I slowed as I entered the Tower itself, rereading the choices and considering the benefits.
Five percent wasn’t really a great deal, especially not when considering the possible fights to come, what with having declared war on a city state and all that, but still.
I pondered the options further as I wandered up the stairs, but the choice was clear, really. I selected ‘defense,’ and then ‘magical,’ before dismissing the prompt and moving onto the next.
Congratulations! You have used your home to your advantage, overcoming a more numerous, more skilled, and more highly-trained opposing force. As such, you have earned a Title!
Fortifier: Level I
You may choose a bonus for your forces. This bonus will stack with others and will grow as you grow in experience.
Attack: All weapon emplacements personally commanded or designed by you will do 5% more damage to enemy targets.
Defense: All defensive constructions will gain 5% integrity if you were directly involved in their construction, design, or use.
Attacking might be better, but we were always going to be the underdogs in this fight. With that in mind, I knew I’d have a better chance if I made defensive positions and let them attack us. Armor would provide physical defense readily enough, but magical damage could be anything. Defending against that was my current priority.
Besides, if I’d had that bonus yesterday, some of our dead might have survived long enough to be healed.
This prompt, again, wasn’t a hard choice. While five percent might make a little difference in damage to an enemy, the same amount added to the Tower integrity was a huge difference, especially when a structure had the potential for tens of thousands of hit-points. I immediately chose the ‘Defense’ option, relieved it wasn’t just against one type of attack this time, and before the notification even fully disappeared, I was already lost in thought over how to increase that title further; if I could boost it to provide fifty percent in the future somehow…
I blinked, dismissing the fantasy, and opened my last notification. Thankfully, it had grouped together as the death ones had, but these, at least, I was happy to see.
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Agility by two points. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Constitution by three points. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Dexterity by two points. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Endurance by two points. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Intelligence by one point. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Strength by one point. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
I had cheered up a lot from reading that last notification as I entered my little command center, finding Cai, Oren, and Barrett sitting on the floor on one side of the room, conversing idly. They cut off and jumped to their feet when I appeared, causing me to wave to them in irritation.
“It’s all right, guys; relax.” I scanned the space, seeing that there were still only a couple of chairs in the room, and rather than one of the three sit in my designated seat, they’d all elected to sit on the floor instead.
It spoke well to me of Oren that, despite the fact that he’d been Barrett’s captain until recently, and still kinda was, he hadn’t just let him sit on the floor and relaxed in his own chair.
Then again, I looked more closely at the chairs that were available, and ‘relax’ really wasn’t on the cards with them. They were rickety, exceedingly old, and the cushioning had died a long time ago.
“Damn.” I grunted as I straightened up, “We really need to add some decent chairs to this place…”
“Aye, laddie, along wi’ everythin’ else!” Oren replied, gesturing around the small room. It was bare beyond the chairs and the Creation Table, and I grimaced. He had a point.
“Well, we can sort that out soon, hopefully.” I walked over to the Table and brought up the liquid silver display to show the Tower in its entirety. The other three joined me and stood watching as the Tower rendered before our eyes.
“So, Barrett,” I said, “I sent up a group to you to begin training as hunters, and I realized that we hadn’t discussed this yet, or the roles for each of you.” Barrett nodded and quickly spoke up.
“Yes, Lord Jax, I gave them some of the basic gear we took from the Warship and set them to shadowing our soldiers. Lydia was guiding them all to start the morning workout as you taught us. I figured I’d get more information from you here and then give them some better direction after that.” I winced at the thought of the grueling morning workout regime I’d shown those that wanted to be soldiers. It was one that the Baron’s men had taught me; when I’d first started, it had left me shaking and vomiting most days, until I acclimatized. Add to that, we were all drinking and partying last night? Damn…cleanup on aisle three…
“Well done, Barrett. Sorry about the lack of discussion. As you all know, this is kinda new to me. So, what we’re going to do is split the Tower responsibilities up. I can’t keep on top of everything, and I’m going to need all three of you to help me with that. As of now… Barrett, you’re in charge of the soldiers, and as well as the hunters, at least for now. Cai, you’re going to be helping me get the Tower itself up and running properly and looking after our people’s needs. Oren, you get to be a Captain still; you’re getting
