The town coffers were still a little short to purchase the fishing ship he wanted so he asked for a donation of 1,000 credits from everyone there getting him just enough. The group had trekked enmasse to the newly constructed port and they all watched as their first ship resembling a classic two masted Brig measuring at 25 meters in length coalesced out of Mana and settled on the water in one of the smaller docks, rocking gently with the waves.

Only two party’s would be going to the island with him and Vicky, the rest of the Guardians would go about their day, with a few volunteering to stay around the port and wait for them to return.

The Island they were going to didn’t seem very big when viewed from the world map, at most two or three mile’s in diameter, so the trip shouldn’t take them longer then a day. Hopefully they wouldn’t find any trouble waiting for them when they got there. They were bringing along a coupe of townspeople who were somewhat knowledgeable about sailing, since only one of the Guardians knew anything about it.

The man’s name was Allan, he was in his late thirties with a stocky build and rugged appearance. He was also tall, very tall in fact standing almost half a head above Aiden who was himself 6’1. The man was a small mountain. He used to sail as a hobby until he and his family moved inland and he was forced to sell his yacht.

After he checked out the ship he told Aiden it wouldn’t be a problem. The mechanic’s behind the ship's operation were apparently a bit primitive compared to what he was used to, but it was easy enough for him and a few of the citizens to figure out, and so an hour later they left port and were sailing towards the Island.

Aiden was standing at the bow of the ship looking though a spyglass. “I see people on the beach!” He called out getting a few peoples attention. “There’s about a dozen of them, and they seem to be building raft’s. Look’s like one of them is already built.” He kept looking and relaying what he saw as they approached.

“It seems they noticed us, one of them is pointing to the others and appears to be excited... Now they’re waving at us. Bring us in closer Captain Allen, we will use the row boats to go the rest of the way.” He said getting into the whole thing. “Aye Commodore! I be bringing her in real gentle like.” The others laughed heartily at the interplay, raising the already good mood aboard the ship (which was now named Donna, after Allan’s previous sail boat) even higher.

The Newly minted Ice Tempest was also having a grand time. It was his first time on a ship, and he was enjoying himself immensely. He was an avid fan of old movies about pirates when he was younger, and this was sort of like living out a fantasy from his childhood. The others on the ship noticed the big grin on his face and it lifted their moods as well watching their leader being so jovial.

There were two row boats on the ship that could hold 12 people each. Both were lowered into the water once the ship had anchored a quarter mile from the Island. The groups split between the boats and rowed towards land. The Ocean was calm and the waves didn’t cause them any trouble so they got there quickly.

The people on the island seemed to apprehensive but excited to Aiden. In his position as Baron he greeted them warmly and asked about their situation. The survivors were apparently tourists and tour guides that were visiting Pigeon Point Lighthouse in California when the awakening happened, splitting the little chunk of land they were on and propelling it across the Ocean to end up here. The group started with over a hundred and thirty people but were now down to only 36 with 22 of them being awakened.

Most of the awakened here managed to survive the wave of Mana beasts and would be doing quite well if not for the fact that the Island was so small with animals and monsters being scarce. There was also no fresh water on the Island so they were forced to purchase it on the shop at first but now had added a Mana well. They saw land in the distance and were building the rafts to make the journey.

Aiden and his group were led to the few small buildings which the survivors here managed to secure. The place was now a safe area owned by a woman named Teresa, a lvl 3 Ranger. She was a tough looking woman, and he learned she served in the army. She was the one to organize the defense against the Mana beasts, which was probably a large contributing factor for why there were still so many survivors here.

After a bit of discussion it was decided that everyone would be going back with them on the ship to the mainland. Teresa discussed the situation of the safe area with Aiden, and in the end she handed over the ownership of the safe zone to him claiming to have no need of it. She even gave him ideas on how the place could be used in the future with him agreeing to the idea. He liked her, she was a no nonsense person but Aiden could tell she had a good heart with the way she treated her eight year old daughter.

She also had no qualms about handing over a safe area she had ownership over, even suggesting the idea. Aiden hadn’t even though about it but was glad for the extra territory. He had read up about territory and the different ranks the system considered rulers of said territories. It seemed the system had a thing for medieval title’s and he wondered if it was specifically geared toward this planets inhabitants.

The different ranks from bottom to top were. Baron/Baroness, Viscount/Viscountess, Earl/Countess, Duke/Duchess, King/Queen, and finally Emperor/Empress. Each rank passed Baron/Baroness came with as of yet unspecified benefits, so he was all for going down this path since it was literally thrust upon him already.

He was apprehensive about being being a ruler of any sort at first, but the citizens of Eden didn’t seem to mind it and the Guardians even encouraged it, so he eventually accepted it as fact. He knew that leaders were necessary for a civilization and if it was up to him to be that leader then he would. Besides it was kind of exciting, he never imagined he would amount to much in life, probably working as a park ranger until he retired, and now he was a Baron! Perhaps even a King or Emperor one day.

However he figured such a responsibility would almost be crippling to a persons psyche, and wasn’t looking forward to that aspect. He was already feeling the burden and there weren’t even that many people in Eden. Hopefully by the time he turned his Barony into a Kingdom he would have some trusted people in high ranking positions to alleviate some of the burden, he would have to start working on that. He had a few people in mind already.

When Teresa officially handed over ownership, Aiden got a prompt that the Barony of Fengaria had expanded earning him a reward of 100,000 system credits and the right to name the Island. He spent 75,000 credits to build a small ‘Outpost’ on the Island which he decided to name ‘Faros’. He planned on clearing the area completely of monsters in the future and turning it into protected farmland. The idea coming from Teresa, with him agreeing that it would be a good idea having a relatively safe area to grow food that wasn’t in danger of an invading army of monsters trampling or burning it down.

The Outpost consisted of three rectangular buildings that were termed ‘barrack’s’. The barracks were all one story tall stone buildings with an underground level that had enough room for about 20 people. The small area had a short 15 foot wooden palisade around it with one guard tower. The outpost also came with a Mana well but there was one already there and he was happily surprised to learn that the cost was subtracted from the total.

They eventually made their way back to the shore after everyone collected their belongings. Three trips were made in the row boats, bringing everyone onboard the Donna. While the ship sailed for Eden, Aiden spoke to Teresa about their own struggles on the mainland and spoke about his town and the Order he formed. She said she wasn’t interested in joining since she wanted to remain mainly around town and close to her daughter.

He understood and told her about other options for things to do back in town. During the discussion she pointed out that if he was going to start building a new Kingdom which he was essentially doing, he was lacking an essential component which was a static protecting force for his land. He had the Guardians yes but they were currently filing too many roles including that of guards.

Aiden though about it and agreed. The Guardians would need to change slightly. He decided they would be the Elite force of Fengaria in the future, deployed when there was truly a need for them. That sounded good to him and the few Guardians that came with him on the trip. Cassandra once again made a joke at his expense saying they would be his personal army, although Aiden though she wasn’t far off with her claim.

And so a town guard was formed, with Teresa leading it. It would be expanded in the future into a proper military, once they had the people for it. Teresa got a message about starting an organization just as Aiden had before and gaining similar benefits. Her organization however, was attached to the Barony of Fengaria under his rule and he had to actually approve of it and the name she chose or she couldn’t finalize its creation. The name they eventually settled on was The Fengarian Army, simple and to the point.

Ten of the survivors from the Island, including Teresa, joined the guard. Eight of the others joining the Guardians and four others just choosing to take up a crafting class and simply living in the town, which was fine with him. There were already several awakened in town that chose to do the same. With the nine extra members it was enough to push the Order of the Guardians to lvl 2, bringing the member bonus to +3 to all stats and his personal bonus to +6%.

Order Of The Guardians - lvl 2 Current Members: 51/200 - Increase Member Pool to increase order level. lvl 2 Bonuses: +6% to all stats (Conditional on remaining the leader of the Organization.)

+3 to all stats to every member of your organization ‘Order Of The Guardians’ (Conditional on remaining within the organization.)

Once they docked back at the Port and disembarked. The new citizens were taken back to the town by the Guardians while Aiden stayed back to talk to Allan and the volunteers to thank them for the help and to ask them if they wanted permanent jobs aboard the Donna. The small fishing ship would be used to supplement their food and to explore the immediate area from the Ocean.

They all agreed and Allan was officially promoted to Captain which made him grin. Aiden talked to him away from the others and asked if he would also want to be in charge of their fleet if such a thing happened in the future. He readily agreed and with a firm handshake thanked Aiden for the opportunity. The Baron Winters just waved him off and said he earned it. The excited man went to town to fetch his belongings, saying he would be staying at the Port from now on to be close to his ‘new baby’.

With a amused bark of laughter Aiden joined his girlfriend who was waiting for him by the gate to the port. They leisurely walked back while he checked on the status of the town via the interface. The total population seemed to still be slowly growing which made him smile excitedly. People were still alive out there and surviving. The total population of the town was now 267 souls, 73 of which were awakened, including himself.

While they walked he pondered on any other necessary buildings he would need to construct. He would have to erect a place for the new town guard to use as head quarters so a barracks was a must in the near future. An administrative building would also probably be a good idea. Perhaps a shopping area where the crafters could sell their wares. A medical building for the non awakened would be an option as well although with healing magic and potions it seemed unnecessary.

A school for the younger kids however would be something to consider. Right now there were only 29 kids in the town under the age of 14 which Aiden decided would be the cut off point for anyone wanting to join the guardians in the future. Teresa would probably have her own age of recruitment for the guards. And he would bet it would be a little older, if the small frown she showed when she noticed Cassandras group was any indication.

But what to teach in the school’s now with the world so much changed? He figured a literary class that would teach reading and writing would be one, with math being another another, and history to remember where they all came from. Other subjects tho? ‘I guess a little science and geography although both of those could be folded into the two of the previous subjects.’ Geography would be just an overview of the world map now, since there were no named lands on it yet that he could see with the exception of his own.

He took a good look at the world map again and sure enough his Barony was the only named territory he could see. He counted 17 continents on the map, nearly three times as many as before. And with the exception of two, they were all smaller, close to size of what used to be the United States or Australia. There seemed to be a great many large islands everywhere as well, many forming their own chains. He wondered if those were classified as continents too since some of their combined area of coverage was large enough.

Aiden pondered how long it would take for humanity to explore the Planet fully once again. Probably a long time, with the world more then twice as big as it was before. With most technology now non functional and Mana now a power source for everything, he thought about maybe creating a flying ship of some kind that could help with exploration.

Although that would be dangerous with the Dragon’s and any other flying monsters now dominating the skies. It seemed that for now they would be stuck exploring on land or over water. He was slightly apprehensive about exploring over the Ocean’s however. With monsters now a thing he wondered what lurked beneath the waters. Giant sharks? Giant sea serpents? Actual Krakens? It was a scary thought. He would make sure to warn Allan of his fears later.

The next three days Aiden spent mostly in the town just relaxing for a while. He worked on his supplementary class and spent time with Victoria. He also talked to various people and set a few projects in motion, like cutting down the few tree’s that still remained in the way to the port and create a proper road. He could do it with the system but wanted people to actually have some work to occupy themselves with.

The cut down tree’s would be brought back to town and used to start work on a few buildings like shops and a school, as well as other things the woodworkers needed them for like furniture. A mattress in the shop was after all cheaper then an entire bed with a wooden frame. And any money saved by the town could be used to create more important things. The work would keep people busy and save some credits. Now that the tax was lowered down to 10%, any extra money saved would be helpful.

Aiden also had all the Guardians start sparring with each other and working on group tactics when he noticed Teresa was doing with the town guard. Two hours a day were dedicated to training from now on with marked improvements already starting to show. He was among the ones with the most marked improvement and he wondered as to why...