Erza flew next to Eden as she rode through the land to reach a small village. It had a few homes made of wood and stone. As Eden approached a few soldiers wearing peasant clothes were waiting right outside the village. Their height was above 6 feet tall and each differed in facial features. Their ranks and stat power showed on this clothing.
"Is there a way to hide their rank and stats" Eden asked Ezra as her horse slowed down.
"I am afraid to say that only the stats would be hidden. The system will not allow the rank to hide," replied Ezra as her eyes went white and the numbers disappeared from the soldiers' clothing.
"Well, can I make something or buy something to cover their rank?" asked Eden as she began to get off her horse.
"You may purchase a robe with a metal lapel that has your coat of arms." replied Ezra as she pointed at a market near them.
Eden began to walk towards the market when a soldier of rank 1 stepped forward.
"My Lady, you have returned. Our army is small but with your command we will grow strong and large as it was destined in the chronicles of Assisi. I am Rank 1 and am honored to serve you." Rank 1 kneeled as he lowered his head. Eden looked around and as all of the other soldiers did the same.
"My liege, your soldiers are all pleased to see you return from the far lands where the sorcerer had casted you. After your father and mother perished in the great war, your dragon went into slumber and the people were unprotected. It was due to a meteor shower that broke the sorcerer's shield that was keeping you from returning. Word was sent to all neighboring kingdoms that the heirs have been freed. Everyone has been awaiting your return." Said Ezra.
Eden took a deep breath. "I see. I thank you for your loyalty and wish to bestow a name on each of you as gratitude. Please rise Rank 1, you are now Arthur of Eden."
Arthur raised and said with enthusiasm, "thank you my lady."
There were 100 soldiers in total which Eden gave names to. She then ordered them to eat and return to train their skills. Once in the market, she noticed that the robes and metal lapels were very expensive. When she checked her arsenal, she could only afford 5 of them without dipping too much into her account. She wasn't sure if there were going to be better quality or other items she might want in the future. She wanted to be frugal until she understood more. Before she passed them out she had one more question.
"Their stats, how do I get their stats as high as possible?"
"To raise your soldiers' stats, they can train, learn more at the academy and a promotion gives a boost. The limit to their stats are based on the limit of the liege who is commanding them. That is you Great Eden. You must work on getting strong to raise your troops to knights and to get better boosts. The items you purchased give a small boost, but there will be more resources available once you go on a monster raids. You may also raid other villages for their resources" explained Erza.
"How do I get my own stats higher?" asked Eden.
"You can train your sword skills in the training grounds, go to the academy to learn spells and complete missions for boss raids. Joining an alliance will also give you a boost and additional stats. Sometimes rewards and armor may be used as buffs during battle. Your castle prestige may also carry buffs once fortified." replies Ezra
"How are these alliances acquired?" asked Eden while thinking about how they could maximize their own strength individually.
"During your travels. There will be bulletin boards in the markets with alliances created or you can purchase your own banner, but that will cost coins and time for recruitment." said Ezra.
"Ezra, are you able to relay information and respond to specific questions if commanded" asked Eden with a glimmer in her eyes.
"Yes, you can request I send a message and await a response with a set of directions. If the response does not meet the requirements, then a null response is given from me unless you change that variable." Said Ezra slowly as if something was preventing her from giving an answer.
Eden thought to herself, they must still be working out kinks. I must work fast and keep things to myself before they find out and fix it. Then she recalled that her passport picture had her anonymous avatar picture. She asked, "Why does my passport show an anonymous avatar picture and not my face?"
Ezra smiled and answered, "Currently, only your castle members can see your true appearance, but once you join an alliance, you can accept or deny the request from any of them to see your appearance. This keeps your identity a secret. To anyone else, you look like the image in the passport. You can change into your character once you reach a level of 15 in the academy of spells."
Eden recalled the information scroll where it mentioned Avatar transformation, but not specific details. She took a deep sigh as she thought about all the details she will have to memorize in order to advance. She took a second look into the market to look at the skins and didn't see anything she thought would be beneficial to buy at her current level. Then she began to walk towards the center of the village to find her castle in ruins and still being rebuilt. The people around were working and not making eye contact. She could tell they were following a storyline and simple commands. She wondered if they were AI or something else, but first she needed to get some stats up to understand what she really needs to focus on. Out of the 100 soldiers she promoted 5 to knight commanders, Arthur, Gabriel, Sir Lancelot, Gwaine and Sir Tristan. She then walked to each of them and equipped them with the robes and lapels. Each got an instant boost.
Eden then walked back to her horse and decided to name him thunder. Before mounting thunder she looked back at Ezra and commanded, "Have the men ready for battle, we are going on a monster raid and won't return until we have enough supplies to fortify the castle." Eden didn't know the strength she needed and the amount of men for every monster or boss. This was going to be her way of testing stats and attacks.
Small reptile creatures were easy to deal with. Her soldiers could manage one each. It didn't give EXP (experience points), but the rewards could be used as resources. Eden looked at the arsenal and could see it was only five percent of what was needed to complete a basic magic stone or convert to 1 coin. She took a deep breath as she didn't want to lose any men to injuries or basic monsters.
They then approached a cave, Eden raised her hand up to halt. She decided to go in first, but Ezra soon chimed in. "My liege, the commander must never go in first, it is the knight's duty to scout the area ahead." Arthur, as if in a queue, stepped forward and said, "allow me." Eden was about to protest before a centaur stepped outside the cave. It swung its blade at Arthur before he could raise his shield. As the sword dropped down with its might it met one of Eden's blades. "Attack" said Eden as she tried to hold the blade up against hers. Arthur, Gabriel, Sir Lancelot, Gwaine and Sir Tristan had on the medal lapels and robes she had purchased earlier. "Those without robes charge, the rest wait on my next attack," said Eden as she felt like her hand was about to give out. The troops began to charge in and were easily defeated with the swing of the centaur's blade. Half of them were in critical condition. As it raised its blade to strike again, "Ezra collided with the centaur." Ezra didn't question and went in swiftly. A force field shield prevented the blade from touching her and causing any damage. In that still moment, "Let's go!" yelled Eden as Thunder leaped into action. With the previous damage and the centaur unable to move, it was defeated.