Sure enough, the next morning after the workers had left, my point cap was once again limited to a mere one hundred. Of the hundred and fifty workers that had come with Jamie, only twenty-five of them stayed behind to become permanent residents of the village. Some of those took up positions in the shop, managing the inventory and day-to-day business, while others worked in the warehouse.
In order to get back to my previous level, I’ll need at least a hundred and twenty more people, I thought to myself. Moreover, I had lost the village’s treasurer since Wesley had left to work on recruitment.
Theoretically, I could recruit Jamie for the position, but I chose not to despite her skill level being higher than Wesley’s. The reason behind this was that I was not sure that I could entirely trust her, given that she was primarily loyal to her own company. Despite our beneficial trade negotiations, there was nothing stopping her from secretly embezzling funds or conducting shady business.
Although I could keep an eye on her at all times to track her actions, I wasn’t an accountant. There were surely multiple tricks that a merchant could use to tamper with ledgers that could fool someone who was not well-versed with the trade.
Naturally, there was the option to create a treasurer in the same way that I created Glynda. But, at most, I could create someone with four ranks in Management until our point cap was increased. This was still not as good as Jamie’s skill, but it was better than nothing.
That said, I didn’t plan to do that, either. While it was certainly an option, I didn’t want to have all of the key roles in the village filled by spawned entities like Prim, Lesley, and Glynda. If I did, it could create the image that there was no room for advancement within the village, and outside forces could use it as an excuse to target us.
I’ll just have Glynda try to improve Briar’s skill level.
Briar was the only original villager with the Management skill, though it was only at level one. With Glynda teaching him, there was hope for advancement before Wesley returned.
Until then, however, I was still completely filling my point limit every day, and needed to spend it. Since I had created the foundation for me to develop monsters to the north, it was time for me to start reaching towards the south. Maybe, with enough time passing, I would be able to reach the dungeon where the Rose Blades had gone.
As the days passed, the weather gradually became worse and worse. Sometimes, we faced heavy rainstorms that lasted for days, and other times the temperature would plummet, causing the ground to freeze over. If not for the abundant food provided by the farm, I had no idea how a tiny village like this would expect to survive through the autumn season, let alone winter.
A month passed by like this, without any signs of new villagers coming from the north. It was possible that they had been delayed due to the inclement weather, or that Wesley was simply having difficulties recruiting people.
During this month, I continued my expansion both into the forest and down south. Thankfully, it was possible to buy land with monster points, of which I was now earning in abundance thanks to the spawners.
In addition to this, the horned rabbit nests had a large increase in their population, since some of the original rabbits had bred and produced their first litters. Thanks to this, even if some were hunted by goblins or other monsters, I had enough monsters to reliably keep my monster point cap at one thousand, and could fill it quite quickly.
Furthermore, I took advantage of my connection with Ugor, the goblin shaman, and put on a show of him ‘summoning the power of the king’. In truth, this power was simply me placing a spike trap on the ground to help goblins hunt for prey.
In addition, thanks to my monster population being maintained at such a high level, I was able to unlock the ability to build an underground cave network. This worked similarly to building roads in my village, though it was understandably more expensive to tunnel underground. Regardless, I created a tunnel network that connected the two goblin nests, allowing them to join together as one community. Get faster updates on novelping.com.
After creating this combined community, I decided to let my points build up, curious to see what other monster-related unlocks there were. Maybe some kind of monster creator, or a taming system to let me bring wild monsters under my control?
However, after a few days of waiting, what I found was quite different from my expectations. For five hundred monster points, I could create my own dungeon. There were various restrictions, such as only being able to place the dungeon within an existing cave network, but having the dungeon would make monster spawners cheaper within the dungeon.
Though, if they’re cheaper, they probably won’t count towards giving me points, I thought to myself as I read through the description. The only reason that the spawners would be cheaper was as a way to reliably populate the dungeon, but doing so would naturally come with its drawbacks.
For the time being, I didn’t create the dungeon, simply letting my points settle at around five hundred. I wanted to speak with a guild representative before I caused a new dungeon to randomly appear, especially given what was happening to the south.
As I was pondering the implications of this dungeon, I noticed the Rowal caravan returning from another trip. However, I once again noticed that they seemed not to be alone. This time, however, it wasn’t a group of highly trained adventurers escorting them, but rather a group of commoners, their faces gaunt with malnutrition.
I could make out nine adults, and nearly twenty children, all clutching the hands of their parents as they walked along. It seemed that the first wave of recruits had finally arrived.
Glynda stood at the edge of the village with Prim, waiting to greet the newcomers after having been told of their arrival. The two looked like the picture of nobility, one dressed in an elegant white and gold priestess dress while the other wore a long red dress with a black corset, a pair of glasses framing her face.
When the new arrivals saw the duo, they shrank back in fear, their heads bowed submissively. “None of that now,” Prim said in a gentle tone, addressing the newcomers while the merchant caravan made their way towards the stables. “I assume you all came here with the desire to learn?”
One of the women, a middle-aged human with already-greying hair, stepped forward, mustering the courage to speak. “My ladies, please. Do with me as you wish, but… if there is even an ounce of truth to the claims, please allow my boys to study here. I’ve no hope for myself, but they’re young, hardworking boys.”
“You misunderstand,” Prim explained softly. “We have no desire to force anything on anyone. If you can find work in the village, you will be paid. All housing is freely provided, and we are more than happy to accept promising young students.”
As Prim spoke, Glynda stepped forward. The two young boys next to the peasant woman hid behind her, their shoulders trembling. However, Glynda knelt down on one knee, looking at them with a warm smile. “Easy there. I’m not going to hurt you. From what I understand, the two of you are going to become my precious students?”
The two boys poked their heads out from behind their mother, their eyes wet as they nodded towards Glynda. The elven woman kept that same expression as she spoke. “In that case, my name is Glynda, it’s nice to meet you. Until now, we’ve only had a single child in the school. Can I count on the two of you to get along with him?”
The two boys looked up at their mother, who seemed surprised by the unusually caring treatment. “Y-you are the school’s teacher?”
Glynda looked up at the mother, nodding her head. “To be more precise, I am the administrator of the school district. As more students arrive, we will create more schools to accommodate them. I assure you, miss, your children are in good hands.”
The other new villagers watched from the side, as if unsure what to think of the scene before them. That was, until a loud voice called out, startling them. “Hey! We got new people!?” Sylphy ran over, her eyes wide with delight. “Wow, they look like they haven’t eaten in weeks! That won’t do, won’t do at all! We need to have a party to welcome them!”
Seeing the cheerful demeanor on Sylphy’s face, Prim let out a resigned sigh, the corners of her lips tugging slightly. “And let me guess, you wish for the party to include a banquet provided by the village?” she asked, and Sylphy’s grin widened.
“Well, naturally! As a proud member of the local church, I believe that it is only right for us to provide care for those in need,” Sylphy put on a righteous expression as she said that, but Prim knew better. Sylphy hadn’t been able to find work easily the last few days, and was looking for an excuse to treat herself to a free meal. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
Still, looking at the state of the new villagers, Prim ultimately consented. “The lord has said that this is fine. We will prepare a fine feast for everyone who wishes to attend. Sylphy, go and collect the outdoor menus.”
Sylphy practically squealed, running into the tavern. Because of the growing population of the village, an outdoor seating area had been created next to the tavern. However, this seating area did not have the benefit of access to the tavern’s system, so a menu was manually transcribed with prices for those who wished to order outside. A waiter would take their order and the required payment, go inside and collect the food, and rush it out towards their table. Of course, for those who weren’t able to read, illustrations were provided for many of the food items.
Prim turned to face the new residents, her smile returning. “Please, follow me. And do not worry, we will cover everything for the meal, so order whatever you wish. Once you have rested, you can begin looking for work tomorrow while your children get acquainted with the school.”
Watching the villagers adjust to their daily life, I realized how difficult life must have been in other villages. So far, everyone brought by Wesley had been from Corvath, so I didn’t get a good look at true village life.
Now, though, everyone had arrived with dirty, patchwork clothes. The women and children were skinny to the point where their bones were almost visible, while the men were muscular from long days of manual labor. There were even many who had arrived sick or injured, needing to be treated at the church before being sent to their new homes.
The shock that came when they experienced this village, on the other hand, was even more profound. Whether it was the houses, the meals in the tavern, even the farms seemed like mystical realms in their eyes.
Thankfully, the existing villagers were welcoming, and helped everyone get new clothing, especially the young children that would be attending the school.
Speaking of the school… I finally had my first, fleeting glimpse of the benefits that could be offered by the school. Four days after the new villagers arrived, as all nineteen students were studying their letters, a message window briefly flashed by.
Research option appears!
T2 House - 350C to unlock.
Insufficient C points. Research option cancelled.
…So, I need the points available to unlock it when the option becomes available? I fumed mentally when I realized this, understanding that it must have been similar to the situation where the awakened weapon was destroyed. The system was encouraging me to keep a large number of points on hand in case of emergencies, and only build using the surplus.
Unfortunately, until my population rose again, that wouldn’t be an option either way. Still, I had at least verified that the second tier of buildings were available from the school, which was worth noting down for when Wesley returned.
Still, three hundred and fifty points to unlock the next set of houses? I felt like that was a bit much, since even the Lord’s Manor only cost one hundred. It’s probably because the manor isn’t meant to be placed more than once or something…