NOVEL NEXT Chapter 101
I decided to start with the melee fighting barracks, which now looked like a whole military camp in and of itself. Only instead of the tents one would have expected from an army on the move, the fenced area was filled with buildings and training grounds.
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Name: Melee Fighting Barracks
Level: 5
Level-Up Requirement: Settlement Level 6
Level-Up Cost: 160,000x Lumber Units (1,600,000 MP)
: 80,000x Stone Units (800,000 MP)
Level-Up Time: 14,400 minutes (8,640,000 MP)
Description: The perfect place to train for melee combat. The barracks are equipped with all the necessary training equipment and magical automations needed to strengthen the body and increase in aptitude with all close-combat weapons. Troops that train in these barracks gain a 10% increase in Physical Attack and Attack Speed.
* * *
The sudden influx of people had breathed new life into many buildings and constructions in our city, the barracks being one of them. Countless warriors performing a sword and shield routine under the command of their instructor looked like they were proud of what they were doing.
In one corner, the most muscular of the warriors were fighting each other, maces and chains in hand. No strikes were held back and by the look of the sand beneath their feet, this was one of the training courses that would often require the services of a healer.
The men and women training here were disciplined so well that none of them approached me as often happened in other parts of the city, save for the newly appointed headmaster, a goliath of a man carrying a large two-handed sword. Even then, the conversation was kept to the absolute minimum.
It seemed that the man hated small talk as much as I did and, having gotten what he wanted most--the upgrade of the barracks he was in charge of--his appetite for conversation had waned even further. Nothing could have satisfied him more after all. After inspecting how perfectly everything was running under him in the newly renovated barracks, I saluted him and moved to my next destination.
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Name: Ranged Fighting Barracks
Level: 5
Level-Up Requirement: Settlement Level 6
Level-Up Cost: 160,000x Lumber Units (1,600,000 MP)
: 80,000x Stone Units (800,000 MP)
Level-Up Time: 14,400 minutes (8,640,000 MP)
Description: The perfect place to train for ranged combat. Everything a fighter needs to excel in this style of fighting can be found in these barracks, from moving targets to a multitude of training weapons and projectiles. Fighters who do their training here will see an immediate increase in their agility and control over these weapons. Troops that train in these barracks gain a 10% increase in Physical Attack and Attack Speed.
* * *
As expected, the bonus for people training at this complex had been raised to ten percent as well. The layout of the place was fairly similar to that of the melee barracks, only there were more large empty spaces serving as the ranges in which the archers and users of ranged weapons practiced.
The headmistress of these barracks, an elven huntress--who as I remembered was an absolute fan of Artemis--went through the upgrades that the new level had brought to their establishment. Larger areas, more complicated training grounds, automations, arrow-making and reinforcing facilities were all among the many places she mentioned or showed to me.
There was nothing better than seeing buildings like this operating with such efficiency. Having seen the way the instructors were training our people, I had no doubt in my mind that they would soon become expert hunters and prove themselves mighty and worthy of a chance at real battle.
Satisfied with how well built and organized both of the barracks were, I headed toward the walls and more specifically one of the one hundred dragon-head sculptures on them. This was the other construction project that had finished today and I was eager to see its progress.
What I didn't expect to see was that the head seemed to have completely disappeared. At first I thought that I just couldn't see it without climbing onto the wall first, as the upgraded walls were much more significant now. Upon scaling the walls, however, I realized I was still unable to see the statues anywhere.
It surely would have been impossible to move all one hundred of the heads, not to mention that they were a structural part of the wall rather than just stuck on top of it. I even considered whether I might have accidentally dismantled them somehow, even though I had never even seen such an option available in the guild menus.
I pulled up the city management screen and then the evolved core construction projects. It was there and showed as though it was finished, so I focused on it.
* * *
Name: Dragon Ghost Protector
Level: 5
Level-Up Requirement: Settlement Level 6
Level-Up Cost: 10,000,000x Gold Units (10,000,000,000 MP)
Level-Up Time: 16,000 minutes (9,600,000 MP)
Description: The essence of Typhon, the one hundred-headed dragon, has been captured in the guild core and is available for use as long the core exists. By constructing one hundred golden dragon-head sculptures on the periphery of the city and hiding them inside the city walls, the ghost of the king of monsters can be unleashed upon anyone who dares attack the settlement. This defensive measure will cost 100,000,000 MP to activate, lasts for one hour, and can only be used once per week. During this time, each of the heads is able to breathe out its attacks and move around as far as its neck allows.
* * *
So the heads were still there but hidden inside the walls. As much as I wanted to see them come out and start looking for enemies to attack, I wasn't going to spend one hundred million MP just to do that. And I hoped that I would never have to, no matter how quickly things escalated with my father.
Since there was nothing more to look at, I decided to take up Ares' offer and have a beer with him or at least take a look at his agents before they were sent off on their missions. On my way there, I stumbled across Aphrodite and Artemis.
"Oh, wow, look at that level fifty-eight stud," Aphrodite said playfully.
"I bet he got some cool skill when he levelled up, like finding weaknesses on titans or something," Artemis added, and the two of them giggled.
"Damn right," I said, and puffed out my chest. "And I don't look a day older than when I was level twenty."
"The pygmies are almost ready if you want to check on them," Aphrodite said as they passed by me.
"I'll see what they've got tomorrow," I replied, continuing to walk but turning backward look at them as I did so. "I've got another thing to do just now."
"Always doing something," Artemis sighed.
They giggled again as they walked toward the blacksmith's workshop.
Their demeanor had changed significantly since we'd gained our level, and how could it not? It had been hard work and I wished there was a way around it, but XPing was the best way to increase our level. We could at least now get passive XP from people doing pilgrimages to our temple, that would be a very slow process and I doubted it would amount to anything resembling the relatively fast XP gains from fighting monsters.
Still, it was good to see them both cheerful and enjoying each other's company again. For the time being though, there was near-frozen beer with my name written on it somewhere in Ares' inventory.
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