DEFENSE KINGDOM

Chapter 28: Mana Awakening: The Seeds of Power

After Ash and Ram enter Nexus City, Ash thinks to himself, Maybe I feel amazing because I successfully defended the city without a loss to its infrastructure. I should focus and work on developing the city.

After a bit more contemplation, Ash and Ram walk towards the city’s garden where the Mana Tree is planted.

A few minutes later, Ash and Ram arrive at the garden. There, they find Evan meditating under the Mana Tree.

Ash thinks, I should rest for a bit. After that, I’ll go to the market-building to buy some pills for emergencies. I should also buy some medicine for Robin.

"Let's rest here, Ram," Ash says with a tired face and a quiet voice.

"Okay, my lord," Ram replies, offering a small smile.

Thirty minutes later,

Ash, sitting in a meditation position, feels his light injuries nearly healed. As he looks at Ram, he notices that Ram’s injuries have also completely healed, leaving no trace of any attack on his body.

Ash slowly gets up from the soil and glances toward Evan. He tries to check Evan’s status.

A window pops up in front of Ash.

...

...

Name: Evan (Altar Subject)

Age: 18

Status: Healthy

Abilities: None

Level: 1 (0/100 Mana Mist Level 1)

Loyalty: 90

Weapon: None

...

...

Ash smiles as he looks at Evan's status and thinks, I’ll easily create more Level 1 people in Nexus City when it starts to grow into a behemoth of this world. First, though, I need to take care of myself and focus on my responsibilities.

"Ram, you should rest here. I’ll head to the market-building to buy some essential things for the city," Ash says with a smile and a loud voice.

"Okay, my lord," Ram responds with a slight smile and a quick voice.

Ash nods and heads toward the market-building.

A few minutes later,

Ash enters the market-building, and a window pops up in front of him.

...

...

Do you want to trade using the text feature of the market-building?

Or

Trade with both parties' physical presence (extra mana charge because physical presence costs mana from the market-building, and recovering mana is necessary).

...

...

Ash selects the first option and begins browsing the market-building’s trading platform. He searches the "pill" category, where he sees various types of pills and their descriptions.

After Ash types "Recovery Pill" in the search bar, he views the status of the Recovery Pill.

...

...

Name: Recovery Pill (Consumable Resource)

Status: Average (Pill)

Ability: Helps to recover mana instantly after taking. Highly useful for Level 0 persons, giving 100% mana recovery instantly. For Level 1 persons, it gives 60% recovery in one minute.

Level: 1

Description: Made by a Level 1 alchemist.

Price: 10 (Mana Points)

...

...

He decides to buy one Recovery Pill. Then, Ash searches "Healing Pill" in the market interface and views the status of the Healing Pill.

...

...

Name: Healing Pill (Consumable Resource)

Status: Average (Pill)

Ability: Helps to heal a person from injury quickly.

Level: 1

Description: Made by a Level 1 alchemist.

Price: 30 (Mana Points)

...

...

He decides to buy one Healing Pill because, in this world, having an emergency pill for quick use is essential. Ash thinks, I really want to buy both the Healing and Recovery Pills, but my Mana Points are nearly depleted. I’ll become rich and powerful in this world. Now, evening is coming, and I need to focus on the coming days in this world. I hope Robin’s injuries heal quickly. May the god of Eldros bless me with a treasure box tomorrow because I don’t have any weapons for my followers. It’s shameful. I hope my luck changes.

After purchasing the pills, Ash exits the market-building and decides to check Nexus City’s status.

...

...

City: Nexus City

Ability: Territory defense doubled

Description: In the event of a city defense, all attack and defense power of people and buildings becomes doubled.

Altar Level: 0

Upgrade Requirement: (Wood * 1000, Stone * 250, 50 * Mana Core (Level 0))

Production: Mist Mana Level 0 * 10 per day

Area: 625 square meters

Status: Very Small Village

Mana (Money): 2

Tax (from market & city): 0 * Mana-Mist Level

Building: Guide Mark * 1 (active), Market (3 uses out of 5 in a day, free trades per day)

Blueprint: Low-grade House (Stone * 100, Wood * 25)

Warehouse: Wood * 0, Stone * 10, Recovery Pill (Level 1) * 1, Healing Pill (Level 1) * 1

Population: 4

Specialty: Mana Tree (Produces Level 0 Mana * 4 per day)

Resource Point: Stone Mountain Level 1 (310 * mined / 1000, all stone mineable in the new mine)

Attack Power Level: 0 (1000/1000)

Description: City’s power level to attack enemies

Defense Power Level: 0 (9500/10000)

Description: City’s defense power level against enemies

...

...

After checking the status, he meets Ram and Evan. He sees that both are talking and smiling. Ash joins them, smiling in return.

A few hours later,

Ash looks up at the "Sky of Eldros World." He watches as the sky darkens, sunlight thinning, and the small red moon slowly rises in the sky, signalling that night is approaching. He feels sleepy.

"Let’s eat food, Ram and Evan," Ash says, his face tired and sleepy.

Both Ram and Evan agree. They begin preparing food, while Ash watches silently.

Thirty minutes later,

Ash watches Evan and Ram prepare the food, which they serve on leaf plates. Ash takes the lead, taking his plate and food from Evan, waiting for the others to eat.

Seconds later,

Ash sees Evan and Ram eating with smiles on their faces. He also eats with a smile, though he misses the taste of rice from the Blue Star. He thinks, Maybe once my Altar City is more developed, I can find rice seeds to plant. I even checked the market-building for rice seeds but couldn’t find any.

Ash sighs.

Ten minutes later,

He decides to sleep in the house. Evan and Ram also head to the house to sleep.

The next morning,

The sun rises, and cool air sweeps through Nexus City. Birds chirp around the city.

Ash opens his eyes, waking from his sleep. He stands up from his bed and glances around the house. After looking in the direction of the others, he notices that Evan and Ram are still asleep, but Robin is not there.

He starts thinking about where Robin could be. After a moment, he thinks, Maybe Robin is in the altar room, refining mana. I’ll find out when I go there. I need to focus on my work anyway.

Ash walks through the city to clear his mind, thinking, I really like walking on the Blue Planet. Remembering old memories feels good, but only the good ones. Maybe I should explore my city again.

In 15 minutes, Ash walks around the entire city with a smile on his face. He heads to the garden and looks at the Mana Tree with a smile. The Mana Tree is my first prized possession in this world, he thinks. He breathes in the fresh air of Nexus City’s garden and tries to check the Mana Tree's status.

A window pops up in front of Ash.

...

...

Name: Mana Tree (Specialty)

Status: Occupied

Ability: Able to produce mana with different levels of trees

Level: 0 (Growable)

Production: Mist Mana Level 0 * 5 per day

...

...

Ash is surprised by the Mana Tree’s status, seeing that its production of Mist Mana per day has increased from 4 to 5. He smiles broadly, thinking, Good, this day is going to be good for me. Please, God, bless me with your blessings.

He walks toward the altar.

A few minutes later, he arrives at the altar, where he finds Robin meditating. Robin’s injury is nearly healed, and his skin looks almost newly born. Ash is surprised by the sight of Robin’s skin but doesn’t dwell on it.

He meets Robin and they talk for a few minutes. Ash decides to meet with Ram and Evan to prepare food because Robin is healing and needs more time. Ash arranges a meeting with all four of them in two hours at the garden to discuss their roles and responsibilities, as well as the direction of the city’s development. He leaves Robin in the altar and heads to the house.

A few minutes later, Ash arrives at the house and finds Ram and Evan awake, talking and organizing their beds.

Ash explains the meeting in two hours at the garden, then tells them to prepare food once they freshen up.

Thirty minutes later,

Evan and Ram are preparing ingredients for the food. A few minutes later, they begin cooking, while Ash practices with his knife, determined to increase his stamina as soon as possible.

Ash notices Ram giving pointers to Evan about his new strength gains after his level upgrade. Twenty minutes later, Ram and Evan finish cooking, and the delicious smell fills the air. Ash’s stomach growls loudly, but he restrains himself, thinking about his image as the Altar Owner and how it would look if he ate before his subordinates.

"Let’s eat after we give Robin his share," Ash says, smiling.

Both Ram and Evan agree. They serve food on leaf plates and begin eating.

A few minutes later,

Ash watches them eat with smiles on their faces, and he joins them, smiling as well.

Ten minutes later, after everyone finishes eating, Ash decides to take the food to Robin. He tells Ram and Evan to wait for him at the garden.

As Ash heads back to the altar, he sees something amazing in the city that makes his eyes widen and a grin spread across his face.

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