Chapter 268. Second Stage.

I looked over the upgrade list again, and at first glance, I thought about building the road network. Given the trade agreement with Shoremarch, having a safer, and faster, way for our caravans to travel would be a huge bonus. The downside was that I was almost certain that the ability to build roads would pop up soon, perhaps even after the tier four upgrade for the headquarters was complete.

A resource node also sounded good at first, but there were likely other resources out on the map we hadn’t explored yet. In fact, there was a place marked with a special interest icon in the desert. It had popped up from the outdated map I’d purchased from Norber, which meant it might not be anything, but I wanted my team to check it out just in case.

The sorcerer’s hut and the beast tamer one were both interesting. I didn’t think either of those would appear naturally during the normal upgrades, so snagging one now might be the only chance I got for some unusual units. Which of the two was the best?

Magic slinging kobolds were pretty cool, but beast taming might be even better if we could capture and breed the various things out there trying to kill us. It was a tough call, and I could see the pros and cons of each. In the long run, sorcerers might be the better option, granting us easier and more consistent damage against our foes. Maybe it was time to get a second opinion.

“Melvin, what do you think I should do, go with beast tamers, or mages for our kobolds?” I asked. Melvin was silent for several long moments as he considered the options. The gelatinous cube in his armor form was a bit less chatty, but he could still communicate when it was needed.

Images of our kobolds with wolves and the ostrich monsters filled my mind. Before I could confirm that was what he wanted, Melvin shifted gears and I could see a line of kobold warriors standing firm while sorcerers behind the defending warriors began hurling a barrage of fireballs that obliterated anything in their path.

After considering both options, Melvin gave me the gelatinous cube equivalent of a shoulder shrug. He wasn’t going to be a great help, so I just made a decision based on what I thought would be the most effective.

The kobold sorcerers hut has been unlocked. A rank 0 version of this structure will be completed automatically, but it is up to you to upgrade the structure further. In addition to training some of your kobolds to use the inherent magic of their species, the sorcerers hut will also allow them to craft some minor magic items for both your people’s use, and as trade goods to sell to your trading partners. These magic items will improve as the rank of the structure increases.

I had the option of where I wanted to place the sorcerers hut, and I decided to have it next to the marketplace. Maybe that would help with using their magic items for trade. As I selected the location, the building began to rise from the cavern floor.

My new structure wasn’t much to look at, just a small hut made of mushroom stalks and wood scraps. It looked like one of the housing complex buildings, but round instead of rectangular. I almost used my structure upgrade token on the hut but held off. It would be foolish to burn that token on making a structure rank one when it could be used to bump a more expensive rank three building up to rank four.

While I waited for my headquarters to finish upgrading, I ordered my team to head toward the special interest icon on the map. It was going to bug me not knowing what was out there, so while they were already in the desert, it made sense to investigate. With little to do now, I stood by and watched the headquarters complete its upgrade.

This time, at rank four, the building stayed the same size. Instead, I received a newly upgraded map table with several chairs around it. It was all window dressing as I had no command team to discuss options with. The construction quality was also upgraded, with a base made from the stones we’d gotten in trade with the gnomes, while the upper portion was crafted from lumber. The pile of stones back at the marketplace was reduced by half as the system used them in the upgrade.

Before I dove into any headquarters changes, I used my upgrade token on the barracks. We needed more defenders and currently, it was just me and the workers available to defend the cavern. The upgrade token made the structure change before my eyes, and the whole process was completed in seconds.

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Just like with my headquarters, the barracks now had a stone base and wooden upper portions, draining the last of the stockpile of stone at the marketplace. The barracks also now had a small palisade around it made from mushroom stalks. There were still two entrances at either end of the building, but they had widened and now featured battlements above them. A pair of kobolds stood guard at each end of the structure entrances.

There weren’t any kobolds to train yet, as the farms and housing complexes were still upgrading themselves. These were automatic, and free upgrades, so I couldn’t complain if it was taking longer with each new rank. What I could do was use the new building slots that opened, and I queued up a new farm and housing complex to add to what we already had.

The resources in my silo dipped, but it was still a quarter full, giving me enough to start one more structure upgrade. I chose the marketplace, as I needed more traders to work the trade route I’d just unlocked. With the buildings underway, I was now forced to wait while more resources were gathered.

Looking over my new headquarters, a system prompt appeared telling me there had been some changes after the upgrade.

Congratulations on creating a Rank 4 headquarters. A new building type has been unlocked. A new faction option has been unlocked.

New structure options.

1. Trade routes. You may now construct crude trade routes to speed up and improve the safety of trade in your zone. Construction is limited to the existing routes between all trading partners and confederated factions. The crude road network increases the speed of all travelers by 2% and reduces the dangers of hostile wildlife by 25%.

New faction option.

1. Joint exercises. Training cadre from your barracks will share their knowledge with the other species in your confederation. In return, their trainers will visit your barracks to improve the training and skills of your troops.

The new structure option was just what I’d expected, the ability to build roads. I was now glad that I hadn’t picked it as my free upgrade. Having roads for free and instantly built was great, but I’d have given up the kobold sorcerers in exchange for a bit of convenience.

I was also curious how the joint training exercises would pan out. The system hadn’t mentioned that I’d have to supply a squad of trainers, so it didn’t appear that I was going to be depleted of any of my existing troops. We were spread thin as it was, so I didn’t want any additional obligations to bleed off more manpower, or kobold power in this case.

Four kobold warriors walked out of the newly upgraded barracks. They broke up into pairs and one headed for the elf forest while the other team were on the trade route to the human village. In return, a pair of human and elvish warriors left from their perspective homes, walking slowly toward the kobold cavern as the training exchange got underway.

A loud gong and a system announcement startled me and caused me to jump.

The first stage of your challenge is now complete, and the second stage will begin shortly. New changes will occur in your zones and for those that have fully explored your territory, some hint at the changes will be given on your headquarters map.

In this second stage, you must do all you can to prepare your people for the final challenge. Exploit your resources, grow in power, and foster alliances with those around you. A new threat will arise in each zone during the second stage, an omen for things to come. Uncover this threat and deal with it or face a more difficult time during the third and final stage of the challenge.

This stage will last a total of 40 days. Use your time wisely.

I had lost track of time, not realizing that the first thirty days had already passed inside this challenge. From the announcement I was going to benefit a bit more from my decision to explore quickly. Also, there was some sort of threat brewing that I had to find and deal with before the next stage.

The announcement also reminded me that the Gavelox Trading Consortium and Food Court out in the forest clearing was supposed to be open now. Was that a new opportunity or was it the threat that had to be dealt with?

One of your trading caravans is under attack.

One of your allied trading caravans is under attack.

One of your trading partners is under attack.

Your home cavern is under attack.

What was going on? My headquarters map lit up with danger notifications and my team of minions was still out in the desert, way too far to come and help. Whatever was going on, it looked like I was going to have to deal with it myself.

First off, I checked out our cavern. I could deal with attacks on the trade routes only after I was sure my home base wasn’t about to be overrun. I could see several attackers had spawned in the marketplace and were engaging a gnome caravan that had just arrived.

Several of my kobold workers were down and the gnome traders were trying to defend themselves but weren’t doing a very good job of it. Our attackers were odd, misshapen creatures, vaguely humanoid, but giving off a sense of wrongness even looking at them through the headquarters interface. Instead of arms and hands, the things had tentacles that they used to tear and rend apart the helpless victims.

Checking to make sure my gear was ready; I ran from the headquarters. I had to defend against this attack, or the arena challenge was as good as done.