Maxwell

I yawned as we walked back into the settlement later that day. Rowena and I had cleared everything that we could from the area without getting too close to the goblin camp. I knew we would need to scout it soon, but I wanted to have a bit more of a standing force before then. A timer I had set in the corner of my vision went off.

“The gate should be activating here in a minute. I’ll see you in a few,” I said to Rowena before waving and walking toward the base of the mountain. I was now level seven. I had a fair amount of mana to play with, if it would only ever get full. There seemed to be something that always required me to spend the resource.

Locking my sight on the ledge up the mountain, I used my Teleport spell. With the squeezing sensation quickly passing, I found myself overlooking the forest. It wasn’t quite as good as my spot that I found this morning, but it was nice in itself. I turned and walked into the cave just in time to see the Gate firing up.

The obelisks began to glow before four beams of purple light collided above the magic circle. A vortex of energy snapped into being before calming down to a single oval pane of black. I waited, wondering how many new people we would get with just a level one gate. A few seconds passed before a hand broke through the pane that was quickly followed by a complete body.

Three more people soon joined the first standing with a bewildered expression as they looked around the cave. It was an even spilt being two men and two women. They looked to be in their twenties, but after going through the village roster, I knew that appearances were deceiving.

Once I was sure no more people were coming, I held my hands out wide and put on a big smile. “Welcome to Alflona! I am the leader of this village. Maxwell. We welcome you with open arms.” Yikes, I needed to practice on my speech.

“We are in the Abyss?” A man asked looking around. A cautious man it would seem. I could use him. Cautious usually meant smart.

“No. We are in a cave far up the mountain. Our village is just starting and thus needs all the help it can get.”

Relief flashed across his face before it vanished back to his cautious hard eyes. “That is fine. I was about to die anyways,” the man said crossing his arms.

I glanced around at the rest of them. Were they plucked from other locations in the world? “How about the rest of you?”

A woman that was quite beautiful stepped forward. Her dress was barely holding in her body. It looked two or three sizes to small. I thought if she leaned forward, her chest might literally leap out at me. “I was far from death but wishing for it all the same. I was contracted to a brothel. After fifty years, I’d had enough but wasn’t brave enough to take my own life. I woke up and found myself here.”

The other woman stepped forward. She was good looking, but in a more homely sort of way. Where the first woman seemed to draw you in, she was easy on the eyes and I was sure that I could look at her all day without issue. “I wasn’t wishing to die. On the contrary, I very much want to live. My city in the Abyss was a harsh place and I do remember wanting to leave it.”

The last man stepped forward next. “The Great Cycle put me here.”

“The Great Cycle?” I asked not familiar with the term. Though, to be fair, I wasn’t familiar with just about anything in this game yet.

“When people die, they enter the Plane of Sleep. To rest from their wears of life. Normally, one returns from the Plane of Sleep via rebirth. You lose your memories and start anew.” He glanced back at the Gate. “I had heard the other worlders could construct devices that pull souls from the Plane, but this is the first time I’ve seen one.”

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“You’re certainly knowledgeable about all this,” I commented worried that he would have a problem staying in the village. I did recall seeing a happiness gauge when looking at the citizens earlier. I had a feeling these four were at or close to zero.

“I was a scholar in my former life. I studied much of how the world worked.” His eyes wandered over my body. I felt he knew what my condition meant. I would need to see if he had any knowledge about the Void.

“That is interesting. Perhaps you could help me learn some more of this world then.” Perhaps giving him something to do would make sure he stayed.

“That will be fine. To come through the Gate, I had to give up a year of my life. I’m sure these three were the same way.” I looked and they all nodded. So, a year of service to the town and then they get a chance at a new life. At least that gave me some time to work them as well as hopefully get them to establish a life in the town.

“Whatever your story might be, I still want to say welcome to Alflona.”

I had them huddle together and then teleported us down to the village. I had to make two trips as two people appeared to be my limit. In the evening light of the day, my village was still working though it was of the end of day kind. A few of the elves were making supper while the last of the resources that had been harvested were being hauled in.

Pulling up the menu, I smiled as I took in the stores of the village. Nearly seven hundred units of wood. Two hundred stone, and a hundred and twenty units of iron. Not bad for only a days’ work. Considering the wall only cost ten units of wood, I could use most of it on structures for the village. I also had plenty of mana to use.

“Four, huh?” Rowena said moving up next to me. I came back to the world and nodded.

“Not bad for level one. Though, I’m not sure I’m comfortable how it works.”

“What do you mean?” I explained how the four had been pulled from various places. They seemed to have a choice, but I wasn’t sure about it over all. But… I guess if the choice is work for a village for a year or die then you would choose the village. “That’s interesting. I’ve never seen something like this and I’ve been to a few player run villages. I have a feeling it had to do with you being a Void Lord.”

“Probably.” I rubbed the back of my head and decided to think about it later. For now, it was time to construct the wall. I made my way to the edge of the territory. I spent the resources then once my mana refilled to a thousand, a nice forty-minute wait, I constructed the wall.

We waited to see what sort of magic might take place like with the manor. A blazing purple line burned its way from the distance passing in front of us before continuing on the path that I had drawn. The trees that were in the way burst into purple particles before sinking into the ground.

Thin strips of metal and stone formed a neat path where the line had blazed through. It must be the foundation as it was equal to the thickness I set, roughly a meter and a half thick. Next metal poles exploded from the path every dozen meters. The poles began to spark with blue and purple energy before they arced to the next pole. A barrier formed between the poles that glowed with purple energy.

Finally, another layer like the foundation formed at the top of the barrier. It was wide enough for soldiers to walk across and defend the wall. There was no obvious way to get up. Thinking back to the menu, I remembered seeing towers, gates, and guardhouses. I probably needed to add a few of those.

“This is amazing. I mean seriously, I thought the manor was incredible, but this was truly otherworldly,” Rowena said gently placing a hand against the wall. Other than being made from magic, it appeared to be just like a normal wall. I moved next to her checked it out as well. The texture reminded me of crystal. You could see through it, but at the same time you couldn’t. Nothing was clear.

“Beautiful.” There really was no other word to describe it. I was really enjoying the Magic-Works option. I couldn’t wait to get to work on some of the other buildings. I could see a durability of the section of the wall I was touching. It was five thousand points. Since we couldn’t access the top of the wall without a tower or a gate to exit the territory, I opened the menu to construct them. I had enough materials for two towers and a gate.

I opened the map along side the construction and judged the wall. I had already planned out the placing of the gate, I just hadn’t considered the towers. I scratched my chin looking it over. I settled on two places that could cover most of the wall with just the two of them. I needed about three more to get full coverage, but I did the best with the resources I had.

The wall shifted in front of us as the purple crystal changed shape. The width doubled making it large enough that ten people could walk through abreast. The metal really made the gate look imposing. The runic lines throbbed with power. I walked inside the guardhouse section. There were just a few desks, chairs, and a table. I could almost picture the future questionings that were going to take place here.

“Over here!” Rowena called from the side of the room.

I joined her to find a stairwell that went up to the top of the wall. Walking up along the wall, the night washed over the forest. It was quite the sight as the tress drew dark. I leaned onto the crystal bastions observing the surroundings. I was really enjoying this world.