Ch 42

Jared sat in his small log cabin.the crackling fire casting flickering shadows across the log cabin’s rough-hewn walls. It wasn’t cold, but the scent of burning pine and the rhythmic pop of sap anchored him, grounding his thoughts.

On the table lay an intricate web of strings, each thread connected to small nails Damon had driven into the wood. Without paper, this was how Jared mapped out the village’s future—lines of progress stretched across the rough tabletop.

So far they had broken ground on several new projects. Damon's new forge. Jessica’s shard enchanting shop. Jessie’s fields where they had begun growing the seeds Layton had earned in a dungeon. They had even started a project for a lumber mill. 

Jared’s status screen flickered before him, familiar lines of data arranging themselves neatly.

JARED HENDERSEN – HUMAN

Humans are well-rounded and adaptable. Receives +5 free points per level.

CLASS

• Foreman (Level 15) 

  • Each core stat +1 per level; choose +5 Wis or Int, the other gets +2.

STATS

• HP: 60/60

• MP: 105/105

• Constitution: 40

• Strength: 15

• Agility: 15

• Wisdom: 92

• Intelligence: 88

• Sense: 15

ABILITIES

• Structural Integrity: Increases durability of constructed buildings for members of your faction. Scales with users constitution stat. 

• Business Acumen: Prices for faction to system trades are more favorable. Scales with users wisdom stat. 

• Artisans touch: Creates a random chance for factions crafters to increase the grade of a crafted item. Scales with intelligence stat. 

• Overseer: Gives a miniscule experience boost to faction crafters for completing objectives. Scales with users wisdom stat.

TITLES

• Passing the baton: From one to another to you and then you to another your faction leader has changed four separate times and you passed the baton the last leg. +4 to wisdom.

• Steward: You have been chosen as steward in a faction. +3 to wisdom, +3 to intelligence.

The day before Jared had hit level fifteen and gained another skill. It occurred to Jared while looking through his options, that each of his skills enhanced the efforts of the members of his faction. He had looked for skills that directly improved overall work speed but there were none to be found. 

Of course. His class wasn’t about forcing people to work harder—it was about maximizing their potential. Efficiency over compulsion. Just his style. But it wasn’t the abilities that had him thinking. It was the function of stats for non-combat classes. 

The purpose of  stats was still somewhat of a mystery to Jared. Especially since they didn’t seem to act the same person to person. He was still running numbers on everything to understand it all more completely. In fighter classes the stats seemed much more straightforward as to what they would do. 

Constitution gave hp and effected endurance which also powered how many times skills could be deployed. Strength and agility both were obvious. 

He did feel much stronger, more youthful. Compared to Layton or Alex? It was a joke. But Jared wasn’t about to complain. Still, he was determined to unravel more of the mystery of how the stat system worked for non-combat.  

For now though, Jared’s eyes traced the lines of string on the table, his mind drifting to Jessie’s fields and the possibility of speeding up crop growth. His interface flickered, a soft chime breaking his thoughts.

New notification.

New territory gained for faction Layton Mischief.

Jared’s eyebrows shot up.

Curious, he opened the prompt—and a map unfolded before him.

It showed the very same territory that his group had abandoned weeks ago.

What the hell is Layton up to now?

Jared tapped the screen, zooming in. If the territory was theirs now, that meant one of two things:

Layton had cleared out the occupying force or...Layton had cleared out the occupying force.

…Because really, there was no other option.

Layton was a force of nature. Whatever had been there didn’t stand a chance.

Jared exhaled, rubbing his forehead. Alright. At least this simplifies things.

With this new addition, they now controlled two separate territories. The next logical step would be securing the two neutral zones in between.

He was just about to start planning when something caught his eye.

A long list of new names in the faction member tab.

Jared frowned. Wait.

What. The. Hell. He scrolled.

And scrolled.

And scrolled.

The list was now four times longer than it had been this morning. Dozens of new members.

Names he didn’t recognize. Daevon. Durkil. Ellison. Jamus. On and on it went.

His pulse quickened. Had Layton somehow convinced the invaders to join his faction?!

That’s impossible. So far, every single non-human they had encountered had one strategy—attack on sight.

None had ever attempted conversation, let alone diplomacy. Jared’s hands flew over his interface, pulling up one of the profiles.

Race: Guildian.

Definitely NOT human. Jared sat back, running a hand through his hair.

Layton… what did you DO?

With a sigh, he spent the next couple of hours digging through the profiles, trying to make sense of their new “citizens.”

A few hours later, a sharp knock sounded at Jared’s door. “Come in.” Jared didn’t even look up from his interface.

The door creaked open.

“Hey there, Jared.” Layton’s voice carried a distinct tone of forced innocence. Jared glanced up. Yep. Guilty as hell.

Layton grinned sheepishly from the doorway. “How’s it going?”

Jared sighed. “Just come in, Layton.” He gestured at his screen. “You have some explaining to do.”

Layton slipped inside, closing the door. “Heh. You saw that, huh?” Jared just stared at him.

Layton coughed into his fist. “Okay, so—things went a little different than expected.”

Jared folded his arms. “No kidding.”

Layton launched into his explanation.

“Your old territory? Yeah, taken over by deer people.”

Jared stared, mouth slightly open. “…I’m sorry, did you just say deer people?”

Layton grinned. “Yep. Hooves and everything. Like something out of Narnia.”

He waved his hands. “Wild stuff.” Then he cocked his head and rested his hand on his chin. “Huh, I wonder if Ben would consider this ‘dilly-dallying.’”

Jared pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Layton.” His voice was dangerously calm. “Can we skip to the part where we suddenly have a hundred new foreign faction members?”

“Ah, yeah, yeah.” Layton cleared his throat. “So, when we got there, we saw them finish their last raid. Instead of murdering them immediately—because, you know, progress—we figured we should try talking first.”

Jared’s expression did not change.

“And?”

“And it turns out their leader, Ellison, earned some kind of translation skill. We talked. He’s actually a decent guy. Long story short—now we’re friends!”

Silence.

Layton scratched the back of his head. “…And I know we’re looking for more humans, and you have this whole ‘vision’ thing, but you also wanted this place to be a beacon for all, right? So… I figured—why not REALLY make it for ALL?”

Jared sighed—a long, weary exhale. He closed his eyes, then laughed, sharp and incredulous. “You remind me of my old neighbor. Couldn’t help but bring home every stray he found.”

Layton smirked. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Jared shook his head. “Considering I was one of those strays, I guess I can’t complain.”

Then his expression turned serious again.

“But have you thought about how we’re going to support them?”

Layton shrugged. “Nope.”

“Are we even sure they’ll stay peaceful?”

“Nope.”

Jared exhaled. “Layton—”

Layton clapped a hand on Jared’s shoulder. “Look, that’s why YOU’RE here. We have to be strong to support the people we meet. But we’ll never know who’s a threat until we give them a chance.”

Jared rubbed his temple. “Alright, alright. Let’s just go meet your new friend.”

Layton grinned. “Great! So here’s the plan—I’ll carry you.”

Jared held up a hand. “Absolutely not.”

“It’s the fastest way!”

“I’d rather walk.”

“Jared, don’t be stubborn—”

“Let’s go meet your friend Ellison but I think there is a better way then piggybacking if it’s all the same to you.” He says with a chuckle.

-

Five minutes and 2,000 UBCs later, we stepped into our newly acquired territory—through our very first portal.

It was seamless. Like walking from one room to another.

The portal itself was a double-wide stone doorway—unassuming until activated. Once the destination was chosen, one side shimmered like rippling water, allowing passage.

Stepping through felt warm, almost fluid.

A little weird, but not unpleasant.

We had some customization options, like setting permissions and access restrictions, but Jared wanted to meet Ellison before tweaking those settings.

Placing the exit portal was surprisingly simple.

The system’s map interface let us pinpoint a drop location near where the Guildians were stationed. We placed the exit accordingly and—Stepped through. The placement was damn near perfect.

We emerged just a short walk away from where Mischief and the others were waiting.

“Well, that was fast.” Alex greeted us as we approached.

“Right?” I grinned. “When I told Jared about everything, he figured it made sense to connect our new territories with a portal. It's awesome—feels like taking a one-second shower. Except you’re not wet, and I’m pretty sure it doesn’t actually clean you.”

“Is it like Star Trek?!” Nick called out.

Jared answered before I could. “Yeah, I guess it was a bit like star trek.”

“You know,” I mused, “we probably have things handled here if everyone else wants to head out. We still need to track down the dungeons in the next territory.”

Most of the group jumped at the offer, eager for some action. Only Elise stayed behind.

“I think I’ll stick around,” she said, crossing her arms. “I’m glad we didn’t have to fight, and no one got hurt. I want to see how things go from here.”

I nodded. Elise had been gaining confidence over the past month, and I saw no reason to exclude her.

“Sounds good. Let’s head down.”

Jared and Elise fell into step beside me as we made our way toward Ellison and his waiting Guildians.