The Newt and Demon

5.45 - Glantheir's Tears

Theo almost felt bad about leaving Throk, Sarisa, and Rowan behind in Gronro. But the train ride was far too uncomfortable, so he had simply teleported to Alex back in Broken Tusk to wait for his assistants. They had shot him a look, but softened after finding the catered food provided by Xams tavern. The alchemist now sat in the Dreamwalk, looking over an endless list of skills that he couldnt hope to pick from. He had picked the skills for his herbalist and alchemy core, but had also gained a free pick for his personal level hitting Level 30.

To make matters worse, Theo had to find a core to fit his new core slot. When considering new cores, his mind centered on the idea of both synergy and passive management. His alchemy and herbalist cores worked together directly, the gathering class feeding into the crafting class. His Toruaun core was then fed by both cores, providing him the means to craft more powerful spells. The Governance Core was entirely passive, providing both the town and the nation with improvements. Those bonuses ranged from better administration panels to battle maps and even the contracts they relied on to keep order within the town.

The only odd core slotted into his soul was the Tarahek Core. It was based entirely on his bond with Tresk, which set it apart from the others. Rather than providing a defined set of powers, it gave a blanket of useful things to make life easier. It didnt pass Theos notice that the core also contributed to his mental stability and control over Terogal.

Theos impulse was to select an aligned core. Since he could just go to the realms and ask a god for their core, that would be simple. But the description on his Drogramath Dedication ability claimed he could turn normal cores into Drogramath cores. That was tempted, even if the god himself wasnt willing to describe the other cores he issued. The alchemist knew about the priest-style cores. He had seen Zarali in combat, and noted that she was a support mage. There was no need for a second support mage core.

Broken Tusk had at least one skilled artificer, smith, smelter, woodcutter, stonemason, and miner. So most production-based cores were off the table. That left esoteric cores.

Perhaps theres a core for golemancy, Theo mused, falling back onto the soft mosses of the forest. He gazed into the boughs of the trees above, spotting the unmoving sun above. Tresk was somewhere near. Fighting the damned horned snake.

A core that increased the power of his golems would be welcome, but that got his thoughts on another track. Xolsa had a core that made him mostly immune to the effects of spatial travel, which was quirky for a core. Willpower was another one of those hidden attributes, and seemed to affect just about everything. If there was a core that increased a persons willpower, the alchemist would feel the effect far more than an ordinary person. Even if this worlds people were anything but ordinary. His control over Terogal would increase. He could have more golems and operate them more efficiently. The alchemist would even have greater control of both his passage through the void, and his control of Terogal outside of the void.

Willomancer, Theo whispered to himself, nodding.

That decision also lined up well with his need to pick a new skill. He rose from the mossy floor, dusting off the bits of vegetation that clung to his coat. Tresk and Alex were fighting in a clearing. The snakes tail swept through the forest, shattering the trunks of trees as though they were toothpicks. Theo withdrew his knives, chugged a few potions, and joined in the fray.

Theo stood on the streets of Broken Tusk, flicking through administrative reports. There were a few annoying things, but also something that excited him. Alise had been setting aside Monster Cores for upgrading the alliance. She also wanted a meeting about combat preparedness, which Aarok had responded to with enough creative curses to fill a book. She backed off after that, finally getting the hint that the administrators administered and the adventurers fought. He put those town politics aside and made his way to the town hall. It was as bustling as ever.

Alise had made herself an impressive office on the top floor. It gave her a decent view of the town. Theo let himself in, finding her poring over a stack of papers. At least she smiled when he entered.

Im ready to upgrade the alliance, Theo said, sauntering over to take a seat opposite her. I didnt know you were hiding away Monster Cores for the job.

Indeed, I have been, Alise said, gesturing to a dimensional crate in the rooms corner. The level of the buildings is bound to the level of the town. And the towns level is bound to the kingdoms level. But there is also good news. Throks new coins can contribute to the alliances energy, which saves us a big headache.

Theo nodded. Buildings could go ten levels above the town, but a town could go twenty levels above. He guessed. They hadnt done enough testing to say it worked exactly that way, since both the alliance and the town had population counters that gated upgrades. As always, Alise was thorough with her daily reports. There was something else the alchemist was interested in.

I saw an increase in weapons on the walls. Is that because of Throks new tube system?

That was Zankirs idea, actually. As the Captain of the Sandscourge Company he was given sweeping powers over the towns defense. And he has taken his job seriously. Alise sighed, shaking her head as she smiled. It has actually been a weight lifted from my shoulders.

Im glad to hear it. Shall we upgrade an alliance?

Alise shuffled some papers, stowing some away in her desk drawer while leaving others on the table. Absolutely. The other upgrades are useful, but I want to see something amazing.

After leaving the town hall and approaching the towns monolith, Theo was reminded of how strange the object was. Other towns had wooden monoliths, made of the same stuff he saw when a new building was sprouting. This one was a solid black rock that shone like obsidian. It held both the Town Core and the Kingdom Core. The alliance had two upgrades. Zorp, which allowed them to transport resources between any town in the alliance. Controlled Fire was an upgrade that made wall-mounted towers far more effective. They required less energy, and fired faster.

Alise withdrew some notes, gesturing for Theo to shove the cores he brought in his inventory into the alliance. Unlike a building, which required five equal-level Monster Cores, the alliance required an absurd number. From testing, they found it was fifty equal-level cores plus the level of the alliance. That meant it would suck down sixty cores for a single level.

This is going to be expensive, Theo said, watching the pile of Monster Cores diminish in his inventory. How much of our budget should we put toward this effort?

Ive been leveraging our trade deals to stock Monster Cores. A few hundred cores here and there really adds up.

How about Tarantham? Have we had another ship from them?

Weve had small boats dock at the port. Curious civilians.

That sucked. The trade deal with Tarantham was expensive, and it needed to pay off. But it didnt escape Theos notice that the deal itself was an olive branch, rather than a profitable venture. He trusted Gael to do the right thing, and since the elves hadnt attacked, he considered it a success. The only way this world would get better was if people stopped blowing each other up every other year. Tarantham had been an amazing example of how that could work, even if they blew each other up to accomplish it. At least they didnt destroy the entire continent. Instead, they had an impressive string of rulers that seemed unchanged since anyone could remember.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

This is laborous, Theo said, sighing dramatically as he put cores into the monolith. As always, a small crowd had gathered to watch.

It isnt as glamorous as people expect, Alise said, clicking her tongue.

Ah. Level 15. Finally, Theo said, reviewing the upgrade options. There were two options left over from the start, and a new one for them to review. He didnt even need to read it out for Alise. It appeared in her administration interface.

[Trade Boost]

Carts traveling between towns within the nation will travel 1.5x faster, so long as they are designated for trade.

[Share Information]

Allows leaders to send mental messages to each other. Limited number of messages per day, based on nations level at a rate of n*10. E.g. At level 1, you may send 10 messages, at level 2 you may send 20, and so on.

[Disaster Shield]

Expend great amounts of energy to divert or disperse a harmful weather situation, and other natural disasters. This upgrade works on hurricanes, earthquakes, mana storms, tornados, etc.

Alise grumbled, shaking her head. None of these are great. Both Trade Boost and Share Information are useless to us. And Im not certain how often well use Disaster Shield. How would we know if a disaster was coming? Does it activate automatically?

Id take Disaster Shield over anything else. But I agree. It isnt great.

Select Disaster Shield. Pray for something better at Level 20. So long as I did my math right, we can get the nation that far.

Theo agreed completely. The first two upgrades solved problems they already took care of. At least Disaster Shield would be useful sometimes. He also didnt know what a mana storm was, but was quite interested in having a shield against it when it came. He selected the Disaster Shield upgrade and got back to inserting cores into the monolith. Before long, the next upgrade option appeared.

[Defensive Barrier]

Any town in the nation may draw on the stored energy of the nation to shield their town or city. The strength of this barrier depends on the level of the alliance, town, and the amount of available energy stored.

This is interesting, Alise said, tapping her foot on the ground. The nation upgrades havent been great, but they all follow a theme. They operate on the idea of providing something to an entire nation. I also suspect there are buildings that allow us to increase the energy storage of the alliance.

That was interesting enough. But Theo wasnt impressed with the upgrade. Compared to the things he got for single buildings or even the town, the upgrades were lackluster. It took little discussion to decide on the Defensive Barrier upgrade. Although they had brought the alliance to Level 20, it didnt change from being a Small Free City Alliance. They didnt have the population to increase it from there, but at least they werent gated from progressing. He inspected the nation.

[Small Free City Alliance]

Name: Southlands Alliance

Leader: Archduke Theo Spencer

Level: 20 (5%)

Core Towns:

Broken Tusk (Capital)

Rivers and Daub

Gronro-Dir

Current Energy:

62%

Upgrades:

[Zorp]

[Controlled Fire]

[Disaster Shield]

[Defensive Barrier]

Not as impressive as I had hoped, Alise said, sighing. At least we can upgrade the town. But Ill leave that to you.

Of course. Hey, before you go any progress with the underground people?

Not really. Pogo has agreed to some basic trade, but thats all.

We need to be grateful that shes there at all. The more I talk to that Twist guy, the more I realize how brutal it is down there.

Agreed.

The crowd dispersed once Theo and Alise went their separate ways. There was no tone of disappointment in their voices, just excitement that they got to witness the nation being upgraded. From what the alchemist had heard, this was a guarded process in other nations. The Kingdom Core and Town Core were rarely planted where people could see it, giving Broken Tuskers an excellent view of the process. But he turned his attention away from both the nations upgrades and the buildings within the town itself. He had to face the horrific idea of chasing down Azrug to name his new plant.

Thank god Pugma named that other one, Theo said, a shiver running down his spine. I couldnt deal with another Throks Weed.

As expected, Azrug was working in the small item shop. Instead of doing business out of a house, he now had a dedicated building. Theo felt a sense of pride as he looked over the industrious merchant. While little time had passed since the young man took up the mantle, he had created something truly great.

The exterior of the building matched the aesthetic of Broken Tusk. It even further reflected Azrugs half-ogre roots with stone walls and high-set windows. Sometimes buildings would get wood paneling, while others times they got stone. It all depended on what the seed core wanted to do. The interior had wood floors. A large area with shelves and display cases dominated the rooms center while each wall was filled with more display shelves. Azrug himself sat behind a wide counter, writing something in a ledger.

Need more monster cores? Azrug asked, barely looking up from his book.

I need your Loremaster services, actually, Theo said.

Azrug looked up, locking eyes with Theo. The alchemist glared. I wont name them anything silly.

Are you sure? Have you been hanging out with Tresk lately?

No. Maybe a little, Azrug said with a shrug. What am I naming?

A plant. Hybrid of Wheat and Spiny Swamp Thistle.

Azrug craned his neck, looking at the entrance of the shop. He stood, crossing the room to flip a sign near the front to closed. We could come up with ideas along the way. How about Stinkweed?

It doesnt stink.

Stenchblossom?

Still, it doesnt stink.

Something will come to me, Azrug said, leading the way outside.

Theo feared the worst as he led Azrug to the Experimental Garden behind his Herbalists Workshop. The half-ogre crouched near the plants there, nodding in approval as he read Pugmas entry to the world of herb lore.

Interesting. This guy discovered a hybrid plant in the wild. The Second Ascension War was over thirty-thousand years ago. Ah, I got a hit from my Loremasters Core.

About what?

The Zalabans. War-like proto-humans, apparently. They were still more elf than human that point and had broken off from huh. Tarantham.

How long has that empire been around? Theo asked.

Since the Second Ascension War, apparently. Got a bit of information about Pugma as well. Nothing interesting, just his dietary habits. Now, for your new herb Oh, interesting. I got some Earth lore!

Theo cocked an eyebrow. Really?

Combine harvesters, huh? Giant machines that harvested the wheat interesting.

Anything else?

Nah. Just some lore about the Spiny Swamp Thistle. The plant is newer than we realize. A result of Glantheirs rescue of the land. Which makes sense, since it has healing properties. Time for a name and description.

Theo watched nervously as Azrug worked on the new description. He saw the half-ogres eyes flash as he entered information into his Loremaster interface. After a few tense moments, he pulled away and smiled.

I tried hard on this one. Are you proud of me, boss?

Theo inspected the plant.

[Glantheirs Tears]

[Alchemy Ingredient] [Hybrid Plant]

Epic

When a demonic god tore an entire continent into pieces, Glantheir was there to stitch it back together. This thorny hybrid represents the sadness he left in his wake.

Properties:

[????] [????] [????]

Theo pulled back from the plant, shooting Azrug a confused look. I was expected to see Glantheirs Entire Butt as the name.

Im not all fun and games, Azrug said with a wink. Sometimes Im a poet.