Town Builder

Chapter 36: Finally Upgraded to a Village!

I really thought Simba would appear when I reached level 20. I did feel the rush as my items that required level 20 to use suddenly padded my stats!

Without Simba, I would have to select something on my own. I eliminated all the combat traits. If I was going to grow Malcum, I should focus on my building or town management skills. Many options were currently hidden. The system message sometimes said I didn’t meet the requirements to view or was in development, so I couldn’t view them. I started shortening my list and came up with five options to choose between.

Lord’s Call II, upgrade to add 5 NPC auction bidding slots

Clever Architect, +5 skill points to Artistry: Architect, +1% chance to improve building plans when drafting

NPC Empathy, reveals an NPC personality in the NPC auction

NPC Family Ties, reveals how large a family connected to an NPC in the auction house is

Blacklist Awareness, alerts a player when anyone on their blacklist is within 100 yards

Lord’s Tithe, Lord of the city gets 0.1% of all experience earned by the subjects that are within 100 yards of him

It took me over an hour to narrow down my list to just these five. The clever architect's skill seemed powerful, but I queried the system, and it only had a chance of improving plans on their first draft and no effect when I redrafted plans. However, there were additional tiers of the skill so maybe that would improve to 2% at tier 2? Or maybe it just increased the improvement? I queried the system again and got a complete response this time.

Clever Architect has a chance to improve upon any building bonuses applied to a new set of building plans. It does not give a chance to improve a building's rarity.

With the second tier of Lord’s Call, I could add three more NPCs from the auction and when the town hall was finished that would add another 2 NPCs. It seemed like my best option by far to improve Malcum quickly. The improvements to my knowledge of the NPCs were significant…just not right now. The blacklist awareness would be important in the future as well to alert me to dangers entering the village.

The Lord’s Tithe ability was very powerful if I had a large population center and remained within the given range. I might be able to just sit in a castle and soak up the experience in a castle eventually. The advanced tiers only increased the range of the trait and not the percentage amount…or at least that is what I puzzled out from the responses by the system to my inquiries.

I selected to improve my Lord’s Call ability. I returned to Malcum on Titan and went to the site where the town hall foundation had been laid. If I could get Sanso’s help, then I would be able to finish the building in two game days. Since it was late in the evening, I worked alone until dinner. I was holding back on selecting more NPCs from the auction.

I went to the inn for dinner. Jaesmin was there talking with the adventurers and Laeron, our town shipwright. Mad Dog spoke first, “Tallis, mate! Where have you been? Did you check your messages?” The group looked at me, and Grinder had a knowing look.

“Tallis, the player messaging system is live. It would be best if you went and set up your alert preferences,” Grinder supplied helpfully.

I went to the screen and quickly activated it to alert me only when I was not in combat. I had five messages, all from Mad Dog. The first three were just progress reports in the Shiverwood forest. The last two said they were back in town, and they were at the inn and wanted to have dinner with me, and Jaesmin was here.

I joined the group at the large table and was quickly served a plate filled with thick beef slices smothered in gravy with a side of some aromatic mashed potatoes. Grinder said if I weren’t going to eat it, he would be more than happy to. I protectively covered the plate with my arms, and everyone laughed except Grinder.

Jaesmin spoke next. “Tallis, Laeron is the new guild master of the shipwrights. He is requesting six hundred planks monthly of various kinds of wood for his work.” She had a smug look on her face. Gwen had stonewalled Laeron from forming a shipwright's guild in town. I nodded as I ate. I figured no matter what I said, I would make Jaesmin unhappy at this point.

On finishing the delectable meal, I announced, “I have sufficient skill to finish the town hall.” Everyone looked at me. It was Jaesmin who spoke.

“So tomorrow, do I need to help you finish? I am not sure I can get away from my duties.” The snark in her voice put me a little on edge. I sipped my ale, thinking about what I could possibly say not to make her angrier with me.

“Um, no. I think Sanso and I can finish it. There will be a fabulous new office there for the master of guilds, though.” She looked at me hard. She was considering my statement, and I couldn’t read her.

“Nope,” she said. “Still not interested in being the master of guilds. Find someone else.” She got up and left in a huff. The players looked at me, and Laeron snuck off himself either to avoid being named or afraid I might withdraw what Jaesmin promised him.

I looked at the players, “Yeah, just a little trouble on the homefront—nothing to worry about. Uh, listen, guys, the player auction is closing in 6 days. With the portal now in town, I think my new NPCs and their families will arrive immediately. I hoped you all could be there in case something went wrong.” I gave them a pitiful look, looking for sympathy to guilt them.

Mad Dog didn’t hesitate, “Sure, mate. Glad we could help. Could you give us as much info as you have on the NPC auction in return? I am sure you have some valuable info kicking around in your head from your experiences so far.” I nodded, and we started talking about the NPC auction interface and how it had evolved over my time in the game. They were most interested in the traits associated with the NPC auction and the fact that even if I won the bid for the auction, I usually had to convince the NPCs to stay or do a quest for them. We spent two hours as they grilled me for information. Mad Dog said they would apply 25% of the funds toward my lawyer fees. Black Beauty reminded them they needed to log off, and they left.

On returning home, Jaesmin was already asleep, and I tucked myself into my drafting table. I could draft three sets of plans to stockpile tonight if I focused.

Jaesmin came downstairs in the morning and hugged me before making breakfast. “Sorry about yesterday. I embarrassed you in front of your friends. I gave it some thought and will do my best until my replacement arrives.” Thank God! A truce! “You can get breakfast in the inn. I have to meet with Elice in the general store this morning.” She left, probably thinking it was a jab at me for not making breakfast. If she only knew how much I preferred Fareth’s food. Well, that was something I would never reveal.

Sanso was at the inn eating. I sat with him and was given a plate of potato pancakes and another plate of sausage. Sanso detailed how his work on creating copper coins for the town was going. I was only half listening to his report as I savored the meal. Fareth did something to the butter for the pancakes that made them even better tasting. No change to the buff, though.

After breakfast, we went to the site for the town hall and got to work. Several people stopped by while we worked, and if I was resting to recharge my aether, I took a few moments to talk with them. The young girl practicing to be an alchemist ran by at least a dozen times carrying a sack of goods. She waved and smiled at us as she rushed around doing errands for the alchemist. It looks like she was well on her way to learning the craft.

Lunch ended up being a pastry filled with shredded beef and cabbage.

Bierock (a beef and cabbage stuffed roll), +100% to aether regeneration for 6 hours, +4 to magic for 6 hours

Fareth knew this was what Sanso and I needed to buff our magic for building. I wish we had talked to her at breakfast! The pace of our work picked up after lunch, and I think we will finish today! Sanso called in some of his golems as well. Most of the golems had been working on the sewers or expanding their mining operations under his tower to the north.

It was late, well past dinner, when we finished the building. We were not alone either. There were about 50 townsfolk watching and waiting. I inspected the building.

Rare City Hall, Health 150,000 (Bonus +20% to City Population Morale, +3.5% Tax Revenue)

This was a great building, and it was extremely pleasing to look at. I checked my interface,expecting to see a bevy of notifications. There was nothing. Ah, the building wouldn’t be active until I assigned at least one person to work there. Sorry, Jaesmin. I moved her in my interface to work in the town hall.

Town Hall Active

Malcum is upgraded from a Settlement to a Village, Awarding 100,000 experience

Wandering monsters are now a threat to your population. You can track them in your interface map

New diplomacy options are now available

Building infrastructure maintenance costs increased by 50%

Insufficient population for promotion to a town; Requirement is 500 citizens

You have reached level 21!

I smiled and gave Sanso a high five and could see the villagers react as well. The bonus to morale was showing already. Promoting my settlement even earned me a level. I dropped all six points into charisma. I would need to convince my NPCs from the auction to settle here permanently, and I wanted to pad my persuasiveness.

Charisma was useful in summoning and interacting with NPCs. Beyond that, I hadn’t found a use for it. Since I only had a few crops of high-power NPCs coming to Malcum in the auction before the game went live, and I would have to compete with NPCs cities and the horde of players, I decided to commit the points to charisma for this level.

Wandering monsters…it didn’t take long to find the information on them. Elite monsters from adjacent zones to the town could be up to 10 levels higher than the zone they emerged from. I looked at my map. Shiverwood Forest Level 40-50 monsters, Cleardusk Plains Level 5-15 monsters, and the Breakneck Mountains Level 60-70 monsters. Those were the three regions that bordered Malcum. My mapping system would alert me if a wandering monster approached within 5 miles of the village, and a red icon would appear on my map to track the monster. It didn’t seem like a significant threat but who knew what curve ball the system would play?

I didn’t review the diplomacy options since I really wasn’t doing any active diplomacy. The increase in town maintenance was going to be a pain unless I generated a more steady increase in income. I checked my finances, and the adventurers were training the treasury from their quests and restocking by spending coins in town but not at a sustainable rate. If it got too out of whack, I would talk with them.

I had all the required buildings to become a town! I just needed a larger population, and my next advancement would happen. To keep the townsfolk lively, I announced free beer at the inn! An enormous cheer, and the pack of people moved toward the inn. I shook Sanso’s hand and told him to take tomorrow off. I would probably spend most of tomorrow sorting through the NPC auction, as I now had five open slots!

When I got home, Jaesmin was there, her face unreadable. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or not. “Tallis, you finished the town hall. Did you furnish it? I have a dozen alerts about limited efficiency due to insufficient workspace. You will take care of it.” She turned and walked upstairs, and my sheet pinged with a laundry list of items needed for the town hall. I compiled the list and sent it over to Mad Dog. He could portal to a city and gather the items to equip the new town hall. The only expensive item was the large amounts of paper…bureaucracy at work. I decided to add drafting a papermill to my to-do list.

It was hard to resist going and laying down in bed and just sorting through the NPC auction immediately. I first filled my satiety bar and then went and drafted plans for a furniture shop. Many of the items Mad Dog was going to purchase revolved around office furnishings. He could buy cheap furniture to make the building functional, but I was hoping to have exquisite furniture in Malcum from my superior buildings. And I guess paper as well. It would mean getting the lumbar yard productivity running. Which meant I needed a logging camp on the other side of the river. Which meant I needed the damn goblins cleared out! It was like a chain quest, I guess.

So, what should I draft tonight before going to get some much-needed and deserved sleep? Logging camp, Woodcraft shop, or Paper mill? I decided on the woodcraft shop. It would be a long two-story building near the current lumber mill…ah, I should add a lumber mill to my drafting plans. If I drafted a new lumber mill, it should give a bonus. I stopped working on the plans for the woodcraft shop and started working on plans for the lumber mill. If I built a new lumber mill, then I could possibly renovate the old one into an addition to my house?

A few hours later, I was finished. It wasn’t pretty and followed much of the design of the old lumber mill. I hadn’t felt inspired while working, so I tentatively examined the plans.

Uncommon Lumber Mill, Health 60,000, Requires Masonry: Foundations 23, Woodcraft Carpentry 23 (Bonus 4% chance to upgrade sawn wood quality)

Well, I guessed any bonus was a good bonus. I folded the plans and would start on the foundation of the building myself tomorrow afternoon. I went upstairs, and Jaesmin was in bed and dressed in a heavy nightgown. She usually slept in sexy lingerie, so this must be her way of saying the store is closed until you make me happy. I stripped to leave just my boxers on and lay next to her. Maybe the sight of my sexy body in the morning would turn her on? I had a full day planned…breakfast…NPC selection…some building…and then some drafting after dinner. I guess I should be happy fatigue wasn’t programmed into the game yet, as it seemed I was going non-stop. I was kicking around what NPCs I would search for when sleep finally overcame me.