Reincarnated As The Heroes Guide

As the sun came up, the patrols went out.

Not just the ones in vehicles, as Kalli had planned. Other teams went out as well, with the logic that establishing a presence was more than just a patrol. If they had people out all morning checking on the land, clearing gravel for the wild tubers, and anything else that seemed helpful, they should get a higher score on their territorial acquisition.

They would also be able to scout the best areas for traps and outer fortifications, once they were no longer restricted to the city walls.

If they could control enough territory to force the enemy to start hours away from the base, they would use this for the next week’s waves of the third trial. Still, with so many people out in the open fields, Kalli couldn’t help but think that they were preparing to farm the region.

There were groups of people spreading out in every direction, but carefully avoiding the black temple along the shoreline.

Everyone had seen the monsters simply die when they got too close, and they weren’t going to risk being the next ones to suffer that fate. In a moment of absolute desperation, they might try to lure monsters close to the barrier, but under no circumstances would they try to enter themselves.

However, that didn’t stop them from circling at a safe distance and fishing along the nearby shoreline.

The fishing quest was still active, and you only needed 2 fish to get the reward, so the groups working that side of the base all went out to top off the seafood stockpile. They knew that there were three quarters of a million new residents under the city in the Arks, and they were living on nutrient paste for the most part.

Anything that could improve that state was a good thing, but the chances that they could get enough fish out of the ocean that it would fully support the city were slim.

Eventually, they would have to start some sort of commercial fishing operations, but that involved being able to deal with the sea monsters, and they did not have time for that right now. They were going to need more than a day or two before they could formulate a plan for the sea monsters.

At 11:30, Kalli sent out a citywide message, reminding everyone that the award would be handed out in thirty minutes, and to try to finish what they were working on.

That message only caught a few by surprise, most of the city’s residents were anxiously watching the time so that they were ready when the announcement came at noon to tell them what sort of reward they could expect to see.

As far as they could tell, they were doing amazingly well.

They had expanded the city in every possible measure, except total footprint. However, that should be offset by the fact that they had patrols out in the countryside right now, mapping the terrain and ensuring that the city of Marimgar could properly defend its claim to being the leading power in this region.

Kalli was just settling into her chair was a bag of nacho chips when the radio blared out an alert.

{Coordinator, we have found heroes. There is an entire group coming up the river from the south. They’ve got vehicles, so we will escort them to the city. Prep for their arrival, they look half starved, and even after healing they’re not doing well.}

Kalli stuck her head out the door, but the heroes in the courtyard had heard the message as well, and everyone was rushing to receive their new heroes.

It was anyone’s guess where they had come from, as there were many cities to the south, and they had likely followed the shoreline most of the way, unless they came from the southwest until they hit the river.

{Bring them straight to the Hall of Heroes. I will have everything that they need here. How many are we expecting?} Kalli instructed.

That would save time, and she could have a full buffet brought to her in a matter of minutes. Someone was likely already on it, going by the activity. The food stalls would already have something prepared as well.

{Seventeen Heroes in total. No civilians.}

That wasn’t great news, but given the fact that they were on the move between trials, it was likely the only actual situation that could have caused this outcome.

It wasn’t long before the new arrivals, all packed into a single pickup truck with multiple jerry cans of fuel hung off the side, rolled up in front of the Hall of Heroes. The food vendors who had been waiting, and Gerry, who had been in the Academy kitchen, all followed them in, laying out food on all the tables for the guests to pick through.

Hakim, one of their Fire Mages, nodded to Kalli as he followed them in.

”My team found them driving on the high ground by the west side of the river. They haven’t said much yet, but we weren’t interrogating them. Human is human, right?”

Kalli nodded. She wasn’t worried that under two dozen new people would disrupt anything in the city at this point.

”Sit and eat. Get yourselves in order, and then we can talk.

I’ve got housing for you, supplies to get you settled, and then we can work the rest out. Marimgar can defend itself against the next wave, so take your time.”

The new heroes were all hollow-eyed, looking like the walking dead, barely more than zombies.

They weren’t zombies. Kalli checked.

But they were clearly malnourished, and they had been through hell, even worse than the heroes who had come with Temple after their base was overrun.

One of the men picked up a basket of fried tubers in shaky hands, then set them down and shoved a handful into his mouth, speaking as he chewed.

”Thank you, Ma’am. You’ve got quite the city here. Did you bring it from the other world? You look human, does that mean there are more humans still alive?”

”I would assume that there are still more humans alive. But we’re not from another world. The upgraded buildings here are System Rewards for doing well on the trials. This is what remains of the Capital City of Marimgar.

Sure, it’s little more than a fort now, but we’ve saved as many as we can.”

The man began to speak, then choked on his food.

”Slow down and breathe. Someone else can speak while you eat. Take turns, we have time.”