The transition from the dank, fungal-lit cavern to the open air of the surface world was a shock to the system for the kobold clan. They emerged from the newly widened tunnel entrance, blinking rapidly against the brilliant afternoon sun. The vastness of the sky, the vibrant green of the grass, and the sheer scale of the landscape left them momentarily stunned and huddled together. But as their eyes adjusted, they saw what Ray saw: not a terrifying wilderness, but a land of promise.
Ray "Thorzen" Silver stood before them, his hairless, cream-colored skin gleaming in the light, a stark contrast to their scaled forms. He spread his arms wide, encompassing the clearing, the serene lake, the thundering waterfall, and the protective blue dome of the barrier high above.
"This," his voice boomed, clear and confident, "is our village! This is our home! We will build barracks and houses first. We will build a fortress and a future!"
The kobolds, their fear melting away under the warmth of his conviction and the sun, erupted in a unified, eager response. "YES, CHIEF!"
The energy was palpable. Ray's mind, a supercomputer of logistics and power management, immediately began assigning tasks. "Zek, Zel, form a work group of twenty!"
The two trusted kobolds snapped to attention. "Yes, Chief!" They moved through the gathering, quickly selecting twenty of the strongest and most capable kobolds, who straightened their backs with pride.
Ray addressed the newly formed lumber crew. "You twenty, your task is to harvest trees. Prime will assist you with moving and stacking the trunks." He reached out telepathically to his guardian, who stood like a sentinel mountain nearby. Prime, you are with the lumber crew. Help them stack the felled trees at the base of that ridge.
As you command, Thorzen, the deep, synthetic voice responded in his mind. The guardian took a ground-shaking step towards the designated kobolds, who looked up at him with a mixture of awe and terror.
"Now, for your tools," Ray said. He stretched out his right hand, focusing on the blueprint of a war axe he had assimilated, but he willed a modification—the balance shifted, the edge angled for biting into wood rather than flesh and bone. A shimmering, liquid mass coalesced in the air before him, solidifying into twenty perfectly identical woodcutting axes. "Line up and get your axes."
The kobolds did so with disciplined haste, each taking a tool and marveling at its weight and sharpness.
"They work!" Ray exclaimed with a satisfied grin. "I can modify creations. Remember, these are tools, not weapons. They are for chopping trees only! Do not use them in battle; they are not balanced for it. Understood?"
"YES, CHIEF!" the twenty kobolds chorused.
Zel took charge of the distribution, nodding to Ray with understanding. With a wave from Zek, the group, flanked by the immense Prime, moved off towards the forest's edge, the first sounds of axes biting into wood soon echoing through the clearing.
Ray turned to the rest of the clan. "The rest of you, follow me to the lakeshore!"
He led them to the pristine beach of the azure lake. The children, both kobold and troglodyte, stared in wonder at the shimmering water, so different from the stagnant ponds of the caves. As the group gathered around him, Ray's gaze swept over them, assessing their strengths.
"Zek," he said, and the red-scaled kobold stepped forward. "Pick a reliable individual to guard the cave entrance. We'll establish a permanent guard rotation there."
Zek scanned the group and pointed to a short, sturdy kobold with jet-black scales. The kobold stepped forward, puffing his chest out.
Ray focused, and in his hand, a sturdy iron-tipped spear with a long, sharp point materialized. "Come here," he commanded.
The black-scaled kobold approached and bowed his head deeply.
"Take this spear. Your duty is to guard the cave entrance. No one enters without my permission. If something tries to come out, do not engage alone. Yell for help. We don't have a proper alarm system yet, but we will. For now, your voice will have to do."
The kobold gripped the spear tightly, his expression solemn. "Yes, Chief! It will be done!"
"Zel!" Ray called out as the hunter returned from organizing the lumber crew.
"Chief?" Zel responded, his green scales shimmering.
"Take four kobolds with hunting experience and…" Ray's eyes found the older troglodyte boy, Wen. "Take Wen with you. Teach him to hunt. Bring all the game and usable skins you gather to my house for now."
Zel nodded. "Understood, Chief." He quickly selected his team and motioned for the hesitant but eager Wen to follow, heading off towards the prairie with practiced stealth.
Ray then turned to three of the remaining kobolds. "You three, your task is to sort all the supplies we brought from the caves. Food goes into my house. Weapons and gear are to be stacked neatly by that large boulder." He pointed to a prominent stone near the center of the clearing. "All other living necessities—hides, pots, tools—go next to this stump." He indicated a nearby, flat-topped stump. "The children can help with lighter sorting, but do not overwork them. Let them rest if they tire."
The three kobolds bowed. "Yes, Chief!" They immediately began directing the others, the clan falling into a rhythm of organized labor.
Satisfied with the initial deployments, Ray turned to Zek, who had returned from posting the guard. "Good. Now, stick with me, Zek. We have foundations to lay."
"Gladly, Chief," Zek replied, falling into step beside him.
Ray's first stop was the cave entrance. The single door he had created earlier felt insufficient now, a potential weak point. He examined the opening, his mind calculating. It needed to be stronger, more defensible.
He placed his hands on the stone frame on either side of the entrance. "A simple door won't do. We need something that can be barred from the outside and withstand a charge." He focused, visualizing not just a door, but a reinforced entryway. With a command of "Assimilate," he dissolved the existing door and widened the entrance by another two feet, creating a broader, more imposing portal.
Then, he began the Creation. From the stone and wood within his void, he forged two massive, iron-banded doors, each six inches thick. He hinged them to swing outward, preventing them from being easily battered in. A heavy, horizontal iron bar, resting in solid stone brackets, would secure them from the outside. For the guard's comfort, he created a small, roofed guard post just to the side of the entrance, open-faced towards the clearing, providing shelter from the elements.
"Now, that's more like it," Ray murmured, testing the swing of the doors. They moved with a satisfying, weighty groan. "We'll post a permanent watch here once we're settled."
His next task was resources. He and Zek walked to the growing pile of logs near the ridge. The lumber crew, with Prime's immense strength, had already stacked a small mountain of wood—at least twenty good-sized trees.
"Excellent progress," Ray commended them, and the kobolds beamed with pride. He approached the pile and placed a hand on the rough bark. "Assimilate."
The process was faster and more profound than ever before. With his Assimilation at Level 7, his capacity was a staggering 128,400 pounds. A huge section of the log pile, roughly 20,000 pounds, shimmered and vanished into his void, categorized as [Wood - High Quality]. The kobolds, even though they had seen him perform miracles, still gasped at the scale of it.
"Continue your work," Ray instructed the lumber crew. "This is exactly what we need."
He then led Zek to a flat, clear area east of the village center, not far from the lakeshore. "This is the spot," Ray declared, his eyes seeing the future blueprint superimposed on the grass. "This will be our barracks."
He knelt, placing both palms flat on the earth. "Athena, activate the barracks blueprint."
The complex schematic filled his mind—a long, sturdy structure designed to house a hundred individuals. He poured the required materials from his void, focusing his will. "Create!"
A torrent of liquid, shimmering blue energy erupted from his hands, spreading out to define a massive foundation. Walls of solid timber shot upward, interlocking seamlessly. A pitched roof swirled into existence, topped with wooden shingles. Inside, the space partitioned itself into fifty two-person rooms, each equipped with two beds, two stools, and two storage chests. The process was a silent, mesmerizing ballet of creation, taking nearly ten minutes to complete. When the light faded, a fully furnished, 9,000-square-foot barracks stood where there had been only grass.
System Notification: Feat of Strength Completed. First Barracks built. 5,000 XP Gained.
Ray stood, a little breathless from the exertion, but exhilarated. "Let's take a look, Zek."
They stepped inside. The air smelled of fresh-cut wood. The building was spartan but impeccably built and perfectly organized.
"It's... magnificent, Chief," Zek whispered, his voice full of reverence as he ran a clawed hand over the smooth surface of a bedpost.
Ray chuckled. "It's functional, Zek. Nothing fancy yet. But it's a start. Just wait until we get advanced blueprints." The thought made Zek's eyes go wide.
Exiting the barracks, Ray looked toward the ridge that dominated the northern part of his domain. "Now for the command center. The fortress."
He and Zek walked to the base of the steep incline. Rather than scramble up, Ray placed a hand on the rocky face and created a wide, switchbacking staircase of solid stone, leading comfortably to the summit. At the top, the view was breathtaking. The entire protected area was visible—the lake, the forest, the prairie, and the small figures of his clan working below.
"What do you think, Zek? A fine place for our fortress?" Ray asked.
Zek, still overwhelmed by the vista, simply shook his head. "I do not know, Chief. It is all so... big."
"It's okay," Ray said, clapping him on the shoulder. "This spot is perfect."
He knelt once more, connecting with the bedrock of the ridge. "Athena, activate the fortress blueprint."
The image that flooded his mind was immense. A central keep, corner towers, thick walls—a true stronghold. The material cost was astronomical, but his void was stocked from hours of assimilation in the caves. He took a deep breath, channeling a river of stone, wood, and metal from his storage.
"CREATE!"
The energy that surged from him was far more intense than before. A colossal structure of stone and timber began to form, rising from the ridge-top as if it were growing from the mountain itself. Towers punched into the sky, walls encircled a central courtyard, and arrow slits appeared in the battlements. Internally, rooms formed: a great hall, private chambers, a war room, a cellar, and even a small prison. The process took a full fifteen minutes, the blue light so bright it drew the eyes of everyone in the clearing below. When it finally faded, a basic but formidable fortress stood sentinel over the valley.
System Notification: Feat of Strength Completed. First Fortress built. 5,000 XP Gained.
Congratulations! You are now Level 11!
+10 to all Attributes.
You have 2 Attribute Points to distribute.
You have 2 Skill Points to distribute.
Power, sweet and invigorating, flooded Ray's system. He allocated the new Attribute Points evenly, as was his habit, bringing all his core stats to 127. The two Skill Points he saved, adding them to his growing hoard for the next Assimilation upgrade.
"Let's see the inside," Ray said, leading a stunned Zek through the large, iron-reinforced main gate.
The interior was vast and echoed slightly. "Twenty-thousand square feet, Zek. Two main stories, four three-story towers, a cellar, and a prison. And this is just the basic version. Imagine what an advanced fortress will be like."
Zek could only look around, his jaw slack. "It is... amazing, Chief."
Ray smiled. "Just the beginning. Now, we need a dining hall and a storage building."
They descended the stone stairs and returned to the village center. Near the barracks, Ray created two more structures: a long, open-beamed dining hall with trestle tables and benches, and a sturdy, windowless storage house for their supplies and future treasures. With each creation, his proficiency grew, the processes becoming slightly faster and less mentally taxing.
Finally, he returned to his original mushroom-cap house. With a series of focused acts of Creation, he built four more identical houses alongside it, creating a neat row of five homes for his future specialists and their families. Each was furnished with the same basic comforts.
Surveying his work—the fortress on the ridge, the barracks, the dining hall, storage, and the row of houses—a profound sense of accomplishment settled over him. In a single afternoon, he had transformed a wild clearing into the skeleton of a thriving settlement.
"Alright, Zek," he said, his voice tinged with satisfaction. "That's enough building for today. Let's check on everyone's progress."
The sun was beginning to dip towards the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and purple. The sounds of industry filled the air—the steady chop of axes, the chatter of kobolds sorting goods, the distant calls of hunters returning with game. It was the sound of a community, of a future being built with every swing and every spoken word. Ray "Thorzen" Silver looked upon his work and his people, and for the first time, the title of "Chief" felt less like a role he played and more like who he was destined to be.
Stats Update for Chapter 12 Conclusion:
Name: Ray "Thorzen" Silver
Age: 16
Level: 11
HP: 1100/1100
MP: 300/300
Race: Changeling (Unique)
Class: None
Job: None
XP: 20,305 / 85,000
Gold: 5,300
Skill Points: 144 (142 + 2 from Lvl 11)
Attribute Points: 0
Attributes:
· Strength: 127
· Constitution: 127
· Dexterity: 127
· Intelligence: 127
· Wisdom: 127
· Charisma: 127
Abilities:
· Assimilation: Level 7 (128,400 lbs capacity)
Void Storage (Notable Reduction):
· Wood, Stone, and Metal reserves significantly depleted from construction.
· Remaining: [Wood - High Quality] (~80,000 lbs), [Stone] (Massive Quantity), [Iron/Copper] (Moderate Quantity).