Looking over my blueprints, I don't have a gate. I then look at the blueprint boxes that I have yet to open. I ask Draemish, "Could adding the gate to the settlement wait slightly? Everyone just got in, and we still have to sleep tonight."

She thinks about it for a second. "I admit that it would be safer for the night not to have a gate since we don't have anywhere we can run to just in case the walls are broken. I will admit that not having a gate isn't a terrible option now."

"Thank you. I will put it on my list of things to do immediately in the morning. Along with moving the rest of the profession buildings, getting housing for the rest of everyone." I don't want to blow through all of my tokens now.

Draemish gives me a brief look before nodding and then turning to leave, shouting, "Alright, I want all of the warriors that want to learn over by the east wall so we can go through some more forms."

Sighing with relief that I dodged that bullet, I look around to see if there is anything else I can do now.

"All the crafting buildings have been completed for the moment. We have walls fully enclosing us. There are still a lot of boxes that need to be opened. I need to work on my mana veins and look at the experience I received from all the combat earlier. Last, I must see if I can start working on my profession."

Nodding my head, I start with the experience I received.

- Congratulations, as a Noble leading your army, you have cleared out six encampments. While not personally fighting in one of them, you were the leading voice in giving direction. Due to this, you have received 50 experience points. -

I was thinking about all of the enemies we killed. I shouldn't have received that much, even with the share of killing. I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I ask Ritotorous. "Why did I receive so much experience clearing the encampments?"

"That is a good question. When you are sent to clear out encampments, you will receive more experience based on the level of the encampment. While the amount of monsters also dictates how much you will receive, it is to a lesser degree than the encampment level itself."

"Why did I receive a per-kill experience in the fog with the party then?"

"For that instance, you were not in an army format. To receive the extra experience, you need to join the army. Not everyone receives the amount of experience that you have. They received about half the amount while the commanders would have gotten three-quarters."

"So, it is more beneficial for us to go and do these expeditions when we are in an army than individual parties?"

"For experience gain, yes, but I hesitate to say it is more beneficial. As we are right now, we were lucky you could choose encampments. If you had randomly gotten raid as an option, you would have been thrown against a force stronger than your entire settlement. Not to mention you would then have negative relations, that is, if you even survived."

A cold sweat trickles down my back. "Why would they be of a higher level?"

"Because, usually, nobles don't become active in a settlement until later in the settlement level."

A spark of understanding pops into my head. "Because nobles don't appear until later in the settlement levels, could it be that they don't have the same planets they are pulling from and are all strangers?"

Ritotorous nods his head. "That is exactly it. Due to you having summoned 'Shifters' and another of your population has almost been assassinated by one, events played out how they are. But not all planets have shifters or things like them, so the natural hate isn't there unless it is dwarfs and goblins or elves and demons."

"When you say elves and demons, why didn't I sense any hostility from Slyvasti toward Ramona?"

"Demon and Daemon are a little different."

"How so?"

"Demons are your typical beings from the abyss. They look to destroy any land they come across. Daemons are a group of highly sentient beings that pick a specific path to follow and lead their lives in that manner. A daemon can become a demon, but a demon cannot. For your example of Ramona and Sylvasti, Ramona is a Peace daemon following that path as a guardian of peace. So, Sylvasti shouldn't have any hostile intentions towards them."

"OK, I think I understand. I also understand why we are special in this instance, being a hovel but having a noble."

"There are more pros than cons to this. One of the pros is that technically, no noble in charge of a higher-level settlement can raid your settlement. Unless there is a special occurrence for our settlement, they are allowed to."

"Okay. Thank you for answering my questions."

With that out of the way, I look at my status sheet.

-Status

Name: Drake Taldrit

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Health: 15/15

Mana: 10/36

Race: Human (F)

Gender: Male

Planet of Origin: Culhara

Class: Mage

Class Level: 2

Experience 50/200

Affinity Healing, Nature

Mana Heart 50%

Mana Veins 45%

Special Class: Noble

Level: 1

Oaths of Fealty 4/5

Profession: Enchanter

Profession Level: 1

Experience 0/25

Attributes:

Strength 1

Intelligence 6

Wisdom 6

Charisma 2

Dexterity 1

Constitution 3

Free Points 1

Skills:

Analyze 3

Arcane Shot 4

Mana Circulation 1

Leadership 1

Minor Healing 1

Shield 1

Nature's Grasp 2

Barkskin 1

-

With how far I have come, I am shocked at how little I have grown in my stats. There are many things that I need to work on. "Hey, Rito, I have two more questions for you. Is it possible to increase your stats without leveling up?"

There is a slight gleam in his eye, "That is a great question. Yes, there is a way to increase your stats without leveling up. To do so, you have to expend copious amounts of effort. Let's say you want to increase your strength. You would have to lift weights and do things you normally do. But once you reach a certain point, you will feel you must go past your limit. If you stop at this limit, then it won't work. Also, you have to repeat this pattern for several days."

"Well, I think I will pass on that. How about for mana?"

"To increase your wisdom, you must drain your mana, refill it, and then repeat."

"That seems a lot easier."

"Trust me, it isn't. The pain of casting a spell when you don't have enough mana at the end causes excruciating headaches. It can also lead to permanent damage if you are not careful. I wouldn't recommend doing such a thing until your Mana Veins are fully cleared."

Sighing that until they are cleared, my Mana Veins are holding me back. "Last question, I see an 'Oaths of Fealty' under my noble class. I can only presume this is to level up the class."

"You are correct. To level up the class, you must get more 'Oaths of Fealty.' I want to mention that this is the only class that can level up, but also it can de-level through normal means."

"Wait, it can de-level?"

"Yes, if you were to lose those that have sworn their 'Oaths of Fealty' to you, then you can degrade in level. Specific benchmarks will prevent further degradation, but those will show up more in the future. So it is in your best interest to have strong subordinates and commanders to keep those with oaths safe but to show those without the benefits of swearing an oath to you."

Thinking about this, "Looks like I need to get more people to trust me to swear an oath. Let's start clearing my Mana veins so it is one less obstacle for me." I go back to my new manor and find a room where I can start. I ensure I have a health potion on hand just in case I run my health too low. I started the process.

Having cleared out most of my Mana Veins in my arms, I started with my legs next. Thinking about it, I never thoroughly learned the mana circulation skill. With a sigh, I stop for a moment and go to look for Laxreal.

He isn't far from where his tomb is located. "Laxreal," I call out. "I have a quick question for you."

"And how can I help you, Drake?" He asks.

"I was curious if you could teach me how to circulate my mana. I just received the skill after sleeping. I have only used it when I was helping Zul'Zara with her transformation process."

"Oh, that makes sense. Would you like to start now?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's get started then. First, I will have you sit down with your legs crossed." He sits to show what he means.

Following suit, I sit, crossing my legs. "Next, you will clasp your hands together with only your fingers interlocking." Again, he demonstrates.

"Finally, you are going to circulate your mana through your veins. I can't personally show you this, so I hope you understand the paths you need to take."

Having a couple of questions before I get started, I ask. "Why just interlocking the fingers? And also, why can't you show me exactly?"

"For the first question, Mana Veins go through the fingertips. If you don't include them, you will have an incomplete set of Mana Veins, which could cause backlash. For the second question, everyone has different pathways their veins can take. The journey to clear out the veins is very personal. These differences cause the different affinities. I would like you to know one thing, though, about affinities. No affinity is above another. Some cancel each other out, but they are not distinctly better."

Agreeing with what he is saying, I stand up. "One last thing before you go. Make sure that there is someone there to watch over you. You will be very vulnerable when clearing your veins. Please keep this in mind."