"Greetings, my name is Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. The one who summoned me into this world, what is it you want me to call you?"
I coughed between my fist and replied, "Greetings, Athena. My name is Cross. But you can call me my lord from now on."
"Understood, my lord."
My lips twitched upward. I could get used to something like this.
I dispersed the thought and got straight to the point.
"Stand up first and tell me if you know anything about this world."
Athena stood to her feet, and I was surprised that she was very tall. Almost the same height as me.
I thought that this world was a game. I was starting to believe that this was like an alternate universe entirely.
"Can you use your powers?" I asked. A God surely has powers.
Athena shook her head. "No. I'm only here for my role as an advisor and nothing else."
". . ." That's terrible news. I really thought that they could help me in a fight, but it seemed that the warning signs weren't lying when it said that they only performed their assigned roles and nothing else.
I used [Evil Eyes] on her to see her ATP.
ǁ A T H E N A ǁ
Description:
The Goddess of wisdom.
● can generate advice within seconds with no restriction of time
● can influence other Advisors' Profession
● all lower grade advisors increase grade to 1
● All advisors' advice time decreased to 50%
ǁ E N D ǁ
Huh?
There's no ATP
What did that mean?
And you mean to say that this powerful being couldn't fight with me. If she did, my life in this world would be so much easier.
Bummer.
Come to think of it. There was no fighter or soldier or guard in the list of professions in the SSS, SS, and S grade Token. It was only available in the A grade and below Tokens.
I sighed and shook my head.
I was so sure this restriction was put there to make our lives miserable.
"Anyway, can you explain to me what you mean about all advisors' advice up a level and all advisors' advice time down 50%?" I asked to Athena.
She wasn't surprised that I knew of her skill at all. Did she know about my skills?
Oh.
No need for [Evil Eyes] then.
"If in the future, my lord wishes to add another advisor that is lower grade than mine, with my influence, that advisor's level of intelligence would increase a level, and its advising time would lessen by fifty percent."
"Advising time?"
"Lower grade advisors are restricted with time. For example, you can only ask them a certain amount of advice in a day, and sometimes, they would take time to ponder upon your question. With my influence, that time will all lessen by fifty percent.
"I . . . I see . . ." This world was starting to get complicated.
"Then, do you know about this world?" I asked Athena, who remained poker face. I was starting to think that she was a robot with a beautiful face.
Athena nodded. "Yes. The information of this world was transferred to me to better aid you, my lord."
If only she could put feelings into her words, and I would be a happy man. Having a poker-faced lady with a monotone voice speaking to me felt like I was talking to an AI.
I really didn't care if she would. I was much more interested if she would be like this forever, unfeeling and cold. Or would she change like human beings with emotions?
That got me interested.
Do they have a relationship level like the inhabitant of this world?
I see . . . so basically, at this point. We're nothing but master and servant. Strangers that were connected through a contract.
I didn't care about our relationship level as long as she fulfilled her role as my advisor.
Rather, I like it that my servants didn't cross the line. Familiarity only breeds trouble, and they often forget who their master was.
I explained to Athena the state of things and the Apocalyptic Event that would happen thirty days from now.
"Then tell me. What should I do first in building a house that would safely secure me and come out unscathed from this Apocalyptic Event, Blood Rain?" I asked Athena.
Athena closed her eyes and didn't speak for a moment.
Was she thinking?
And not even five seconds, she opened her eyes and said in her monotone, mellow voice, "In building a village or a Kingdom, there are three steps that you must secure."
"Oh? What's that?"
"The number one is resources. Number two is safety and security. And number three is satisfaction."
Resources? "You mean gil? Food?"
I frowned. Should I start killing beasts then? But how would I preserve its meat for seven days when the Apocalyptic Event was happening?
I wasn't an idiot nor crazy to go out when that Blood Rain was wreaking havoc outside. I would stay indoors until it passed. And before that time, I should horde all the things that I needed.
Where would I even store it so it wouldn't rot? It was not like there was a refrigerator in this world. There wasn't even electricity to power it.
Athena neither confirmed nor denied what I said. She just pressed on with her explanation, "Resources are indeed important . . . but it only applies to your previous world, Earth. In this world, Nordlands, however, resources takes second priority and what you must do first is to secure your territory against monsters at night.
"Since gil and meat are readily available in the forest, you have nothing to worry about your supply for now. First, you must concentrate on fortifying your land against unwanted visitors."
"Oh!" my face brightened. "So I should use my token to summon a builder and fortify my defenses?"
Athena nodded. "Yes, my lord. I believe that it is the best course of action right now."
"Alright. That's excellent advice, and honestly, my mind was all jumbled about what to do first that I couldn't think straight. Thanks to you, I somehow had a clear picture of what to do."
Athena's face didn't budge even after the complement. "The key to making a good Kingdom building decision is to recognize the key factor limiting the growth of your house at this point.
"AND I believe that the first thing is safety and security since beasts are attracted to your food source once you establish your House and farm. So you should first put walls around your territory, and everything would follow from there."
I nodded.
She did make a lot of sense. The more I listened to her, the more I was glad that I summoned her using the SSS grade Token.
I probably would have built that hut and farm and been raided by beasts every night if it were just me.
So the first order of business was to put up walls first. Was there a blueprint for that?
I see.
I decided to summon a builder next when Athena's following words stopped me.
"My lord, you might think that the problems are the many beasts lurking out there to eat you and your resources. But the real enemy is . . ."
She purposely hung her sentence to keep me on edge, and I swallowed hard when she seriously looked me in the eyes as she opened her soft full lips and uttered one word.
". . . Health."
". . ."
". . . Huh?"