grant Krochier (Foreman)
Available Titles:
Primary defender
High Shaman
Secondary Leader
General Manager
Tactician
Head Crafter
Head Scout
Head Healer
Head Chef
Head Mage
Spiritual Guide
Venerated Individual
Mike looked at the titles, noting that he apparently no longer held the Primary defender title. He didn't even know he’d had it, so he looked through his notifications, trying to find when he had gained it. He saw that he had earned it just before the siege had begun, but he had been too distracted to notice. Now, he had lost the title, without ever knowing what it did. One title in particular that stood out was Venerated Individual.
All the others clearly had a role, but this one just seemed to be someone he particularly liked. He closed the menu, deciding that the headache could be saved for another time. He stepped outside of his home, taking in the damage from yesterday's battle. It was no wonder they no longer met the standards of a settlement, as quite a few buildings had been destroyed in the fight. Mike was a bit embarrassed to say that he may have accidentally left holes in one or two buildings when he was dashing around in the chaos.
He made his way through the crowds of people walking around, and the many workers who were working to fix the buildings. There were quite a few who were fixing the hole in the wall that Mike had made yesterday, but when he walked by, he didn't get any of the nasty stares he had expected. Instead, smiles greeted him as they saw his face.
In all honesty, Mike didn't know why he had expected them to be upset with him, he had just saved the settlement after all. He wouldn’t pretend for even a moment that it had been all him though, as Lucas had also gotten some poison into the man's system, slowing him down before the big fight. He walked over to the grave of the fallen, seeing a headstone had been made the same material his hammer had been made from. He felt a faint trace of mana come off of it, and identified it.
Headstone of the fallen (Rare)
A headstone made in remembrance of those who passed protecting this settlement.
It was a rare rarity, despite the fact that it was basically just a block of metal. He didn't want to be blunt, but that was really all it was. It was really nice metal, but still. He turned to leave the grave, almost running into Martin as he turned.
“I would like to manage the dungeon.” He said, not bothering to greet Mike.
“Really? What made up your mind?”
“Yesterday showed me just how strong we need to get to thrive here, and if I could control those spiders, I could get very, very strong.” Martin had a very determined look now. “Also, I don't think I could bear to see Kenny get so badly hurt again.”
“How is the little bunny doing?” This elicited a scoff from Martin.
“Better, but he is anything but little. In fact, he is just as fired up to get stronger as I am, and is ready to defend this settlement again should the need arise.”
“Alright then. Now give me just a moment to figure this out.”
Mike looked through the dungeon menu, taking a minute to find where he could select a new manager for it. After finding the option, he selected Martin, and the man received a notification soon after. A grin crossed the beast master's face, before his eyes went white and he began to fall backwards. Mike moved to catch him, but Martin's foot shot out and caught himself just a moment later, his eyes having returned to normal.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Wow. How could you just pass up a class like that? The stats are amazing, I’m getting almost 180 per level!” The man said, before running off towards the spider cave. “I need to go do some testing, I’ll see you whenever!”
Mike felt happy for the man, but really didn't see the stat gain as all that high. He himself was getting 195 per level from his profession, and was quite happy with it. Not wanting to rain on the man's parade, he let him go to do whatever it was he would be doing. All Mike hoped for was that the man wasn't going to be torturing the poor little spiders, even though quite a few of them would be a higher level than Martin.
His next stop was town hall, where people were arguing outside the door.
“Let's just knock it down!” One shouted.
“That will just make it harder to fix the settlement!” Cried another.
Mike walked past the crowd, a few pointing at him and adding more to the conversation. He got to the entrance, opening the door as he walked inside. For some reason, this instantly shut the entire group up, before one of them shouted.
“He is the leader now, why didn't we just get him to open it before?” This sparked a whole new argument about who was the most forgetful for not getting Mike to open the door for them. Apparently, only the leader or title holders could enter the town hall without help. Mike quickly amended this by opening his menu and allowing anybody to enter. He sat at the desk, and people began flooding in, filling the seats and lining the walls. When the room got to a point that Mike feared for the floorboards, he cut off access, gesturing for somebody to close the door.
“We need to get a new leader, and as the head of the previous council, I think I would fit the role quite well.” Mike was honestly quite repulsed by the attempted power grab, and he clearly was not the only one. Angry glares from all around the room locked onto the man, shutting him up quite quickly. Mike decided to start proper discussions, ending the silence the room had fallen into.
“We need to first focus on making sure we don't become an encampment again. I'm sure nobody misses those nightly raids.” His mention of the attacks brought grimaces to many faces. One man, who Mike recognized as Jonas’ old assistant, spoke up.
“We are already on track to finish repairs by tomorrow. Grant has been organizing the work priority for the builders, and all the barrack buildings should be finished by midnight tonight.”
“Grant?” Mike asked, drawing a blank on the name. It sounded familiar, but he wasn't sure from where.
“The foreman. Jonas granted him the title when we became an encampment, and he is the only one to hold a title currently.” The assistant said.
“Got it, thanks. Hey by the way, I don't think I ever got your name.”
“Hobbs, sir.” Mike had to hold back a small laugh from escaping his lips. That was not the kind of name he was expecting.
“Well Hobbs, since you seem to know quite a bit about the settlement already, how would you feel about being a secondary leader?”
“I would have to say no. Jonas already offered me the position before, but a position of power such as that is not one I desire to have.”
“Very well then.” Mike said. “Would anyone else like to throw their hats in the ring?”
Nobody spoke for a few seconds, but a voice coming from the corner of the room spoke up.
“Secondary leader? Are we not voting on who our new leader will be?”
“Whoever gets the position will be the effective leader of the Settlement. I will, however, remain the primary leader for the time being. Looking through the settlement menu, I can see that everyone gets a passive bonus depending on who is the leader. Given that the majority of the population are focused on their professions, and I am the highest leveled crafter here, It would be most beneficial for me to remain leader.”
This statement divided the room far more than Mike had been expecting. The divide was quite noticeable between people whose professions relied on crafting or creating, and those who didn't. Those who were not heavily focused on crafting were outraged, calling him all kinds of things. The word dictator was thrown around quite a few times, which were quickly met with the crafters calling them short sighted and selfish. Mike let the arguing rave on for a few minutes before cutting it off.
“To anyone who thinks that crafters are being too heavily favored, keep in mind that I am also the highest leveled combatant, so even they will be getting bonuses, if even just when they are in the settlement.”
One thing Mike did leave out was that his trait was also affecting the settlement. He hadn't noticed at first, but he felt the lingering mana in the air, ready to eat away at any hostile mana. It was an effect he quickly identified as coming from his trait, which gave him quite the negotiating advantage if he needed to use it. The room once more fell into arguments, shouts, and insults. Mike slapped the table, making a noise loud enough to drown out the shouting. Silence filled the room quickly after.
“Like I said before, would anyone like to nominate themselves as a secondary leader?” He put emphasis on the word “secondary”, letting them know it wasn't up for debate.
The man who had first tried to nominate himself once more spoke up. “I woul-”
“Anybody other than him?” Mike cut the man off.
“I think I would be a good fit for a secondary leader.” One woman said. “My profession is based around helping others already, due to being on the council before.”
Various other members of the council offered themselves as potential candidates, along with some higher leveled individuals. Mike had immediately ruled out anybody who had yet to reach their second evolution, since he didn't want to pick a person that the settlement would quickly outgrow. Eventually, after much debate among the people in the room, the list had been narrowed down to five candidates.
The first was the woman who had spoken up before. The second, much to Mike's annoyance, was the man who he had cut off before. He apparently was good at his job, even if Mike wasn't a huge fan of his. The others in the room had pushed for him to at least be an option. The third was a man who was the highest level crafter in the settlement right behind Mike. The man had specialized in his profession, and had been the first to push past level 25 after doing so.
The fourth was another woman, who seemed to just have an aura of calm about her. The others in the room seemed to be very partial towards her, which Mike quickly grew suspicious of. He used his intimidation skill to suppress the effect, which Mike guessed originated from her trait. This helped quite a few break free from her calming effect, but just as many still thought it was a good idea to have somebody with that kind of talent as a leader. The last man, who Mike had to do a double take upon seeing, was John. After evolving, John had gotten quite powerful with his magic, and his profession was all about teaching magic. He claimed he could make a good leader by guiding those under him to bring their magic to new heights.
Once the candidates were selected, the voting began. Mike stayed out of the vote, as he wanted to gain as much favor as possible with the people in the room, as well as whoever won the vote. It would be pretty awkward if he voted for someone, only for another to win. Personally, Mike liked the first woman, as she seemed like the best leader of the bunch. John, the crafter, and the lady with the calming aura all seemed strong in their own rights, but not in the way that would make a good leader. The annoying man seemed to have good enough leadership skills, but Mike just didn't like his attitude.
Unfortunately, the voting was done and the victor was clear. The man who Mike was beginning to like less and less bowed to the group after winning the vote. Mike would prefer literally anyone else to have won, but it was out of his hands now.
“What's your name?” Mike asked.
“Devin.” The man replied in a too full of himself tone.
“Of course it is.” Mike muttered, too quiet for all but the highest perception individuals to hear him. Mike assigned the secondary leader title to Devin, and the man copied Martins earlier fall, his eyes going white. His class was changing now that he had the title, and Mike had a feeling the man would not be in a great situation if he lost it. Unlike Martin, this man didn't catch himself on the way down. Mike chuckled as his head hit the ground with a thud.
Devin quickly stood up, brushing himself off. He once more bowed, which made Mike even more annoyed with him. “Thank you for this opportunity to help the settlement grow.”
“You are welcome, and congrats on becoming the secondary leader of this settlement.”
“On that note, when are we going to name this place, saying ‘the settlement’ every time is getting to be a bit of a mouthful.” The man said, not a bit upset at the laugh from Mike.
“You know what, I have the perfect name.” Mike said, smiling. “Let's call it Thudfall, in honor of your little tumble.” He was half joking, and the joke got a laugh from the room. That laugh was quickly silenced by a notification that each and every inhabitant of the settlement received.
*[Settlement Notification] The leader of this settlement has decided on a name. From this point forth, this settlement will now be known as Thudfall. Cooldown remaining on settlement name change: 500 Days.*