Nick stared at Arthur with both uncertainty and excitement. Never in his life had felt the weight of responsibility as big as the whole security of a village.
From the bits and pieces that he could remember, the scenes of him fighting for the enjoyment of others with little regard for his well being had become the norm. While he had regarded Stormhold as his home, it came with its own difficulties.
The whole village was new. There were no children or helpless elderly present and if said crudely: Everyone was a bit of a blank slate. Arthur had speculated earlier that this gap between memories from the time of summoning could be the effect of the actual summoning, but he felt that it might be a protection mechanism of sorts by the system.
This speculation gave a sense of disconnect in Nick’s thoughts, as it was only a few days ago that he became aware of some past events. Without a verification it was impossible to say for certain, but for the village he agreed that it was for the best if the villagers started to be aware of their past a bit later.
“Yes, I’ll do it. I promise I won’t let you or the village down.” Nick finally gave his answer to the question with budding excitement.
The trio discussed the establishment of security. What it would entail, the duties and responsibilities, recruitment and so on. While the whole concept was not hammered down in that instant, it gave Nick a pretty good idea on where to get started.
“So, basically Nick can recruit whomever wants to join? But isn’t it hard to get only volunteers? We are going to need a proper incentive for the people who want to join.” Jonathan interjected in between the sentences and narrowed his eyes.
The excited light in Nick's eyes dimmed a little when he thought about Jonathan’s words. Yes, it is unrealistic for the people to volunteer their time for training and military discipline if they could spend that time to hone their jobs, hunt or gather in the long run.
“I will have to establish a proper currency for the village and pay the salaries for their services, but before that happens we can entice the people to join by opening the military constructs and only allowing the members of security and defense to train and learn from those buildings.” Arthur said while rubbing his head.
Jonathan and Nick fell deep into thought at this and pondered both the pros and cons of this suggestion. Seeing this, Arthur continued. “We just have to make due with what we have. The biggest leverage to inspire the people to take up arms for the good of the village is self improvement and a promise of a glorious future.”
“It might be so, but people still need to eat and have time for their own things. What good does self improvement do if you starve?” Jonathan said skeptically.
Arthur turned towards the sea and put his hands in his pockets. “For now, even with possible backlash we should forcibly integrate the hunting teams into the security force. It should be possible with Nick’s prestige and introduce changes slowly.” He said slowly and turned back to look at the duo with a serious look. “It would be in their best interests to get a head start on getting stronger as well, so for the moment it is the best course of action.”
Jonathan and Nick looked at the solemn look on Arthur’s face and nodded. There might be some discontent for a while, but it is human nature to adapt to the changes. After quickly thinking things through, it seemed the best option for now.
“Can you manage to break the news to the hunter squads, Nick? If you need help, take Jonathan with you. He can help you out to rationalize the order.” Arthur gave a light smile and tapped Nick’s shoulder playfully.
“Yeh, I can do that.”
“Great. I should go back and finish the heavy duty cart. With it, there should be a significant increase in iron production.”
Nick and Jonathan waved Arthur a goodbye and stood still amidst the grasslands. With the seabreeze blowing their backs, the duo were silent for a good minute before talking.
“Is it just me imagining things, but did the chief just make me a bearer of bad news?” Nick asked carefully.
Jonathan turned his aged eyes towards Nick sympathetically and hooked his arm around his shoulders in silence. That gave Nick the answer he sort of expected. With a sigh, he slumped his shoulders.
“Don’t worry Nick. I think it’s a good opportunity for you as well. If there is someone in the village that can command the respect of the strong, it would be you. Arthur didn’t choose the wrong man for the job.” Jonathan saw through the worries that burdened Nick and comforted him.
Hearing the words, Nick raised his head slightly and muttered something in a quiet voice. “What did you say?” Jonathan cocked his head and asked with a puzzled expression.
“Nothing, just glad that you got my back.”
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After shoving the pressing issue of security in Nick's broad shoulders, Arthur walked back to the blacksmithy with re-energized steps. The returning memories of the villagers was both a blessing and a curse for Arthur. When he considered the ramifications combined with additional knowledge, he figured that the jobs they chose were most likely indirectly related to what they were doing before arriving to this world. ‘I have to maintain the public security and military with an iron grip. There are bound to be people who would jump at the chance of power if an opportunity arises…’
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Countless stories, examples of history and news articles ran through his head as he was pondering whether he was making the right calls in managing the village. Often dictatorships ended in the hands of one’s own people, and too much leniency and distribution of power resulted in excessive bureaucracy. With thousands of years of history, learned in the school and internet, Arthur considered what form of government would be suitable for him. There were multitudes of problems, and for the moment there was too little help to guide him. ‘Am I doing the right thing even here? If the hunters don’t want to be incorporated into the security, I’m basically fucked?’
Talent obtained - Hindsight Learn from your mistakes easier Intelligence +10% "Mistakes made, lessons learned." - Unknown investor
‘I am not the superstitious type but I am starting to get a bad feeling from this…’ With the system prompt, Arthur felt conflicted about the new talent he unlocked. The attributes and the perks were amazing, but for some reason he didn’t like the way he acquired it. It seemed to Arthur that the system deemed his second guessing and insecurities regarding his decisions as a proper talent.
“Something wrong, Arthur?” Todd saw the unusual look on the chief's face, and asked out of courtesy before walking back to his anvil and started to hammer an unfinished pickaxe.
“Yeah, I know you are not really interested, but I unlocked a new talent of hindsight. In light of this…Talent. I will name the first ship we are going to build S.S. Hindsight.” Facepalming himself, Arthur half yelled towards the anvil where Todd worked.
“Boooo. Your jokes are bad, and you should know to never make a joke like that. Who knows if Mei is nearby and insists on it.” Todd paused for a moment, spat on the ground and continued while rolling his eyes.
Arthur got a scare and hurriedly looked over his shoulders before inhaling a deep, relieved breath. Maybe it was the talent that kicked in, but he quickly came to a conclusion that he shouldn’t say things like that inside the village, just in case someone took his venting seriously. When he was absolutely sure that nobody that could have taken his joke seriously, he picked up the crude hammer made by a stone and a sturdy branch.
A few hours passed amidst the hammering sounds, and Arthur was done with the heavy duty cart. The system recognized the design, and gave it a harsh evaluation according to Todd.
Crude cart
Rating: Common Effects:
Storage space 100 units
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Weight: 75 kg Durability: 500/500 A cart made by an inspired person for transporting heavy cargo. The materials used in creating the cart limit the storage space. It may be difficult for weak creatures to move it.
“Oh come on. It’s not crude. I tried my best to make it durable enough to transport the iron.” Arthur lashed out.
“Well it’s kinda crude, but it does its job, I guess? Just by looking at the workmanship on the handles and there are wood splinters sticking out here and there.” Todd glanced at the cart and gave his evaluation.
The two engaged in a small argument, ending only when Arthur kept blaming the tools available and left in a fit of anger. On the way out Arthur muttered something like. “If only I had sandpaper, it would have been pristine…” Leaving Todd behind shaking his head.
When Arthur left the smithy, he thought back to the clue he got from the system window. It instantly lit a bulb in his head and thought of Mei. Maybe there would be results with the beroxes sooner than later?
With nothing better to do, Arthur thought that it might be good to check up on the mining squad. He picked up a brisk pace, and strolled towards the storage units.
On the way towards the storage building, he saw one of the miners laughing and drinking the newly made juice from the fruits hanging high in the trees with his fellow villagers. Shifting his direction, he went and greeted the red faced miner.
“Hey! You are back earlier than expected.” Smiling lightly, Arthur nodded towards the miner after looking at the position of the sun in the horizon.
“Chief! We found plenty of ore and a pleasant surprise nearby the mine!”