“So, just to recap, our options for Specialization are Military, Arts, Academia, Crafting, Trade, and Growth—the latter being focused on population growth. And we don’t know anything else about what it means or does?” Allison asked.
“No, not really. The only other thing we know is that it is not reversible, but additional or deeper specializations can be chosen on subsequent levels and that it somehow helps to attract talent,” Ben replied. “What does everyone think?”
For a moment, there was silence as everyone reflected on the different options.
Eventually, Adam spoke up. “The Trade option is clearly the most exciting because it talks about our planet ‘and beyond’, but I am not sure we have even remotely enough goods to trade at this point. It feels like something that might be great on level 5 or 6.”
Ben agreed. The books they had received from the systems had already been quite clear about civilizations beyond Earth, but having it spelled out explicitly made it feel more real.
Barry nodded. “Similar to the Arts. We are just weeks beyond fighting for the most basic of goods. Going all in on the Arts right now would seem… frivolous. Notwithstanding how important they are for our culture and civilization.”
“Those are the easy ones, I agree, the others are all quite attractive,” Allison said.
Ben slowly shook his head. “I don’t think Growth really is an option. I realize that we have obligations to meet, but in a worst case scenario we could always get people from Simonston to move up here at scale. If humanity were ever at risk of extinction we might come back to this, but for now I don’t see it.”
Allison shrugged. “You’re probably right. That still leaves us with three.”
Adam leaned back, grinning.
“What?” Ben asked.
“Nothing. I am fine with pretending like we don’t know where this is going to end up.”
Ben raised an eyebrow. “Enlighten us?”
“Well, I admit that Crafting is a very worthwhile contender and I personally feel like it should win, but you have been very clear on where you see the future of this city and its people. Repeatedly you have made it clear that you don’t want this to be a place only for fighters, so it is not going to be Military. And few things have gotten you as excited over the last couple of months as a two-thousand-year-old poem about a healthy mind in a healthy body. You want Academia.”
Ben blushed slightly and rubbed his forehead.
His friend was right. His heart was set on Academia. He felt that the future for the Protectorate lay in education and research, combined with the practical teachings of surviving and thriving in this dangerous new world.
He believed that was the path to building a new civilization that could provide opportunities for everyone to grow.
He just wasn’t sure if his heart was overruling his mind. That’s why he needed the others to weigh in.
“Why do you believe Crafting is the answer?” he asked.
“We already have quite a few very talented crafters. The dungeons provide us with a unique inflow of materials—and I have to believe that this is only going to grow if we integrate Tier 2 dungeons eventually. Crafting helps us with our short-term needs while creating long-term wealth. But don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Academia is a bad option, just not the one I would choose now.”
Allison got up and walked to the windows. “Let’s take Military off the table for now. Aside from the Draknik threat I have seen nothing that would make me think we need to focus our whole economy on that dimension alone. Beyond that, I would imagine that Crafting gets us more tangible, short-term benefits. It would probably be my choice as well.”
Ben looked at Barry, who grunted and shrugged. “Follow your instincts, Ben.”
It was the first time that his gut feeling and the guidance from the Council were in such sharp conflict.
He understood the benefits of Crafting—to the extent that was possible with the limited information they had.
He had always been a great supporter of building that capability in the settlement and more often than not forwent items as dungeon rewards in exchange for resources that the crafters would use.
He had benefited greatly from what the crafters had produced. His armor. His axe. The bag of holding. They now produced armor that they exported to Simonston. Their emerging economy would largely revolve around them.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the decision to go Crafting.
It just wasn’t his decision.
In his mind, Academia was the basis for everything.
More research for more food production. More understanding of the foundations of their new world. More education for all the young people they had taken in and would take in in the future.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Also, their most powerful building, the Energy Enhanced Evolution Chamber, was an advanced education building. Their most spectacular building, the library, was an education building.
He understood the short-term—and even long-term—benefits of Crafting, but for him Academia was what he wanted the Protectorate to be all about.
He looked at the others. Adam was still grinning, his youthful-looking mother leaning against a window and looking at him. Barry’s eyes half closed as if he was close to taking a nap.
“Academia.”
“Hah, I knew it,” Adam shouted.
His mother patted him on the shoulder as she sat back down.
“I think you are absolutely correct with everything that you said, but I feel, deep down, that our future lies with Academia. Not because it is better than the other options, but because it enables them all—and hopefully goes beyond.”
“It is a good choice, son. I think it was close, and it is better we follow a consistent vision than flip-flop between paths. Do you want to select it right away?”
Ben nodded and confirmed the choice.
Congratulations on choosing Academia as your Specialization, the foundation to evolve your civilization with research and education.
Your settlement receives the following benefits.
Unlock dedicated buildings and infrastructure via your Settlement Interface.
Unlock position of [Chancellor] — Leads Protectorate Academy, defines curriculum, accepts / dismisses faculty and students; +1 and +5% to Mind attribute. Special
Gain Protectorate Academy main building.
Every student enrolled in programs has accelerated perk progression or insight.
Every student successfully completing a challenging program gains a perk (1 year program = common, 2 year = uncommon, 3+ year = rare)
Faculty actively engaged in teaching or research experiences accelerated perk progression or insight.
Ben smiled broadly as he read through the notification.
“What is it?” Adam asked curiously.
“A lot, that’s what it is! It is everything I hoped it would be,” Ben responded before relaying the information to his friends and family around the table. “I am sure Crafting would have given awesome benefits, but think about it. If we can get Luz to teach a course about alchemy, she will progress faster, and a lot of students will as well. It will probably be slower than a dedicated Specialization, but hopefully it will scale more for the future.”
Barry grunted his assent, which made Ben turn to him. “Congratulations on your new position as [Chancellor], assuming you want it?”
The older man nodded. “Very much. But what about Randal, wouldn’t he be better suited?”
“First of all, I think Randall would not necessarily enjoy the overhead associated with that position, and also, you represent what I want the Academy to be, a combination of traditional learning and martial arts. Mens sana in corpore sano!”
Barry needed a moment to compose himself. “Thank you, it will be my honor.”
Ben shook his hand and confirmed the appointment in his interface.
“So we get the main building for free—which I think would have cost thousands of SCs—and have unlocked a few interesting other buildings. For example, there is a museum available, the description sounds similar to the library, a place to preserve humanity’s achievements. There are also dorms, which talk about attracting talent. And lots of other stuff. Barry, you should also have access to those,” Adam said.
“So, we have infinite things to spend money on, how much do we actually have?” Allison asked.
“Currently we have exactly zero SCs. Fortunately, our Credits flow much better now that more teams are delving deeper into the dungeons. Assuming you will run the Rings of Return to the final floor again today as planned, we will be at seventy thousand Credits. If we deduct a buffer for our expenses and emergencies, we could have five thousand SCs,” Adam replied.
“At some point we need to start saving money for the evolution chamber,” Barry said.
“You mean for the add-on? I agree…”
“No, for Ben and team to evolve perks!” Barry interrupted Adam.
“We also need to remember the Protector Fund. We can’t expect people to start businesses without tools and materials,” Ben added.
“Believe me, I know,” Adam nodded. “I was just pointing out what our options are. Also, and maybe less controversial, we are five days away from a new month and assuming we don’t add any new dungeons before then,” he winked at Ben, “we are due almost nine thousand SCs. That is quite a lot—at least in the short term. One thing we need to consider is that we need to house at least another nine thousand people here over the next year—maybe more. Unless we get some more upgrades on our housing options along the way, that alone is going to cost us 180,000 SCs.”
There was silence in the office for quite a few moments. That number seemed monumental to Ben—almost unimaginable.
He took a deep breath and thought about it some more. The number was huge. But they would also get more and more SCs over time. For example, once they reached 5,000 citizens, they would get 25,000 SCs for them—even if all of them were Tier 1.
So in the long run, they were probably fine, but it was something to consider.
“Let’s focus on what’s right in front of us,” he said. “We have more money coming in than ever before. We get two likely powerful keystone buildings for our settlement for free. We have options to invest into at least one thing, the Energy Enhanced Evolution Chamber, that will make us money. So does the potential vassalization of Simonston. We also have the mission to deal with the Tier 2 dungeons. We have no reason to lose focus on all the opportunities we have.”
The others nodded and the slight shock about the high SCs for housing faded.
“Now, I promised that we would build a school as soon as possible. How much is it?”
After a second of checking, Adam responded. “800 SCs.”
“Very good. We can afford that. You said something about parks and playgrounds. Are they expensive?”
“No, not at all. A small one is available for a discounted rate of 50 SCs. A large one, that would span a full city block, is 200, also discounted.”
“Excellent. We have a growing town of people that essentially can’t leave the city walls despite living in the middle of a forest. I think investing a tiny bit into that should be good for morale. Before I go into the blueprint planner. How much would it cost to extend our wall by, say, a hundred meters in both length and width?”
“The cost hasn’t changed, unless we want to upgrade from a palisade to a stone wall. If not, then it’s also 800 SCs.”
Ben looked at his mother, who shrugged. “For now I think the palisade is sufficient.”
Ben nodded. “Okay, that means we spend 1,800 SCs now for the school, the extended wall, and a park. Those are tangible improvements for our people. We will see what kind of add-ons we unlock once the Guild Hall and the Academy main building are in place. Does that sound reasonable?”
“In principle, yes, but how much is the surveillance network?”
“For a level 3 settlement, it seems to scale with size, it would be 2,000 SCs,” Adam said.
“Thanks. Let’s put it on the list of things once we have our monthly income in the bank.”
Everybody nodded and Ben opened the blueprint planner.
