Chapter 2: Bastion Fort
Three days passed and I found myself at a loss for words.
"Why the hell did I say yes to building a fortress on the North-Eastern border of the kingdom?" I whispered to myself.
Though clearly I wasn't quite enough.
"You're sounding a bit ungrateful for a bastard. You should consider yourself lucky that the Earl trusts you with this task in the first place."
I looked over at the one who spoke.
A tall man riding horseback outside of my carriage. I would join him but sadly for us, I hate horses.
So I chose to ignore him and look ahead at the small army of 450 strong abled men.
The task was simple.
Capture the tied island connected to the mainland and hold onto that position for as long as possible.
I call it simple because according to 'Lord Nethanial' the goblin. The people of this island were basically savages still stuck in the twelfth century so using simple tactics or any tactics at all was a major step up.
Though he didn't say those exact words I understood the meaning.
As for why this was the case he didn't tell me.
He only said that if I could hold this position for three years he would teach me everything about this world considering I was just a peasant from the slums who didn't know any better after all.
At first I told him I wasn't interested, but when he told me about magic…
Who can say no to learning about magic? Especially when you're told by your father that the goblin across the table was in fact labeled as the 'Sorcerer Supreme' across the known world.
So yeah, you bet my ass I was going to build a Star Fortress on an isle.
"Seraphina, hand me the map of the isle. I need to look at it again just to make sure it's big enough for my purposes."
"Yes my lord."
Seraphina was my new maid. Given to me not by my useless- I mean, benevolent father, but rather from the strange and mysterious goblin.
How he managed to get an elf as a retainer I have no idea.
Regardless, despite being a likely spy she still had her uses.
She pulled a map out of the overhead cabinet and handed it to me.
I peered at it and once again grew worried over the accuracy of this map. The place I'm going to looks like a dog spitting a giant ball out of its mouth. The ball being the small island we plan to settle on.
"Ok, grab me an empty sheet of paper and a quill. It's time to design the fort."
Seraphina looked at me in innocent confusion.
"Would you like some help from the combat engineers?"
I just scoffed.
"I'm just drawing. How hard can it be? I just need to draw a diamond shape and I'll be done."
"Parchment is very expensive my lord, are you sure-"
I just waved her off and grabbed a quill and got to writing on the foldable table.
Spurt
"Damn bumps! I got ink all over me."
The maid's eye just twitched. She was clearly trying not to say 'I told you so'.
"Cough, I'll ask the engineers to take care of this when we stop for dinner."
"Of course master."
I just rolled my eyes as she smirked.
...…
Once dinner was ready I told the engineers to gather and told them my plan. Sadly they didn't seem too pleased with the idea.
"Why is it so pointy?"
"Why do we not build this on stable land?"
"Where are we going to get clean water from? We would have to import water off land everytime."
Needless to say they didn't understand the pure genius behind the Bastion Fort.
I just sighed at the first guy wondering if he was even qualified to be here and the second question was at least an intelligent one and the third guy actually seemed to know what he was talking about.
"First guy. Shut up. Second guy, it's because isle forts are easy to defend and enemy attacks are predictable. Especially with only one real method of marching on our gates. A method that could easily disappear thanks to high tides.
And the third guy. Good question. That all depends on if this isle is rocky or dirt and sand. If it's rocky we can just build a rainwater storage system using sand, gravel and charcoal. If it's mostly dirt and trees that'll be a bit more time consuming but certainly possible."
The last two seemed to nod their heads in understanding but the first guy still seemed confused.
Sigh
"Pointy things look scary."
That seemed to do the trick.
"Oh… clever."
I just rolled my eyes and watched the three of them write down everything I needed from this fort.
After taking a look at the drawing I was happy to see it.
"I could've done better but well done."
I could sense a certain somebody sighing behind me but oh well.
.....
Once night rolled over I called out to my status screen again.
[STATIS]
[Name: Thomas King]
[Level 1]
[Class: NULL]
[Ultimate Skill: Will Of The Universe]
[Ultimate Skill: Immortal (NEW)]
[Unique Skill: Luck Meter, Space Law]
[Skills: Leading lvl 6, Negotiation lvl 6, Shooting lvl 6, Survival lvl 5, Steady Hands lvl 5]
[Bloodline: Dragon, Royal Elf, Goblin]
[Blessing: King Progenitor]
I just sighed for the umpteenth time. I still had no idea what the deal was with these ultimate skills, but what really baffled me were the bloodlines.
I kept poking at my ears expecting them to be pointy but they seemed perfectly human. I certainly didn't have a tail and my skin wasn't even green.
As for my blessing…
I remember getting this from when I was still a kid. After I lost my job I drowned myself in a war simulator. The only thing I remember after being declared king of the server was this one message on the computer.
{Congratulations! You have proven incredible foresight and the ability to lead. You have been chosen to become the King Progenitor!}
I still remember it like it just happened.
I thought it was a hallucination after staying awake for three days straight but clearly not.
Maybe this is the real reason I decided to take this job?
Is a part of me hoping to rule this kingdom someday?
Who am I kidding? Of course I do.
If it weren't for my strange and unexpected death I would be the supreme ruler of Sol by now…
"Ugh, so annoying. Hmm what happens when I click on it?"
After looking at it for a few seconds I decided to try it out.
I extended my finger and…
FLASH
My status screen changed into a new one! It was no longer plain blue but gold with flowering motifs on the corners!
Status screens can change appearance?
"Doesn't matter. Let's see what's different…"
[STATIS]
[Name: Thomas King] (SELECT)
[Level 1]
[Class: NULL] (SELECT)
[Ultimate Skill: Will Of The Universe] (SELECT)
[Ultimate Skill: Immortal (NEW)] (SELECT)
[Unique Skill: Luck Meter, Space Law] (SELECT)
[Skills: Leading lvl 6, Negotiation lvl 6, Shooting lvl 6, Survival lvl 5, Steady Hands lvl 5] (SELECT)
[Bloodline: Dragon, Royal Elf, Goblin] (SELECT)
[Blessing: King Progenitor] (SELECT)