After having built the Coin Minting Bank in the southern quadrant, Imu advised me to move my means of industry there as well, so only my Forges and Anvil for now, but later other buildings that also seemed to create a mist of demotivation around them. Having the Forges and Bank neighbouring the Quarry also meant that metals could immediately be refined and then put to use in their respective forms of crafting.

“It’s lucky that our Quarry has begun to strike ore deposits,” I commented, after my Diggers had begun unearthing both iron and copper. “I didn’t even know that there were this many types of metals and such in the forest.”

“There wasn’t,” Imu replied sharply, laying atop his favourite toad mount, whom, it seemed, he had named Goldie. “When a Core is born and begins to evolve and grow, so too does the area within and closely without its demesne start to change as well.”

“So, because of my Core being in the tree, these metals began appearing?”

“That’s right. Normally, you’d be in a proper cave or even underground a few hundred metres below a mountain, so it would seem less contrived and actually believable, but yeah…” Imu made the point of looking around suspiciously. “We’re in a blessed forest, and there is definitely not meant to be this much raw material just lying around untapped. Our good ol’ pouch-head Earl would no doubt have harvested it all already if it had just been lying around like that.”

“I see.”

“Also, did you not find it suspicious that the minions you sent out into the forest just kept coming back with a steady supply of iron ore??”

“No.”

“…Right, that’s my bad, I forgot you were a Toad. Although, saying that, even human Cores don’t pick up on such things. They’re surprisingly daft and only seem to care about the morality of killing people to grow strong… ugh.”

“Did you use to be a whomen before you became a Core and then a Myling?”

Imu got up and lifted his pudgy fists towards where I floated, menacingly. “Are you trying to start a fight!?”

“I don’t think so?”

“Ah. Well, them’s fighting words, Toady. But, to answer your question, no, I most definitely was not a human before I died and became a Core.”

“…Imu?”

“Yes?”

“Is this how I find out you used to be the enemy? WERE YOU A FROG, IMU!?”

“Your stupidity is like a sharp sword that you continue to cut at me with,” he replied. “And no, you’re the only non-humanoid Core I’ve heard of. In fact, there’s a common theory that only humanoid species can become Cores, since only they have the mental capacity to undergo the transition.”

“I really showed them, didn’t I?” I answered excitedly.

“I’m not sure it’s worth being proud of, but I guess you did show them, yea…”

“So what kind of whomanoid were you?”

“Only the best kind: Dark Elf.”

“Oh! I’ve seen an elf, although she was very white.”

Imu spat on the ground from where he still stood atop Goldie. “White Elves are an inferior offspring to us. They used to also be dark-skinned and antagonistic towards humans like us, but then they developed morals, ugh, and started being all hippy and shit, living so much indoors that their beautiful complexion soured into bone-pale white… They’re a disgusting bunch of all-life-is-sacred-and-that’s-why-I’m-staying-in-my-tree-hut-and-make-a-living-off-of-writing-strongly-worded-letters-disparaging-my-dark-skinned-cousins scum!”

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He seemed really heated up about the topic of dark versus white. I supposed it was not too different to the war between toads and frogs, where, somehow, both animals stemmed from a common ancestors. “How did you die?”

“Oh, it was fantastic! I led a warband of human-hating races, which, besides other Dark Elves, included Trolls, Goblins, sentient Undead, Dryads, Lizardmen, Ratlings, and so many others. I think most of these species are extinct though, except goblins and ratlings, they somehow always make it through major species-wide extinction events.

“Anyway, we had sacked a few major cities, but then the Lady Light and her human and white elf followers summoned a Hero to repel us. My final stand was quite epic,” Imu commented, standing with his hands on his hips and a smug expression curling his thin lipless mouth.

“My final stand was awful,” I said.

“Well, I guess that a goose is to a toad what a dragon is to a humanoid. Sorry you didn’t get to go out in a blaze of glory.”

“Thank you.”

Imu cleared his throat. “Anyway, I learnt, after becoming a Core, that, due to my species leading the anti-human war effort, Dark Elves were hunted to extinction.”

“Stupid whomens,” I replied, upset on his behalf.

“Eh, we had it coming. And if we lost even after combining our strength with so many other species, then perhaps it was just proof that we weren’t strong enough.”

“I believe there still exist Dark Elves,” I commented.

“Maybe we’ll find some eventually,” Imu replied in a rare moment of optimism.

Congratulations! For refining your first copper ore, you unlocked the ability to craft a Copper Spear and Copper Shield, as well as Copper Coins! Additionally, you can now craft Copper versions of all tools and weapons!

>Items>Tools

—Copper Coin (Anvil & Coin Minting Bank)—

Standard currency in your settlement that comes in many denominations based on size

Required Materials: Copper

—Copper Shield (Anvil & Armoury)—

Grants Defender skill and increases minion Defense by 50%

Required Materials: Wood & Copper

—Copper Spear (Anvil & Armoury)—

Grants Spearmanship skill and increases minion Melee Combat XP by 50%

Required Materials: Wood & Copper

System came running over suddenly, moving faster than anything I’d ever seen before. Though Imu tried to hide behind Goldie, she managed to grab him anyway and began spinning around wildly, the tiny Myling holding on to her for dear life.

While Imu was recovering in the grass near the Coin Minting Bank, I quickly found the greediest minion in my settlement, which turned out to be one of the Diggers, who, despite me ordering him several times, refused to let go of a clump of refined copper, even as its still-hot surface burnt his body where he hugged it tightly.

After sending him into the Bank, still holding the clump, I poured in a bit of my essence and a golden glow emerged from within the wide one-story building. Moments after, the newly-evolved Banker emerged, half his body made of pure copper and his clothes transforming into a neat purple velvet set of pants and vest, which strangely matched his partially copper skin quite well.

“Alright, time to get to minting!” I announced excitedly.

Imu got up from the grass and looked at the new Banker, then at me.

“We have to be careful,” he commented, as the Banker ran out and grabbed some refined copper, before going into his Bank and beginning to work away on it. “Remember those Missionaries of Lady Light I told you about?”

“No.”

“Ugh, then just forget it, hopefully it won’t matter.”

The Banker emerged victoriously with a shiny copper coin in his hand, lifting it in the air for all the nearby Diggers and Smithies to see and admire. I used my Appraisal on the coin:

Name: Copper Toaken

Occupation: Currency

Species: One Denomination Coin (Copper)

Level: 1/????

Alignment: Neutral

Faction: Toad Town

“Uh oh.”

“What?”

“Look what just showed up in the northern quadrant… Hells these bastards are quick to scent money…”

I flew over to where Imu had indicated and amidst many of my idle and unassigned minions stood a figure in a pure-white robe accented with gold. Her hair was done up nicely with a bunch of golden trinkets fastened to it, and her face was also studded with golden stuff.

“If they weren’t so freakishly dangerous, they’d be prime targets for a robbery,” Imu commented. “I mean, just look at all that jewellery…”

I quickly possessed my Mayor who seemed to have naturally approached the newcomer, then she asked one fateful question that would determine my continued existence as a Core:

“Hi there! Would you like to hear about our Lady and Saviour, Lady Light?”