Chapter 26: The Calm Before the Storm: Preparing for the Monster Siege
Time left before monster attacks: 4 hr. 00 min
Now, Ash is practicing with his knife with deep concentration because he can't leave the city to explore or gather resources. He feels bored while waiting for the monster attack, and during this time, fearful thoughts constantly swirl in his mind—thoughts like: maybe this will be the last moment of his life, maybe his companions will die a gruesome death at the hands of monsters, or perhaps they all might perish in the coming assault. To distract himself from these negative thoughts, he chooses to train with his knife.
While practicing, a deep thought echoes in Ash's mind: "I've adapted to this new world of Eldros better than I ever did to my previous world, Blue Planet. Maybe it's because, deep down, I always longed to be free from the control of governments and powerful people. On Blue Planet, the mistakes of politicians and bureaucrats made ordinary people like me suffer, while they walked away without consequences. No one could really touch them."
In contrast, he believes Eldros is a paradise for the common class compared to Blue Planet. Here, if an altar owner makes a mistake, it directly affects the growth of their altar. A weak altar city means monsters and beasts will overrun it, and the altar owner will die with it. In such cases, sometimes even the commoners may survive while the altar owner does not.
A few minutes later, Ash feels a growl in his stomach—"growl-growl"—and decides it's time for him and his companions to eat before the monster attack begins.
After a moment of thought, Ash calls out to Robin, "Prepare food for all of us to eat." He genuinely enjoys Robin's cooking. After all, Robin had been a professional butler in a high-level altar city, and cooking was one of the skills included in the butler's training. Robin had once told him that he learned how to cook from the head butler and the master chef of his previous altar owner's city. Ash was quite surprised by this revelation.
"Okay, my lord, I will go and prepare food for all of us," Robin replies. He heads toward the place where all the cooking materials are kept—a space that looks almost 80% like a real kitchen when Ash saw it yesterday.
Ash watches as Robin begins preparing ingredients. He thinks, "Robin seems to enjoy cooking. Maybe he liked my order to prepare food for everyone. Everyone else in the city is busy doing something, while Robin was idle, so giving him this task might make him happy too."
Ash continues practicing with the knife for nearly 30 minutes. His fingers go numb, and he notices a reddish hue under his skin. Feeling mentally and physically tired, he decides to check on Robin. He finds Robin almost finished cooking. The aroma makes Ash's mouth water, and he feels the food will taste great. He begins talking to Robin about the meal, and Robin happily answers all of Ash's questions.
"You prepare to serve the food, and I'll go bring Ram to eat," Ash says.
"Okay, my lord," Robin replies.
Ash then walks toward the city garden. A few minutes later, he arrives and immediately senses the mana density is higher here than elsewhere in the city. The rich mana refreshes him, and he feels a natural affinity for the mana tree standing there. Just the sight of it always makes him smile.
He meets Ram and asks, "How are your injuries?"
Ram gives a positive reply, and Ash quickly checks his status window.
Name: Ram (altar subject)
Age: 55
Status: Normal
Abilities: None
Level: 3
Loyalty: 60
Weapon: Low-grade sword
Ash smiles with joy after seeing Ram's status. Ram notices the happiness on Ash's face too. Still, Ash harbours a small concern—would Ram continue to respect his authority, or would he change now that he has recovered and reached level 3? But he decides not to dwell on it. After all, Ram had taken a bullet for him. Worrying too much would only burden his mind. Ram's loyalty score reassures him, and Ash believes Ram will still follow his commands. Still, he resolves to always speak to Ram with genuine respect.
Ash next opens his city's status window.
City: Nexus City
Ability: Territory defense doubled
Description: During a city defense event, all attack and defense powers of people and buildings are doubled.
Altar Level: 0
Upgrade Requirement: Wood × 1000, Stone × 250, Mana Core (Level 0) × 50
Production: Mist Mana Level 0 × 10 per day
Area: 625 square meters
Status: Very Small Village
Mana (Money): 12
Tax (Market & City): 0 × Mana-Mist Level
Building: Guide Mark × 1 (active), Market (5 free trades per day)
Blueprint: Low-grade house (Stone × 100, Wood × 25)
Warehouse: Wood × 0, Rabbit Monster Hide Level 0 × 11, Rabbit Monster Hide Level 1 × 1, Stone × 10
Population: 4
Specialty: Mana Tree (produces Level 0 Mana × 4 per day)
Resource Point: Stone Mountain Level 1 (310 mined / 1000 mineable)
Attack Power Level: 0 (1000/1000)
Defense Power Level: 0 (9500/10000)
After seeing the status, Ash notices that the city's attack power has reached its maximum, and defense power is nearly full too. He feels ecstatic. A wide smile spreads across his face. In a world where death can come in an instant, every altar owner would want their city to be strong—and Ash is getting there.
Then, new information appears in his mind from the altar, telling him that the city's attack power won't increase further unless the altar is upgraded. The same applies to defense power.
A few minutes later, Ash tells Ram, "Good, your injuries are almost healed. That gives us more courage to defend the city." He sees Ram smiling, which makes him feel even better. Ram is now a proper level 3 powerhouse.
"Let's go eat the food Robin cooked for us," Ash adds.
Ram agrees, and the two of them return to the cooking area.
Three minutes later, they meet Robin, who has laid the food out on leaf plates. Each of them picks up a plate and begins to eat. Smiles light up their faces, and everyone seems in good spirits.
Fifteen minutes later, as they're finishing their meal, a notification pops up in front of Ash.
Congratulations to the altar owner! Your first subordinate has upgraded from Level 0 to Level 1.
Ash is surprised, but it makes him happy—Evan has leveled up. He shares the news with Ram and Robin, and both are pleased.
"Evan will need time to adjust to his new level," Ram comments.
Robin nods in agreement.
Ash agrees too, deciding to wait before visiting Evan. "Robin, meet Evan in a few hours and deliver a leaf-plate of food to him," Ash says with a smile.
"Okay, my lord," Robin replies respectfully.
A few hours later, Ash checks the time left before the monster attack. A new window pops up:
Time left before monster attacks: 0 hr. 01 min
Ash quickly informs Robin and Ram, and they all grab their weapons, ready for battle. However, Robin has to borrow Evan's weapon, as there are no spares in the city.
Ash feels a sting of shame in his heart. As a city-owner, he can't even provide a simple weapon for his follower. But he has no choice. The city is only three and a half days old, and resources are limited. He hopes Robin will understand.
Ash, Robin, and Ram stand outside the city, near the pit traps they have installed. Ash checks his status window again:
Time left before monster attacks: 0 hr. 00 min. 50 sec
Time left before monster attacks: 0 hr. 00 min. 00 sec
Suddenly, a heavy pressure descends on Ash's heart and mind—a strange and terrifying fear he has never felt before, as if a lower being is about to face a higher being. He can see the shock on Ram's face and the fear in Robin's eyes.
Then, Ash tries to check the status of the monsters attacking his city.