Ben stopped at his Wolfmere store and left his horses outside. He pulled one of his merchants aside and told him to have the spies discontinue their jobs in the royal palace. Ben had achieved his goal of connecting his road with the Ciral Kingdom. There was no reason to leave his spies in the palace where their covers would be eventually discovered to be falsified. He had plans to send them off to the Trareniel Kingdom soon but for now he instructed them to remain at the Wolfmere store and relax until he gave them a new mission.
He left his Wolfmere store after clarifying his instructions and rode to the southern stables to drop the horses off inside the forest fortifications. He checked in with his soldiers to make sure they had everything they needed before he used his Zoom spell to teleport to his Goldcrest store.
He wanted to talk with Baynard and Cordelia and see how things were going with the Goldcrest store. He had been so occupied with everything in the Ciral capital that he had not talked with them in a few weeks now.
From what they reported the food sales at the store continued as normal but the other departments were slowing down in sales. The border closings in Trareniel were beginning to hurt the Aregard economy. Money was getting tight for most people and they had to choose how they spent it wisely.
The same went for his entertainment businesses in the old warehouse district. If they did not get the road through the Wayward Woodlands opened soon things would only continue to get worse.
Ben gathered the money from his businesses after visiting each of them and decided to further improve the roads. He swallowed a couple mana recovery pills and teleported to his Qi chamber in the fortress keep. He laid back comfortably in his recliner chair and opened the Build Menu to make make a few improvements.
Now that his build zone extended into the Aregard Kingdom he no longer had to purchase the land it overlapped even if it belonged to the Aregard Kingdom.
Using the Build Menus concrete road tool Ben replaced the Aregard dirt roads within his build zone with concrete roads. He also linked his road with the Aregard Kingdom road so it was now possible to travel from the Aregard Kingdom into his Avalon Kingdom.
He did not bother to ask the Aregard king if he could replace the dirt roads in his kingdom because it was obvious he would agree. Who wouldn't want to have their kingdom's infrastructure upgraded for free?
While the roads were being built Ben began placing a Water Treatment, Waste Treatment, and a Power Plants in the hidden basements under each of the stone towers along the southern road through the Wayward Woodlands.
[Auto_Notice] The system has advanced a level! System Level 53!
[Auto_Notice] The system has advanced a level! System Level 54!
[Auto_Notice] The system has advanced a level! System Level 55!
[Auto_Notice] The system has advanced a level! System Level 56!
[Auto_Notice] The system has advanced a level! System Level 57!
[Auto_Notice] The system has advanced a level! System Level 58!
There were a total of twenty towers with hidden basements along the southern road. He had originally built these hidden basements to hide the chain of Warehouses that connected to his new Wolfmere capital store's Warehouse but now each of them also had a Water Treatment, Waste Treatment, and a Power Plant in them. By building these sixty new structures he had increased his System Level and extended his Build Zone perimeter.
The best part about building these hidden structures was Ben could further improve his roadway through the forest. The next change was to make a moat on the outside of the wooden walls that protected the forest roadway. The wooden walls were a decent way to keep out the Profound Beast but Ben began to worry about creatures that may be adept at climbing. If one of them were able to climb the wooden wall and get onto the roadway it would kill every merchant or traveler who came near it.
He also altered the wooden walls by attaching a lip that extended out from the wall four feet. This way if a Profound Beast swam across the moat and climbed the wall there would be a section of the wall that extended out and blocked the beast from climbing over the top of the wall.
It was now about halfway through fall and winter was not too far off. The snow would soon cover the roads and make it difficult or at times impossible to move carts along the roads. To solve this problem Ben began using an option under his Infrastructure category called [Street Heating Coils]
[Street Heating Coils]: These coils can be placed under any type of street to melt away snow in the winter time. They work on the same principle as heated floors. When they are connected to the power supply they will continuously heat the roads to a temperature of sixty degrees. [requires: iron, electricity] [consumes: electricity]
These metal coils would heat up any road they were placed under. It did not cost him any gold coins to use this option and would only consume iron which was used to make the coils. If there was a Power Plant within the radius of the Heating Coils it would work to melt away the snow and ice from his roads all winter long.
Ben placed these Heating Coils under the full length of his roads.
The fortress streets, the forest road, and the road traveling east toward Aregard would be completely free of snow during the winter. As long as a Merchant could get their cart to his roads they would be clear of snow on the route to the Aregard Kingdom.
He even decided to place these Heating Coils under the concrete roads inside of the Aregard Kingdom. This worked out well since the Aregard mines were in the western part of their kingdom they could use the snow-free concrete roads to move their ores down to the Ciral Kingdom all winter.
This world did not have light pollution so when you were under the forest trees during the night you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. With the new Power Plants now evenly spaced out all along the southern road it was possible for Ben to place Street Lights along the entire route. This would give any travelers the option to easily travel his forest road during the day or night.
'I think I have improved the forest route as much as possible for now. I can only wait until later to see if anything else should be added to help travelers or to improve the safety. Now that I have all this money from my businesses I can afford to build up the fortress settlement some.'
Ben left the Qi chamber and walked out of the keep. He crossed the street and opened the Build Menu. On the empty lot directly across from the Keep, he began creating a large decorative stone paved plaza. The plaza was lined around the outside with flower gardens and colorful trees.
To section off the plaza, Ben built black patterned wrought iron fences around it and left an entrance to the plaza on each side. Before he finalized the plaza construction Ben added a few stone benches and small fountains to the plaza so people could relax here and enjoy the trees and gardens. When the inside of his fortress was built up this would be a nice place for people to get away from all the tumult out on the streets.
As soon as the garden plaza was built he placed the reward Obelisk he had unlocked when he first began constructing this fortress. Up until now, there were no safe routes for people to find their way to his fortress so he had held off on building this Obelisk.
He was unsure how it worked but this Obelisk sent out an energy signal which could be considered a subconscious draw to travel toward it. Anyone who wished to change their lives for the better could be swayed to travel to this Obelisk. They would feel an urge to pack up their belonging and follow this signal. It must somehow work to fuel their desire to move on in search for something more in their life.
[Obelisk]: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free!" This 60-foot tall white marble obelisk emits an energy that calls out to the poor, homeless, and persecuted who wish for change and a better life. [unlocks after ten built structures]
The marble structure reminded Ben of an Egyptian obelisk until it was activated. When it was finally constructed he heard a humming sound and then the strange magic characters and symbols carved into the face of the obelisk began to pulse with a blue light. It was a mesmerizing sight to watch and Ben could only think it was as expected of a magical world.
'I really appreciate my system and love how this fortress is coming along but I was a little embarrassed when I brought Triston here to see it. Here I am claiming to be the king of a newly established kingdom and I only have one settlement and it has only been partially completed! I have all this open land up here still to build on so I should begin to construct more homes and a new place for myself. If I'm going to claim to be a king I need a place where a king would live and not an empty three-story keep.'
Ben walked over to the area where he had built the other guilds and he began construction of an [Engineers Guild]. The Engineers Guild is a prerequisite structure needed to build a few of the larger buildings in the Build Menu. It also helped improve the structural integrity of everything he built in its radius so it was a nice addition to the settlement.
[Engineers]: Increased structural integrity bonus to all buildings, fortifications, and infrastructures. Engineers will also improve the functioning and accuracy of any war machines they are attached to. Level five Engineers can be used in the Advanced Technology Research Facility to help create or reverse engineer new technologies.
[Needed to build more advanced structures]
Ben placed down the Engineers Guild and it only took a few minutes for it to be constructed. He went through his Build Menu and found some of the larger constructions which were grayed out earlier now available to be built. The only problem was these larger more impressive builds also had a larger more impressive price tag attached to them!
'Hmm, let's see here, it looks like the Engineers Guild unlocked a good portion of the ancient classed builds but I still need to build an Advanced Technology Research Facility to have access to the large modern class builds like large towers and skyscrapers. It costs 20k gold coins to build the Advanced Technology Research Facility so it will have to wait for now. I'm going to hold off on building that and see what is available to build without it.'
Ben looked at his overhead map of the fortress and decided he would build an impressive place for himself in the undeveloped southern end of the fortress. There was a large amount of open land there that would allow him to build whatever he wanted.
"What do we have here this building sounds insane!" Ben exclaimed as he was looking through the Housing Category.
'This place will take up a large portion of land but it is time to show off what this Build Menu can do!'
Ben began construction of a [Renaissance Castle] that had an impressive description. If everyone thought the Small Palace in Goldcrest was Impressive this Renaissance Castle would make it look like a guest house by comparison!
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[Renaissance Castle]:
A home suitable for any king. This castle is straight out of a fairytale! It is well fortified and looks like a work of art. Be careful this castle has so many rooms and levels it is easy to get lost while walking around inside of it!
[Features]: Complete with forced air heating, central air conditioning, double pane glass windows, state of the art security systems, royalty class furnishings and decor.
[Throne Hall]: A beautifully decorated throne hall. Master crafted design wall panels, Marble Floors, plush carpets, elegant light bulb chandeliers, scenic wall tapestries.
[Library]: Exquisite built-in dark stained bookcases, rows of sectional bookcases, a reading section complete with tables, desks, and chairs.
[Grotto]: A relaxing picturesque cave with hot springs pools. Glowing crystal formation illuminates the underground pools and gardens.
[Basement]: The basement is divided into four sections. Gotto, Wine Cellar, Prison, Storage.
[Entertainment Room]: Pool tables, Foosball tables, tabletop bowling, stand up arcade machines.
[Royal Penthouse]: security elevator, Master bedroom, ten large bedrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, study, four separate bathrooms, large balcony.
[200 Living Chambers]: Two large bedrooms, Living Room, Kitchen/Dining, two bathrooms
[80 Servants Suites]: Huge custom canopy bed, living room, modern bathroom, walk-in closet, luxurious drapes and rugs, elegant furnishing.
[6 Huge Staterooms]: Two large grand rooms which are used for formal occasions.
[Great Hall]: A luxurious dining and entertainment hall. The king's dining table is located on a dais overlooking five long dining tables. Five hundred people can be seated at one time.
[Servants Dining Room]: A sophisticated wood interior with ornate crystal chandeliers. A hand-carved style dining table with plush upholstered chairs that seats fifty people.
[Huge Modern Kitchen]: 2 Walk-in freezers, 2 walk-in refrigerator cooler, six electric grills, twenty electric stove top burners, ten large electric ovens, ten brick ovens, 2 smoke rooms, 6 indoor cooking fire pits with over-head exhaust, 2 commercial conveyor dishwashers, trash incinerator,
[30 Separate Modern Bathrooms]: flushing toilets, hot/cold running sinks, full wall mirror, large air jetted tub, massage shower, sauna.
[30 Large Offices]: elegant hand-carved style desk, ornate wood file cabinets, woven area rugs, luxurious leather upholstered chairs, decoratively carved wood bookcase.
[Laundry Facility]: Commercial washer machines, commercial dryer machines, commercial ironing machines.
Modern Security Room: A secure steel door and steel lined walls will keep your security guards safe from attackers while they deploy security measures to apprehend any trespassers. [Locked until: built waste management-power plant-masons guild-engineers guild-water treatment] [requires: wood-stone-steel-glass-marble] [costs: 15000g]
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It would take ten hours for it to be built so Ben picked out a place to begin construction and walked back to the northern section of the fortress. The Renaissance Castle used a large portion of his current funds but he had enough to build a few neighborhoods.
If the Obelisk began to draw people to his fortress they were going to need a place to live. Ben made a couple neighborhoods of Small Houses on the streets next to where his current subjects who were once slaves live.
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[Small House]:
[2 bedrooms]: double beds, nightstands, lamps, closets
[Kitchen]: trash disposal unit, electric stove-top oven, hot/cold running sink, electric fridge, cabinets
[Bathroom]: flushing toilet, hot/cold running sink, bathtub, shower, mirror, towel closet
[Living Room]: sofa, coffee table, end tables, reading chair
[Dining Room]: dining table, four chairs, dining hutch
[Laundry Room]: electric washer machine, electric dryer, linen closet
[A small charming home that provides baseboard electric heating in every room]
[Locked until: built waste management- water treatment- power plant- glass maker- trash incinerator] [requires wood-stone-glass] [costs: 50g]
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The next neighborhood he built consisted of [Large Houses]. Ben decided he would use his houses as a reward system. Higher ranked people would be given better housing. This would inspire his people to work hard to secure a better role for themselves.
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[Large House]:
[ 4 Bedrooms]: queen size bed, large walk-in closets, nightstands, dressers, area rugs, vanity.
[Large Kitchen]: trash disposal unit, two electric stove-top ovens, hot/cold running sink, electric fridge, electric freezer, electric dishwasher, cabinets
[Large Dining Room]: dining hutch, dining table, twelve chairs, area rug
[Large Living Room]: sofa, two reading chairs, coffee table, two end tables, fireplace
[Two Large Bathrooms]: flushing toilet, hot/cold running sink, bathtub, shower, mirror, towel closet
[Laundry Room]: electric washer machine, electric dryer, linen closet, hot/cold running sink.
[Basement]: concrete walls, concrete floor, eight-foot ceiling
Welcome to the suburbs! This home has plenty of room for an expanding family. Complete with electric baseboard heating and central air conditioning.
[Locked until: built waste management-power plant-water treatment-glass maker- trash incinerator] [requires: wood-stone-glass] [costs: 100g]
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Ben built a neighborhood of fifty new Large Houses and went back to the keep to cultivate in the Qi chamber until the morning. When he left the Qi chamber he went upstairs and woke up Mythia after he had placed all of her clothes, armor, and belongings into his inventory.
He left an outfit out for her and had her get dressed while he waited outside for her. Ben was looking at the mysterious obelisk from across the street when she came outside and greeted him.
She was curious why her bedroom was empty and all of her beautiful clothes were gone. "What happened to my room when I was sleeping the clothes and stuff you gave me are gone now. Did I do something bad?"
Ben laughed at how cute she sounded. "I know you loved your new bedroom and thought it looked like a place a princess would live but we are going to move into a new place where an actual princess should live. I already packed up your stuff and you don't have to go to the gym or school. I want you to just have fun exploring your new home today."
Ben pointed to the south and about a quarter mile from where they stood was a huge white structure with fairytale blue tile-roofed spire towers. The first thing Ben thought of when he saw it was the huge version of the Cinderella Castle in the magic kingdom he had once seen online.
Even at this distance, it was an impressive sight and Mythia looked like she was about to bolt off toward it in sheer excitement. Before she could run off Ben had her climb up on his back and they sped down the street with Whirlwind Maneuver.
The description of this castle wasn't kidding when it said you could get lost. They walked around the interior for hours and continued to see new undiscovered rooms at every turn.
Mythia asked where her new room would be so Ben walked with her to a secure elevator that used fingerprint recognition to operate. Before they used the elevator Ben registered his and Mythia's fingerprints in the Elevator System.
Ben taught Mythia how to use the elevator as they climbed to the top Penthouse. When they stepped out of the elevator Ben found the Penthouse still had a castle architecture and decor but there were plenty of large picture windows on the outside walls.
They had a great view in every direction and from the living room, you could look down at the fortress settlement below. As they walked around the Penthouse Ben found it had a renaissance interior design like the rest of the castle. If he did not know where he was he would guess this was a restored European palace back on Earth.
Ben really didn't need a bedroom so he decided he would give the huge master bedroom to Mythia. The closet was so large it could be considered still empty after they put all of her clothes and shoes in it.
He asked Mythia if she wanted to change the room but she seemed to like the gold painted wood trim and the blue and gold patterned wallpaper so Ben left the room as it was. She especially liked the huge bed which was the big enough to sleep ten adults comfortably.
Ben arranged her armor on the stand next to her bed and arranged her book collection on the built-in bookcase near the desk.
Now that the new castle was not as centrally located as the keep Ben brought out one of the three-wheeled bikes from his inventory. Mythia could put her gym bag in the basket and ride the bike to the Gym and to school from the castle. She had been using the exercise bikes in the Gym on a daily basis so riding the three-wheeled bike was easy for her.
The two of them went in search of the Entertainment Room after they were done checking out the bicycle. Ben had seen on the description there were a few modern stand up arcade machines in there and he wanted to show them to Mythia.
Once they found the Entertainment Room Ben got a kick out finding the arcade machines all had a fantasy theme to them. Against the back wall, he found Gauntlet, Joust, Dungeons & Dragons, Dragon's Lair, and Final Fantasy.
Of course, Mythia was mesmerized by the colorful games with their moving characters and backgrounds. This is why he brought her here Ben figured when he was out running around the different kingdoms these games would give her some enjoyment.
He always felt bad that the keep didn't have anything to occupy her free time but this huge castle would be an adventure for her just walking around it. They had spent half the day walking through the castle and there was still so much to see. There are even two hundred living chambers which are basically two bedroom apartments that made his old apartment look like a shoebox.
Ben was curious to see the Grotto so he asked Athena to give him directions to the castle basement. At the bottom of the stairs was a long wide hallway and the first door on his left opened into the Grotto.
It looked exactly like a real natural underground cavern as they walked through it they saw glowing crystal formations on the walls and ceiling that illuminated the cavern in a soft yellow glow. On the cavern floor along the walls were colorful plants and mushrooms that had evolved to grow inside of caves. In the center of the cavern was a natural looking pool with steam hanging above the surface of the water. It was one large hot springs and the best part was there wasn't a sulfur smell to the cavern or the water.
It was beginning to get late in the day so Ben went upstairs with Mythia and let her ride off to play with her new bike. He used his map to locate his Chancellor Rayner who was at the Intermediate Education For All School. He had listened to Ben's instructions and had been sending the people who graduated from the Basic Education For All School to the first grader lessons here.
Ben walked him over to the new Large houses neighborhood and told him to pick one he liked and to move out of his Small House. Rayner had been his right-hand man when dealing with the people in the settlement since he first arrived and he should be given a better home for it.
Ben had not told him but once Rayner was close to graduating his high school lessons, Ben was going to build an Aristocratic Academy and have Rayner attend it. He wanted Rayner to be his first noble in the kingdom.
Rayner was blown away by the modernized large house he was given. It looked just like a decent sized suburban home from Earth. It was much different inside and out compared to the rustic cottage style Small Houses everyone lived in. Ben congratulated and praised him for his hard work and left him to check out his new home.
As Ben was walking away he stopped and turned back toward Rayner.
"Rayner I want you to keep an eye out for new people who may show up wanting to live here. Our roads will be soon connected to two separate kingdoms and people of the continent will soon learn of our new kingdom. If anyone comes claiming they are searching for a better life than they've had I want you to find a Small House for them. I just built a new neighborhood on the street west of your old house. Also, I am sure you have spent time with the people living here and know their qualifications. Do me a favor and begin to make a mental note of any people who can help us to run our new kingdom." Ben explained hoping to find other responsible people who could help him.
"I understand my lord! I already have a few people in mind but allow me to speak with them first to judge their commitment to our kingdom. If you are expecting people to begin moving here we will need some of our people to step up to teach them how to use the system menus. This fortress settlement is a magical place and it will need to be properly managed by competent people." Rayner smiled and saluted Ben.
As Ben returned his salute and walked away he heard Rayner whisper.
"Thank you for providing such a fair and carefree place for us in this harsh and unforgiving world, my lord."
Ben knew Rayner was talking to himself and pretended not to hear him as he walked away with a smile. He decided to make arrangements to have the stable hands take a handful of the experienced knights to the wolfmere store to live on the third floor and to bring the spies back with them to the fortress.
Once the generals were informed of him sending some men to the wolfmere store he went into the keep to use the Qi chamber.
Just before sunrise, Ben returned to his store in Wolfmere. While waiting for news pertaining to the Aregard ore contract, he expanded the third floor to accommodate the soldiers who would live at and guard the store.
Ben wasn't sure when he would receive word from the Wolfmere palace on their decision. He decided he would keep himself busy around the store until someone showed up to give him the news.