Bobs

Dante was engaging in a series of push-ups, clad in gym attire. Despite the sweat glistening on his brow, the energizing music pumping in the background spurred him on. He was acutely aware that exercise might seem futile; after all, he couldn't grow stronger, nor would his physical appearance change. Each time he was re-summoned, he returned to his original state, unable to even achieve a more toned physique. To him, it felt like a glaring injustice. But still, he was bored, and exercising while listening to music was something he used to do back on Earth, so it brought him some joy.

However, there was a silver lining to his unique situation. No matter what or how much he ate, he wouldn't gain weight. This was a delightful revelation, allowing him to indulge in as many culinary delights as he desired—savoring sweets and chocolates without a hint of concern. Thus, Dante was spending his third day in the castle, finding solace and a bit of joy in the peculiar perks of his existence.

It was quite convenient that he could now track the passage of time based on the duration of the infrastructure constructions. By observing the timer on the management screen, he could accurately account for the 75 hours and 34 minutes—make that 35 now—that he had spent in this fort. That was in addition to the time spent before the constructions began when he had to defend the fort upon his arrival.

After completing his push-ups, Dante turned off the music and descended to check on the fort's progress.

The fort had undergone significant changes, having completed its first overall expansion and thereby gaining space for additional buildings. The Barracks was now at level 3 and in the midst of upgrading to level 4. Additionally, there was a level 2 Kennel, producing skeletal hounds in a similar manner to the barracks. Dante had decided against establishing an Archery Range, deeming it an inefficient use of resources and space given that arrows were largely ineffective against skeletons. Besides these, he managed a level 2 Weaponsmith and a level 1 Siege Workshop. The latter didn't spawn siege engines directly but allowed for their construction at a specific cost.

Thus, all four building slots within the fort were occupied. To create more space for development, another expansion was necessary—a process already underway but requiring more than a day's additional work.

Outside the fort, there were two quarries and two sawmills, all currently at level 2. There was also a mining camp actively extracting iron from the mine they had secured a couple of days prior.

For defense, he had constructed several scouting towers for early detection of enemy movements, and he was erecting a rather large wall to protect the resource-gathering areas. This endeavor was a time-consuming process, given the vast area it needed to encompass, leaving ample space for further development. The wall included both quarries and the sawmill within its boundaries and stretched to include the iron mine at its outer limit. Based on the current pace of construction, it would take an additional three days to complete. Subsequently, an upgrade would be necessary to enhance its defense capabilities, as the initial structure, made primarily of wood, offered limited durability.

All together the infrastructure consisted of:

Fort (Level 2): Increased size enables the construction of up to 4 buildings and supports a population limit of 1,000. Also upgrades skeleton workers to level 2.

Barracks (Level 3): Generates one level 3 skeletal warrior every 5 minutes.

Kennel (Level 2): Generates one level 2 skeletal hound every 4 minutes.

Weaponsmith (Level 2): Produces one level 2 weapon every 5 minutes. Only one-handed weapons are available.

Siege Workshop (Level 2): Enables the construction of level 2 battering rams and siege towers.

Sawmills (2x, Level 2): Each generates 2 units of wood per minute. Requires a specific area and resource availability.

Quarries (2x, Level 2): Each generates 2 units of stone per minute. Requires a specific area and resource availability.

Mining Camp (Level 2): Generates 2 units of iron per minute. Requires a specific area and resource availability.

It was good news that upon upgrading a building, all units generated by that building would be automatically upgraded to the same level. As a result, the current forces comprised:

300 level 3 skeleton warriors (100% equipped with level 2 maces)

200 level 2 skeletal hounds

499 level 2 skeleton workers

For the initial stage of rapid expansion, he had decided to prioritize skeleton workers over military units. After all, the military was relatively weak at the current level, and there wasn't much it could accomplish. On the other hand, the workers enabled full utilization of all resource-gathering infrastructure, building upgrades, fort expansion, and, most importantly, accelerated the construction of what he termed "The Big Wall." It was worth noting that skeleton workers could not be generated; instead, they were purchased at 100 TC each, making them slightly more valuable than the other units that could be replaced without cost. All current workers were upgraded to level 2 when the fort was expanded.

After reaching the open part of the fort, he went directly to his favorite skeleton, well, besides Virgil, that is—the general manager! He was his only allied talking skeleton, and that alone had made the 25,000 TC he had spent on him worth it. He became available after the fort reached level 2, and was the reason there were 499 skeleton workers instead of 500 to fill the 1000 population cap.

"How's it going, Bobs?"

"Oh, nice to see you, boss, looking sharp after another round of exercise I see,"—yes, he was a bootlicker—"The constructions are going well, and the workers' efficiency has gone up by 20% in the last few days." Yeah, right, that was your function after all:

General Manager (Level 1): Can be named by the player. Improves all workers' efficiency by 20%.

And yes, the manager was not very smart. He seemed more like an NPC* than anything else in this world, repeating the same words over and over, and just bootlicking in a way that seemed like stalking. How did he know I was exercising until now? Do skeletons even understand what exercise is?

Anyway, I still liked Bobs. Why? Well, just saying the name felt nice, and he was the only entity I could talk to, even if it was a bit hard to change the dialogue. And he could play chess too! But he was sincerely the worst player I had ever seen. Even a 100 Elo player could beat him—knowing just how the pieces moved was enough. Somehow, you would still win against him, no matter what you did.

But despite his shortcomings, he was still Bobs.

"So, Bobs, I was thinking, if you had this mysterious and foolish master who never showed or did anything useful, what offensive words would you use to make him mad and appear?"

"I beg your pardon, my lord, but I do not understand what you are saying," he looked slightly nervous, if a skeleton could look like that. "I mean, a master is a master. He can never be offended…"

"Okay, okay, I get it, Bobs," I looked at him sympathetically. "Bobs, you are doing well, keep it up."

"Thank you, my lord!" He dramatically bowed down 90 degrees. "This means so much to me. I…"

"Bobs, you are doing a bad job out here."

"Master, I…I…I am sorry, master, I will make up for it, I promise, I…"

"Bobs, you are secretly an agent of the king, right?"

"My lord, how could you say that? I have been with you for so…"

"Bobs, you are a bastard child of the Bone King."

Bobs kept looking at him with a surprised and awkward look. He just stayed still, not moving or saying anything.

"Damn, I thought this one would prompt an answer," Dante shook his head. "I mean, it's entirely related to this world, not like last time when I said: 'you are an immortal cultivator who reincarnated into a walking skeleton after being betrayed by his best friend.'" He looked at Bobs again. "Well, let's see if I have better luck tomorrow. For now…Bobs, you are doing well, keep it up."

As if a switch had been turned on, time continued its flow as Bobs reacted as if nothing had happened before:

"Thank you, my lord!" He dramatically bowed down 90 degrees. "This means so much to me. I…"

But Dante was already walking away. Even then, even if The Game was throwing a joke at him in the form of a lousy NPC, he was fond of it. After all, The Game could create entities much smarter than himself, so presenting something like this manager as his first conversation partner was another obvious ball thrown at him. The same way the first words spoken to him were those back then…

But nevertheless, he was fond of Bobs.

***

It was a feeling of utter oppression, palpable and undeniable. The monster before her existed on a plane far beyond her own. Parrying that strike, despite the aftermath, wasn't a cause for dismay but a source of pride. She gazed once more at the formidable figure wielding an axe in the center of the arena, noting its bulging muscles and towering horns. This was the creature of legend, the Minotaur.

Here she stood, determined to confront and vanquish the beast, no matter the cost. Glancing at her arm, she observed its unnatural purple hue, indicative of the internal damage. The pain was there, but it was diminished, especially as she witnessed the limb regenerating at an almost magical pace. This injury was trivial; after all, this was the arm that had parried a blow from a Minotaur. A smile crept onto her face.

Then, a realization dawned on her. The aura exuded by the Minotaur felt distinctly different now compared to when she was in the arena. It was as if her strength had been sapped. But it couldn't be fear; she had excised such feelings from her life long ago. No, this was something external, an influence not born of her psyche. Could the Minotaur's aura be the source of her weakened state? This merited attention, a detail to share with the Seer. Yet, she harbored concerns. What if her observation was misinterpreted as fear or a figment of her imagination? She couldn't afford such doubts. Her ally had always possessed a keen understanding of their circumstances; surely, she would provide clarity.

"Seer, I felt somewhat weaker after entering the arena," she declared, overcoming her internal turmoil to speak out.

She noticed the Seer's interest was piqued. Though silent, she could see the Seer in a pensive state, likely contemplating the probable cause of her weakness. After some time, the Seer suggested a peculiar test. She was to jump to the border of the arena and then leap back outside before engaging with the Minotaur. She wasn't entirely sure of the reasoning behind the test but followed the instructions regardless. The Seer must have had her reasons.

They waited for their skills to be ready again and then proceeded. As she jumped in, she felt it once more—the oppressive aura enveloped her, and this time, the sensation of weakness was more pronounced. It wasn't fear; it was something else. It emanated from the creature charging at her, an aura that seemed focused on crushing her will. She watched the massive Minotaur charge at incredible speed. She merely smiled at him and leaped back outside.

Watching him retreat to the center, she realized the feeling of weakness had vanished. She then turned her gaze to the Seer, who was deep in thought. Perhaps she could offer some assistance. She understood that, although her companion was a Seer, she was also someone in the midst of growth, someone who faced struggles, someone human just like herself. Despite the difficulty in discerning it, she knew the Seer always endeavored to present a facade of strength, exuding confidence, yet she surmised that internally, she too had her own issues, just like her own. She felt somewhat inadequate in the support she could offer, considering that even with her Seer's guidance, she had managed to master only a single skill.

She reflected on their current predicament, pondering if there was anything more she could contribute to illuminate the situation. However, her train of thought was interrupted when she noticed the Seer beginning to write:

"How did you feel? Please describe it as accurately as you can."

After a moment of thought, she began, "I felt as if I were being crushed by an oppressive force. When the Minotaur's attention was fixed on me, a sense of overwhelming weakness overtook me. It was as though it emanated from the creature itself, it was like..." Her explanation was cut short as the Seer swiftly wrote:

"Like being oppressed by Might?"

She carefully read those words, and she felt something click. Yes, that was exactly how she felt.