The Newt and Demon - Chapter 5.23 - One Zorp Too Many

Some of the sweltering heat notable in the Season of Fire was diminished today. It was the thirty-first day of the season, and a bank of laden clouds had moved in from the north. Theo walked from his manor, gazing up at the sky through the boughs of the mighty cypress trees as he made his way to the town square. The experiments in the Dreamwalk had left him feeling satisfied. Like the clouds overhead, he plotted a lazy course through the town.

There had been a distinct influx of foreigners in the alliance. Folks from afar had sailed from overseas. Most notable among them were the Khahari. Despite Khahar’s declaration of friendship, what remained of his theocracy didn’t seem interested in visiting. Only those Khahari calling themselves adventurers crossed the sea, interested in either the newly formed Southlands Alliance or the undead to the north. In either case, the tourists were a considerable source of income.

The most jarring thing about the morning walk was when Theo spotted a copper-skinned dronon in the distance. He identified her as tworgnothi. Unsurprisingly, she was chatting with Throk outside of his workshop. The alchemist pressed on, opening his administration interface and sorting through his notes. Today’s agenda was sparse, but the interface had become a trove of information. Alise deleted nothing she or others wrote in the interface.

As Theo approached the monolith, he felt it pulse with recognition. There was a hidden will in there. Something that swelled when it recognized its master. The alchemist hadn’t decided if that was a good thing. But there was work to be done. He didn’t intend to upgrade the [Kingdom Seed Core] today. Instead, he would focus on the town itself. Each seed core building in town was limited by the level of the town itself. While they hadn’t experimented with the limits, he guessed a seed core building couldn’t be more than five levels away from the [Town Seed Core].

With Tresk and Alex busy doing things for the Adventurer’s Guild, and the administrators spinning their wheels, this was the perfect time to upgrade buildings. Broken Tusk was currently Level 25. Getting it to 30 was a breeze, but that wasn’t the hardest part. Looming in the upgrade selection menu were the same two options he had seen since the start. [Water Tower] and [Watchtowers]. While [Watchtowers] was a later addition to the ever-rolling list of upgrades, it had remained one of the less useful ones.

There was normally only one new option per five levels. Theo looked at his upgrade interface, confused why there were three new options to pick from. The alchemist inspected the strange ones first.

[Water Purification]

Your incorporated water boilers can be upgraded. This upgrade will make your current water purification system more efficient, drawing on the power of your Kingdom Core. Your current water purification system will be replaced if this upgrade is selected.

This was the first time that the system reacted to something he had done to the town regarding upgrades. The upgrade wasn’t good, but it was interesting to see the options offer more than one thing. Nothing could compare to the next upgrade, though.

[Dungeon Information]

Allows anyone with the administrator title in this town to view information about every local dungeon.

The presence of a Dungeon Engineer in your town enables the selection of this upgrade. If the Dungeon Engineer leaves your town, revoking their citizenship, this upgrade will be refunded.

Theo was certain he would take this one. But this was an upgrade dependent on a person. Since Xol’sa had the Dungeon Engineer class, he had spawned an upgrade for the entire town. Even more interesting was the condition that it would be refunded if he left. The alchemist’s mind spun at the implications. The skill itself was very interesting. Xol’sa could check on the dungeons, but he had to go there and put his mana into the dungeon. So on, and so forth. This eliminated the need for the elf to stress himself.

The alchemist stopped salivating for a moment to inspect the last upgrade.

[Zorp]

Allows you to instantly transport materials between storage containers in your town.

Zorp sucked. The Zorp ability for the nation was good. But transporting things between production chains in town had never been a problem. Theo had also gained infinite storage for the town, although that was only for resources like lumber and stone. [Dungeon Information] was too good, though.

Theo turned, finding that a small crowd had formed. He waved sheepishly, then turned back to his work. It was an event when he upgraded the town. That meant everyone else could increase the level of their buildings. No one else seemed interested in upgrading the town, but that wasn’t their responsibility. As the buildings got higher in level, they required more cores to increase their level. That increased the expense, and made folks less likely to fork over the money.

“We’re going with [Dungeon Information],” Theo said, nodding to himself. The crowd politely clapped. His face went a darker shade of purple. He distracted himself by inspecting the town.

[Massive Town]

Name: Broken Tusk

Owner: Theo Spencer

Leader: Archduke Theo Spencer

Faction: [Southlands Alliance]

Level: 30 (20.33%)

Core Buildings:

Alchemy Lab

Greenhouses (x6)

Mycology Cave (x3)

Blacksmith

Artificer’s Workshop

Large Farm

Small Farm

Windmill

Quarry

Stonecutter

House (x528)

Manor

Tannery

Tavern

Adventurer’s Guild

Hotsprings

Sawmill

Mine

Smelter (x3)

Enchanter

Ranch

Townhall

Butcher

Weaver

Defensive Emplacements:

Chain Lightning (x12)

Frost Cone (x7)

Fireball (x10)

Firebolt (x25)

Upgrades:

[Stone Walls and Gates]

[Stone Roads]

[Defensive Emplacements]

[Synergistics]

[Dynamic Incorporation]

[Dungeon Information]

Effects:

[Troll Slaying]

[Coordinated Fire]

[Defensive Effects]

Current Resources:

Timber: 20,122

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Stone Blocks: 0

Metal: 3,020

Motes: 20,000

That was interesting. The resources in the town had been climbing for a while now. Ziz was really digging into the town’s stock of stone for his projects, reducing the count to nothing. Theo relied on his administrators to sort that out when there was damage done to the town. Seeing as the eastern wall had repaired itself, they must have been doing something right. Metal and timber numbers were also going down. Broken Tusk was exporting more materials than ever.

“Yay,” Theo said, turning to his administration interface. “Now let’s see what this new upgrade does…”

It didn’t take the alchemist long to find the Dungeon Information panel in his interface. He opened it, getting a status screen listing… six dungeons. Six? Wasn’t it five? Swamp, river, ocean, mountains, hills. Theo spotted the problem. The sixth dungeon was listed as ‘Underground Dungeon.’ Interesting. Each entry gave him information about the dungeon’s level, how close it was to a wave, and other interesting facts.

[Swamp Dungeon]

Level 35 Dungeon

Monster Types:

Goblin, Wolves, Undead

Description (from loremaster):

This dungeon was seeded after the destruction of the continent. Balkor’s Betrayal marked the destruction of almost all the dungeons in the region. Once the Swamp Dungeon was fed the invasive power of Drogramath, it ascended in power.

Trends:

Power trending down (strength decreasing).

Level trending up (one level over the past week).

Thread Level:

Minimal. No monster wave predicted.

Each dungeon had a description like that. But the more useful at-a-glance feature was the list of every dungeon. Theo inspected that quick info screen, gawking.

[Swamp Dungeon] L35 No Threat

[River Dungeon] L18 No Threat

[Mountain Dungeon] L15 No Threat

[Hills Dungeon] L10 No Threat

[Ocean Dungeon] L20 Imminent Threat

[Cave Dungeon] L95 No Threat

Theo made a note not to mess with the cave dungeon. That dungeon must have been near the dragon, Pogo. Hopefully the creature was handling it. Maybe the rock people were secretly extremely powerful. But the alchemist didn’t like seeing a Level 95 dungeon in his interface. That meant it was near, and the idea rubbed him the wrong way. A shiver crept down his spine as he drilled down on the entry for the [Cave Dungeon].

[Cave Dungeon]

Level 95 Ascendant Dungeon

Monster Types:

Golems, Cave Fald, Trolls

Description (from loremaster):

Loremaster’s level is too low to provide additional information on this dungeon.

Trends:

Gathering power for ascendancy.

Level trending up (two levels over the past week)

Thread Level:

Minimal. No monster wave predicted.

“No big deal,” Theo grumbled. “Just a dungeon trying to achieve godhood.”

The implications for that one were too much for him to deal with right then. But this supported an idea that Theo had been kicking around about how seed cores work in this world. When he used his wards on seed core buildings, he felt something pushing back. Although the will that fought against him was minor, it was there. Enough to say ‘I’m here,’ and that was significant.

The alchemist turned away from the monolith, heading out for his next stop. The crowd parted, allowing him to leave. He hadn’t bought a bunch of monster cores for nothing. The next stop for the day was the Harbor. Avast Ye Newts had been the most important building in town for a while now. It opened the world up to the Southlands Alliance, giving them access to all the other nations of the world.

Theo walked the slight decline toward the river, smiling when the scent of salty sea air hit his nose. The chatter of people engaging in trade with whatever merchant had docked filled his ears next. A small, single-masted boat was docked in the harbor. It was a khahari vessel, if the alchemist had to guess its origin. Made of wood that seemed bleached by the sun, and sails with too many tatters. He approached the core building, which was a warehouse just off the wooden dock area.

The harbor sat at level 20, with 4 extremely useful upgrades. [Expanding Docks] made it so the wooden docks that bordered the harbor would expand with the building’s level. [Delayed Decay] slowed the aging of ships docked. [Shipwright’s Drydock] was the reason they could build boats at all, providing a workshop for the shipwrights to work in. Last was [Fair Winds], which made it easier for boats to move within 13,000 halms of the port. Of course, that measurement came out to about a mile. Depending on the system’s version of a halm.

Theo shoved [Monster Cores] into the building, intending to give it 10 levels today. Each level made the area slightly bigger. When it expanded, the ground rumbled beneath him. The wall, generated by the town itself, pushed out with the upgraded harbor. The dock rearranged itself. People shouted in fear and excitement. The first upgrade notification popped up, and he weighed his options. It didn’t take long, and he selected the one that made the most sense.

[Safe Harbor]

All sailing vessels docked within this harbor will not experience the effects of weather. High winds, torrential downpours, and other negative weather effects will no longer affect the vessels, although those boats will still catch moderate wind in their sails.

If a big storm kicked up, hitting the harbor, the boats would be safe. Easy pick. Theo shoved more cores into the building, his eyes lingering on the drydock. Laedria had put a few cores into that building, but had gained no significant progress. His attention was drawn back to the upgrade screen when it popped up, providing more upgrade options. The new upgrade that appeared was the best, so he selected that one.

[Automatic Repairs]

So long as a person with a shipwright-style core is in the harbor, ships that are docked in the harbor can be repaired automatically. The resources required to perform the repairs will be drawn from local, or town storage. The shipwright may decide to accept or decline requests for repairs.

Ding, ding. Another business opportunity. Theo had seen the shipwrights performing repairs on vessels as they came into port, but this made their job a lot easier. Laedria would appreciate that one, making her day-to-day life easier. The alchemist nodded with satisfaction, heading over to the dry dock.

“Hey!” an annoyed voice called after him. Laedria trotted, catching up to Theo. As always, her leather apron was covered in sticky tar. “Upgrading my stuff?”

“Someone has to do it,” Theo said, gesturing to the dry dock. “I can leave it to you. If that’s what you want.”

“Whaaat. No. I’m just being…”

“Being a Wavecrest,” Theo said, winking. “Stubborn bunch of elves.”

“Hey, we didn’t survive the purge by being nice,” Laedria said, pouting.

“Fair enough. Help me pick the best upgrades for the dry dock.” Theo began shoving [Monster Cores] into the building.

“Sure thing, boss.”

Since the [Shipwright’s Drydock] upgrade generated a new building, it could be upgraded. This was something that Theo had left to the future for some time. If he wanted Laedria to make more boats, she needed the right equipment. With artisans, that came down to a powerful set of seed core buildings. The drydock leveled to five without an issue, presenting the alchemist with three upgrade options.

[Speedy Assembly]

All parts of the ship-building process are faster. Tar sets quicker, wood cures faster, and workers are invigorated as they assemble a ship. This effect doesn’t translate to non-shipwright related tasks.

[Plus One]

All ships assembled in this drydock will increase by one rarity rank. Ships retrofitted in this drydock may gain an additional rank, depending on the level and skill of the shipwright.

[Magical Winch]

Any shipwright may access a magical winch which hoists boats from the harbor, onto the drydock. This is considered a purely magical device, consuming motes or coins to operate.

Each option was good. But Laedria had a favorite.

“The winch,” she said, bouncing up and down. “Oh, please get that one.”

“Why?” Theo asked. The other options were really good.

“Because I can’t retrofit anything in the drydock right now. If I could hoist the boats out of the harbor, I could do a ton of things. Including retrofitting foreign ships. Meaning… Money!”

Theo nodded, selecting that one as their first option. He continued to put [Monster Cores] into the building, selecting random directions as it expanded. The next upgrade option appeared, and he read it out to Laedria.

[Expanding Bays]

The drydock will gain more bays the higher the building’s level is. This will add approximately one bay every twenty levels.

“Oh goodness,” Laedria said, hyperventilating. “These are all good. Uhm. Okay. [Expanding Bays], for now. But I really want [Speedy Assembly].”

Theo selected [Expanding Bays]. “We can pick that one next time.”

“As long as nothing awesome pops up.”

Leveling a building to 10 was easy peasy. Theo could use low-level monster cores to accomplish that. His one problem was that his spread of cores thinned out between 10 and 30. That forced him to use the higher-level cores—the more expensive cores—to bridge the gap. He dumped several gold worth of cores into the building, then read the Level 15 upgrade option off to Laedria.

[Safe Travels]

After being serviced in this drydock, vessels will gain increased speed and durability for seven days.

“That one stinks,” Laedria said, bouncing up and down with excitement. “Get the other one.”

Theo selected the [Speedy Assembly] upgrade, then added more cores. The drydock reached level 20 with ease, and he was presented with another upgrade option. He read it out for Laedria to decide on.

[Cranes]

Every bay in the drydock gains a magical crane. These cranes are powered by coins, or motes, and have a high weight capacity.

Laedria shook Theo by the shoulders. “That one! Do you know how hard it is to move those masts into position? We could make bigger boats with this upgrade!”

After being jostled back and forth, Theo nodded and selected the upgrade. He took no offense to the violent shaking. Laedria was excited about these upgrades, and he wouldn’t dampen her spirits. He pressed on, bringing the building to level 25. Second to last upgrade for the drydock today.

[Rollers]

Each bay in the drydock is equipped with a roller, which makes moving boats in and out of drydock easier. This upgrade is static, and requires no coins or motes to operate.

“Stinky upgrade. Get the [Plus One],” Laedria said, fanning the air away from her face.

Theo picked [Plus One], then went back to his work. The drydock expanded, gaining two bays at some point. The ground rumbled slightly as it pushed into the area occupied by the wall. It finally hit level 30, and the alchemist read the last upgrade out for Laedria to pick.

[Dynamic Scaffolding]

Any shipwright operating the drydock may summon magical scaffolding. This scaffolding consumes coins or motes to operate, providing a customizable working surface for the shipwright.

“Might not seem like it, but that one is awesome,” Laedria said, nodding to herself. “Can’t express how many times we had to go buy ladders from Sledge.”

“Alrighty,” Theo said, picking [Dynamic Scaffolding] as the last upgrade. “There ya go. A level 30 drydock.”

“Oh, I’m just so excited,” Laedria said, practically brimming with energy. She danced on the spot, hugged Theo, then ran off to inspect her new building.

Theo watched as the crazed elf summoned glowing platforms, then climbed them. He nodded, then inspected the building.

[Drydock]

[Plug Yer Bunghole]

Owner: Theo Spencer

Faction: [Southlands Alliance]

Level: 30 (0.15%)

Rent Due: SUSPENDED

Expansions:

[Magical Winch]

[Expanding Bays]

[Speedy Assembly]

[Cranes]

[Plus One]

[Dynamic Scaffolding]

Theo narrowed his eyes. “When the hell did Tresk name this building?”