Chapter 3: Whispers of the Forest: Ash's First Fear
He, from afar, tries to see the status of the young man. After a few seconds, a window pops up in front of him.
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Name: Evan
Age: 18
Status: Healthy
Abilities: None
Level: 0
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He thinks in his mind, "I do not like Evan's status, but it's better than nothing."
Then, the new refugee says hello to him. Ash nods with respect, because he also wants to increase the population of his city. Now, the population of Nexus City is only one if he is included, and he doesn't want to look arrogant in front of his future subordinate. Mostly, he does not want to die, so more people in the city would make him feel good about his city. That also increases the strength of his altar city—and his strength, too.
"Are you the owner of this altar city?" Evan asks him, with nervousness in his eyes.
"Yes," he says, with a smile on his face.
"May I live here, my lord?" Evan asks nervously, with some hesitation in his speech.
"Okay, first tell me about this world and about you," Ash says with a polite smile. He thinks deeply in his mind, "I should get all the basic information about this world from Evan. This is also a test for Evan. If he lies to me when I cross-check with other refugees, then I'll be able to check his personality. I will also find out if he is trustworthy or untrustworthy. That will help me know how to treat Evan in the future. I genuinely need more basic knowledge of this world from a native's perspective, and I also need to understand Evan's life journey. That will help me grasp his ambition and greed."
"Okay, my lord," Evan says to Ash, his face holding a small smile.
He begins to listen to Evan with full concentration.
Evan says to Ash, "His name is Evan. He used to live with his family in an altar city, Moon City. The city's altar was level 3, but the city altar was attacked by monsters and destroyed. Most people of the city were killed by the monsters, but some people fled to find another altar city to live in."
"How can people flee from a city?" Ash asks, his voice sour, his face twisted with irritation.
"Citizens of an altar city can flee if the city's altar is destroyed or if the altar owner is incapable of securing loyalty and protecting the citizens. In short, it depends on the will of the people of the altar city," Evan says, his voice nervously quivering.
With dejected eyes, Ash thinks deeply in his mind, "From this new information, I can see that there is always a risk of my city's citizens leaving permanently. I should respect people's choices and should not boss around without reason. I should give appropriate compensation if they work for me. I must also increase my leadership to ensure people have loyalty toward the city and me. Most importantly, I must have strength that can make people sure about the city's stability and safety against monsters."
"Can an altar's owner also flee?" Ash asks, still with a polite smile.
"Generally, an altar owner can flee, but they will die if the altar is destroyed. So, no altar owner in their right mind flees the altar city," Evan says with a polite voice and a smile on his face.
Ash thinks in his mind, "So, no altar owner is stupid enough to flee. Mostly, they can only fight to the death if they want to survive in this world.
I see. 'Eldros Will' gives more power and privilege to the altar owner than the normal inhabitants of this world, but it also gives more responsibility. There's no chance of escape if the altar owner's altar is destroyed. The altar owner has to die with the altar. The destiny of the altar and altar owner is linked to death.
But why do I feel relieved or suddenly joyous? Why do I have a smile on my face? Maybe I enjoy the thrill of fighting to the death more than fleeing like a pig or dog. Or maybe there's a beast, an instinct in me that wants to fight to the death and kill anyone who dares harm me—even slightly, in life.
Or maybe this is a side-effect of my tragic death on the blue planet. Whatever. I won't be able to find a psychiatrist in this killing world where people have to defend against monster attacks daily.
I believe most people in this world have some mental issues, or maybe more than me. After all, I died on the blue planet because a truck hit me, but here, I feel like most people think maybe this day will be their last."
Ash asks, "So, how can citizens flee without the altar owner's permission?"
Evan says, "Generally, most big altar owners allow people to go out for hunting and resource gathering. If they flee during this time, what can the altar owner do? In wartime, altar owners even announce to the people if they want to leave the city because the uncertain hearts of the people can create chaos—something no city owner wants to face in wartime. And if people choose to flee in wartime, most city owners make sure to take their altar's protection mark from their minds.
But any people without the protection of the altar's mark must find protection from another altar, otherwise, they'll become monsters at most in 6 months unless they have some special treasure to protect themselves. Many altar owners follow their own ways of governance and treat war traitors and citizens differently. It's a complex structure to describe in a limited time."
So,
Ash thinks in his mind, with a big smile on his face, "So, the altar owner has collective power to decide who will live in this world and who will die or become a monster. Not bad, I guess. This will give tremendous help to the altar owner if they see any form of rebellion. It also discourages most people from going on an adventure to find a new altar city. I feel those adventure-minded people, after losing the altar's protection mark, are best. They should be out of my city. After all, I don't want any nuisances in my city that could threaten the law and order of the altar city."
"Do you really want to be protected by my new altar city and want to become a citizen here?" he asks, his smile unchanged. If Evan rejects the offer to become a citizen, Ash won't mind.
"Yes, I want to be a citizen in this altar city," Evan says with a smile, bowing toward him.
"Why?" Ash asks, his tone casual.
"Because I'm a level 0 human being, and no territory will accept me easily without harsh requirements. Or maybe I'll be used as cannon fodder without appropriate compensation," Evan says with a humble face.
Ash thinks in his mind, "Evan is making a logical statement, and I can also feel sympathy for him, so I should believe him. After all, I need someone immediately to help fight the upcoming monster attacks."
"Why do you think I won't use you as cannon fodder?" Ash asks.
"No, you won't use me as cannon fodder without appropriate compensation because you also need trustworthy people to grow stronger and to grow your altar city to protect yourself. You seem smart from your question. After all, if you used me as cannon fodder without compensation, I could also try to go to another altar city," Evan says, his voice nervously wavering.
Ash sighs!
Ash thinks in his mind, "I like this person. I always feel good to have smart people rather than dumb ones. After all, smart people are predictable and act with logic, compared to dumb people. What does a dumb person do? No one knows, and they don't know either."
"Welcome to Nexus City," Ash says with a smile on his face and hugs Evan with both hands.
Evan looks relieved, and he simply follows whatever Ash tells him to do.
"How many people can I have in this city?" Ash asks with a normal voice.
"See your city's area on the status window and decide how many can live here without a problem," Evan says, joy evident on his face.
Ash thinks in his mind, "Status window…"
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City: Nexus City
Ability: Territory defense double
Description: In the event of city defense, all the attack power and defense power of people and buildings become double.
Altar level: 0
Area: 625 square meters
Status: very small village
Building: Guide mark1 (active)
Warehouse: low-grade sword1, low-grade gun*1, bullets * 20
Population: 2
Specialty: none
Attack power level: 0 (1/1000)
Description: city's power level to attack enemies
Defense power level: 0 (2/10000)
Description: city's defense power level against enemies.
15 minutes later,
Ash looks toward the entry gates of the city, feeling the fresh wind from the forest.
He can see the huge, behemoth trees before him.
Then, he suddenly feels fear creep into his mind. His face sweats from head to toe, his mouth drops open, and his eyes and face show a shocked expression.