Town Builder - 67 - A Man and His Coin Are Soon Parted

Chapter 67:

Danny’s people arrived from Malcum and started to work in her new town. I worked with my builders on the buildings for her new town until the auction for the plans finished. We built a second tower and town hall and started work on the Adventurer’s Hall. It was her town and this was the order she wanted the buildings built. When my interface signaled the auction closed, I left Goatyah to return to Malcum, which was a few miles away.

Entering my small player auction house, I entered an alcove and opened my transactions.  I couldn’t believe it. Really? 297,500 gold. It probably would have been much more if the admins hadn’t put the brakes on buying gold with real-world currency. And that sum was after I paid a system tax for the auction house transactions. I was suddenly rich and had a few ideas on how I would be spending it.

The town expansion was a priority, and adding the crescent lake would cost 50,000. Instead of having to travel to the treasury, I could transfer the funds in my interface to the town since I was the lord—a nice update for once. And it looked like the game didn’t have a range on the transfer, so I could be off adventuring and transferring funds back to Malcum. That was a relief since I wanted to reestablish my portal network.

I was also able to allocate treasury funds to four different areas to be used at the discretion of the administrators. I set it as a percentage of taxed income.

            25%     Defense                                   Galana

            25%     Offense                                   Tanguin

            25%     Construction/Repair               Breda

            5%       Guilds                                      Kytalia

            5%       Education                                Vivale

            5%       Counter-Espionage                 Zion

            10%     Reserves

I could edit the allocation and the person in charge to just about anyone. There was so much flexibility in the system, and it really came down to how competent the NPC was in administrating that facet of the city. Of course, this was only income from taxes. My windfall didn’t fall under the category and I transferred 5,000 gold to each account.

I needed to strengthen my NPCs next. I checked the auction house and bought every reasonable-priced magic item. Most of these items were made by the test players who were no longer in the game. I thought the admins' decision to leave the gear up was smart, as they would collect all the gold used to purchase the items directly. Still, I had gold to burn.

My spending spree took another 38,429 gold from my recent windfall. I decided Kytalia would be the best person to distribute the non-weapons, and Galana could handle the weapons with Tanguin. I found Kytalia in the Town Hall, and she looked up, smiling. “Lord Tallis, things are going well. We added seven citizens today. Two butter and cheese makers were among them!” That seemed to get her more excited than anything else.

“Where is Breda?” I asked, as her office was empty when I passed.

“She ran out of here yelling about digging a lake.” I laughed as the funds had only hit the treasury two hours ago, and she was already starting the massive project.

I started piling rings, cloaks, books, potions, and tools on the floor. Kytalia watched on in shock. When I finished, I smiled. “So, your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to get everything here in the hands of the person who can use it best.”

Kytalia started digging in the pile but asked a question, “To people you employ, or everybody.” I furrowed my brow so she continued. “There are citizens that work for themselves and you don’t pay directly. Only about one in three workers in Malcum work for you directly.”

I turned over the question. “Prioritize my workers then, but if there is a master craftsman who could use a +10 to intellect ring to greatly improve his craft, give it to him.”

“Give, loan, or rent?” Kytalia asked wisely.

“Loan. If they leave Malcum, the item must be returned.” I stated, and she nodded.

“Your people are already advancing at an incredible pace, Lord Tallis. The Temple, your manor, and your presence are turning novices into experts in weeks instead of years. Masters will come in a few years instead of a few decades.” Kytalia informed me.

“It is not just my effort. You played a huge role as well. The crafters need material to practice, and you get it to them.

With an educational countenance, the orc woman advised me further. “If I may suggest, you should hire a Master of the Coin. The quality of goods in Malcum is trending up rapidly, yet the costs are low. Soon, merchants will be entering the city, cleaning the shops out, and selling the goods elsewhere for large profits.”

“We already have merchant caravans traveling south,” I said, confused.

“We have a portal stone in Maclum. Word will spread about the quality of goods, and others will come. The problem you have is Malcum’s people are relatively poor, and if you raise prices, they will feel inflation.” Kytalia explained.

“Why can’t the quality of the goods scale in reflection of the cost,” I said getting a headache from having to micromanage an ecomony with thousands of people and growing every day.

“That is why you need a Master of Coin. You can set prices in your interface for players, but adjusting the daily supply and demand for everyone else is a full-time job.” Kytalia was smiling at my consternation.

“Who?” I said, giving up.

“There is no one really qualified,” she started and held up her hand at my objection, “But Elice could grow into the role.”

Elice had run the general store when I first arrived in Malcum with nothing. She was in a romantic relationship with Sanso, my earth elementalkin mage. She had done a few trade expeditions for me, but Kytalia was right; she was vastly underqualified. But one thing she had going for her was I trusted her. “Fine.” I went into the interface and promoted her. “I probably should have asked her if she wanted the job first, but oh, well.” Kytalia just smiled at me, so I assumed there would not be any backlash.

With that task done, I went to the barracks to find Tanguin. He was drilling some of the giantkin infantry. He wore a smile when he saw me. “Do you already have another fight for us? I must say the goats and ogres were underwhelming, but those with us advanced nicely.”

I am here to drop off some weapons and armor for you and Galana to distribute. As I laid out the assortment of gear, he frowned. “There isn’t much here. The armor made by Curraen is better than anything you collected. Some of the weapons—maybe, but army units fight with standardized weapons. Mixing and matching would deteriorate bonuses in combat.”

There was over 12,000 gold in equipment! “Give it to the town guards. Galana can make specialized units. I will take the five hundred arrows, but many of our fletchers already produce better arrows from the plains porcupine’s quills.” He patted me on the back. “It is the thought that counts.”

“Thought? This was one hundred and twenty platinum!” I groused.

The giantkin bellowed a laugh, “So, I expect to be getting a raise in my future then?”

I started gathering everything and considered his question. “Yes, I will take of it.” Galana was not home, and checking my map, I could see she was out leveling the tow guards in the plains. I dumped all the equipment in her house and left her a note to distribute it.

I wanted to spend some time with Jaesmin and Joy but stopped at the inn, and Fareth put today's special in front of me: candied wild carrots and shaved plains buffalo with herb-infused bread and an au jus dipping sauce. The buff seemed tailored to the people, giving +2 to all stats and a 10% skill growth bonus for twelve hours.

I spent the next few hours adjusting my NPC wages. Fortunately, the interface showed when a certain NPC would get a morale and loyalty bonus from their salary. Disgustingly, most of the NPCs I employed received minor penalties for loyalty and morale. Now that I was wealthy, I could correct this injustice.

I had 358 soldiers and guards, and they all received an increase to put them in the first bracket of bonuses. I only had 109 employed NPCs, who were mostly craft and harvest-based classes. I pushed their wages up to the second tier of bonuses. All this was not really needed as my buildings countered any negative effects, the slight negatives from the low standard of wages paid. But increases in wages should result in a jolt to the Malcum economy.

That finished, I sipped on some Jungle Brew Pale Ale and opened the NPC auction interface to use my token. I looked at the five NPCs I had bookmarked, and the Fire Lord was the only one who had a bid on him.

The minotaur arcane shield was the most appealing to me at this moment. I figured a level 261 warrior would be able to protect Malcum for years, ensuring the security on my growing town. On the other hand, the grand weaver might be able to produce goods that could enhance the population, and I was hoping all the skill-learning buffs in Malcum might make it easier for her to stay.

I hadn’t forgotten that NPCs when they arrived, required convincing to stay. The mini-quest got more difficult the higher the level of the NPC. I couldn’t decide. As I was on my second mug, Danny entered, looking a little frantic.

“Tallis, got some bad news and thought you would want to hear it in person.” She sat heavily across from me.

My blood chilled, “Did your town come under attack? Are my builders ok?”

She waved her hands dismissively, “No. I got in touch with Mad Dog and the Silver Linings Playbook Guild for you.”

“Are they okay!?” I felt dread coming on.

“They are fine. They have been following the game launch and the watching the streams of the early start players. The pre-orders for the game have gone through the roof, over 100 million players so far, and the full-emersion pods are backordered for six months even with increased production.” I was waiting for the terrible news. “Well, guilds are recruiting real-world people with real-world skills since they help you level your skills in the game much quicker. Chemists for alchemy, construction workers for builders, botanists for herbalists.”

“I understand. So, the bad news is they are recruiting architects?” I questioned.

Her face went impassive, then a little shocked I figured it out, “Yeah. How did you know?”

“I already assumed it was going to happen. I still think the market for building plans will be strong. How many architects will it take to satisfy 100 million players’ needs?” I said calmly.

“You don’t realize the guilds are offering to pay them more than they are making at their real-world jobs! Most contract offers are for just thirty hours of gameplay a week, so they can still work in the real world.” Danny exclaimed. “There is going to be a mass exodus to Open World! Concerned Advocacy groups are saying it is the start of the end of civilization!”

I laughed, “That is funny. We are fighting in here to get back to the real world while everyone else is lining up to get in.”

Danny paused and joined in my laughter. “It is not so bad in here. You were right about my companion. The more I talked to him, the more life-like he seems. His AI core hasn’t been upgraded, as there is a backlog for AI cores. But he is line to receive one—at least according to him.”

“How’s Mad Dog and company doing?” I inquired.

“Good. The Guild is ready to hope back in. They got all their full immersion capsules ordered before the big rush, so they won't have any trouble. My parents are even planning to order a pod to join me here, but my settlement check is still being held up in court appeals.” Danny started drinking my ale.

I wanted to ask about the advances in medicine to find out if my body could be rebuilt but it didn’t feel like the time. Mad Dog had said it was possible, but because of all the damage Grinder had noted, I was still worried. “Oh,” Danny added, “My parents signed on to the emancipation request for you. Mad Dog hired the lawyers, but you still need a representative in the United States. My parents volunteered.”

“I wanted to wait,” I said flatly. I was worried the administrators would disconnect me from the game if I were suddenly free.

Danny waived it off, “You are not the only one filing. There are maybe 1,200 hard-wired players like you. They were declared brain dead, and their bodies were sold for medical research. I guess there is a push with a bunch of lawyers doing the work pro bono for a class action suit, but everyone knows it is a crock of shit. They are positioning for a huge settlement for the trapped hard-wired people and then they will collect a portion for their efforts.”

“Really? That is good news.”

“Not really. The Corporate Protection Act of 2030 protects corporations from lawsuits when Congress sets maximum judgments, taking pain and suffering out of the equation. Maximum awards are only twenty times the current average national wage. The most likely scenario is a big settlement paid to the pro bono lawyers and the hard-wired players recognized as people. At least, that is what my uncle thinks is going to happen, and he teaches law.” Danny said bitterly while a gnome waitress put today’s special in front of her.

Knowing the process was started, was sort of good news. I would get more information when Mad Dog rejoined the game. Right now all the communication with the real world was through Danny’s pod interface.

I decided to ask Danny’s opinion on the NPC. “Take a look at these NPCs. I was trying to decide between the Arcane Shield and the Grand Weaver.”

Name  Profession                  Race                          Primary Skill

Coal      Fire Lord 228              Elementalkin: Fire     Fire Magic

Mox      Arcane Shield 261      Beastkin: Bull           Heavy Shield

Sara      Grand Weaver 301      Elf: Sun                    Weaving 

Kuba     Archeologist 259        Human                      Ancient History

Angus     Cloudwalker 280      Beastkin: Cat            Air Magic

Her eyes popped as she read the screen and put down her sandwich. “They are all incredible. Definitely the Archeologist or the Grand Weaver. The Cloudwalker may be useful for travel by his profession. However, players are always going to eventually outstrip NPC combatants, and your towers will already generate extraordinary archers. The two towers in Goatyah have already shown their worth.”

“Someone has been reading the forums,” I said. Danny was a novice gamer by most standards and had been forced to play this game.

“Someone else should be reading the forums,” she said pointedly at me. “There is a lot of good information there and guides.”

“Why the Archeologist?” I asked. “I thought he might be good for the library when it was finally built, but the weaver could tailor equipment for my soldiers and guards.”

“Quests.” Danny said. “The skill level of an NPC dictates their knowledge of the world, and this one.” She tapped the screen that only she could see, “Probably knows a whole lot. The grand libraries in the capital cities are where all the players are going to figure out the more complex quests. Speaking of quests—are you going to come back and help me finish the Adventurer’s Hall?”

I tried to check my interface but didn’t have access to the build progress in Goatyah. “How much time left?”

“Six days. If you and Sanso returned, it could be completed in a day.” Danny said hopefully.

“Why did you want the Adventurer’s Hall built next again?” I asked.

“For the quests. They are tailored to the region around the Adventurer’s Guild. I need something to do, and the game generates the quest rewards, so they are like free resources for Goatyah.”

I had built one in Malcum but hadn’t used it, and it was a building only players could use. I looked at the plans:

Epic Adventurer’s Guild (Capacity 250), 250,000 Health, Requires Masonry Foundations 43, Masonry Structures 43, Woodcraft Carpentry 43, Enchanting Ritual Magic 23 (Bonus: +15% experience for eight hours after resting for eight hours in a room, Effect: Spawns 250 Tier 1 quests, 200 Tier 2 quests, 150 Tier 3 quests. 50 Tier 4 quests, 10 Tier 5 quests, 50% chance for 1 Tier 6 quest, 10% chance for 1 Tier 7 quest daily)

“You realize you need an NPC to run the Adventurer’s Guild for the quests to show up?” I said.

“What?” Danny said disbelievingly. “Don’t the required NPCs spawn with the building?”

“No. If it spawned NPCs, it would say in the plans. Although I think I have a good enough grasp on the Enchanting Ritual Magic now to make that happen in future plans. It just requires much more essence in the building process.” As I said it, Danny deflated.

“You can always use my Adventurer’s Guild Hall until you get an NPC. Goatyah is only four miles away.” I said.

“Four miles until you build me a portal stone,” Danny said, wagging her eyebrows.

“Fine. I will work on drafting you a portal stone.” I conceded. I went to my interface and hovered back and forth between the weaver and the archeologist before making my selection. The selection grayed out so no one else could bid, and a separate timer started – 18 days. So I was not getting my NPC early and would have to wait for the auction to close. It was also the same day as the game’s official launch. So Mad Dog, Black Beauty, and Grinder would be returning that day as well.

“I am going to work on getting my adventurer’s level up then so I can access higher-tier quests. Do you want to team up?” Danny said, standing.

“You go ahead and pick some things out. I have a little more spending to do yet.” Danny shrugged and left.

I really wanted to go see Jaesmin and Joy as well but that could wait. My final expense was simple. I went to my interface and cycled through several screens to arrive at the companion screen. Simba was still listed as my AI in-game trainer. There were several options to set his growth. The large deposit button was flashing: 10,000 gold. His appearance had been reset with the game reset.

Rather than rush in and hit accept, I spent the next few hours reading through the tutorial for the tutorial companion. I didn’t want to make a mistake here that couldn’t be remedied. With that complete, I edited Simba’s appearance and paid my 10,000 gold for the first month.

“It took you long enough, but really?” Simba’s voice boomed behind me. “How could you do me like this? I used to be small and cute?”

“Happy to see you, too,” I said, grinning as I turned Simba and examined his new body.

After a few minutes of exploring his new form, he nodded his head, “You know, I actually don’t hate it.” He looked at me with a toothy smile. “So, should we get to work?”

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