Chapter 27: I find Out I Am Not as Smart As I Think I Am

I give the oldest child two bags of lollipops form my inventory and declare that she is now in charge of sweets disbursement. She smiles at me and starts to have the kids line up to get their suckers. You know when I’m not teaching them or responsible for them kids can be kind of cute. What did I just say? Stop it Mark, they are using their secret powers on you. Resist! Think of all the horrible things students have done to you over the years. Ahhh, that’s better.

After I recover from my mini existential crisis I head over to Edward’s house. I see him sitting on the porch and give him a little wave. He quickly stands up and bows.

“What can I do for you today my king?”

“Well good morning Edward, first off did you see the Great Game notice earlier?”

“Yes my king, we even had 3 youngsters that were transported off for their trials.”

“You did? I wonder why they had to go?”

“It is simple my lord, they had not yet reached level 3 in the Great Game yet despite being of age.”

With some more discussion and questioning I found out that when children gain their inventory at age 8 they can start earning exp. It is not much but usually by the time they reach the age of 12 it is enough to level them to at least level 3 which keep them from being transported. Those that do not reach level 3 are always transported on the solstices and are given a chance to gain experience to catch up. No one wants their child to be transported due to the high fatality rate. However, due to different circumstances there are children occasionally who do not reach that level. Usually these are the kids that slack off or have had some tragedy in their life that disrupts their learning time or ability.

“Edward, the original reason I came out here was to both check on Hidden Valley Village and to see if there was anyone who would like to make a few coins helping me clean the castle until next week while everyone is gone, but I did run into some Forest Goblinoids on my way over here, so is everything alright?”

“Yes my king everything is fine. The new guards we hired from the Great Game are doing a wonderful job. While I know that many villagers would be delighted to help you out my lord, why don’t you just hire some maids from the Great Game?”

“What do you mean? How can I hire them from the Great Game? I am confused.”

Edward game me a strange look and then started to educate me. It turns out that you can post jobs and hire people at the Great Game store. That guard I did not recognize was not a villager I forgot, but one of a new set of guards hired by Edward through the Great Game. Because I set taxes much lower than the village had in the past they could now afford the salary of some dedicated guards to protect them. He explained that these guards were on a 1 year probationary contract and if they did well they would be hired permanently and be given settlement rights in the village.