Grendal smiled and sat further in his chair, scanning over the list of facilities on the screen before him—the list had no poor options.
But what would he choose? There were only three options: a metal mine, one flowrium pump, and a research building.
He sighed and glanced over his shoulder.
Towards the back wall of the bunker, a vat had ascended from the floor—it was growing one of the five husk workers he had requested.
My biggest priority should be ensuring this base is safe.
Turning back to the screen, he brought his attention from the facility's tab and over to the defence.
Grendal propped his elbows on the armrests and interlocked his fingers as a new list of buildings appeared on the screen. "Oh, snap. I hadn't thought about walls," he said, glancing at the walls of the pillbox.
They were bare and thick—perfect for keeping things like the wolves out. Grendal smiled at the screen, then pointed to the wall icon.
"System, I'd like to build some walls. Bring up the cost and the area I can cover."
///: level 1 Stone Wall | Cost 10 flowrium.
"USER: ID 2244. What pattern should be used for the perimeter wall?"
"Hexagon." Hexagon was the best agon—everyone knew that.
He needed the base to be easily expandable, and Hexagons would allow him to make easily sectioned areas.
"USER: ID 2244 to form a hexagon around the base with a 50≈meters radius will cost 180 flowrium."
"I don't have enough to make that," he said, looking at a long rectangular screen floating above the rest, detailing his resources.
I only have a 100 flowrium left, and I don't want to waste them.
His best bet would be to get a static defence and set up a flowrium and a metal mine. The last thing he needed was to run out of resources—then the pill box would become nothing more than a giant paperweight.
The sound of bubbling came from behind him, followed by the low hiss of a machine.
Grendal propped himself up, then turned to see what was going on and smiled. From the vat, a white metallic hand clinked as it grasped the side of the vat and pulled itself out. The Husk worker had finished gestating—already.
"CI, how long did it take to gestate?" he asked, scrutinising the Husk's form.
"USER: ID 2244. The Plain husk worker took thirty minutes to gestate."
"Not too bad."
The Husk stepped away from the vat, and the glass slid back down, beginning the second gestation.
"Hey Husk, come stand over here," Grendal said, dropping onto the seat. "System, what can it do?"
"USER: ID 2244. The Plain Husk Worker is a basic Teir 0 unit, and can do all the basic tasks to a minimal level."
"Such as."
"USER: ID 2244. The worker can take building seeds and place them in the designated area for harmonisation."
"Harmonisation?"
"USER: ID 2244. Harmonisation is the channelling of Mana into a Mana seed or other device. Triggering growth or ignition."
Grendal rolled his shoulders as the Husk stopped before him—it had avoided stepping on his stage, instead walking around it.
I guess this is a no-go for the units.
Grendal looked from Husk to the CI orb resting in the armrest socket. "How do I get the seed for it to go do the harmonising thing you mentioned?"
"USER: ID 2244. Selecting a building to grow results in the production of seeds, which the Husk can then take to the designated area on the map to be harmonised."
"Okay," Grendal said, looking over the buildings in the defence tab until he landed on the spear thrower towers. "I want to get a seed for one of these."
///: level 1 Spear Throwers Tower | Cost: 30 metal 10 flowrium.
"USER: ID 2244. The system has consumed the required resources. Please collect the seed from the podium."
"What podium?" Grendal asked, searching the room, but stopped as a podium rose from the front of the stage. "I see."
Grendal used the armrest to push himself off the seat and walked over to the podium—stopping short to admire the fist-sized seed resting on the red cushion. Its white surface seemed to glow in the dim bunker light, radiating a loose, hazy white aura.
"What do I do now?" Grendal asked, turning back to his chair. "Should I just give it to the Husk?"
"USER: ID 2244. Yes, you may give it to the Husk but you must first choose where it is to be placed."
Hector turned as a larger screen appeared at the end of the stage. On it was the general area around the bunker—with the bunker itself in the middle.
"It needs to have good coverage of the area," he said, stepping closer to the map. "Next to the bunker should do for now. Here," he said, pointing to a spot on the map a few feet from a tree.
He frowned. The trees were a problem that needed to go. They would block most of the tower's line of sight and get in the way of his base expansion.
I guess we have the worker's first job.
The Husk stood at the bottom of the stage—a few feet from Grendal, Its arms swaying subtly.
"Husk. I think I'll call you Husky. Yeah, Husky," Grendal said, smirking. His naming skills were still in top form. "Husky, go outside and cut down the trees closest to the bunker."
Grendal then glanced around the bunker. There was nothing like an axe it could use. "CI is—"
The words Grendal was about to say got lost as the gold pattern wrapped around Husky's arms flowed down its hands and formed claws at the end of its fingers.
"I guess I don't need to worry about you lacking tools." He said as Husky turned and walked towards the heavy bunker door, pausing as it opened. "Now, I just need to wait. I guess I can check the chat log while he works."
———————————————————
User: ID 8464. ["I'm working forming a group and I need people who are willing to listen and pull their weight."]
User: ID 2527. ["@ID 8464, why should anyone listen to you? It hasn't even been a day yet—who knows if you'll be here tomorrow."]
User: ID 8464. ["Is that a threat? If you think you can do something, come and do it. I've just reached level 3—I'm itching to go at it."]
Grendal sighed, closing the chat log. He'd been scrolling through it for the last few hours, and the idiot 8464 hadn't stopped.
He would act like a fool, goading people and claiming he knew what was best—killing a goblin didn't mean he was right. But it did mean he was strong.
My level hasn't even made it to one yet.
"Open, Stats," Grendal said.
In front of him, towards the edge of the stage, a screen opened up detailing his stats.
///:
— Grendal — lvl: 0 — Hp: 0/5 —
—Body: 0—
—Mind: 2—
—Spirit: 1—
——Skills 0/4——
None
"Mind two, huh? Does this mean I'm smart?" Grendal said, settling further into his seat. "The rest of it tracks."
Grendal sighed, flexed his muscles, then frowned—they weren't massive. But that didn't matter. He didn't plan on getting up close to anything that could kill him, anyway.
And besides, strength wasn't everything, nor was it set in stone. Grendal would grow—not only in terms of levels but in other aspects, too.
He glanced at the Orb CI sitting in the armrest socket. It had told him he needed to defeat beasts or monsters and harmonise with their cores. But how would he fight them?
He could send the Husks after them, but it would be a waste of resources if his loyal workers died.
"CI, bring up the map," he said, then stood up from the chair and walked over to the podium. To Grendal's side, at the edge of the stage, a screen opened up—showing the area around the bunker.
On the screen, the group of five Husks he'd requested were moving the cut-down trees away from the immediate area of the base and placing them into a haphazard pile—you couldn't stack intact trees after all; they needed processing.
I should be able to place the tower now. Then, I can get the mines up and running.
Getting defences up was a priority, but he needed resources as well. He picked up the seed from the podium, then walked towards the edge of the stage facing the bunker door.
"Husky, come collect the tower seed," he said, focusing on the map. "I want you to place it here."
He pressed a finger on the screen, causing a small ping on the map.
Grendal then waited for a few moments. Eventually, the door slid open, revealing Husky. The worker's white metallic form glimmered as the afternoon sun hit its back, and its blank face was the picture of stoicism.
"Finally," Grendal said, reaching down the stage and through the screen, handing the orb to Husky as he approached. "Don't drop it. Go plant it with the help of two other husks—while you do that, the other two will keep watch."
Husky held the seed to his chest, then paused briefly before turning around and walking out of the bunker with it.
"Good chat," Grendal said before turning around and heading back to his seat. "It's time I reached out to people. With the tower up, I could provide some safety."
Grendel slumped into the chair and smiled at the CI, "For a price, of course."