Benji sat at the dining table leafing through notes he had taken over the last few hours. Miami had given his master a stern lecture after they were safely back inside the mansion. It turns out that voluntarily letting a giant bird through your defenses was is generally a bad idea.

It was interesting for Benji to see the differences between Lu Bu, Miami, and Fitt. Lu Bu, who had existed at one point in history, only seemed to know what he had known in his natural life. He was and is a master of the halberd and bow but knew very little of strategy, only overwhelming force. In contrast, Miami appeared like he did in the video game he came from but he was now a strategic genius. Fitt, as far as Benji could tell, was as artificial as his game self was but he held a mastery of magic that now existed on Earth.

The World Spike saw fit to conform all three of your retainers to modern life. They speak the same language as you and have basic knowledge of modern life. In the case of Miami and Fitt, there was not enough backstory to make a complete personality so liberties were taken in their creation, mainly taken from fan theories and web fiction.

"So their creation is partly thanks to random people on the Internet?"

Correct. This was done to make them feel more natural to humans while also limiting their powers. Miami knows strategy and tactics when fighting monsters and humans but knows very little about modern weapons. Fitt is a master of magic but knows little about tactics and control of a battlefield.

A shrill cry from outside the mansion broke Benji's concentration. Mutated animals were still attacking the grey walls surrounding the property. The monsters seemed to attack regardless of whether they were inside or outside. Benji even had Fitt cast a spell to conceal their location but it had very little effect. After some discussion they came to a solution. Lu Bu and Miami would be in charge of training Alex and Isabel respectively while fighting off whatever monstrous birds and critters came their way. Fitt worked with Duncan to help develop his friend's ability to control and use mana more efficiently. Zoe volunteered to run between the three groups using her vocal powers to soothe aching muscles and reduce stress. Benji trusted that things were well under control and turned back to his work.

Kingdom Metrics

Area

2.5 square kilometers

Natural Resources

Miscellaneous stone, mineral and ore deposits

Fresh water

Hotsprings

Nearby supply of timber

Defensive Structures

10 meter high wall

Steel portcullis

740 ballista (automatic, 4 seconds per shot)

1 Gatling Laser (automatic, 0.25 seconds per shot)

1 Net Launcher (manual/automatic, 8 seconds per shot)

Subjects

1 heir

3 commoners

Military

4 Knights (on loan from Duncan)

3 Royal Guard (Lu Bu, Miami, Fitt)

Income

800 experience generated from military efforts

0 experience as taxes of subjects

0 experience from donations in the last four hours

0 experience spent in the last four hours

800 experience stored in total

Benji was able to click on each section to see each section in greater detail. It was interesting but knowing how many hundreds of thousands of gallons of fresh water they had access to wasn't the most pressing issue. Seeing the amount of experience generated by his retainers solved the question of whether they could gain levels or not. Now if he only had something to spend the experience on.

Perhaps you should look at the employment menu.

Having a sentient A.I. read your every thought was useful in times like these. Benji pulled up the menu in question and silently berated himself for not doing so sooner.

Employment

Heir

Isabel Ferrell

- A new heir can be appointed at any time.

General

Vacant

- This position can be filled by spending 15,000 experience from your treasury. Persons highered this way are payed 1000 experience per week. Failure to pay results in reposession of the hireling.

Captain of the Guard

Vacant

- This position can be filled by spending 7,500 experience from your treasury. Persons highered this way are payed 500 experience per week. Failure to pay results in reposession of the hireling.

Court Magician

Vacant

- This position can be filled by spending 7,500 experience from your treasury. Persons highered this way are payed 500 experience per week. Failure to pay results in reposession of the hireling.

Soldier

Vacant

- Soldiers can be added by spending 1,000 experience from your treasury for each soldier. Persons highered this way are payed 100 experience per week. Failure to pay results in reposession of the hireling.

Worker

Vacant

- Workers can be added by spending 500 experience from your treasury. Persons highered this way are payed 50 experience per week. Failure to pay results in reposession of the hireling.

Benji was amazed by what he saw. Could he really create people from thin air by using experience? Would they be human or some kind of construct?

When spending experience to fill a position in your kingdom, an alert goes out throughout the various worlds that Bob has visited. Anyone wishing to fill the position will be matched against the requirements you set forth. Once appropriate persons are located you will be able to view their permanent record on file. If you agree to hire a person or persons, they will be teleported to your location immediately. As with your retainers, they will serve you and any officials you appoint loyaly until death.

"So they're forced to serve no matter if I'm good or evil?"

Correct. That is a stipulation set forth in their contract.

"What actually happens if I refuse or can't meet their pay requirements.?"

The person or persons will be transported back to their point of embarcation immediately.

Benji was overjoyed. He now had a way to defend his land without using Nerd Lord's Majesty but that method came at a heavy cost. With Lu Bu, Miami, and Fitt, three of the positions could be filled at no cost to him or his kingdom leaving only common soldiers and worker, which were the cheapest options. For now he assigned Miami, Lu Bu, and Fitt to General, Captain of the Guard and Court Magician.

In the settings menu he had the option of designing his own heraldry, the coat of arms that would signify his kingdom. The design was simple. A black GameStation Portable on a gray background. Flipping back through Free Build Mode, Benji sacrificed a few yards of miscellaneous clothing to create a massive flag that flew at the top of a ten meter flagpole located at the eastern end of the mansion.

Noting that it was almost noon Benji decided to setup a small feast on the dining table. From his backpack he took out the remaining fried and fresh foods they bought from the grocery store. Not the healthiest meal but it was hot, fresh, and quick. A selection of drinks were placed beside plastic cups, paper plates and cheap plastic cutlery.

It took Benji a while to run down his friends and family. Lu Bu and Miami has separated to patrol the northern and southern walls while Fitt practiced with Duncan and Zoe near the western wall. Nine corpses found their way into Benji's backpack. They would stay fresh until he found a way to butcher the giant beasts. Once inside the strange group hastily cleaned up before sitting down to enjoy a meal with their new King.

As they ate Benji retold the information he had learned about the employment system. Alex and Duncan supported the idea almost immediately as did his retainers. Zoe was concerned about what the hirelings would look like while Isabel was worried about where they would sleep. Even though they had spare rooms she didn't feel comfortable with beings from another planet sleeping inside with them. Benji had final say but he took their concerns to heart as the meal continued. Finally, he came to a compromise.

"There's more than enough wood here to construct a barracks and bunkhouse for any hirelings that serve. I could even construct separate showers and bathrooms if needed. Either way, we need more manpower, or alienpower in this case."

Everyone agreed to the compromise and Benji got to work constructing the required buildings. Benji placed the barracks and bunkhouse next to each other about fifty meters north east from the mansion. Each of the two story buildings could house twenty-five people and included full bathrooms, though they weren't as luxurious as those in the mansion. Free Build Mode included a section that allowed for preparing and building fields and orchards but currently unavailable as he lacked an adequate amount of seeds. With two problems solved, one more appeared.

While his friends told stories of their morning battles against mutated wildlife the ballista along the wall occasionally fired shots at animals brave enough to approach them. Benji's brow furrowed as he browsed through the build menus. He felt a hand touch his left shoulder causing him to look away from the blue screens.

"Relax, Benji. You don't have to shoulder the burden alone. Tell us what you need and we'll do it."

As Zoe spoke, Angelic Voice slowly melted away his stress. He smiled at her and turned to look at everyone sitting at the table. He even gave a slight nod to the knights standing behind Duncan. The four knights stood at attention and saluted him in response. Zoe was right. He couldn't do everything himself. Even if he used up every use of Nerd Lord's Majesty he still needed his friends and his mother beside him. Benji stood up, grabbed a plate and began filling it with chicken nuggets, potato croquettes and three types of salad. After grabbing a soda he sat down to listen to what everyone else had accomplish in the last few hours.