Surviving The Fourth Calamity

52: Chapter 52 Settled Players 52: Chapter 52 Settled Players Old Cat looked enviously at the lovey-dovey couple, with that distinctive jealous gaze of a singleton.

Hill felt like he could almost recite the phrase that seemed to hang in the air, “What’s there to be proud of, showing off your love like that only gets you killed faster!”

Xiao Chenhuan tapped his arm, pulling him aside, and asked Hill, “We have a few friends who want to come over, are the settlement conditions still the same as before?”

“For now, there’s no need for changes.

But my village can only accommodate up to 500 people for settlement.”

Hill asked them somewhat curiously, “Why would you choose such a small village to settle in?

There aren’t that many adventurer tasks around here.”

Yun Che answered, “We also have a lot to deal with in our own world.

We can’t be like them, doing quests every single day.

This world is beautiful, and your territory doesn’t impose any task completion requirements on the Undead Tribe.

Yeyu and I just want to find a place where we can be together quietly and comfortably.

It’s a good place to manage our little home.”

Old Cat glanced at the couple still displaying their affection, “Us few prefer a more leisurely life, do some quests when we feel like it, tend to our own homes, work on life skills when we’re not interested.”

Life skills?

They’re available?

Hill thought they could only learn Alchemy!

“I like making pretty clothes and then travelling everywhere.

Having a cute home to rest in is important to me,” Yue Xiaoluo said, standing on tiptoe and speaking earnestly to Hill.

Xiao Chenhuan nodded in agreement, “Everything we need for daily life is here, and it’s easy to get anything special from the neighboring territory.

It’s also very convenient to look for Magic Books!”

Hill looked over at the Junior Mage, “Master Fran has opened up his territory for settlement too.”

“But that’s only for Mages and Magicians,” Xiao Chenhuan shook his head, “I don’t want to leave my friends.”

Yun Che and Yeyu Qingyu were indeed Mages, but even Yeyu didn’t want to go, “The requirements for Mages there are very high.

If you’re not fully devoted to Alchemy or Magic research, you can’t settle in.”

“As long as we are together, it’s a beautiful time,” Yun Che added slowly, “Seeing each other is enough; we don’t want to deal with too much hassle.”

Hill felt Yun Che glance at Old Cat, was this showing off in front of a singleton?

He wasn’t worried about having his house burned down by an envious fire later, was he?

“You can choose your settlement location over at List’s place.

House blueprints are also available from him,” Hill said, to interrupt the somewhat undercurrent-laden atmosphere.

Then, looking at Yue Xiaoluo who mentioned traveling, “If you want to travel, why choose the Knight profession?

Sky Knights can’t fly too far anyway.”

“The horses run fast, and it’s even better with a carriage.

You can see the scenery clearer on the road,” Yue Xiaoluo stated matter-of-factly, “Traveling by flying alone is too miserable.”

“While Saral Country is safe, the wilderness is dangerous.

Sky Knights are not necessarily safe.”

“If I die, I’ll just come back and rest for a while before setting out again!”

So immortal, so formidable!

There was nothing Hill could say to that.

List, seeing that Hill didn’t want to talk anymore, approached them and asked them to follow him to the right side to the Puppet area, where they could select the plot and house.

“The land only costs 100 Crystal Stones?”

“And the houses are only 20 Crystal Stones each?”

Hill felt like his pricing was steep, but it still seemed too lenient to hear.

List replied, “Our place is outside the national border, so settlement prices are not high.

It would cost more on Master Fran’s territory.”

“William’s area requires Military Exploits.

The requirement for goodwill is tremendously high.

And in a larger city, it becomes very difficult to reach the level of respect,” Old Cat said resentfully, “Only in the cities of the Undead Tribe are the requirements low, but who wants to live there!”

Xiao Chenhuan added, “We don’t want to fight.

And with so many Undead around, it’s easy to get into trouble.”

“Those families are bound to fight,” Yue Xiaoluo said, “The Wenjian family moved their whole clan to the Magic Cult’s territory!”

“Qingcheng went to Doomsday,” Old Cat laughed, “Doomsday has some nerves.”

“Hey, they’re busy sorting out friend from foe,” Yun Che took up the thread, “Those who don’t want to get involved either go to build his Capital or they all run away!”

“Why don’t you build a city?” Hill interjected, “His Majesty the King is always generous.”

“The task is too stressful!” Yeyu waved her hand, “We have too much to do every day.

We prefer to stay at home.”

Yun Che stroked the little tuft of hair on her head, agreeing with a smile, “They want to reach the max Level soon.

Kexlote is packed with people already!

It’s too noisy, and there’s hardly any private space.”

Yeyu Qingyu glanced up at him, their eyes met, and together, they shared a slight smile.

Hill nodded, truly not wishing to deal with this lovey-dovey rascal any longer.

Old Cat asked List, “Can we choose this row along the wall?

How many floors can we build?

I want to enjoy the view outside.”

Yun Che quickly turned back to look at the map.

List responded, “You can choose any plot in this area to the left.

But you have to decide the main tone for each street; you can’t be excessively individualistic.

At the very least, the houses on one street should have a consistent style.

Houses cannot be over six stories high.

Basements also cannot exceed 20 meters in depth.”

“Are we supposed to build it ourselves?” asked Old Cat, turning to the others.

“No way, you?

You can’t even draw a straight line!” Xiao Chenhuan immediately vetoed, “You two better not think of pushing it all onto me in the end!

I only have the capacity for a two-story building!”

Yue Xiaoluo was already engrossed in the housing blueprints projected by the summoned Alchemy Golem, “Let’s not pick the same ones!

We can coordinate as long as the colors and styles don’t clash.

Let’s pick what we like first, then discuss it!

Besides, we have a whole street to build here!

It’s definitely better than doing it all haphazardly!”

The three each occupied a Golem and began poring over the blueprints.

Yun Che and Yeyu Qingyu exchanged a glance, found a Golem, and sat down together, heads touching, to start selecting.

Hill took out a book and began to read slowly.

He was curious about what styles they would choose in the end.

Yue Xiaoluo looked up and asked, “Aren’t there any wooden houses?”

List replied, “Cutting down trees is not allowed within the territory.”

“Well, now we have to emphasize environmental protection in the game too!”

“It’s just a requirement of our territory,” List stated in a matter-of-fact tone, “The local lord has an Elven Bloodline.

He’s very protective of nature.”

Old Cat sneakily glanced at Hill reading a book and muttered under his breath, “No wonder he seems like such a bottom.”

Hill turned a deaf ear.

He had long been mentally prepared for such comments.

“Is there anyone in the territory who can build houses?” Xiao Chenhuan asked, “The villagers all seem to be ordinary people.”

“The Earth Elementals summoned by the lord are of Mage Level, they can shape houses directly.

The rest can be done by Alchemy Golems.”

“Is the lord from the Summoning System?”

“He just likes using summoning magic.

It’s more convenient.”

“Then let’s go with this one!” Yue Xiaoluo said loudly, “This white house with red tiles is pretty, and it’s 5 stories tall.”

A few people gathered to look, including Yun Che and Yeyu Qingyu.

List walked over to Hill and said in a low voice, “It’s that set of blueprints modeled on Baden-Baden Village.”

Hill remembered: broad avenues lined with trees on both sides, Baroque-style white houses with red tiles and gardens, the fences of the gardens covered with white lilies of the valley.

Hill touched his forehead, remembering that at the end of this street, he had drawn a small stream.

“Where’s the stream in the village?” Old Cat asked right on cue.

List walked over: “There’s always been a waterway, drawn from the mountains, but it’s usually underground.

If needed, you just have to dig up the ground.”

“So can we dig it up ourselves?

I want to dig a swimming pool!” Yue Xiaoluo exclaimed excitedly.

“Areas you’re allowed to dig will be marked on the map we give you.

Houses have plumbing, so you can’t just dig anywhere.

Places with water will also be indicated.”

“Won’t we dig into a Magic Array?”

“The basement is 20 meters deep, and the deepest you’re allowed to dig outside the house is 30 meters,” List said seriously, “If you exceed that depth, it will trigger an alarm to me.

If you insist on not correcting it, your settlement qualification will be revoked.

Please take a good look at the construction requirements of the house, okay?

The requirements for waterways and basements are all there!”

The group exchanged looks, none of them spoke, and they went back to discussing the house plans.

Hill felt like the Core hidden inside the Magic Tower was about to burst into flames.

He finally let out a resigned sigh, “When you’ve decided, just call me, my name is List, please don’t forget it.”

Hill’s Lord’s Mansion spanned 500 square meters and was a 2-story building.

The ground floor was a spacious hall.

To the left was the staircase leading upstairs, and to the right were several supporting columns.

Chairs were placed behind the columns, far from Hill’s desk in the middle.

Hill now felt somewhat grateful for his clearheaded decision in the past.

The players had yet to take an interest in coming over to talk to him.

Though Hill could hear their conversation from a distance and interact with them, the players couldn’t do that.

They hadn’t mastered the trick of talking from a distance as if they were right by your ear.

But they didn’t need to learn, as Hill’s voice could only reach as far as a kilometer, and they had tablets as communication tools that allowed them to talk to each other no matter where they were.

Seeing that List had disappeared, they switched topics, “So the Magic Array is 30 meters down?”

“If we can dig 30 meters, it must be at least 50 meters deep!”

“Should we try digging?”

“Forget it, I don’t want to be kicked out along with you.

The Tower Spirit doesn’t lie!”

After a brief discussion, they decided not to take the risk and calmly continued discussing the blueprints.

After whispering to each other for a moment, Yeyu Qingyu and Yun Che said to the three others, “If we choose this blueprint, we’ll live on this street too.

Whichever side you guys pick, we’ll take the opposite end.”

“It’s like choosing between the mountain and the water,” Yue Xiaoluo commented.

Old Cat also said, “I’d pick this one too.

The other streets run parallel to the village gate, but this one stretches from the mountains to the outer wall, allowing us to see the fields outside the wall.”

“This street is indeed the widest!” Yun Che quipped.

The group looked at Xiao Chenhuan, who was silent.

After considering for a while and looking over the plans again, he finally nodded, “Alright then!”

The group then discussed which side to choose.

Following a heated debate, Old Cat’s group chose the side by the stream, while Yun Che and Yeyu Qingyu chose the mountain side.

They did, however, unanimously decide on the side by the wall.

The other side of the shaded avenue was left for those who had no other choice in the future.

Then they began to fret over the specific layout and structure of their houses.

Hill felt there was no need to continue listening; he didn’t believe these players could quickly decide on how their houses should be built.

List would handle whatever came next.

Hill had already decided that the 10 Crystal Stones it took to build a house belonged to whoever stepped forward, and the Earth Elementals would handle the distribution.

Before Keslowe was fully built, there probably wouldn’t be anything else in the village needing Hill’s decision.

He decided to return to his studies of Space Crystal.

At the very least, he needed to be able to make some large-capacity storage spaces!