“There are no other survivors.” Wren stated. The proof sitting before her eyes.

“Are you sure?” Yuji asked, sounding considerably skeptical.

Wren sighed and mentally turned the blue and white screen around. “Here. Right here. It says ‘Citizens - 2’. That's me and you. Everyone else is dead.”

Yuji cocked an eyebrow at her.

“I need to figure this thing out. Why don't you go search for supplies. Prioritize food. Then you can see for yourself that everyone, other than us, is dead.”

Wren watched Yuji’s narrow eyes narrow further, but he gave her a sharp nod and headed for the makeshift entryway, leaving Wren in a large and very empty dark room lit only by the pale blue light of her Mayor’s Interference. With him otherwise distracted, she could now get some work done.

As her Mayoral Office was a mere Level 0, most things were locked out. Pretty much any and all statistics were hidden until her Office reached Level 1. She could see a list of all basic resources in her stockpiles. A big fat zero declared the amount of each item. She also had access to the Tech Trees and villagers spawner. Both of Wren's fists came down on the makeshift desk causing the wood to make a cracking sound. She didn't hear it over her swearing. Her newly elevated intellect bringing new color and enthusiasm to the string of obscenities currently spouting from her mouth. She leaned back in her chair, a slightly broken and wholly empty crate, and let out a long sigh. The Tech Trees were completely empty. There wasn't anything she could do about it, but the realization that she was starting over from the stone age was maddening. The only bright side was that her previous knowledge of things seemed to allow her to skip a few techs. On further inspection she found other techs that she wasn't familiar with. It also seemed that her knowledge of farming gave research points to various related techs. Mitigating the amount of research needed to unlock them. Noting that, she found that Yuji was also giving research points to a much wider number of Techs. That was strange. It was like he had a much broader, but shallower knowledge of things. The amount of Research Points she was giving to “Crop Rotation” was equivalent to Yuji’s contribution to “Wharf Management”, “Advanced Irrigation Systems”, and “Rocket Mass Heaters” all combined. He gave a large boost to “Rice Paddy Cultivation” and the Techs related to processing the rice. Wren didn't know what the hell rice was, but thetiles's blurb made it sound like a grain grown in water. Yesterday Wren would have found that concept to be utterly ridiculous. Today the fields were nothing but still smoldering ash. Giving the idea of a crop that was possibly harder to set ablaze some serious merit. Wren closed the Tech Trees. There wasn't anything she could do about it right now.

Opening the villager Spawn option. She looked over her choices. From the moment she first saw Yuji she had expected him to back away from her. His initial dismissive glance had felt like an insult. He was human. She was Azradai. Wren didn't know if the knowledge was something gained from her pre-sapient days or if it had been downloaded into her upon her elevation to a Player Character, but she expected the human to distrust her race. If not, fear it. Yuji had not only shown a lack of fear or distrust, but had on the contrary, seemed like he hadn't even noticed. There were many possibilities for this reaction. Her initial thought was that The System had altered his perception of her. He could of course have come from a place where Azradai were common. Perhaps he expected things here to be different from wherever he had come from and was far more open minded than she was giving him credit for. Wren now knew the answer to that small insignificant mystery. Standing on the desk before her was a slowly rotating three dimensional image of an Azradai. The informational tag above the figure's head read “Iteyan Akumaji.” It made her wonder what the difference was. The facial features looked more like Yuji’s. The skin tone was paler. They however looked for all the world like an Azradai. “Why the Hell is this not an Azradai?” Wren hadn't expected The System to answer her question, but wasn't wholly surprised when it did.

“Akumajin, literally Demon Person, is a person with demonic heritage that has been expressed and reinforced so many times that the people have become their own race. All Akumajin have a single ancestor demon. Akumajin and Azradai have an interchangeable meaning. Would you like to rename Iteyan Akumaji to Iteyan Azradai?”

Wren dismissed the prompt, preferring to leave the names separate. That did bring up the surprising fact that she had some ability to alter name tags. At least in a limited sense. She returned her attention to the start of the list of Spawnable races. After Azradai came the Iteyan Human. Nothing special there beyond the facial features. Next was the Iteyan Oni-Sen. They mostly looked like the human except with pointed ears and long gently curving white horns that protruded from the forehead and almost straight upward. Iteyan Oni-Kai looked to be a half breed between Oni-Sen and Human. The informational tag admitted as much. They had considerably shorter horns and less pointed ears. The Iteyan Akumaji, she had already inspected. She wondered if they and her own Azradai had a similar progenitor. They just looked too much like herself. Next on the list was the Iteyan Kitsune. This one looked human save for fox-like ears and a bushy tail. An appended note stated that they could not breed with other Iteyan races. Did that mean there were other races that they could interbreed with? All these races required thirty units of food to spawn. Basically thirty days worth of food. It was going to take a while to scavenge that. The final spawnable race took 120 units. A full year's worth. That certainly wasn't the first thing Wren noticed. The Iteyan Hibijin, literally “Snake Person” according to the add on information, was well, a snake person. From the waist up the male figure looked along like Yuji. Though with pointed ears. From the waist down was a thick and long snake-like body. Somehow the lack of hips bothered her. Apparently the Hibijin required double the amount of food per day when active and half when at rest. The race was also locked until her Town Hall hit level 1. Not like she had the food anyway.

Before she left her station to search the ruins for supplies, Wren had one more order of business. She had four available Perk Points and a new Class to spend them in. General advice was to hoard your points until level 5. Then you could spend your valuable and very limited Perk Points on Perks that did more for your chosen Class based Profession. It only took one xp to go from level 0 to level 1. Wren's first Perk Point had come on her birthday as The System granted 1xp per year of life. You would have to survive 201 years to make level 2 in that way. Not really realistic. Level 3 would take an additional 400 years. Azradai only lived about 240 years. She had been urged to save that single point, but a particularly lean winter had seen her put it into “Endure Elements 1”. She opened her Character Sheet and gave it a quick once over.

Nothing special. Her statistics were the average array. Her highest being constitution, had been great as a Farm Girl. It gave her plenty of stamina to get her through the long work days. As a Fledgling Mayor, it was near useless. While that all seemed perfectly normal, her experience counter was not. Gone was the number that told her how many Experience Points she had versus the needed to achieve the next level. In its place was a large, bold asterisk. Focusing on the symbol brought up more information. Apparently her level was now tied to the town's level. Specifically the town level plus five. Wren would have to look into that later.

Her Perk Tree now had a second tab for her new Class. Just to make sure there was nothing in the Commoner tree that could be useful, she looked that one over first. The Commoner Perks Tree was more of a bush. Lots of broad spectrum Perks with few branches. Things that made life more bearable. Extra stamina or reduced need for food. Stuff like that. Her single Perk, “Endure Elements 1,” had unlocked three other tiles on that branch. “Heat Resistance,” “Cold Resistance,” and “Humidity Resistance.” Increaseing “Endure Elements 1” to “Endure Elements 2” would give a small bump to her resistances to all three of these, but selecting one of the “Resistances” would give a much more significant increase to that one type. Her zone was temperate. Bumping her “Endure Elements” up to two would probably be better for her in the long run, but that was if she remained a Farm Girl. She wasn't anymore. As a Fledgling Mayor, she wished she could get that Perk Point back. There was nothing useful in her Commoner Class Perk Tree so she rubbed her hands together and moved over to the Fledgling Mayor Perk Tree.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

This one was more tree-like. It split into three main branches. Efficiency, Resources, and Construction. Beyond each of those were more tiles, but they were hidden. Wren's heart fell as she realized that she needed to burn valuable Perk Points just to see past this first vague and uninspired layer. Efficiency increased the movement and work speed of her subjects by two percent. Construction increased the building speed by two percent. And Resources increased the amount of resources gathered, again by two percent. She was going to have to bite the metaphorical bullet and burn a previous Perk Point. Wren briefly wondered where slings and sling bullets were in the Tech Tree. Then she pinched the bridge of her nose and returned her focus to the task at hand. Each Perk was useful, even if just a bit. A two percent increase in anything meant that if fifty people were working on a task, it was like having fifty one people. Right now it was useless, but as Haven was returned to its former glory, it would add up. What she needed right now was a way to reduce the cost of spawning new people. She grit her teeth together and selected Resources.

Like her “Endure Elements” Perk, the tile was selectable again. Now offering a four percent increase to resources gathered. Also like her “Endure Elements” Perk, it opened three other tiles that gave a much larger increase in more specific resource types. Unlike her Commoner Class Perk however, each of the now revealed tiles led to more hidden tiles. Wren looked over each of the revealed Perks. “Food Systems” gave a five percent increase to gathered food items and a two percent increase to the research rate for food system related techs in the Tech Tree. “Building Materials” gave a similar set of bonuses for building related resources and resource processing techs. “Value Add Products” again gave similar bonuses, but to the value of crafted products. Wren wanted all of them. If the pattern held, each successive layer would become more specialized. It was a trap. A horrible and very serious trap. It would take eleven more Perk Points just to buy level 1 of each tile she knew was on this tree. She would never have that many. Long term, “Value Add Products” was the way to go.

She returned her attention to the main branches. If a reduction in needed food resources for spawning wasn't on the “Resources” branch, perhaps the “Efficiencies” branch would have something. She winced as she spent the Perk Point, watching as the three grayed out tiles revealed themselves and showed others that that existed beyond the unlocked tiles. As she looked over them, she swore. “Worker Efficiency” increased the work speed of all labor classes by five percent and gave a two percent increase to research rates for techs that further increased worker effectiveness. “Upkeep Efficiency” reduced upkeep costs and helped with related techs. Again with the five and two percent respectively. “Resource Efficiency” reduced the material cost for building and construction projects. Also a boost to techs. Same as all the others. There had to be a long game strategy. She was now doubly sure that an economic focus would be best. “Worker Efficiency” coupled with “Value Add Products” seemed the way to go. Still didn't help with the here and now.

She almost skipped the construction branch. Putting in another point just to see what was on the other side seemed disastrous and foolish. But… both the Efficiency and Resources Branches had things that worked well together. She was going to regret it. She knew she was going to regret it. Point spent, she held her breath as the “Construction” tile switched to “Construction 2”, the next three tiles lit up with information, and other tiles showed their existence. Wren hadn't even read the new tiles before her fist hit the table top with enough force to rattle her makeshift desk and an angry curse echoed around the walls of the former granary. A full, very valuable Perk Point spent just to reveal three tiles covered with the symbol of a white lock. She wanted to scream her frustrations at the sky, but reigned in enough rage to look over the tiles and see just how badly she was screwed.

“Civil Engineering.” This one decreased the time required to build related buildings and structures. As always, by five percent. And as always, it reduced the research time required for related techs by two percent. There certainly was a theme. It was locked until her Town Hall was level 2 and she had an appropriately Classed individual to serve as the Civil Engineer. A drop down listed acceptable Classes. That actually, wasn't terrible. Not ideal, but she would eventually meet those requirements. Wren still wanted her Perk Point back, but the sting from losing it was lessened.

“Market Structures” increased building time for income generating structures, five percent. Increase research rate, two percent. Again this needed a level 2 Town Hall and an appropriately Classed person for the Required office. It fit well with the “Worker Efficiency” and “Value Add Products” combo she was currently considering.

The last option was “Fortified Structures.” She almost dismissed this one right out of the gate. Then again, her town had been fully sacked, so she better at least read it. No surprise. Increased building and research rates. And it needed a level 2 Town Hall with an appropriately Classes person. That's where the similarities stopped. The requirement for the appropriately classed person had a small green check mark. Opening the drop down, Wren found “Militia Leader” with Yuji Han in parenthesis. That was convenient. Not a reason to spend a Perk Point on the Perk, but nice that it would list the name of the qualifying person. She dropped out of her menu while considering the more economic path. The dark interior of the former Granary now Level 0 Town Hall greeted her. It would be a while before looking into the Construction section of the Perk Tree was even plausible, but there may be some merit to “Fortified Structures.” Now she had to search for food. Thirty units worth. Plus something for her to eat.

***

Tio the Bard sat slumped in his chair. His right arm lay over his torso, providing support to his left via the elbow. His left hand scratched at the stubble on his chin as he stared at his screens. He turned to look at Aezlyn. She was slumped over her desk, head propped up with one hand as she stared at her own screens with an aura of resigned defeat.

“Hey Aezlyn.” Tio said, stirring the proto-demon from her melancholic slumped.

“Huh?”

Tio turned one of his screens toward her. It depicted several images of Wren. “Azradai. Is she one of your's?”

Aezlyn straightened in her seat and leaned in closer. Eyes evaluating the burnished bronze colored woman. She shrugged her pale shoulders and added a noncommittal, “I don't know?”

“Alright, just curious.” Tio replied.

“Curious about what?” Asked the voice of She Who Sees Lies And Tells Only Truth.

Tio turned the monitor a bit so the third entity in their little trio of 1st world cast offs could see Wren. “Curious if Aezlyn bred this race into existence like she did the Akumajin.”

She Who Sees Lies And Tells Only Truth evaluated the image. The tiny red lights in her otherwise empty dark sockets shifted between the girl on the screen and her proto-demon companion. “Perhaps. Same tail.”

“Right.” Replied Tio. “How many others breed actual races into existence?”

“Are you implying I breed too much?” The proto-succubus asked with more than a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Tio cocked an eyebrow at her. “Me? I'm not judging. I'm literally the reason for the stereotype.”

“She's just upset because Relentless is losing again.”

“He's not losing.” Aezlyn snapped.

“What's he up to?” Tio asked hesitantly.

The proto-succubus sighed and slumped back onto her desk. “He's banging his head against Fortress’ shields.”

The girl who looked like a younger and creepier version of the girl from ‘The Ring’ made an airsucking sound through her ridiculously pointed teeth.

“Unstoppable force versus an immovable object?” Tio added. “Might be entertaining.” He knew the two Deva would be too perfectly matched and he suspected a third party influence. Fortress and Relentless would grind each other down to nothing. Then Aezlyn would watch Relentless die. Again. “They're adjacent zones.” He mumbled to himself. Aezlyn sighed and gave a noncommittal sound of acknowledgement, but he hadn't meant that they were adjacent to each other. The two were adjacent to his zone.

“Why join this game now?” She Who Sees Lies And Tells Only Truth asked. “And why choose him?” She added, pointing to an image of Yuji. “He's not exactly winning material even if you had chosen at the beginning.”

Tio nodded his understanding of the question. “I'm not choosing him. I'm choosing them.”

She Who Sees Lies And Tells Only Truth frowned. “But she's just an NPC.”

“Sure, but isn’t everyone?”

She Who Sees Lies And Tells Only Truth tilted her head. “You’re not trying to win this are you?”

Tio grinned. “Lets just say, I have a wider range of victory conditions.”