∼ Day 145 ∼

The atmosphere was thick with a variety of different emotions. Excitement, respect, fear. Power.

With the horizon of the mountain range lit up in an orange glow from the sun setting, evening was soon upon the basin. And at this very time, a host of various different individuals had gathered in on the wooden construction of a platform out in the open.

Having all taken their place by what could barely qualify as a large table, the figureheads of the settlement had gathered. I had been convinced by multiple of the more level-headed and thinking elements of my followers, Lily and Maldrak a few amongst many, that I should hold a meeting for those in charge so that we all could get an idea of where we stood.

But besides this, it was the first time I really got a good look at the faces of those I hadn't seen in almost two months. Gathered by the table, all expectantly looking towards me who sat with Bob, Mia, and Lily flanking at the head of the massive table, was the twin orcs, Rena and Grul. Roc, the first ogre. Frank, one of the veteran great orc. And lastly, the loyal and newly-minted orc; Darkan.

They were the faces of those who had wholeheartedly earned my trust, and those who would fight to the end for me if I simply gave the command. But it was not just their trust and loyalty that they offered as they themselves had grown significantly without even my presence to help them along.

-Appraisal!-

Appraisal - Rena

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "Rena" STR 52 ⇒ 79 Skills ??? -Race- Blood Orc VIT 66 ⇒ 84 Traits ??? -Sex- Female AGI 42 ⇒ 65 Titles ??? -Rank- D+ DEX 30 ⇒ 57 Resistances

-Level- 45/50 INT 18 ⇒ 25 Health 616/616 CHR 12 ⇒ 18 Physical Resistance 12 ⇒ 16 Stamina 267/267 WILL 19 ⇒ 21 Magical Resistance 6 ⇒ 10 Mana 0/0 MAG 9 ⇒ 13 Mental Resistance 5 ⇒ 7 Sanguine Warleader Appraisal - Grul

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "Grul" STR 65 ⇒ 91 Skills ??? -Race- Blood Orc VIT 69 ⇒ 89 Traits ??? -Sex- Male AGI 36 ⇒ 43 Titles ??? -Rank- D+ DEX 25 ⇒ 45 Resistances

-Level- 42/50 INT 15 ⇒ 20 Health 665/665 CHR 8 ⇒ 10 Physical Resistance 12 ⇒ 17 Stamina 298/298 WILL 19 ⇒ 22 Magical Resistance 6 ⇒ 10 Mana 0/0 MAG 9 ⇒ 12 Mental Resistance 5 ⇒ 8 Sanguine Warleader Appraisal - Roc

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "Roc" STR 65 ⇒ 93 Skills ??? -Race- Ogre "Bloodthrall" VIT 85 ⇒ 110 Traits ??? -Sex- Male AGI 21 ⇒ 29 Titles ??? -Rank- D+ DEX 20 ⇒ 26 Resistances

-Level- 36/50 INT 14 ⇒ 16 Health 1212/1212 CHR 8 ⇒ 10 Physical Resistance 12 ⇒ 18 Stamina 683/683 WILL 20 ⇒ 24 Magical Resistance 8 ⇒ 16 Mana 0/0 MAG 2 ⇒ 6 Mental Resistance 6 ⇒ 10 Sanguine Gatecrasher

Appraisal - Frank

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "Frank" STR 55 ⇒ 79 Skills ??? -Race- Great Orc "Bloodthrall" VIT 52 ⇒ 75 Traits ??? -Sex- Male AGI 28 ⇒ 50 Titles ??? -Rank- D DEX 25 ⇒ 47 Resistances

-Level- 32/50 INT 12 ⇒ 20 Health 523/523 CHR 7 ⇒ 10 Physical Resistance 10 ⇒ 14 Stamina 229/229 WILL 15 ⇒ 20 Magical Resistance 6 ⇒ 9 Mana 0/0 MAG 6 ⇒ 8 Mental Resistance 5 ⇒ 8 Sanguine Warrior Appraisal - Darkan

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "Darkan" STR 14 ⇒ 31 Skills 4 ⇒ 7 -Race- Orc "Bloodthrall" VIT 16 ⇒ 30 Traits 3 ⇒ 5 -Sex- Male AGI 20 ⇒ 45 Titles 0 -Rank- E DEX 22 ⇒ 48 Resistances

-Level- 27/35 INT 15 ⇒ 26 Health 136/136 CHR 10 ⇒ 23 Physical Resistance 7 ⇒ 12 Stamina 75/75 WILL 11 ⇒ 17 Magical Resistance 4 ⇒ 8 Mana 0/0 MAG 6 ⇒ 11 Mental Resistance 4 ⇒ 6 Sanguine Custodian

They had all made astonishing work, and they surprised me even further with how close they were to achieving their next evolutions. Darkan especially had caught my eye. Even though he wasn't nearly as strong as the others, he was an invaluable asset. Before even having been tutored by Lily in basic managing and leadership, Darkan had shown an uncanny ability to organize and keep monsters in line.

As such, I was extremely pleased by the fact that the System itself had acknowledged his talent and given him the Sanguine Custodian sigil on his status, hinting towards the path he walked.

But besides them, there was another individual that had grown quite a bit.

One not monster, but human.

-Appraisal!-

Appraisal - Lily

Information Attributes

Traits. Titles. and Skills -Name- "Lily Zephyrous" STR 28 ⇒ 37 Skills ??? -Race- Human VIT 20 ⇒ 32 Traits ??? -Sex- Female AGI 82 ⇒ 105 Titles ??? -Rank- D+ DEX 42 ⇒ 64 Resistances

-Level- 76 INT 24 ⇒ 33 Health 251/251 CHR 35 ⇒ 40 Physical Resistance 8 ⇒ 10 Stamina 110/110 WILL 13 ⇒ 18 Magical Resistance 4 ⇒ 6 Mana 0/0 MAG 3 ⇒ 8 Mental Resistance 6 ⇒ 8 Class Tier -Main Class- Master Bladedancer 4 -Sub Class- Senior Ranger 2 ⇒ 3 Sanguine Dancer

Although I still didn't entirely get the gist of how the Class System worked for humans, I did know that the certain tiers for classes and how they advanced depended on a system that was very similar to how the Evolution System did with its monster tiers.

Separated up into levels 10, 20, 35, 5o, and so forth, the tiers 1-4 were ranked. However, instead of being able to advance the second they met the level threshold, they needed additional requirements to be met and system-held tests to be completed before they can successfully advance.

While definitely more troublesome than the rather straightforward evolution system, they didn't need to advance to keep gaining in levels as there was no actual threshold for them, So regardless of class and tier, they could essentially keep leveling unfettered. The exact intricacies were a bit more involved than that, but that was generally what I understood about the subject.

But from this, I knew that Lily was about to hit a significant milestone. She had reached level seventy-five plus an additional level, and that meant she was very close to advancing her class to another step. And from what I knew, this one would be quite substantial.

I didn't doubt it though as when I remembered back to the difference between Darshan, the human master swordsman of the Azureclaw Mercenaries, and the human general, Garret Ardent, a highwayman which was just an additional tier above something like a master swordsman; they simply weren't comparable.

That made me wonder what exactly a rare and sought-after class like Lily's Bladedancer could possibly advance into.

Seeing that everybody were gathered and ready, I rose from my seat, scanning across the little more than a dozen faces staring back at me. From my new city planner, Mar'v, to the new coffers master, Urelia, a female grendor, most of the new figureheads were new to our settlement.

"Thank you all for coming here tonight," I smiled. "I know we all are busy and have a multitude of things we need working on, but I realize that we all need to start from a good level-headed foundation. So let's paint a picture of what exactly needs to get done, and where we stand."

Seeing the nods of concurrence, I kept the introduction to a minimum and gestured to Darkan and Lily for them to take the lead as they had basically been the ones to run the show for all the time we had been away.

"Let's get started then - go ahead," I said, sitting back down.

As they both got to the feat with a nod of acknowledgment, Lily started out.

"Darkan and I, we have been working as the administrating head for the last two months and seeing as we've been expecting a large influx of workers and such, we've prepared for-"

"Why in the seven blazes is human speaking up for this council, let alone being present here?" Someone suddenly cut in by scoffing derisively. "My Lord, I understand why you might hold goodwill towards this... mmh- mistress of yours, but do you really think it necessary to include her in matters of such importance?"

The voice came from a large bugbear sitting a little longer down the table, and he was instantly recognized as, Halmut, my new head chief of the guards. Though he wasn't the most powerful individual here by a long shot, he was quite experienced and skilled.

"Mortallus be damned," He snorted, not entirely reading the mood of the situation. "I mean, not just a human, but it's also a gal to... boot..."

He trailed off.

As the atmosphere grew taut like a noose, it was not my aura that was felt by all as I stood up, but Lily's. However, the utter absence of mine was arguably the most unsettling thing that the bugbear found about the sudden situation as I looked him dead in the eye.

"Don't get me wrong, while I welcomed you all with the pleasantries of my words, this is not a relationship where we all see eye-to-eye. I care not for your petty racial differences or xenophobic dislike, you're allowed to harbor them and let it eat you from the inside for all I care, however, the moment you step out of bounds and violate the respect for your betters, that's where my tolerance runs dry." I said with ice in my voice.

This wasn't just directed at Halmut, but all the other new faces as I drove this point home.

"Lily might be human and you might not like this fact, however, her station is only second to me. These four," I gestured to Bob, Mia, and Lily. "You answer to them, and you do not hesitate to follow - not their suggestions, but orders. Do you understand?"

Animated nods were the only response I got besides a mixture of expressions that ranged from somberness to outright reverence.

I recentered my gaze to the flustered Halmut who clearly hadn't been expecting such reprimand.

"Do you understand?" I asked once again.

"Y-yes, my Lord; sorry, my Lord," He apologized hastily.

Looking back to Lily who looked both thankful and dissatisfied at not being able to set him in his place herself, I crossed my arms.

"But, if you were to still disagree with my words. Why then, feel free to try and see if you're really worthy to stand above her as a superior. You are more than welcome to prove that you're more than just talk," I said, unable to hide my smirk as Halmut quickly shook his head.

"Anyone else?" I asked, looking at the many faces again.

Unsurprisingly, none dared take rise to the challenge.

"Fine," I paused. "Lily and Darkan, sorry for the interruption, you may continue as you please,"

"Thank you, Xavier," Lily smiled pleasantly. "As I was saying, we've laid the groundwork for a multitu..."

As she and Darkan went on, I sunk into my seat a bit. While the authoritarian way of handling things was rather easier than trying to placate everyone civilly was somewhat exhilarating and took some frustration off my chest, it was still quite exhausting to act like such a hardass. But that was the way of the monster society I supposed. Might makes right. And I had to learn how to not only live with it but first survive in it.