Day 24
I sipped some whiskey I bought online and looked over my farm. Two days of my full concentration was only the start. My fields were plowed, my orchard of attribute fruit was aligned, and the makings of a town were coming along. The limestone quarry was more than large enough to make use of some of the stone for myself. A few hundred tons were cut into 5yrd blocks and stacked for later use. In two days, the rank 2 egg shortage hadn't settled down, and my bank account looked quite fat. My girls had a few problems at first, but nothing time couldn't fix. I only had two meetings to deal with, one to assign responsibilities and the other to deal with my guests, and I would be free to play with Gwen.
There was a Meeting Hall for our meeting, a squat stone building with a newly installed HVAC near the pond, completely out of place and in need of my full attention to move it. Most of my farm was a mix of haphazardly placed buildings, borrows, and shanty houses. Isobel handled most of the organization. Thankfully, she was already respected enough to take over building administration duties. At least until I had the time to travel to Bavilim and find a proper architect, town manager, and many others, I had a list.
I'm sure I will have time to talk about it in my next meeting. Meng Bao was still organizing the gators, who were surprisingly little trouble thanks to Isobel being a complete boss. My rabbit had taken to wearing little black hats with holes in her ears it was completely adorable.
She floated beside me, completely ignoring the pull of gravity as she let me stare at my farm and have myself think.
I glanced at her, and she turned away, unwilling to make the first move. Not because she was shy but because she wanted to train me to be her dominant partner. Isobel had a type.
"Advise me," I ordered.
"You're learning. Accept no advice thrust upon you, only what you ask for; otherwise, it will make you look like a follower instead of the badass who jumps off a crumbling castle to take the win."
I sighed but smiled because she meant well, and Isobel was completely sweet.
"I meant for you to give me advice about my trip to Bavilim in the fall," I said.
"Don't go. Put out ads, join the qualifier next year, and see to your lands. You are our lord, and this territory is yours for the taking." Isobel said.
I couldn't hide the thrill that shot through me at her words. Maybe I deserved a break. There were plenty of girls and who needed the League anyway? Given time I could make my own system built for me.
Reality didn't care about my pride. A tamer who did moderately well could apply for mayor of any town I created and would be voted in automatically. They would win thanks to a lack of qualified opponents.
"You lack information."
"Regardless, my advice isn't changing. There are rumors, and I felt something two nights ago that added to their credibility." Isobel said.
"I'm up to date on the local news on tamers online," I said.
Vampires are dangerous. Tamers can't control them and they can control weaker monsters. Add their skills like hypnotism and turn, and it's a recipe for disaster. We still have a problem. I can't even train to deal with them until I max out my farmer class. It appears I am more like the monsters on the first-floor dungeon than I thought.
I found out when I left the dungeon that my attributes can't increase beyond 499 physical and mental attributes total. The only way forward was to max out my class in a single go if I wanted the attributes that came with it. When I managed that, I would get to choose new classes depending on how my attributes appeared.
Status
Atom Walker lvl50
Class: Farmer +3 END +2 VIT per LEVEL
Attributes
Physical:
Vitality 121
Constitution 80
Endurance 160
Strength 50
Dexterity 38
Agility 50
Mental:
Perception 50
Willpower 100
Focus 59
Intelligence 100
Wisdom 140
Charisma 50
Skills
Rank 5
Cosmic Slayer (L) lvl3
Rank: 4
Green Lord (O) lvl2
Black Umbilical (O) lvl3
Rank: 3
Sky Fiend Apotheosis (O) lvl9, Reputation World (O) lvl4
Rank: 2
Rank: 1
Skill Fusion lvl50, Skill Sight lvl50
I fused mapping with Reputation Applied to create the obscure Reputation World. My reason was incredibly simple higher ranked skills gave more skills points.
Skill Points: 723
The only flaw, if it could be called that, was higher rank skills took far longer to level than lower rank skills. Having higher rank skills than my attributes didn't seem to strain me like having multiple skills. I was also looking forward to purchasing more skills trees after I maxed out my farmer class. A new class would also offer new buying privileges.
After looking at my status I couldn't help the feeling of pride I felt. Sure, I wasn't quite at rank 3, but I could hit like one, thanks to my skills. With a few hundred thousand Westons more I was certain to max my class out.
We made our way into the Meeting Hall and sat around a table while a battle chicken quickly brought out drinks. Fu, Gwen, Isobel. Veronica, Big Don, and I waited for our drinks to be placed before the meeting began.
"I suppose the first order of business is the need for housing and plumbing. Many hens have complained about stepping through feces and corn husks making poor nesting material. We wish to start building an apartment complex with weatherproof piping. I have also received serval requests that we begin expanding our numbers instead of selling valuable eggs. Hens can only lay so many during their lifetime." Big Don said.
That sounded like an interesting project. I wouldn't mind trying out my telekinesis to see if I could put it together without touching a single bolt. Big Don sent me a blueprint. Most of what we needed we already had on hand, the piping would be a few hundred Westons in all, barely an inconvenience. I gave him a budget of 20,000W and signed the request.
"Hopefully, we'll have it up, and my people moved in before Summer," I said.
The entire table looked at me strangely.
"With Lady Isobel's help, the project should only take a few days. How many should we build and, more importantly, where?" Big Don said.
"Good questions I have set aside some land for housing in the hills since the land is unfit for farming. Water will, of course, be piped over." Isobel said.
I tossed the Empress's baseball in my hand while contemplating the water pressure problem. We should probably build a water tower. We can connect a single pump to the water treatment plant, and the water tower will use gravity to handle the rest. A power grid was out next step in turning my farm into a town.
"I believe further discussion can be between the two of you. What are we going to say to the Graves family about their scion's death?" Fu asked.
Gwen turned away, unwilling to meet my gaze it had been too long.
"That can wait. He wasn't supposed to return for another week. I can claim he never arrived and have changed my mind about selling the dungeon. Few can say differently. Let's talk about cows." I said.
"Any we buy, you'll have to leave, and the nearest farm is in the Bavilim outskirts. There is talk of a travel ban with how bad the problems are getting. Can you really handle a rank 3 monster as powerful as a vampire?" Fu asked.
I scratched the back of my head. The thought of taking on such a powerful monster was exciting. Before that, I had preparations to make.
"Big Don, you spotted the horse herd on the satellite camera near Mt. Red," I said.
The Aurora Mountain range was filled with all types of monsters. Mt. Red was said to be the territory of a powerful psychic, one strong enough to jump ranks and ignore typing. It was at least rank 5 or a mid-rank 6. Seeing it would be incredible.
"Were you asking a question or confirming a fact?" I flicked the monster with telekinesis. "Good to know you haven't gone soft." Big Don said.
I rolled my eyes and focused back on the present. "How many of your boys can ride a horse? We should capture some of the horses from the herd, break them, and buy up all the cows we can before spring's end. I smell a deal." I said.
"With the ban on travel and decrease in the living population, we should be able to buy the cows on the cheap in about 14 days. It's hard to take care of a herd when there are so many predators lurking around. Most farmers are going to weigh the odds, sell their herds, and move to the city until this blows over. They'll be practically giving away the cows they don't slaughter for the meat.
"What about the transfer device? Don't they have one?" Fu asked.
I snorted. "No, the average farmer doesn't have a transfer device." My advisors looked at me strangely. "Let me add some context. Say you're a farmer and you couldn't survive going into monster-infested land. In that case, everything becomes far more expensive. Safety has a price tag. That means you can't afford such a luxury on top of your land, seeds, farming equipment, and protection fee. It's more cost effective to take harvests to the nearest town to sell. Out here, land is the cheapest in all of Weston, which made buying a transfer device cost-effective. No one can protect me so no fee." I said.
"You're insane, master," Fu said.
"Not anymore, but I'm too powerful to tell the difference," I said.
Nana groaned, leaving me with all smiles.
…
Day 30
Spring 51, 11M 495Y
Rasputin Territory
Walker Farm
Leatherworkers, my transfer machine, and blueprints meant we had saddles, silk rope, halters, and reins. Our corral for the horses looked like a dream come true, and someone found an iron ore vein two days ago, making me a very happy farmer. Money wasn't really an issue but I didn't have enough sales to max out my farmer class. Corn, while plentiful, wouldn't continue producing during Fall and Winter, so we decided to store it immediately. Once dried, it was added to a newly built silo for storage. Various oats, grains, and berries were planted for later storage to feed the farm through the winter. An outbreak of smoked meat enthusiasts had swept through the farm with recipes completely unfit for human tastes. Gators had a thing for intestine flavoring that I stayed far away from.
The egg demand crashed below normal market prices, and it wasn't because of us. A new hatchery opened somewhere in Southern Weston. There was nothing like massive supplies to shatter demand.
2,890,233W
The number put a smile on my face every time I looked at it. I wouldn't call it rich, but I felt like I made out like a bandit. The silk trade had become a part of the farm's income from the spoils that Fu declined to make clothing from. She had become a prima donna when it came to what silk she would use. The giant spiders were restricted to a strict diet of only certain types of insects and giant birds to keep up the quality of their production.
I sat in my tent in my favorite chair while Gwen ran around on a sugar beat high. She had increased her attributes by leaps and bounds thanks to the diet provided by my farm. Monster corn, beats, and radishes made excellent opponents for her since they rarely had any way to defend themselves. Once she reached her second rank I would feel safe about letting her come with me on the raid tonight. Gwen decided that her body would digest her foes faster if she ran to speed the process up.
"What form am I getting again? It isn't something lewd, right."
"Where did you hear that word from?" I asked.
Gwen turned away from me. "I don't understand why you can't ride me instead of some dumb horse. I'm stronger, faster, and smarter than them. I have a strong back, too I've practiced with your sandbags." Gwen said.
"Try not to hurt yourself. I'm guessing Fu helped tie them on." I said.
"Don't be mad at her. She can't resist my sad doe eyes." Gwen said.
I smiled. It was almost like Tony had never happened. Her nightmares at night said otherwise. I sipped from the bottle of whiskey on my nightstand. A full bottle wouldn't give me a buzz with my attributes. The image of drinking my worries away helped more than actually drinking my worries away.
The whisky didn't burn my throat, but I practiced my grimace.
"You're making funny faces, and you haven't answered my question. What do you think I'll become when I rank up?" Gwen asked.
My thoughts went to the rain deer form Tony had wanted to force onto Gwen. It was a poor choice. Tony didn't have the resources to make Gwen a water-type powerhouse. I could it wouldn't be hard to load her up with a dozen water skills. She wouldn't enjoy that. Gwen was a psychic who liked to freeze things in place when she fought and fling objects at them.
We had a little spar and her first step was always to make me stumble before falling back at throwing rocks. It was adorable.
It was even more fun watching her dodge waves of force, dust devils, and random pressure bubbles. Time away from the dungeon had helped me start using my skills for more than destruction. Flight alluded me with telekinesis alone, but I could hover with little effort. The apartment I built only needed to be fixed half of every step of the way by Isobel.
She let me take the lead on half of them, and when she finished, she guided me through correcting my mistakes.
We had 10 of the seven-story apartments with plumbing, water, and electricity. Access to the Weston web was a work in progress. My tablet's satellite link wouldn't work in a vast area.
"I chose Sage Deer because it had many branching options for rank 3. Nature and spiritual skills should help your delicate psychic work. Better detection can't be a bad thing. There was a reason why most Sage Deer survived to rank 3 more often than not.
"What about Lunar Deer and the 3rd rank form Cosmo Deer? That last one would give me tentacles so I can grab things."
"4th rank form would see you turned from a deer into a Cosmos Leech," I said.
Her ears fell, and I sucked in a breath. "You know, with Sage Deer, you could become a Sage Satyr at rank 3.
"Aren't those more goats than deer?" Gwen asked.
I checked my watch, and I heard Gwen give a mental groan. Mana from the ground, air, and water pooled in her direction. A green light filled with purple fractals gathered around her as I watched Gwen raise her rank.
Sage Satyr was better than Sage D Taur. Taur monsters were known as a randy bunch and were hard to train without some unorthodox tactics.
Her body became larger, pink fur mixed with white with green highlights, and there was a feeling of oneness radiating from her. Even her hooves had turned from black to white. Gwen looked more like a yearling but would grow even larger.