Chapter 4

Edwin led Gabriel out of the Lord's manor that they were currently residing in.

It was strange how his body adapted to the feel of the Simple Noble Clothes but his mind hadn't.

Every thread scratched his back causing discomfort and the crinkling of the leather constantly distracted him.

Shaking his head Gabriel eyed his advisor as he shuffled forward, his long robes trailing behind him. At least he wouldn't have to worry about tripping over in his current attire.

The pair passed townsfolk as they walked the streets. Children were laughing with friends while the adults seemed mildly worried. Overall the morale in town seemed pretty good considering this was all that remained of the Human Empire.

"My lord we have arrived" Edwin interrupted his train of thoughts with his gravelly voice. "This is the last source of Aether in our territory." He gestured to a small temple on a hill in town. A few guards stood around it clutching the hilts of their short-swords. Their faces solemn as they went about their shifts protecting the temple.

Gabriel recognized this building, it looked exactly the same as it did in Age of Ruin.

It was a Shrine of Valor, the most basic infrastructure building Humanity had access to. With it players could gain a small amount of Aether, the main currency used, every turn.

With Aether you could train new units, recruit champions, pay the upkeep for said units or champions and even purchase new equipment and construct buildings.

One could never get their hands on enough Aether and how much a faction had was the main indicator of power. In a ranked match between two equally skilled players. One could tip the balance in their favour if they had slightly more Aether.

Gabriel stepped up to the shrine and once he got close enough his right hand instinctively clenched.

'Shrine of Valor' Whispered the elusive Narrator into his mind. The voice was ethereal and feminine, or was it masculine? Whenever he tried to focus on it's words he seemed to forget what it sounded like.

In front of him displayed the familiar interface of Age of Ruin

[Building] {Shrine of Valor}

[Rank] {Mundane}

[Type] {Economy}

[Description] A small shrine dedicated to Valor, one of the six core tenets of Humanity. Generates 50 wisps of Aether every week.

Back in the game it used to be 50 Aether a turn. Was a week the equivalent of a turn in this world? Gabriel had no clue but it seemed to make sense. He'd have to corroborate his theory with other things like recruitment time or research.

Gabriel closed the interface for the Shrine of Valor and opened up his main menu. He took note that he currently had a measly 50 aether saved up. It must be what he received from the Shrine of Valor when he first woke up in this land. Unfortunately 50 aether was a laughable amount and he wouldn't be able to recruit a single unit with it.

There were a few tabs he skipped back in the small manor. There was an Infrastructure tab which listed all the buildings in each settlement he owned. There was also the Units tab which would show a summary of each unit he had recruited. And there was also the World tab which was pretty much a detailed map of the surrounding areas that his faction had vision on.

Opening it there was only one minor settlement listed, Hope's Bastion. There were a few types of buildings that could be constructed in settlements. They were recruitment, economy, research & defense.

[Name] {Hope's Bastion}

[Type] {Minor Settlement}

[Rank] {Mundane}

[Recruitment] 1/1 {Barracks}

[Economy] 1/1 {Shrine of Valor}

[Research] 0/1

[Defense] 1/1 {Basic Garrison}

It seemed that his Monarch abilities didn't give him any information on specific buildings unless he visited them in person and used his Mark of the Monarch to assess them. Hence why he got Edwin to show him around.

His life was truly tragic, things were way easier when he could sit on his gaming chair and just click everything. Why did he have to go walking just to get basic information?

Edwin stood to the side patiently as Lord Gabriel muttered to himself. The body Gabriel inhabited now looked strangely similar to his old one. The main differences were he was slightly younger, had a more chiseled face and his body was better built then that of a shut-in gamer.

There was one striking similarity though. His eyes were unnaturally sharp and seemed to see through everything. Edwin felt a chill run down his back as he noticed his lord's gaze.

They were the eyes of a predator.