Gamer Tools: Kingdom Architect, A LitRPG Adventure

Petyr’s proposal was deeply troubling and dangerous. After hearing it, Jonn spent a good four minutes in silent contemplation, gazing at the dark horizon in search of answers.

Acting against travelers would be a mistake that would be hard to undo. If they targeted the wrong group, the consequences could be severe. Moreover, the path of crime leads nowhere. Grandpa always said that principles build, while the lack of them destroys.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Jonn felt uneasy. He knew if left with no other option, he might end up doing what Petyr proposed. Ultimately, he would do what was best for his village, even if it meant bringing darkness and death to others.

“Give me a few days,” he finally said to Petyr, neither refusing nor accepting the proposal. “I want to know everything before I decide.”

Petyr had anticipated this scenario and, despite being pressed for time, he nodded in agreement. “Take your time to consider it. Acting now or waiting for seven days won’t make much difference. However, Jonn, don’t delay it for too long. In this apocalyptic world we live in, we can’t afford to cling to futile hopes.”

“I understand. I genuinely appreciate your sincerity.”

Petyr left soon after, heading to his house. Although he had been old Hewet’s right-hand man, the village hunter was not in charge of internal affairs. To understand the full situation in the village, Jonn would need to speak with at least half a dozen people.

Right now, my priority is to check our situation. From Petyr’s words, hunting in the surroundings won’t be viable for much longer. We’re likely the last living beings in the Barren Hills of Deepshadow.

I need to talk to Arber about the greenhouse and Lance about the animals. Jan should have information on the regional map and the routes of traveler groups, while Tim should know about the land near the village.

Until this morning, Jonn had been an ordinary young man. He had learned important skills from Hewet, such as improvising tools, judging character, treating non-lethal wounds, and reading and writing—basic things. He had witnessed the old man lead the tribe, but he himself was not a leader. He hadn’t prepared for it, or so he thought.

If you had asked him about the village’s situation last night, he would have told you it was dire. At least three families were at risk of losing members in the coming months, and feeding them was difficult because of the scarcity of plant and animal food sources. He certainly didn’t know how to solve many of the village’s problems.

However, from the moment he received Hewet’s position and inheritance, he felt he could do things far beyond what he had done until the night before. A part of him told him that this was because of the Celestial Magnifying Glass inside his being, but another part told him it was because of {Reputation}.

“Sigh!”

Turning his back, he went ahead with his plans, returning to Arber and Lance’s house, where the two were still mourning Hewet’s death.

But Arber had already removed the sheets from her bed and put clean ones on, quickly getting on with her responsibilities, even though they had just lost their leader.

Some people around the house were talking about the old Elder’s departure and once again offered their condolences to Jonn.

He thanked them, and as soon as he was alone with Lance and Arber, he got straight to the point. “My grandfather left me his position. Although I was never interested in taking his place, I’m here to work for the village.” Looking up at the sky, he tried to smile, even amidst the difficulties. “I’m going to fulfill his last wish, so help me with the information I need.”

Lance and Arber wouldn’t make things difficult for him. In fact, he would have the same experience with the others later when he would go around the village to speak with the more experienced people of the village.

By mid-morning, he would have a comprehensive understanding of the village’s situation.

The animal area, located a bit to the south of the village, currently housed 21 hens, 3 roosters, 2 cows, and 1 bull. It yielded about 40 liters of milk and 30 eggs daily, according to recent figures.

The greenhouse had been producing 200 kilos of various foods each month, a fraction of what was ideal for a village like theirs.

Due to it, all the residents of the Eternal Village were malnourished, with only a few physically fit inhabitants. If it hadn’t been for Petyr’s efforts to get wild meat, they would have been dead long before the end of Hewet!

Discovering the exact amount of food available to his people frightened Jonn. In particular, he felt bad because, from what he had heard, the veterans of the tribe gave up some of their food so that the younger ones, like him, could eat better.

In addition to the precarious food situation, the village had limited options nearby. The land itself was tainted by the chaotic mana from past mages’ battles, rendering the soil infertile.

If there were valuable minerals in the area, they were difficult to access. Previous groups searching for minerals nearby had never extracted more than a few grams of valuable metals.

Merchants occasionally passed along the roads near the village, but to acquire resources from them, the village needed coins—something that was scarce in this area. Apart from the reserves left by Hewet, totaling only 3 gold coins, there was nothing else to rely on.

There were additional problems as well. For instance, fewer than 10 people in the entire village could fight. If bandits attacked, they would be defenseless. Similarly, if beasts attacked, they would be in grave danger.

Learning all of it forced Jonn to consider Petyr’s proposal more seriously.

Will we end up forced into this?

The young man asked himself silently as he sat on his doorstep, his thoughts always arriving at dead ends, returning to the possibility raised by Petyr.

All that remains is for me to test the {Skills} of the Celestial Magnifying Glass. They’re for analyzing things and learning about them. I didn’t want to depend totally on it, but there doesn’t seem to be any other option than Petyr’s idea.

I’d better find out what I can do with these {Skills}. At the moment, I don’t know how it’s going to help me, but I’d better try it out as much as I can over the next few days.

Now where do I start? Or rather, what is the village’s major problem at the moment?

The answer immediately came to mind.

Food.

But what is my best chance of improving this problem?

With more food of plant and animal origin. In particular, if I can plant crops in the black soil and increase the production of milk and eggs... It would also be good to stimulate the reproduction of animals—no, that brings me back to the lack of food. We barely have enough for humans, we can’t increase the number of animals carelessly.

Jonn left his house and crossed the village to the greenhouse area. He used his grandfather’s master key to enter the building where his tribe grew a range of different foods on hanging shelves.

There were vegetables, leaves, herbs, and a few fruit-bearing trees. The terrain of the Barren Hills of Deepshadow was challenging, but over the years, the tribe had brought fertile soil from distant places and used pots to grow plants in this barren land.

As Jonn saw the greenhouse, lush with plant life on its walls and even its roof, he felt a glimmer of hope. If it was possible to create such a thriving place here, perhaps he could improve conditions for the village as well.

Alone there, he drew the Celestial Magnifying Glass from his soul. Instinctively, he channeled the mana he had within him, linking the magnifying glass to his soul.

At first glance, peering through the minor item in his right hand, he noticed no significant difference in the tomato plants he was observing. However, as seconds passed, his eyes detected colored streams flowing through the small plant. Strangely, the toxic mana from the surrounding area entered through the plant’s leaves and was directed to the roots in the pot, where pure crystallizations of mana seemed to have solidified.

Somehow, this purified mana in the plant’s roots strengthened it and increased its metabolic capacity, creating a positive cycle in which it concentrated more mana in that crystal and produced more and more food.

Without realizing it, time passed and soon he was looking at the pot, the soil, the water used to water the plants in the greenhouse, gradually assimilating the structure and functioning of the tomato plant. Curious about what he saw and some implications that his two {Skills} suggested, he investigated the potato plant and the lettuce.

To his surprise, all the plants he observed had the same type of mana crystals at the bottom of their pots, working in cooperation with them as they grew denser and richer in mana.

These crystals, Jonn wasn’t sure how to use them, but they were almost like mana bombs, extremely sensitive. Handling one of those pots the wrong way would cause a slight explosion that would probably destroy the plants in each of them.

These mana crystals... What will happen if I transfer it to the dead soil? Will the plant in the pot stop producing so well? Will the dead soil become less toxic?

When [Analysis] stopped working, [Essence of Life] kicked in and some of your questions were answered.

No, the plant won’t stop producing well. The crystal it generated strengthens it and makes it produce more, but as far as I can see, it concentrates more mana in the crystal than it needs to have this metabolic reaction. If I take half the crystal out of the pot, I’ll have more than a 90% chance of maintaining the plant’s performance.

He decided to test his ‘theory’ with 5 different plants from the greenhouse.

He had never worked with plants before, but instinctively he knew how to manipulate the pots, remove the root and the small plants without harming them, until he had access to the crystals.

Wrapping his mana around a pair of gardening shears, he cut the mana crystal the way [Analysis] said it would work to divide it without destroying or causing damage to it.

He got five pieces of mana crystal in his hands, each of them in the shape of rectangles, as if they were light green gold bars.

Taking from the greenhouse a small hoe, a shovel, a rake, and some seeds, he went outside the greenhouse and started work on a small piece of land measuring one square meter.

He cleared the land he wanted to work on, marked out the site of his experiment with stones and then plowed it in by hand with his hoe. The process took only 20 minutes until he had made small holes and spread the crystals he had with him over the area.

Covering the mana crystals just a little, Jonn planted tomato seeds and some of the fertilizer available in the greenhouse. Covering them with soil, he used the rake to protect the seeds before lightly watering the area.

Now, all that’s left to do is wait. I’ll take care of you for five days. If you haven’t germinated by then, it means my theories were wrong... I’ll keep studying the plants in the greenhouse and exploring the black soil of the Barren Hills of Deepshadow. Hopefully, I’ll make some progress before Petyr comes searching for me.

As for the animals, I’ll worry about them after that. Now, unfortunately, I have to stop.

He looked at his system status and saw that he only had 5 units of mana left. Something told him that he had to sit down and meditate until his mana recovered his mana. After it, he could use the Celestial Magnifying Glass again.