{You have deactivated Create Quest. 9 Tower Points refunded. 640 Tower Points remaining.}
James removed the quest 61-3 had created to warn him about his humanity, wanting to rid himself of the error filled message. The knowledge that James wasn't meant to be an administrator was concerning. 61-3 already said that my actions would only be put under review if over 90% of any climber wave survived, but that doesn't mean I'm completely safe otherwise. Every climber has an observer watching them constantly, and I don't know if any administrators are among the viewers watching, or if the viewers themselves could inform an administrator of something suspicious happening. Outright telling the climbers about myself isn't possible, and I'll need to ensure any emergency quests I create in the future don't sound as panicked as my first. Shouting at climbers through text might be seen as suspicious, especially if it's abnormal for administrators to warn climbers about a threat.
I'd really benefit from being able to see how another administrator does things, so I could copy their style just enough to throw off suspicion... James opened the credit store, and looked at the list again.
"61-3, if I purchase an outside observer through the credit store, could I use it to go into another tower?"
[Negative, the observer is only for filming the world outside of the Towers. This is to provide entertainment to Administrators wishing to observe the Game as it progresses to include the world outside, or to obtain recordings that could be sent to climbers within the Tower to manipulate their emotions, or offer things such as a glimpse of loved ones, as a quest reward.]
"Damn. Thank you, though." So there goes that plan. I don't have enough credits for an outside observer anyway. Using it to provide a view of peoples' friends and family would be nice, but probably too altruistic unless I hand it out as a reward for a difficult quest, and in that case I'd rather give them something that would help them survive. No, I won't be buying an outside observer, it'd be better to save for another tower modifier, or another village.
James closed the credit store menu, and watched as the climbers debated among themselves what they should do with the wood provided by the “Explore Floor 1! Extended” quest. Everyone in the climber army completed it, and that was at least 100 people. With each quest rewarding 50 units of wood, they have enough to build both the bathhouse and the canteen, and still have 3,000 left over! Even if they use a lot of it for building the outhouses or firewood, they should have plenty left to create other buildings. I’ll add the carpenter’s shop to the village tomorrow, after I’ve gotten the tower points for the end of today and they’ve had time to see how the bathhouse and canteen work.
The climbers quickly realized this themselves. "If we all put 20 units of wood into either the bathhouse or canteen, we'll have the wood requirements met. Does anyone have any horned rabbits they'd be willing to donate to the Canteen?" A climber James didn't recognize asked. I'm surprised Joseph isn't the one speaking, he was one of the people leading everyone into working together during the first day, but it's good to know there isn't a single leader whose continued survival all cooperation hinges on.
With so many climbers focused on preparing their next meal, it took a moment to find people who hadn't already begun cooking any horned rabbits that they had. As the few climbers with a horned rabbit corpse made their way to the canteen, several climbers approached the two buildings, and James watched as they clicked on the quest that floated near the entrance of each building. Someone had discovered that clicking on the quest created another prompt where you could move items from your inventory directly into the building's inventory, but it could only be done when in front of the building's quest prompt, rather than through any copies of the quest in a climber's quest menu.
"We have enough buckets to replace the ones the bathhouse gave us." A climber said. "I wouldn't mind leaving mine in the village for everyone to use, at least until we find a way to the second floor."
Other climbers volunteered, some even offering to let the village use their bucket indefinitely. With a little over 20 buckets now dedicated for village use outside of the ones the bathhouse had provided, everyone agreed it was time to turn the bathhouse buckets in to complete the quest.
"Now we won't have to form a huge group to get water from the river, and we won't have to worry about that aggro field." As the horned rabbit corpses and bathhouse buckets disappeared one by one, more climbers added their wood to the quest.
"It's almost done, guys, stand back."
"Why?"
"Right, a lot of you weren't here when these first appeared. The buildings construct themselves automatically, with a lot of wood floating around, if you're too close one of the beams'll hit you."
The climber who asked why, and many others from the second and third wave, stared at the size of the beams forming the frames of the canteen and bathhouse, and hurriedly moved away.
"Last one!" A climber shouted as they stood in front of the canteen.
{Construct a Canteen!
Quest Type: Optional Multi-Participant
Recipients: Any (Quest accessible from within (Unnamed) Village)
Description: In order to use the Canteen, you must first gather the resources to construct it! Provide 25 Horned Rabbit Corpses, and gather 1000 pieces of wood!
Horned Rabbit Corpses: 25/25
Wood Gathered: 980/1000
Reward(s): The shop: “Canteen” becomes available in (Unnamed) Village.}
The climber selected the 20 wood they wanted to add, and as 980 turned into 1000, a prompt appeared in front of every climber.
{Quest “Construct a Canteen!” completed!
Quest Reward(s): The Canteen will now finish its construction.}
Like before, wood began appearing from within the framework of the building, floating out and around before finally moving into place. Near the bathhouse, a climber rushed towards its entrance despite the two buildings being close together, and submitted the remaining 20 wood for the bathhouse quest before sprinting away.
{Quest “Construct a Bathhouse!” completed!
Quest Reward(s): The Bathhouse will now finish its construction.}
Wooden beams floated around the buildings, some continuing to add themselves to the framework, others turning themselves into uniform planks used to create the walls that would surround the building. Others carved themselves into doors, and even furniture such as a long table with benches on either side in the case of the canteen. Despite only wood being given for building materials, James noticed stone lining the bottom for where the public bath would be inside the bathhouse, as well as a brick oven and stone well built inside of the canteen. James lost sight of any further details as the walls were built, the few windows all coming with shutters that were closed by default. In half an hour the outside was finished, but attempting to open the doors or windows triggered a prompt to appear saying construction was still in progress. It wasn't until another half hour that the prompt disappeared, and everyone received a notification.
{Construction of the Shop: “Bathhouse” in (Unnamed) Village has been completed!}
{Construction of the Shop: “Canteen” in (Unnamed) Village has been completed!}
James watched as climbers walked inside the buildings from a climber further back in the crowd. Which one should I watch first? I'll pick the bathhouse. That way I'm more likely to see the entrance than switch to someone in the middle of using it. Using the ability to switch to the observer of any climber in sight of his current one, he swapped to a man in the middle of passing through the bathhouse doors.
The bathhouse featured five podiums spaced a few feet apart from each other in the center of the foyer. Above each podium floated a system prompt with a list of options. The foyer had three hallways minus the entrance, each one with a sign above them. To the left and right were the “Private Baths” and “Toilets” respectively, while on the opposite side of the bathhouse's entrance was a wider hall with a sign above it reading “Public Hot Springs”.
James watched the climber he was following approach one of the podiums as the observer moved to show other climbers trying to walk down one of the halls, only to be repelled by a barrier with a prompt saying “Please select your choice from the Bathhouse Menu before entering” floating in front of it. James turned his attention back to the menu in front of the climber he was watching.
{Bathhouse Menu
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Please choose from one of the following options:
NOTES:
-Base price is multiplied by the number of times you have previously used that service. First time is free for all options!
-A Day's access ends at midnight each night.
-All Instances will automatically eject all climbers should a monster enter the Bathhouse.
-All Instances guarantee privacy from all sources during your time inside.
-All for use Instances end automatically after three hours.
-All Instances prevent the use of skills or spells, as well as nullify all forms of damage.
-All items generated by an Instance cannot be taken outside of the Instance.
Public Hotsprings (Male/Female/Mixed): Comes with three instances for Male, Female, and Mixed. Features temperature control accessible to everyone within the instance, with a complimentary bathing towel for those wishing to preserve their modesty. Stays clean, so no need to rinse off before hopping right in! Base Price: 25 Gold for a full day's access.
Private Baths (Poor): A bucket with warm water big enough to sit in. Water will cool over time and cannot be replaced. Comes with a bar of unscented soap and a washcloth, with a towel for drying. Base Price: 10 Gold for use until you leave the instance, or 20 Gold for a full day's access.
Private Baths (Mediocre): A bath enchanted to stay at your preferred temperature, or a shower with limitless hot water. Comes with a washcloth and your choice of liquid or bar soap, along with generic shampoo and conditioner, all copies of brands from your local supermarket. Room will also come with towels, a toothbrush, toothpaste, nail clippers, hairbrush, and a small mirror. Base Price: 30 Gold for use until you leave the instance, or 60 gold for a full day's access.
Private Baths (Luxury): A bath big enough to swim in, with jets and temperature control. Comes with a washcloth and a brand of luxury soaps, shampoos, conditioners, taken from among the most popular and most expensive brands on earth. A limitless supply of towels of varying softness, and the ability to cut, style, or dye your hair. Comes with a manicure and pedicure service, toothpaste and toothbrush, a full sized mirror, makeup, and a selection of relaxing music during your stay. Also fully cleans and repairs all clothing and armor within your inventory. Base Price: 100 Gold for use until you leave the instance, or 200 Gold for a full day's access.
Private Toilet (Poor): An instance based on portable restroom units. Comes with a roll of low quality toilet paper, and no place to wash your hands. Base Price: 2 Gold for use until you leave the instance.
Private Toilet (Mediocre): A bigger bathroom with your choice of toilet paper in limitless supply. Comes with a sink with a bar of soap and a hand towel. Base Price: 5 Gold for use until you leave the instance.
Private Toilet (Luxury): A toilet with customizable size and seat, along with your choice of toilet paper in limitless supply or a bidet. Comes with a sink with a moisturizing liquid soap and a hand towel. Base Price: 10 Gold for use until you leave the instance.}
James noted that many of the climbers selected the mediocre or luxury option for a private bath or toilet right away, and disappeared the second they began crossing into the hall. Others read the list of rules more carefully, and either used only the poor service, or abstained entirely until after midnight, when the full day’s access would guarantee the most time.
James only barely paid attention to this, more curious if the guarantee of privacy from all sources included the observers and administrators. Should I follow this climber in to see? I feel gross peeking in on someone in a situation like this, but I can close the menu the second I notice I'm in the room, and finding a space safe from the viewers and administrators is too useful to pass up! James watched the person he followed select the Private Baths (Poor), and as he disappeared to enter the small separated space, was treated to a sight of the observer looking around the small wooden room.
"Damn." James muttered to himself. I was really hoping I found a way to tell the people here about me. James sighed, before closing the climber menu. "61-3, can you pull up the climber menu of an observer of someone inside the Canteen? I can do it myself, but I don't have a way of knowing where the climber is until I'm observing them."
[Affirmative.]
"Thank you." A screen appeared of a climber sitting at a table, eating a pizza. It's even in the box of that popular pizza chain. What's going on? Another climber was unwrapping a burger from a popular fast food chain, and yet another was drinking a bottle of a popular soda. James began switching observers until he found one close enough to a prompt similar to that from the bathhouse, but this time it was in front of what looked like the counter of a cafeteria, where food servers would pile food onto a tray, only without the trays, or the servers.
{Canteen Menu
Please choose from one of the following options:
NOTES:
-Base price is multiplied by the number of times you have previously used that service. First time is free for all options!
-All Instances will automatically eject all climbers should a monster enter the Bathhouse.
-All Instances guarantee privacy from all sources during your time inside.
-All for use Instances end automatically after three hours.
-All Instances prevent the use of skills or spells, as well as nullify all forms of damage.
-All items generated by an Instance cannot be taken outside of the Instance.
-All food except that which is prepared through Cooking Lessons cannot be taken outside of the Canteen.
Food from Home: Purchase food from stores outside the Tower with the price being 1 Gold for each USD it would cost to purchase the item. Base Price: An additional 10% of the money spent to purchase the item is added as a delivery fee.
Expert Cooking: Any edible ingredients that can be found on the current and lower floors can be selected for use in an expertly crafted meal. Menu changes should Events change the ingredients available. Spices/seasonings and cookware available from the General Store are included in the range of available meals. All meals featured here can apply for the Cooking Lessons option. Cost of ingredients is added to the base price but can be halved by providing the ingredients yourself. Base Price: 10 Gold per each order.
Cooking Lessons: Receive a Quest providing a detailed set of instructions on how to prepare meals available through Expert Cooking for yourself. You will be brought into the Kitchen Instance for the duration of your practice. All ingredients must be provided yourself, but spices/seasonings and tools available from the General Store are provided free of charge. You keep what you make but are unable to try again with the same ingredients. Base Price: 10 Gold per each lesson.}
James also noticed some climbers standing at a corner, where a well was built into the building, a low hanging ceiling providing the crank that would pull the bucket out of the well. Another prompt, separated from the ones at the cafeteria counter, floated in front of the crank, where a barrier kept it and the rest of the well from being touched otherwise.
{Well Water
NOTES:
-Base price is multiplied by the number of times you have previously used that service. First time is free for all options!
-A Day's access ends at midnight each night.
-This object and its contents are immune to spell/status effects and general pollution/illness while inside of the Canteen
Fresh, drinkable water. Base Price: 1 Gold for a full day's access.}
At least they have a way to get water without going to the river now, and the price isn't for a single bucket, but for an entire day's access to the water. It'll be easy to stretch this out for everyone if they continue to work together. James thought, as he watched people excitedly clamor around the cafeteria prompt at the discovery that they could order food from outside of the tower.
It's a shame that the first time being free only applies to the base price modifiers, like the delivery and cooking fees. If it applied to the cost of food or ingredients people could order as much as they wanted for their free meal. James thought after watching one climber try to order 100 pizzas only to realize they'd still have to pay for them despite the delivery fee of zero. Regardless, while many people enjoyed getting to take a proper bath for the first time in days, the option to eat a proper meal was by far the most popular option, with many people happy to part with whatever gold they had gotten for a chance at eating something other than unseasoned meat and berries. James watched a few hold off on it, some talking about wanting to save their money until they didn't have food in their inventory, and others planning on waiting until they could order tons of food at once. Eventually the idea of pooling gold together to order large amounts of food began circling around, as they realized the food they could fit into one order could come from any number of restaurants or convenience stores.
"If we pool our money and have one person to buy everything for each meal, we can save on the delivery fee nigh-indefinitely." A climber said. An excellent plan only mildly inconvenienced by the fact that so many people bought a meal the second they realized they could, and only a few dozen climbers hadn't bought something already. There will be a new wave of climbers every day though, each bringing another free use of all of the options provided. Despite the fear of multiplying prices, this isn't the huge money sink the store descriptions said they'd be.
The evening passed as many climbers enjoyed a good meal and a hot shower. Many climbers had also completed the extermination quest for a new set of clothes, and changed either within a private bathhouse instance, or behind the makeshift wall that served as the bathing area before the bathhouse was built.
Not everyone completed the extermination quest, the monsters the army faced didn’t attack evenly from each side, but it looks like more than half got both of the extermination rewards already.
The usual evening tasks of cooking the animals that had been killed and working on the outhouses almost stopped completely as many accepted the construction of the bathhouse and canteen as reason to celebrate. While the lack of a bed was a rude awakening that they hadn't yet reclaimed all of the comforts of home, many were happy to realize the buildings did not prevent you from sleeping in the foyer of the bathhouse or the cafeteria of the canteen, as many felt that clean wooden floors and tables were still a better alternative than the ground outside.
James watched through the observers of the few climbers that still kept watch during the night, until finally, the moment he was waiting for arrived.
[Administrator James, the day has ended. Tallying rewards.]