Civilization

Walking out of the Krepost, I see Stellar quickly approach Gewari, asking her to find a fast scout to deliver the message. At the same time, I see Kingston stroll over to Celine, squatting next to her as he relays the message. Nearby, Rebecca walks over to me, clinging onto my arms the moment she reaches.

"So, what do you have in store for me in this plan of yours?" - Rebecca

"Uhh… To be honest, I was hoping you would stay at the Krepost for this one babe." - Ian

"WHAT!! What do you mean, hoping I would say at the Krepost? How can you just leave me here? I thought I would be going with you all the way to the Abyss. What about the Aqua Ring? Don't you need the AOE healing?" - Rebecca

"It is nice, but this battle will be too hard. I can't have you in it since you will most likely be killed. Your stats would be the lowest in the whole army, and even if you can heal us if you are not alive how can you use it?" - Ian

"But… I… I just want to me with you." - Rebecca

"I know, and we are still together offline, it's just this time I don't think it would be good for you to accompany me. Plus, with you here managing the Krepost while I'm gone, it will put my mind at ease. Nothing will happen here if you are commanding everyone. I will be able to communicate with you offline and be updated on the situation here even though I am in the Abyss." - Ian

"But-" - Rebecca

"Please, babe. I need you here at least." - Ian

"Alright… I'll stay here but next time, I'm going with you okay?" - Rebecca

"Sure, next time." - Ian

Hugging my whole body, Rebecca looks at me with big eyes, slightly pouting her mouth. Where did the cool beauty Rebecca go? How did she transform into this adorable creature? Giving her a kiss on her forehead, I notice Kingston coming over, holding onto the trident in his left hand.

"Sorry to disturb your online date, but I need to ask you something, Ian." - Kingston

"Go ahead. What did you need to ask me?" - Ian
"Do you still want me to use the Trident? After you gave it to me in the Abyss you haven't used a main weapon since." - Kingston

"It's fine, keep the Trident for now. You need it more than me since you lost the Dark Spear and don't worry, old man Hus is making me a spear. It should arrive with David if old man Hus had finished making it." - Ian

"Seriously, dude? You get an upgrade and I get your hand-me-downs? Why can't I take the new weapon? You take this Trident back, I don't want it anymore." - Kingston

"Relax, Kingston. Honestly, the trident suits you more than me anyway. Your style of reckless attacking and explosions compliment each other very well." - Ian

"Hmm… You make a good point and Belial doesn't mind it either. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this, but Belial says that we should be able to defeat the Heart relatively easily. It is mainly a monster that keeps things alive and has high defensive skills but lacks offensive skills. We could have killed it the first time we saw it, but we didn't have the damage, and we were severely weakened." - Kingston

"I had thought about that. The Heart didn't do anything to us after the battle with the Deadbeats, even though it should have known that we were very weak. The only problem is, we don't know what kind of monster will be guarding it. It must be very important if Calliope was there for a while protecting it, even trusting the massive amounts of Deadbeats to protect it." - Ian

"Maybe it is some sort of core that helps the Reaper? We still haven't seen him yet even though other players are knocking on his doorstep." - Kingston

"Only time will tell. What did Celine say about the attack? Will the monsters she tamed be okay?" - Ian

"She says it will be okay. Even commanding all the monsters shouldn't be that hard for her. Most of the monsters already have a basic understanding of warfare after going through so many battles with us against the invading monsters. The only problem she can see is when there is a stronger monster, they might be afraid as it is a monster's instinct to bow down to the stronger monster." - Kingston

"That's a problem since we know there is a Zivotinja-variant or Alpha Zivotinja, hopefully, the monsters will be okay when that shows up or else we might lose the battle before it even begins." - Ian

"That was Celine's concern as well, unfortunately for us, none of the monsters look even close to evolving or becoming some sort of variant. In fact, after Gyumi, there hasn't been a variant evolution in any of the goblins. They all go into one of three paths which are becoming like the previous Gibing and Gopopo or becoming like Gewari." - Kingston

"What can you do? We don't know the reason behind the evolution either, so we can't control it. We just know after fighting a lot they will naturally evolve. It is like they have a hidden experience bar. Well, is that all you were looking to talk about?" - Ian

"Pretty much. I'll get everything ready by dusk, you two have fun." - Kingston

"Will do. Babe, what do you want to do while I'm still here?" - Ian

"Hmm… There isn't much to do here. We can walk around if you want until something happens. Otherwise, we can relax in the Krepost." - Rebecca

"How about we walk around, and look at the construction of the various buildings." - Ian

"Okay, lead the way. I only ever glance at them, never took time to look at them in detail." - Rebecca

"Alright, let's start this way." - Ian

Pointing in a random direction, Rebecca and I start wandering around the territory. We see the many residents of the Krepost, helping each other in constructing the houses, with clay bricks. At the start, we were taking the bricks from HavenFall, but as the demand started to rise, we needed to create a kiln in the Krepost as well.

After doing so, the construction speed hastened, leading to many buildings being constructed. Using wood and stone as reinforcement, there were enough houses for everyone at the moment with some houses featuring a second story. This surprises me as I didn't think anyone needed a second story as they were mainly outside working or fighting. Nonetheless, it did add variety to the small village.

Walking around, we also saw some houses featuring pot plants or different types of roofs, windows, and even house structures. It seems the architect of these houses was experimenting as we saw circular, rectangular, and diamond windows, straw roofs, wooden roofs, and even longer or wider houses. This put a smile on my face as it meant the residents were thinking for themselves, and upgrading the village a little by adding their own tastes and interests.

The most interesting building was the mess hall, as it featured a singular long room with several tables and chairs. A counter was at the back, where a door behind it leads to an open-air kitchen, with the Krepost's chef busy making stew throughout the day. The enticing smell wafts over the whole village and the growls of the resident's stomachs can be heard echoing from every corner.

In another corner, the sound of wood striking wood could be heard. Walking over slowly with Rebecca, we could see Gibing training a batch of demi-humans and hobgoblins. Their repeated strikes against a wooden dummy that Howard had made, rang in my ears as I see their determined eyes and their clenched teeth. Sweat flies from their bodies as they shout in unison each time they attack, without a care in the world about their surroundings. Even with me standing there watching them, they were too focused to notice.

Nodding my head at their determination, we move up a bit to see Gopopo and a small team of archers practicing. Much like Gibing's group, their determination could be seen as they focus all their energy on the arrow's tip. Releasing it alongside their breath, before quickly repeating the process. Arrow after arrow lands in the middle and only once they ran out of arrows did their concentration lessen.

Noticing my presence, Gopopo draws near, expressing to us his satisfaction with the archers. Knowing that he is only this good because of Robin, he had always been unsure about his own archery skills and teachings but after seeing the result of his hard work, he could only smile and excitedly share the news. The morale of the archers behind him reaches the sky as their teacher proudly shows them off.

After engaging in some small talk with Gopopo, we leave him to continue the practice. Walking along the walls we eventually reach one of the corner towers. Using the ladder to get up, we sit on the top of the tower, looking out to the emerald sea before us.

"You know, it is always beautiful looking at this scene. I sometimes forget that this is a game when I see this." - Rebecca

"It is beautiful, and one day it might become a reality. This scene we see is real, even if we treat this as a game, it is real to the NPCs. They see this and they too feel revitalized. It isn't just you, babe, but out there… There is danger everywhere." - Ian

"I know. That's why you are going out there. To get stronger. To come back better than when you left. Not just you. Everyone down there, Gibing, Gopopo, Yor, Kaede, Kingston and so much more. Strength is everything here and the moment we show weakness, we lose." - Rebecca

"Yes… That's why I have no choice." - Ian

"I know… Just stay safe okay?" - Rebecca

"I will. Don't worry, I'll always come back." - Ian