“Are we talking about Tartila Mine?” Tailyn asked as he projected his map.
“Tartila? Yes, that was the lab boss’ name.” The reptiloid peered at the projection. “The place is right, only what’s that strange indicator? Is it a swamp?”
“Impassible, populated by non-level monsters,” Tailyn replied.
“That’s a challenge, but not an impossible one. If we can’t get through the main entrance, there are always other ways. And while I don’t want to get your hopes up, if you can get control of what you call Tartila Mine, you’ll find yourself in control of the entire planet.”
The boy’s chest tightened—he had someone willing to help him with his impossible mission. But before he could grill the reptiloid about the ancients’ inventions, Forian jumped into the conversation.
“Why did you say we should leave Sadil be?”
“Because he’s harmless. A long time ago, back during the height of the release, I founded an order of searchers in the hopes of saving more humans. Isr Kale’s troops had made off with the dragon’s blood, hidden it somewhere, and left the planet to wither away. Another thousand, maybe two thousand years, and your world will really go into decline.”
“Explain yourself.” Sadil broke the silence he’d been keeping.
“Dragon’s blood really is the blood of an ancient creature. It was dispersed across a myriad planets, deep inside them. The point of the game when it comes to a planet is to get to it—anyone willing to pay for it values it incredibly highly. But that’s not the point. When the blood gets to a planet, noa starts to form around it as a blue mist granting life. That’s how the first organisms appear and begin to grow. And since there isn’t any blood on your planet, the noa has been gradually disappearing. Each century sees fewer and fewer creatures born until one day they stop breeding altogether, which is when the planet dies. That process generally takes four to five thousand years. With three already gone, you can see for yourself how things are—regardless of the fact that humanity beat the game, your civilization is already decaying. The greatness humans had achieved before the release is gone. And it’s never coming back. Soon enough, you’re going to die out, though that won’t be in the next fifty years. I’ll be able to complete my mission and get back to the game. Even without knowing it, Sadil is doing something important, and you’ll give the planet a future if you can find the blood.”
Mission update: Ancient History. Description: 36 new updates received.
You received +1 to a random skill.
Crystal Miner +1 (45).
“Fascinating,” Valrus grunted as soon as he saw everyone bathed in light. The information he’d just given them had proven to be truly unique.
“Okay, so we’re decided on Sadil? Release him!” Forian said, though Motar didn’t so much as twitch when he saw Tailyn’s reaction.
“Until he swears fealty to the city, he stays a prisoner,” the boy replied firmly as he gazed steadily into Sadil’s eyes. “Otherwise, he can head back to the academy. Even with a recommendation like that, he’s not getting a better offer here in Mean Truk.”
A silence hung heavily in the room, though Tailyn wasn’t about to back down. He’d had enough of giving in to the adults; it was time for him to turn into one of them despite his youth. Necessity was the best teacher.
“I accept your demands, Head,” Sadil said. “You can have my oath...”
Valrus sighed heavily. The whole thing was a farce in his book, the kid making Sadil go through a meaningless ritual. Better than anyone, the reptiloid knew there was always a way to get out of an oath if that was what someone wanted to do. Directly or indirectly—it didn’t matter. There was always a way. Direct orders from the game were a different matter, as there wasn’t anyone there capable of generating them.
“Motar,” Tailyn said with a gesture toward Mean Truk’s newest resident, and the head of security leaped into action. Still, Tailyn wasn’t satisfied—Valrus’s status was bothering him. He was having a hard time figuring out how to test the reptiloid’s loyalty, but that was when Valia stepped in and demanded to see the mission requiring him to protect Tailyn.
Mission: Tailyn Vlashich’s Security. Description: Protect player Tailyn Vlashich (human, age 12, alchemist) from all threats foreign and domestic. Train him. Deadline: 50 years. If you are successful, you will be reinitiated into the game and permitted to begin the path to redemption.
The description raised more questions than it answered, though the important part was that it was sufficient to prove that the reptiloid wouldn’t be hurting the boy. The god wasn’t about to permit that. And that was enough for the city’s population to increase by one.
Considering the issue closed, Forian projected the city status table.
“In a couple hours, they’ll finish work on the temple. After war was declared on us, fifty-two CDPs and eight hundred thousand coins were returned, and the timeline for building the walls and houses was reduced. My thinking is that we should invest the CDPs in the walls. With the resources we have, we can build them right now, and that will make everything else much easier.”
Almost as if hearing the treasurer, a message popped up:
New city building: temple.
The Treasurer paid 350000 coins to the Architect.
+50 CDPs for completing the temple (108).
Weekly upkeep of the new building: 100 coins.
***
You spent 107 CDPs finishing construction of the outer walls.
The Treasurer paid 400000 coins to the Architect.
+60 CDPs for completing the outer walls (60).
Weekly upkeep of the new building: 1000 coins.
Forian was bathed in white light, having received three new levels for finishing construction of the temple. The god took care of its own, and when one of them completed the work they were given, it meted out the maximum reward. With a glance at his happy treasurer, Tailyn pulled up the city settings once again. The CDPs were coming in steadily as they finished the different projects, and so he decided to splurge—humans and lixes alike needed somewhere to live.
You spent 57 CDPs finishing construction of homes in the first residential quarter.
You paid 200000 coins to the Architect.
+10 CDPs for completing homes in the first residential quarter (13).
Weekly upkeep of 1 home: 5 coins. 30 homes built.
“Yes, that’s better,” Forian said approvingly. “We have three construction slots open now. Any ideas on what we should build first?”
“We definitely need a library branch.” Tailyn handed over the blueprints he’d gotten from the keeper. “In six months, I’m going to have to deliver a bunch of books, and I have no desire to figure out how to get back into the academy.”
“You’re quite the optimist, my boy, thinking about something that’s supposed to happen in six months... Well done,” Valanil said with a chuckle. “Right now, we need a metal workshop and a good platinum mine. After that, a marble quarry, a cement workshop... There’s a ton. And that’s not to mention the palace, which we need if we want a portal. Without a portal, there’s no trade.”
“Should we just go straight for the palace?” Forian asked thoughtfully. “A stationary portal is too important to forget about. Once that’s done, we can get started on the workshops, one after the other. The metal workshop will be first.”
“Makes sense,” Valrus said. “Having a stationary portal will give you a way to evacuate the city. Better to live to fight another day than die heroically defending a few stones. Everything else can wait. If our guests show up in three months, it’s best to be armed and also ready with a way out.”
For a few seconds, Tailyn wanted to pipe up with something about how defending the city was imperative, though he eventually thought better of it. His role as the city head meant he had to bear in mind the lives he’d been entrusted with. The list of buildings required to complete the Renaissance of Mean Truk popped up in front of him, their timelines and cost
cut by half. That meant they had the resources to complete most of them so long as they bought themselves enough time. After sorting them by importance, Tailyn glanced over at his treasurer. It was the latter’s responsibility to handle the money and start the process.
Qty
Timeline
Cost
CDP
Upkeep per unit
Palace
1
9 months
4 mil
100
500
Library branch
1
4 months
1 mil
50
100
Metal workshop
1
2 months
0.2 mil
10
20
Stationary portal
1
4 months
0.5 mil
50
100
Platinum mine
1
2 months
0.2 mil
10
20
Marble mine
1
2 months
0.2 mil
10
20
Marble workshop
2
2 months
0.2 mil
10
20
Blacksmith
2
2 months
0.2 mil
10
20
Cement workshop
1
2 months
0.2 mil
10
20
Homes in second residential quarter
60
9 months
2 mil
20
5
Central square
1
1 month
0.1 mil
10
20
Treasury
1
3 months
1.5 mil
50
100
20-stall bazaar
1
4 months
0.5 mil
20
60
Tavern
2
2 months
0.2 mil
10
60
Homes in third residential quarter
120
14 months
3 mil
30
5
Storehouse
5
3 months
0.5 mil
10
20
Theater
1
4 months
1 mil
50
100
Noble palace
5
9 months
2 mil
50
200
Homes in fourth residential quarter
240
24 months
5 mil
40
5
The wait wasn’t a long one.
The Treasurer paid a 30% advance for the construction of a palace, a library branch, and a metal workshop.
An ocean of coins washed right out of Mean Truk’s account, though the city’s budget held firm. Tailyn pulled up the next table and grinned. Mean Truk was looking mighty fine.
Management of Mean Truk, level four city
Parameter
Description
General information
City development points (CDP)
13
CDPs generated per week
19
Population
230
Humans: 83; Lixes: 137; Leaders: 10
City property
Qty
Upkeep
CDP
Guard commander
1
250
2
Guards
4
150
4
Architect
1
200
1
Builder
1
200
1
City buildings
Qty
Upkeep
CDP
Tavern
1
60
-
Temple
1
100
5
Homes in first residential quarter
30
5
-
Mentors and Students sculpture
1
50
3
Outer city walls
1
1000
1
Finances
Treasury (coins)
10657288
Yearly investment dividends
10%
To Carlian clan (10%)
Weekly expenses (coins)
9320
Food, salaries, city upkeep
Commitments (coins)
1820000
Palace, library, metal workshop
“What are we going to do with Ronan?” Motar asked as soon as the topic of conversation moved away from urban development.
“Put him on ice,” Valanil said. “If anything happens, he’s our ace in the hole when it comes to a conversation with the viceroy. He won’t try to pull anything that costs him his son. Stick him somewhere under lock and key, and make sure he can’t run. So, that’s it, right? We can wrap this up?”
“I have a question for our guest,” Valia said, looking over at Valrus. “What makes the Absorber so dangerous?”
“How do you know that word?” The reptiloid wasn’t anxious to answer the question, but the look on Valia’s face gave him no other choice. She needed the information. “The Absorber is an ancient monster who left the planet during the exodus. You don’t have to worry about him.”
“Your ancient monster is back on our planet and looking for Tailyn. What I want to know is why.”
The reptiloid’s green face turned gray.
“Just what we needed... The Absorber is Mark Derwin, the one who destroyed the release owner, the one who cut me and a dozen other creatures out of the game, and the one who left us here to rot on this planet. He invented the dragon’s tears that sucked the magic out of the mages and just about destroyed the whole world. Tailyn, this mission is beyond me—there’s no saving you.”
“Are you sure the Absorber is here to kill me?” An unpleasant sensation shot through the boy’s chest. Apparently, turning the whole world against him hadn’t been enough for the god, who had decided to bring in someone else to cap the whole thing off.
“It’s been three thousand years, so it’s hard to say how Mark might have changed over that time. But one thing is for sure: back then, he killed anyone he saw who had a mana bar without the slightest hesitation. Even the experimental devices won’t help against him—his hacking and device control are out of this world.”
“In that case, he’s in for an unpleasant surprise,” Valanil said as she stared thoughtfully at Tailyn. “My boy, it looks like you’re in for another adventure, only nobody else can help you this time. You have to head over to Tartila Mine and take control. That’s the only way we’re going to survive.”
Any further discussion that might have happened was cut off rudely when a breathless guard burst in on the meeting.
“We’re under attack!”
Mean Turk is under attack.
Opponents: 73
Attention! 2 citizens of Mean Turk were killed!
Chapter 2
“YOU SAID NOBODY can be killed in safe zones!” Valanil yelled angrily, though Tailyn didn’t stick around long enough to hear the answer. He’d already tossed the guard to the side and dashed out into the street to handle the intruder himself.
Only there was no intruder to be seen. In fact, it took Tailyn a few moments to get his bearings as he looked around at the changes that had taken place. Thick, six-meter walls hid Mean Truk from the Gray Lands, t
heir imposing bulk representing a powerful first line of defense. Already feeling completely at home, the five guards were dashing along the walls looking for the same enemy Tailyn was hunting. Meanwhile, attractive three-story homes were clustered in one area, and it looked like the city’s entire population was rushing in that direction—they appeared to have decided it was where they were safest. Even the scrumptious smell of food wafting over from the tavern wasn’t enough to make them forget the clear and present danger. It was abandoned. The colossal building the architect had deigned to call the temple pierced the sky, reaching a height nearly half that of the cliffs around the city and attracting attention with its unusual design. If it hadn’t been for the commotion, the whole picture would have looked peaceful and calm. But the god didn’t make mistakes—there were seventy-three opponents out there somewhere, and they’d already killed two of the city’s citizens. Only where were they?
Tartila Mine (The Alchemist Book #5): LitRPG Series Page 2