Theo sat with Zarali, Xol’sa, and Fenian in his garden. They had arranged wooden chairs in a semi-circle around a low wooden table. Sarisa had already given them their tea by the time the conversation got rolling. The Elf didn’t have any temples in his inventory, but he was happy to drink the tea and relax. The alchemist got a quick look at his growing limbs. It was a slow process.

“Why didn’t I know about this technique to build a temple?” Zarali asked.

“Not my domain,” Theo said. “I’ll pull the stoneworkers off their job to build something nice.”

“That’s selfish.” Fenian sipped his tea and shook his head. “How many other projects are they working on?”

“Only two. Or three,” Theo said, having a good thing about it. “Maybe four.”

“Just build a shack,” Xol’sa croaked.

Despite the extra-planar Elf’s recovery, there was a long way to go. Theo felt as though he understood more about the man’s condition after talking with Benton. There was that concept of a spirit attaching to a body with a web. The web was the soul, and the potion he was fed rebuilt that connection. The alchemist imagined a process where a person’s mind was rebuilt, synapse by synapse. Neuron by neuron. It would be slow and painful.

“Have you tried using your core abilities since you almost died, Xol’sa?” Theo asked.

“I closed that portal.”

Zarali placed a comforting hand on Xol’sa’s knee. “He’s had some difficulty.”

That was enough confirmation for Theo. He explained the theory about a soul connecting parts of the body. When questioned on how he came up with that, he told them about Benton and his helpful nature.

“Look at this guy,” Fenian said, laughing. “He’s cheating!”

“Doesn’t matter how I got the information. I’m certain we don’t have to worry about Xol’sa.” Theo stirred his tea, glancing over at Rowan hiding in the bushes. He had a request for that sneaky Half-Ogre. “He’s going to heal over time… Rowan, could I ask you to do something?”

Rowan emerged from the bushes, striding over to stand at attention. Fenian clapped his hand against his leg with excitement. “Could you fetch Ziz for me?”

“Right away.”

The Half-Ogre vanished before Theo could say anything else. Fenian giggled. Both Zarali and Xol’sa shook their heads.

The group talked about small subjects for some time. Half-way through their tea, Theo was summoned to the Newt and Demon to swap out some essences. When he returned to his garden, Ziz was standing awkwardly off to the side. The alchemist dragged over another chair for the man to sit in.

“You hired Rowan?” Ziz asked. “I remember this one time, Rowan and his sister… What's her name? Oh, hey there Sarisa. Yeah, he got his head caught in this stump. We were all just kids, but we were laughing so hard. One of the other kids peed their pants from laughing so hard.”

Theo laughed, craning his neck to see Rowan go a deep shade of red. “Excellent. No, Rowan is awesome. So is Sarisa. Ziz, you want a job?”

“I want more jobs like I want a swamp snapper to snip my buttcheeks. Just kidding. I have a few teams now, so we can handle more work.”

“We need a temple to Lord Drogramath,” Zarai said, scooting to the edge of her seat. She still held a comforting hand on Xol’sa’s knee.

“Oh, a big fancy temple? Hand built?” Ziz asked, raising a brow. “Within the walls?”

“Yeah, inside the walls.”

“You want one of my buildings inside your walls, Mister Archduke Mayor Lord Spencer?”

“That’s the idea.”

Ziz rubbed his hands together. Theo saw him doing the math in his mind, reallocating people for jobs so he could make his mark on the town. Almost every building within town was a seed core building. Those that weren’t were shoddy at best. Even the newest construction, the buildings that housed the water system, were built by Sledge. She wasn’t known for her aesthetic choices.

“I’ll do it for free.”

“Oh, shut up.” Fenian scooped up a stone and tossed it at the Half-Ogre. “Charge him a premium.”

“Uh.” Ziz looked confused. “I’m charging a premium.”

“Attaboy!” Fenian hooted.

“We’ll work something out. As for zoning, there’s a lot of space to the west of my shop. Stake a spot there out, figure out what materials you need and what people, and we’ll get working whenever you want.”

Ziz rose to his feet, nodding. “Alright. Okay. My mind is racing here. This is gonna be so cool. Zarali, how evil do you want the temple to look?”

“As evil as you can make it.”

Theo groaned. “Don’t make it evil. Make it magnificent.”

“We’ll split the difference,” Ziz said. “Half-evil, half-magnificent.”

“Good enough.”

Ziz dashed off without another word. Theo opened his administration interface and added some notes about the job. This would get him in front of his administration staff being upset about his pulling them away from jobs. The stoneworkers were slated to do more work than just the maglev. That group was working on several interesting projects that the alchemist hadn’t heard of yet. He realized how important those other things were, compared to his monument to a Demon God.

“We should get some statues,” Theo said.

Fenian laughed, slapping his knee. “Theo wants statues of himself. How original.”

“I can see it now.” The faintest hint of a smile played across Xol’sa’s face. “Two statues on the canal’s edge. Theo and Tresk. What a nightmare.”

Zarali giggled. “And a giant goose in the middle of the harbor!”

“I want a statue of Fenian.” Theo jabbed a finger at the Elven trader. “Feathered hat and all.”

“You’re wearing a feathered hat too, Archduke.”

“Yeah, but I make it look good.”

Fenian’s brows knit tightly. He felt around at the hat on his head, looking slightly crestfallen. “My hat looks good. Doesn’t it?”

“Hats aren’t really my thing.” Xol’sa waved the question away, averting his gaze before he was drawn into an argument.

“It looks lovely,” Zarali said, failing to hide the patronizing tone in her voice. “You’re a lovely little unique boy and we all love you.”

Fenian tried to fold his arms but didn’t pull the grumpy look off with just one arm. “I’m filing a complaint to your administrators for harassment.”

Once the group had their fill of tea, Theo headed back to his lab to work with Salire. He trusted Zarali’s zeal for Drogramath to lead her in instructing Ziz on the building. While the alchemist had a desire to work on the town itself, leveling it up some more, he lacked the [Monster Cores]. Returning to the lab, he found the Half-Ogre woman working with a customer, so he found his way upstairs.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The runs were almost done for the day. They could have done more, but it felt like a relaxed day for the town. Theo worked on restocking his modifiers, shoving various things into fermentation barrels before heading out back. The stills would run themselves as he worked on creating more [Mana Constructs] for his golems. He communed with them by the greenhouses.

Golems were strange, no matter how Theo looked at them. It wasn’t the weird appearance or their specialization through materials. The way they functioned was strange. As he stretched his senses out, washing over his working golems, something within him said he could have more. His willpower had expanded, and he couldn’t tell if it was from his new ability or something else.

A plant golem emerged from a mushroom cave, seeming to nod for a moment before depositing something in the [Dimensional Storage Crate]. Alex waddled around the corner, honking.

“Come look at this, Alex. I could use a second set of eyes.” Theo approached one of Zarali’s [Lodestones], pressing his fingers against the gem on a pole.

What am I looking for?

The alchemist sent his will into the lodestone network, feeling a prickle on the back of his neck. He felt different from the last time he’d connected to the network. Now he could sense the small bit of himself that rested in each of the gems. Not quite a piece of his soul, but something significant enough to relay commands between the golems. He turned to regard the goose.

“I’ve been trying to understand how to expand my willpower for a while,” Theo said, kneeling to the goose’s level. That was becoming less difficult by the day. Alex was growing. “What would happen if you added your will to the mix?”

Honk! I’m not sure. Alex approached the lodestone, pressing her bill to the item.

Theo was interested in expanding his golem network, that was true. But he was also working on a theory he had discussed with Tresk. “As we grow in power, we become more similar. Tresk and I thought the Tara’hek would make us one person eventually. That might be the case, but we can exploit that.”

While he didn’t understand why, both Alex and Tresk had a higher willpower than him. The alchemist’s idea was that their will was more forceful than his, leaving a longer-lasting impression. Whatever the case, the goose had little trouble forcing her mind into the lodestone network. She made a surprised honk as her mind flooded through the system, splitting between the golems all at once. When she pulled back, something of her was left behind.

“Excellent.” Theo ran his hand over the lodestone again, nodding with approval. The force of the goose’s authority had bolstered the power of the stone, rendering it capable of supporting more golems. “I can support 5 more, I think. Then another 5 when Tresk does this.”

They’re curious creatures. Alex approached the plant golem, poking it with her bill. There are sections in the system prompt for siphon systems and modifications. Why have you not modified the golems?

“A good question. Firstly we need a siphon system that works. That requires a mana battery, and one of those power-sucking cubes. Like the one in my lab. It powers all the enchantments in there.”

Still, they should be modified. Yes?

“Maybe. Any modifications would suck power from the [Mana Construct]. I would implant another construct, and that one would suck power from the [Mana Construct] to activate.”

Have you tried enchanting them with your [Toru’aun Mage’s Core] spells?

Theo held his hand out to the golem, chanting his [Lesser Hallow Ground] spell with the [Detect Enemy] trigger. He was getting better at the wards, leveling that core slowly. It still took him a few attempts to ward the golem, but it stuck. The [Lesser Plant Golem] glittered with white light for a moment before subsiding. What was left was a 1-day duration ward and a confused looking golem.

Yep, that works. No mana required. But low duration. Hmmm.

“This isn’t a big deal.” Theo reviewed his current golem loadout, thinking about which medium would be best for his needs. Perhaps it was best to reserve those slots for his farming project. “Let’s go extort my friends for items. Then we can work on my other project.”

Tresk thinks about that a lot, Alex said, flapping her wings to keep up with Theo. She thinks you work too much.

“Tresk works too much. I work less than her.”

Yeah. That’s just what she thinks. She’s been happy you’re relaxing lately.

“Yeah. Me too.”

No one had cleared out from the manor’s garden. Theo was able to convince Zarali to give him more lodestones, but it was a fight. Only after he agreed he wasn’t cheating—that he had added Alex’s willpower to the network—did she give up a few more lodestones. Fenian was happy to hand over a [Farm Seed Core] for the new automated farm. There was some teasing about the alchemist’s need to constantly move, but he brushed them off. A true Broken Tusker got things done before they needed to be done. Not after.

Theo and Alex stopped in to help Salire with the stills, setting up the final run of the day and doing a few reactions for the shop. It was nothing the alchemist hadn’t done before, and made for uninteresting work. The pair stopped by Miana’s ranch to find a horrifying sight. Several Marshlings from the Adventurer’s Guild were practicing riding [Marsh Wolves]. The monsters seemed reluctant to have a rider, but the Marshlings were having the time of their lives.

Galflower and her group of enchanted Karatan were grazing in the fields. Theo could feel them sucking the energy from the air, consuming both the power of Drogramath’s realm as well as Tero’gal. That was a can of megalomaniacal worms he didn’t care to open. Not today.

“Not enough cores to upgrade the town, but enough for a low-level farm.” Theo nodded at the guards of the eastern gate. Sarisa and Rowan emerged from the shadows, flanking the alchemist.

“We should have more guards outside the walls,” Sarisa said, casting a concerned look over the open fields.

Theo gestured to the towers on the wall. “We’ll be within range of the towers.”

Rowan grunted a response. Alex honked.

The first thing about planting a [Farm Seed Core] that Theo found odd was the option he got when he buried it. This section of land was within the unincorperated section of the town, allowing him to plant seed cores. It wasn’t something he’d done before, but that wasn’t the interesting thing. A base-level farm started with a few fields of their own. 2 to start, which revealed something about Banu’s farm. The grumpy farmer had tilled most of his fields by hand.

“Interesting enough.” Theo buried the core, then fed it [Monster Cores] until the roots sprouted up. Those roots formed the shape of a small shack, then spread out to create two sprawling fields. “We won’t need more than those two for now.”

I want to help with the golems!

“Alrighty,” Theo said, plopping down onto the damp ground. He removed materials from his inventory, setting out large piles of vegetation, constructs, and [Monster Cores]. While he worked, he chatted with Sarisa. “Where did you guys get the illusion necklaces?”

“A trader,” Sarisa said, holding her big ax at the ready. Theo still didn’t know what to call it. “That fellow from Partopour had a selection.”

“Damn. I’ve been thinking about fashion lately.”

Because he saw Salire. She looks so pretty! Theo wants to be pretty.

“They can’t hear you, Alex.” Theo assembled his first golem, a [Lesser Plant Golem] with a [Fald Interloper] core at level 10. Anything higher than that felt as though it would get away from him. Too much power in one lump of living plants. He used the standardized form of containment core, one made of [Drogramathi Iron]. Those were the most efficient.

“What did she say?” Sarisa asked, watching as Theo worked on the golem.

“She said I want to be pretty, which isn’t wrong. Salire, the woman who works in my lab, just got a new dress. It suits her extremely well, and it made me think about dressing better. Appearances, you know?”

“I’ve got a spare butler outfit, if you want it,” Rowan said, chuckling.

“No thank you.”

Awww. You didn’t lie to them about what I said! That’s so cute.

Theo had to pop a few [Mana Pills] to get the job done with the golems. They didn’t consume much of his mana, but with 5 golems it was enough to drain him dry several times. He bound the new golems to the nearest lodestone, leaving their orders empty for the time being.

It was now time to cram cores into the farm.

The upgrades they had made to Banu’s farm were mostly okay. The only upgrade Theo didn’t want for his automated version of the farm was the [Fresh Tilled Earth] upgrade. That upgrade increased the effectiveness of fertilizer, but the alchemist didn’t plan to do high-volume farming. This was just going to be some passive nonsense he did because he could. Instead, he inspected an alternative which he thought would work better for his purposes.

[Speed Planting]

Any action taken to plant a seed on the farm will be faster.

More seeds planted meant that his golems could concern themselves with other things. Theo didn’t want his golems running around to fetch fertilizer, applying it to the field to consume their work time. He followed the upgrade path for Banu’s farm for the other things, inspecting the farm when he was done.

[Small Farm]

[Honk if you’re hungry]

Owners: Theo Spencer

Faction: [Southlands Alliance]

Level: 20 (0%)

Rent Due: 4 days

Expansions:

[Speed Planting]

[Enhanced Growth]

[Scaling Expansion]

[Drogramathi Cultivation]

Theo frowned, casting a look at the goose. “Did you name the farm?”

Yes. It is our backup plan for food. So people should honk if they’re hungry. You know. Like I honk all the time.

“I’m curious to know how you and Tresk can delve into my memories. More curious to know how you always pull out the nastiest things.”

Honk!

“Find some bugs if you’re hungry.” Theo withdrew some [Dimensional Storage] crates for the farm, setting them in the shack. He filled them with [Mana Constructs] and [Wheat] before issuing his commands to the golems.

The golems would work the farm outside of the walls, planting and harvesting the uncultivated wheat. Theo could have set this project up better, but it was just a test. Once the commands were set in place, the shambling [Lesser Plant Golems] shuffled off to begin their work. Theo stretched, rolling his shoulders to work out a knot.

“Alright. You guys wanna go hang out in my garden for a few hours?”