Life Reset: A LitRPG Novel (New Era Online Book 1)
Page 24
I went up to the hut and touched it. Nothing happened.
I frowned. “Vic, any idea why I’m not getting any prompts?”
I sighed. I’d been bonded with Vic for only a few days and it already felt like he’d been yanking my chain for years. I eyed the crude chest.
What was it that Zuban said? I wondered. Something about a leader must take pride in displaying his riches...
I checked my inventory. I had one of the Falchions looted from the hobgoblins. I took it out and placed it in the chest.
The entire structure shimmered and system messages started to appear.
“Yes!”
New monster settlement established
Conditions:
- Chief Hut: 1 /1
- Cemetery: 1 /1
- Immortal leader: 1 /1
You have met the minimum requirements to establish a permanent settlement [War camp].
Would you like to assume command (you will have access to a settlement interface)? Yes /No.
Finally! I thought in satisfaction. This called for more than a mere mental command.
“Yes!” I declared happily.
You are now the leader of a new settlement
Please select a name for the settlement
I had to think about it for a moment. I was tempted to name it something that will reflect my desire for vengeance. But an ostentatious name could land me in trouble one day. Better play it safe, I thought.
I considered a few names from my past adventures, but none of them seemed to fit. I was now the leader of a goblin town. A monster town, and I planned to build it up into an empire.
Monster Supreme sounded a bit too full of itself.
Goblinville made me yawn.
Monstropolis was too much of a mouthful and Pixar might sue.
Midget town, no one would take us seriously.
I thought about it. Our new home wasn’t a gorge, but the way into the valley fit that description, and I liked the other meanings implied by it. Goblins were infamously gluttonous, which fit. Gorge also referred to a fortified entrance, which was certainly appropriate. Besides, it had a nice ring to it.
Goblin’s Gorge, I thought in determination.
Your new settlement has been named: Goblin’s Gorge
As you are a lowly goblin puppet, you may name your pathetic new clan
Vic!” I said sharply.
The system message blurred and the wording was changed.
Your new settlement has been named: Goblin’s Gorge
As a monster race, you may choose a name for your clan
“Better,” I nodded.
But now I had to come up with another name. I was certainly not going with Drippers again, I thought more highly of me and my people.
But what to name the clan? I debated with myself. Whatever name I decided on, it would someday be spoken of in fear and respect by every monster within a hundred kilometers, so it had to sound tough. But I also wanted a name that wouldn’t aggravate other players. Something that would maybe make them reconsider attacking us, or at least make them stall for a moment to think it over. Then again, it would have to be something amusing, we were goblins after all.
Hmmm… I know!
“GreenPiece!” I grinned.
+500 reputation with GreenPiece clan.
Current rank: Neutral. Points to next rank: 500
You now have full access to the settlement interface. Interface type: Monster
“What now?” I was getting fed up with his antics.
Goblin’s Gorge Interface: Overview
Efficiency: -10%
Population: 11
Buildings: 2
Fortifications: 0
Food production: 0
Resource production: 0
Crafting production: 0
“Thanks, I’ll check it out.” That did sound useful.
The settlement interface looked much different than the ones I’d used before. A player’s interface showed the town’s available resources, and which buildings could be built. Suddenly, I had access to much more detailed information and customization options. I started browsing to familiarize myself with the new interface.
The Efficiency rating influenced almost all activities, from production to population growth. The negative value worried me. I clicked on it for more details and learned that it suffered due to a low morale modifier. Another click on the Morale field revealed that the main cause was lack of proper lodging. Though they were monsters, my goblins still felt the need for a roof over their heads. I had to address the efficiency issues as soon as possible. According to the interface, there were many other factors that could affect it; better food, entertainment, unique buildings, and the likes.
Next, I checked the Buildings options. The Chief's Hut and Cemetery were listed as existing buildings. There was a list of other buildings available for construction, and their prerequisites. The available building list was also based on the Constructor skill rank of my chief builder, which was Zuban.
I was damn lucky I ‘forced’ him to be a Constructor, I realized. He knew the blueprints for quite a few buildings.
● Hovel, small: very basic house, can hold up to 2 occupants. Reduce lodging penalty by 50%
Required: 10 Wood, Constructor: Novice, Build Points: 30
● Hut, small: basic house, can hold up to 2 occupants. Remove lodging morale penalty.
Required: 20 Wood, Constructor: Novice Build Points: 50
● Construction Yard, small: increase the efficiency of your Builders by 10%, serves as a lodge for one worker, can be used as a construction resource warehouse.
Required: 20 Wood, Constructor: Novice, Build Points: 80
● Quarry, small: improves efficiency when quarrying stone by 20%, serves as a lodge for one worker, can be used as a warehouse for bricks, flagstones, and construction blocks.
Required: 20 Wood, Constructor: Novice, Build Points: 80
● Mining Hut, small: improves efficiency when quarrying ore by 20%. serves as a lodge for one worker, can be used as raw ore warehouse.
Required: 20 Wood, Constructor: Novice, Build Points: 80
● Gardener’s Hut, small: improves efficiency for growing plants for food or ingredients by 20%, serves as a lodge for one worker, can be used as plant warehouse.
Required: 20 Wood, Constructor: Novice, Build Points: 100
● Woodcutter’s Hut, small: improves the efficiency of tree cutting and processing to logs and lumber by 20%, serves as a lodge for one worker, can be used as warehouse for wood resources.
Required: 20 Wood, Constructor: Novice, Build Points: 80
● Rabbit Warren, medium: produces raw meet each day, while maintaining the rabbit population.
Required: Rabbit ground, 40 Wood, Constructor: Novice, Breeder worker, Build Points: 130
● Cabin, medium: standard house, can hold up to 4 occupants increases morale by 5.
Requir
ed: 50 Wood, Constructor: Novice, Build Points: 100
● General Warehouse, medium: storage for items. Increases efficiency of transporting resources within the settlement. Decreases decay rate of perishables.
Required: 60 Wood, Constructor: Novice, one worker, Build Points: 160
● Shrine, tiny: increases morale by 10. Provide access to Faith.
Required: 10 bones, 10 stone, Constructor: Novice, Build Points: 100
● Mess Hall, large: public dining area. Includes a kitchen, increases food production by 10%, increases morale by 20.
Required: 140 wood, Constructor: Novice, Cook worker, Build Points: 250
● Chieftain’s House, small: lodging for the leader. Provides improved settlement management interface. Includes a good quality wooden chest.
Required: 30 wood, 5 pelts, 5 metal, Constructor: Novice, Build Points: 120
And at the very end of the list, I found this tasty morsel:
● Breeder’s Den, small: a divinely blessed dwelling which can produce fully grown clan members of various types.
Required: roseate marble, dragonhide, mercury, gold, Constructor: Master, High Totem blessing, heart of a sacrificed immortal, Build Points: 2,500
Note: requirements met. This building can be constructed immediately. Choose a location.
The list had everything we needed for now, but it was missing vital, more advanced buildings, like a Jeweler Workshop or a Tavern, I wonder why that is.
That was disappointing. On the bright side, the Breeder’s Den sounded amazing. It was just what I needed to rapidly increase my clan’s population. With more workers, the settlement development speed would increase. In no time at all I would have my own little monster metropolis. I rubbed my hands and grinned in delight. A sudden image sparked in my mind. Me, a small goblin, leading armies of goblins and other monsters, conquering and taming the Badlands, expanding and gaining enough strength to establish my very own monster kingdom. That was an appealing thought, I could hardly wait to realize it all.
Back to work. I turned my attention to the Interface. It was more detailed than the one I used to work with as a player. The specific requirements and building properties were new to me.
I need to have a chat with Zuban, I mused, He can probably shed some light on some of those buildings properties.
With that thought in mind, I went back to the camp, leaving the Chief’s Hut behind me.
Vic informed me while I walked
“Good to know” I continued walking.
“You have to have a Constructor to manage the Builder workers,” Zuban explained to me, when I finally managed to track him down, near the small pond, evaluating the layout for future construction work.
“Luckily for you, you have me,” he continued with a slight smug smile. “True, I’m a novice constructor right now, but I’m on the verge of reaching Apprentice rank. I just need to complete a big project to do it.”
“I see” I rubbed my chin. “Can you explain your profession to me? I need a better grasp of your skills and capabilities so I’ll know how to best utilize your talents.”
He nodded. “A Constructor can oversee a number of workers, directing their work and increase their effectiveness. I can direct a maximum of two Builders right now, but when I reach the Apprentice rank, I’ll be able to oversee six workers.”
“But just yesterday, you put all three of our workers to building the Chief’s Hut,” I protested.
“Not really, I only made of them do the actual construction work, they did quite poorly by the way, as none of them isn’t much of a Builder. I had the third worker cut branches for us to work with. One of the workers is actually a decent Lumberjack, by the way.”
“So having this ‘woody’ guy with the Lumberjack skill should help speed up construction?” I asked.
“Somewhat. All the buildings I can build at my rank require a lot of wood. So cutting enough for construction is going to be problematic even with ‘woody’ as you call him. We can use timber, whole logs that are split in half lengthwise, but timber is a crude construction material and a waste of wood. Lumber; planks and boards would be a much better construction material. Four pieces of lumber can be produced from a single log, instead of two pieces of timber .”
He made a sour face “ at my current rank, I can’t construct a Lumber Mill, maybe later on I’ll figure out how to do it.
“So rough timber will have to do as building material for now. You should get the Lumberjack worker to concentrate exclusively on chopping down wood.”
“Is there any way to increase ‘woody’s’ output, Zuban?”
“We could build him a Woodcutter’s Hut, it's not too difficult, and would increase his efficiency. We are going to need a lot of building materials to construct anything more substantial than that miserable Chief’s Hut.”
“I understand.” So we would need a lot of wood. I did remember the Lumberjack skill gave a substantial advantage for cutting down trees over untrained workers. But still…
“Couldn’t we make all three workers chop down wood for a few days?” I suggested. “The other two should pick up the skill after a while, right?”
Zuban shook his head. “They are simple minded creatures. In my experience, workers of any race can only be proficient in one work-related skill. Sure, you can assign the other two to hack aimlessly at the trees, they might even bring one down, but that would be a waste of effort. They could be put to better use doing something they are proficient at. One of them is a Digger, which is somewhat helpful for construction, but the other is proficient in Mining, which is useless for me. I barely got any build points out of him while working on your Hut.”
“That was the other thing I wanted to ask you. What are build points, exactly? I saw them listed as one of the buildings’ prerequisites.”
“Yes” Zuban nodded. “Every building has different lists of requirements. First, they all require materials for construction, wood being the most common. Then a Constructor with a high enough rank is required to understand how to build the structure and to direct the Builders. The build points reflect the amount of effort required for the construction. Bigger buildings, with more advanced construction requirements, have higher BP requirements.”
“BP?” I raised a brow.
“Short for Build Points”
“Oh, right.”
“Anyway,” he continued, “Each worker contributes BPs that are used to calculate the daily progress of the structure. The time to complete the building can also be extrapolated by it. Experienced Builders generate more BP per day than inexperienced ones, and consequently are able to complete a structure much faster.”
“Ok…” I struggled with this new concept. “So how much BP did the two workers contribute today?”
“The Digger contributed three points, that’s quite low, and even that was mostly because his proficiency synergizes with some of the Builder’s. The Miner only contributed one point, and that was mainly from carrying equipment around. I added seven points,” he added in modestly “My Construction proficiency increases the amount of BP a construction crew generates. It helps counteract the efficiency penalty we’re having from the low morale. As a team, we produce 10 BP each day, which was enough to complete the Chief’s Hut in less than two days.”
“I think I understand the system. In short, you need proficient Builders.” And I need to do something about the efficiency penalty.
“Exactly. Also, when I reach Apprentice rank, I will be able to oversee six workers and reduce construction time.”
I nodded, “that makes sense.” More wor
kers working on the same building equals faster building time.
“However,” he continued, “The size of the building limits how many workers I can assign to work on it. For example small buildings the optimum number is two Builders, medium buildings four, and large eight. We can add more workers, up to double the optimum, to speed up construction. You can’t add more than that, since it would only serve as a hindrance.
“Alright,” I was started to get information overload. “I think I can get you more workers, we’ve been granted a Breeder’s Den.”
“We what?” His eye widened. “That is hard to believe. Are you sure? That could be extremely helpful.”
I nodded. “Follow me.”
I led Zuban to a stretch of land not far from the pond. This would be the most important and valuable building in the village, I wanted it to be further in than the other buildings, but still in a central location, for safety and efficiency reasons.
I accessed the Settlement Interface and selected the Breeder’s Den. I designated the space in front of me as its location, and mentally clicked the build button.
A pillar of golden-green light shone from the sky and struck the ground. The patch of ground vibrated and rippled. Then like something surfacing from underneath the ocean, a scaled-pattern green dome lifted up from the ground, the dome cleared the surface and was followed by the supporting walls of pink marble. The marble was veined with gold and silver. A small doorway, with a heavy blue leather flap was the only opening.
Zuban’s eyes had almost popped out of their sockets at the sight of the majestic building rising from the ground.
It was done in a short time.
There, in front of us stood a small, richly decorated building, where only minutes ago there was nothing but dirt.