Chapter 3.8 - Early Sunrise

Serin awoke just before dawn. Clothes were strewn about the bedroom. Olma laid curled up against Serin under the blanket. Serin did his best to sneak out of bed. A part of him wanted to spend all day laying with Olma in bed. But it was not possible. His people saw him every day. There was still much work to do. So he decided to start early. Serin grabbed up a set of clothes and headed for the grand bath. As much as he appreciated the smell of Olma on him, a sweet smell of flowers he remembered from home, he was sure others would pick up on it as well. And he didn't want to flaunt his life to others. So he went and started the baths. Today he would start with a relaxing soak.

Serin set the baths to as hot as possible without causing pain. He wanted the water to stay as warm as long as possible. He cast Resist Heat on the Basalt water basin. That way the water would not lose heat through the tub, he mused. Using a bit of his knowledge on Apothecary he added a few herbs to the water, mostly mint and a bit of lemongrass.

Serin knew that mint in the water helped ease his mind. It was a weak remedy for mild mental exhaustion, as well as a method for clearing sinuses and getting a deep morning breath.

As Serin felt himself waking up, he was suddenly jolted awake. Olma, who had snuck past his perception and into the mists of the bath, tackled him yet again. She giggled as she started kissing him. I am sure this will rouse me awake better than a bit of mint.

***

Serin felt lighter as he walked. He was happy when he was with Olma, and Olma was happy when she was with him. Serin had been afraid that with his physical changes, he may not be attractive to others, but Olma looked at him with a certain light in her eyes. Olma still held his arm as they walked, but Serin didn't feel any weight from it.

His parents had told him of the long and convoluted courtship stories of their youth. Serin was glad that he did not have to endure that struggle of uncertainty. It seemed he skipped that part.

When Serin and Olma got into town they were surprised with the progress that the city center had developed. It seemed Lord Koni had worked through the night. The entire market area had housing being built above it, with stairs along the back wall of the shop. Serin also noticed that there were unique juts from areas to hold soil for included greenery. Lord Koni had even ensured that there was small piping running through the house to meet with the gardens so they could be watered with the existing waterworks system.

Serin then reached the adventurer's guild, and spoke to the attendant. "Good Morning Serin, Good morning Olma, How may we assist you today?"

Serin looked at them, "How much mana is required to make a quest reward a skill book voucher?"

The attendant narrowed her eyes with a smile, "How very clever. You know that the credit cost of such a book is extremely high, so the mana requirement must match, however it can be done. It depends on the level."

Serin then continued, "and can others donate on my behalf?"

The attendant smiled, "They can."

Serin then asked "And does the quest reward recipient have to be the same as the quest person who completed the quest?"

The attendant smiled, "it does not."

Serin then figured it out. "And how much mana does each spell or skill book take to generate as a reward?"

The attendant smiled. "5000 mana for a novice spell and skill book. The cost increases by 5000 mana each level higher until you reach grandmaster spells, which cost 25000 mana."

Serin then looked at the attendant, "can a user specify how much mana he wishes to donate?"

The attendant smiled, "Of course! We wouldn't want people passing out in front of our building." Serin asked his last question. "Can people who are suffering from brainburn donate?" The attendant smiled, "Serin, your ability to find Loopholes in the rules established by the divines amazes us every day. Yes, brainburn only restricts a user's ability to cast magic and regenerate magic, not have it pulled from their body."

"I would like to set up a recurring quest, "Donate Mana to the Protectorate". Anyone is eligible to compete. Only myself or a subsequent Sovereign of this nation can cash out rewards. The rewards are only skill books."

The attendant smiled, "when does the quest expire and how many are allowed to participate?"

Serin smiled, "There is no expiration. And it is open to all citizens of this nation."

And with that, Serin found a solution to his stagnated development.

Serin then stated, "I would like to like to set up another quest."

Serin set a quest to create two beds, a table, two chairs, and 2 sets of plates and tableware.

Serin then sent out a Message to the Representatives. "I would like a town meeting at noon today. If possible I would like a large attendance. I want to talk to the town." He received responses from Bilol and Ephraim. They must both be awake.

***

Serin took time to stop by Allister and Rachel. It was early in the morning, so the Younglings most likely had just started their lessons. They had taken Lady Eris and the younglings to the woods. Rachel was teaching them about different animal tracks. Rachel explained about tracks, and the common animals found in this forest. Rachel saw Serin and Olma approach. "Ah, Serin and Olma are stopping by. Maybe they have some insight on our lesson. Today we are learning about wilderness survival. Is there anything you would like to add?"

Serin smiled, "Yes! When I was a youngling, if I didn't have someone like Rachel nearby, I would not survive." This garnered a chuckle from the younglings, and Rachel shot him a smile of thanks. "But in reality, I am not the person to ask for advice on wilderness survival tips. As for general advice on surviving the wilds of the world, I can help." Serin smiled, "Do what you should do in all aspects of life. Work together. I succeeded because in times when I was in a difficult position because I had someone like Rachel, an accomplished Ranger of the wood. Nobody has to be an expert in all things. They just need to know the strengths and weaknesses of those on their team."

One of the Demis younglings pipped up, "But Master Serin wouldn't it be best to have only strong team members? That way you can beat anything?"

Serin then smiled. "Strength of Arm is not everything. Nor is strength of body or strength of mind. Strength of will is just as powerful."

Serin then looked at Rachel, "Rachel, would you mind firing an arrow into my stomach?" Rachel looked a bit shocked, but she nodded.

As a side effect of his extremely high endurance coupled with the Magical Vessel perk he received, Serin could control things in his body like pain receptors. He had turned those off. He had also turned off his Physical resistance spell he kept on at all times.

Rachel smiled, knocked an arrow, and sank fired. The shot went wide. Rachel frowned, as she remembered Serin's perk that made every first shot miss. This time she overdrew and fired the arrow. This time the arrow found its mark as she sank it through Serin.

All of the children gasped. Serin looked at them calmly, "Now. Out of this whole town, who can fix this?"

The younglings pointed at Rachel. Serin then looked at Rachel, "Rachel, if you fixed this using [Greater heal], what would my recovery time be?"

Rachel shook her head "Normally for an arrow shot to the stomach, it would take days if you were lucky. However, you were not lucky with that shot. I purposely nicked your aorta artery, which means even with [Greater Heal], you would probably still bleed out before that magic could fix you."

Serin smiled, "So other than myself, who could fix this?"

Rachel figured out where he was going with this. "The changeling Rufala knows [Regenerate]. She would ensure your survival 100%."

With that, Serin cast regenerate on himself, sealing the artery and interior damage, then pulled the arrow out and continued casting. Serin's HP had initially dropped but given him the Serious Bleed status, but within 30 seconds he was fine. He then brought his Resist Physical spell back up.

"Sorry if that frightened any of you. I also do not recommend shooting each other with arrows, as they can easily kill. The softer arts such as [Healing], [Crafting], and [Diplomacy] are just as important as combat skills. Without Rufala the healer, I would have to heal any serious injuries. If you decide to go the path of the adventurer, when you travel as a group remember, always have someone who can get you out of tough situations like these, such as a support caster. Or even better, or a combat support member such as a Rogue, Ranger, or Spy who can ensure you are never put into the situations in the first place."

Serin then looked at Rachel, "That's about all I know on Survival."

Serin looked at his status and realized it was almost noon. "If you would all like, I have asked the town to gather at noon for a town meeting. I will be heading there now."

Rachel smiled, "Alright younglings, class is dismissed due to a special presentation by Serin. We are going to head straight there, so pick up your packs." Serin laughed as he heard the younglings moan and groan that they would be marching the long way, then Rachel pipped up, "Don't ignore you physical stats or you will end up like ragdoll." Serin leaned over to Allister, "are they aware you command most of the undead labor here?"

Allister shook his head. "Let them think I am weak. Better that way."

***

Serin arrived at the town square to a large gathering of people. Some of the younglings were sad there was not food prepared for them. Serin made a mental note to always have a banquet for when he called town halls.

Serin waited a few minutes past noon for a few of the stragglers to appear. When he was sure that everyone who was going to arrive had done so, he started to speak.

"The majority of plated adults have finished their adventure guild registration. And they know that each day I try to put out two quests to help people develop themselves, and to help the town grow. I do this because although I could use my power to develop myself, it is more important to me that everyone in the town grows together. That being said, I can really only afford two a day, so these are on a first come, first serve basis. They are also only available to lower ranked adventurers, so when you reach the requirement for becoming a protectorate, these quests will no longer be available to you. This is to ensure that everyone gets to a good starting point for development as quickly as possible."

Serin then continued, "As many of you are aware, I have tasked Lord Koni to increase our housing in the town square. This is because I am aware that there are still many changelings without homes of their own."

Serin then continued, "By reallocating my resources, I am able to increase infrastructure, but I need your help. I need to build up the protectorate as fast as I can. To do that, I have set up a special quest. Anyone can go to the adventurer's guild and donate mana. This goes directly towards purchasing spells and skills for the protectorate."

Serin looked, "Whether you donate or not, I will continue to build this town and set up safety for all inside. But if you are willing to donate, I would be very grateful."

There was a murmur of agreement. Serin called over to the Attendants, "Excuse me, adventurer's guild attendants, is there a way for an individual to track how much they have donated?"

The attendant smiled, and with a kind voice that was still able to be heard by the crowd, the attendant replied, "There is. Everyone who takes on the quest will be given a quest tracker that marks daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, and lifetime donation."

Serin then continued. "Then Jericho and I will run a weekly, monthly, and yearly competition. The top three donators will receive a prize. Jericho, do you have any idea what our prize this week will be?" Serin had spoken with Jericho privately about this before, and they had come up with some prizes and collected them up before Serin's meeting.

Jericho nodded. "This week, we are giving away a jar of Peter's Honey to third place, an embroidered blue tunic or dress as second place, and first place will be getting the chance to pick a basket of produce from Serin's private gardens."

This drew a murmur from the crowds.

Word had gotten out that Serin's garden was full of rare spices from three different worlds. Elder Merrin and Archivist Onna had told Serin tales of the fruits and spices of their lands, and after describing them, drawing pictures, and giving Serin an overall example of what they did and what they were used for, their seeds had appeared in his Kingdom Point store.

Serin looked at the crowd, "This isn't mandatory. It is by donation. But we thought the incentives would add a bit of competition to the mix. Next week's prizes will change, and we will announce the monthly prizes then."

Serin looked at Jericho. "At Jericho's tavern at the start of the week we will announce the top three winners from the week previous. Also starting next week, the top three prizes of the month and next week will be announced."

Serin then looked at the crowd, "While I have you all gathered, I would like to open the forum to questions. Does anyone have any?"

One of the Demis younglings raised their hands, "How many protectorates do we have now?" Serin replied, "We have 11 now. By numbers, the Changelings have the most with 7 protectorates, but by participation, the humans are in the lead. Since all four humans are part of the protectorate we are at 100% participation."

A changeling raised their hand, "Will there be any more organized hunts soon for the changeling people?"

Serin answered, "That endeavor was costly in time and materials. To do so again on such a large scale would be rather difficult as it takes away assets from developing other initiatives, such as housing for every citizen. However," and Serin smiled, "If the changeling people put in quests for a hunt, someone will heed the call. We have three monster hunters among our people."

The changelings were at first a bit downtrodden, but then they understood the economy behind it. Serin was giving them the tools to succeed.

This time Bilol raised a hand. "Will we ever see new refugees?"

Serin thought about it, then decided to show his screen. Using minor illusion he copied his [advanced kingdom management] screen into a large display for everyone to see.

"This is what I look at every day. This is a numerical reflection of how well we are doing. As you can see, we are 'overabundant' on food. We are also currently 'ecologically stabilized' because we have not clear-cut the forest but practice controlled thinning, and we use population control instead of or devastated the wildlife. We are currently lacking on housing because of a lack of both houses and beds for each citizen. At the moment most citizens are double bunked. And for security, although we are gaining protectors every day, this has slowly been moving towards the red. " Serin looked at everyone. "Because of this I have implemented several quests for armaments with Ephraim, and will do more in the future. But as a temporary stopgap I will be building a wall around our entrance. If there is an impending threat, that will slow its progress." Serin then smiled a wolfish grin. "As you all know I handle the security of our country personally."

***

Serin met with his counsel of representatives. "We can build the wall, we can even provide weaponry and magic to arm the wall. But without the manpower to man the wall, we risk a sneak attack."

Allister looked at Serin. "The first way to reduce the risk is by building a double gate, which cannot have both gates open at once."

Jericho pipped in. "Terramancy is not a spell school known by many of the monsters of the world, so for now we are safe with Basalt from most of the roaming beasts. However in the future we will have to worry about saboteurs tunneling under our mountain. For now, I would recommend that every two meters along the proposed wall, we have a long-term casting of the [Alarm] spell. That way you can be alerted if any creature above a certain threat threshold passes. Grey threats are deer, boar, and the like, White are individual goblins, kobolds, and such. And from there the threats get more dangerous. A white level alarm should do."

Serin looked at Jericho, "Do you know the [alarm] spell?"

Jericho shook his head, "No. But after your announcement of prizes to the top donators, the citizens lined up to donate. [Alarm] is a novice level spell, and I am sure by now you have garnered enough to cash out a novice spell book."

Jericho made a point. Serin decided on the plans "Alright. I will be building the wall. It will look as if the mountains come to each other and where the curve meets, However I will need assistance with the gates and locking mechanisms."

Serin looked at Ephraim. "How long would it take for you to build two gates large enough for a wagon like my auto cart to come through? Twice as high.

Ephraim smiled, "Before I was building tools for the village, I was building gates. Building them was my 2 year commitment to the Empire's forces, so I am kind of an expert. With access to the national supply of metal, I can have everything you need built in a week. It will halt my progress on the armament quests I am doing." Serin smiled, "Say no more, I will make a quest for it. Can you also build the double gate mechanism you spoke of?"

Ephraim smiled, "Yes. I accounted for that in my time. I recommend using about 20 Kg of mithril for the joints and specific gearings." Serin smiled, "whatever you need for the task, it's yours."

Serin then smiled "Alright, I will get to molding the mountain."

***

For a week straight Serin did not generate any quests. He thought about it and realized he also did not get much sleep. Jericho was right, and there was already enough mana in the donation pool for a novice skill book, so Serin picked up an [Alarm] spell. Serin felt it in his precognition skill, but there was a sense of urgency behind getting this wall built.

Serin first plotted out his space. The narrowest place between the two sheer mountain cliffs was still almost 250 meters across. So Serin started. He created the outline for the road next to the river, built an archway over the river's surface. Ephraim had already accounted for protecting the waterways from amphibious assault in the design, so he had delivered early several metal bars that allowed for most sea life to slip through, but nothing larger.

Serin then pulled stone from the insides of the mountain wall, and in shaves and slivers he slid the stone along the cliff surface like the ocean tide moving up a beach. It took 5 days of no sleep and almost all of his mana supply to move this much stone. Several times he had to take a short break to allow his mana to generate from its dangerously low level. But by using sizable chunks and treating the stone as a fluid instead of a solid, it was moved into place by the end of the fifth day. On the sixth day, Serin textured the wall so that from even a distance it looked like the natural stone. The wall was only two meters thick at the thinnest parts. The majority of the gatehouse building was built inwards towards the town to ensure that there were no unnatural bulges visible on the outside.

On the seventh day. Ephraim arrived with the Metal. He also brought diagrams of how it needed to fit into the stone, so Serin had pre-prepared cavities within the stone for the devices. The issue would be physically moving the massive metal items and affixing them in place. Serin wasn't alone in this task. The Rowdy Bunch came and found him each morning so that their work didn't stop.

As the sun set, with Ephraim's guidance, the double gate had been installed. The citizenry cheered, and Serin saw in his kingdom management screen that his town's security threshold spiked and was now listed as as "overprepared". Serin was not done though. He insisted on ensuring that this wall was more than just a deterrent. Serin spent that night casting the Alarm Spell every 2 meters along the edge of the wall, and extending it out several meters from the gate to ensure a semi-circle of detection for anything of white threat or higher. With that, Serin went back to town, as he probably had a backlog of quests to mark complete and supplies to collect.

***

Serin was right to trust his skill. After the wall was built and armed, the security rank of their kingdom spiked. And not three days later, the alarm spell started going off. It alerted Serin to several Yellow threats at his gate. It was the middle of the day, so Serin sent an emergency message to Allister, Rachel, Jericho, and the Rowdy Bunch.

Serin put on his armor and cape, and ran with his weapon to the wall. Having an Endurance over 200 meant Serin could sprint for quite a distance.

It still took Serin almost twenty minutes to get to the gate. He climbed to the top of the wall and looked down. He was surprised by what he saw.

A human caravan. Twenty humans were guarding a caravan of three auto-carts. Two of them were looking at the gates.

Serin stunned by what he saw, called down from the top of the gate. "Who are you and why are you here?"

The leader, covered in scars and missing teeth, looked at "We are here to trade with the Goblin King." Serin could see that these were not merchants. They were Raiders. Serin then called, "What is it you are hoping to trade for?"

The raider chucked, "same as last time, One day of access to the Amethyst Mine for each piece of merchandise. We brought thirty this time."

Serin still could not see what the cargo was.

Serin made a decision. He was sure he could wipe the entire caravan but he did not know what else they were carrying. It was four large carts in total. Three looked like livestock, and the last one was loaded down with supplies.

"Alright. We will open the gate for you to come through. Just give us a minute."

Serin was buying time.

Within another 10 minutes Everyone else arrived. Serin went over their plan. "They do not seem like merchants, but they said they have products to trade. So we will let them all in. At the slightest issue, I will be putting them all to sleep. Olma and the Rowdy bunch, please keep your masks on and hoods up. We don't want to spook our 'guests'. For now, everyone please get into a far enough position to be outside my spell range, and try to stay out of site.

Serin then worked with Ephraim to let the caravan through their gates.

Serin's Kingdom management screen started blinking. It had alerted him that enemy forces had breached the gate. This was Serin's first warning.

'I guess it is good to know that the System accounts for stuff like this.'

The second warning came when the entire caravan was made up of fairly strong mercenaries. Serin viewed under the observe skill that they were all Yellow or Orange threat.

Serin watched as they slowly adjusted so that they could overwhelm him in a moment. Serin saw as the safeties were taken off the rifles and crossbows they had.

The caravan leader began to speak. "I guess the goblin king must have been replaced. If your people replaced him, you must be strong enough to hold your own against our caravan, so it is probably not worth a fight. So instead, we will honor the deal we had with him and keep it with you."

Serin then looked at him, "What is it you are looking to trade?"

Serin then watched as the raider kicked open the door and yanked on a chain. Several human women and children fell out.

Serin had to hide his anger. These were slavers. Serin used [greater identify]. The humans had their host nation removed. The only group that can remove a host nation is that host nation's government. These people weren't just taken from their homes, they were abandoned by the willful neglect of their nation.

Serin looked at the slaver. "Where did you acquire so many slaves?"

The raider smiled, "Nice, eh? It seemed these are the remains of a Podunk village in the Voltas State of the Grand Wood Alliance. Legally speaking, they had refused to allow conscription of the year's quota of younglings. So the Alliance sent in a subjugation force and removed the village from the map. Killed the men, and those too old to be profitable as a slave." Serin's eyes were intense. He knew that there were other nations in the world, but did not know how they functioned. As he thought about what he would do to these slavers, he grinned. The caravan leader, misunderstanding Serin's smile, smiled in return. "I see I have piqued your interest. The deal still stands. Thirty slaves for thirty days of mining rights in your Amethyst mine. You won't even notice we are here."

Serin grinned, "I was unaware that we had an amethyst mine. I was also unaware that the Grand Wood Alliance practiced slavery. I have so much I can learn from you during your stay here."

The raider smiled, "So we are in agreement then?"

Serin did a slight frown. "I truly wish that you had brought something to trade. See the trouble you have found yourself in is that here, slavery of the plated is against our laws. The moment those slaves passed through our gates, they were freed." Serin saw as the raider leader frowned and drew his blade.

"And you, a young boy playing house out in the woods, are going to free them?"

Serin smiled, as he overpowered a sleep spell. "I would hope so. This is my town."

And with that, Serin overcast [Sleep] and everything within range went comatose.

***