《The Gambit of the Gods》 Chapter 1: Waking up to choices Tony lay still on the ground. His mind slowly waking up and his natural survival instincts honed through surviving for years in his dangerous profession kept him still and silent. He slowly tried to listen and feel his surroundings. Under his back the lumpy feeling of hard dirt, accompanied with what he assumed was spread out rocks and some large roots. So outside and likely near a tree. That could be a bad sign. Perhaps someone awaited his waking to haul him up said tree and allow him to slowly strangle via his own weight. Not a common way to get rid of someone but not unheard of if he pissed someone off enough to want to make a statement. No noises though. No breathing unless someone was being careful about being loud or maybe they were to far away. The first would imply that someone understood that he was awake, the second could be good news. Giving him some space to get away from whomever this is. Third thing he noticed was that his body was unharmed as far as he could tell. Slight twitching of muscles and a sort of mental tally didn¡¯t show any obvious damage. Certainly not what you¡¯d expect if you¡¯d been jumped, beaten and thrown into a trunk. Drugs were an option but his head seemed clear to him. Though that didn¡¯t prove anything as he¡¯d been drunk enough times to know that you don¡¯t always know how drunk you are. Now came time for action. Two choices this time. Either direct and energetic or subtle. He decided on subtle. Twitching an eye open as carefully as possible so as to hopefully not be seen. Nothing directly above. A slight shift as if he were waking to move his head to the side and again a subtle peek. Nothing. He at least knew now that he was in a forest not just near some random tree. That was strange in it¡¯s own way. Being a cityboy that meant that he was dragged a good way out of the city. And living in Las Vegas meant the options weren¡¯t great as to where he was taken unless he was out for a very long time. Time for action Tony thought to himself a moment before fully opening his eyes and almost springing to his feet. Still seeing nothing around him as he spun fists raised in a boxer¡¯s guard. ¡°Well¡­¡± He said to himself as he slowly lowered his fists. ¡°Seems that I¡¯m not going to die.¡± He glanced around again. ¡°Right now at least.¡± Greetings Human, and welcome to ¡®The Gambit of the Gods¡¯ Tony blinked, rubbed his eyes, and then sighed. ¡°Well then. I¡¯ve gone crazy.¡± He commented to himself and looked suspiciously at the strange text that seemed to float in midair. He read them for a second time as he moved his eyes and his head in random directions trying to see if he could look away. The text followed his vision no matter how he tried to avoid the image. Then, as the words of the message finally sunk in he thought at the damned text ¡®yeah I got it, get outa here¡¯, and poof the the text was gone without any fanfare. To quickly be replaced by yet another string of text. You have not gone crazy nor have you died. You have been brought to this world as a representative of your people. The Pathfinder who is tasked with finding a safe place of refuge for more of your people to follow along afterwards. Tony quickly read over this new text and paused slowly leaning against a tree nearby and contemplated the words that he saw. Tony was not the type of person known to freak out or panic. While he could like anyone he had a better handle on himself than most. Probably through years of doing his not legal in anyway job. So he thought it through carefully. Realizing that if he was insane then it didn¡¯t matter. This was the truth of his life as far as he could tell so he might as well go with it for now. He read over the words again. So he read over the words again and tried to brush off some of the dirt from the back of his black suit¡¯s jacket and the seat of the matching pants. At least he was still well dressed if a bit dusty. He dismissed the message sure another one would pop up and it did not disappoint him. As the Pathfinder of your people your patron god has gifted you with the choice to allow it to choose your class. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.Your traditional choices without a trainer are: Warrior: +1% STR per level, +1% CON per level, +1% DEX per level (Simple Warrior gear) Archer: +1% DEX per level, +1% COR per level, +1% INT per level (Simple Archer gear) Caster: +1% INT per level, +1% Magic, +1% DEX per level (Simple Caster gear) Your patron has chosen the following option: Settler: +.1% All Stats per level (Settler gear) That was interesting. Tony wasn¡¯t a Gamer but he¡¯d played his share of games, especially when he was younger. Though that was a long time ago now, being 48 and well into middle aged. Well the first three seemed to be more specialized but also only game with simple gear, and the final option increased all stats. Though he didn¡¯t know how many stats he had in total. ¡®What the hell.¡¯ he thought and then tried to bring up stats, or status or anything of the like.
STAT Base Bonus
Strength 6 of 10 0.00%
Constitution 5 of 10 0.00%
Dexterity 6 of 10 0.00%
Coordination 5 of 10 0.00%
Intelligence 8 of 10 0.00%
Magic 4 of 10 0.00%
No More Stats Known About
That was partially helpful. He now knew that the .1% mentioned went to the bonus every level and that the number of stats may be limitless but he currently did not know them all. What if one included ¡®lifespan¡¯ or some such. Increasing his lifespan by .01% per level (Depending on how easily he could level) could mean that his life expectancy could be limitless as well. That settled it for him. Better to take the gamble. No other good choice for a Vegas man anyways. At level 100 he could get 10% increased lifespan, with him knowing that his parents were each still alive so were his grandparents and that 5 of his 8 great grandparents had lived into the 90¡¯s meant he was pretty confident of if that existed it would be worthwhile. Good genes were a good thing to have. He concentrated on different parts of the chart and got additional information on the different numbers. The ¡®of 10¡¯ number indicated that 10 was the highest a human could push their body without any bonuses. It indicated quite literally how strong, or dexterous you were. Then that base was boosted by the bonus as opposed to normal leveling where you increased the stats. So the healthier he was the faster, the stronger, the better his boost worked. You have chosen Settler. You are now a level 0 Settler with 0xp of 10xp for the next level. You have been assigned Settler¡¯s Gear. You have been granted 1 God Point from your Patron for following it¡¯s advice. This point can be spent to give +1% to any stat or you can save up and at 10 other options will be made available to you. Well that was interesting. He wouldn¡¯t be spending that God Point he got yet. Better to wait he could always spend it later if he found that the other options aren¡¯t any good. He carefully looked into a small backpack that appeared on the ground next to him. It contained a dagger of some brownish metal, maybe bronze. Two pairs of rough clothing that looked itchy before he even touched it and felt how rough the material actually was. A small black flag with nothing else on it. A large amount of jerky and several bladders of water that may very well be made out of some animal¡¯s bladders. Most of the items made sense but the flag was strange. He grabbed it out of the bag and it grew in size from a tiny flag like you may have at a fourth of july parade to a real full sized flag with a sharp spike on the bottom. He stabbed the flag into the ground to see what would happen. Warning: You are about to use the Flag of Settling. If you do this here you will get the following settlement points to spend. Base: 10 Forest: -1 Cramped with large trees in the way of building Dry: -2 No water source nearby Actual: 7 Do you wish to settle here? ¡°Hell no.¡± Tony said quickly and the flag shrunk back to its¡¯ previous size. He stowed it back away in his bag and let out a sigh. ¡°Well let¡¯s see what this world has to offer.¡± He commented as he pulled his glock out of the shoulder holster under his jacket and checked it before placing it back and checking the backup magazines. Chapter 2: Exploration and XP Farming Tony walked confidently up hill. Hoping to find some bald spot in the forest or even better a cliff face to look off. Find a stream or maybe even a town. As the sun slowly warmed up the air he had been forced to slip his jacket off and now had it thrown over his shoulder holding it with one hand, his shoulder harness now perfectly on display. He figured if this was anything like a fantasy game then anyone or thing he came across would probably not recognize a gun, and if not it probably wouldn¡¯t hurt. He had to lean forward and place a single hand on the ground for a moment as the hill got steeper and harder to climb, pushing off the ground and then grasping a small tree and dragging himself forward. ¡°Damned forests. Why couldn¡¯t I have come to a fantasy city. I¡¯d already be running the joint.¡± He bitched as he finally made it to the top of the current steep patch. He let out a huff of air and froze. ¡°Shit.¡± Before him standing face to face with him was a bear. Even on four legs it¡¯s head was level with him standing on two legs at 5¡¯10¡±. It sniffed the air in his direction as if confused by whatever this new creature was. Tony noted the small spikes coming out of the fur at certain points, like the shoulders, a few along the side of the creatures face, and even one tiny horn like one at the center of the beasts forehead. He¡¯d seen enough animal planet to know that this wasn¡¯t a normal bear. He slowly slipped his free hand down and grasped the grip of his glock and using his thumb carefully unclipped the snap holding it firmly in place. Click. They both froze. Eyes locked on to each other¡¯s. ¡°Fuck my life.¡± Tony said in time with the loud roar screaming just a few feet in front of him. He stepped backwards while drawing forth his pistol¡­. And promptly recalled that he¡¯d just walked up a steep hillside. He started to fall backwards, his instincts allowed him to lower his aim point and fire two rounds into the chest of the bear as he did, though he didn¡¯t know what sort of damage it did. Then he faced the sky. Tucking into a ball as quickly as he could he allowed gravity to do it¡¯s work and hopefully give him some distance between him and the creature he¡¯d just shot twice. Even more hopefully he wouldn¡¯t smash his skull in on a rock as he rolled. The world tumbled and the sounds of thumping and the feelings of things bashing into him as he went. Even over that he could hear the bear. It roared again louder and he heard what he was sure was the sound of small trees being torn apart as the beast charged after him. He stopped rolling and while bruised and a bit out of sorts he rolled to his knees and faced the sound of the charging bear. He locked eyes with it, maybe 20 feet away now and closing very fast. By the time the pistol was brought up the distance was down to 15 feet. He unloaded the magazine. Firing as quickly as he could pull the trigger. He registered a few hits that he could see. One to the leg causing the bear to slow slightly. Another grazing the face. Nothing that was a kill shot. Then just as the bear reached him Tony fired again, the slide locking back as he had emptied it. A bullet piercing the eye at near point blank range and mushing the brain. Then Tony¡¯s world went blank as the massive creature¡¯s momentum slammed it into him and sent him flying. His head smashing into a tree a few feet behind him. He woke up not long afterwards. Or at least he assumed it wasn¡¯t long as the sun over head still seemed to be high in the sky even through the tree branches. He reached up and touched his head carefully, the top of his head throbbed and he grumbled as he looked at the blood on his hand. He shook his head and looked over towards the direction he assumed he had been thrown from. The bear lay crumpled on the ground. One eye blown back into it¡¯s head. He looked around until he found the spot the pistol had landed. Picking it up and trying to shake the dirt that clung to it off. ¡°Damn.¡± He complained as he noticed that he¡¯d gone through a full magazine on the massive creature. He slipped the mag out of the receiver and put his second clip into it before stowing it in his holster. Congratulations! You¡¯ve defeated your first monster ¡®DireBear¡¯ and are awarded XP! Base: 100XP Power difference: x2Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Unharmed: X1.2 First Kill: x2 Total: 5.2 multiplier= 520XP You¡¯ve gained 5 levels and are at 110 of 320XP for next level Tony smiled as he paused and expected a surge of power to flow through him. It didn¡¯t happen and he let out a long sigh. ¡°What the hell did I expect from a half a percent increase.¡± He complained to himself. Still levels were levels and that would eventually add up, hopefully he never encountered a level cap. He mentally dismissed the message but another one popped up right away. Your Patron is pleased. Making your first kill a powerful creature has pleased your Patron and it has rewarded you with 1GP. You currently have 2GP. You can spend your GP at any time. He quickly dismissed this second message, and smiled slightly to himself. At this speed he¡¯d reach 10GP in no time and be able to find out what other amazing things it could do for him. Worst case scenario he spends the 10GP to boost a stat by 10%. Shaking his head he stepped back and walked over to the dead bear to check it out. Touching it and trying to summon some loot menu caused no effect. He figured you probably had to take things off the bear manually. He sighed again wondering if that was becoming a habit and slipped out one of the knives he¡¯d gotten with his gear and tried to carefully skin the bear. It did not turn out well. At least it¡¯s kind of a skin. He thought to himself as he looked at the mess he had made. He also noted that it still had blood on it and bits of meat. No. That wouldn¡¯t do. It¡¯d attract animals and bugs. Tossing the skin to the ground he started walking up the hill again. ¡°Better not be another damn bear at the top.¡± He grumbled as he made it to the top. This time no angry black furred face met him. As Tony managed to finally get to the top he noticed that the terrain flattened mostly ahead of him. He could also see the end of the forest, or at least an opening ahead. Walking quickly he made it to the end of the trees and looked out over the scene before him. He now noticed the soft sound of a river flowing as he caught sight of it running through what could only be described as a plateau. High grasses with beautiful flowers mixed in spread across his view. He could see that the are was large. Though he was in at least a bowl of forest around it. He looked to where the river flowed and it seemed to drop of and disappear well early of the horizon and he could see more forest in the distance. Making sure that he couldn¡¯t see anything dangerous in the knee high grass he moved slowly towards where he thought the hill must duck under his sight while slowly moving closer to the river at the same time. His mouth drying and informing him that he was getting thirsty in the warm day. The sun appeared to be around mid afternoon so not to late, but about the hottest time of the day. Maybe three or four O''clock if he had to guess. He wiped his brow and kept strolling through the field. It took only a few minutes to get to where the river disappeared. He had begun to suspect that it was more than the hill dipping as he approached and before he could see the sheer drop he knew that a waterfall was the source of the loud rumbling noise that seemed to echo up from someplace far below. As he approached the edge he sat down and scooted to the edge to get a good look down. Not really a phobia but Tony wasn¡¯t the greatest fan of heights as he leaned over and got a good look at the drop. He leaned right back and scooted slowly away from the edge. It was some drop, similar to drops he¡¯s seen from the top of some of the taller buildings in Vegas. Standing back up he surveyed his surroundings. A bowl of woods surrounding a waterfall, and a sheer cliff face on the side. He smiled and set the pack down and slowly pulled out the flag from before. Again it seemed to magically expand and a new message popped up and prompted him to use is. Warning: You are about to use the Flag of Settling. If you do this here you will get the following settlement points to spend. Base: 10 Near Forest: +2 Near Deep River: +5 Defensible Side (Cliff Face): +3 Actual: 20 Do you wish to settle here? ¡°Now that¡¯s more like it.¡± He said out loud and started to accept but paused, and refused again. The flag shrunk down to its original size and slipped it back into the pack. He would settle here, for whatever that would provide, but he wanted to see if his ¡®patron¡¯ could be used to better the location first, he just needed to figure out how to get 8 more GP. Then ¡®pray¡¯ that his Patron would be useful after dragging him all the way out here. Chapter 3: The Grind Tony¡¯s stomach didn¡¯t just growl at him, it roared with fury at being so empty. ¡°Shut it!¡± He scowlded it as he looked out at the feild and the forest surrounding it thinking. He needed to fight something and gain some levels. He started walking along the river away from the cliff face. As he walked he dug through his pack and pulled out some of the jerky taking a large bite and chewing. It was tough and flavorless, but he¡¯d had worse. Soon he had entered the forest and taking a swig to wash down the dry tough meat he started scanning his surroundings. Tony had no woodland survival skills. None. He hated the woods. Mosquitoes swarming, oppressive heat or abusive cold, critters crawling around. He frowned at what he saw. Trees, brush, and a swiftly flowing river. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to hate it as much as he wanted. It was a beautiful scene. He took a moment shoved his suit jacket into the backpack he¡¯d gotten. Pulled out a second piece of tough meat to chew on. Pulling out his dagger he slipped the pack back over his shoulders and started walking deeper into the woods. Careful to stay next to the river as he moved. He walked for hours. The sun gradually moving further down and the shadows of the trees getting longer and longer. He was about to turn back when a noise from the river caught his attention. He turned carefully towards it lifting the dagger in front of him and spreading his leg slightly apart in a well trained stance. The water run smoothly. No noises. No movement. Tony wasn¡¯t fooled. He¡¯d been jumped enough times to know that something was hunting him. Eyes narrowing he tried to pierce the veil that the moving water made and see through it. The water burst upwards and three shapes moved at him, each creature standing only slightly taller than his waist. Light blue skin, and strange compressed facial shape. Humanoids with long clawed hands and short stubby tails. Sort of like a cross between a goblin and a fish. Tony jumped backwards as a crude wooden spear was thrust at his stomach. Each had one of the spears and moved in more like a mob than a group. He smiled slowly as the other two came into range with the spears and thrust at him nearly at the same time. Now being pressed by three spear wielding monsters he jumped hard to the side causing them to turn and putting the more in a line as the thrusts were easily avoided. Then he rushed in knife at the ready. He grabbed the shaft of the first creature¡¯s spear and pulled in towards him hard causing the creature to stumble forward as it attempted to keep it¡¯s grip. The knife flew in a practiced motion and as the off balanced monster got in close the knife pierced its eye easily and penetrated deeply into the head behind. He pushed through with the blow and knocked the what he now assumed to be a corpse to the side and faced the next surprised victim. ¡°Boo!¡± He said in a calm and rather soft voice as it back peddled and he flowed in past the attempt of a guard and this time went in low crouching very low and plunged the dagger deep into the guy of his target. A loud shriek escaped it¡¯s lips and before it could really attempt to move or counter he withdrew and stabbed several more times making sure that the internals of the monster were thoroughly shredded. Using his free left hand he grabbed the head of the creature and shoved it to the side with the first to roll on the ground in pain and revealed the final creature. This one was ready, it had jumped back and as he moved past the second one a wooden shaft and a crudely sharpened point. He juked and the thrust pierced his white dress shirt and slid along side his ribs leaving scratches but no real damage. Then he was on the last one and stepping in close he moved as if to uppercut the monster with his knife and the tip pierced the bottom of it¡¯s jaw and slammed home up into the brain. Wet warm blood slid down the knife and the hand and dyed the cuffs of his right sleeve red, matching the many red spots that covered his clothing now. He relaxed and stepped back. The final creature fell and he let out a long sigh as he turned towards the one creature still rolling around on the ground howling in pain. He stepped down firmly on the chest and slit the throat to allow it to bleed out quickly. ¡°Come on text.¡± He called out as the last one stopped moving finally. On command the text appeared again. Congratulations! You¡¯ve defeated 3 ''Water Goblins'' and are awarded XP! Base: 50XP Each total 150XP Outnumbered: x1.3 Total: 1.3 multiplier= 195XP awarded You are now at 305 of 320XP for next level He frowned at the screen before him. ¡°Damn.¡± He¡¯d been hoping to get at least one more level from that. He rubbed his left side where he had some scratches from the rough spear rubbing against his side in that last missed thrust. If he kept up like this he doubted he¡¯d be able to survive this. He flopped down by the river and sat facing it setting his pack next to him and pulling out another piece of meat. He chewed on it carefully while thinking. He had three full magazines. Surely they would speed up his gain but then he wouldn¡¯t have his best weapon in case of an emergency. If he didn¡¯t use them though he may die the death of a thousand cuts. He slowly closed his eyes and let out a long calming breath. If he kept on this line of thought he¡¯d either go crazy or kill himself. He had no time to be weak. Then another thought hit him as he let the stress wash away to the sounds of the flowing river in front of him. He had a stat called magic didn¡¯t he. Opening his eyes he called up his status screen.
STATIf you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Base Bonus
Strength 6 of 10 0.50%
Constitution 5 of 10 0.50%
Dexterity 6 of 10 0.50%
Coordination 5 of 10 0.50%
Intelligence 8 of 10 0.50%
Magic 4 of 10 0.50%
No More Stats Known About
He did. Closing his eyes again he started to try and search himself. Similar to what he did when he had woken up this morning. Taking a mental note of the damage done to it. Scratches on his side. Bruised ribs, a sore back and a cut on the top of his head from that bear. His weariness from the long day. No. He thought. He realized that he needed to go deeper and accepting the risk he allowed himself to ignore the outside world as he delved as deep into his center as he could. His heart caught his attention. The beating. The continuous power that it moves with. Ever moving. Ever pulsing. He focused on it. Then he felt it. In his heart. A heat that he had never noticed before. Something new, but subtle. He just focused on it for a long time and tried to figure out what to do next. He sent his mind into the heat and tried to pull on it, the energy moved easily. Pulling on it lightly he drew a strand from it and moved it slowly and carefully. Drawing it to his side and pushing the magic into the scratches he still felt. Focusing and giving a mental command. ¡°Heal!¡± He ordered and felt the tendrile latch on. Then it pulled. He felt his heart lurch as the wounds in his side sucked at the energy in his core and forced more into the wounds. He felt them grow warm and swiftly close. He smiled as the pain disappeared. The energy drain didn¡¯t stop though. Even healed the energy draw continued and grew stronger. He grunted out loud as it felt like something was being sucked from his very soul. ¡°No no no no no¡± he mumbled and put his force back into the wound and grasped the strand and held it firm mentally screaming for it to stop as he fought the pull from his own body. With an effort of will he tore the strand in half, disconnecting it from his side and watched with relief as the strand remaining sucked back into the center of his pulsing heart. He gulped down air as if he¡¯d run a marathon and looked at his core. It was not as warm as it had been. He could barely see it now and if he hadn¡¯t already used it, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to find it now. Congratulations. You¡¯ve discovered magic without a skill book. Because of your actions you were rewarded a 5% increase to your magic ability. In addition your Patron has deemed the action worthy of 2GP and a message. ¡°Continue along the path of power.¡±. You currently have 4GP. Tony glared at the screen before him. It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t love the 5% increase in magic power, or the 2GP. It was the message. It made him want to throw himself off a cliff in spite of the being that thought it could bestow gifts to him and give him orders. ¡°Fuck you.¡± He said softly calling up his sheet again to see the change.
STAT Base Bonus
Strength 6 of 10 0.50%
Constitution 5 of 10 0.50%
Dexterity 6 of 10 0.50%
Coordination 5 of 10 0.50%
Intelligence 8 of 10 0.50%
Magic 4 of 10 5.50%
Mana 6 of 42.2 N/A
No More Stats Known About
So that¡¯s why he felt so weak. He had used up most of his mana. He really didn¡¯t want to find out what happened when he reached 0. Or worse, if it could somehow start drawing from something else with in him. It also seemed that he got 10 Mana for each magic he had multiplied by the bonus. That was good to know. So as he leveled he¡¯d get more mana. Maybe he could even train his magic up like he assumed he could for his other stats. Tony slowly looked around him and took in the view. He still sat alone on the river side and even though he was sure not much time had passed it was starting to dim out. He frowned and stood up. Pausing after he had. He carefully lifted his shirt that was now untucked, bloodied and had a hole in it, and looked down at is side. Nothing. Clean healthy skin. Not even any scares. Not ¡®no scares from the recent fight¡¯ but a stab wound in the area that he had from a fight nearly 10 years ago was gone. The skin looked healthier than the rest of his skin around it as well. Refreshed like it had been purged of defects, he guessed to a point it had. Soft and smooth like the skin of a kid. That was interesting. If he could do that to the rest of him would he be a young man again? Maybe immortality wasn¡¯t a dream in this new world. He shook his head and started a light jog off in the direction of the field. New energy flowing through him as he moved. It took him about half the time to get back as it did to get all the way out that way in the first place but by that time the sun was already set and the forest had felt dark and dangerous all of a sudden. He carefully searched around the field, hoping to find some sort of indent since it wasn¡¯t the most smooth ground he¡¯d ever walked on. He did find it and pulling out all of the clothing he had, he made a rough bed out of the two pairs of rough clothing and laid down in the divit and covered himself with his jacket. He could already feel a chill and knew that it was going to be a long cold night. Maybe he should have kept that bear¡¯s skin. Oh well, you live you learn. Or you die. Chapter 4: Waking up to Danger Tony woke up way too early, to air that was way too cold, and to the sounds of angry growling not far away and the grunts of something else. He opened his eyes quickly and finding the direction of the sound he slowly rose from his hidey hole and peaked over the tall grass in the direction. A fight. Not one that was going to well either. He saw the shape of a woman, or maybe a young man running through his field being pursued casually by a group of what must be wolves. Ten of them at least though he couldn¡¯t get a perfect count. They followed after the shape swiftly and one broke away and closed the distance, it¡¯s head lowering to bite what he assumed was the back of the figure¡¯s leg, it went down with a cry. He lost sight of it in the tall grass but he could still see the wolves. They must be massive for me to be able to see them so well. Maybe standing 3ft tall themselves on four legs. Still not too big to be affected by his trump card. Tony quickly drew out his pistol for the second time in as many days and still kneeling behind the tall grass took aim at the one who had bitten at the figure and taken it down. It seemed to be moving in for a kill. The trigger depressed and the firing pin struck the primer causing the mini explosive to detonate and the bullet rocketed out of the gun¡¯s barrel. Even being large for a wolf didn¡¯t stop the round from piercing it¡¯s skull and mashing the brains behind the protective bone. It dropped like a rock. Tony then stood up keeping count of the rounds fired. Acquiring a new target he quickly squeezed the trigger twice putting a pair of rounds into its side before turn to face him. The others started to turn now. Wary certainly, but no sign of backing off yet. Another two rounds into the second closest who¡¯d turned to face him. The first caught the canines shoulder jerking the creature to the side but the second slammed true and caught the neck through luck as much as skill as the creature jerked in the direction of it¡¯s new wound. Three down, for 5 bullets. 10 rounds remaining and he could now see 8 wolves still standing. One more than his earlier estimate. That¡¯s fine. One started to rush him and standing his ground to get as much accuracy as possible he fired twice more. Wincing as the first missed and the second only managed to catch the creature¡¯s front right leg half way down the leg. Harder to hit a moving target. Still it collapsed as it¡¯s weight landed on that leg and the others came forward after it. Another two rounds and a bit more luck as he managed to catch this wolf as it ducked it¡¯s head down for a powerful dog like run as it¡¯s back legs passed its front ones, the first pierced the back of its neck and the second further up the back and it too dropped, but this one didn¡¯t move. That left 6 rounds and 6 wolves. Cycling through he fired as quickly as he could. Aim, shoot, aim, shoot¡­ until the slide locked back and he had three wolves still on their feet rushing him, and the rest probably not dead maybe not even out of the fight yet. He drew out his dagger and prepared for the creatures. Tony was a skilled knife fighter. Years of alleyway fights and deals gone wrong had honed his instincts. At fighting humans or at least humanoids. Sure he¡¯d had to stab a guard dog once but that wasn¡¯t the same as three giant wolves barreling in on you. He lept in to meet the first one and as it¡¯s jaws leapt up to meet his face his knife swung up in the same motion he¡¯d used to get the water goblin the day before. The Wolf was faster than the goblin though and instead of going up into the brain it struck the center of the neck. It was enough though to stop it from clamping it¡¯s jaws down on his face. It didn¡¯t stop the large panicking body from smashing bodily into his and crashing them both into the ground. He heaved and pushed with all of his might and just barely managed to get the creature off of him¡­ as the second wolf bit down hard on his arm. Tony cried out in main as the teeth buried themselves all the way to the bone and he in a panic stabbed the face of the wolf as quickly as his hand could move over and over again wondering when the third wolf would end his existence. He had time to think to himself that he really should have just let the figure die, but a choice made was a choice lived. Luckily for Tony his lady luck happened to be with him today. The wolf never touched him. The figure who¡¯d been taken down earlier had stood stood up on shaky legs and faced the fight. A line of greenish tinted energy emerged from its hands and shot out striking the ground directly in front of the second to last wolf¡¯s body. Suddenly vines grew up and tangled the creature firmly locking it in place. The figure rushed forward breathing heavily and drew out a knife of its own before stabbing over and over again into the wolf¡¯s back. Until it stopped moving. And by that tie Tony had finished stabbing the on on his arm until it stopped shaking his arm and whole body and dropped to the ground. Tony glanced over at his mangled arm not even registering that his life had been saved as he quickly reached inside and drew out the energy. He drew until but a tiny glimmer remained and then cut the connection, holding with his mind the majority of the mana he possessed. He directed it all at once to his arm and gave it the same order as last time to heal, and watched and prayed that the mangled mess could be recovered. It could and he watched in fascination as the white of bone he could see slowly got covered up by flesh and muscle grew and expanded. It grew and healed and then stopped. Raw muscle and tendons and veins remained visible in the bloody mess but not fully healed. Partially healed veins started to squirt out blood and he knew for the second time that morning he¡¯d be dead soon. Of course the figure that he¡¯d saved couldn¡¯t just sit by and allow it¡¯s saviour to bleed out. It rushed over and soon a glowing green hand touched the ruined flesh and warmth pumped it¡¯s way into the wound. Much more than he had been able to push in. Before long the flesh was healed and again looked better than the surrounding flesh of his body. He glanced up at the figure. It was a woman. Or she was. Womanly certainly but young as well. Maybe late teens by her looks. Her body was strange though. Her skin a light green color and her hair an even darker green. Her eyes were the real interesting part tough. Golden colored and seemingly endlessly deep. Her features seemed mostly asian which would go well with her slight build. She couldn¡¯t be more than 5¡¯2¡± at the most.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Thanks.¡± Tony managed to get out as he took in her form. Fit and slim, like a high school athlete. Tony couldn¡¯t help but smile as the first thought that came to him, even while staring at this strange alien woman was ¡®if only I was 20 years younger. At 48 he was far too old to be even considering fun with a teenager. Even an alien one. ¡°Your welcome.¡± She replied cautiously. Tony was sort of startled that they spoke the same language, but shook it off. ¡°That¡¯s some powerful healing magic you got.¡± He pointed out as he stood up and tried to brush himself off. ¡°Let me guess. Caster?¡± She smiled at that. Revealing teeth almost in humanly white. ¡°Nope. Druid actually.¡± She corrected. ¡°It was my patron¡¯s choice.¡± He¡¯d guessed correctly. A new comer like himself. Maybe an enemy god¡¯s pathfinder. Didn¡¯t matter he could care less about this whole game of the gods. ¡°Spend the GP yet?¡± He inquired curiously. She nodded slowly. ¡°Yup, boosted my Magic. Better than letting it go to waste.¡± She replied. I disagreed. Who knew if the 10GP choices were significantly better than the 1% boost. I didn¡¯t say anything though and just smiled at her. ¡°What¡¯s your name girl?¡± Tony asked so that his face didn¡¯t show any of his distaste for her use it or lose it attitude. ¡°Jasmine.¡± She said sticking her hand out towards him. ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Tony nodded and took the hand to be polite. ¡°Tony.¡± ¡°Well¡­ that was exciting but now that this shit¡¯s woken me up. I¡¯m going to eat some breakfast and let the damned messages pop up.¡± as he said that again they came into view as if knowing that he hadn¡¯t wanted to see them yet. Congratulations! You¡¯ve defeated 10 ¡®Dire Wolves¡¯ and are awarded XP! Base: 50XP Each total 500XP Outnumbered: x2 Total: 2 multiplier= 1000XP awarded You gained 2 levels and are now level 7. You are now at 345 of 1280XP for next level So down to two magazines but another two levels on top of that isn¡¯t to shabby a trade. Though he knew that if he kept at this pace lady luck wouldn¡¯t be by his side for long. He sat back in his little hole and started to eat some breakfast. More jerky and water that tasted funny. For lunch more of the same, and for dinner¡­ well it¡¯s what he had. He sighed to himself as he downed the bland food. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to skin them?¡± A voice asked nearby. He jumped a bit and looked up at the strange green girl. ¡°Don¡¯t know how.¡± He replied tersely. She looked down at him and at his little nest. She frowned suddenly. ¡°That¡¯s no good. You¡¯ll die if you can¡¯t even skin a wolf. Come on. I¡¯m going to help you out.¡± She scolded and reached down grasping him under his arm and started to lift him. Tony went along for the ride figuring she had a point. He would probably need to learn eventually. ¡°Ok.¡± She started sitting him next to the wolf at her side. ¡°It¡¯s not hard you simply¡­¡± what followed was an hours worth of instruction that Tony was pretty sure he only got half of. He made sure to nod at the right places and the follow directions when given them. Soon she had him skinning the next one and was critiquing his technique like some ancient master skinner. It started to get on his nerves but he managed to keep his calm. With that done they had eleven wolf pelts, 8 of which were in great shape and 3 of which were either shredded from the attacks on the wolves or shredded from Tony¡¯s poor ability. Still. The wolves were huge so their furs were huge as well. ¡°We need a TeePee.¡± Tony said suddenly looking at the furs that Jasmine had laid down near a fire that she had also started allowing them to dry up quicker. Jasmine shook her head. ¡°Not enough furs. I¡¯m going to make us a Lean To. What I¡¯d really really love is an ax so we could do some sort of basic cabin, but we will make do.¡± She said determinedly. Tony wasn¡¯t sure what a Lean To was but shelter was shelter, and hopefully they had enough left over for some ground cover and a blanket. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll scout the area again then. Maybe hunt some more.¡± He started to walk but she stopped him with a call. ¡°We don¡¯t need more meat or furs.¡± She paused thoughtfully. ¡°Well we do of course but what we really need is some wood.¡± And taking charge again she started to tell Tony exactly what size and shape and how much wood she needed and that he was to cut them from branches with his knife. His eye twitched and he mumbled vague death threats about the ¡®damned women coming in here and taking over my spot¡¯ but went out into the forest and started hacking down branches. Not an easy task with a knife. It took him most of the day and multiple retries as she told him how wrong the pieces he¡¯d brought were but soon they had a roaring fire next to a nice lean to and some fresh wolf meat cooking. ¡°You don¡¯t talk much do you?¡± Jasmine said as they rested near the fire to stay warm as the sun slowly dropped below the trees. ¡°I talk plenty.¡± Tony responded grumpily. His arms sore from a day of hacking trees but the crude shelter nearby did make him feel happy. A pair of wooden branche shoved into the ground supporting another branch across the top tied with some rope like thing she made out of grass. Wooden branches laid from the ground to the top cross branch and bound to each one next to them as well. Finished off with some wolf pelts over the top fur down and some on the ground fur up, it almost looked inviting. Jasmine shook her head and patted Tony on the back before heading to the Lean To. It would be a tight fit for the two of them but Tony was damned sure he wasn¡¯t sleeping outside. Well he¡¯d be sleeping outside either way really but at least he¡¯d have some sort of roof over his head. He slowly got up and since Jasmine had built a basic fire pit by clearing out nearby grass and forming a nice ring of rocks she had grabbed around it he left the fire burning. Hoping it¡¯ll keep other animals at bay while he got some rest. He climbed in after her and with no shame at all got between the wolf pelts and snuggled up close. She tensed but he just wrapped a large arm around her and pulled her in tight before closing his eyes and starting to go to sleep. ¡°Calm down. It¡¯s warmer this way.¡± He mumbled to her and slowly drifted off to sleep. Chapter 5: Community Building Tony slowly started to come to. Rolling to his side and stretching. Enjoying being able to wake up, not exactly comfortable but at least warm, was strangely refreshing. He opened his eyes and stared up at the wooden ceiling with fur from the wolf skin atop it poking down towards him. He slowly looked over to the side and saw that his new companion seemed to be slowly stirring now that he¡¯d moved. Not wanting to both her more he slipped out of the Lean To and stood up stretching again and looked around. Then he winced for two reasons. The first was the knot in his back that he¡¯d gotten from two nights sleeping on the floor. The second was the rather unpleasant smell coming from his armpits. He scowled and took a more direct whiff. ¡°I¡¯d kill for a shower.¡± He complained and started heading towards the water. The sun was only a bit above the horizon and the fire they¡¯d left on the night before had long gone out, though the embers seemed pretty hot still. He made his way to the edge of the river and began stripping off his clothes. He folded them up on the bank near the edge and placed his gun a bit further away as to keep it dry. He paused and still naked headed back to their camp quickly grabbing a set of the rough clothing that the world had provided him with. Soon he was back and leaving the clean clothes near the dirty ones he started to wade slowly into the river. He shivered as his feet felt the cold water. Moving in deeper he glanced down at his reflection. Two days of scruff covered his face with dark brown and white hairs. Salt and pepper some called it, but Tony preferred graying. It was more accurate, if less complimentary. When he reached chest-deep he ducked deep into the water and started scrubbing himself quickly while shivering. While soap would have been infinitely better, he managed to get rid of layers of grime that had developed and even got some of the crusty blood off his side and out of his hair. He winced as he got to the still sore head wound but made sure to give it a good scrub, hoping that the moving water was cleaner than he feared it was. Soon he was done and after dipping a few more times started to walk towards the shore and his dirty clothes. He spotted Jasmine who had yet to see him as she sleepily came out of their shelter. He ignored her as he grabbed his blood and dirt stained clothes and started scrubbing them out. Again without soup, it wouldn¡¯t get clean, but still much better than leaving it filthy. Soon he was coming out of the water and picking up the clean clothes. He had first thought he¡¯d put them on right away but had failed to think about how he¡¯d dry without a towel. Picking them up he headed towards the camp and Jasmine hearing him glanced over¡­ and froze. He kept walking confidently and grabbed some wood set near the embers in the fire pit and started putting some sticks in hoping they¡¯d light on fire. ¡°Y...You¡¯re Naked.¡± She stammered as if she¡¯d never seen a naked man before. ¡°Very perceptive.¡± He replied in a monotone turning back towards her. Her eyes drifted downward and Tony felt himself smirk and couldn¡¯t help himself. ¡°Waters¡¯ awfully cold.¡± She turned away quickly from him and he really had to fight himself not to laugh out loud. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any modesty?¡± Jasmine complained, making sure not to face his direction. ¡°Not much.¡± He replied as he played with the fire pit, blowing on it trying to get the wood going. He lucked out and he saw a small flame start on one of the pieces of wood. Squatting by the fire he allowed the heat to help dry him. Jasmine proceeded to attempt to ignore him as she walked off towards the woods. Tony assumed that she needed some private time, but she could have been gathering some wood for the morning as well. Tony eventually got dressed and hung his drying clothes across the top of the Lean-To. He itched insanely and he didn¡¯t know if it was the clothes, the river water, or maybe both. About then Jasmine walked back into the field carrying far less wood than the time she¡¯d been gone would indicate she could have collected. Tony smiled to himself again, ¡®women never change¡¯ he thought to himself. ¡°I meant to ask about that strange weapon you used to save me.¡± She spoke up, more comfortable now that he was dressed though she still wasn¡¯t making eye contact.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°My Glock?¡± He asked patting the visible gun that sat across his ribs. ¡°A¡­ G-lo-ck.¡± Tony shook his head at her slow pronunciation of it. ¡°Yeah. A gun. Firearm. Boomstick.¡± Tony slowly pulled it out of the holster and removed the magazine and made sure that it was still working and clean and then pulled the slide letting the loaded round pop out of the gun. He caught it and then pulled it back again carefully checking to make sure that it was clean as well. It wasn¡¯t but not much he could do about it now. He carefully handed the weapon over. ¡°It¡¯s unloaded so it won¡¯t shoot.¡± He informed her and she tentatively took the weapon. While she inspected it he reloaded the one round into the magazine and walked over to a small pile of meat from the wolves that she had cooked up the day before and left near the fire to dry out even more. Bugs flew around the meat in lazy circles and he looked down at the meat for a long moment before going back to his bag and grabbing some of the flavorless jerkies. He was starting to run low on that and water. He really needed something to boil water in and someplace to store the meat so it didn¡¯t go bad. A fridge. Hell if he was getting a fridge why not stock it with food and drink. He certainly missed a drink. Chewing on the tough meat he pulled out his dagger from the pack as well and started to carefully run it over his face to trim back the scruff to merely a hot mess level from the hobo level it was currently. ¡°So¡­¡± He started looking over at her as he did his best to blind shave with a dull knife. ¡°Are we making a go at this survival thing together?¡± He asked her taking her attention from the dull grey pistol in her hand. She finally met his eyes again and looked unsure. ¡°I¡­¡± Hesitating a moment before continuing with more determination. ¡°I would like that. Better than being all alone.¡± Tony nodded at her words and was surprised by a popup. You have gained a follower. Since you have done this before Settling you will also gain access to your settler¡¯s race to recruit upon establishment of a new settlement. In addition, your Patron has awarded you 1GP for the action. You currently have 5GP Tony didn¡¯t say anything just adding the GP to his tally and wondering if it would always be this easy to get them. If so maybe 10 wasn¡¯t all that important of a thing after all. He shrugged to himself not caring one way or the other at the moment, he¡¯d learn eventually. Jasmine¡¯s heart fell a bit as she saw his gesture. Taking it as a response to her agreement to stay with him. She looked at the ground for a moment before firming her resolve. She would make sure to prove that she was useful to keep around. He¡¯d saved her after all. By the traditions of her people, she owed him a debt. She stoked the fire after handing Tony back his weapon and he swiftly reloaded a round and put it safely back in the holster. Tony refused when she offered some warmed wolf meat to him but she just ate more of it herself while he, finally giving up on his facial grooming, stared out at the forest around them. He needed to level some more, but to do so meant that he¡¯d have to put his life at risk. He didn¡¯t see much choice in the matter and was about to ask Jasmine to join him when he recalled that he could heal his head wound. Not sure why he hadn¡¯t done it the night before he focused inward again and quickly ¡®cast¡¯ the spell. Using far less energy than he had any of the previous times he managed to close the wound, though the head was still a bit sore to the touch. ¡°We¡¯re going hunting.¡± He said simply storing the knife he had through the simple ¡®belt¡¯ that came with the outfit to keep the tunic tight around him. The belt was more properly referred to as a length of cloth, but it worked for the job. He grabbed anything important and shoved it into his pack and then put that on over his shoulder. Jasmine didn¡¯t argue though she looked nervous as she followed after him. Tony had a plan. He wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯d work, but he had a plan. Probably a stupid one at that. He lifted his right hand to his face and blew into it as he cupped it near his mouth. An old habit he¡¯d gotten to bring luck. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They walked swiftly for a good portion of the morning until Jasmine finally stepped up and grabbed Tony¡¯s shoulder suddenly. He turned to face her but she put a finger to her lips. They had traveled just a bit past the point he had reached before when he had been attacked by the water goblins. She pointed forward and he slowly followed her gesture and saw what he had been hoping for. In the middle of the river through the trees ahead he could see a series of very crude huts built on stilts so they rose just slightly above the water line. He hadn¡¯t known what it would look like but it was what he hoped for. Water goblins milled around the tiny village. Probably a good dozen fishing with crude poles, cooking food on the shore, crafting all manner of items, or yelling at tiny children goblins. A cruel smile lit up his face that caused Jasmine to take a step away from him. He pulled out his gun and started walking forward confidently. Jasmine hurrying after not sure if he really planned to fight the whole tribe. ¡°GoOood Morning friends.¡± He announced as he made it to the edge of the tree line and came into sight of the village. The village seemed to explode with movement for a moment. The movement ended when quickly registering the situation he put two bullet holes in the two toughest looking goblins that had weapons they already reached for. ¡°None of that now. I thought we¡¯d try and have ourselves a friendly conversation about hierarchy and your place in it.¡± Chapter 6: Boss(?) Fight Tony managed to catch a few words as the goblins, seemingly frozen with inaction, mumbled among themselves. English words, or at least that was how his brain processed them. Not the most intellectual sounding statements, but simple, sort ones. ¡°He strong.¡± or ¡°How he do that?¡± one particularly clever one even managed ¡°This one is dangerous.¡±. A complete sentence if a short one. The Goblin that had gotten that string of words together was shorter than the rest, though his structure seemed that of an adult. Tony thought for a second that he had this in the bag. One of their warriors lay on the ground motionless, another stood up now but his hand clasped over a bullet that had struck the shoulder. That was the problem with shooting quickly. You lost accuracy. Then his belief came crashing down as a goblin suddenly stood in the doorway of one of the raised huts. Larger than even the two warriors he¡¯d hit by at least a head. ¡°You no take my tribe.¡± He declared. I took the measure of the creature. Firmly muscled for its size with more clothing by far than the others. Instead of the loincloth or chest wrap, the others seemed to make do with, the chief goblin had a fur of some creature wrapped around his body almost like a toga. The most interesting thing was what it held in his hands. Two glistening black knives. Tony guessed they were just made of stone, but they looked wickedly sharp at this distance. He¡¯d never imagined that stone could look that sharp. Like a piece of glass. Tony slowly stowed his Glock and raised his hands up in a boxer¡¯s guard. ¡°Then you¡¯ll have to come over here and stop me won¡¯t you?¡± He challenged. Tony understood that he could handle this two ways, shoot or fight. If he had just shot the goblin then it would be a guaranteed overwhelming victory, but one that shows reliance on his pistol. Beating the creature bare handed would show a different kind of strength, one not reliant on anything but his own body. The goblin furrowed its brow. An interesting image on the small blue man. Being a head taller put the goblin firmly at chest height now. The goblin slowly nodded its¡¯ head and with an agile jump landed with a splash in the water at the base of the hut. The goblin approached slowly as if making a display of its¡¯ confidence. Tony couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the goblin was doing just that. He¡¯d seen other leaders of gangs put on such actions as a show of strength. Fighting but at their own pace. Maybe the creatures here were smarter than he had thought they were. Jasmine still hung back in the woods a short distance behind him watching this happen. His demeanor had changed from his usually more laid back attitude and it honestly scared her a bit. She seriously wondered who she¡¯d tied her existence to. ¡°If any of the others move in hold them off with a spell.¡± Tony said firmly over his shoulder to her. ¡°Yes.¡± She quickly replied to his demanding tone. It allowed no room for disobeying the order. The distance was nearly closed when the goblin stopped and seemed to look it¡¯s taller opponent up and down. It¡¯s eyes calculating and sharp. In a burst of speed, it moved forward black stone daggers in hand. Tony faked a lunge in himself, light on his feet fist pulling back as if for a haymaker. The goblin juked to the side as Tony only halfway through the punch before changing from his right-handed haymaker to a quick left-handed jab, hoping to catch it by surprise. A glancing blow slid off the cheek of the goblin as it moved to the side faster than could have been expected. Even a glancing blow though stumbled the creature who lashed out and managed to catch Tony¡¯s left forearm with one of his crude knives. Tony hopped backward hissing in pain as he felt the warm blood flow down his arm and drip of his elbow. The two opponents locked eyes with each other. The goblin rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand and giving Tony a worried look, and Tony smirking back and shifting his weight back and forth as he gets ready for the second round. This time Tony moved first. He bounced forward on the balls of his feet and closed the distance. The goblin swiftly tried to cut out to keep tony back but Tony just stepped a half step to the side and then closed in closer and started throwing swift punches. He landed two quick jobs with his left hand again, blood dripping from it, staggering the goblin back as it slashed at the air wildly. Following in after his back peddling target he threw a strong right hook slamming hard into the small jaw of the shorter creature. The goblin hit the dirt and Tony bounced back giving him time to get to his feet. ¡°Come on. This isn¡¯t done yet.¡± He mocked, dropping his guard and slowly glancing at the cut in his arm. He reached in and manipulated his mana like before. The process, getting easier every time he did it. He cut off the mana quickly this time and pushed it into the arm. He watched it heal as the goblin stood up shaking his head. Settling back into a more firm stance Tony shot forward again. This time he kept to the jobs. Moving slowly around the goblin avoiding the crazed swings. He beat on the creature. Soon the counter swings stopped altogether and after a few more blows he paused breathing heavily. ¡°Man, I¡¯m getting too old for this shit.¡± He said under his breath and then really changing things up he spun quickly and his leg lifted and his shin hard into the side of the goblins face, blood and spittle flying as the goblin fell to the ground. Tony walked in closer and grabbed a hold of the goblin¡¯s arm, both knives now laying on the ground nearby. With a jerk and a loud crack the arm broke. The goblin screamed as Tony grabbed the other arm and repeated the process. Then he grabbed a leg and lifted and then stomped down hard snapping it as well, and the same with the other leg.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Tony looked around at the other goblins. ¡°Now. The conversation we were supposed to be having.¡± He started giving the goblin leader a hard kick in the chest cracking ribs. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right I was about to explain to you the importance of hierarchies and your new place in this new one.¡± He moved forward and again kicked the goblin sending it rolling again as Tony walked calmly closer to the rest of the goblins. ¡°I¡¯m what you call the Boss. The big cheese. Master. I don''t give two shits as long as it implies I control you.¡± He reached the goblin for the final time and this time set his foot upon his throat. ¡°This is what will happen to those who betray me.¡± He stomped down with all of his weight. The already bloodied and beaten goblin wheezed out as his throat was crushed. Tears running down the sides of his face. Behind Tony, a gasp came from Jasmine as she watched the scene unfold. Her hands covered her mouth as if trying to keep the noise down and not attract Tony¡¯s wrath. The goblins at this point had moved further away from what they saw as a monster. ¡°We obey.¡± One of the female goblins nearer the front called out. Tony smiled at the little creature. ¡°That¡¯s the attitude.¡± He said and clapped his hands together making a loud pop and causing everyone around to jump at the noise. ¡°Now to start with¡­¡± He began and pointed to a fire pit near him. ¡°I¡¯ll be taking some of this fish.¡± He moved closer and grasped a few sticks with fish speared on them that had been cooking by the fire. They were slightly chard on the side that faced the fire as people had stopped tending them as soon as he had arrived. No one made to stop him or interfere in any way. ¡°I live up that way.¡± He said and pointed one of the sticks down the river. ¡°I expect to see the tribe first thing in the morning. All of you.¡± He scanned the scared goblins. ¡°I do not recommend running.¡± His tone allowed no room to argue and with that, he turned and faced Jasmine and gave her a much warmer smile. ¡°Step one.¡± He commented as he picked up the two stone knives and started to walk back downstream at the slow pace. Jasmine hesitated for a long moment before following after. ¡°Listen up.¡± He said after a few minutes. ¡°That may have looked harsh but I had my reasons.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± She asked in a braver voice than she felt. ¡°First of all, they attacked me first. Yesterday three of their warriors attempted to kill me not far from here.¡± He started. ¡°So they aren¡¯t as sweet as they look, and they look like little monsters.¡± His pace picked up slightly as he looked to the sky and saw how the day was getting on. ¡°Secondly, we need more people. Two of us will die as soon as I run out of bullets and something too big for either of us shows up.¡± Tony finally took a moment to pay attention to the popup that had shown up as soon as he had left the village. Congratulations! You have conquered a neighboring settlement and forced them to bend to your will. Since this has been done before you have settled down you have gained the following benefits. 1. You will be able to recruit the race you have just conquered. 2. You will be given an additional two points upon settling at a location. 3. 4000XP gained 4. 4GP awarded by your patron for single-handed conquest. You currently have 9GP You gained 2 levels. You are now level 9. You have 505XP of 5120XP for next level ¡°They¡¯ll just kill us in our sleep.¡± She argued but Tony just snorted. ¡°They could indeed try, but I don¡¯t plan on sleeping tonight and I¡¯m not the deepest sleeper in any case. Besides I plan on having a settlement and whatever benefits that will provide me by the end of the day tomorrow.¡± He handed one of the fish over to Jasmine and started eating his own. ¡°Settlement?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a settler.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what that means. You really haven¡¯t told me anything about you. This is by far the most you¡¯ve talked since we have met.¡± She almost sounded like she was pouting at that. ¡°I let you know something when I think you need to know.¡± Tony countered and quickly brought up his status screen to have a look.
STAT Base Bonus
Strength 6 of 10 0.90%
Constitution 5 of 10 0.90%
Dexterity 6 of 10 0.90%
Coordination 5 of 10 0.90%
Intelligence 8 of 10 0.90%
Magic 5 of 10 5.90%
Mana 37 of 52.95 N/A
No More Stats Known About
He quickly noticed that his Magic stat had gone up on its own. Probably from the use he¡¯s been giving it after never having used magic before. He smiled wider as he kept walking and glanced over his shoulder at Jasmine. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t talk a lot. It¡¯s that I usually don¡¯t have a lot to say. That and exercise always puts me in a good mood.¡± Jasmine felt a shiver go down her spine at the thought that this whole thing was just a bit of exercise for him. She watched his back as she followed him and wondered why she still felt safer around him then she did by herself. ¡®Is it because it¡¯s either this or being alone?¡¯ she thought to herself. Chapter 7: Forging Ahead Morning came and the sun shone down upon Tony and the heads of two goblins that had attempted to kill him in the night. They crept in and slowly approached the Lean Too but Tony as he had told Jasmine stayed awake. He watched them approach from the dip that he had previously used as a bed and jumped them when he was sure that they were too far from the forest to make a retreat. So he greeted the rest of the goblins as they arrived, scared and huddled together. He slowly scanned the group before nodding in satisfaction. ¡°Good.¡± He said out loud as he looked them over with a relaxed expression. He estimated that this should have been the rest of the goblins based on what he had seen the day before, he¡¯d only seen about a dozen then but figured some were out and about. Even after the two he¡¯d killed in the night, 17 goblins showed up, 5 of which were children. He pointed a thumb over his shoulder towards the river closer to the cliff. ¡°Start building your new home. You have one day.¡± He said simply before slowly standing up and heading over to where Jasmine still slept. She was awake and sitting under the cover when he walked around the side to look in. She had been quiet the night before as they had eaten together. ¡°Be careful today.¡± Tony said simply and he calmly walked over to where the goblins seemed to be moving as swiftly as possible to start work. Several headed into the woods to start gathering wood and some headed towards the river to check to make sure it wasn¡¯t too deep. He even saw a pair of goblins taking care of the young ones. He reached into his bag and retrieved most of the rest of his jerky and as he passed the goblin kids he walked up to one of the adults and handed it to them. ¡°Food.¡± The goblin actually looked incredulous and gave a ¡®duh¡¯ look at him that almost caused him to laugh. Then he headed out into the woods after the goblins in that direction. He watched them cutting up wood expertly and laying lengths down. When they had a bunch they started to move to grab them but Tony moved in first and lifting far more than any one goblin could. He heaved the wood up onto his shoulder with a grunt. ¡°Keep cutting.¡± He ordered as he carried the load back to the clearing. He was surprised to see that several goblins were cutting the high grass near the river clearing it back further away. He wondered why they would bother as they live over the water, but didn¡¯t stop them. He just dropped his bundle off and walked back. Even though it seemed he had let his guard down, he was very careful not to turn his back on a goblin if they were too close to him. Jasmine had found herself talking to the goblins and soon she was involved with the work too. They treated her like an outsider, but not with the fear they had for Tony. When she asked them about it they gave her a confused look. ¡°He do it. Not you.¡± One said as if that explained everything. The day went by in this way and the goblins had just finished their first simple building around midday when Tony got what he was hoping for. Congratulations! Your Patron sees that you are taking steps towards settling. They approve and have awarded you with 2GP. You currently have 11GP. You can now access the expanded GP choices. ¡°Fuck yeah.¡± He said to himself as he set down another bundle of wood for the goblins. He concentrated and carefully put mana into his limbs one after the other, healing the damage the lactic acid had done from the long day of work and making him feel rejuvenated. Tony thought about opening the expanded choices for spending the GP. The list that appeared seemed endless. It didn¡¯t just include things that cost 10GP or less, he saw things that cost thousands of GP to get. Of particular interest ¡®Unaging Body: Stops the aging process and allows you to live indefinitely. Can still be killed. Cost: 10KGP¡¯ he blanched at the cost but had already seen that larger tasks generated larger rewards. On a whim, he tried to limit the purchases only to things that he could get for 11GP or less.
Name Function Cost
Unlock Stat Unlocks a random Stat to be shown 1GP
Upgrade Item Upgrade an item to a slightly better version of itselfA case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. 5GP
Upgrade Limit Break the limits of a stat 5GP
Divine Grace Gain a subclass of Priest 10GP
Minor Blessing Receive a minor blessing from your patron 10GP
Minor Consecration Consecrate a small section of land 10GP
Divine Guidance Receive a weak premonition 10GP
Tony was tempted by a number of the options, but in the end, he had been hoping for something to improve the settlement area, and consecration seemed to be the only option that fit. He started to just select it but paused and looked around. He nodded to himself and walked over near the edge of the cliff to the side of the waterfall and then selected the option. A glowing light started to envelop Tony, starting from his head and spreading throughout his body. When it reached his feet it spread to the ground. The light radiated outward, the ground glowing with power as it stretched. It reached the river to the side and ran up alongside it, not entering, but spreading out further in the other direction. Slowly. Tony seemed stuck while this was happening and was unable to move or think, but his mouth seemed to be speaking words that his mind didn¡¯t understand. The light spread to maybe three thousand sq ft and then stopped. The light faded away and all seemed almost as it had been before. Tony looked closely at the grass beneath him and thought it looked more vibrant and alive. It was hard to tell, but he was sure of it. He started laughing as he quickly ran over and grabbed his bag. Ripping out the flag he ran back over to the consecrated ground and stuck the flag into it. Warning: You are about to use the Flag of Settling. If you do this here you will get the following settlement points to spend. Base: 10 Near Forest: +2 Near Deep River: +5 Defensible Side (Cliff Face): +3 Consecrated Ground: +25 Controlled Goblin Hamlet: +10 Actual: 55 Do you wish to settle here? He didn¡¯t wait a moment but choose yes right away. The flag vanished and Tony heard trumpets playing in his head. Then more messages had to be handled. Please choose a name for your settlement. ¡°Tony¡¯s obviously.¡± He said, thinking of the name of the bar he always wanted to open after he retired. Tony¡¯s settlement established. Please spend your SP. You have 1 hour to do so. ¡°Damn,¡± Tony complained at the time constraints. He quickly tried to open up a menu for spending it but a prompt came up instead. Settlement points are used to build things right away. Think of what you want to build and a cost will be estimated. For once clear instructions. Tony cheered internally. Tony immediately thought of a small house for himself to live in. A sturdy wooden structure. No pop-up but his mind knew that such a structure would cost 5SP. He smiled and thought that the wood should be replaced with stone. 10SP. Twice the cost. So he built up from that. He added sturdier doors. 11SP. His bedroom became a master bedroom with a nice comfortable bed. 13SP. He added 4 more bedrooms. 17SP. He added a second floor and moved his bedroom up and added a kitchen and a fireplace downstairs and a living room of sorts, medieval one of course. 30SP. An office with an ornate desk and a large stocked bookshelf. 40SP. He paused at that. That cost more than he had expected but he still had more left so he smiled and pushed forward. A magic bathroom with a hot shower and flushing toilet. 60SP. He cursed to himself and changed it so that the toilet was magic but thought about some medieval fire heated tub instead. 50SP. Finally a wall around his building. To separate it from the outside with a wrought iron gate. 54SP. Small balcony looking over the cliff. 55SP. ¡°FUCK YES!¡± He shouted as he allowed the thought to trigger the creation of his new home. It sprang up around him. The floor beneath his feet turning to a fine wooden floor. Polished and ornate. The walls springing up around him. Goblins cried out as it rapidly took shape and Tony disappeared within. Tony was laughing insanely at it all as it happened. The idea of finally being inside again after these days and surrounded by some comforts pushing stress that he didn¡¯t know he had felt out of him in laughter. Soon it was done and before he searched it he felt saw a large solid keychain hanging on the wall near the front door. He walked up and snatched it up so he wouldn¡¯t be locked out. He could only see inside because it was the middle of the day and the building had large windows, though they had bars on the outside of iron. His thoughts of it being fortified seemed to have taken shape smartly. He walked out front and saw Jasmine at the gate looking in. ¡°So¡­¡± He began with a smirk. ¡°Want to see your new room?¡± Chapter 8: Settlement Jasmine looked at Tony in awe. His face had a slight smirk, his mouth crooked and sarcastic. Jasmine didn¡¯t know, but his very Italian nose and skin ever so slightly darker than usual Europeans also pointed to his predominantly Italian heritage. She didn¡¯t find his face handsome, but neither did she find it ugly. The wrinkles that had formed showed that he was getting on in age, but still young enough to be physically able. She assumed he had to be well older than she was, at a young 84, she was just considered an adult. Her eyes drifted lower and admired his well-muscled average frame. Not bulky, but not skinny either. She blushed as she realized that he was still looking at her waiting for her to come into the gate. She moved in quickly and Tony shut the gate firmly behind her. ¡°How did you do this?¡± She asked as she turned back to see him. ¡°Settler remember?¡± Was all he said as he moved past her and started walking towards the house. He had left the thick ornate hardwood door open and walking inside he smiled to himself at the room. The main door opened into the living room. The room had two couches, one stretching along the wall with seating for at least 6 people, the other at an angle to the first in the room facing the fireplace. A seat that Tony knew would be his was a single large and fluffy armchair. Jasmine oohed and ahhed¡­ and sat right in the chair Tony was looking at. ¡°Ohhhh¡­ it¡¯s so fluffy!¡± She said happily. Her earlier thoughtfulness forgotten in the moment. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything so soft and fluffy.¡± Tony¡¯s look changed from annoyed to thoughtful. ¡°Don¡¯t you have chairs like this where you come from?¡± ¡°No. Not that I know of. This certainly isn¡¯t filled with straw. I wonder what it¡¯s filled with?¡± Tony shook his head at her. ¡°Cotton probably.¡± He said, wondering if she was ever going to check out the house. Her blank look though caused him to elaborate. ¡°It¡¯s a fluffy plant fiber.¡± He added and wondered what the technology level was where she came from. Lower levels of technology would explain why she was so good at living in the woods and building things. Tony shook his head again and started heading up the stairs. He doesn¡¯t have to say anything as she stands up and follows him. The stairway is sturdy and wide. Two people could easily walk side by side up it. Reaching the top Tony quickly opened each of the doors in turn. Five rooms, all moved up to the second floor with his main room. As well as a single large hallway closet with blankets and sheets, and pillow covers. Each of the four regular rooms had a small chest at the bottom of a twin bed, a small dresser, and a small closet with some clothes. Tony¡¯s room in comparison had a king-sized bed with a similarly much larger chest, both made of etched dark stained wood with elaborate patterns. His closet was a full walk-in one with plenty of room for whatever he wanted. A large dresser and a small writing desk took up one of the walls along the side. He also had a glass door on the other side of his room along the cliff side of the house at the back. He walked out and stepped out onto the balcony and admired the view leaning against the decorated wrote iron railing that surrounded the perimeter and chuckled at the one small wooden chair that sat on it. It took up most of the room on the small balcony. Going back inside he was rather glad that the beds all came fully loaded with sheets, a comforter and a large number of fluffy pillows. He smiled to himself as he entered the hallway and found Jasmine leaving the room closest to his own. She had a smile herself and threw herself at him and hugged him firmly suddenly. Tony wasn¡¯t much for physical contact and awkwardly patted her back. ¡°I love it! The bed is so soft!¡± She cried out and squeezed him tighter causing him to start to push her off gently. ¡°Glad you like it. I¡¯ve got other rooms to check out.¡± He said simply and headed for the stairs. Jasmine followed after quickly, not wanting to miss anything interesting. Tony gave the kitchen a quick look over and was rather impressed with the large wood-fired stove and oven seated against one wall and the large room with lots of counter space and he could see a bunch of cooking gear ready to use. That would certainly make things much easier to use. He¡¯d already seen the living room so he quickly found the bathroom door next to the door for his office, all leading from the living room that also had a large area with a huge table that could easily seat ten people. Heading into the bathroom he shut out Jasmine with an ¡®I¡¯ll be back¡¯ look¡­ and proceeded to have the first relaxed shit he had taken since coming to this new world. The bathroom even came stocked with a large amount of toilet paper¡­ that Tony knew right away that he was going to hide in his own room for personal use. The bathtub had an obvious wood burning place under the tub itself so that it could be heated after being filled. He also saw a water basin to clean hands in, though the water would have to be replaced manually.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Half an hour later, feeling relaxed, Tony exited the bathroom and saw that Jasmine was seated in his chair again in the living room. Tony sighed and went into his office quickly. This room was small, with a desk that took up most of the room with pen and paper and folders and a filing cabinet. Three chairs, one behind the desk large and soft looking, and two small but sturdy wooden ones on the other side of the desk. He walked over and sat down at it slowly. The chair was wide and soft, with rollers and a swivel allowing him to move around easily. As soon as he got comfortable he was surprised with another pop-up. The settlement has determined that this location is the most likely location for you to handle the management of it. Thus this location will give you access to the settlement options and information. As a level 1 settlement, most options are still locked. Current options: Acquire Settlers, List Settlers He quickly thought about acquiring settlers.
Settler Points 10 (Starting Bonus)
Recruit Human Humans are endlessly adaptable and capable of performing any task at an average maximum ability. They lack any special abilities.
Recruit Dryad Dryads are skilled in nature magic, but naturally lacking in physical strength. They make fine Druids but poor warriors.
Recruit Goblin Small weak creatures, they have no benefits and are poor in all aspects.
Tony quickly went to choose ten humans when another option appeared. You have chosen to recruit a human. You can recruit one human for each point, or you can choose to spend 5 settler points and you can recruit a specific human to assist you. Tony started laughing and quickly decided on two people he just knew he had to have right away by his side. He hoped that they were working right now as he chooses human and thought of two names. ¡®James¡¯ and ¡®Steven¡¯. Suddenly appearing before him were two young men. They stood on the other side of the desk looking confused. Both men wore suits as nice as Tony¡¯s had been when he first came to the world. They, however, looked nothing like Tony. Both men stood a head taller than him, at 6¡¯3¡± and 6¡¯1¡± respectively. Both built like tanks. James had coal black skin being the slightly shorter one. His nose was broad and his jaw square. His head shaved smooth. He had light brown eyes and though he had a naturally angry look Tony knew the man was quick with a joke. Steven had almost pale skin and while still thick was thinner than James if a hair taller. He had short blond hair and dull blue eyes. He also currently held a shotgun aimed forward with a confused expression on his face, and James had his hand resting on his own gun under his jacket. Tony let an easy smile spread across his face. His eyes hardened at the sight of the two men acting so upset and possibly violent. ¡°Boys,¡± he said softly. They both locked eyes on his face and slowly started to relax. ¡°I¡¯ve decided that the family needs to branch out.¡± He explained quickly. ¡°What?¡± Asked Steven. ¡°Where are we?¡± Added James. ¡°You¡¯re at our new temporary headquarters.¡± He answered James¡¯ question first. Then continued on his spiel. ¡°I¡¯m bringing you two in because you have drive. Drive to big to be used as the hired muscle that the family was currently using you as.¡± He said that as if to both of them but eyes were locked on James. Steven was fine, but he¡¯d never be more than just muscle. James was big and intimidating sure¡­ he was also smart. ¡°Oh?¡± James replied his hand lowering from his gun and reaching over and putting it on the barrel of the shotgun in Steven¡¯s hands and lowered it. ¡°Ok. You¡¯ve got my attention.¡± Behind the two men, the door quickly opened. Steven started to turn but James, having read the situation better held the barrel firmly and stopped the movement. ¡°A friend of yours?¡± James asked smoothly, with just a quick glance over his shoulder after the words. His eyes locked on the beautiful green-skinned and haired girl. ¡°Seems you have a lot of explaining to do Tony.¡± He added as his eyes turned back. This time Tony could see a bit of worry in James¡¯ eyes. ¡°Not to worry.¡± He replied calmly. ¡°Steven how about you go relax in the living room with Jasmine. I¡¯ll go over everything with James here and he can catch you up later.¡± DIsmissed Steven. The man slowly nodded his head and headed out the door past Jasmine. She gave Tony a questioning look but he just waved her off. She looked at him for another moment before slowly closing the door. Tony locked eyes with James who was taking one of the two smaller chairs that sat on the other side of the desk. Tony leaned forward locking his fingers together and resting his elbows on the desk. He could see the potential for murder in James¡¯ eyes and knew that he had better be damned convincing. Tony wasn¡¯t too worried, as long as he didn¡¯t have any distractions he should be able to make his case. The worst case scenario is he had to kill the man. ¡°So let me explain to you what I know, then I¡¯ll let you know your place in it.¡± Tony started the dangerous negotiations. Hiatus? Reached a point where I sort of hit a wall. Not quite sure why but sorry to all who enjoy this story. I am leaving it up and may vary well break through the wall and continue the story at a later date! The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. I do have another project I''ve started on. Not as dark as this one, also LITRPG, diffeerent machanics and not town building centered. Follows a summoner. So if you enjoy this feel free to check it out when it get''s posted which should be soon. If not sorry again for not being able to continue the story at this time. Hope you got some enjoyment out of what I got to.