Finally getting all the information he needed, he got ready to leave again. Once they got back to the location they found out, they started brainstorming ideas. They hashed out the details of the rudimentary castle before Ashford began. They decided on a variation of the Motte and Bailey.

Using his mana for a form of telekinesis, he forms a large mound of soil about 200 feet wide and a massive 25 feet tall. This took him several hours of constant use of his mana, however, it only taxed his mind as he hadn’t actually used the mana.

He flattened the top of this structure and began on the Bailey part of the construction. Deciding to make a fairly deep trench, he looked further at information on fortifications on his friend, Google. He found a type of fortification called scarps.

These were essentially the sides of moats that attackers were forced to climb up and down. Taking these ideas for his own, he started encasing the sharp edges of his new moat with a half-inch thick layer of granite.

After finishing this, the sun started to dip below the horizon. Getting the truck over the only remaining straight avenue of the moat, a dirt bridge, he got everyone situated and they all laid down for the night.

Getting up the next morning, he looked at his progress from the day before. He’d finished all the fortifications’ foundations, including the foundations of the walls. He decided he’d start on the shorter wall around the bailey before finishing the walls of the Motte. He’d decided that his Motte was actually going to be encompassed by the bailey’s wall and so had to create this bailey to protect both the buildings in the bailey but also as the first line of defense for the motte.

Shaping his mana into the outside walls of the walls around the Bailey, he began building the wall. At about every 200 feet, he created a tower integrated into the wall, eventually totaling 16 towers, one at each cardinal direction, and three between each of those. With all of his mana, he was just barely able to complete the first ten feet of the wall that was planned to be a good 8 feet wide and 30 feet tall.

The diameter of the encompassed area was a massive 500 feet wide. The motte was planned to be near the northern edge of the massive structure.

As he finished all of this construction, he realized that the gate would be a complicated system, and so he went online to look for it.

After searching through several threads, he was unable to find what exactly was used to raise the massive portcullises. Seeing as how he was unable to figure it out, he decided to use engineering knowledge to fix that. Using levers and pulleys, he was able to reduce the load on the person drawing up or dropping the portcullis and the gate itself was something that was opened fairly easily by most anyone.

At regular intervals, he incorporated large horseshoe towers, with the round shaped parts pointing outwards. He had two especially large towers at the gate along with a series of murder holes along with other common fortifications to protect against anyone coming at them from the gate.

After he had finished with this extensive construction, he realized only two hours had passed. He seemed to be getting better at construction rapidly. He continued onto the motte once he was satisfied with the outer walls. Constructing similar horseshoe towers at each corner of the planned motte.

The length between these towers was an extensive 80 feet. He began working on the seamless walls in between the towers. After finishing this, he started working on the house. Using Tudor architecture, the classic medieval styles with the black lines over a light background, he created a house 60 feet wide and about 30 feet long. The ceiling extended up by two floors.

The inner floor plan consisted of a long hallway surrounded by rooms. On the side facing the courtyard, he had 2 room on each side of the door. On the opposite side of the house, he had 5 rooms and at the ends of the hallways, there were small staircases leading up.

The upstairs held an identical hallway, with different rooms to the sides. To the north, the side facing the wall, there was a large library, he constructed several tables and chairs along with large, fluffy sofas.

He built many of the bookshelves they would need, however, he didn’t have any actual books to put on them. He planned on raiding bookstores and libraries near them as he didn’t want to give up his favorite pastime of reading. He also created light bulbs, costing about 20 mana in total for these, along with insulated copper wires connecting everything.

Using more mana, he was able to let his power copy the power system of the modern home, allowing him to create power sockets at an extreme cost. He created the generator he’d seen in the basement which was accessible from a cellar door in his room. He created the gasoline he needed and hooked it into the power grid.

On the other side of the upstairs hallway, he created a large kitchen without any appliances and an adjacent dining room with a door connecting the two. He planned on adding further appliances at a later date.

Putting in plenty of windows to let natural light in, he spent a very large amount of his mana to create crystal clear glass in the windows. Checking his mana bar, it seemed to have used over 80% of his mana bar. The whole house, which was made of wood, costed him more than all of the stone construction combined in mana.

Finally, he built simple beds atop bed frames in each of the rooms. Next to it, he placed an end table and he was finally finished. Once he was finished with all of this work, he checked his notifications.

Skill Level Increase x9

Item Creation LVL MAX

Character and Skill Experience Belated

Do you want to rank up Item Creation?

BEGINNER > NOVICE

Y/N

Do you want to rank up Item Creation?

NOVICE > ADEPT

Y/N

Do you want to rank up Item Creation?

ADEPT > JOURNEYMAN

Y/N

Do you want to rank up Item Creation?

JOURNEYMAN > ADVANCED

Y/N

After selecting ‘Y’ four times, another few notifications popped up.

Experience Awarded!

+ 100 EXP for Skill Rank Increase Novice > Adept

Experience Awarded!

+ 1,000 EXP for Skill Rank Increase Adept > Journeyman

Experience Awarded!

+ 10,000 EXP for Skill Rank Increase Journeyman > Advanced

Skill Level Increase x4!

Item Creation LVL 45(42%)

Experience Awarded!

+125 EXP for Skill Level Increase x4

Class Choice Available!

Archmage

Using the power of the sentient mind, humans are able to harness the power of mana, and using knowledge of the universe around them, create marvels of nature from creating matter to destroying continents. Compounding on this, the class, Archmage, gives hints towards the nature of mana and the universe around the archmage. It also helps expand the mind’s power over mana, increasing mana control, efficiency, and power.

+2 Intelligence, Wisdom, or Mind Increases per level

+50% Mana Pool

+100% Mana Regen

+200% Mana Control

Classification - SSS

Y/N

He was incredibly shocked by the last few notifications. He automatically selected 'Y' and felt his consciousness expand. Looking at his new status, he could see that the class was retroactive.

Status Screen

Name:

Ashford Meyers

Level:

14

Class:

Archmage

Titles:

Mana Master

Experience:

112,035

EXP to LVL UP:

99,290

Health:

16/26

Mana:

23/133

Statistics x13(+2 to INT / WIS / MND)

INT: x4(+2)

C-1 > B-4

AGI:

G-1

WIS: x5(+2)

D-3 > B-3

DEX:

G-3

MND: x4(+2)

D-4 > B-2

STR:

G-2

CHA:

G-2

VIT:

G-3

Titles +

Skills +

Spells +

He knew that right now, he was enough to protect his domain for the moment, however, he also knew that he wouldn’t always be there. As such, he knew that he had to help others get strong, hopefully as strong as him.

Finally finishing with reviewing his notifications, he looked around himself. To his left, there was a small camp of a few people. The sun was just about to set, and looking at his phone he realized only a day had passed. When he was building he had fallen into a trance, building the fortifications to his exact, precise thought. He could tell the only reason he was able to run that long was he unconsciously activated his accelerated mana regeneration. It seemed that with the accelerated mana regeneration, his mana pool was just able to keep up with his consumption for building. His mana bar had fallen to 17/86 mana, however, this was still acceptable due to his massive consumption at the end setting up the keep.

“Ah, I see that you’re back with us Ashford.” Canton declared.

“Huh? What? Oh, Canton… What do you mean back with us?” Ashford questioned confusedly.

“Well, we tried to wake you up but we couldn’t get you to respond. You were just staring off in space. Will you tell me now why? Also, how the hell you did that?” Canton responded.

“I… Yes, I really oughta, shouldn’t I? Can you fetch the four girls and come back here?” Ashford mused aloud.

“Um, sure, I guess… Why?” Canton asked skeptically.

“Don’t worry about it, Canton. Just do as I say, please,” Ashford replied.

Ashford had decided that he would need more than just himself to guard the newly made compound. After the four of them had gathered, he began to explain his previous actions.

From controlling the mana to creating fireballs. He told them how he gained the power he currently had. Finally, after finishing his story, he told them that he would help them gain the type of power he had.

Before starting his instructions, he had everyone gather their stuff from the makeshift camp, and they started into the large fortifications. Raising the portcullis and gate with his mana telekinesis, they continued up the rough road he’d made for them. Getting up to the imposing castle, he also raised the large portcullis and subsequent gate.

After getting everyone inside, he started instructing them. They were to find a room for themselves and to start setting up the computer equipment they’d stolen in the upstairs portion of the house. He also had them put all the foods stuff in the upstairs portion.

“First, I will teach you how to meditate. When I feel that you have a decent enough grasp on that technique, I will teach you to control the elements that surround you.” Ashford instructed after sitting them all down in the library.

“Now, I want you to close your eyes. Begin breathing normally, and focus on your breathing. Don’t think about your breathing, just focus on it. Use a mental image to guide you. Imagine a coin sitting just above your navel, rising and falling with each breath. Don’t worry about your mind wandering. Just acknowledge the thought, and let it go,” Ashford slowly repeated comforting and serene. He continued repeating this same phrase for another half hour before he felt that they had probably gotten a decent enough grasp.

“Okay, now everyone, slowly open your eyes. Look around you and one by one, tell me what you felt when you were meditating.” Ashford said before looking at Canton.

“Well, after I slipped into a meditative state, I felt these flows in the air around me. They had different colors and feelings centered around different emotions. For example, there was an erratic crimson energy that made me feel enraged when I focused on it,” Canton reported to Ashford.

Ashford’s face morphed in shock. He had expected everyone to feel the exact same as he had, feel the mana around him. He had just wanted to know if the others could actually feel it. If there were two different energies to sense, who said there couldn’t be more. As such, he looked to Amanda next.

“I… felt something different…” Amanda said hesitantly, “I didn’t feel anything in the air, rather in different parts of my body, I sensed different colored warm energies.”

"I felt the same!" Becca called out.

“I have a few more questions, but that can wait,” Ashford responded. He was rather surprised at her non-boisterous attitude. Disregarding the change in her behavior, he looked to Mairi.

“Mairi, what did you feel?” Ashford inquired curiously.

“I sensed small particles jerking around in the air. There are calmer particles in my own body and Sachi’s, along with your body. I can’t see anything within Canton or Amanda.” Mairi said professionally.

It seemed that Mairi’s sense was identical, or at the very least similar, to his. He finally looked to Sachi

Figuring that at the very least Mairi had to have the game screen, he said to them, “Okay, look at the top left of your vision. Raise your hand if you have a blue dot blinking there.”

After a second, each of them slowly raised their hands while looking around them. Realizing that everyone had these screens, he had everyone look at their screens. Creating four sets of pencils and pieces of paper with the basic screen, he waited for them to fill it in.

Status Screen

Name:

Canton Delaware

Level:

1

Class:

None

Titles:

None

Experience:

10

EXP to LVL UP:

90

Health:

22

Qi:

18

Statistics

QI:

G-4

AGI:

G-3

WIS:

G-1

DEX:

G-4

MND:

G-3

STR:

F-2

CHA:

G-5

VIT:

F-1

Titles +

Skills +

Spells +

Status Screen

Name:

Amanda Lieri

Level:

1

Class:

None

Titles:

None

Experience:

10

EXP to LVL UP:

90

Health:

18

Chakra:

22

Statistics

INT:

G-2

AGI:

G-1

WIS:

G-2

DEX:

G-2

MND:

G-3

STR:

G-1

CHA:

F-1

VIT:

G-4

Titles +

Skills +

Spells +

Status Screen

Name:

Becca Smith

Level:

1

Class:

None

Titles:

None

Experience:

10

EXP to LVL UP:

90

Health:

14

Chakra:

20

Statistics

INT:

G-4

AGI:

G-1

WIS:

G-1

DEX:

G-3

MND:

G-2

STR:

G-2

CHA:

G-5

VIT:

G-2

Titles +

Skills +

Spells +

Status Screen

Name:

Prof. Sachi Wright

Level:

3

Class:

None

Titles:

None

Experience:

354

EXP to LVL UP:

146

Health:

16

Mana:

24

Statistics +6

INT:

F-2

AGI:

G-4

WIS:

G-4

DEX:

G-3

MND:

G-3

STR:

G-2

CHA:

G-5

VIT:

G-3

Titles +

Skills +

Spells +

Status Screen

Name:

Mairi Stewart

Level:

1

Class:

None

Titles:

None

Experience:

10

EXP to LVL UP:

90

Health:

14

Mana:

22

Statistics

INT:

F-1

AGI:

G-1

WIS:

G-4

DEX:

G-3

MND:

G-3

STR:

G-1

CHA:

G-3

VIT:

G-2

Titles +

Skills +

Spells +

Ashford sat there, studying the four sheets for a time. He tried to figure out what the algorithm for the health and mana pools were, but there seemed to be a change at around the E-rank. Up until mid-E-rank, it seemed that each increase brought +2 health and +2 mana. However, it seemed to change at D rank.

“I don’t get it…” Ashford mused aloud, “It all changes at D, diverging from the basic formula. Why does it do that?”

“Well, if the EXP required to level goes up exponentially, could it be that the rewards go up exponentially?” asked Mairi.

As soon as she said that, everything clicked in his mind. The algorithm for F-E was just 10x the classification and +2 per increase. It was very linear and neat. However, if he were to go off the gains, his D class 1 was 51. And if you were to square 7, you got 49 and adding 3 gave 52. His intelligence at the moment also matched with that possibility. Taking an increase of 2 of that base number to 9 and square that gives you 81, add 3 and you get the previous number of 84. He jotted this down on his own sheet of paper with his status screen.

“Now, I know some of you may not want to fight, however, you must at the very least be able to protect yourself and others if I am not there to help you. I want Mairi to work with me to set up the data banks and create a server for the other computers to connect to. We will use this and the information about the energies to start practicing with this energy.” Ashford lectured.

“Roger that, Ashford,” Mairi responded.

After getting the agreeance of everyone in the group, he walked Mairi over to the table he created for the computers.

“Now, I don’t want you to tell anyone else about what I tell you now,” Ashford said discreetly.

“I… I understand,” Mairi responded confidentially.

“I am able to create matter from my mana reserves. I want to work with you to create the computers we need.” Ashford said.

After thinking for a moment, Mairi said, “You would likely want to use an all-in-one computer, which means you don’t have to deal with the complication of cords.”

Quickly creating 6 of these computers, and expending about 120 mana, he collapsed in on himself. After meditating for a short while and increasing the rate of regeneration, he got back up. He staggered for a second before stuttering out, “I ought to not do that, eh?”

Giving a humorless chuckle, Mairi said, “Yeah, probably not.”

After creating the keyboard and mouse, he set Mairi about connecting them to a server he created. Grinning at the four of them researching, he slumped into one of the comfy chairs. After breathing for a moment, he decided to make sure that the others had situated themselves.

Strolling down the stairs and down the hallway, he saw that there were two doors open. Walking over, he saw that the elderly couple had a room and the two boys had a room. Standing in the entrance to the elderly couple, he looked at the two. The elderly gentleman was sitting in a chair next to the end of the bed. He was reading a book, while his partner was knitting while sitting on the edge of the bed. It took a moment for the two to realize that he was standing there and when they did, they spoke up.

“I want to thank you. Everything happened so fast, I don’t even know the name of the man who saved us and our babies,” the man said with teary eyes.

"My name is Everett. This is Rhetta. It’s nice to officially meet you," Everett finally said.

"And you. I’m Doctor Ashford Myers. It’s also nice to meet you," Ashford responded jovially.

"So… what now? What are we going to do? I saw you perform a miracle, what with the building we're standing in and the fortifications that protect us… who exactly are you?" Everett asked.

"I’m… I’m no one. What you need to worry about is what you are going to do. You’re obviously past your prime, no offense, and I’m worried about you and the kids," Ashford stated honestly.

"What are you talking about? There’s nothing we can do. We’re too old and decrepit and the twins are both too young for what you’re implying," Everett declared frustratedly.

"I suppose you’re right. Whether that be the case, or not, I will still do all I can to protect you and your grandchildren," Ashford stated finally.

After finishing their talk, he walked out of the house. Walking over to the south side of the wall, the side with the gate, he looked out into the bailey underneath their castle. The size was frankly rather staggering.

Thinking about the future, he started wondering what he would do next. His first thought was that they needed more people. With more people, came more potential.

Just five of the people currently here was able to actually defend themselves in the least. He would need able men and women to defend the ramparts and begin learning how to defend the remnants of humanity.

He started thinking about what they would need to support all the people he planned on having. They would need food, shelter, clothing, water and more. They would need a way to expend their energy beyond just living. When he started to imagine the complications involved, he felt overwhelmed. He felt the weight of his responsibilities trying to crush him down into a fleshy pulp.

As he felt his heart start stuttering and his breathing got erratic, he fell into meditation out of habit. Using the newfound peace, he was able to get his emotions back under control and started working out everything that he needed. He needed to plan out the town that he was going to build first. He knew each house would take a large amount of time, but he decided that he would worry about that at a later date.

Creating a mental map with his recently rocketed intelligence, he started imagining the building that would be required. He figured that if he was going to have a castle, why not go all out and make the whole town modeled after an old medieval style. Creating several templates in his mind, he internally named then Tudor_House1, Tudor_House2 and so on.

He created a good 5 templates before feeling satisfied. There weren’t only houses needed. He would need facilities ranging from greenhouses to places for entertainment. He created even more templates over the rest of the day, continuing into the night that covered all of his bases.

He created smitheries, herbalists, greenhouses, entertainment houses, training yards, shops, grocery stores for professions ranging from cooking to tailoring to brewing. At about 3 AM, he stood back up, stretching out his legs, popping each of the joints.

He had fallen into a comfortable position in his meditation that had his knees bent and thighs spread, meaning they were both rather sore. Looking at his top left, he noticed a blinking blue light. Mentally poking the notifications, the following screen popped into view.

Establishment Management Screen

Level:

Village

Population:

10

Buildings:

1

Fortifications:

22 (+)

Defenders:

0

Mayor:

Ashford Meyers

Personnel

Alchemists:

0

Tinkerers:

0

Blacksmiths:

0

Farmers:

0

Enchanters:

0

Professors:

0

Technicians:

0

(Add More)

⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐

Buildings

Laboratories:

0

Shipyards:

0

Smithery:

0

Farms:

0

Restaurants:

0

Schools:

0

Warehouses:

0

Libraries:

1

Hospitals:

0

Shops:

0

Grocery Stores:

0

Mills:

0

Factories:

0

Guild Houses:

0

Banks:

0

(Add More)

⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐⇐

Ashford would be lying if he said that he had expected this. He could tell that this screen would be vital to his new home. Perusing through the menus linked through from the Add More options, he found there were a ridiculous amount of categories, many overlapping but he figured that it didn’t matter to him at that time.

He looked at the personnel tab, and he felt anticipation and excitement. He was excited by this new world that he would help shape. He was going to sculpt this new world into one of kindness and warmth, rather than cunning and calculation.

He started walking towards the house after walking down the extensive steps. He figured they would need a better way up or he was going to have to figure out a way to raise his physical attributes. With how the statistics were heading now, he figured that it might help him to distribute a few into the more physical side of attributes.

After walking back into the house, he continued back upstairs. Walking into the library, he found Mairi still there, seemingly practicing her meditation or sense, as she sat there peacefully meditating.

He waited for a good 10 minutes before she broke her trance upon feeling his overpowering aura. With his increases in mana pool, it also increased his effect on the surrounding wild mana. It almost seemed that the mana was calmed merely by entering his field of manipulation. Whether it was a conscious or unconscious act, Mairi did not know.

“I see you are back. We weren’t able to find you after the others gave up. They weren’t able to get a good handle on their powers. Amanda seemed to get the hang of it, but quickly gave into fatigue after figuring out the nature of her Chakra,” Mairi informed Ashford.

“Well, that doesn’t surprise me. I was merely lucky by having heard of this phenomenon before.” Ashford said contemplatively.

“What do you mean, heard of this before?” Mairi asked curiously.

“There wa--, you know what? It doesn’t really matter. Not with how the world is now,” Ashford interrupted himself.

“No, I want to know. Just because the world ended, does not mean that we should just give up our hopes and dreams.” Mairi said resolutely.

“Well, before the world went to hell, I enjoyed reading. Why do you think I created this library?” Ashford said as he gestured at the surrounding room.

“What, so you read about this?” Mairi asked.

“Something similar to this, yes,” Ashford responded nostalgically.

“What did you enjoy?” Ashford asked curiously.

“Heh, you’d think I’m stupid…” Mairi said shyly.

“Why would I think that? Hell, your intelligence stat is higher than mine was!” Ashford said, chuckling comfortably. Her presence seemed to soothe his churning mind.

“Well… I enjoyed playing video games. I know, I know, it’s a waste of time. Believe me, I’ve heard it a thousand times.” Mairi said self-consciously.

“Waste of time? Are you kidding? Our whole life is just waiting out a clock, why not do what you enjoy?” Ashford said confidently.

“So what, you played games?” Mairi inquired.

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Ashford said mockingly snootily.

“Uh huh. Suuuure. Let me guess, you played Candy Crush.” Mairi said past her giggles.

With an affronted look on his face, he declared, “My good lady, you wound me! I would never touch such an abhorrent game! I pride myself on being a real gamer!”

They sat there for the rest of the night, talking about their favorite video games before petering off at first dawn.

Looking into the distance, Ashford confided, “This new world of ours scares me. I may put up a strong front, but deep down, it scares me to the depths of my soul. I’m going to miss the peace of our previous world.”

“Funny,” he chuckled out, “I always wanted an adventure like this.”