Chapter 36 – Etiquette and Points of Contact.

The central building of the city was a mess of activity with people moving around everywhere around the massive, squat tower. They were carrying materials and checking with builders on what was needed where. The walls and floors were built, but now the crews were framing out individual areas to be filled in later. The general idea was that public offices would be on the ground floor with staff offices on the second. There were plans to dig down for some security bunkers, but for the time being, the classers were being placed on the 3rd floor and roof.

Matt wanted to know what the deal was with allocating the roof, but Tobias gave him a slight reprimand to keep him on task. He was there to advise Franklin on how to spend resources for the city not to get a tour, although that might happen anyway. Echo had started prowling around and quickly found the stairs leading up and was currently terrorizing the builders on the higher floors. Mostly he was looking for snacks and attention but that didn’t make him any less scarry when he popped up out of nowhere.

“This is what I have available for rewards.” Franklin said, turning a screen toward them. Unlike the screens in the forge, this one was projected from the pedestal that was the core of the city. “I cant just ask for anything, however. I am limited to a list of city improvements, which are the same as what I could pick from in the tutorial.”

“Let’s see what you are working with.” Tobias said as he stepped closer to the screen. Franklin showed them an overview screen that had things like the number of people, size, demographics, points available and so on. The tab that he opened showing available improvements was much more interesting since it was laid out like any of the system shop menus. Matt also leaned in to get a better look, hoping to find some interesting options.

The display showed a different sort of currency called City Credits. Matt wasn’t sure what the exchange rate was, but it must have been massive since a fully completed house cost one credit. The list contained a long list of options, but Matt was able to pick out a few winners from a short list of what Franklin had pre-selected. He looked through that while Tobias when through the full list.

Matt was interested in the option titled ‘rebuild walls’ which didn’t have a price instantly associated with it. He wondered what the options were and how much it would cost to say expand them out a hundred meters. The next option that stuck out was called a questing network which had 2 options. The first was a simple open form that allowed for anyone to post quests, take them on and then turn them in from anywhere in the city. The second version would let you break it down into guilds which would be able to manage their own sub networks.

“Looking to set up some actual guilds, Frank?” Matt asked.

“Huh? Oh that.” Franklin said catching on to what Matt was pointing to. “Yeah, I figured that would be a lot easier than the classers having to go around asking if anyone needed anything, save them time and all.”

Matt liked the idea and told him that was a really good option to get the crafters levels and materials which would then benefit the city. “How do you get the city credits?” He asked after thinking about the trade of goods.

“Well, we get them from various places.” Franklin pulled up another projection and showed a screen for the credits. It had the balance but also the sources or revenue for them. “We get some from System quests being completed, from allowances and from territorial income. There are other means but those are the big three so far.”

“What is territorial income?” Tobias asked.

Franklin went on to explain that the territory that they controlled directly influenced how much they would get in city credits every month. The more land they had subjugated, the more credits they earned. The catch was that they had to own that land in every way, not only passing through but also managing it and keeping the beasts in check. Any roads, outposts or other structures outside the city walls also added bonuses to that number.

“What are the available quests? Can anyone take them?” Matt was curious to see city quests and but was disappointed in the truth. They were just like a personal quest, but the rewards would be paid to the city and dispersed from there. The exception was a preemptive clear like what they had done with the spider cave.

Franklin sighed heavily as he looked at the quest screen. “I just don’t know what ones to do. Which do I prioritize, and which do I let sit.” He muttered the last part to himself.

“Pick them all” Tobias said. “If you take all of them, then you can assign people to work on all of them at once. The easy ones will get cleared first then you can divert to the ones that turned out to be harder.”

It made a lot of sense to Matt, many hands making light work holding true in this scenario. As he read, he noticed that a few of the quests were ones that either he was working on or would happen automatically. It wasn’t much skin off his back to take on multiple at a time with current pacing.

In the end, they helped Franklin confirm he had been on the right track with choices. They city gained paved major roads, the advanced questing system, and a restorative buff that increased resource generation for those within the city proper. Tobias also talked him into saving some points on the side to put toward recreation and public works, saying that a happy populace was better than an unhappy one.

It was at this time that Matt had to bite the bullet and do something he had been putting it off for as long as he could, but no longer could live with it. “Frank, what is the name of the city?” Tobias also perked up at the question, seeming to not know know either.

Franklin turned to face him. “Did I not mention it?” He asked and got only shaking heads in return. “The name is Vil’ Krad.” He paused, rocking his head from side to side as he decided how to explain. It’s a word from the home world of most of our citizens that doesn’t have a direct translation. From my understanding it means ‘the place where a journey begins’ but you might need to ask Rohm or someone for more context.”

“Does it have a shortened name at all, or haven’t you heard one?” Tobias asked.

“From what I heard, some of the pilots called it Krad for short but I don’t know if that has any other meaning.” Seeing the skeptical looks from Matt and Tobias, Franklin elaborated. “We put it to a vote back in the tutorial, so I just rolled with it. I never was good at naming things, and it makes little difference to me.” He shrugged, clearly not at all bothered by how that played out back then. “Now, let me show you the offices for the classers.”

Matt sighed as he settled into the hot water of the smaller, separate baths. The day before had been hectic between the range time and meeting with Franklin. He then spent all of the following day teaching the commandos how to use a radio. Then setting up said radios in the classer offices and in their constructs. One of those had been easy with the help of the forge staff but the other had been a problem. It turns out running wire through solid stone was rather difficult even for the people that made the building.

Then there was the quest system that went up. It was working great, everyone had access, and everyone could both create and take jobs just as intended. What wasn’t intended turned out to be a bug more than a feature. People were able to make person specific quests that would notify the requested party when created. That was where the problems began. Matt started getting System messages for requests, mostly from the armorer he had met, but then others piled on.

Matt was currently in the baths to relax and to continue dodging a particular alchemist that had gotten a lot of the herbs he had brought into the city. He did eventually find a way to adjust his settings of his quest board so he couldn’t be requested. That stopped the messages but led to a couple crafters searching him out in person. Most had gotten the hint that he didn’t want to be bothered but the dwarven alchemist was persistent in her pursuit of more herbs.

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Echo was currently in the bath and was resting his chin on the edge of the tub while Matt sat next to him. It seemed even the drake was tired of all the people treating him as a font of resources. The soft padding of feet on stone tiles had both of them open their eyes when the footsteps stopped next to their bath.

“Rough day?” Rohm asked.

Matt gestured for him to join them and filled the commander in on the quest issue. He was surprised to see the commander had finally broken the threshold for E grade. Echo rotated around to put his head next to Rohm, probably in an attempt get some scratches but also to make room from his tail.

“Congratulations on the evolution.” Matt said. “Get something good?”

“I did, but people don’t usually share stats like that.” Rohm said as he relented and gave Echo some scratches under his horns. “It’s considered rude to pry.” Rohm didn’t sound upset, but he rarely did to Matt.

“Sorry, you don’t have to share, I was just wondering how it went and if you are happy with the new class and its rarity.” Matt explained, not wanting to come off as rude, especially in a culture he still knew little about. “I am also curious about the different types of classes and what options everyone is getting.”

Rohm waved a hand and told him there was nothing to worry about but to be careful in the future. He was silent for a minute before asking a question with a sly grin. “So, take any quests?”

Matt barked out a laugh before he gave his friend the ole one finger salute. “No but we are heading out tomorrow. Going to drop the repeaters and maybe take a run at the mines bug problem.” Seeing the look on Rohm’s face, Matt asked if he wanted in on the action.

“I am working on my team, trying to get us all to level 25. Normally I would but…” Rohm trailed off, considering the question a little more. “On second thought, what’s your plan?” He asked, much more attentive as he sat up straighter.

Matt outlined his plan on how they would set up the repeaters and work their way around in a patrol path. He hoped to get some leveling in as they circled around the city, back to the mines area where they would clear it out. They would then either return to the city or head to the trial to have the teams run that and get their rewards.

“How about I meet you at the mines with a few squads? We can at least be a reserve if you need it.” Rohm said after listening to Matt lay out his plan for the following days. “We will probably break off from there, we can run the trial at a later time.”

Matt and Rohm planned for a little longer before Matt made his way out, headed back to the forge since that was the only place he knew to sleep at night. On his way, he was once again accosted by a very persistent dwarf woman. Even Echo rolled his eyes and huffed in annoyance before wandering off back to the forge. He sent Matt a mental image of sleeping in the training room.

“Lord Matt!” Venri shouted, drawing a lot of attention from others on the street as she jogged over to him. “Just a moment of your time.” She reached him just as he crossed over the road that would lead to the forge.

Deciding to just bite the bullet, Matt stopped and turned, trying not to leer over her but failing do to the half meter difference in height. Matt had learned that there were 2 types of dwarves in the city. The first type was they stereotypical one, short, thickly muscled and harry. The second type was still short but much slimmer and with more brightly colored hair. They honestly just looked like smaller statured humans that trusted a hair stylist a little too much.

“Venri, I have already declined your quest. I don’t have time to take it on and you would just be waiting on materials that anyone could go get.” He said to the silver haired woman. He noticed that she had also broken the threshold and reached E Grade. He was slightly impressed at how quickly she grew in level, given that most other crafters were still in the low to mid-teens.

The short woman looked at him dumbly, blinking a couple times before she caught on to what he said. “No, not that. I found some other people to take that on. What I wanted was to come with you.” She dismissed his rejection so offhandedly that Matt was 95% positive that she had move on.

“Why?”

Clearly expecting that question, Venri began rattling off reasons. “I need to go see what’s farther beyond the walls for my craft. I like fighting almost as much as like making potions, you know. I hear you are going somewhere with bugs which means venom and poison. Lastly, I want my shot at the trial orb thing.”

“I don’t know, maybe we can...” Matt began to say, hoping to calm her down and redirect her toward Franklin.

“I also just distilled a type of alcohol from the local grains that the System called ‘vodka’.” She said as an afterthought, not paying the slightest attention to Matts words.

“…Can have you ride along with me.” Matt finished, not missing the change for one of his favorite drinks. “But you are coming at your own risk. I’m not going to just toss you to the wolves, but I can’t guarantee your safety.” He thought for a moment before adding to his criteria. “Also, you need to help with resource collection, you can sell your share or keep it.”

This time Venri gave Matt the side eye. “What do you mean ride along? I’m not going to be riding atop a bouncing construct for miles on end.” She had taken a pretty firm stance on that, a drastic change from her earlier demeanor.

“I have 2 seats in my mech.” Matt scrubbed his face with his palm, frustrated at the sudden shift in personality which she seemed to have fairly often. “You can ride along but if we get the chance to dismount for a fight, we are taking it.”

The alchemist agreed to Matt’s terms and agreed to meet him in the morning at the forge before scurrying off to wherever she came from. He watched her go for a few seconds before continuing on his way to the forge. He was looking forward to setting out again, even with the extra passenger, but had a few things to do first.

Emptying out his storage had taken Matt a lot more time than he thought it would. Partly because of all the crap he had put in it on his last trip but also because it turned into an event with half the crafters in the city bidding for the materials. He decided to let Tobias handle most of that and dropped off everything he didn’t need from his storage ring. He of course gave his researcher friend first dibs on anything he wanted, but other than a few items, Tobias just let the forge run an auction for everything.

Once the commandos started showing up, Matt had packed up and given each a checklist of things they might need. They ran through the list with only a couple running off to go pick up some item they had missed or hadn’t considered. Sure enough, a short figure came walking out of the morning mist, completely surprising Matt at the stark difference in her appearance.

Venri was clad in full leather armor with a mail layer on top of the largest sections. The armor was either dyed or painted, Matt couldn’t tell which, a dark brown color, blending in perfectly with most trees in the area. She also carried a gun Matt hadn’t seen yet. The revolver rifle she had slung over a shoulder was the standard size revolver but with a long barrel and stock, making a handy little carbine for the dwarf.

Her confident stride and cocky smile vanished when Echo decided to sneak up behind her and take a deep sniff at her shoulder. “Hells take me, where did you come from.” She gasped as Echo stalked away and back toward Matt. He felt slightly bad since Echo towered over her without trying. “I forget that he is around sometimes, and it doesn’t help when he just pops up like that.”

Matt scratched at the base of one of Echo’s horns as the drake sat beside him. “Well, he just wanted to remind you of the dangers in the world that you might not even see coming.”

“Or he’s just being an ass again.” Jess said in the tone of voice people use when talking to puppies. She had come up to Echo’s other side and was scratching at his jaw line. Echo, for all his indignation at the words, started humming happily as she found just the right spot to scratch at. “Awe, who’s a good monster.”

Matt gave the group another half hour to get their gear together and cross load some items between themselves. He summoned his armor out of his storage ring, instantly equipping it but leaving his helmet off for the time being. “Alright, lets get this show on the road. You all know the route and we will be stopping for map checks every couple kilometer so no excuses for getting lost.” He checked his note pad and gave a quick ramp brief before they moved out. He turned to Venri next and pointed to the open hatch of his mech. “Hop in, back seat is yours.”

The rest of the commandos all got ready, and the pilots began buckling themselves in as Matt helped the dwarf climb into the cockpit. He followed her in and pointed to the buckles that would hold her into the seat and set up a screen for her to see the outside. After she was settled in, he opened one of the side compartments and fished out a couple plastic bags with a locking seal on them. He handed her one and put the others within reach, held down by an elastic strap.

Venri looked at the bag, opening and closing the top a couple times. “what’s this for?”

“Motion sickness and incase we need to teleport.” Matt said as he took his spot and put his helmet on. “I don’t want vomit in my mech.” He turned on a speaker on in the cockpit so she could hear what was going on, knowing that would help with the long hours on the trail.

“Wait, teleport?”

“Yup, show you later.” Matt said as they started moving and keyed his radio. “Vil’ Krad X-Ray, this is Recon One.” He waited to see if he would need to retransmit. Just as Venri was about to start talking, a voice broke over the radio.

“Recon One, this Vil’ Krad X-Ray. Go ahead.” Replied the classer that was manning the radio. Matt thought it was Kirsi, one of the lizard folk that had taken his radio training the day before.

“Recon one is outbound. Five cons, eighteen pax, one drake.” Matt had to admit the radios were crystal clear and there was nearly no distortion, likely a biproduct of magic and no interference.

“Roger. Five con, eighteen pax and Echo. Good luck, Krad X-Ray out.” The response this time was from Rohm, who was probably in the room by happenstance. That or he wanted to see the process himself. Either way Matt was happy to see he took some liberties with the radio Etiquette and smiled under his helmet.

It wasn’t a minute later before they left the gate, on route for their first target to install the repeater and sensor towers. Once clear of the gate, Echo went bounding off into the grass and the commandos got into their marching order. Once that was established, they were off and moving quite fast with most of them on foot. The constructs formed a square around the commandos with Matt moving within the formation and making adjustments. He was really looking forward to this little exercise and dealing with those bugs.