Nathan walked up to the front of the camp. It was like the last one, with buildings being set up and the sound of hammers and saws in the background. A man with a sword stopped him.

“Hold up, man. Who are you?” the man said.

“My name is Nathan, and I need to speak to your leader.”

“Why?”

“I represent a group of survivors who are interested in joining your organization, and I need to talk to him to work out the details.

The two guards looked at each other.

The second one shrugged. “Well, I’ll go ask him, I guess.”

The second one marched over toward the center of the camp, where construction on a second watchtower was occurring. He tapped the shoulder of a pale man. The pale man turned around. The two exchanged words for a brief minute, then walked back to Nathan.

“What’s all this about, then?” the pale man said.

Nathan glanced at the storehouse. He hoped Emi and Chad had already gotten inside and were freeing the prisoners.

“This is a Harrowed Hand camp, right?” Nathan said.

The pale man nodded and smiled.

“You’re a prospective member, yeah? Well, we’d be happy to take you on—“

“Are you keeping any prisoners?” Nathan said.

The pale man froze. “What?”

“I asked if you’re keeping any prisoners. Locked underground. Starving to death.”

The man chuckled and took a step back. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do.”

Nathan reached into his inventory and pulled out his harpoon slowly. The guard’s muscles tensed. Sweat dripped from the pale man’s brow.

“See, a day ago,” Nathan said. “We ran across one of your camps and found an underground shelter. In it, there were four corpses and one man on the verge of death. Tell me, do you have anything like that?”

The pale man went quiet. He glanced at one of the guards and nodded.

The guard whipped out his sword and aimed it at Nathan.

Nathan dodged underneath the attack with ease, then stabbed up and into the man’s chest. He pulled his harpoon out and the body dropped to the ground.

“What the hell was that speed!?” the pale man took a step back. “We’re being attacked! Help, help—!“

Nathan’s eyes focused on the man’s legs. Water materialized to Nathan’s left and right—Riptide Grasp at work. The water stretched out and slammed into the man’s legs, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Nathan walked forward. An arrow flew toward Nathan’s head. He held up his harpoon and a shield of barnacles blocked the shot.

The man scrambled back. “No, no, please, I wasn’t responsible! I swear, I was just following orders—!”

Nathan raised his foot and crushed the man’s chest.

He looked around himself in a circle. The entire camp had surrounded him. To a tee, all their faces were covered with expressions of outrage. Not one looked apologetic or scared.

His bloodlust came back for a second before his necklace glowed and the emotion went away.

One person shifted his foot. Before they could attack, Nathan caught sight of green skin. A scream echoed out and five people went flying into the air. Bjorn pulled his war hammer back and brought it around for another attack. Fireballs spackled the air and rained down like divine judgment. Chad moved through the crowd, blocking and attacking with his katana. Gunshots rang out like cannon fire.

The fight was over in a matter of minutes. Their new weapons made them all but invincible, and that wasn’t even accounting for Nathan’s ridiculous stats.

Not a single one had surrendered. Nathan had tried to give them the option, but they all refused.

After the fight, Nathan walked up to Emi.

“Were there any prisoners?” he asked.

Emi shook her head. “They were all dead. Some had been… freshly killed. Only a day or two old. Probably survivors who joined, not knowing that these people were insane.”

“We stopped these people from doing any more harm. We’ll just have to settle for that.” Nathan glanced at a bump in her cloak. “What about mana stones?”

Emi reached into her pocket and pulled out a blue, dimly glowing stone.

“That makes two of three, right?” Nathan said.

“Yup!” She held up the stone, letting it rest on her palm. “You wanna see something cool?”

“Uh, sure?” Nathan said.

The stone started to pulse, glowing brighter and brighter. Nathan leaned in, curious.

“I can manipulate the mana inside of it, creating really pretty colors and patterns—“

“HI GUYS!” Mara said.

Emi shrieked. A loud sound like glass shattering came from the stone as it lit up brightly and then dimmed down. A spider web of cracks appeared over the surface in an instant.

Emi turned her head mechanically toward Mara. She grinned and stared back.

“Can you not surprise me out of nowhere while I’m doing sensitive magic?” Emi said.

“Oh, sorry,” Mara said, seeming wholly unrepentant. Her head turned to Nathan. “Did you have fun?”

Nathan squinted his eyes. “We just slaughtered several dozen people and you’re asking if I had fun?”

“Yes!”

“…no. No, I did not.”

Mara pouted. “Come on, Nathan, I saw how crazy you got at the last camp. You should be more like that—“

“Mara, shouldn’t you be cleaning your guns?” Bjorn entered into the tent. “From what you’ve told me, proper firearm maintenance is essential.”

She gasped dramatically. “You’re right! I’m sorry Nathan, but I have to clean out my weapons!”

She pulled out her gun cleaning kit and disassembled one of her pistols in seconds.

Nathan leaned in toward Bjorn.

“Thanks, Bjorn,” Nathan whispered.

“I’ve seen her type,” Bjorn said, his tone low. “She’s not as bad as he seems. Probably.”

Chad—who’d been in the back, checking something on his menu—raised an eyebrow at the ‘probably’.

Nathan followed Chad’s example and looked over his own quest menu.

[Upgrade ‘Throw Harpoon’ to Bronze]

45/100 Enemies Killed

[Obtain ‘Ocean’s Embrace’ (Bronze)]

[Obtain ‘Tidal Shield’ (Bronze)]

Throw Harpoon was doing good—he was almost halfway done and he hadn’t even really been thinking about it.

He reviewed the descriptions for his other skills.

[Obtain ‘Ocean’s Embrace’ (Bronze)]

The Ocean’s Embrace requires a heart attuned to gentleness. Rest where the waters move without force, and sense their touch. When you know their comfort, you will hold the key to their healing.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

[Obtain ‘Tidal Shield’ (Bronze)]

To call upon the Tidal Shield, seek the place where the waters press hardest. Let the weight of the flow test your resolve, and hold steady within it. Only then will the shield recognize your strength.

He was still hesitant to touch Tidal Shield. He’d had absolutely no luck with it the last time he’d worked on it. At least with Ocean’s Embrace, he’d made a tiny bit of progress.

What was it Emi had said?

Of course defensive abilities aren’t as powerful. You have the bearing of an attacker, not a protector.

But that was why he picked the Ocean Warden class. To avoid being a brute fighter. He wanted to protect others… didn’t he?

“Emi, can we talk a little about cultivation?” Nathan said.

Emi stuffed the blue mana stone in her inventory and turned to Nathan. “What is it?”

“I’m having some trouble with developing Ocean’s Embrace,” he said. “I didn’t have too much trouble with Riptide Grasp, but—“

She stiffened. “Wait, did you unlock Riptide Grasp?”

“Yeah, A day or two ago.”

Emi’s mouth opened and shut a few times.

“You’re telling me that in a matter of days, you’ve already unlocked a cultivation technique?” she said.

“Um, yes…?”

Her brain seemed to fry in real-time.

“O-oh. Okay,” she said. “Which technique are you trying to learn now?”

“Ocean’s Embrace.”

“Can you read out the description for me?” Emi said.

Nathan did so. Emi muttered to herself for a few seconds before shrugging.

“Honestly, Nathan, I think you’ll develop it just by standing in a lake and meditating. Just do what you’ve been doing.”

“But it’s going so much slower than with Riptide Grasp.”

“Slow for you would be normal for anyone else.”

“Still, is there nothing that comes to mind? You don’t have some kind of tool or… I don’t know, something?“

She bit her lips. “Well, it’s cultivation. It relies on your intrinsic understanding of what the technique is about,” she muttered. “I guess if you saw extreme regeneration happen in front of you, that might prompt a breakthrough, but other than that…”

Nathan was about to respond when something caught his attention. A loud beep and a blue window.

Message from: Gius

Ruler, please come immediately. We have urgent news.

----------------------------------------

Nathan didn’t hesitate—without even talking to Emi, he opened the portal and stepped through, his thoughts flying by at the speed of sound.

Why did he send that message? Are they in trouble? Damn it, I should’ve been checking on them more regularly, what the hell was I thinking—?

He popped out the other side.

When he saw the condition of the town, his jaw dropped.

The houses weren’t luxurious, but they were solidly built and sturdy. The roads had all been repaired. Mushroom people walked along the roads, talking, moving lumber and stone without a care. The people themselves looked cleaner. Not clean, but at least they didn’t look like they’d just gotten out of a war zone. Grey-ish grass had even started sprouting in a few places.

Sadly, Nathan noted that the shop he’d bought was only about a quarter done. He wouldn’t get to use it today.

Nathan felt something bump into his leg. A mushroom boy looked up at him.

“Oh, sorry—“ his jaw dropped. “U-uh, mister Ruler. I’m sorry! Please don’t kill me!”

He shrunk away.

Nathan squinted his eyes. “I’m not going to kill you for bumping into my leg.”

The mushroom boy breathed out. “Thank you, mister Ruler.” He slowly backed away, then dashed off out of sight.

Before Nathan could think about the odd encounter, he heard slow plodding footsteps behind him.

“My lord.”

Nathan turned around to see Gius. He was dressed in slightly finer clothing than last time.

“Gius,” Nathan said. “What’s going on, why did you send me that message?”

Gius’s face darkened. “It’s quite serious, my lord. I think it’s better explained by another. Please come with me.”

Gius turned around and walked in a random direction. Nathan followed behind him.

“Is it urgent?” Nathan said. “Should we be running?”

“No. A brisk walk will suffice.”

“…ok?”

They continued walking.

“I noticed that the town seems to be doing well?” Nathan said.

Gius looked back and nodded. “Indeed, my lord. As per your orders, I’ve been repairing the condition of the town as much as possible. We’ve begun establishing food production and have been able to hunt and forage thanks to having access to our tools again.”

“What about the farms?” Nathan said. “And what have you been foraging? I thought most of the land was dead?”

Gius nodded. “Thanks to our nature magic, we’ve brought in an early harvest. As for what we’ve been foraging… that’s another thing that will be easier to explain with context.”

Nathan was about to ask another question when Gius stopped.

“We’re here,” Gius said.

Nathan paused and looked up. They were in front of a building much larger than the others. The construction vaguely reminded Nathan of those pictures of Norse longhouses, a long rectangular shape with solid wood walls and wood frames.

“This is the meeting hall. The rest of the council is waiting for us.”

“Council…?”

The doors swung open. Two mushroom people with spears stood to the left and right.

“Lord Nathan, Sir Gius!” they said in sync.

Before Nathan could respond, a voice broke his concentration.

“Are you kidding me?” a woman said. “Are you going to block this?”

Nathan looked ahead. In the center of the hall, there was a long table. Almost all the seats had been filled except for the one at the end of the table and the seat directly to its right.

“I’m not blocking it.” A mushroom man with a pair of spectacles shook his head. “But our contracts clearly disallow for the building of defensive structures on residential land,”

“Surely we can amend the contract.”

The voice came from another mushroom woman dressed in armor with a sword on her hip.

Several other voices burst out at the mushroom woman’s suggestion.

“Amend a contract!? That would be a clear violation of article I!”

“Look at the situation. We need to get defenses up as soon as possible—“

“And compromise our values?!”

Gius walked forward and rapped on the table loudly. The conversation stopped.

“Gius, you’re back!” A mushroom man with his arm in a sling said. “Did you bring the Ruler?”

Gius nodded. He looked back at Nathan and gestured toward the seat at the head of the table. After a second of hesitation, Nathan walked forward and sat down.

“Um, thank you,” he said to Gius. He looked at the group of mushroom people. “Can I ask what’s going on? Why was I called here?”

“General Fuge can explain, my lord. That is why I brought you here.”

The woman stood up and bowed. “My lord. I am General Fuge, marshal of our army—pitiful though it may be.”

This ‘my lord’ stuff is going to drive me crazy…

“Er, you can stop bowing,” Nathan said.

Fuge stood straight and didn’t say anything. Nathan squirmed in his seat.

“Miss Fuge, can you please explain what’s—“

“Please do not call me ‘miss’, my lord.” Fuge’s eyes narrowed. “Either call me marshal or general.”

Nathan gulped. This woman was intense!

“Y-yes, mi—marshall Fuge,” he said. “Can you explain why I was called here and what you all seem to be debating?”

She clicked her boots together and folded her arms behind her back.

“My lord. At approximately ‘o six hundred this morning, an orc man was spotted on the outskirts of town. Upon capture and questioning, we learned that he was a scout.”

Nathan’s eyes widened. “A scout? For who?”

“An enemy town, my lord,” Fuge said. “They should not have the resources to attack this early… yet they do. The orc was unwilling to explain how this was possible. The only other thing we learned was that they had enough troops to attack three times over the course of the next month or two. If we repel them those three times, then we should cap out the System’s raid limit and we’ll be safe for a period of time.”

Nathan rubbed his forehead. “Gius, you never mentioned this ‘raid’ stuff.”

“Because it wasn’t relevant, my lord. Soulbound Towns shouldn’t be capable of raiding until the second circle,” Gius said. “This is impossible, as Fuge noted.”

Nathan’s lips thinned.

“Do we know when they’re going to raid and where? What are we going to do about it?” Nathan asked.

“The orc didn’t give us an exact time, but experience says that they will attack in approximately twenty-four hours,” Fuge said. “They’ll realize the scout is gone, then strike, as they do not wish to give up the advantage of surprise. They’ll portal in from the edge of our farms, I believe. As for your second question—we’ve begun preparing defensive fortifications, but…”

“But what?” Nathan said.

At this, the mushroom man with the spectacles stood from his seat. “But we are in the way, I’m afraid.” He bowed his head. “I am Burrau, Ruler. I represent the homeowners and landlords.”

“Burraru, why won’t you let the defensive fortifications get built?”

“Because the areas that general Fuge wishes to build in are marked as residential zones,” Burrau said. “And walls higher than hip height are not allowed in that particular area.”

Nathan opened his mouth and shut it multiple times. “I’m sorry, are you telling me that you’re blocking potentially life-saving defenses… over an HOA rule?”

“Yes.”

“Are we seriously doing this?”

The room gasped dramatically.

“My lord,” Gius said. “By uttering the phrase, ‘Are we seriously doing this?’ you have unwittingly activated a Level Three Homeowner’s Appeal Clause. All disputes must now go to arbitration!”

The entire room let out a cheer and everyone pulled scrolls from their cloaks.

Someone raised a hand. “What if we built them out of mushroom stalks? Wouldn’t they be aesthetically consistent with the town’s design ethos?”

“It still violates the hip height rule.” The spectacled man adjusted his glasses. “I’m afraid that our contract is quite clear on the matter.”

Nathan glared at Burrau. “Are there any other rules we need to know about?”

“No fortifications may be painted in colors that clash with the local flora, as per subsection C of Article III.”

“What flora!? We don’t have any flora!” someone shouted. “It’s all just dead grass!”

“The law is clear,” Burrau said.

“Can we build around it?” Nathan said. “Just make, like, a bump around the zone?”

“That’s still exurban areas. You can build there, but you’ll have to secure permission from the owners and the town.”

“And how do we do that?”

“First, you must file Form 12-B, then obtain a permit from the Construction Liaison Office.”

“And where is that?”

“Currently under construction, my lord.”

Nathan stared at him. “How am I supposed to obtain a permit from an office that isn’t even built yet?”

“You can’t, my lord. You’ll have to wait for it to be built.”

Nathan’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Burrau, do you have a house in that zone?”

“…I will not have my prize sunset view ruined.”

Nathan looked ahead of himself. “Strategy View.”

Gius’s eyes widened. “My lord—“

His town points had grown, though his Authority had dropped to 10%—not that he knew what it did.

Nathan quickly glanced over the walls that had already been built. There was an obvious gap—the residential zone that had been mentioned. Nathan clicked on the wall and extended it out, marking it to be built.

“It’s done,” Nathan said. “Amend your contract or whatever. I’m not letting people die over this shit.”

A collective gasp rang through the room.

“—the contract!”

“How dare he!?”

“Pretty decisive. I like the guy!”

Burrau’s jaw clenched before he shut his eyes and looked away. Fuge, on the other hand, caught his eye and nodded.

Nathan noted that his Authority had gone up by 3%.

Gius opened his own Strategy View and stared at the Authority bar with a look of pain.

“Well, I suppose that’s one way of settling things,” Gius muttered. “You can head back now, my lord. I’ll take care of things. I will send you a message when the battle begins.”

“What? Absolutely not. I’m staying here to help you guys prepare.”

Gius smiled, his hands twitching. “M-my lord, that isn’t necessary.”

“Yeah, but I want to help,” Nathan said. “You guys are my responsibility, right? I should help. Actually, I should bring in more aid…”

A few of the mushroom people at the seats nodded with approval at Nathan’s statement, whispering to each other.

“My lord—“

“Yeah, I bet Mara would know something about defensive military strategy. Maybe she knows how to set up bombs?” Nathan said.

“You don’t need to—“

“I’ll be right back, Gius,” Nathan said. “And don’t worry about me being incompetent. I promise that I’ll listen to your advice and the advice of everyone here—it’s just that I want to be involved.”

Gius gaped like a dead fish. “B-but—“

“I’ll be right back,” Nathan said. “And then we’ll get to work.”

Nathan opened up the portal and jumped back outside.