‘After running for one minute, Jonathan finally got back to the village.’

“Elder!”

‘Someone came running from behind Jonathan, screaming.’

“Richard! Gather everybody and lead them inside the Guard outpost! It's the most secure area!”

“Yes!”

“Are we missing anyone?”

“No, it's currently lunch, so everybody was at the Inn, but thankfully one of the Guards noticed the invaders coming from beyond the wall.”

“What are they doing right now?”

“They set up camp outside of the wall and requested to talk with you.”

“Alright, make sure everyone is safe, I will be going for now.”

“... Be careful Jonathan.”

‘Jonathan didn't even reply since he was already far away, running into the wall.’

…

‘The walls were not that tall, being barely over 3 Meters tall. There were three wooden towers built in the edges and in the middle of the wall.’

‘The Guards were currently gathered with a few others right next to the middle tower’

“Elder, you are here,” Said Longinus the Guard captain.

‘Everyone turned around and greeted Jonathan’

“Just what is that they want?”

“We don't know, they stopped and set camp around 50 Meters from the walls. We think they are resting.” Siad Longinus

“Or they could be waiting for us to go for them! I know very well how such people think, looking at their battered and torn armor, they are probably deserters from some conflict.”

“They most likely came to our village to pillage and get supplies, even if they came with good intentions, giving shelter to such soldiers is normally rewarded with immediate execution.” Said Mesh.

“It would be best if we can resolve this peacefully, they are soldiers, it would be best to not cause meaningless conflict...” Said Oesa, our Hunter.

“What? We have 5 well-equipped soldiers, me, a proficient swordsman, and an archer. We could take them on easily!” Said Mesh

“Yes we could, but that might end up in meaningless injuries!” Replied Oesa

“Stop! This won't lead us anywhere. We need to figure out what they want.”

“According to what they did so far… They approached us, blew up a horn, and proceeded to set camp. My guess is that they were warning us but that doesn't make sense...”

/FWUSH!/

/CLING!/

‘Right when he said that, the sound of an arrow cutting the wind came to their ears. Aiming right into Jonathan’s chest.

Thankfully, Longinus was here to once again save the day with his inhuman reflexes.’

“Ha! You are good kid! I was about to deflect that.” Said Mesh as he returned his sword into his scabbard.”

I didn't even notice him drawing his sword… Is this a Tier-1 Swordsman?

“With this, it seems we already know what they came here to do huh?” Commented Mesh

‘As they talked, the soldiers entered into a shabby formation and made her way to the left side of the wall’

“Are they crazy? Hunter, kill them with the arrows!” Said Mesh

“Oioi… You are not the one who gives the orders around these parts, blacksmith...”

‘Nevertheless, Oesa pulled his bow and prepared to release the arrow.’

/Fwush!/

‘The arrow was released and it quickly made its way to one of the soldiers.’

/PUTCHI!/

‘Unsurprisingly, the arrow released by the experienced Hunter penetrated the head of the distracted soldier.

Yet they still continued without stopping...’

“Are those soldiers mad?! They have no chance of winning! Why are they still marching? If they had such will and resolve, why did they desert in the first place?”

‘As he said that, Mesh paired another incoming arrow.’

“Oesa, can you take down that archer before he hurts anyone?”

“I was about to do that Elder!”

/Fwush!/

/Putchi!/

“Tsk! I missed his head.”

“No problem Oesa, that archer won't be able to use his bow for a while now.” Replied Jonathan

‘The strange battle continued as Oesa continued to rain arrows down on the enemies until only the leader was left.’

‘He ignored the death and wails of his compatriots and continued forward’

“... These soldiers… What happened to them? Are they under the effects of some sort of drug?” Asked Mesh

“Now that you say… I did see them eating some strange things while they were in the camp.” Replied Oesa

“So it's settled, they are under the effects of drugs. They most likely took it to ignore their previous injuries and kill us. They were probably desperate.” Said Mesh

“I might have an idea as to what that is.” Said Magnus, the Alchemist for the first time.

“There is a drug commonly spread across the kingdom that can make someone forget all pain. But the problem is that it numbs one’s sense of fear. Because of these two qualities, this drug is widely used in the military.”

“It's safe most of the time as long as it's not used in quick succession. The easiest way to confirm if they indeed took the drug is by looking at their eyes. The blood vessels in the eye will rupture making it fully red.”

“In any case, there is only one left. I will take care of him...”

‘Nothing surprising happened. In a battle between a fully geared swordsman and an apprentice… The result was already set in stone.

Before the Squadron leader could even lift his sword, Mesh had already cut his throat open.’

[DING]

[All Renegades have been killed]

[Average happiness +20

Reputation +10]

[You have gained, Lauria Emblem x7, Battle burst powder x2, Iron lance x5...]

Hum? Lauria?... Isn't that the neighboring Lordom?

… Don't tell me…

‘Jonathan didn't know, but he had found out the cause, dangerous times were coming...’

...

‘After the battle, they stayed in the walls for another hour to make sure no other enemy sneaked upon them. But no one came.

So they went back to the village and reported the good news.

The scared villagers soon got happier and everyone ate happily and drank the very first batch of wine made in the winery.

It was terrible, but the villagers seemed to like it, and if they are happy, Jonathan is happy.’

‘After all...’

“Almost there, a little bit more, and the average happiness will break through 200!”

[Territory: Guepas Village (Old) (Very motivated) (Hopeful) (Very Respected) (Happy)

Tier-0 (5) Village

Elder: Jonathan Asmoste

Vice Elder: Richard

Number of Habitants: 36 (+)

Average happiness: 191

Reputation: 270

Wealth: 7 Gold pieces, 120 Silver pieces, 240 Bronze pieces, 320 Small Bronze pieces

Map (+)

Food supply: 9 months

Materials: 120 Wood, 50 Rocks, 30 Iron, 15 cloth,...

Construct: Small hut; Normal house; Dirt road; ...

Inventory: Treasure Rock x50, Aqua stone x1, Thermal Pearl x1, Vendaval wood x1, Broken receiver x1, Bolt, Fragment of something, ...

]

“I broke through 200 Respect and got the “Very Respected” buff, so I will most likely gain something similar when happiness reaches 200”

[Very Respected

Effects

25% Better work efficiency when ordered directly

15% Less chance of someone refusing your orders

1% of someone performing exceptionally well when ordered directly

0.2% chance of a random Villager ranking up every day

]

The previous 10% work efficiency ended but thanks to this effect, the overall time for every activity is cut up by half/

(It's 55% if I add up all modifiers so far, they are all in the top next to the village name)

“Hum… I forgot about those treasure stones''

“Every day I would say this, and every time I would forget it… I wanted to make a small event… But I lost my fucking patience.”

‘Jonathan removed all 50 stones from his inventory, they were not big, just the size of a football ball.’

“So I just have to crack it open?”

‘Jonathan picked a chisel and lodged it into the stone. He then picked a hammer and hit the chisel’

/Crack/

/Ploft/

‘The stone opened in a very satisfying manner, with each half falling to one side, Jonathan was surprised.’

“Wasn't this too easy? Did I grow that strong?”

‘He looked inside the stone, but the only thing he found was a few crystals’

“Are these valuable? They do look quite cool...”

[DING]

[You have acquired, Quartz x1]

“Oh?”

I have never seen this material before… Don't look at me like that! Of course I fucking know what is a quartz!

“I will keep it for now anyway… Next”

‘For the next few minutes, Joseph opened the stones with excitement. Will he gain a rare Gem?’