Base Expansion

Ch8. Base Expansion

By turning those three into Blood Demons, I really hope that the others will get the motivation to work for me. Well, I mean they got other drives aside from fear.

There's a drawback to doing this, and I noticed it afterward. I summoned the bat and it cost 80 Mana. When I killed it, I lost that amount of Mana permanently. My Mana pool decreased each time I killed a bat, this never happened whenever I used the Bat Impact.

Well, yes it's actually not a big deal. I can just gather 16 more stacks on Overflowing to recover that amount of max mana.

I checked the Tier Ascension, it shows the possible path of my ascension.

[Please choose your Ascension Route!]

[1. Builder]

[2. Carpenter]

[3. Forester]

[4. Sorcerer]

[5. Hunter]

[6. Berserker]

I think it's either Sorcerer, Hunter, or Berserker. I don't know why ..., but compared with the other three, it's like in a different category. The first three are crafting-related, while the rest is combat-related.

Okay, let's pick one of the two ..., Sorcerer, might be helpful with the magic aspect. While Berserker is also combat but the physical aspect. And for Hunter ..., speed and dexterity aspect?

I combat using magic, so getting the Sorcerer definitely more beneficial. But Berserker might also come with buff in terms of overall physical strength. Hunter is already out of consideration.

I think ..., Sorcerer is the best choice. I can use the stats point or maybe train my body to increase the stats. And battle sense too can be trained ..., but not with overall magic power. I still don't know how to increase it aside from the stats points.

It has been decided, Sorcerer then.

[You have walked into Sorcerer's Path. To finish the ascension, please complete the following tasks.]

[1. Kills a hundred enemies with Magic Spells (0/100)]

[2. Raise the level of one of your Magic Spells (0/1)]

[3. Craft a Magic Items (0/1)]

I see ..., so it's like job promotion quests in RPGs. The first one is quite an easy task ..., but the second and third are. How can I raise the spell level, and craft a magic item? How am I supposed to do that?

Spamming it until I received the notification? There's no such thing as skill level or proficiency! I'll figure this out later.

For the third task, I reviewed Alice's memories for an answer. After an hour or so, I found something that is probable to craft with my current resource and capability. It was the Magic Necklace.

The material needed to craft this necklace isn't too demanding. I only need a precious gem and metal with good conductivity. I can melt the bronze sword for the metal. While it's not good as gold or silver, bronze is pretty decent as a magic conductor. I still don't have a jewel with me, but there has to be someone who sells it in the city. I should visit Handan when I have the time.

On the way back, we visited the market in Mulberry Village. The marketplace in this era is ..., very extreme. They are selling people tied in wooden shackles, they were what you might call slaves.

I'm quite conflicted with human trafficking like this, but I know that this is very normal in this era. It's not my right to say this, but if I'm not strong enough to protect myself ..., maybe I could end up in their place. That's why I prioritized seeking power. At least, until I know I won't be defeated by some common rabble.

I shook my head and firmed my determination. I have decided to live in peace because only with peace of mind I can enjoy this life.

I traded the horses for some grain and seeds of various plants. Turn out grain is pretty expensive, I traded one horse for ten sacks of wheat. I estimated the weight of one sack to be around 1 quintal. Which means one horse for one ton of grain.

After that, I visited their local blacksmith and traded the armor with a few copper and tin ore. I asked whether he know how to work with iron but Mr. blacksmith returned by asking, "what iron?"

We finally returned to my base. It was very hard to trek the forest along with the horses. This portion of the forest was left unopened before I arrived. Hmmm and the location is, around 20 kilometers from that village, I guess? Oh well, it's nice to know that there's a place to resupply.

After setting up a tent nearby my shack, we lit up a big bonfire and started a little party. I tried to drink the fermented rice alcohol that they bought, but I don't get affected by it. Maybe my tolerance is high? I chugged the whole clay bottle and still don't feel anything amiss. Does this mean, I can't get drunk?

The Xue brothers experimented with their newfound strength in a fist brawl. It was quite fun seeing them toying around their comrades. Still feeling somewhat upset because I can't get drunk, I returned back to my tent.

I opened the crafting system and designed a few things. Some of them were bronze ingots, nails, hinges, locks, and Mining Camp.

The Mining Camp was similar to the Lumber Camp, a single wooden building. But instead of clothing roofs, I used straw and woven bamboo as the roof. I also put two wheelbarrows in there. I don't know if the Mining Camp that I designed will provide a bonus just like the [Stone Quarry] blueprint, but there's nothing wrong to try, right?

I finished the Mining Camp design and decided to craft the building right away. I need to wait for ten minutes for the building to finish and after that, I got a building template for Mining Camp.

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[Mining Camp]: Camp for workers to mine stones and metals, a drop-off point for Stone/Iron/Gold resources before getting transported to somewhere else. [Unique]: <Mining> Minerals and Stones within the surrounding 100 meters radius will be 20% less durable.

[Durability] 1.100/1.100

[Materials]: Wood x5, Bamboo x2, Straw x4, Wheelbarrows x2

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Damn ..., this is so much better than the Lumber Camp. And it's not just for Stone only! It actually can help with the mining of other resources.

I went to sleep as this Mining Camp blueprint come out pretty satisfactory.

On the next morning, I called the Xue brothers and Yi Longma, the cook for a briefing.

"Young Lord." they greeted me and I nodded and acknowledged them.

The Xue brothers were staring at me with a gaze filled with undying loyalty. Perhaps it's not correct to be called an allegiance, it is more like a submission. They submit to my superior blood and feel suppressed by me.

"Alright. Xue Jun, take 20 men with you to cut trees in the forest. You see the camp in that forest right? Cut trees near that spot. Just cut and let me store the timber later on."

I took out 20 <Stone Axe +2> and pass it to him.

Bronze is pretty much a rarity, and I decided to use them for the Pickaxe and Knife. Even then, those items were just the base Bronze Pickaxe and Bronze Knife. I don't have enough materials to craft more for the upgrade.

"I understand Lord Senjougahara ..."

"Xue Jie, you go and take 25 men with you. Go to that river and crush that rocks with these." I took out a fifteen stone pickaxe +2, and ten bronze pickaxe and gave it to him.

Xue Jie is the largest of the three Xues. I estimate his height to be 192 cm tall, a head taller than me. His body is also a bit bulkier than the other two.

I don't know what makes them have different transformations. Before this, they have similar heights. Maybe, the amount of blood they drink has something to do with it.

"Xue Ming, you go and take 10 people to start tiling the uneven field and make a road connected to the main military road outside the forest. Cooperate with Xue Jun on this as he's the one responsible for cutting trees. As for you Yi Longma, you're gonna led the rest to cook their meal."

I passed them their respective tools. After they knew what they must do, they started working. I followed Xue Jie and placed the Mining Camp that I build last night near their workplace.

In the meantime, I started mapping this area using a sheepskin and charcoal pencil. I really miss paper and paper. Haish ..., if only I know the exact process of making one. If I remember it correctly, paper is just mashed-up tree fibers.

At noon, I finished mapping the area surrounding my base. And I found a good place to build my next structure. I planned to build a communal house or an old apartment. You know, the ring-shaped building that you see in Disney's Mulan.

[A/N: Search "Fujian Tulou"]

To make it more durable, I want the outer wall made entirely of stone. That's why I assign Xue Ming with 25 men to start quarrying the stones. I need more of that rock-hard solid river stone.

I've found a good material to bind these stones together. We've passed a karst rock cliff on our way back, so there must be other limestone deposits in this region. Lime mortar might be not as strong as cement, but maybe it'll suffice.

I started designing the building. Oh right, what to name it ..., Communal House? O-house? The Ring House? That doesn't sounds right to me ..., oh well, let's call it The Circle.

I designed the first ring with a diameter of 90 meters, this is huge. Even the size of a football field is about 100 x 65 m or something. And I want to make a 90-meter ring building. This will be the outer wall while also serving as the outmost ring.

Moving onward, the first ring has a thickness of 10 meters, that's pretty wide for a living space. There are three stories, and the total height is 12 meters.

There are more or less 36 rooms per floor, which is more than enough. I placed a special room for me on the third floor across the entrance, this room was three regular rooms combined. The roof is also higher than the rest making it like the crown of this ring house. No matter what, I need to make something better for myself, right?

Still, the regular house is quite spacious too. The room dimension is 10 m in length and 6-8 m in width, that's wider than my studio in my previous life. I put in some other essentials like doors, windows, basic furniture, and all. Oh yeah, I placed the stairs in 8-wind of the compass.

I don't build any inner-ring buildings, but only a single structure which is the public bath and lavatory.

The public bath was built directly in the center of the ring. I made it into 'S'-shape with each side having an entrance, it was to separate the women's and the men's sides. There are currently no women in this community, but I guess it won't be long before we get them. After all, there's no way these 69 people can cope up with their pent-up lust. I alleviated it somewhat with crafting, and yesterday with the killings, but I don't know about them. Inside the public bath, there is a water well and a mechanical pump. The well is not that deep because we're still near a water source.

The toilet was placed nearby the public bath, I also placed four toilets on the first floor nearby the stairs. I think that having a toilet nearby your house is good, you don't have to run 50 meters just to answer to nature's call.

Before I finalized my design, I glanced at the material requirements on the corner of the screen, and it pretty much took a lot. The stone itself needs 200.000 units of Stone. Not to mention the Wood and other stuff.

I doubt even with the help of my subordinates, I could gather that much of stones.

Sigh ..., maybe this was too exaggerated it's not Mulan's House anymore, but Ring Castle. I need to find another material that can serve as a substitute for the stone.

Wood? It is possible, we can cut trees faster than smashing rocks. But it also has potential danger. If one of the rooms is on fire, then the rest would be consumed by the flames in no time. Without good water plumbing and fire repellent and retardant, I don't think it's a good idea to make a structure this big and connected from wood.

Brick? Yes, the clay brick itself isn't the problem, it's about the binders. I only have something like lime mortar. It's quite the binder, but it won't be as strong as cement.

What about mud? The mulberry village used mud and straw as buildings. But will it be durable enough for the main materials of 12 meters building? I also watched people in Vietnam still use rammed earth as a wall. Hmmm ..., maybe we can do that.

I deleted the stone walls but keep the stone foundation. Then changed it into a wall made of rammed earth. It's compacted dirt with water, maybe added some lime mortar too for binding the individual grain of dirt even more.

After two hours of tweaking and finalizing the design. Now, the material requirement is doable. Yes ..., we got plenty of dirt in here.

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[The Circle]: A unique communal house with exaggerated size and astounding building complexity, inspired by Mulan's House.

[Unique]: <Communitarianism> "Those who live here will have their familiarity, sense of belonging, and loyalty significantly increased."

[Durability] 69.210/69.210

[Materials]: Dirt x500.000, Stone x12.500, Wood x9.360, Stone Pavement x7.016, Tatami Mat x1.551, Wooden Windows x300, Bronze Pipe x232, Wooden Door x122, Wooden Chair x 75, Wooden Straw Bed x70, Wooden Desk x69, Small Wooden Cabinet x 69, Bronze Spigot x64, Oil Lamp x56, Toilet Stool x40, Wooden Bench x32, Bronze Brazier x16, Bronze Lever Action Water Pump x4, Polished Bronze Mirror x3, Bamboo Bench x2, Bamboo Couch x2, Cotton Pillow x2, Stone Bed x1, Cotton Bedding x1, Wooden Low Desk x1, Large Wooden Cabinet x1.

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