Spirit Game

Rain finally found himself back in the Spirit Realm after hours spent in the real world. The pod he used seemed to favor this mystical plane, drawing him back more often than not.

Not that he was complaining; he had nothing pressing to do on Earth. His mind nagged at him: *Your assignments! Your projects! The exams!*

Rain silenced those thoughts and, with no worries in the world, took a deep breath and sighed into the sky. "It's a good day to be alive!"

The villagers greeted Rain warmly as he passed by. Thraigar was busy with heavy lifting, Pup was lazily chasing chickens, and Chi and the others were out patrolling. Varlox and the rest of the Ebizo troops were on the coastline, patrolling the east, harvesting salt, and making fish nets.

The villagers were still wary of the Ebizo, despite their small number of only eleven. To ease tensions, Rain had sent them to the east coast to guard it and manage the small salt and fish factory there. Besides, they preferred the ocean, which had been their original home. Rain had even entrusted General Varlox with the warship's two keys, as he didn't know how to operate it himself.

Rain chuckled to himself. The seadwellers had been a tremendous help, especially in bringing in seafood. They knew how to fish better than anyone else, their expertise in the sea unparalleled. The only problem was that they only brought in enough to sustain the village, adhering strictly to their principle of not upsetting the sea's balance.

"The seadwellers sure are disciplined," Rain thought. How he wished that his troops and villagers shared that same level of discipline.

A significant part of his role as a lord involved mediating disputes between neighbors, breaking up fights during long nights of drinking, and listening to every plea from his villagers. He also had to address their numerous concerns.

Fortunately, their satisfaction rating with him remained steady and never dropped. If it did, it might spell trouble for him. It was probably because of the wages and the food.

Now that he was officially a lord, there were three major things he needed to consider: population, economy, and order. Population pertained to the number of creatures living in his village. Too many, and they would suffer from depleting resources; too few, and they would suffer from a low workforce. It had to be balanced.

Economy was Rain's current problem that needed to be addressed. They needed a staple tradable good that would bring in money to sustain their village.

Lastly, there was order. This involved managing the villagers' feelings and addressing their concerns to keep them happy, healthy, and productive.

Rain knew that maintaining balance in these three areas was crucial for the prosperity of his village. He felt the weight of his responsibilities but also the thrill of the challenge. He was determined to rise to the occasion, ensuring that his village would not only survive but thrive under his leadership.

And here he thought he wasn't leadership material. Rain snickered.

"Rain! There you are!" Druger ran towards him as soon as he spotted him. "The village is almost complete. Maybe we should start expanding to the east and develop those ports."

"Sure thing. I'll head over there right now and expand my territory," Rain replied.

As a Novice Lord, Rain could now claim a total of ten hectares of land, provided he chose the land himself. There were three ways to conquer land: win it in a war if the inhabitants refused to give it up, acquire it willingly if the inhabitants ceded it, or simply claim it if no one owned it.

Fortunately for Rain, there was no competition for the land in these parts, except perhaps from the inhabitants up north. The east was unclaimed, and Rain gladly made it part of his territory, allowing Druger and the others to start construction.

In addition to his new title, Rain had acquired blueprints for constructing simple ballistas, cannons, archer towers, and mage towers, which would greatly help in defending his territory. He could also now recruit 100 fighting troops and accommodate 1,000 people in his village.

These villagers could serve as his army, but unlike his personal troops, they lacked combat experience. There was also the question of recruiting able fighters to guard the village and establishing staple crops or tradable goods to kickstart the economy. Currently, Rain was funding the villagers out of his own pocket, which was not sustainable in the long run.

There was also the continuous threat from the north and Eve's deal with him. Rain's stomach recoiled at the thought of the many problems that needed addressing.

He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. The priority was to stabilize the village, then address the threat from the north, and finally, deal with Eve's agreement. He still had a year to fulfill his part of the bargain, which he hoped would be enough time.

Rain spent the whole day acquiring plots of land to the east until he finally secured the coastal area. However, this used up his ten-hectare limit. Now, he had to wait for his Apprentice Lord title challenge to come before he could add another hectare to his rulership.

That challenge was at least six months to a year away, giving him plenty of time to prepare. Druger and the others were efficient in construction and would likely complete all necessary defenses and traps by then.

Rain thought of the egg in his inventory, still unhatched. 'I wonder how long it will take to hatch?' he mused, leaving it be.

As night fell, Rain and the others enjoyed a joyous meal in the town square. Chi was still up north, spying on the Hobgoblin movements, while Chin and the others returned to guard the village at night. General Varlox and his seadweller troops mostly stayed in the ocean, rarely coming back to the village to report to Rain.

Rain simply sent someone to fetch the salt and fish they harvested. Find this and more on m-v lem|p-yr

When everyone had settled in for the night, Rain quietly slipped away to the west to meet with Eve. Despite Chi's efforts to stop him from seeing the mysterious woman alone, he still pressed on undeterred.

Strangely, there were no beasts in the western part of the wasteland, as if they were deliberately avoiding that area. The air was eerily still, heightening the sense of anticipation as Rain made his way through the darkened landscape.

"Eve! Eve, are you here?" he called out, confident that the woman would show up if he called her name.

Within seconds, a warm wind splashed across Rain's face, carrying a familiar scent. Rain closed his eyes as the wind picked up pace, glowing butterflies swirling around before bursting forth in all directions. With them, Eve appeared.

"Have you found a way to make the Starfire bloom?" she asked, levitating slightly above the ground.

Rain looked to the side, scratching his head. "Uh . . . about that . .

. may I ask where to find it?"

Eve was silent for a moment, looking intently at Rain, making him feel self-conscious.

She opened her mouth and spoke slowly, "I . . . forgot . . ."

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