The moment of the second disaster was approaching, and we had done everything in our power to be prepared.
Weapons were acquired, and every able-bodied man underwent a short but intense training course in their use, taught by those with prior experience. At that moment, I realized how decadent my people's combat capabilities were. As I mentioned before, we only had four combat classes because they were the only ones available among my people; most were dedicated to civil work. I had to find a way to change this, or in the long run, we wouldn't have any way to defend ourselves.
Since we had more non-combatants, I decided to use that workforce to continue the construction efforts. Men or women, if they couldn't be employed in more suitable work, were assigned to the construction sites. My goal was not just to build more houses to accommodate the entire population still living in tents, but also to erect other essential buildings.
Buildings, like people, have specific functions and levels that influence their usefulness. For example, the corral allows for better domestication and management of animals, while the barracks accelerates the progress of the military classes training under its jurisdiction.
A small group of builders worked alongside the farmers to expand the farms and construct the corral to house the animals we owned. With such a large population, solving the food supply issue became a priority.
On the other hand, the lumberjacks continued working towards the river, clearing the area. The stockade of stakes surrounding our village was made from nearby trees, which had left us with a wide and clear field of view. Would this harm us in some way? I wasn't sure, but at least we would be able to detect dangers like wolves or even necrarios, such as those we faced last time, much earlier.
As for more complex constructions, I decided that the most urgent need was a government center, a town hall. Our population was growing rapidly, and organizing it would be essential. Although I initially thought about building the master's mansion, after investigating it, I realized it wouldn't be practical in our situation.
The lord's mansion is essentially a luxurious residence meant solely for rulers. If we managed to build it before my class evolved, it would become a relatively useless building, as I, its only user, wouldn't be able to use all of its functions without delaying my progress as a beggar. While it would be nice to have a proper home with amenities like a drainage system—archaic but functional—not everything it offered was strictly necessary. For instance, the small dungeon/basement wasn't in my plans for use, since I intended to build a prison for that purpose. Additionally, the mansion undergoes constant upgrades, depending on my level/status, which would imply continuous expenses that would only improve my quality of life but not the overall situation of the village.
Although the required materials weren't exactly the same, many of those intended for the mansion could be reused for the town hall. With some additional gathering and buying what was missing, we could make it work. We decided to place the town hall where we considered the center of the village to be, taking some liberties with the design. By studying the plans of the "???" civilization, we identified construction patterns we could adapt to add functional details to our neutral buildings, especially the defensive features. While this would be much less effective without architects or specialized classes, at least we could incorporate basic security measures.
The construction of the town hall would take time, but eventually, it would be ready. With it, a more stable system of government would be established. Until then, I could only give direct orders or assign intermediate leaders who acted as links between the people and me. I already felt the weight of this responsibility and its low efficiency; I feared imagining how difficult it would have been to manage all of this without my ability to earn their loyalty through my skills.
...
Sitting on one of the logs scattered around the camp, which served as makeshift chairs, I reflected on how I could improve this place, make it more efficient, and tackle the current problems, in addition to the looming disaster.
My population continued to grow thanks to the raiding we kept doing until the day of the disaster. My skills, with their expanded limits, had allowed me to make the most of this situation. However, as I mentioned before, food and water were increasingly urgent issues. Luckily, the money earned as a reward helped me keep everyone fed, although only temporarily.
The scarcity of resources prolonged the duration of each raid. With the fauna and flora recovering, it was now easier to find certain foods or natural resources. So, every time we raided, if we didn't detect nearby dangers, we explored the surroundings of the camp in search of something useful to take and alleviate our situation.
I must say that the 'restoration' of the world brought other changes. At first, they were subtle, almost imperceptible, but over time they became more evident.
Many of the camps we visited were destroyed, razed, or completely empty, especially those belonging to [Generic] civilizations. It was logical to think that the natives of the area knew how to handle the dangers of this land better, but it was still disheartening. When we found corpses, there were only incomprehensible remains: some desiccated, others with holes in their stomachs, and sometimes, the camps were filled with skeletons mixed with fresh bodies. Even in settlements with survivors, exploring the surroundings often led to finding decaying corpses, strange tracks, and signs of things we had never witnessed before.
Something that surprised, intrigued, and terrified me equally was noticing that my people seemed to become more aware of the horrors of this place. The first time we faced a necrario, no one knew what it was. Now, more people seemed to recognize it, even those who hadn't been present that day. Some began to remember vague things, as if they had known these threats in the past, but had forgotten them for some strange reason.
To make matters worse, I started hearing increasingly disturbing accounts. They weren't necessarily direct experiences, but rather rumors or strange memories that seemed like dreams. They spoke of ghosts, demons, giant spiders, killer trees, apple-sized insects that devoured flesh in seconds without leaving time to scream. Stories of wounded animals that, upon approach, revealed legs and tentacles hidden under their skin, showing that they were just something more terrifying using the skin of another animal as bait for their next prey. These horror tales came from all directions, and although under normal circumstances, I might have dismissed them as superstitions or mythology from the ignorant people of this time, here I knew that the monsters were real. How many of those stories were false, and how many were not?
Fear ran through my bones as I listened to these accounts. I wondered if it was really worth continuing with my goal of founding a land of my own. The horrific deaths they described were not something I wanted to experience, even knowing they wouldn't be permanent for me. Despair and the idea of abandoning everything attacked me during my weaker moments. Perhaps this strange place was playing with my emotions again, sinking me into doubts and fears.
However, I couldn't allow those stories, however terrifying, to define my fate. There was too much at stake, and although fear was real, so were my desires to build something worth having.
But, well, putting aside those horrible things, there have also been some strange situations that, while not dangerous, are unsettling. Among them, a mystery that we still haven't been able to solve. It might seem like something simple, but a feeling inside me tells me that there's something more behind it.
My gaze fell on a girl sitting not far from me. Her face was lost, with her eyes fixed on the void. She barely moved, except to breathe or, if lucky, swat at a fly that landed on her. No one knew who she was. She never told us her name, if she could even speak. Until now, we've only heard her utter guttural sounds or meaningless monosyllables.
We found her during one of the raids, in a camp located on a cleared piece of land. She wasn't in the camp itself, but rather in the surrounding area. One of my men spotted her near the edge of a nearby forest and informed me. When we approached, we saw her trying to eat moss from a tree.
We tried to talk to her from a distance, but her reaction was minimal. Even as we got closer, she showed little more than a slight sign of tension. She was naked, covered in dirt, and didn't respond to our questions or threats. We thought she was in shock from some trauma she had experienced in this ominous place, so we decided to take her with us. However, over time, that theory crumbled.
She wasn't catatonic, but she wasn't normal either. It was hard to describe… brainless? Maybe, but in a very literal sense. Her intelligence was barely perceptible, and if she had started drooling constantly, I could have compared her to someone lobotomized. However, even in those cases, more expressiveness would be expected. She didn't smile or react as any normal human being would. And if she did, it was in an extremely faint and almost imperceptible way.
She moved erratically around the camp, aimlessly, except when she had basic needs. She seemed not to understand what food was. Several times we saw her trying to eat wild fruits, grains from our crops, and even grass from the ground. At first, she didn't recognize bread or meat as food. Only when we placed it directly in her mouth did she seem to understand she had to eat it, and even then, we had to repeat this process several times before she began to do it on her own, eating it when we gave it to her without having to push it into her mouth.
She didn't seem to understand our words. She looked at us with empty, lost eyes. Even if you gently pushed her with a stick, you could guide her wherever you wanted. The women in the camp had to bathe her and dress her upon arrival, but even those actions didn't provoke any reaction. If she felt discomfort, she barely showed it, and any resistance was so weak that the women could handle her without difficulty.
Another major inconvenience was her incontinence. She had no control over her bodily functions, or perhaps she didn't even try; she relieved herself wherever she was, no matter the location. The same happened with sleep; she could fall asleep anywhere, and even, though very rarely, she did so standing up.
I could easily have labeled her as someone with severe mental retardation or some other cognitive disorder. But there was something about her, something that prevented me from accepting that conclusion. I felt like there was something more, something that eluded me. Interestingly, I wasn't the only one who perceived it. Some people in the camp also noticed something strange, as if they knew what the problem was, but couldn't quite remember it clearly.
Despite the inconveniences she brought, her presence wasn't so problematic. We kept her in a somewhat isolated area due to her hygiene issues, but she didn't cause major conflicts. She ate little and, in general, was easy to manage. We decided to keep her with us, hoping that over time answers to this enigma would arise.
But enough of my reflective break. I had to get back to my sword practice. The next disaster was just around the corner, and I needed to be prepared. I had already gotten used to the leather armor, and my cuts were less clumsy, though I still had much to improve.
Practicing my skills as a slaughterer would have been very helpful, but it was complicated. The animals we had were still too few to waste them, and the camps we raided rarely offered enough resistance to practice. I worried that, when the time came to use them for real, I wouldn't be prepared and would end up in a bad situation.
Sometimes, in my darkest moments, I considered using the members of my group as practice. When I reached the limit of my leadership skills, perhaps there would be people who stopped being loyal to me. Maybe then… No, that thought wasn't right...