"Still not there?" Theo muttered as his eyes did the usual round over the three parts that became the main focal points of his vision.
[Outer Forest - Claimed by Theodore Evilbane]
[Threat level - No threats detected]
[Open Space: Fail]
The status of the land he claimed, the potential threats in his proximity… and whether or not the system was finally satisfied with all the clearing work Theo did in the place.
It's been several hours since he arrived in the area. Several hours during which he removed pretty much all the trees within the circle of the boulders, crafted a crafting bench, and then created more and more chests to store all the materials he got from doing so.
Yet, even when the last tree within the rugged cycle of the boulders fell… The system still refused to acknowledge the change, consistently failing the "open space" check.
Having no other choice, Theo moved to remove trees from the area around the boulders, still expecting said boulders to be an integral part of any future Manor he would construct.
Since the time he began working, his wish for the woodcutting-related achievement was fulfilled not once but a whole two times, with [Woodcutter] and [Woodslasher] achievements popping up. The first one, just like it was the case for the mining, merely expanded his inventory and raised the level of his blocky subroutine by two. The latter, however…
[Achievement Unlocked: Woodslasher]
[Lore: After felling over two hundred trees, you've learned the best way of quickly and efficiently cutting them down!]
[Reward: +3 blocky subroutine levels, +6 inventory slots, -20% projected durability for all wooden targets, +50% projected durability for all wooden structures]
Not only did it raise Theo's blocky subroutine by quite a bit, effectively decreasing the number of times he needed to swing his axe to remove a block of wood from the tree's trunk, not only did it grow his inventory to a comfortable thirty slots by now… It also altered the attributes of both his wooden targets and wooden structures.
A change that, all out of nowhere, made the idea of constructing a wooden manor all the more interesting!
Still, no matter how many trees Theo removed, the system stubbornly refused to just let him get this manor constructed!
'If removing those two trees won't work… I might have to go and mine out all of those boulders…'
Theo looked towards the huge blocks of raw stone with a sense of hidden grief.
Even though, with his blocky system, removing those would be a matter of several minutes at most… For some reason, he felt like this was the last thing he was supposed to do.
"I know it's just a feeling…" Turning his eyes away from the rocks, Theo turned his attention back to the tree and raised his axe. "But what am I going to follow in my decision-making, if not my instincts?"
Theo shook his head… and swung his axe.
[Cutting: 32%]
[Cutting: 64%]
[Cutting: Completed!]
With just three swings, a block of wood at the base of the tree vanished, causing the rest of the tree to rapidly drop down and then start leaning in a random direction.
It happened fast… But by the time the tree indicated which way it would fall, Theo had already managed to move out of the way, long since used to the antics of the falling trees.
As for the cutting process itself…
'I wonder if I only need to go up to eighty percent of progress to complete the woodcutting task. And if so,' Theo smiled to his own thoughts, 'I can't wait till I get the matching achievement for mining, assuming there's one!'
If such was the case, not only would he be able to cut a huge chunk of the workload that came with mining… What was even more important for Theo personally, this would mean that a stone-based Manor would be all the more resilient for it!
Still, as much hope as he had for his future, for now, Theo focused on the present.
A mere minute later, the last of the fallen tree turned into a block of wood stashed within his inventory, allowing him to move on and start chopping at the base of the last tree within the planned perimeter of the manor. And, just to make things a bit more interesting, Theo went ahead and chopped the tree the normal way, aligning not with his blocky but with his survival subroutine.
'It might be a waste, but it's faster. And by now…'
Theo sighed out.
'By now, I'm done waiting.'
By switching over to the proper cutting technique, Theo put aside all the benefits of his blocky-related achievements. Because of this, rather than felling the whole tree in just three swings, he had to work on it for quite a bit.
Contrary to the blocky cutting, however, once the tree fell over and crashed into the ground, he only needed a few more axe chops to cut off its branches, split it into logs, split said logs into chunks, and then reach out with his hand to harvest it all straight into his inventory.
And then, just like he did many times before…
[Outer Forest - Claimed by Theodore Evilbane]
[Threat level - No threats detected]
[Building Zone: Ancient Stonage]
[Water Access: Check]
[Good Quality Soil: Check]
[Proximity of Resource Veins: 1]
[Open Space: Check]
[Do you wish to build a Manor in the selected zone? Y/N]
"Fucking finally!"
Screaming out his exhaustion, anticipation, and annoyance, Theo allowed himself to just stumble to the ground, only to sit down with his legs stretched out, breathing out haggard breaths of relief.
'Wait, no, if this place is going to change…'
Closing his eyes, Theo took a moment to gather his strength before standing up and removing himself from the area, walking off as far as the edge of the forest clearing of his own making.
"Finally…" Repeating himself in a soft whisper, Theo breathed out before straightening his back and then looking ahead, more than eager to see what would happen next.
"Yes."
Theo waited… But rather than the world suddenly starting to magically change before his very own eyes, all he saw was yet another system notification appear right in the middle of his vision.
[Manor Construction:
- Tier 1: Wooden Manor: Cost: 1500 wood]
- Tier 2: Stone Manor: Cost: 750 stone (applied 50% environmental discount)]
- Tier 3: Brick Manor: Cost: 2000 bricks]
- Which Tier would you like to construct?]
[Warning! Changing the tier is only possible from a lower to a higher tier!]
[Warning! Jumping tiers deprives the manor of the gradual progression perks!]
'I still should have more stone than I know what to do with, but…'
For a moment, Theo hesitated, not sure whether or not to waste an insane amount of wood… only to near instantly switch his manor up for the higher tier.
'Well, who am I trying to convince?' Theo then laughed out and shook his head. 'There's no way in hell I'm going to miss out on those gradual progression perks, whatever the heck they are supposed to be!'
And so, with his decision made, Theo reaffirmed his glance and looked up, more than just eager to see what would happen next.
"I wish to construct the wooden Manor."