Town Builder - 88 - Upgrades

Chapter 88: Army Upgrades

After waking, I found myself still annoyed with the reduced resolution. I sent off a message to Mad Dog about it but couldn’t expect him to respond until he reached a safe area in the dungeon. I then moved to my drafting room with dozens of projects. 

My elevated level also enhanced my drafting skills. I reviewed my flagged messages and checked on the players mingling in the Duchy. Gray Weasel, the vampire player from Eternal Legacy, had been killed again near Plainsrider. Mad Dog suspected he was responsible for stealing building supplies that were being sent to Phoenix’s Rest.

Apparently, a player group escorting a supply train had stumbled on him hiding under the road. He had dug a pit and covered it. One of the players had a special spell that allowed her to map underground networks, and she was testing it out. She discovered the void, and a battle ensued.

Gray Weasel was level 17 and managed to kill three players before he attempted to run. Fortunately, one of my cavalry patrols was nearby and ran him down. At least we now knew how he was stealing supplies. He was waiting for the wagon to pass over him and using spells to shift items in the cart to himself. I doubted it was the last time we would have to deal with him or Eternal Legacy.

I rewarded the players who discovered him even though they technically failed to stop him. I then found a way to post a bounty on Grey Weasel, 100 gold for every time he was killed within the Duchy. Maybe I was escalating a feud with him and his guild, but I wanted the annoyance out of my Duchy.

Finishing with my lord duties, I focused on my drafting. I had a lot of headaches and problems. My biggest worry was the growing player population in the Duchy. Most of the players were actively working on quests to help us expand. My crafters were working overtime to produce goods for the player population and that was causing phenomenal skill growth for my NPCs. Unfortunately, their levels were growing at a much slower rate. The next Incursion might start to get a little dicey, so I needed to improve my army.

I compared the growth of my army that had been gifted as compensation.

Angelkin Captain x 10, Level 60…currently average level of 62

Giantkin Warriors x 200, Level 30…currently 198 remaining and average level of 33

Orc Cavalry x16, Level 40…currently 69 and an average level of 33

Elven Scouts x 16, Level 40…average level of 44

I had lost one giantkin who became my bodyguard, and another giantkin went missing in Goatyah. There was an array of quests in the Goatyah Adventurer’s Hall to find that missing giantkin, and I just hoped that when he was found, he would be alive. Still, the overall level of growth was not fast enough, and we hadn’t recruited anyone new to their ranks.

The orc cavalry had grown from 16 to 49, but the average level had dropped from the new recruits. The cavalry did the patrols between the Duchy’s towns and cities and had gained the most experience. The original group was mostly level 45, with the new heavy calvary between level 10 and 25.

The dusk elves had grown as well at a steady pace, and I was lucky I had not lost any one of them since they generally operated solo.

Besides my army, I also had my town guard, but they were supplemented with powerful spawning NPCs, so I wasn't as worried about Galana’s forces. In addition, we had 8 out of 20 spies from the Rogues Gallery. I brought up the description of that building.

Very Rare Secret Subterranean Rogues Gallery (Generates one level 26 NPC spy every seven game days) (Bonus: NPC espionage assets can gain 7% level advancement per day training here) Max Capacity: 20 NPCs Profession Effect: Structure Regenerates 1% health every 24 hours (stacks with similar effects) If the enemy discovers this structural, all effects are halved.

Black Beauty was in charge of the NPC spy network, and I knew she was having a blast doing it. Currently, four agents are abroad, one was in Malcum, and one was in Plainsrider. The other two spies were training in the structure, gaining 7% experience every day. That meant they would gain a level every 14 days. This was exactly what I needed for my soldiers—a way to earn constant, steady experience.

I started brainstorming what type of structure I should draft to build my forces. I didn’t just want to improve my existing soldiers, but also train more infantry. Maintaining a large force would not strain my coffers. I had some success with the cavalry but probably could have done a better job. I lamented having my drafting skill just at level twenty for this. Before I had taken the level reduction, I had the skill at 48.

I quickly created some building plans to sell while I organized my thoughts on a training barracks. One thing I wanted my training barracks to accomplish was training NPCs in the Duchy rather than spawning them. Spawned NPCs were beneficial in that they could be replaced if killed, but they would never gain levels and lacked a strong AI personality.

I wrapped up the plans to sell and looked for Joy. The city map indicated she was at the alchemy shop, so I wouldn't get any inspiration from her for this project. Half a day later, after a dozen interruptions, I completed the plans.

Rare Infantry Training Barracks (Generates one level 40 NPC Drill Sergeant) Produces 20 Level 20 NPC soldiers every thirty days (Bonus: Existing Soldiers can be trained for 5% level experience per day)

It was exactly what I had been aiming for, except the initial level of the soldiers was lower than I wanted. The NPC soldiers would also be drafted from my NPC population, which could affect the morale of the Duchy. The Rogues Gallery only recruited one NPC every seven days and had no negative effect, but forcing twenty NPCs into the army every thirty days would likely have an impact.

Then, there was the essence cost for the barracks. It was steep, but checking our vault, we had enough to build three of the structures. I could place one in Malcum, Goatyah, and Phoenix’s Rest. Plainsrider was already contributing orc heavy cavalry riders, so I didn’t feel the need to build a training barracks there. Phoenix’s Rest had a small NPC population at the moment, so I would just put some of the giantkin there to utilize the leveling. Goatyah and Malcum would be used to grow the Duchy’s army.

Another thought occurred to me, and I hesitated. I didn’t want players examining the building and learning what they could do. The other guilds had already targeted the Duchy, and the only reason I thought we were being left alone was our high-level NPCs and distance from the really interesting game events. I could put the barracks behind walls, but that would probably draw more attention to them.

I turned back to the plans and began to redraft them with a slightly different idea in mind. While I was working, Jaesmin returned from her day with Joy. Joy pulled up a chair to see what I was working on since she was getting too big to sit on my lap while I worked. She started asking an endless stream of "Why” questions. Why are you drawing a building like that? Why is it only for twenty people? Why is it square? Isn't round a better shape? Why? Why? Why? Instead of getting annoyed by her, I tried to explain everything calmly and re-examine what I was doing. If Joy could truly influence my drafting, I was open to her input.

The new plans looked nothing like the original boring square building I had drafted. Instead, the structure looked like the number 8—or the infinity symbol. The outer walls were thick stone, with windows only facing inward to the two training courtyards. The cost of materials and essences had greatly increased but the result was worth it.

Very Rare Infantry Training Barracks (Generates one level 50 NPC Drill Sergeant) Produces 32 Level 20 NPC soldiers every thirty days. Each Soldier produced has a 2% chance of being elite. Bonus: Existing Soldiers can be trained for 6% level experience per day. Special Effect: This building, when examined from the outside, will always be analyzed as Common Barracks.

The larger capacity and split training yards for recruits and experienced soldiers would streamline development. The added bonus of concealing the building’s structure was welcome. However, if someone were standing inside the structure or flying above, it would negate that special effect. But it was the best I could do.

I only had enough resources to build two of the upgraded barracks, so I decided that Malcum and Phoenix's Rest would receive them. Phoenix's Rest would focus on training my existing giantkin infantry. It would be difficult to keep 32 of my 198 locked away in training as we were already spread very thin, but it was necessary for the long term.

The next day, I travelled out to Phoenix’s Rest with my top builders. I hadn’t spent much time with Sanso recently, and it was great to work with him again. Unknown to me, I had become a minor celebrity since the guild war and our construction efforts drew attention. I would have to build a second Obelisk out here to protect the investment.

While we were working on the foundation, Mad Dog found me and I checked the day. He only had three more days before the Disciples of the Horde would be allowed into the dungeon. “How are you faring?” I asked as he approached.

“It’s a real pisser in there. A cold pisser. The second level of the dungeon was bloody ice caves, and the cold penalty doubled, so we had to regear. The creatures were a pain—yetis and frozen undead giants in small side tombs. The loot in the side rooms is good, but the close-quarters fighting makes them difficult, even with Danny and Myra,” Mad Dog said, sitting on a stone block. “You couldn’t get Medea to join you?” I asked after the High Priest.

“No, she would come. She’s too busy building her following. Plus, she is the focal point of dozens of quests. The players would be in an uproar if she disappeared for a few days. We don’t need her,” Mad Dog lamented. I checked his level; he was only level 16, but considering Danny was level 121 and Myra was level 144, he probably wasn’t gaining any experience.

“Did you conquer the ice caves?” I asked.

Mad Dog grinned. “Of course! Do you think I'm incapable? We also skated through the third floor, literally. It was a frozen lake with clear ice. You could see the fish creatures swimming beneath you, and they would smash through the ice to attack you. Danny suggested we all wear skates and just outrun the monsters. It wasn’t a bad idea, but we had over two hundred fishmen chasing us! It was a wild sight.” Mad Dog laughed.

“So what was the fourth level of the dungeon?” I asked.

“We just finished with the third level, a nasty spirit ice elemental that kept pulling ice from the lake to heal itself and also eliminating places for us to stand on to fight it. We are taking a rest for half a day and hoping to push through the last two levels in two days, mate.” Mad Dog stated. “But I also wanted to answer your question about the low resolution.”

“Oh! It was just an observation! I didn’t mean anything by it,” I replied, thinking he was offended.

“It’s understandable. We are twenty miles from a large city and have been using satellite feeds. Unfortunately, the bandwidth for all the pods generates lag, and the pods adjust down to keep up with the data transfer. It really is the time compression effect that is causing the problem. We’ve made some changes to the videos, and we voted to get a hard cable out to the complex. It will take a few days, but it should solve your problem.” He was smiling. “You didn’t have to do it for me,” I said, feeling ashamed.

“Hah, mate! We didn’t do it for you! We started saving for it as soon as we started playing the game! Get ready to confront the final boss with us in two days. We will have a portal key for you to get you to the fifth floor, otherwise you would have to defeat the bosses on the upper floors. We are actually curious if the portal keys will still work when the dungeon scales in difficulty.” Mad Dog patted my back. “Gonna log off for rest in the real world.” Mad Dog walked away, and I returned to working on the training barracks.

We rushed the construction, not fully investing in the best materials since other buildings took higher priority. We really needed a dungeon where we could quarry higher-tier stone. So far, the Tomb of the Phoenix King had not produced usable stone. Nonetheless, the completed structure would fulfill its purpose of strengthening the giantkin.

Very Rare Infantry Training Barracks (Generates one level 62 NPC Drill Sergeant) Produces 32 Level 25 NPC soldiers every thirty days. Each Soldier produced has a 2.5% chance of being elite. Bonus: Existing Soldiers can be trained for 7.5% level experience per day. Special Effect: This building, when examined from the outside, will always be analyzed as Common Barracks.

After it was completed, I found one negative to the building: the drill sergeant NPC would not leave the structure even to defend the town. I moved thirty-two giantkin from Malcum to train at this structure. Those thirty-two significantly diminished our military force in Malcum, but we had thousands of players to supplement the city guard and army there.

For the barracks in Malcum, I wanted to stockpile higher quality stone to get a larger bonus since the plan for that barracks was to expand our military strength. I was waiting on Mad Dog’s call and started to review the NPC auction. I hadn’t raised nearly as much gold for this go-around, and dozens more players were also competing this time.

I would seek out Simba’s input again but did spend some time highlighting NPCs that could contribute to the Duchy: street sweepers, gardeners, painters, sculptures… NPC skills that didn’t have much use for guilds focused on growing their cities as quickly as they could before they moved their operations to another city in a higher-level region.

I received a voice message from Sunflower, one of my guildmates. I opened the chat and said, “Tallis! I’m over in Malcum and wanted to let you know that your Archeologist is looking for you.”

“Is it anything important? I am waiting for Mad Dog and the delve team. They should be coming to get me in the next 24 hours,” I replied calmly.

“Maybe. Kuba says he thinks he knows what mountain range the Lost City of Elyendell will appear,” the feminine voice replied.

“Damn it! Really? Is it far?” I was annoyed because I didn’t want to miss my chance to defeat the dungeon’s final boss.

“It is. Two days travel and the range is pretty. There is no guarantee you would find it before it disappeared,” she said, and I grunted. This would have been the perfect use for Danny and Mermaid’s skyship. They could have just flew over the mountains and spotted the city.

“Send a group of the guild applicants. See if they can find it and report back to us about the city. It will appear in a different location next cycle, but if they can explore the city, it might be useful next time,” I said resignedly. The Matriarch clearly believed the Lost City would assist me, but I couldn’t leave at this moment.

“Are you sure?” She asked reluctantly.

“Any inner core members that want to lead the expedition can go,” I said.

In the end, Sunflower and Golden Storm led twelve outer members of The Silver Linings Playbook on the search for the Lost City in the Calm Rise Mountains.

Mad Dog, Danny, Mira, Grinder, and Forgotten Swan exited the dungeon with only half a day remaining before the Disciples of the Horde got their first delve. The group looked exhausted, and Mad Dog spoke for them, “We just completed the fourth floor, the boss was difficult. Before we started the fifth, I wanted to see if you wanted to come.”

“There is already a team from the Horde in the town. Can we finish the dungeon in half a day?”

“All we can do is try, Tallis. But the good news is that there seems to be stone to quarry on the fifth floor,” Mad Dog said, which made me perk up a bit.

“Let’s do it then,” I said, falling in with my guildmates and Mira, the NPC.

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