Skill [Evasion] has levelled up.
Skill [Short Swords] has levelled up.
Skill [Evasion] has levelled up.
Skill [Medium Armour] has levelled up.
Skill [Silent Movement] has levelled up.
Jake sighed as he scrolled through his latest notifications, all of which had been gained throughout the night as Bertram had basically beaten various sword forms and swings into him. As painful as it had been, Jake was grateful, now feeling far more comfortable with his blade than he had before.
“Still think you should replace that dagger of yours,” Bertram hummed form over him, Jake lying on the hard packed dirt in exhaustion, “It’ll muddy your Skill otherwise.”
“With what?” Jake asked as he sat up, “I don’t think that there’s anything as good around here.”
“There isn’t going to be, no,” Bertram shook his head, “But you’ll want to do it anyway. An inferior blade that matches your Skills is better than a good one that doesn’t.”
“I don’t want to get rid of it, though,” Jake grunted as he jumped to his feet, looking at the Ritual Dagger of the Wilds in his hand. It was the first reward he’d gotten from a Quest and had proven itself invaluable to him so far.
“I’m not saying you have to get rid of it,” Bertram chuckled, “Just use a short sword in both hands and keep that one for emergencies.”
“Emergencies?” Jake asked as he dusted himself off.
“Like if you get disarmed,” Bertram shrugged, giving a loud yawn, “Anyway, we’ve been at this the whole night. I don’t know about you Travellers, but us natives get tired, so I’m going to go grab a nap till midday, I think. Then we’ll continue.”
“What should I do until then?” Jake asked, Bertram glancing over his shoulder as he grinned.
“I don’t know,” he laughed, “Mayoral shit!”
Jake sighed as the man disappeared into the barracks, wondering what he meant. A soft cough drew his attention to Merina, the elf standing nearby with a stack of papers in her hand.
“Yes?” Jake asked, the woman bowing to him as she spoke.
“There are a number of matters that require your attention, mayor,” she said, shuffling the papers, “If you would be so kind as to follow me to your offices, we can get started.”
“Ah,” Jake nodded as the woman turned away, heading back to the Mayoral Manor, “I guess?”
He followed after her, a thought suddenly occurring to him as he walked, opening the Message Screen, and sending a quick rundown of what had happened to Andy before walking into the building.
------
“What the hell, Jakey?”
“Huh?” the rest of the table turned to look at Andy as he slumped down, slapping a hand to his face as Shadow continued, “What’s wrong, Goldy?”
“Nothing,” he sighed, “Just my friend doing crazy shit again.”
“The mysterious Jakey?” Holi chuckled, making the other two roll their eyes.
“We know he doesn’t exist, Goldy,” Sophie sighed, “So you can stop with all the tall stories.”
“As much as I hate to agree with her,” Shadow laughed as Sophie glared at him, “Sophie’s right. You gotta stop with the bullshit.”
“I’m not the one that has to stop with the bullshit, Shadow,” Andy chuckled along, “Jakey is. He just sent me a message saying that he was going to be caught up for a few more days. With his new town.”
“Town?” Sophie laughed, lifting an eyebrow, “Oh, so he’s got a town now? I’m sure, next he’ll have single handedly beaten a high-level World Boss.”
“Nah, he did that a few days ago already,” Andy sighed, “Got a Title and full armour set for it as well.”
“What?” the party said, “Are you serious?”
“Yep,” Andy nodded, looking at their disbelieving eyes, “Look, I get how this all sounds, but Jakey really exists, okay? I promise he’ll be here by the time you guys log in IRL tomorrow.”
“Promises, promises,” Shadow shook his head, “You should just admit that you’re making this up.”
“But I’m not!” Andy muttered as the rest of the party returned to their previous chat, ignoring him as he sent a quick message back to his friend, “Seriously, Jakey. A whole ass town? How are you doing this?”
------
Jake slumped down against the desk in exhaustion.
It had been hours, and he was still far from done with the various requests, reports and forms he had to read and fill in. Shaking his head, he leaned back in the more appropriately sized chair that had been brought through from the dining room, a simple wooden desk in front of him. He absentmindedly called up the Town Interface Screen, looking over it as a distraction from his tiredness.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
It was amazing what money could do, most of the truly dilapidated buildings in the town having already been taken down and their materials reclaimed, the foundations for new buildings already laid. Thankfully, the town had a basic layout that Jake could easily follow, allowing him to understand what needed to be done and where. The only problem was the paperwork involved.
“More for you, Mayor,” Merina said as she entered the office, carrying a tall stack of papers, “Mostly requests for hunting licenses for the Dark Woods. People are desperate for more meat in their diets.”
“I see,” Jake muffled a groan, watching as the stack of papers was dropped on his desk, making the wood groan slightly under the weight, “How do you process all these so quickly?”
“I have some Skills that assist in the running of a town,” Merina nodded, “As well as administrative work and other things.”
“Good to know,” Jake sighed, looking at the stacks of paper and reaching for one, wondering if he should try and get a Skill like that himself. His hand paused as a thought occurred to him, “Wait…Merina, what would happen if I gave someone else the Title of Mayor?”
“What would happen?” the elf hummed, “Well, it would depend on the person. In the best-case scenario, the individual would view you as the owner of the town, and you may receive a new Title stating as such. Why do you ask?”
“Would you consider me to be the owner of the town?” Jake asked.
“Of course,” the secretary bowed, “Even if you won it through blood shed, you have done nothing but benefit and help since your acquisition of it. I would say a great many of the townsfolk would agree.”
“Then would you like to be the mayor?” Jake hummed, a pleased smile on his face as the elf started, the first sign of emotion he’d actually seen from her thus far, “You are welcome to refuse, of course.”
“I…me? Mayor?” the woman blinked, staring at Jake in shock, “I…I couldn’t, I am but a secretary. I may know much about running the town from the previous mayor’s…habit of pushing the majority of the workload onto me, but…I just couldn’t.”
“Do you know anyone else who could?” Jake asked, the woman thinking for a moment before slowly shaking her head.
“None that would be able to adapt and learn as fast as you have, sir,” Merina said, “On a purely technical level, I would suffice, but I certainly cannot impose on you like that!”
“You would actually be helping me,” Jake said as she stood, slipping the iron ring off his finger, the Town Interface vanishing, “A lot. As you know, I am a Traveller. And Travellers are seldom known for staying in one place for very long, correct?”
“That…that is correct, sir,” the woman nodded, staring at the ring as he held it out to her.
“So, rather than risking the ruin of the town by my absence, I would prefer that someone capable be in charge for me,” Jake continued, “Do you accept?”
“I…if that is what you wish, then…then I shall.”
“It is,” Jake nodded as the screen appeared in front of him.
You are Offering the Title: Mayor of Machiville to Merina Fleuranger.
Are you sure about this?
Y/N?
Jake quickly selected ‘yes’, watching as the woman started again, before slowly nodding and taking the ring. She slipped it onto her finger, taking a deep breath as she moved around to the other side of the desk, sitting in the chair slowly, like it was likely to bite her if she moved to fast. Shaking his head, Jake smiled at her, Merina nodding back before she picked up the first sheet and quickly scanned over it, signing, and placing it to the side.
“Oh,” Jake muttered, “We’ll need to get you your own secretary, won’t we?”
“Ah, yes, that would be appreciated, your lordship,” Merina nodded, “I think I know a good person. Would you mind if I hired them?”
“I will trust your judgement, Mayor Fleuranger,” he smiled, before blinking, “And what do you mean ‘your lordship’?”
The screen appeared in his vision a moment later, Jake letting out a groan.
------
Gaia hummed happily to herself as she plucked at the strings of the world, watching the wolves she’d summoned to the Dark Woods draw ever closer on their trek across the surrounding savannah. She smiled as she pulled another string, reorientating it as it started to straighten, causing to curl around and back into the tangle in front of her. A perfect ordered mess of chaos.
“And to what do I owe the honour, Enki?” She said as she turned to look at the Primal, the man hovering just above the ground behind her, “We are rather far from your domain, are we not?”
“I have come at the behest of the Creators, Gaia,” Enki, the Primal of Civilisation said flatly, his voice like the hum of a crowded city, “To bring about an end to this madness you sow.”
“I am doing nothing, Enki,” Gaia laughed, rolling onto her back as she looked at the other god, “Nothing at all.”
“But your Champion does,” he growled, the sound like a thousand cartwheels rolling over stone roads at once, “He skirts a line that should not be crossed. We are meant to be at odds, Gaia.”
“And why is that?” the goddess hummed, “Because the Creators will it? They left us to our own devices, Enki. To learn and grow, and I do so love growing.”
“This is madness, Gaia,” Enki said, his voice once again flat and emotionless, “And you know it.”
“And why is that bad?” Gaia sighed, “Come now, you and yours have sought to tame my Wilds for generations, and now that another has come with an answer, you reject it?”
“I reject nothing of the sort, Gaia,” the Primal said, narrowing his eyes slightly, “And what do you mean by an answer?”
“Oh Enki,” Gaia laughed again, a predatory smile crossing her lips, “Let me tell you all about it.”
------
You have given away the Title: Mayor of Machiville
The holder of the Title: Mayor of Machiville views you as the owner of the town.
New Title: Owner of Machiville gained.
Synergy between Title: Owner of the Dark Woods and Title: Owner of Machiville.
Combining…
New Title: Lord of the Dark Woods gained.
Jake groaned again as he checked the description of his new Title, shaking his head in dismay.
Lord of the Dark Woods
You are the owner of the Dark Woods and Machiville.
Unique Title
Allows for development of owned areas.
“Is something wrong, your lordship?” Merina asked, Jake just shaking his head again.
“Not really,” he muttered, “Just…no, it’s nothing.”
“Where are you going now, your lordship?” the woman asked as he headed towards the door.
“The Dark Woods,” he sighed, “I need to think. I’m going to go build myself a shed.”
“To…to live in?” Merina questioned, Jake nodding, “Oh! I cannot allow that, your lordship! I shall have an order put out to have a Manor House constructed for you immediately!”
“There’s no need for that, Merina,” Jake tried to say, the woman just glaring at him in determination, “Really.”
“I apologise if I am overstepping my bounds already, your lordship, but one such as yourself just cannot be seen to be living in just a shed!” she huffed, “I shall see to it that an appropriate abode is constructed for you in the Dark Woods post haste!”
“I…very well,” Jake sighed, realising that he wasn’t going to sway the woman, “At least let me pay for it, then. How much will it cost?”
“I do not know, exactly,” Merina said with a blush, “But I shall endeavour to keep the costs down as much as possible!”
“Great,” Jake nodded, “Also, try to make it as unobtrusive to the woods as possible. I don’t want something that will stick out like a sore thumb.”
“Of course, your lordship,” the elf smiled widely, “I shall get on it right away!”
“Thanks,” Jake sighed, turning back to the door, before stopping again, “Wait…does this town have a teleporter?”
“Of course, your lordship,” Merina nodded, “It is just currently inactive, as it takes a considerable amount of money to maintain. Though I suppose that is of little consequence to you.”
“Yeah,” Jake nodded, “How much to activate it?”
“When?” Merina asked.
“Preferably? Right now.”