Dean woke the next morning to the sound of a tree falling. He stayed in his knapsack for several minutes, enjoying the warmth as each breath brought a small cloud of steam, until his nose started to freeze. He got up, shivering against the cold, and shook the morning dew off his knapsack. He’d slept in his clothes, not wanting to strip in front of strangers, so they were at least warm despite being wrinkled.

Someone had lit a small fire and set a meager breakfast of stale bread and cheese nearby. At least there was a pot of coffee. He poured himself a cup, clutching it in his hands to warm them up as he sipped.

He surveyed the small camp as he ate. The woodcutters were already hard at work, two of them chopping trees on the edge of the forest, while the other two were removing the limbs and stripping the bark of a fallen log at the camp. The builders had split up, one for the hunter’s hut and the other for the civic center, each with two workers. He glanced in the other direction, down towards the river, and saw that both farmers were plowing the fields he laid out last night.

He pulled up the city status page, receiving a notification that the woodcutter camp had been completed. He realized he hadn’t checked the page since yesterday morning and made a mental note to check it everytime he ate. He couldn’t afford wasted time because he didn’t look at it often enough. Four more quests popped up after closing the completed quest.

City Quest: Build a Stone Quarry

Reward: 100 City XP

Resources Produced: Stone

City Quest: Build a Mine

Reward: 100 City XP

Resources Produced: Ore

*Requires completing Quest ‘Infestation, Pt. 1’

City Quest: Build a Clay Pit

Reward: City 50 XP

Resources Produced: Clay

City Quest: Build a Sawmill

Reward: 50 City XP

Resources Produced: Lumber

He hoped that the spawn point would unlock soon as a result of completing something. No point in dwelling on it. Instead, he checked the experience level of the city, a hundred and sixty-five. With a hundred and fifty received from the quest, that left only fifteen for the actual Woodcutter’s Camp. It would still take a lot more buildings before the city leveled up, but completing quests would be exponentially faster.

With that in mind, he switched to building mode and placed the stone quarry, clay pit and sawmill. He hesitated for a moment before deciding to switch the workers on the civic center to the stone quarry. It awarded less experience but could be completed a lot faster. He found the build queue and selected the Civic Center. He paused its construction.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the builder stand up abruptly, read a prompt in front of him before looking in his direction, and signal the laborers. He pointed down towards the river, gesturing with his other towards Dean, before leading the men down to the clay pit. Once they reached the area, the builder started walking around the place, measuring out the space, and directed the workers to start digging.

The others had joined him around the fire, eating their breakfast in silence as they waited for him to finish up. Once he closed the screen, Ryan said, “We’ve decided to scope out the rest of the valley.”

Dean nodded, “It’s a good idea. We need to find out if there’s any other entrances to the valley. Don’t want the orcs attacking us from behind.”

“Have we unlocked any of the defenses, yet?” Jim asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Not yet.” Dean acknowledged, “Still a long way to go before upgrading, but I have an idea that might help.” Jim leaned forward, suddenly alert as Dean explained. “The city’s territory only extends partway into the entrance.” He picked up a small twig off the ground and drew a rough sketch of the valley and entrance. “Jim, you mentioned a place where we could build a wall that would be easy to defend. So, what if we do exactly that?”

“Will the villagers work outside?” Mary asked. Dean shook his head in reply. “Then we’ll have to do it.”

“And any other players that show up.” Dean acknowledged.

“We don’t have the skills, though.” She pointed out.

“So, what exactly are you suggesting?” Jim asked.

“The three of you go survey the rest of the valley.” Dean explained, “I’ll stick around here and see what I can do to speed thing up. Hopefully, more players will have arrived by the time you return, and I’ll have figured out a way to build defenses manually.”

“You’re okay with staying here?” Ryan asked.

Mary said, “I know it sucks, Dean, but you’re too important to risk at this point. You know that, right?”

“I know.” Dean agreed. “And even just exploring the valley might slow the build down if I can’t access the menu while I’m not in the village, so I’m stuck here for the time.”

“It’s settled then,” Jim said, “Figure out the whole building thing and we’ll explore.”

“Just don’t die.” Dean said as he dusted the crumbs off his pants and stood up. “None of you are expendable, either.”

Dean headed towards the woodcutter’s camp as the others gathered supplies before setting out to explore. He would prefer going with them, it would certainly be more fun than village building, but it wasn’t in the cards at the moment. It wasn’t like he hated sim-building games. It was just that, well, he typically only played them when he was bored. And being stuck in a dive game with his best friends didn’t fall under that category.

Darin spotted him before Dean arrived at the woodcutter’s hut, and hurried to meet him, “Mi’lord?”

“Wondering if I can help.” Dean replied. By his expression, that was the last thing Darin expected to hear. It probably wasn’t every day that a lord volunteered to assist with something as menial as cutting down trees. Dean chuckled, “I know, lords don’t cut down trees and stuff. Except, we need the wood, and I need something to do, so how can I help?”

“Do you have any experience, Milord?” Darin asked cautiously. Dean shook his head. “I see.” Darin scrubbed his bald head.

“Relax, Darin. And you can call me Dean.” Dean said to try and put the man at ease. “What job would you have an apprentice do?” It had the opposite effect. The man looked like he might have a heart attack right there. Dean tried a different tact, “Where did you start when you were learning?”

Darin wasn’t entirely relaxed by the notion, but relented while shaking his head, “I started by stripping bark from the logs.”

“Then that’s where I’ll start.” Dean said. “Teach me the ways of the woodcutter.”

Darin led him over to a log and handed him a tool. The prompt said it was a tree tuff, though Dean thought it looked more like a double handled straight razor. As Darin explained the process, he became more relaxed.

The tool fit between the bark and the trunk and was used to scrap off the bark with hard jerks. Darin was fairly adept at the process, stripping the entire length of the trunk as he walked backwards, until he removed the entire side in a large single piece. In practice, it was much harder. Dean couldn’t get the angle right, digging too deep into the trunk and getting the tool stuck, or going to shallow and almost cutting himself as the blade ripped through the bark. He learned the first level of woodcutting partway through the first side, and the second halfway through the first log. Once finished, he stepped back to admire his work.

He compared it to the other logs in the pile and grimaced. The others were smooth and neatly stripped. His looked like someone had used a hatchet to remove the bark.

“That’s pretty good.” Darin noted. Dean raised an eyebrow at him. Darin chuckled, “It is for a first try. Now, let’s move this one to the pile and drag a new one over here.”

Dean fell into a pattern, stripping the bark from a trunk, moving it with one of the woodcutter’s help, then starting on a new one. He reached level three after a few logs, and the cuts started to look cleaner.

He jumped when someone put a hand on his shoulder. “Didn’t mean to startle you, mi’lord.” Darin said, “It’s time for lunch.” Dean glanced up. The sun had reached its zenith, and the others were already heading towards the fire. Dean used his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow and stretched his aching muscles. Meanwhile, Darin studied the most recently stripped log. “You learn quickly, this looks like the work of an apprentice after a several weeks of practice.”

Surprised, Dean asked, “Really?” Darin nodded in response. “Does it really take that long?”

Darin shrugged, “It depends on a person’s affinity. Some people learn quickly, others a lot slower.”

“How do you know what affinity you have?” Dean asked.

Darin thought it over for several seconds as they walked towards the fire before responding, “It’s hard to explain. I guess the best explanation is that it’s like a feeling. Some things come naturally, while others are much harder to learn.”

“Are you a natural woodcutter?” Dean asked.

Darin barked a laugh, “No. And no, I don’t know what my affinities are.” Dean thought it over. If that was true, then maybe the real reason the refuges had such low skill levels was that they weren’t doing what they were actually good at. Maybe he could find a way to test their abilities and figure out their affinities. Of course, with the orc invasion looming, he couldn’t afford to spend the time now.

But, according to Darin, he either had an affinity for woodcutting or all players had an affinity for everything. If the latter, it meant he could level up any skill faster than non-players. A thought tickled the back of his mind, but he couldn’t make it form. It was something that Shiro had said to him.

They reached the fire, and were served a fresh slice of thick bread, still warm from the fire, several slices of cooked rabbit, and some cheese. As Dean chewed through his food, he checked the status of the buildings.

To his surprise, the clay pit and stone quarry had already been built. Completing both opened a few new buildings, and their relevant quests. At that point, Dean clicked through them with barely a glance, just noting that he could now build a brickworks, blacksmith, or mason building. Apparently, both the clay pit and stone quarry only needed the dirt removed and a few boards placed down for steps. The whole process only took a couple hours.

The Hunter’s hut was well on its way by then, though it looked more like a log cabin than an actual hut. The workers had completed several layers of wood logs, cutting a slit into each so that the next layer interlocked with the one below it.

We were trying for endless replays.

That was what Shiro had said. Players could be anything in the game. He whooped in excitement at the revelation, the start of a plan forming in his head. A few of the refuges gave him funny looks, probably thinking their new lord was mad, which just made him laugh. Shiro had said it from the beginning, he just hadn’t really understood what the man was implying. Players, all of them, had an affinity for everything in game. Otherwise, it meant he could only do certain jobs, follow specific career paths, and not the endless possibilities that the original developers had wanted.

Unless the game hijack had changed that. The thought choked the laughter out of him. It was possible, though he didn’t think so, since whoever was messing with the game seemed hellbent on keeping them in the game. Endless possibilities would be more enticing for players and keep them in the game longer. Not that they could leave if they wanted to.

He needed more players to test the theory with any certainty, but there was one thing he could do by himself. “Darin, I think I’m done being a woodcutter for the time being.”

Darin shrugged, “As you wish, mi’lord.”

Dean walked over to the Hunter’s Hut and studied it in closer detail. Logs had been laid down, first lengthwise across the front and back, before a second had been laid crosswise on the sides. Each layer switched between the two, back and forth as they worked higher. Only three layers had already been laid, about waist high. Where the logs intersected, square chunks had been cut out of each log, so that they slid into each other snugly, closing the gaps between layers. The gaps were uneven, some larger than others, probably a result of the builders being so low level. He guessed it meant the building would come out at a lower quality level, if buildings had that kind of result.

The observations earned him the first level in construction, carpentry, and architecture.

“What do you think?” A gruff voice said behind Dean. Dean spotted the builder approaching, a short man with long arms, a round stomach, and a ragged mop of black hair on his head. The man held out his hand, “Cedric.” Dean tried to introduce himself, but the man laughed. “Already know who you are seeing as you’re the lord and all.” He gestured at the building. “So? What do you think?”

“It looks good.”

Cedric shook his head in disgust, “No, it isn’t, and we both know it.” He walked up to the building and started pointing out issues. “The layers are uneven, there’s gaps in the grooves allowing parts of the wall to shift, and whole thing isn’t squared off.” Dean hadn’t noticed the last. He took a few steps around the corner, trying to judge the angle. Sure enough, the walls weren’t set at a ninety-degree angle. Cedric shrugged, “My Da was a builder, and his Da before him. Me? Well, just look at me.” The man slapped his belly, “Do I look like a builder to you?”

Dean laughed as he shook his head, deciding he liked Cedric’s easy manner. Either the game was really trying to drive home the concept of affinities or becoming a landowner had more to do with them than he’d first guessed. “So, what are you good at?”

“I’m better at small things. Jewelry and the like.” Cedric shrugged and glanced around, “But it doesn’t look like there’s a need for jewelry just yet.” He chuckled. “So, what can I do for you?”

“I’d like to learn how to be a builder.”

Cedric guffawed at that. It was the first time Dean thought a person’s laughter warranted the term. Cedric threw back his head and started laughing. He bent over and slapped his leg several times, a serious feat considering Cedric’s large stomach. “A builder lord?” The man wheezed. “By my word, I never.” He broke out in more laughter.

“I’m serious. I want to learn.” Dean insisted.

Cedric looked at him, gasping for air as he took in Dean’s expression. “You are serious.” Cedric said in surprise. Definitely not the norm, Dean thought. “Well, I’m certainly not going to tell a lord no.”

Dean was about to respond that Cedric could, but thought better of it. The last thing he wanted was a new tenet based on that comment. Instead, he asked, “Will you teach me?”

Cedric shrugged, “Of course.”

The other workers arrived as Cedric explained various components of construction. They stared at Dean with a mix of awe, apprehension, and confusion. Cedric barked at them to stop gawking and get back to work. Startled, they gave him another furtive glance before getting to work. Dean was thankful that Cedric paired off with him so that he wouldn’t have to deal with the apparent awe the others were showing him, though he suspected Cedric did it so he could teach Dean the ropes and make sure he was doing things right.

Dean spent the rest of the afternoon working side by side, first using a saw to cut into the wood before using a kind of scraper to create even grooves for stacking them. Once finished, they flipped the log over and did the other side before all four of them lifted it onto the walls.

He leveled up his new stats quickly, confirm his suspicions about affinities, unless he was somehow special compared to other players. He doubted it. They finished the building just before dinner, and Dean stretched his sore back while he surveyed their work. The holes in the wall still needed to be filled in, but, according to the workers that had gotten used to working with him, anyone could do it.