Woke Up to Find the Game I Made Came True

Ye Bai naturally had no idea about Zeta's mental activities. The Source Energy Crystal Mine alone added 2000 territory points, while Carrie, as a high-level professional, added about 200 points. The remaining 300 points were the accumulation of her ten days since establishing the territory.

Of course, even these 300 points would be unattainable for any other territory owner who had been established for ten days.

The Source Energy Crystal Mine, four policy slot positions, and the effect of being the first territory owner, all combined with favorable conditions, allowed her to achieve an upgrade to Level 1 territory on the tenth day of establishing the territory.

However, this time there was no global announcement. Upgrading between 'Village' levels does not grant achievement rewards; only the first territory to reach the 'Town' level will receive rewards.

Level 1 territory not only expanded the territory's range but also unlocked technologies exclusive to Level 1 territories, along with four additional upgrade productivity rewards.

This is the effect of the highest-level Creation Tree. Each upgrade grants a productivity reward equal to 4 times the territory level. At Level 2 territory, an 8 productivity reward will be granted, although the productivity required to unlock technologies will also increase.

Ye Bai opened the territory's [Development Path] page. Without much thought, she allocated the four productivity points to [Weaving], [Mining] - [Exploration], [Adventure] - [Basic Armament], and [Farming] - [Herbs].

[Weaving] unlocked techniques for making baskets and straw sandals from reeds; unlocked the [Tailoring Shop] building; unlocked methods for producing [Linen], [Cotton], and [Cloth Clothing].

[Exploration] unlocked exploration of iron ore, copper ore, and coal; unlocked the [Mine Shaft] building.

[Basic Armament] unlocked all 'Standard Weapons I' production methods in the blacksmith shop; unlocked the [Basic Training Ground] building; villagers equipped with standard weapons can be trained into [Militia] at the Basic Training Ground.

[Herbs] villagers can identify more wild herb species; herb fields can be cultivated; unlocked the [Herbal Clinic] building.

At Level 1 territory, villagers began to have warmth needs, making clothing an essential item. The initial clothing provided to villagers would wear out and needed to be replaced before it deteriorated completely.

Earlier, Lucy had reported that the first batch of crops from the fields had included cotton, thanks to the territory upgrade effect. If they started planting now, the harvest time would coincide with producing a batch of replacement clothing.

Otherwise, they would have to provide villagers with leather coats, which would be more costly—leather is also an important resource, and after tanning, it can be made into more useful combat gear, such as [Leather Armor].

This phase of construction mainly focused on strengthening the territory's armed forces, requiring a considerable amount of time. This preparation was not only for defending against potential dangers in the surrounding areas but also for future trade route establishment.

Ye Bai then opened the [Development Strategy] page.

The conditions for upgrading to Level 2 territory appeared: have 30 residential buildings, 4 professional buildings, construct a market, and reach a population of 60.

At this point, the two policy cards that reduced basic needs [Hardship and Diligence] and maintained loyalty and satisfaction [Prosperity] were gone, leaving two empty slots. In their place were new policy cards exclusive to Level 1 territory.

[Anything Goes] Increases territory health by 50%; reduces plague transmission by 80%.

[Traveling Merchant] A traveling merchant is attracted to the territory's market at regular intervals.

[Reward System I] Increases the advancement speed of territory's basic professionals by 25%.

[Military Training I] Increases the advancement speed of territory's basic combat professionals by 25%.

Ye Bai didn't hesitate to select [Traveling Merchant] and [Reward System I] for the two remaining slots. The other two, [Hardship and Diligence] and [Pioneer], couldn't be changed before they disappeared. The former was an early-game artifact, eliminating the need to meet more demands, while the latter, if replaced, would cause Carrie, the high-level professional, to leave the territory.

Although ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‍[Anything Goes] had a great effect, Ye Bai could soon establish the Herbal Clinic, which would allow Lucy to be trained from [Herbalist] to [Potion Master]. The territory's medical issues were not a concern. As for [Military Training I], they needed to spend time first producing a batch of equipment, which could be done later at Level 2 territory.

The reason for choosing [Reward System I] was clear, and [Traveling Merchant] was a relatively advanced card for Level 1 territory.

As described, once the market was built in the territory, a progress bar would appear. Upon completion, a traveling merchant would arrive with goods for trade.

This was the only way to trade with the outside world before opening trade routes and establishing external trade stations.

Besides currency, traveling merchants accepted barter, and the items they brought were diverse, including materials, seeds, animals, equipment, weapons, and sometimes even rare blueprints. However, early game territory owners often couldn't offer much of value for trade, usually having to exchange a lot of basic resources, which was very inefficient. Normally, this policy card would be an option for Levels 2 or 3.

However, Ye Bai was different. She not only had 10 gold coins from killing the nightmare dungeon BOSS but, more importantly, Baiye Village had the 'specialty' of Source Energy Crystals.

This high-level resource was very valuable, and the territory would soon accumulate enough to empty the traveling merchant's inventory.

Just as she finished setting up the technology and policy cards, a villager approached Ye Bai.

"My Lord, the other resources needed to build the market are ready; we just need 5 gold coins."

"No problem," Ye Bai replied, taking out 5 gold coins from her backpack and handing them over.

Building the market, a special functional building, required 5 gold coins in materials.

There were two ways to obtain currency in the wilderness at the start. One was from dungeon BOSS drops, with the amount depending on the level, ranging from 1 to 10 gold coins. The other was by taxing territory residents and buildings.

After reaching Level 1 territory, the territory owner would automatically receive tax money from territory residents every month, with the amount based on the residents' housing level and territory tax policy.

Currently, the territory's residential buildings were the most basic, and Ye Bai had set the territory's tax rate to the lowest, earning only 2 copper coins per resident per month.

The game's currency conversion followed the standard fantasy game template: 1 gold coin = 100 silver coins = 10000 copper coins.

There was no point in squeezing the residents for every last coin—even the harshest tax policy would only earn 10 copper coins per person, which would severely reduce satisfaction. To make money from resident taxes, the territory would need to reach higher levels, with residential buildings upgrading from shacks to small villas, which would significantly increase taxes.

Ye Bai focused more on tax revenue from commerce. The market being built and future buildings like the [Trade Dock] and [Exchange Center] would generate substantial tax income, becoming a major source of territory finance.

However, the construction of just the market required 5 gold coins, let alone the two external trade buildings.

So, wilderness territory owners without additional currency sources often encountered an awkward situation when upgrading to Level 1 territory and trying to pass lower-level city-building dungeons—they wanted high taxes? They needed to build a market; wanted to build a market? They needed high taxes.

Either they had to wait, or they risked losing a lot of satisfaction by raising taxes. No one could match Ye Bai's situation, where she had prepared all the necessary materials before upgrading to Level 1 territory.

Ye Bai followed and took a look. In the reserved central area of the residential district, a large building made of stone platforms and wooden sheds was already taking shape. Once completed, the market would significantly increase satisfaction and environment values while performing the function of allocating territory food, tools, and materials. It would become the second major territory center.

Near the market, a herb shop built with stone bricks was also under construction. In the future, Lucy would work there as the territory's herbalist.

As for the salaries of villagers working in professional buildings, such as Carrie, Lucy, and Shawn, they currently do not need to be paid because they have not yet become professionals and are still considered 'apprentices'. In the context of a medieval fantasy world, who has ever seen apprentices being paid? Not charging them would already be quite generous!

Across the industrial district, a tailor’s shop was being built next to the blacksmith’s forge. These industrial buildings were clustered together not only for aesthetic reasons but also because certain policy cards, when used, could grant productivity bonuses to concentrated industrial areas, similar to an industrial park.

After a quick survey, Ye Bai headed towards the northeastern part of the territory.

Most of the newly added idle labor in the territory, besides constructing various buildings, were busy tilling new fields with hoes. Within the next day or two, they would be able to open up four new fields—if the hoes weren't embedded with source crystals, this process would slow down to five or six days.

These four fields would eventually be used to grow cotton, herbs, and staple foods like grains and vegetables.

The previously harvested fields were now idle and had already been tilled by one villager who was preparing them for a new crop.

Seeing Ye Bai approach, the villager working the land came up to him. “My Lord, you’ve come just in time. I’ve just finished turning the soil, as you requested.”

“Good,” Ye Bai nodded, then proceeded to instruct the villager how to plant: “Plant them in this ratio: wheatgrass and Crimson Berries…”

It wasn’t that Ye Bai actually knew how to farm; he was merely instructing the villager on the planting ratios for two crops in the same field.

To enrich the game’s farming system, *Eternia* encouraged crop intercropping, which could have both positive and negative effects on the final harvest, adding more depth to the gameplay.

Uhm… if you really want to explain the principle, it goes like this: planting only one type of crop in a field for an extended period would absorb the soil’s nutrients, leading to a decline in soil fertility over time. In contrast, intercropping different plants allows them to absorb and release various elements during their growth. If the crops can complement each other in terms of the elements they require, it would significantly increase the yield.

Of course, there were also instances where the wrong combination of crops would negatively impact growth and reduce the harvest.

Normally, acquiring this knowledge would require the player-lord to explore the game, experiment by trial and error, purchase recipes from traveling merchants, or build an [Academy] and invite a professional [Botanist] to join the territory…

But in Ye Bai’s case, none of that was necessary.@@novelbin@@

Sorry, knowing the game’s strategy guide means you’re free to do whatever you want.