You are Summoned

Chapter 252. Meet Your Subjects.

I stepped through the portal and found myself on a grassy field. In the distance, a thick forest stood, and behind me was a tall mountain. At the base of the mountain, an ominous cave opening loomed. Looking for signs of civilization, I couldn’t see anything, not even woodsmoke from a distant campfire. No wildlife called out, and it seemed far too quiet for such a lovely looking spot. A system prompt interrupted my inspection.

Welcome summoned beings to the Tier 2 arena challenge. You will participate in a rarely seen contest, one that will have an extended duration, an enhanced number of competitors, and expanded rewards. In this contest you will guide and develop a small population of randomly selected beings. These system-generated beings will follow your orders as you build their civilization.

The path you choose for your civilization is up to you. Many will choose the path of conquest, using military power to subjugate the people and threats around you. Others may choose a friendlier approach and develop strong ties through trade and peaceful cooperation.

No matter which path you choose, threats will lurk inside the lands you are assigned to. Many of these threats cannot be handled by diplomacy, so all participants will need to flex their military might at some point during the challenge. In addition to the threats lurking inside your realm, outside challenges and opportunities will sometimes arise that you must deal with or exploit.

Though this is intended to be a longer duration challenge, there are time limits to each stage of the challenge. After a brief acclimation period, there will be a total of 3 stages, with each stage being slightly longer in duration than the last. The total number of participants for this challenge is 5,000.

Your performance will be ranked among your peers and will determine your final rewards at the end of the contest. The starting faction for your challenge will now be randomly assigned for each contestant. Your starting resources and the richness of the lands around you will vary based on the power of your starting species.

Any arena upgrade certificates in your possession will also be consumed and used to improve your initial position through a variety of means. Please stand by as your starting species and faction is generated. After the faction generation is complete, you will have a short time to familiarize yourself with the mechanics of the challenge before the first stage begins.

It seemed like there was a lot going on with this challenge, not to mention there were 5,000 participants. My last arena challenge only had about 1,000. I wondered just how many summoned beings there were in the universe if 5,000 of us could be pulled in just for a tier two arena challenge. The rewards would probably be amazing, but I’d have to keep near the top of the heap to see a solid return on the investment of my entry fee.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, maybe a castle or village growing up around me? Nothing seemed to change, but a system prompt gave me a clue of where to look for my starting species.

A tribe of cave-dwelling kobolds has been selected as your starting species. Primitive, cunning, and aggressive, your starting species awaits your guidance to grow them in the lands around you. A map of your territory, and the limits of your challenge area will be available inside your Command Cavern. From this Command Cavern you will direct your people. Locate the Command Cavern and begin your efforts.

“Command cavern, that means I’ve got to go inside the creepy cave. Best not to do this alone,” I muttered to myself. To my surprise, Melvin gave a small feeling of agreement through the armor figurine.

I summoned my mana slayer drone to watch over me as I next pulled out Melvin’s armor figurine. Activating it, my armor began to glisten as a protective layer made of gelatinous cube began to flow over it. Once it was done flowing over my existing armor, the protective layer became clear and almost unnoticeable.

At least it didn’t remain slimy, the armor hardened into an almost rubber-like texture. I wouldn’t’ be leaving streaks of goo every time my armor bumped up against anything. Melvin had done a great job, and I was even happier to sense that he could still communicate with me while in this form.

Once the rest of my minions were summoned, we headed toward the cave. I wasn’t sure what to expect, were these kobolds supposed to be like my minions? I had no idea if I had to do something to win them over, or if there was anything else lurking in the cave.

I heard a chittering screech of warning sound out when I entered the cave, my eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light after leaving the brightly lit field I had started in. All of my goblins and the drone had no trouble transitioning to the dark, but Elida, Khurr, and myself were unable to see for a moment.

As my eyes adjusted, I could see there were at least a dozen diminutive kobolds scattered around the rather enormous cave. They were yipping and hissing their odd language among themselves. A few seconds later, the system began to translate for me. I

“Is he big leader man? Not dragon? He humie?”

“Hungry. What to eat. We eat goblin?”

“Sharp stick, need-find sharp stick to stab-kill intruders…”

The kobolds continued to chatter among themselves, but now I could communicate with them.

“Everyone quiet!” I roared. The kobolds were stunned into silence as my voice boomed inside the cave. It was something I’d learned from my time with the soldiers, the ability to project my voice across the battlefield. I figured it would be a good idea to start in a position of strength with these kobold things.

“I now rule here. Take me to the command cavern,” I demanded. The kobolds continued to just stand there and stare at me.

“Who do I need to kill to get you to follow my commands?” I growled. That seemed to do the trick. The kobolds began to hop and point deeper into the cave, waving me forward. This place was huge, and not as bland as some of the other caverns I’d seen before on my journeys.

As we walked deeper into the place, I could see a faint light given off by glowing moss on the walls, and the occasional opening in the rocks that let in some daylight. It wasn’t as bright as the field outside, but the light was more than enough for me to see the extent of the cavern. A large section of cavern floor was fenced off with glowing mushroom stalks. Inside the fenced off area, more mushrooms grew in rows, a farm of sorts where four filthy kobolds worked at picking and digging around in the rich soil there.

The kobolds themselves looked a bit scrawny. Their scales were dim, and they looked like they could all use a good meal or two. I’d dealt with the species a time or two before. They were about the size of a halfling and resembled humanoid lizards to me. From what I’d been told, they were somehow related to dragons, but I couldn’t see any real dragon stooping low enough to claim them as part of the family.

Further inside the cave was a handful of structures that looked to have been cobbled together from a combination of branches dragged from the forest outside, and more of the large mushroom stalks. These were probably the residences of the kobolds and just past this area was a rickety wooden shack, about as large as my bedroom back home. The kobolds began to point toward the shack, which had no actual door, only a filthy blanket draped over the doorway leading inside.

My mana slayer drone led the way, pulling down the blanket with his claws and checking the interior before I entered. Waving that it was all clear, I stepped inside and was barraged with a series of system prompts as soon as I did so.

You have claimed your Command Cavern. From here, you will direct your people as they go forth and do your bidding.

Like the rest of your new domain, your Command Cavern will grow and evolve as your power over this region increases. This structure will also slowly generate resources for you to use, and as it improves, the flow of resources will increase. Based on your arena upgrade certificates, further improvements to your domain will now commence.

There are four aspects to domain management, the infrastructure, defense, trade, and population tabs. All four can be accessed here inside your Command Cavern. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the interface created for this challenge.

It seemed straightforward, a bit like one stage of my first arena run where I commanded the orc army against three other summoned beings. From the way the system had described things, it sounded that, unlike the previous arena run, I wouldn’t be fighting directly against any of the other summoned beings this time. It was a PVE type of challenge.

There was no computer console or anything inside my little headquarters, instead it was a completely empty, and rather filthy box that I was standing inside. Everything worked through my interface. I started with the first of the four domain management options, infrastructure.

When I selected infrastructure, I got a map of the cavern I was currently in, the field where I had arrived, and the very edge of the forest, where I assumed the kobolds had done some scavenging for lumber. Most of the circular map was dark, ready to be explored by my forces.

A slight glow on the cavern icon allowed me to select it and zoom in on this area. I could see my command cavern, which I was able to rename headquarters, which sounded better to me. Two other structures were highlighted in the area, and I pulled up each one in turn.

Headquarters, Rank 0. This structure provides management of your domain. Further upgrades will allow more control and unlock a variety of benefits for your people.

Mushroom Farm, Rank 0. This structure provides sustenance for your population. Your population growth will, in part, depend on your ability to farm, scavenge, or trade for food. As part of your arena upgrade certificate bonuses, this structure may be now upgraded to Rank 1.

Housing Complex, Rank 0. This collection of crude structures provides housing for your people. The higher tier your accommodations, the more population you can support and the happier they will be to serve you. As part of your arena upgrade certificate bonuses, this structure may be upgraded to Rank 1.

I had seen the mushroom farm and the housing on my way to the headquarters shack. They weren’t that impressive, and I was glad I could at least upgrade them one rank before this whole thing kicked off. Before I could upgrade the two structures, a system prompt flashed red in my interface.

Your subjects are under attack, organize a defense against this assault to prevent further casualties, and to build your reputation among your people.

Current Faction Morale: Rebellious.