Chapter 4: Milestones and Obligations
Current Population: 2357
Original Inhabitants: 143
Immigrants: 2199
Ogres: 979
Orcs: 1220
Gods: 3
Dungeons: 12
While it wasn’t a bad start, I still needed ten thousand residents before I unlocked the first milestone. It didn’t help that I had no clue what it meant.
“Hey, Arthur,” I called out of the ghost of the previous king. He was always lurking around the throne room. “Does Albion come with an instruction manual?”
“I’d be happy to give you a tutorial,” Arthur replied, materializing beside me. “What would you like to know?”
“Tell me more about kingdom perks,” I began. “Are there incentives for growing the kingdom?”
He waved a hand, and a spread of information, not unlike the population table, appeared in front of me.
Population Milestones
10,000: Roads Unlocked
50,000: Towns Unlocked
100,000: Walls Unlocked
250,000: Fortifications Unlocked
500,000: Alliances Unlocked
1,000,000: Special Unlocked
“Don’t we already have roads?” I asked, disappointed already.
“What you have right now are dirt paths,” Arthur explained. “They are fine for travel on foot. If you wish to use wagons to transport goods throughout your kingdom, well-paved roads are necessary.”
“What does that mean? Can’t I build roads without growing the population?
Arthur laughed. “You can do that, but it will take years, not to mention a lot of manpower. The Civilization System uses the kingdom’s mana to grow them wherever you decree.”
That made me reevaluate the rest of the options still floating before me. “Does that mean I can grow towns and walls if I unlock the perk?”
“Now you’re getting it,” Arthur said with a grin.
“What about alliances and special?” I asked, not familiar with those structures.
“Those are different,” Arthur explained. “Alliances refer to pacts you can make with other kingdoms. When you unlock the perk, you can use kingdom mana to enforce pacts and treaties with allied nations. At present, your only options are Dabia and Solitair, though I doubt the high house will recognize your sovereignty.”
“Why not?” I asked, wondering if I’d done something to offend them.
Arthur summoned a throne beside mine. I was annoyed to discover his was slightly larger than mine. “It’s because of your enemy. Mardella and the Vestara clan have strong ties to the high house. At this point, you’ll be lucky if Dabia is willing to ally with you, considering your history there.”
“What did I do to them?”
Arthur chuckled and started ticking off events on his fingers. “Let’s see. The noble house of Hellquist dislikes you. You didn’t get along with the king. You painted Yew black. Oh, and my personal favorite, you sacked the town of Exui.”
“You’re twisting all of that!” I objected. “And I didn’t sack Exui. I liberated them.”
“Regardless,” Arthur snickered. “It’s not likely that you’ll gain any allies without doing some serious bootlicking. I suggest you send a delegate, preferably a human, to the king and see if there is anything you can do to boost relations.
“What about the last one?” I ignored Arthur and moved on to the next perk. “Tell me what special does.”
“Oh, that…” Arthur got a dreamy look on his face as he trailed off for a moment. “Consider that a last line of defense, a surefire way of warding off any attack.”
“Wow,” I swooned. “What does it do?”
“I don’t know,” Arthur admitted. “While it draws on the kingdom’s mana, the magic comes from you. Only you can say what it will be.”
“Giant robots!” my voice was so loud it echoed down the halls.
“I’m sorry, what?” Arthur asked, giving me an incredulous look.
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“That’s what I want!” I barked. “Give me Veritech, or maybe Gundam! No, wait, I want Voltron. Can I have more than one?”
Arthur shrugged, looking perplexed.
My mind was running with the idea. “We can summon a different one for everyone. There’s no way anyone on Gaia can compete with that. I bet I’ll get a bunch of renown for that. Wait, are we still doing renown? Where is Cordelia?”
The menu faded, and I turned to find Arthur had gone, leaving me alone in the throne room.
----------------------------------------
The next several weeks passed in a blur. The orcs made their home in the mountain caves outside the castle while the ogres returned to the beach. I promised Ceru I would join her once I was confident the men’s team’s training was going well. Bori was their dungeon companion, and I was uncomfortable leaving her alone with them until I was sure she wouldn’t be hurt.
It took them a while to find any cohesion when fighting monsters. Even though I repeatedly told them it was safe, they still fled from anything that resembled a monster. Finally, Bori had an idea that ended up making all the difference. She called it: “Operation if Daddy was a weakling.”
Rather than using the fat version of me that first arrived on Gaia, who she’d never met, she opted for a scrawny one that looked like he needed a sandwich. The guys doubled over in laughter as Skinny Me stood in the training area with his hands on his hips.
“I got this,” Darrin called over his shoulder as he brandished his saber like he wanted to skewer me.
“You know you can all attack at once, right?” I suggested.
He waved off my advice. One concept that never dawned on any of them was that it didn’t matter what a monster looked like. Bori made each of them the same level and comparative strength. Skinny Me was just as strong as the other monsters they collectively ran from. He quickly discovered his error while Skinny Me slapped the saber away and socked him in the face. I couldn’t help but cheer for myself.
Fortunately, Mike and Alan didn’t fall for the same delusion and unleashed a torrent of arrows and fireballs the moment Darrin was knocked out of the way. For the first time since the beginning of training, some of the attacks found their mark. I winced sympathetically as one of the arrows sunk into Skinny Me’s shoulder. A fireball also singed his leg as he failed to dive out of the way in time.
Skinny Me wasn’t to be counted out yet, though. He rolled to a knee and pointed a pair of finger guns at both Alan and Mike, screaming in a comically high-pitched voice. “Pew! Pew!”
“I don’t sound like that!” I objected in a wounded voice.
“You so do, Daddy,” Bori giggled.
Bori didn’t hold back like I would have, and Mike ended up with a concussion and Alan a fractured wrist. Fortunately, both injuries were easy to clear up with the C-rank health potions I felt comfortable handing out.
“Let me get one of those, too,” Darrin said, holding out his hand.
“I bought these in Yew,” I objected. “And I don’t know when I’ll get more, so we need to ration these.”
Still, I gave him one. I still had hundreds left. “Do you think we can learn to make these?” Alan asked, looking over his empty potion bottle.
“I suppose,” I replied with a shrug.
Sir Palamedes appeared, wincing when his aged joints cracked as he attempted to bow. “Greetings, My Liege. The castle employs crafters of every profession, and it would be my honor to oversee the professional education of your wards should you command it.”
“We aren’t his wards,” Darren growled.
“But we would love to learn,” Alan quickly cut in. “Please teach me how to make potions.”
“Do you have any blacksmiths?” Mike asked. “That’s more my speed.”
“Aren’t you a mage?” I asked with a chuckle. “Are you even rated to wear heavy armor?”
Mike scoffed. “I didn’t ask for this fireball business. Might as well do it my way.”
“He’s right,” Darrin sighed. “I never asked for this sword. Give me something ranged any day.”
“Do you want to try crafting?” I asked, hoping all three of them would agree so I could take Bori with me.
Darrin rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Do you have anything like inventing? I’d like to make something new to this world. Or perhaps bring some of Earth’s tech to Gaia.”
“Good idea!” Alan exclaimed. “Can you imagine if we had guns? That Alex monster wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Those stupid rocks are like guns,” Mike grumbled, rubbing his head. “Imagine if the real Alex was serious with those things. Magic beats weapons any day.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Darring sighed, swinging his sword haplessly in the air. “That sponsor guy gave you magic. I just got this sword.”
“You did get skills to go with it, right?” I pointed out. “That’s a form of magic.”
“But none of it’s ranged,” he shot back.
“How would you know…” I paused to inspect him.
Darrin Angler
Class: Fencer
Level: 24
Affection Level: Disappointed
I smiled when I realized he’d leveled up by killing Skinny Me. Then I finished my thought. “You might get some ranged skills when your level is higher.”
“I doubt that,” he glared before calming himself. “Seriously though, I always liked inventing stuff. Like that MacGyver guy, you know?”
Sir Palamedes took it all in strike. “Very good, Sir. Shall I prepare a lab?”
“Now we’re talkin’!” Darrin whooped, marching up to the knight expectantly.
“Now, Sir?” the knight turned to me, looking for permission.
I shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
Darrin wasted no time ditching his friends to follow Sir Palamedes. Mike rolled up his sleeves and squared off with Skinny Me. “That works for me. One less person to take turns with.”
“Do you think it’s time to move on to another monster?” I asked hopefully, tired of watching myself get beat up. I patted Bori on the head. “Maybe you can try your puppy again.”
Bori smiled at the touch. She had adopted her human form while training so she could communicate directly with the other players who didn’t have the same language skills Primith and I had.
“Can we let them kill you just a few more times, Daddy? Please!” she pleaded. “I’m about to rank up.”
I’d forgotten dungeons had progression.
Borealis Krup
Class: Dungeon-Core
Ascension Rank: D
Classification: Pink Core
Origin: Earth
Affection Level: Too cute for words
I smirked at her affection level. It was true, though. The fact that she had her way with the players, even at D rank, amused me. I wondered how much of that was Bori’s strength versus the other’s ineptitude. Either way, everyone was getting stronger, so I had no complaints.
“Excuse me,” a gravelly voice made me jump. “It is time, My Lord.”
I jumped when I saw a tiny black creature with alabaster horns looking unblinkingly at me. “Xanader! Uh, time for what?”
“Lilith requests your presence,” he began. “It is time for the migration.”
“Lilith…oh, you mean the god,” I said as a flood of memories returned. So much had happened that it slipped my mind that I’d had lunch with a goddess, and she implied I’d owe her something the next time we met. “I guess now is as good of a time as any. How do I get your attention if I need you in the future?”
Xanader bowed. “I always reside in your shadow if you ever require me.”
“Always?” I asked, blushing at the things he must have witnessed. “Uh, how come you never said anything?”
A hint of a smile crossed the grimling’s face as he looked up at me. “I was always at your beck and call, Master. All you need do is beckon.”
“You have to let me know beforehand,” I grumbled. “Anyhow, I think we’re ready for the eaglin to move up here. Have them come anytime.”
“Queen Lilith insists on your presence, My Lord,” he continued in a somber tone, as though he were telling me a loved one died. “She would also prefer if you leave your patron goddess behind this time.”
“That. Is. Not. Going. To. Happen!” thunder struck with every word as Iris unraveled her tattoo so fast that it made my skin burn.