Blake sighed.

“I’ve already told you, the Architect is going to suppress electricity and technology will no longer work, so there’s no point in downloading hundreds of movies.”

Blake had spent over two hours answering their questions. While he filled the new recruits in, Jordan finished his work on the wood workshop and left for dinner. The constructor promised to bring back two meals for Blake, and he waited impatiently for the man’s return.

Even though it had been less than three hours since he last ate, he was starving, as always. His hunger had begun to affect his temper. He knew they were only trying to offer advice, but their constant interruptions annoyed him. He was certain they could hear his stomach.

“Look,” he held up a hand to forestall further queries. “I’ll answer more of your questions later. Right now, let’s get each of you a class. Come with me.” He turned and strode past his amused mother to the faction hall.

The whole point of making her Chancellor was so she could deal with this crap!

Blake entered the small hut and circled around the small table with crystal, before he turned to wait for the new recruits. Shortly after, they followed him inside, along with his mother.

“So, who wants to be the stonemason, who wants to be the woodworker, and who wants to be a constructor like Jordan?”

“I do like working with wood,” Jason confessed. He hesitantly glanced between Owen and Brent, before he stated, “Yeah, I’ll be the woodworker.”

Blake nodded and gestured toward the basketball sized sphere. “Go ahead and touch that, then.”

Once his fingers were spread across the large crystal, his mother said, “I’ll assign the job, I’ve got a directive for it.” After a moment of concentration, she frowned, regained her composure and lightly suggested. “Shouldn’t we have him sit down first?”

Blake winced.

I need to get this hunger under control, it’s making me stupid.

“No chair, I’ll just catch him.” Blake offered as he rounded the small table. “You’re going to pass out for a second. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt you.”

Jason frowned and hesitated before the orb.

Once he stood behind a concerned Jason, his mother concentrated inward for a moment and then said, “Done.”

Jason immediately went limp in Blake’s arms to the sound of surprised protests from Owen and Brent. He gently lowered the larger man to the ground, so his back was to the wall of the hut. Blake then addressed his two friends. “He’s fine. He just got overloaded from all the new information being downloaded to his head.”

“I didn’t sign up for this crap!” Owen protested.

“Yeah! Neither did I!” Brent added.

“He’s fine, it’s just the human brain has trouble with the information download at first.” Blake sighed and ignored a loud growl from his stomach. “Look, you have three options,” he raised his hand and lifted his pointing finger. “You take a non-combat class, and stay safe behind a force field when the apocalypse comes.” He added a second finger. “You take a combat class, where you have to kill thousands of monsters.” Blake raised his last digit. “Or, you quit, and we never see you again. Just don’t ask for safety when the monsters come.”

“Harsh,” Owen commented.

Blake nodded and dropped his hand. “I agree, it is. But, we can’t afford freeloaders. Everyone has to work if we want to survive. The nano I used to bring you into this faction was hard-earned.”

Jason suddenly moaned and raised his hands to his head. “I feel like I have a hangover,” he complained as he massaged his temples.

“It’ll pass,” Blake said tersely. “Now, which is it going to be? Are you two going to join us or be monster food?”

After a moment of internal deliberation, Brent sighed and stepped forward. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Owen nodded. “Same.”

Neither man looked pleased at the prospect, but Blake counted it as a win. He turned to his mother and said, “You’re up.”

She nodded and said. “Okay, which one of you wants to be the stonemason?”

Both men glanced at each other for a moment, but remained silent, while Jason lifted his hand and shuffled to the edge of the hut.

Donna rolled her eyes. “Okay then, who wants to be a constructor?”

After another moment of silence, Owen asked, “Are those the only two options? Can we be something else?”

Blake shook his head.

“No,” his mother confirmed. “If neither of you have a preference, I’ll just assign the jobs randomly. Last chance.” After a few seconds, she sighed and pointed toward the long-haired man. “Owen, go ahead and touch the crystal.”

The thin twenty-something year old hesitantly reached out and placed his hand on the sphere while he winced in anticipation.

“Okay, you’re the new stonemason,” Donna informed him. “Congratulations,” she added dryly as he collapsed into Blake’s arms.

Blake sat the skinny man down next to Jason, who remained seated, and turned to Brent.

Brent took a few deep breaths before he approached the crystal and tentatively touched it with his fingers. “Hit me,” he demanded.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Donna concentrated for a moment, and then frowned. “Hmm, that’s interesting.”

“What?” Brent asked, a single eye open.

“It says we can only have a single constructor.” Donna turned to Blake. “Do you know anything about that?”

“No,” he shook his head and then touched the crystal, his hand beside Brent’s. Blake navigated the menu and then tried to assign the constructor class to Brent.

It failed.

With a sigh, he said, “I guess I should ask an expert.”

He activated his summon companion skill and a portal appeared in front of him. Brent shrieked and backpedaled away from the table, while the others remained silent with wide eyes. A moment later, his companion exited the portal, which subsequently closed behind the wraith.

“What the hell is that?” Jason blurted.

“This is Metal, he’s my companion.”

“Do you have questions for me?” the wraith asked in a deep, rumbling voice.

Blake heard a sharp gasp from one of the new recruits, but ignored it. “Yeah, we’re trying to add a second constructor, but it says we can only have one.”

“What level is your faction hall?” Metal asked.

“Still level one,” Blake answered.

“Then that is why,” it answered confidently. “You may only have a single constructor for each level of the faction hall. The same is true for all non-combat classes and their requisite buildings.”

“Wait, so if we want more than one blacksmith, we have to upgrade the metal workshop to level two?”

“Either that, or build a second building all-together,” Metal confirmed.

Blake scratched the top of his head. “Okay, that’s good to know. I guess we just upgrade the faction hall and promote him after it’s done.” He turned to his mother. “How long will that take?”

She frowned as she navigated the menu. “Hmm… it says twelve hours without assistance, but it will cost a LOT of nano.”

“How much?” Blake asked.

“It says one hundred million.”

He grimaced. “Hopefully Jordan can reduce that by a lot.”

His mother nodded and then furrowed her brows. “What is ‘off world wood’, and ‘off world stone’?”

Blake turned to Metal. When the wraith remained silent, Blake huffed, “Well? What is it?”

“It is obviously wood and stone harvested from another world,” his companion snarked.

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I got that. Does it have to be something special, or will any wood or stone work?”

“Level two buildings allow any materials to be used, so long as they come from another planet. At level three, that is no longer true. You must retrieve specified materials that are only available on limited planets.”

“Why?” Blake asked.

“I do not know,” Metal admitted. “It is theorized that the Architect wishes to promote the use of scenarios. If a faction wishes to grow, they must have a capable combat force.”

“How will we get the materials through the portal?” Donna asked.

“Oh, that I DO know,” Blake replied. “Once I complete the scenario, I can invite Jason and Owen to my party. They can pop through the portal and harvest the materials.” He grinned. “Luckily, we already have a warehouse, so we don’t have to carry them. They just disappear after they’re harvested and reappear on Earth.”

“Woah…” Jason breathed out in awe. “We’re gonna travel to another planet?”

“Yep,” Blake confirmed. “But only after I kill all the threats.”

“Does Kuruk need to drive you down to Whiteriver again?”

“No,” he shook his head. “There’s no trees in the Mander tunnels. I’ll have to complete the Ursa scenario and hope it doesn’t drop me in a desert.” His stomach rumbled. “But, not till after I eat some lunch.”

“Is there anything else you need?” Metal asked.

“No, I think we’re good,” Blake replied. “Thanks, Metal.”

He navigated the interface and unsummoned his companion. A portal appeared behind the wraith, and sucked him in, before it too disappeared.

“Freaky,” Jason muttered.

Blake messaged the constructor.

Lord Blake Summers, Scion of Humanity: Hey Jordan, how long until you’re back?

Jordan Weeks: Maybe five minutes.

When he received the reply, he let out a sigh of relief.

“What’s wrong?” his mother asked.

Blake shook his head. “Nothing, I’m just hungry. Jordan said he’ll be here in five minutes, so it’s fine.”

“Sure you don’t want a snack while you wait? Your father brought back plenty of food for you.”

Blake’s brows rose. “Where?”

Donna smiled. “In a duffle bag in the metal workshop. For some reason, it won’t go in the warehouse, and this faction hall is kind of cramped as it is,” she gestured around herself.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’m going to grab a snack real quick. I’ll be right back.”

Blake strode out of the tiny hut in a hurry and stomped across the grassy field until he reached the metal workshop. He ducked inside and glanced around for the duffel bag.

The forge was currently cool, but multiple half finished tools showed that Kuruk had already started crafting. The far side of the workshop contained a table with a vice. Beneath the thick wooden furniture was the bag in question. He retrieved the pack and opened it on the table.

Ah, glorious food!

He was tired of the limited selection, but when starving, everything tasted amazing. Just a moment later, two snack bars disappeared, as if they were never there. He was about to open a third, when he heard the rumble of a vehicle outside. His spirits suddenly lifted.

That must be Jordan.

He raced from the building, bag in hand, and met the constructor just as he exited his truck. “Got my food?” Blake asked.

“Sure do,” Jordan replied in his thick, southern accent, and then retrieved the paper bag from his truck’s passenger seat.

“Thank God!” Blake dropped his bag and raced forward to retrieve the meal as his mother approached across the field.

While he stuffed his face, Jordan asked, “So, what’s next?”

Donna shook her head at Blake’s insatiable hunger and answered, “We’re going to upgrade the faction hall. But, in order to do that, Blake has to bring Jason and Owen with him to get the materials from one of his scenarios.”

“You mean, travel to another planet?” Jordan clarified.

She nodded.

“Does he have room for one more?”

Donna furrowed her brows. “You want to go through a portal?”

“And see an alien world?” Jordan said in disbelief. “You bet your ass I do.”

Donna glanced over at Blake to confirm. When he nodded, his mouth full of food, she said, “Sure, you can go.” She then turned to Kuruk, who lurked nearby. “Do you want to tag along, too?”

The native shook his head.

“Brent?” she asked the last recruit.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll go.”

Blake swallowed his food and said, “I don’t mind if you all come, but you have to follow orders. It may take me hours to finish the Ursa scenario, and you can’t join me until I’m done. It’s not safe.”

“Sure, sure,” Jason agreed, while the others nodded.

“Let me finish my food, and we can head over to the fire tower. I’ll show you my home away from home.”