Chapter 42 - Settlement Building

What the hell?

A Divine Foundation in a settlement? Wasn't that something only lesser gods could do? Draco had definitely rejected a Divine Emblem, so why was he being given this choice?

Because of the Eyes of Caelo? So owning a divine item automatically allowed one to become a deity if they managed to tie their Divine Foundation down to a settlement? Was that why Madam Carrie had been so ecstatic when he chose the Divine Treasure Chest over the Minor Divine Emblem?

Wait… Could it be…?

Draco's mind began to whirl at really scary speeds.

Could it be that those two fellows in the number 1 and number 2 spot from his past life had discovered this feature and exploited it? It was extremely possible in Draco's opinion. The reason why he though so was because those two weren't the official number 1 and number 2. Technically speaking, Draco had been worldwide number 1 while Riveting Night had been worldwide number 2 in terms of pure prowess.

They had been shifted to number 3 and number 4 due to the unanimous assumption that skill could not overcome divine equipment. Of course, in terms of skills, everyone lauded Draco as unparalleled in the world and those other two had been only given that tag due to their possession of divine items.

Who would be satisfied with such a thing? Naturally anyone would walk over to Draco and Riveting Night to properly settle the statistics.

However, they never did. Like turtles in their shells, they had remained in their kingdoms quietly, not rising to provocation by other players due to the fact.

Draco had pat himself on the back, thinking egotistically that they were scared to fight him in terms of skills.

Now, he didn't agree with his previous thinking.

Draco shared his opinion and findings with Riveting Night, who affirmed his train of thought. Unlike him who had focused solely on his revenge, the ever vindictive Sublime Notion had sent multiple challenges to the two of them, which they always replied with gentle refusals.

"Are you going to do it?" Riveting Night asked while staring at Draco through her ever dark hood.

"Nah. It's too much of a stretch." Draco answered. For that matter, Draco didn't mind if Riveting Night kept her hood up or not since he could see through the darkness and capture her beautiful face 24/7.

"Too much of a stretch, you say?" She queried with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. Ever since I'd reincarnated, I've been lucky in everything I do. If it were before, I wouldn't have thought much about it… but now, with knowledge of the lineages and the fact that our world… our universe, isn't as normal as we thought, I'm a bit worried."

"I've never really believed in anything like karma or the like, but balance will always be met one way or another. Too much good will be offset by an amount of bad to render everything equal."

Draco's heavy tone made Riveting Night feel cold. It was something that had tickled the back of her mind when she found out just how great Draco's first days in Boundless had been but…

Would things always be so lucrative?

"Let's not think about it too much. Whatever happens, will happen and we can only rise to the challenge." Riveting Night suggested with a confident smile.

"Yeah, that's the way to go." Draco agreed with a nod.

Returning to the settlement building confirmation pop-up, Draco selected no. He didn't want to be tied down to one settlement in exchange for power. Sure, he would become invincible within the area, but externally, he would be weaker than normal.

Even a Divine Emblem would be a much better method to reach divinity than this. Draco decided to have the settlement built immediately, and the funds were deducted from his inventory.

First came the foundation, the earth started… terraforming rapidly. It became a lot more flat and bare. Square-ish holes were dug in a linear fashion. Some of these holes were larger than others, and each of them was equidistant from the other.

It was like watching a fast forward of a construction video. Soon, scrambled sounds of hammering, sawing – and swearing? – came out of a sudden cloud of dirt surrounding the expanse of the settlement's land.

In no time, a fully constructed settlement was placed before the Evil Duo. Draco walked into the Settlement and called up the screen for it.

｢Settlement Name: Unnamed

Tier: 0

Loyalty/Upset: 100/0

Gold: 0

Worldly energy: 3%

Tax rate: 5%

Population: 0

Personnel: 0

Food: 100

Lumber: 100

Stone: 100

Metal: 100

Prestige: 0｣

It was as he expected, as pathetic as possible.

In the world of Boundless, the city building aspect wasn't as simplistic as those in typical FIVR games of today. It wasn't as simple as paying money and having everything done for you.

It required a much more pragmatic and hands on approach. One would need to secure Tradeskill workers to build properties, train one's own army or hire mercenaries for defense, acquire farmers, lumberjacks, quarry workers and miners for resource harvesting among other things.

However, these were solved with some difficulty that didn't make things too strenuous. One could also appoint an NPC mayor to handle these things while away. Once the settlement reached city level, a mayor would be compulsory, as most players wouldn't have the politician class.

Still, the greatest headache when managing settlements wasn't resources, defense or development… it was population.

Exactly where the f.u.c.k was one supposed to get people from? Unless the AI required it, new beings wouldn't spawn unless through the natural process which was procreation. One could say that they could attract people from around the world, but that was bullshit. Did you expect people to leave cities and towns that they were born in for your shabby settlement? What at all could you offer them?

Many player guilds had suffered through this headache for years in Boundless, struggling to make their settlements into towns. In fact, no player guild had managed to reach that level until update 5 in the previous timeline, even Draco himself.

However, with the coming of update 5, a new method was developed.

Yep, you guessed it.

If we couldn't attract people into our settlements, we will make our own people!

As such, the era of debauchery was born. This was around the time that r.a.p.es escalated like crazy. Rina's brutal assault occurred around this time as well.

Draco didn't want to remember that time too much. An insane amount of evil had occurred at that point, some which he had performed himself. Looking back, he realized that he was less of a cold and calm fellow, rather more of a monster at the time.

Obsession with anything was usually a bad idea.

However, Draco and Riveting Night didn't have the luxury of update 5's childrearing mechanic to kickstart the growth of their settlement. Still though, Draco had an idea of how to get things in motion. He predicted that he should be able to hit kingdom tier before update 3, much less update 5.

Draco assessed the completed buildings in the settlement. There were a few cottages that were of an average size and medieval design. They were built with wattle and daub for the walls, also possessing one entrance, two floors and a thatch roof. Each building was whitewashed and looked clean.

Draco wasn't interested in checking the interior, as he wouldn't be living in such a house. These well built cottages were for more important members of the population. Where the majority would live in were a few large longhouses. They were mostly built with wood but also had thatched roofs. Draco already knew the interior of these buildings since he had slept in one during his time as a low-tier member of Darkrow.

It was like a barracks but a bit cleaner, more spacious and there was more privacy. There were much smaller rooms that were divided by very thin and hollow walls, which didn't do much to prevent sound from going through, but at least one was able to change without everyone seeing their groin flopping about.

Apart from that, there was one blacksmith shop, one apothecary, one hospital, one warehouse, one granary, one farmyard and lumber mill near the outskirts of the town, one stable, one general goods store, one barracks/guardhouse and one mayor's hall.

Most of these buildings were unsurprisingly unpopulated. They looked like they were able to begin functioning the moment human being occupied them. The Tradeskill buildings were filled with pre-made equipment and even some raw materials. The Guardhouse had some common weapons and armor lined up in the arsenal for potential defenders to wear.

Draco and Riveting Night walked up to the Mayor's Hall and took in the sight. It was less of a hall and more like a small mansion. It was built with pure stone and looked fortified. There was a gate, walls and even a garden within the property. Draco and Riveting Night walked inside the manor and took in its layout.

There was a foyer with stairs that lead to the second floor. Beyond the foyer on the ground floor was the courtyard, in which a magically enchanted fountain stood smack dab in the middle. The corners of the courtyard had a more vibrant garden that wasn't limited to just grass. Beautiful varieties of flowers swayed to the gentle breeze, radiating ambiance and peacefulness.

To the right of the foyer on the ground floor was the parlor, which was the reception room for important guests. To the left of the foyer on the ground floor was the dining hall. The doorway behind the dining room led to the kitchen, which was arguably the largest room in the manor.

Climbing up the stairs to the upper floor, one could see that the area was marked as private. The bedrooms were here, one for the mayor and a few others for his family or concubines. There was an office near the end of the hall way that was the executive center of the whole settlement.

All in all, Draco was satisfied with his new settlement. After exiting the manor with Riveting Night, the two stood at the entrance to the settlement. Staring at the unimpressive palisade walls. Even the gate to the settlement looked like it could be smashed in by a reasonably strong fellow.

Riveting Night gently caressed Draco's hair while whispering in his ear;

"You can't run away from it forever."

Draco sighed, wishing that she wasn't right. Draco had put off naming the settlement as that would finalize everything. Naturally, that meant that another game announcement would be made. If players worldwide were curious about him before, they would be antagonistic now.

"What should we call it? Draco asked with a frown.

Riveting Night seemed to ponder the question for a bit. "You should give it a name with meaning to you. It's our first settlement in our new life."

Draco thought for a bit before turning to Riveting Night and grasping her chin in his hands. "The only meaningful thing that followed me into this timeline is you, Eva. I'll call it Vita."

(Authors note: Eva's name in hebrew means 'life'. It has to do with Amaterasu's bloodline ability, similar to Draco's name and his bloodline ability. Vita means life in latin, hence the significance in this scenario.)

Riveting Night's heart began to race in her chest. Her cheeks flushed and her whole body felt like putty under Draco's intense gaze.

"En."

She clung onto his arm like a lovestruck teenage girl who couldn't imagine life without her boyfriend. Anyone from the previous timeline who had known this woman would think she was a twin or something. That vile and evil woman couldn't possibly have such normal emotions!

Once Draco affirmed his decision to name the settlement, the feared announcement was blared out of the system.

｢Sturgehaven Kingdom Regional Announcement

Player Draco has created the first player owned settlement, Vita. Players can now visit the settlement to help foster development. Bonuses are given to all Tradeskill players who work in the settlement. Settlement has a 20% bonus gold and experience reward for players who function out of it.｣

｢Cario Continent International Announcement

Player Draco has created the first player owned settlement, Vita. Players can now visit the settlement to help foster development. Bonuses are given to all Tradeskill players who work in the settlement. Settlement has a 20% bonus gold and experience reward for players who function out of it.｣

｢Boundless System-wide Announcement

Player Draco has created the first player owned settlement, Vita. Players can now visit the settlement to help foster development. Bonuses are given to all Tradeskill players who work in the settlement. Settlement has a 20% bonus gold and experience reward for players who function out of it.｣

Draco and Riveting Night tilted their heads at that. According to their memories, no real bonus had been given for building the first settlement aside from an announcement.

Then again, it might be that players in their past life had taken so goddamn long to build one. This reinforced the notion that the AI rewarded feats that far surpassed its own estimates.

The Evil Duo were satisfied with the bonus though. If players hadn't wanted to join Umbra before, even with the impressive Guild Hall and Rank 7 Shop, they would definitely indenture themselves now. Since it had no benefits to NPCs, it meant that they wouldn't get to grow the population faster than they predicted.

"I leave the Guild in your hands Eva. I'll be going to do a unique quest after I pop back into the castle to play with that Succubus." Draco told Riveting Night with a gentle smile.

"Go. If by the time you return this guild hasn't reached tier 3, I'll display my face to the world." Riveting Night replied with a look so hard that it could smash diamond.

"I know."

Draco knew his woman. If she said she would do it, she would do it. One should not forget, all the knowledge Draco possessed that made him overpowered in this timeline, she possessed as well! There were many ways she could get the guild up to that standard while Draco was partaking in that unique quest.

"Before that though…" Draco's face became little rigid as he gazed at the location of the Aether mine.

Naturally, he planned to use his divine eyes to see the Dragoness said to reside within the mine. If she was a below Supreme Rank, he would be able to see her by using the 'see' ability of True Sight. If she was Supreme Rank, he would need to use 'see through' to pierce through the mental barrier that had prevented Riveting Night from going further in.

However, if she was God Rank… Draco would need to 'see beyond' and that would be too strenuous for him at the moment as a measly Rank 1 player. However, if the previous two True Sight sub-abilities failed to see trough, that would be confirmation enough.

Draco took a deep breath before trying to see into the Aether mine. It was easy to see into the mine itself, as if he were there himself. There were rows of prism like crystals that contained something blueish green in them. The colored mass swirled within the crystals like a whirlpool, mesmerizing the eyes and the mind.

The deeper Draco went into the mine, the lower the number of crystals, but each of them had a much more intense l.u.s.ter than the ones above them. When Draco reached the bottom, he 'saw' a shield like construct that resembled the scales of a fish. The shield was colorless, making it impossible to see by traditional sight.

When Draco tried to 'see' the other side of the shield, all he got was a rebuttal for his efforts. Hardening his expression, he tried to 'see through' the shield, but his attempts failed once again.

At this point, his heart began to thump vigorously in his chest. There was no doubt about it, that was a God Rank Dragonness down there! She was probably injured and recuperating from the last War of the Gods, and had missed the missive to retreat into heaven!

A God Rank Dragonness! The real deal! Even his Dragon Soul was probably a remnant of a God Rank Dragon's soul, Draco had reasoned. A mere remnant had led him to possess the means to acquire a divine item! What benefits could a live Dragoness bring him?

When he shared this with Riveting Night, she nodded her head and told Draco to leave it to her. She would research on the identity of the female Dragon down there and share her findings with him.

Sigh, how good it was to have capable partners!

At that, Draco blinked away from the settlement, leaving everything in the hands of Riveting Night, who had began by summoning the Five Generals.

When Draco re-appeared, he was within the walls of his castle. As he stood in his foyer, the maids who had been shuffling about were startled at first, then ecstatic. One of the cuter ones, who looked like she'd be the type of little sister one would spoil, came up to Draco.

"Hello, My Lord. Would you need any thing from us?" She asked gently with a curtsy.

Draco couldn't resist the urge to ruffle her hair, to which she seemed to like. "Bring some refreshments to my room please."

As he was about to blink away, he suddenly remembered something else. "Also, bring the succubus to my room as well. Make sure her body is clean from top to bottom."

One shouldn't forget, this was the medieval era. One thing most media failed to mention about the medieval era was how much people stank. Wearing armor all day didn't do much for hygiene. Of course, players weren't subjected to this yet, but the NPCs were. Baths were taken infrequently in this era and Draco wasn't fond of smelling some sardines while he was having fun.

When he appeared in his room, he slowly removed his armor, ogling his body as he did. The narcissistic fellow was free to let his real self out!

Words from the Author:

So, this is the last but one chapter of the filler segment. Next chapter will be R-18 stuff so bring your ID cards before reading.

The next arc, Flora and Fauna, is pretty long because it's a self-contained story within the story. Like a side quest that's 1 player only.

Just to give you a heads up, this arc will be a mix of horror, nonstop battles and in-game politics, a battle of wits in a way. There will be IRL segments that would feature extremely dark stuff, even more than the previous one.

Also, there will be interludes with Eva and how she builds up the guild while Draco is away.

Also, the biggest teaser: During the Flora and Fauna arc, the first Guild War will occur!