"I suggest aligning ourselves to the Rising Basilisk Empire."
Cyclone and Balm scrolled through the list, appearing hesitant.
"Hmm, really? But they are among the most costly. We will have to pay a tax of 40%!"
"Yes, but it's worth it. They offer some of the best protection, which is important for us. The regions around Greypine Town house quite the powerful monsters. Starting from level 45 in the immediate surroundings up to level 90 after travelling for a while."
"Wait, can these monsters attack us? Could it be that a level 90 monster comes to our territory?", asked Cyclone in shock.
"Not right now. But if we expand the territory, it will eventually happen. And if we want to ask for stronger production at that point the price will only be higher. Furthermore, players are a danger as well."
Cyclone let out a sigh:
"Ok, I get it. Let's choose the empire."
"I agree."
The guild leaders came to a decision. With a thought they communicated with C, confirming their choice. C immediately let them know that the alignment had been made and couldn't be changed before at least a month had passed.
Close to Greypine Tower was a small building with the most basic of teleportation platforms. It could only connect to a single location, which was now automatically set to be Svebrial.
Instantly light came from the teleporter. Soldiers in glorious silver armor appeared through the teleporter, taking position in front of the tower. With a single look one could tell that these soldiers had received some of the best training in the world. They emitted an aura of authority, deterring petty criminals simply due to their presence.
The last person to came out of the teleporter was a somewhat small woman in gorgeous, silver mage robes. She passed the soldiers, entering Greypine Tower with a proudly raised head.
The woman eyed those present, only showing some respect towards Sephran Greypine. Her eyes stopped on Cyclone and Balm, nodding faintly.
"Major Vaukas. Here to take on the duty of protecting Greypine Town on behalf of the mighty empire."
Cyclone and Balm were somewhat taken aback by the woman's cold gaze, answering slowly:
"Oh, thank you…"
"Mhm."
The major nodded again before abruptly turning around and leaving the tower. Immediately orders could be heard from the outside and the soldiers spread through the town.
Cyclone scrunched her nose, grumbling:
"Can we somehow exchange her for someone else?"
"I would suggest you don't do so…", commented Sephran from behind.
"Why?"
"I have heard of her before. Lirabell Vaukas. She graduated from the academy with flying colours, an absolute elite. Afterwards she went to the army and became a rising star. With her here everyone can feel a lot safer. You made a good decision, lord."
Cyclone and Balm glanced towards Liam. Seeing him nod, they reluctantly accepted the major's presence.
After sorting out the issue of the town's protection the guild leaders were not in the mood to go on. They excused themselves and logged off, needing to relax after the stressful war.
Now only Liam remained. He still had some energy left, pondering what to do now. There were only a few hours left of the day. But since he already had plans for the next few days there was no need to start anything complicated now. Eventually Liam decided to go off as well, spending the rest of the day with Serena.
When Liam opened his eyes in the real world, he soon spotted Serena sitting on the couch with a tablet in her hands, scrolling the news. However, despite reading so much praise for Dream Avenue the young girl was unusually quiet. Her stuffed bear 'Sergeant' sat on her legs, pressed tightly against her belly.
Liam was concerned. He sat next to his sister. After talking for a bit, he understood that Serena was still processing the war. Liam realized that this wasn't easy for her. He did his best to help her. Serena slowly got better, and a smile returned to her face.
After a while Serena regained some liveliness, and the siblings switched the topic. They talked about their soon-to-be-home, the gaming house, and searched for some decoration which they could put into their new flat to make it more comfortable and homey.
They continued for a while until it was time to eat. Afterwards Serena was too tired to stay awake. She went to bed and Liam followed a few hours later.
A new day arrived as everyone returned to the game feeling full of energy again. One could tell how exhausted everyone had been since no one even proposed to celebrate their success yesterday.
However, now that the friends met again, Cyclone took the lead to make plans for that. After a bit of discussion, the friends came to the conclusion to throw a big party in one week. In the meantime, they would all complete their moves to the gaming house. Additionally, there was a big guild war tomorrow. Winning that was another reason for a celebration.
The friends accepted Cyclone's enthusiastic suggestion. Afterwards they focused back on the game. It was time to inspect their territory.
The group of friends walked through the town. Despite the clear sky the atmosphere was bleak. A large part of the town had been deconstructed for materials. One might think many people would have slept on the streets due to that, but since the NPCs had suffered more than 3000 casualties during the war, this was sadly not a problem.
In the bleak atmosphere the patrolling soldiers in their shining silver armours stood out greatly. Cyclone was pleased to see that they were at least working for the money Dream Avenue had to pay.
Right now, the town didn't have much to offer. The players walked along the forest and inspected the mines, learning that the NPCs had obediently gone to work despite just going through a war. At least the mist had receded, posing no immediate danger to the citizens.
After their short inspection Liam and his friends stopped inside the tower. Cyclone and Balm again interacted with the map, this time exploring it thoroughly. With Liam's help they quickly figured out what the territory was all about. In short: resources.
A territory generated resources every day. The most basic were food, wood, stone, and metal, which every territory produced in differing amounts. But there were also special resources, in Dream Avenue's case materials for potions and equipment, which had a certain chance to appear.
Right now, Greypine Town produced a measly amount of 35 tons of food per day. 3 tons of wood, 1,5 tons of stone, and 0,1 tons of metal. It had less than 17.000 inhabitants which gave a tax of 0,85 gold per day. From this tax the guild had to hand over 40% to the empire, leaving Dream Avenue with 0,51 gold per day.
"That's a joke, right? Is this little bit of money supposed to help us?"
Liam rolled his eyes at the complaining Sun's Knight, continuing his explanation.
Of course there were ways to improve the income. The first was gaining new citizens. With the state the town was in new citizens would join at a rate of 50 people per day. Reaching certain milestones of inhabitation would slightly increase the gathering rate of all resources. However, new citizens would stop coming if there was not enough food per day.
Second, there was citizen happiness. Investing resources to improve the town would make citizens happy, causing them to pay higher taxes.
The third option tied into the second. Resources could be used to construct special building which gave special effects, for example an improved rate of gathering food.
Fourth, there was trade. Guilds could use the territory map to conveniently trade with each other or speak to NPC traders, which was usually the less favourable option.
At this point Liam made a short pause, asking if everyone understood. Sun's Knight frowned and shook his head.
"All of this sounds like a strategy game. It might be favourable in the long run, but didn't you promise that the territory would be a money maker for us? I'm not seeing it yet."
"Why? I think this sounds great. If you don't want to, I can take care of the territory."
"Wait, I wanted to say that as well."
All eyes fell on Braag and Final Fend as they spoke up. Obviously, the two were eager to manage the territory. Cyclone and Balm didn't reject them but now was not a great time to discuss it as Liam continued:
"Let's talk about that later. For now, let me explain the last way to generate income. We can rent out plots of land."
"Hm. Are we supposed to rent land to other guilds? So they can build shops?"
"That's one possibility but there is a more profitable option. Brands!"
Liam's words had everyone thoughtful. It was Sun's Knight who spoke first:
"You want to rent plots to brands so they can advertise? Perhaps by building their own shops? That's not an entirely new idea but it will only be profitable if we can attract enough players."