Civilization

So, what happened at the Krepost? Quite a lot actually, both in the development of the Krepost and the NPCs. Starting off, the original wall surrounding the Krepost was taken down and reconstructed further out. Replacing it were the clay bricks taken from HavenFall, using some stone and wood to create a more stable structure. The wall also became taller and wider, giving more space to the goblin archers on the top, as well as a better height advantage.

A small wooden cover was also placed at the top of the wall, providing cover for any of the NPCs. Furthermore, on each of the 4 points, a small tower was created, providing additional height as well as a ladder down to the ground. The total height, of the towers, was well over 5 meters tall, creating long shadows along the ground. Gopopo and Yor were the two people busy managing the wall, with Gopopo as the lead archer.

Gopopo received a long bow from old man Hus, with several fully stocked quivers ready to be used. Alongside him, the goblin and hobgoblin archers were also equipped with bows and arrows, routinely patrolling the wall and overlooking the grassland. Day by day they trained below the wall, shooting targets over and over again until they never miss.

Following the expansion of the walls, the area where the tamed monsters were kept also increased. Kumi had her work cut out for her, as Celine came back after every hunting trip with more and more tamed monsters. With the increased workload, she had no choice but to get help from some farmers back in HavenFall and some goblins that were interested in taking care of monsters. However, it was worth the increased efforts.

Celine had brought back an additional 10 Crizannas, 8 Zivotinjas, 5 Xabarils, and 2 Ijagus, over the course of a week and a half. These monsters were slightly weaker than the ones that were already in the Krepost, however, the increase in monsters helped with the breeding substantially. With the help of Howard, Kumi created multiple pens for the baby monsters as well as created environments that suited each type of monster.

Crizannas and Zivotinjas had more room to freely roam around, whilst Xabarils had lots of dry grass and branches for them to play with. Ijagus were placed closer to the shade with additional roofs connected to the wall. Creating these environments, was Kumi's idea and with it, the monsters seemed more relaxed and appreciative. According to Celine, the monsters preferred these separated environments and from what can be seen, the stat improvement increased faster.

On the other side of the Krepost, Gibing helped with the construction of the buildings. Using HavenFall as a base, Gibing copied the layout of the buildings, placing the civilian homes on one corner. However, he soon realized that in an event of an invasion, these homes will be destroyed if they couldn't defend against the monsters. Taking this into account, he changed the construction plans and used the Krepost building as a landmark, building homes around it in a circle.

Using this formation, he was also able to position other buildings like the workshop, the dining hall, the armory, and the barracks, North, East, South, and West of the Krepost. Doing so, he was able to spread out the more important buildings at the moment and used the homes as a last resort shield.

On the far side of the Krepost, next to the wall was the start of the farms. Using the grain found in the grassland, the farmers from HavenFall slowly did their best to sow the seeds. It was a slow process since finding the seeds took a lot of time. It was only when Kumi suggested the use of the Xabarils as a method to find the seeds did they start to collect more, eventually filling up the first batch of farmland. As it was just used as an experiment, there wasn't too much space allocated to the farm but if it turns out well and the grain can be mass-produced then, it won't be long before this becomes a stable food source.

Looking out of the Krepost, Kingston, and Celine were off on their daily adventures taking goblins with them to train. Other than coming back with more monsters, Celine also learned more about the monster's habitats and started to research them in depth as Kingston and the goblins fought them. Previously, she only had the first experience as a measure of how their combat skills, and other than the constant fighting at night, she didn't have any other knowledge of how the monsters fought naturally.

Taking this opportunity, she learned more about the different tactics some monsters used as well as the application of their skills which she did not know about previously. Zivotinjas will always cast their shield before charging their electricity, making sure they are always ready for a fight. Crizannas never moved outside the pack, and when one of them was targeted, they would follow and attack, making sure they were never left alone.

The monster she was able to learn the most about was the Ijagu. Originally her conception of the monster was that of a natural assassin, using the shadows and its superior stealth skills to hunt. The Ijagus they encountered always attacked a goblin when it was by itself, and when it failed, it would immediately retreat. Kingston was able to hunt it down, but even he had some difficulty if it runs into the forest.

Its light feet and agile steps make traversing the forest extremely easy, coupled with its black fur it could sometimes become invisible to the naked eye without using a skill. During this time, Celine was able to fully appreciate the monster's tactics when hunting. Fighting only battles it was able to win, otherwise retreating and waiting for another opportunity. It was different from other monsters as its intelligence was a lot higher. Its decision-making skills were above some humans and goblins.

It was only after taming the first Ijagu that was Celine able to understand the reason for its strength. Communicating with the beast, Celine understood that the most optimal way to hunt was to be patient and wait for the prey to come closer rather than actively hunting it. While she had the concept in her mind, she was never able to appreciate it as the monsters she tamed hunt in groups, protecting each other in fights, and never take a battle when it is alone.

Then there were the Stellar and Gewari, who were tracking down the cause of the strange monster invasion. Stellar and Gewari left at different times, using their respective invisibility skills to remain hidden. Meeting up later in the forest with a small team of goblin scouts, they start to search in the direction that the monsters had come from. Following the tracks the monsters made on the ground, they were able to easily find the culprit.

Deep inside the forest, South of the Krepost and East of HavenFall, resting against the mountainside was another player village, and just like we had suspected, they had some sort of tamer skill as well. There were several Crizannas patrolling the village gate, between a wooden wall. Staying nearby to investigate the village, Gewari noticed that there were a total of 27 humans and 15 demi-humans ranging between cats, dogs, and rat variants. At the same time, there were a total of 21 Crizannas, 16 Zivotinjas, 9 Giant Rats, and 3 Pythons.

Stellar decided to infiltrate the village in order to gain more information about the village's actions, learning that the attack on the Krepost was planned as it was just the beginning. The village was slowly preparing its army of monsters to attack while using the Pythons as scouts however, it was unable to detect that we have already infiltrated this village.

The leader of the village also happens to be the tamer, however, protecting his side is a Zivotinja-variant. Instead of the black and white stripes, it had gold and black, with a glowing golden star for a tail. Bright yellow sparks scatter into the air with every step, and its menacing aura made Stellar rethink her plans. Initially, she wanted to assassinate the leader and a few other people to make an example of attacking the Krepost but thinking about the Gold Zivotinja, she thought otherwise.

Regardless, she was able to obtain valuable information and now a constant team of goblin scouts are always watching the village relaying information back to the Krepost. So what about me? What did I do during this time? I was constantly traveling back and forth between HavenFall and the Krepost. I didn't need to train like the other NPCs, but I still participated in the various battles at both locations.

Monsters were coming from other Portals that we were able to secure, and I would sometimes enter the Abyss Portal and the Tower Portal, fighting the monsters and obtaining various loot. However, there was nothing amazing to be obtained fighting the small monsters, and it was mainly to keep my skills in check for when we do eventually fight the Generals. I spent time with Rebecca as well, watching the sunset or the sunrise every so often.

There was still much to discover about the environment and since it was still a game at this point, I still wanted to experience the freedom and the relaxation of this world. However, as the final week of the event nears, there was only so much time left before we have no choice but to push forward. I wasn't the only person thinking this, after all, every other player had a similar thought.

Carefully planning for the best 2 weeks all led to this point. This week will be long and chaotic.