NOVEL NEXT Chapter 118
I pulled up the next building in my list.
* * *
Name: Academics and Research Institution
Level: 5
Researchers: 24/24
Available Research: Improved Resource Gathering - Lumber Level 8
Improved Resource Gathering - Metals Level 8
Improved Resource Gathering - Stone Level 8
Improved Resource Gathering - Farming Level 3
Magic Core Extraction Level 1
Magic Core Attachment Level 1
Level-Up Requirement: Settlement Level 6
Level-Up Cost: 6,400x Lumber Units (64,000 MP)
3,200x Stone Units (32,000 MP)
Construction Time: 3,840 minutes (2,304,000 MP)
Description: Knowledge is the ultimate currency in the world of Apocosmos. This institution is focused on discovering long lost truths, deciphering the meaning of past events in order to provide insights into the future, and pushing the limits of understanding. Through time and perseverance, the institution can provide permanent boosts to all facets of life in the Apocosmos.
* * *
The research topics had been great at increasing the yield of our resource gathering facilities so far, and I was sure the magic core extraction would become useful once it was completed in a couple of days. Perhaps it’d be completed even faster if more researcher slots opened with the upgrade.
The building earned an extra floor once the materials settled into its new form and, even from this distance, I could see long corridors of tall bookcases through the large windows. I could only hope that some of the newcomers would be scholars so that the institution would bear fruit faster.
* * *
Name: Academics and Research Institution
Level: 6
Researchers: 24/240
Available Research: Improved Resource Gathering - Lumber Level 9
Improved Resource Gathering - Metals Level 9
Improved Resource Gathering - Stone Level 9
Improved Resource Gathering - Farming Level 5
Magic Core Extraction Level 1
Magic Core Attachment Level 1
Forever Learning
Description: Knowledge is the ultimate currency in the world of Apocosmos. This institution is focused on discovering long lost truths, deciphering the meaning of past events in order to provide insights for the future, and pushing the limits of understanding. Through time and perseverance, the institution can provide permanent boosts to all facets of life in the Apocosmos. Additionally, scholars are now able to write books about research topics that have been mastered. These books cut the time required to research the topic they are targeting by anywhere from 20% to 90%, depending on the level of the scholar.
* * *
I could already see three positive things about the maxed-out research institution. For starters, we could now put more people into research. Ten times more to be exact, which also meant that we would be able to level up the research topics ten times faster.
The second thing I noticed was the Forever Learning research topic. At first I was a bit disappointed not to see an extended list of research topics but this one looked promising, if only for its name.
* * *
Name: Forever Learning
Level: -
Type: Passive
RP Needed: 1000
Precondition: None
Description: The greatest quality of scholars is their unending hunger for knowledge. Research on the nature of Dark Energy information and how to break the limits of learning will open the doors to an existence where knowledge is cherished and appreciated above all else. Once completed, new research topics will appear on the roster of the Academics and Research Institution every day. If the topic is a chain of multiple levels, the chain will remain available after the first level is completed. If no research is done on a topic after a full day, the topic will disappear.
* * *
As expected, this was something that would carry us well into the future. I wondered what kind of research topics would start appearing and if there would be a way to somehow affect what was offered to us. I sincerely doubted that we would ever have a say in the topics, just like we didn’t have a say in the nature of the magic items that manifested on the altar, but I could hope.
"Aphrodite, can you please prioritize scholars when admitting new citizens?" I asked her in the guild chat. "We got more than two hundred new slots just now."
"I thought you might say that, so I'm already doing it," she replied almost instantly.
"You're the best."
"Tell me something new, darling," she said with confidence. "Though two hundred might be too many. I don't think I'll have them all filled today. I'll need to put out a call for scholars and researchers."
"Thank you," I said, and closed the guild chat to continue my work.
The last benefit I saw to the upgraded institution was creating the books that would allow other guilds to finish their research faster. This could be helpful in two ways. The most obvious one was selling them to guilds who had enough money to pay for them, but not enough patience to wait for the normal research time. The less obvious way we might benefit from them was in the event we somehow got our hands on a second place of power. Considering we would be going after my father on Mount Orthys, this wasn't such a big stretch, so I made another mental note—this time, to make sure that we would look into creating at least one book on each of our mastered research topics and keep them until we got a second town. A guild core without the crazy amounts of mana ours had would probably need all the external help it could get in order to continue growing.
The second-to-last construction project was probably Ares's favorite, since he seemed to be as much interested in inciting wars as he was in fighting them—if not more.
* * *
Name: Intelligence Agency
Level: 5
Operatives: 8/8
Assignments: Espionage - Information Gathering (6)
Espionage - Steal Technology (0)
Sabotage - Incite discord (0)
Sabotage - Active planning or technological sabotage (0)
Surveillance - Keeping tabs on high-risk individuals (2)
Level-Up Requirement: Settlement Level 6
Resources Needed: 3,600x Lumber Units (36,000 MP)
Level-Up Time: 8,000 minutes (4,800,000 MP)
Description: Intelligence operatives serve their city in the darkest shadows and deepest crevices of the Apocosmos. When there is information that might be of benefit to their homeland, these agents would sacrifice even their own lives in order to acquire it. Having an Intelligence Agency means that a city is interested in becoming a major player in the web that is the Apocosmos. Pieces of information may start flowing toward the masters of the agency almost immediately after its construction, and targeted espionage becomes available during wartime or for financial gain..
* * *
Despite the fact I trusted his skills in managing the agency, I didn't just let him do whatever he wanted. The instructions I had given him were very specific. He was supposed to keep tabs on the two Norse gods we’d pissed off and get information on anything that might prove useful to us regarding my father and his troops.
We would soon need to put some agents on a similar task, only they would need to gather intel about my uncle Hyperion, since I didn't expect him to like us keeping Hephaestus longer than we agreed. And the thing with my uncle was that he was far less predictable than my father, so I expected we'd need double as many agents snooping around in his affairs to get half as much information.
With all that said and done, I was ready to look at the final regular construction project for our guild.
* * *
Name: Sky Harbor
Level: 5
Level-Up Requirement: Settlement Level 6
Level-Up Cost: 72,000x Lumber Units (720,000 MP)
24,000x Aluminum Units (240,000 MP)
Level-Up Time: 16,000 minutes (9,600,000 MP)
Description: A floating harbor that can hold up to 4 flying ships. The dock and a building for processing flying vessels are permanently enchanted to float a constant distance above the surface the harbor is bound to. Individuals can access the harbor by any non-magical means that connect it to the ground.
* * *
The sky harbor was still flying empty above our town, mostly serving as an observation platform or a romantic place for couples to watch the sunset or sunrise. I knew Aphrodite was in talks to acquire sky-ships but since this wasn’t a priority compared to the rest of her tasks and the countless hours of farming XP, she hadn’t managed to reach a deal quite yet.
This didn't mean that I couldn't upgrade it though, especially since the cost was barely more than ten million MP—now only ten minutes of the MP generators running. I didn’t care much for the additional airship slots that would most probably come with leveling up the harbor, but I wanted to see if there was any additional benefit tied to reaching the maximum level.
* * *
Name: Sky Harbor
Level: 6
Description: A floating harbor that can hold up to 40 flying ships. The dock and a building for processing flying vessels are permanently enchanted to float a constant distance above the surface the harbor is bound to. Individuals can access the harbor by any non-magical means that connect it to the ground. Upon request of the Harbor Master, a thick cloud can completely surround the harbor, obscuring it from onlookers.
* * *
It was good to see that the tenfold trend applied even to the airship slots of the harbor, despite the fact we didn’t really need them yet. The added benefit of shrouding the harbor in a cloud was probably going to be useful if we had some vessels to protect so it wasn't particularly useful at the moment but didn't really hurt either.
I closed all the information windows and rubbed my eyes. With the exception of the houses and farms that would be built over time, and the wonder of the world that was too costly to put up without seeing the rest of the construction projects first, I had upgraded the guild to its maximum.
Looking at the town, which was now illuminated by torches and hearthfires inside the buildings, I noticed Artemis walking from the mining camp toward Hephaestus’ workshop with a large group of pygmies. They were each pushing carts filled with ores, which I supposed were today's harvest from their work in the bowels of Mount Olympus.
Perhaps there was still some time left to go through the rest of the available buildings after all.