by Dakota Krout
“Are you sure you want to play it this way, Joe?” Aten narrowed his eyes.
“Tell you what, Aten.” Joe held his hands out to his sides. “I’ll give you twenty thousand ‘Joe points’ if you build me a mansion and fill it with beautiful artwork.”
Aten cocked his head and blinked. “What’s the ratio of Joe points to contribution points?”
“The same ratio as leprechauns to unicorn poop,” Joe returned serenely. “If you want work done, you need to offer something real in return. We all have our own game we want to play, Aten. Show me what these points are worth, and we’ll talk.”
“Alright, Joe. I guess it’s time to bring in the big guns.” Aten made a motion, and a small section of the room was unveiled. Joe paled and whirled on the guild leader.
“You brought my mother here?”
“Joe!” His mother stood up and shook her head. “I thought I raised you better than this. You have a chance to keep a lot of people from starving, and you should be jumping on the chance even if you won’t get anything worthwhile out of the guild!”
“Mom! I thought I was–” Joe tried to defend himself, but a hand in the air made him stop speaking right away.
“Let me finish.” His mom turned her glare on Aten. “Really? You used me visiting against my son? Are you trying to drive a wedge between us? Make him avoid me? I won’t stand for it. Joe, as your mother, I want you to find a way to feed the people. As a businesswoman, make sure that the reward you get upon return is worth it, or else you make sure to hold on to the means of production and sell the food at a reasonable price. Outfit the operation yourself, and talk to me if you need a place to sell in the Kingdom. In a week or so, I’ll be taking over Odds and Ends, and you can always sell through me.”
Aten looked aggrieved and rubbed weary eyes. Then he locked eyes with Joe and said, “Thirty thousand contribution points.”
“Thirty thousand upon completion, and Fifteen thousand points no matter what. I swear we’ll put plenty of effort into this, and we need to be compensated for that amount of time no matter what. Also. Outfit us for the trip, Aten.” Joe sighed and went over to give his mom a hug. “Give us two weeks’ worth of gear. I can't imagine that this’ll be a quick trip.”
“Deal.” Aten nodded his head, and the notification appeared in Joe’s vision again. This time, the quest was accepted.
Chapter Nine
“Alright, guys.” Joe and his team were sitting around a tiny table at the coffee shop, planning out their goals for the new quest. “What do we need to do to make this happen?”
Jess raised her hand, and Joe pointed at her. “Please don't do that. Just speak when you have something to say. High school is over.”
“Gotcha.” Jess grabbed a chunk of chalk from the table and started drawing on the wood. “There are more things to consider here than simply growing or importing food. There are the logistics of getting it here, having people to work with it, and places to store it if it isn't used right away. Here is what I think we need, in no particular order. Firstly, I think that it's important that we produce the food ourselves. If that means growing it, fine. If that means magical items, whatever, so long as they are able to make it happen long term.”
“With that in mind, we need to make buildings to store food before we are producing large quantities of it. We can start with a little production, to keep from starving, but this is something to keep in mind. Food rots fast, and as this is a game, I expect that there will be other issues to take into account.” Jess was making a long list, and the entire party was enraptured. “Warehouses, yes. Cold storage means good insulation on the building, which means high-quality materials used in the construction. Anyone know when winter is due in here? Is there winter?”
“Uh… I’ll look into it.” Poppy stood up and walked off at a brisk pace.
“Good.” Jess looked back at the list with a furrowed brow. “Roads. We need good roads between our buildings if we want to be able to transport stuff. Walls, to keep out thieves and protect our workers. Workers! That means a place for them to sleep. So, an apartment at the minimum. Some form of entertainment so they don't need to go too far, and–”
“Winter is a thing, and the edge of it is about a month out, I think.” Poppy popped back in with the information, making Bard jump and cuss softly at the scare.
“Good, perfect.” Jess took a deep breath and looked Joe directly in the eyes. “In that case, in my professional opinion, I think that you need to find a way to make a greenhouse.”
“Greenhouse,” Joe parroted. He was in shock from having a full plan laid out like this. “I… wow. I was going to go on a quest for a magical cornucopia or something.”
Jess shook her head. “This is far more likely to exist.”
“Fair enough.” Joe looked around. “All in favor of going searching for blueprints to a greenhouse?”
“Let’s do it,” Alexis put out into the group. Everyone else nodded, so Joe did so as well.
“Alright.” He looked at Jess. “You’ve really proven yourself. I'm gonna give you a task while we’re gone too, okay? Show that we can trust you when we aren't around, and we’ll make sure it's worth your while. All of this?”
Joe motioned at the charts and list she was still making. “Get all the material you need for these. I’m going to give you a token to claim land for me as well. Find what you think will be a good spot, and start hiring people. Get the foundations set up. Make roads to where buildings will be. Don’t worry about actually building. Just get everything else ready.”
Jess hesitated, then nodded. “We should also work out my salary…?”
“Find what’s fair, add twenty percent, and make it happen.” Joe grinned at her. “I’ll get you access to an account. Make sure to keep receipts. I highly doubt that we are done paying taxes just because we are in a new world. All that changed was who collects them.”
“It also lets you see what I buy,” Jess sweetly added.
“Yes,” Joe agreed bluntly.
“Consider it done, boss man.” Jess mock saluted and looked around. “Don’t forget to get geared up.”
“Knew I was forgetting something.” Joe blew a raspberry and stood up. “Alright, guys, I’m gonna pop over to the city for a shopping trip. Anyone want a ride?”
“Let’s do it,” Jaxon agreed winningly. Joe chuckled nervously. Everyone except Jess decided to go along, and the team walked into the temple and teleported into the main square of Ardania.
“Remember, Joe,” Alexis stated sternly, “you are here for getting gear, not for researching. We’ll do that too, just make sure that you get what you need for survival.”
“On it!” Joe promised with crossed fingers.
“I see that.” She glared. “If you die because you didn’t do this right, I’m gonna be so mad.”
Joe simply skipped off, headed for the market. He went for the Odds and Ends shop right away but also put Masterwork Metals on his list. As he walked into the first shop, he spied his mother and the current owner discussing stock over hot tea. He was confused for a moment as to how she had beat him here but remembered that she had access to the same transportation network that he did. “Hi there! I was hoping that I could get some help with upgrading my current gear?”
The owner looked at him and harrumphed. “Hello there, youngling! Here to run me out of business again? Tell everyone about outdated prices?”
“Nothing like that! Just the gear this time!” Joe responded to the curmudgeon as happily as possible.
“I see that you lost your little ‘keep me alive’ robe since I last saw you. Where did it get off to?” Her tone implied that she had better like the answer.
“I’m really sorry to say,” Joe had to hold in his frustration, “I lost it in an instant dungeon to the Boss. He… I died right after, so I'm uncertain as to what happened.”
“Hmmm. Not to be trusted with higher tier enchanted gear, huh?” the old woman muttered to herself.
&n
bsp; “Nothing like that!” Joe shook his head vehemently.
“I’m pretty sure that I told you that all magical gear is alive, even if just barely, yes?” The ancient person stared at him with nearly mummified eyes. “The more powerfully made, the more alive it is. That building you made? I give it a year or two at the most until it is awake. What are you doing to protect that new, young mind?”
Joe thought about it and needed to make sure to choose his words carefully. “I am helping build a powerful Noble Guild around it. As we go forward, there will be powerful people and powerful protections in place. All of these will have a vested interest in keeping it strong and protected.”
“Hmm.” There was a pause. “I suppose that keeping you away from the good stuff will only weaken you in the long run and prevent you from keeping the building strong. I suppose that’s a good enough reason to sell to you. Come here, let’s find you something that suits you.”
“Hi, Mom. Thanks for the help there.” Joe only got a serene smile in reply, so he knew that she was in agreement with the old lady for some reason.
“What are you after?” the old lady demanded. “What do you think you need?”
“I need as much mana and mana regen as possible,” Joe responded instantly. “I use lots and lots, and then even more mana.”
“I see.” She walked away and came back a few minutes later with a full set of luxurious, purple gear. “Here is my offer. I have a set of robes that will boost mana regen by one percent, shirt, pants, underwear, and socks that all do the same. Together, this becomes a set of gear called ‘Wise Man's Wardrobe’. When worn all together, it grants a fifteen percent mana regen bonus, is self-cleaning, and does minor self-repair. Also, future note—all socks are set items. These ones just work with the rest of this gear.”
“Got it.” Joe looked at the gear, noting that the gear was only categorized as Rare. “Is this the best that I can get, or is this your highest recommendation for me?”
“Recommendation. Both,” the cool answer came. “It doesn’t add any armor, but it can take care of itself to a small degree, and I think that is going to be more important to any gear you purchase in the future.”
“I see.” Joe nodded and took the gear, paying a price of twelve hundred gold—or twelve platinum—that nearly made him gag, and that was after his discount. Attempts at haggling were met with a stony glare, and he had no choice but to accept the price tag that could be seen on large buildings for sale in town. “Is there… anything else you would recommend? Or do you have any of these items?”
He presented a list, and she shook her head. “That would all come from the Architect’s Guild. Blueprints or blueprint paper, at least. Otherwise, you could always learn to make your own or buy from the Mage’s College. The inks and such could be purchased from the Alchemist, or again, made yourself. Raw material from the alchemist as well.”
Joe thought of the creepy alchemist, Jake, and winced. He’d rather not need to go in there, but if that was the best option going forward… Joe nodded, equipped his gear, and strolled out of the shop. Next on the list was Masterwork Metals, mostly just to see if he could find anything interesting. He had only been there a few times at the start of his time in this world, but he had a favorable impression of the owner. After browsing the shop and not seeing anything, Joe asked the owner if he could make weapon augments like his titanium taglock.
His wasn't in danger of breaking, but if you waited until you needed something, you were setting yourself up for failure. The smith wasn’t impressed with his request. “Taglocks, huh? That's a nasty little implement you’ve got there. Yeah, I can make ‘em. I just don't like to do so. I prefer making weapon and armor augments that help people protect themselves.”
“Armor augments?” Joe greedily leaned forward. “Do tell!”
The smith looked Joe up and down. “Alright, well. You’re creepin’ me out, but yeah, you can take any type of armor or weapon and make an augment out of it. Essentially gives you boosted skill points for the type of gear it was. You can also try and make them yerself, but I gotta warn you, they are expensive for a reason. Now, you can also get basic augments like that taglock pretty easy, since it is actually just another, smaller weapon strapped to the first one. Same name, very different results.”
“How do you make the skill-style augments?” Joe started recording the conversation on his personal notepad.
“Well, first ya take the class and learn how to do it,” the smith grinned crookedly, “but the short version is that you take a chunk of gear and try to extract its ‘meaning’. This destroys the gear, whether you succeed or fail and only gives you a fairly small boost even if you do get the augment. Better to pay the price, boyo.”
“Gotcha.” Joe already had plenty of skills to bring up, but he would get to this one eventually. There had to be some reason it existed. “Thanks! Can I get a few of these taglocks, though?”
“Sure, why not.” The smith waved him away and told him they would be ready in a few days. Joe turned to leave, then stopped himself and got directions to a glassblower.
When he got to the glassblower, he put in a large order for hundreds of sheets of glass. They were all to be the same size and thickness, and he made sure to let the man know that he would come back every few days to get whatever had been made until that point. A quick stop at the alchemist and Joe felt that he was as ready for the next steps as he could be.
All ready for the trials ahead, Joe saw that he had a few hours until the assigned meeting time. So, naturally, he wandered over to the library and started researching mentions of greenhouses or other styles of easily growing large amounts of food in as short a time as possible.
Chapter Ten
“You're telling me that there is no lumber, nails, anything that I can purchase in bulk?” Joe was at the Architect’s Guild, doing his best to get a deal while he could. He had found a good lead at the library, so he needed to take care of a few other issues if possible. “What if I paid a premium? Ten percent over asking price?”
“I’m telling you, Mr. Joe.” The woman he was speaking with was adamantly shaking her head and holding her ground. “We are bought out for the next two months at the minimum. We honor our deals here. When we say you are next in line, you are, and, well, frankly you're not the first to try and get in good with us. You want lumber, you are going to either need to wait or get people to cut trees and make planks for you.”
Joe thought on that for a moment and bobbed his head in understanding. “I see. Well, I can’t say I don't like your honesty and the fact that you stick to your deals. Actually, it makes me want to work with you even more. Which is frustrating because I can't for now. This is a conundrum.”
The lady seemed to relax a small amount and nodded. “Thank you for understanding. Not everyone has been so… anyway, is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Yes, well, while I am here, can I take a look at any blueprints that you have available for sale?” Joe asked hopefully.
“That's a no, sorry,” she denied him instantly. “Blueprints are essentially the secret techniques of our guild. Mages have their spell books, alchemists have potion recipes, we have our blueprints. Now, you are welcome to sell blueprints to us, but we can’t sell any to you.”
“I see, I see.” Joe knew right then and there that he would never sell anything to this organization. It might seem petty, but when a group refused to share the knowledge that they hoarded just so they could force people to work with or for them… Joe didn't ever want to get sucked into them. That was his real issue with guilds, unions, or colleges; a monopoly by any name was still hurtful to the overall progress of the world. Now people wouldn't even be able to build new homes without going through this group, and they were busy for the next several months? Despicable.
Well, he had his own method for creating blueprints and raising buildings, but he still needed supplies and a way to get blueprint paper. “Would your group be willing to sell blank bl
ueprints so that I can attempt to create workable blueprints?”
“Oh, of course!” The seller gave him a charming smile, and he could practically feel his wisdom trying to fight against her obviously high charisma. “Each paper costs two gold, but that won’t be an issue for an adventurer of your quality!”
“Or we could work out a deal where you don’t rip me off.” Joe chuckled at the pout that appeared on her face. “How about you let me take a look at the papers first?”
She walked out of the room and returned shortly with a stack of paper two feet high. The paper was a light blue, and she gestured for him to take a look. “Just so you know, any damage means that you have bought it.”
“Understood.” Joe carefully began going through the stack, separating the paper off and adding some to a pile on the side after staring at it, feeling it, and gently waving it through the air.
After he had gone through the entire stack, he turned to the paper he had set aside and made three piles. His Spellbinder skill was nagging at him, which was why he was taking his time to really look at the paper. He needed paper that could contain the magic that he would be putting through it, and there weren't many that made the cut. When he had gone through everything, he put away the paper that hadn't been up to the standard that he felt he needed. “I’ll give you a gold each…”
“Highway robbery!” She gasped, putting both hands over her mouth.
“…or I can ask one of the other sellers if they could make a better deal,” Joe finished his sentence.
“And what a good deal it is!” She shook his hand and looked at the paper he had set aside. “That’ll be fifteen gold, then. Anything else I can get you?”
“On to your waiting list for supplies?” Joe added an extra gold to the pile he was counting out, and when he saw her raised eyebrow, he explained, “That’s to fit me in right away if there is a cancellation. Not to jump into the current line. Here are the contact details for my assistant.”