Enigmatic Crusade

“Uh…thank…you,” Valen said, still trying to discern what was going on. 

“How can I help you?” The rep asked as he walked closer. Grabbing a wood chair he moved it to the center of the room. The inside of the Town Hall was different than Valen expected. The main part was a large room. Gray wood planks on the floor there, was no other color inside. Windows on the side of the building let in some light, but a lot came from the candles. The large room had a slight echo to it, devoid of everything except for two chairs. There appeared to be one entrance that led to a back room, where he assumed the representative slept. 

“I uh was wandering in the forest. Found…this place,” he said almost in a daze, still struggling to figure out why a Town Hall was in the middle of nowhere.

“Well, I am glad you are here,” the man said. He crossed his legs, sitting expectantly in the chair. “Are you here to take over the town?” 

“Take over the town?” Valen asked, unsure if he heard correctly. 

“Of course,” the representative said with a wider smile. His beard was rather immaculate, not a strand out of place. His long hair was loose around his head. “This town has been abandoned for some time now. I think it could use a new lord.”

“I’m sorry,” Valen said. “This is a town then?”

“Well of course, this is a Town Hall, you know,” the rep said as if it was obvious. 

Tired, Valen walked closer. “Do you mind if I sit?” He asked. The man pointed to the chair with a nod and Valen sat in it. He was starting to understand what happened, but every town he knew of had been claimed a long time ago. “Excuse me, would you mind explaining what happened here? Like a plague or something?”

“Of course,” the rep said. “I was created by the newly born System over 17 years ago. I was assigned to this Town Hall. Though small, there were quite a few people willing to venture out into the world when your people were Integrated into the Infinite Sphere.” He said the words happily, but then frowned slightly. “Unfortunately there was some discourse and infighting. The town’s people split up. Ever since then no one has come to claim it.” 

Valen let out a long sigh. “Holy shit,” he said. “How many people were there?” 

“Oh roughly 500 people or so,” the rep said. 

“Wow,” Valen said. He had hit the jackpot. 

Back during the Integration everyone was transported to a general location where a Town Hall was constructed. Whether it was a town of 100 or 1,000,000. Often times towns in those days struggled to feed and protect everyone. Generally smaller towns moved to bigger ones as walls were erected by the bigger ones first. Then that smaller town would be absorbed into the bigger one, causing the Town Hall to disappear. 

“How long have you been alone?” Valen asked. 

“Oh…16 years and 184 days,” he said.

“Jeez,” Valen said. The people had abandoned the town in less than six months. “And no one has come back?”

“No. Not since you,” the rep said with a smile. “So, would you like to become the lord?” Normally there was very little emotion from a system construct, but Valen could hear actual hope in the man’s voice. 

“Umm,” Valen said, trying to hold back from saying yes without question. There was a reason that the strongest in a town wanted to become a city lord. You received perks, notifications about the area, and…probably more. Most were tight lipped about what a city lord could and couldn’t do. 

“Is it a problem that it would just be me?” Valen asked. He had never heard of a town with only one person. 

“Of course not. The town would prosper more quickly with more citizens, of course. But with hard work I am sure you can attract people to come to this place,” the rep said as if he was giving a pep talk.

“Am I locked…restricted from leaving?” Valen asked, trying to think of everything he heard of the city lord. The man was rather reclusive. Most people thought being a city lord meant they had to stay close to town. 

“No,” the rep said. “You can travel wherever you please.”

“What about…” Valen blanked. He really couldn’t think of anything else that would stop him from wanting his own town. His own home. “Are there any secret bad things about owning a town?” He asked, trying all he could. 

“I…don’t think so,” the rep said, almost making it a question. He looked expectantly at Valen, waiting. 

“How do you grow the town?” Valen asked. 

“All upgrade methods and attributes of the town may only be discussed with the lord,” he said.

“Uhh,” Valen said. “Can I stay in this building if I’m the lord?” He looked around, hopeful that there was a bed he could use. The New Rapids rep was rather secluded and Valen rarely saw anyone talk to her on non-Inauguration days. 

“No, this building is only housed by myself,” the man said, his face placid. 

“Damn,” Valen said. Trying to do better about being more decisive he added, “Okay, let’s uh do this then.” He was tired, hungry, and a lot was going on, but if there were no disadvantages he didn’t see why becoming a city lord would be a bad thing. He was done hesitating, it was time for action from now on. 

“Perfect,” the representative said. Standing up he motioned for Valen to do the same. Excited, he stood and the taller man stuck his hand out. Valen reached out and clasped it. “Do you wish to become the Lord of this Domain?” 

“I uh yes,” Valen said, still shaking his hand and screens quickly filled Valen’s vision. 

Valen hadn’t heard of any of these screens. But at the moment that didn’t matter. “Three aurous plates?!” He yelled. That was more money than he thought most anyone could have. “I have three plates?” 

“Yes,” Monk said with a nod. “When the town was abandoned, the few buildings they had built were converted back into aurous.” 

“Holy shit balls,” Valen said. That was enough for him to live a couple of years on. He wouldn’t exactly be rich, but he would be able to live more comfortably than he had yet, that was for sure. Pushing back his excitement he decided to go to the Domain Screen first. To his surprise it was his own Domain screen. 

“Boo yeah,” he said. The money from his own status screen was separate from this one. Which must have meant he was locked in to use those funds for the Domain and town. Either way it was a huge gain for him. He scanned the rest of the information with a smile. “What do these stats do?” To his surprise, the representative actually answered. 

“They are the stats of your domain. Those in your domain that are citizens will gain certain bonuses due to these stats. Leadership makes them trust in your judgment more. Integrity allows trust between you and others. Forethought helps with city planning. Peace allows more healing. Awareness lets you know of danger to your holdings. Resilience helps the people fight back. Hope allows them to trust you.”

“You’re saying that these stats will affect other people?” Valen asked. Were these why he felt so safe from monster attacks in New Rapids? Maybe why he trusted the city lord would do what was best for the town even if he hated the laws. 

“Of course,” the rep said. Valen read through them over and over. Annoyed that this had been a thing the whole time. No wonder city lords killed each other. It was probably for the Domain Screen itself and levels they would gain from it. 

“Why is the Holding unknown?” Valen asked.

“Because you haven’t named the town-well hovel- of course,” the rep said.

Valen ignored the hovel comment. But that brought up another question. “Do you have a name? You personally, I mean?”

The representative paused for a moment. His thin smile quirking up slightly. “I did not. The people in this town called me Monk though.”

“Monk?” Valen asked. “You look more like a hippie.” He knew that monks were usually bald, so the name didn’t much suit him. 

“What is a hippie?” The man asked.

“Well…I actually don’t know. I just know they have long hair,” Valen said. “So can I call you Monk?”

“Yes, please,” the rep said with a wider smile. 

“Perfect. Monk, how can I name the town?” 

“Just click the Unknown next to the Holdings,” Monk said. 

Valen did so and a screen to type something in appeared. Unfortunately the letters of the alphabet were all jumbled and not in alphabetical order. “What should I name it?” He mused. A part of him wanted to name it something cool like Murder Town or Eagle Cross. But this was his first time actually naming something. He wanted to name it after himself. For so long he had never had anything that was his. Now he had a whole town to himself, hovel or not. 

“Valiance,” He said. He knew it meant courage and was where his name was derived from.  

“Very good,” Monk said with a smile and the name changed on his screen. Done with the screen he then brought up the town upgrade shop. 

Valen chose the business option. The first choice was a General Store, the price was one full plate. “Not as bad as I assumed,” he said. He had expected decks worth of aurous. The general store back home had been massive so he thought it would be worth thousands of decks. 

“What can I do with a general store?” Valen asked. 

“Depends on the tier. But purchasing everyday items isn’t a problem. You could sell materials at regular market value as well,” he said.

“Tier? What do you mean it depends on the tier?” Valen asked. 

“The bottom choice there is a tier increase. Right now you are at the lowest level. You would need to increase the tier of your options to be able to upgrade the buildings further,” Monk said. 

Valen moved to the Tier Increase. “10 plates?!” He yelled. That was more money than he thought he ever would have. “How am I supposed to get that?” 

“Normally a lord has people join the town, then taxes them,” Monk said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Though he could only tax himself for the time being, Valen asked, “How do I tax people?” 

“The next screen,” Monk said with a disappointed frown. Since everything in the Upgrade screen was out of his price range, Valen moved onto the last addition. The Town Management Screen. This time an image of the town…or more accurately the Town Hall appeared. On the side was a Management tab. 

He clicked Dangers. The first item listed in red was Goblins. Below that were kobolds, then worgs. “Shit,” he said. Those must have been the monsters closest to his town. Next he brought up the Laws tab. This brought up another keyboard where he could type in Laws. 

-THOU SHALL NOT KILL VALEN-

When he finished typing it he was given an option for penalty. He scrolled down until he found Execution. With a smile he clicked accept and a new screen appeared. 

“What the hell,” Valen said. “Why does it cost money to make this a law?” 

“This is a System enforced law,” Monk said. “If anyone broke this law, the System would cast judgment on them.”

“So if a level 200 killed me, the System would kill them?” 

“Yes…as long as they dont pay the 50 deck fine,” Monk said.

“Of course,” Valen said with a sigh. He forgot the golden rule. Laws could be broken as long as you had the money to help those in charge, forget they happened. He exited the screens and erased the law. He now understood why Raging was in charge of the town guards. It could cost a lot to have the System maintain order.

Next he brought up the Taxes. It was fairly simple. He could tax outsiders and citizens differently, certain types of goods could be taxed more or less. An interesting one was the automatic tax.

“What’s the automatic tax?” He asked. 

“Anytime someone kills a monster. Your town would receive a portion of that,” Monk said.

“Really?” He asked, excited he wouldn’t have to find tax collectors. Since he was the owner of the town there really was no issue with putting some right in the town coffers. But then an idea struck. 

“If I were to buy a building with the town funds, would the town own it or me?”

“You own the town, so you would,” Monk said. 

“No, I mean. If I were to buy a building with town funds, then someone kills me, the Lord position would pass to them, correct?” 

“Yes.” 

“And since they own the town now, would they own that building?”

“Yes,” Monk said, still not understanding what I was saying. 

“If I were to buy a building with my own funds. Then someone kills me. What would happen?” 

“The building would pass down to whoever you want it to. Which would be decided at purchase of the building,” Monk said. 

Valen decided it was better to keep the town funds and his own separate for the time being. He preferred the idea of potential profits going to him rather than the town. “Can I take out the funds from the town?” 

“If you were to purchase a bank, you could borrow the money,” Monk offered. Valen sighed. Everything cost money. This explained why the past lord of the town didn’t completely take out all the funds before he abandoned it. Valen was going to have to find a good balance between his own money and the town's money. He really wanted to save for the tier up, but with the rate he was going that could take a while. 

“Is there anything else to know about the town?” He asked. 

“I don’t believe so. Except for the quest board of course.” Monk looked to the front door. Valen had forgotten about the quest board. The one he had seen was littered with paper. 

“What about it?” Valen asked. 

“Well as you, or others complete quests, the general funds for the town also increase.” Monk began walking to the door and Valen followed. He currently had his Class quest for gaining shadow skills, but other than that he didn’t know too much about them. They stepped outside together. Monk paused for a moment, the sun hitting him. Valen wondered if he secluded himself in the Town Hall most of the time. Did he have to trim the short grass around the small building? 

“The quest board is a little backed up,” Monk said as he moved to stand in front of the board. Valen looked it over again. This time he noticed that all of them said Quest at the top. “If you turn in the quests 10% of the reward will be given to the town.”

“Are you telling me, I just have to turn these quests in? For rewards?” He asked slowly. The quests ranged from turning in goblin ears, worg tails, kobold ears, to gathering specific herbs and other daily items. With each one came a reward as well. Mostly in aurous, but all much more than he had received from monsters thus far. 

“Of course,” Monk said. “You can’t have a town without quests.”

Valen marveled at all of them. Practically money in his pocket he had planned on clearing out the area anyway. What concerned him was why he didn’t know this in New Rapids. He had heard of the quest board at the Town Hall, but there weren’t anything like these posted. 

“As the lord, can I not post these?” I asked, trying to figure out how New Rapids kept this information away from normal people. There were simple quests like gathering fire wood or a bucket of water, each paying a few aurous scrap. An amount he would have killed for growing up. Having access to easy tasks like this would have been a huge boon for him back in the day. 

“Eventually you could direct the quests to go to your own guild board if you wanted,” Monk said. “But you’re a ways from there.”

“Yeah,” Valen said with a humorless chuckle. Raging had been hoarding these quests for so long. Curious how they automatically replenished themselves he knew he couldn’t turn any in just yet, but soon. 

“I want to purchase a general store,” Valen said. Pulling up the Town Upgrade Screen he moved to the General Store. He didn’t have enough personally, but the town did. It cost a whole aurous plate, but if he was going to be living there, he needed a lot of supplies. If this town hadn’t been found for almost two decades he doubted anyone was close enough to sell him the necessities. 

“Very good,” Monk said.

“Any advice?” Valen asked. 

“Just click and you will see,” Monk said with a smile. Valen frowned but pushed on the general store button. 

He clicked yes and received a request for confirmation about where the funds should come from. Valen picked the funds from the town, then his Town Management Screen popped up. The aerial view of the Town Hall showed and a warning popped up.  

“What the hell is this?” Valen asked, looking at Monk. 

“You um, don’t have the land requirements,” Monk said, squinting his eyes as if he was trying to discern some hidden meaning in his question. 

“I know that,” he spat. “What does it mean I will have to declare war on the goblins?”

“Ah yes. The goblin camps have laid claim to this land. They will be made aware of you, and become more hostile toward you,” he said. 

“More hostile than they currently are?” Valen asked. He had already been attacked right when he met them. He wasn’t sure how they could become more hostile. Monk shrugged. “Fuck, can I cancel this purchase?” 

“You can, pause it,” Monk offered. “But no, canceling it is not possible right now.”

“Why not? Why didn’t I get a warning of this?” 

“You are the lord of the area, you should know that building on land that isn’t yours will cause issues,” Monk said, acting innocently. 

“Mother fucker,” Valen whispered. Living in town for less than a few hours and he was already declaring war. Eyeing the quest board, a lot of the quests involved goblins, and he did plan to clear them out. Also he needed a general store. He could buy flint, rope, a blanket. Most anything he needed to actually survive. 

“Fine,” he said, clicking yes. 

“Great,” Valen said. Monk smiled happily for him as if it was some great achievement. “Just fucking great.”