After a few seconds, the number appeared on the screen.

Completion Rate: 95%

Congratulations!

You have been judged to have exceedingly prominent leadership skills.

You will be granted a Diamond Grade Territory.

You will be granted 7 additional awards for your high completion rate.

While your territory is prepared, please read the following rules regarding territory management:

Rule 1: A Territory, once granted, will have a 1-year period for development before cross-territory interaction is permitted. A Conquered Territory will have a 3-month period.

Rule 2: A Territory can only be upgraded after meeting specific conditions (refer to The Territory Classification Guide)

Rule 3: Every Territory will possess a Territory Seal, possession of a Territory Seal indicates the owner of a Territory.

Rule 4: A Territory Lord is permitted to leave their Territory, but a Territory Seal is not. If a Territory Seal leaves it’s assigned Territory, it will be immediately recalled to its point of origin.

Rule 5: The Territory Lord will have full authority regarding the running of their Territory unless they themselves divide and/or assign their power to another.

Rule 6: If a Territory’s Satisfaction Level drops below 30%, the Population is free to elect to migrate elsewhere. Efforts of the Territory Lord to interfere or stop this with force will increase dissatisfaction.

Rule 7: Growing Cycles are dependent on the Grade of the Territory. Where the Tier of a Territory can be changed, a Grade cannot be.

Rule 8: Expansion of a Territory is freely permitted on neutral or 'Wild' land.

Rule 9: When a Territory reaches the 6th Tier, it will produce a ‘Heaven Piece’ representative of it’s Lord’s and Population’s will. Heaven Pieces may combine if a secondary 6th Tier Territory is conquered.

Rule 10: A Heaven Piece may only be used on or against non-inhabitants of the Territory

One year. She had a year before she would have to actively defend against other Territories granted to others from her world. The Rules mentioned nothing about individual players though, so Sera would have to find out if they could freely come and go from all territories or if they had to be granted permission, or if they were kept out for the first year as well.

Sera also had to wonder about the Grade she had been granted. Was it good? Were there higher Grades? She knew it had to be at least decent from her completion rate, but she supposed she would not know of the rest until she got to this ‘Territory Classification Guide’. Surely that had such information in it.

She’d probably have to get some sort of map as well. She’d already decided to tell the Hollan family that she was an individual player, but she’d have to choose a city where she was located to tell them as well.

As she was thinking about what else she needed, a light bloomed around her and Sera could feel again. She opened her eyes and found herself in a simple bedroom. Wooden walls around her and a dresser and to the side, there were two doors, one of which Sera assumed led to a bathroom. Her bed was nothing particularly special, cotton sheets with animal furs over it. Clearly there wasn’t a high level of technology in this world. Sera looked down at the simple white night dress she wore and frowned. It wasn’t really her style. She had never really been a ‘dress’ or ‘skirts’ girl. She could wear them just fine, but she’d never felt as comfortable in them as she had in pants.

Sera dismissed thoughts on her attire and rose from the bed, headed to look out of the window. She was on the second storey of the house she was in, and her window looked out over a pleasant but plain courtyard. Beyond it she could see a few simple buildings, but the wall of the courtyard deterred her from seeing much else.

Sera made her way to the dresser and opened it, finding clothes to dress in. Mostly, they were dresses. Sera may have to speak with whoever had bought her clothing. Or perhaps made considering the technology of this place…

Seeing no other option, Sera donned one of the dresses, though she realised rather quickly that these dresses were meant to have layers. With a sigh, she went searching through the rest of the dresser just as there was a knock on her door.

“Yes?”

“Lady Sera, it is Mimi, would you like help getting dressed? Breakfast is already prepared,” spoke a light voice on the other side of the door. Sera sighed. Absolutely she would like help getting dressed in these medieval clothes.

“Come in, Mimi, your help would be appreciated,” said Sera.

The door opened to reveal a young woman perhaps a few years older than Sera. She was dressed in a rather plain looking beige dress, her chocolate brown hair styled into a business-like bun at the back of her head, and her eyes a warm chocolate. She paused upon entry and smiled in a knowing way, “Are the dresses not to your liking, my Lady?”

“Never really been a ‘dress’ individual, Mimi,” Sera admitted, “Is it inappropriate for a woman to where pants here?”

Mimi shook her head, “It is simply that women who wear pants generally have more physically demanding jobs, my lady”.

Sera raised an eyebrow, “We’ll come back to this discussion later, for now, just help me dress”.

Mimi did as told, and as she helped Sera dress, Sera surveyed the small prompt that hovered beside Mimi. It was almost like a character profile one would see in a game.

Name: Mimi

Title: None

Age: 23

Level/Tier: 10/0

Occupation: Lady’s Maid to Lady Sera of ???

Skills: Cooking, Cleaning, Basic Management, Basic Secretarial work

Potential: 70 (B)

Sera had no idea what Potential or the Level/Tier categories were, but rather than ask she assigned it to things she had to research.

She wondered if she herself had a profile like Mimi’s, and at the thought, a secondary screen appeared before her with her own information.

Name: Seraphina Terique

Title: Lady of ???

Territory: ???

Age: 18

Level/Tier: 1/0

Occupation: Lady of ???

Skills: Archery, Leadership

Potential: 95 (S)

Seeing her Potential score was the same as her test completion rate, Sera didn’t think it was a coincidence. The question marks also indicated that her Territory did not have a name. She asked to confirm.

“Does this Territory have a name, Mimi?”

Mimi looked up from where she was straightening Sera’s skirts, “It does not, my Lady, this Territory is new today”.

Sera’s eyes widened, “Were you anywhere before you were here?”

Mimi stood, “No my Lady, the Nine Heavens created myself and all those in the territory with the knowledge and skills we would need to serve you on this day”.

“How many people, and how large is the Territory?” asked Sera.

“The Territory currently encompasses the town and a field to the east. The population is currently 32 including you, and myself, my Lady,” said Mimi.

Sera nodded in understanding. Her territory was not large, then, and the people she was to rule over not numerous.

“Breakfast, my Lady?”

“Lead the way,” Sera nodded.

Mimi did as told. Her room was one of only three rooms on the second floor. The other two, Mimi informed her, were her private study and a guest room.

The first floor of the house was larger, and encompassed a sitting room, a kitchen and a dining room. The courtyard that Sera had been able to see out of her window was both the entrance and the central point of the manor. Her personal home was opposite the entrance, to the left of the entrance, in the east, was a meeting hall for official business, and three smaller office spaces. To the right of the entrance in the west, was her private guard’s barracks. Though the private guard currently only consisted of five men, one of whom was the Captain, Joseph.

In the space between her home and the barracks was a training courtyard, the opposing side held the stables.

Behind her home was a garden, and opposite the stables were the servant’s quarters. In the final space between her home, the servant’s quarters and the meeting hall was a storage building.

In all, her home was larger than she had anticipated, but was perfectly adequate for the running of a territory.

All of this Mimi explained to her patiently over breakfast. It was as she was eating that Sera remembered she was supposed to have additional rewards aside from her territory. She wondered if these rewards would be simply a part of the town, or if she would actually have to claim them. Could she even see what the rewards were?

Following breakfast, Sera had Mimi show her around the Estate so that she could both be aware of what she had and meet the individuals she would be living with. She met Captain Joseph, who reminded her a little of Commander Frank from her test, as well as the other guards under her employ, Ethan, Rick, Leon and Will. She also met Henry, the Stable Master, and Genevieve, the Cook. Finally, she met Joanne, the grounds keeper. That meant there were ten individuals living in the Estate, and 22 outside in the town.

The Meeting Hall was the last place that Sera was shown. There were actually three entrances, one in the back that led to the rear hallway where the smaller offices were, one attached to the courtyard which was referred to as the ‘side entrance’, and one that led directly out onto the street, the ‘main entrance’. A simple, high-backed chair was placed opposite the main entrance, but other than that the room had no furniture. What did surprise Sera though, was the mural just behind the chair.

It was a painting, only it very clearly depicted to battlefield she had only just left, with herself standing with a bow and arrow in the centre of her soldiers, and all around the enemy, raging flames.

“Trial by Fire,” Sera muttered.

“It was a brilliant plan, my Lady,” said Mimi, as she too admired the mural.

“You know?” asked Sera.

“We have some knowledge of your tests, yes,” said Mimi, “Enough to know that you are and will be a great leader”.

Sera just smiled, “Thank you for your confidence, Mimi. I only hope that I do not let you down”.

After another moment, Sera sighed and turned away, “Let us walk the territory next. I should meet the people and survey what needs to be done”.

“As you wish, my Lady”.

***

Captain Joseph insisted on accompanying the two of them for their walk, especially seeing as it was a walk and Sera wasn’t interested in taking a horse. That was predominantly because Sera hadn’t a clue how to ride a horse though, and noted it as something she should take lessons in later.

The town consisted of twelve buildings aside from the manor, most of which were small huts towards the east. Just outside the main gate of the manor was a town square, with a well in the centre.

To the eastern side of the square was perhaps the largest building in the town, a two-story building with a stable attached, the inn. The Innkeeper, Andre, said that they had twenty rooms, though none of them were currently occupied.

On the western side of the square was a butcher and a baker, much smaller buildings than the Inn, but no less important. And opposite the manor on the northern side of the square was a tailor, and a cobbler.

From those five businesses were 12 of the 22 remaining individuals. Behind the inn on the road leading to the fields in the East and the Farmers’ Huts was a blacksmith, there was also a healer’s hut and a hunter’s hut on the same street.

The remaining 7 individuals were all farmers who worked the fields. In all, the small village seemed to be largely self-sufficient so long as everyone pulled their weight. After meeting with everyone and wishing them well, Sera returned to the manor, seeking out her private study so that she could better understand the finances and location of her territory.

There were few books in her private study, but one was the Territory Classification Guide. This she sat down to immediately learn, only to find a screen appearing before her as she sat.

This one was similar to the previous screens she had seen of all the inhabitants of her territory, only this one was exclusive to the territory itself.

Name: ???

Grade: Diamond

Level/Tier: 1/1

Ruler: Lady Sera

Time since Inception: 12:32:24

Population: 32

Satisfaction: 70%

Total Area: 2km²

Land Type: Government – 5%, Township – 30%, Farmland – 65%

Fertility: 90%

Faith: None

Blessings: 100% increase on Crop Growth Rate, 50% chance of increase in the Potential of Citizens, 60% decrease in natural disasters, 100% chance of developing a Mana Environment

Treasury: 101.1 Gold Coins

Allies: N/A

Enemies: N/A

Significant Buildings/Infrastructure: Lord’s Manor (Private Barracks, Town Meeting Hall, Storehouse), Inn, Butcher, Baker, Tailor, Cobbler, Healer’s Hut, Hunter’s Hut, Storehouse, Town Square.

The basic information was far more extensive than for an individual, and much of it, Sera did not understand. There were some however, particularly the Blessings list, that made her think that she had been given a significant boost in terms of development as they appeared very generous.

There was also a secondary tab called ‘map’, that Sera was pleasantly surprised to see had the entire township and farmland available to her to see in a light blue, and the areas around the township in a darker blue indicating explored areas. The outskirts of the map were in black, so Sera assumed these areas were unexplored.

In all, it was all good information to have, but Sera still had to wonder about the awards she was supposed to be given. She thought of her own information again, and noticed a secondary tab she hadn’t seen before. This tab was titled, ‘Actions’.