Chapter 27 Baron Scott Smith

I wake, up it is morning, the girls are snuggled up to me, I feel the warmth of their bare skin pressing onto me. I sigh and think of the events of yesterday, not much to remember to be honest. All I really remember is in 14, no 13 days now the Barony will be dissolved if we do not get funds in time. All these people will be thrown back into the nightmare and like hell if I am going to let that happen!

I look at my wrist to check the time, but my watch is missing. Open inventory I think. I look thru it, everything is gone. I still have 1 Tear Gas Canister, and all the spare batteries left. I find the AR-15 and my first sword from the mall.

There are a lot of new items as well, such as Owlbear pelts, lots of them, 81 to be exact.

I also see the unknown sword and ring are still here. Plus I picked up 11 Advanced healing, 8 Advanced mana, and 8 Advanced Endurance potions. The battle Axe is there too, but I will probably never use that. As are all the crude swords

Then I look at my Status screen and whistle involuntarily, the girls stir, but do not wake up. Level 61 it says. I look and I have 570 unallocated Stat Points. Not hesitating now, I put 100 into strength 100 into vitality and the rest 370 into Dexterity., with the new stats I grin and refresh status.

StatusName: Scott SmithLevel: 61Race: Human Age: 18Experinece to next level: 318333/349000Lordship Title: BaronTitle 1: Goblin Hunter

Stage 1 +5%XP when Killing GoblinsTitle 2: Seven in one Shot

Stage 1 +20% additional XP when killing more than one monster in a single blow.Title 3: Lethal Shot

Stage 1 +50% additional XP when killing Bosses in a single shot.Title 4: Cold Blooded Killer

Stage 2 +55%XP killing Humans +600 InfamyTitle 5: (empty)Profession 1: Advanced MarineProfession 2: None SelectedFame: 8800Infamy: 6000Health: 21800Base Attack: 129%Mana: 10300Base Defense: 251%Stamina: 19900Base Accuracy: 147%Strength: 495Dexterity: 752Vitality: 426Endurance: 393Intelligence: 202Wisdom: 212Luck: 10Sexual Stamina: 322Unused Stat Points: 0SkillsUnarmed CombatSkill level 11 +60% DamageField MedicSkill level 1 +5% HealingStealthSkill level 11 +15%Sneak AttackSkill level 6 +25% damage 3X damageSword MasterySkill Level 1+10% damageDagger MasterySkill Level 8 +50% DamageFirearms MasterySkill Level 7 +22% AccuracyItems EquippedGood Quality SwordDamage 25-40Good Quality AR-15Damage 50-75

I release myself from the girls and head over to my boxes and find my duffle bag, inside it has my old marine uniforms, I break out the desert Camo and boots and put them on quickly. I then equip the Good quality Sword and AR-15. Guess I became too reliant on the futuristic stuff, time to get back to basics.

I go back to the bed and as I approach I see Cindy and Julie both staring at me.

“Scott?” Julie asks in a slightly raised voice.

“Yes Kitten?” I answer sweetly.

“Where is your stuff, like your uniform? She asks curiously

“Well Kitten as you saw when you found me naked yesterday, I lost it all” I smiled happily.

“Scott?”Cindy now raises her voice with concern.

“Yes Honey?” I say, again sweetly

“Are you ok?” Cindy asks concerned now, and Julie nods at the question,

“Yes Honey I am ok, I simply woke up is all” I say

“Ok tiger, would you like to go get breakfast then since you just woke up.” Cindy asks

“That would be nice Honey”, I say to her, I feel enlightened, finally it all came to me, I see the light at the end of the tunnel now. I see a way out of this mess finally. The answer was there all this time, but I need to confirm a few things first before we begin my new plan.

Julie and Cindy both put on their preset 1's getting out of bed and escort me to the Cafeteria, both on each of my arms as usual.

I see the Sheriff and he spots me and smiles approaching me,” We are heading for breakfast, care to join us Rick?” I ask of him.

“Sure Scott, I was on my way there as well” He replies, seems he put yesterday behind him, whatever I did to scare him.

We arrive at the Cafeteria, chit chatting about various small things, small chat stuff, no one questioning me about yesterdays events. We grab our food and sit at the table.

I look a them as they begin to eat, I do not touch my food yet. Then I speak, "so Rick, I want you as the General of the armies. Julie you will take the Chief of staff and Cindy you will take the Barony Treasurer, how does that sound?” I ask with a pleasant smile.

They all stop eating and look at me with weird expressions.

“What is this about Scott” Cindy asks

I see the Captain of the guard approaching, I stand up and face him, ignoring Cindy's question,” Ahh Captain, perfect timing! Please take a seat, I need to pick your brain a bit.” I say to him with a pleasant smile.

“My Lord?” The Captain asks at first, then promptly takes a seat, sitting at attention.

“Please relax Captain Winford, in fact have you had breakfast yet? Go grab some food if you are hungry!” i say to him smiling.

“No, no, My lord is too gracious! I already had breakfast, thank you My Lord!” He says quickly.

“Very well I will get right to the point then” I say with my pleasant smile. “It says I need funds to maintain the upkeep of this place, but it is all in gold. I have no gold, but I have US Dollars instead, so how do I pay in Dollars?”

the Captain looks at me for a moment before answering,” That is the Job of the Treasurer, they can take your funds and convert them to gold for you as needed.”

“Mmmhmm, I see, so hypothetically if I were to appoint Cindy here to Treasurer, she would receive some kind of skill that can convert money for me?” I ask my smile not wavering.

“That is correct My lord”, He replies and relaxes at my response.

“Ok then on to the next question, about the Army, lets say I appoint Sheriff Hanson here as my General and we agree he were to work for free for now, that would mean I have no wages for him right?” I ask smiling.

“Um that is unheard of my Lord, but yes that would be correct My lord” he answers hesitating eyeing the Sheriff.

“So you are telling me if I have an all volunteer army, no wages need to be paid right?” I ask smiling.

“Uhh yes my lord that is correct” He replies.

"And if I were to, say.........," I pause and look around then spot someone and point, "....pick that woman over there to be one of my maids, she wold become one of my maids and I wold not have to pay her a salary if she were to agree to that?” I ask still smiling.

“Yes my Lord that is correct” He replies once more.

“Very well Captain you are dismissed for, now thank you for your time” I say to him smiling

He gets up and want to say something, but then thinks better of it, bows his head, salutes and leaves.

“Ok Scott what was that about?” Sheriff beats Julie and Cindy to the punch.

“I look at them and say in 13 days the Barony will be dissolved” I reply my smile not wavering and I chuckle.

“WHAT?” The Sheriff asks out loud now visibly shaken, standing up from where he sat in rush, then slowly sits back down as if resigned and stares blankly at nothing.

“Scott are you really ok?” Cindy asks, now very concerned. Julie says nothing, just watches and observes me

“I am fine in fact I am better than fine, I finally understand” I proclaim in a loud voice.

I look around “everyone will be taking on a job one way or the other if they want to stay here, be it the army, maid, butler, carpenter or what else is ever open, does not matter” I look across the room.

“Scott what do you understand now?” Julie says slowly in a serious voice.

“We have been given the clues early on, even led by the nose at some points. 6 days ago the world as we knew it changed , we all agree to that right?” they all nod at my question.

“We also agree that....” I start to say when suddenly the lights go out in the entire building, Everyone stiffens at first, but no one panics, it was expected, everyone had been warned this wold happen eventually. This was the final stage, our last remaining thread to our old lives has now been cut.

After a pause, the School generator kicks in and the lights flicker back on. Many visibly relax with the lights on, as if it was some kind of security blanket to them. It would not last tho, we all know that.

“How long?” Asks the Sheriff still shaken.

“3 maybe 4 days” I reply to him,” If we conserve, we can extend it to a week maybe?”

“We need to do something Scott and fast, if we lose power and the safe zone, I am not sure these people will be able to cope with all this” He says with a grim expression.

“I agree Rick, we need to do something and I am going to implement a plan just for that.” I say to him still smiling.

“Sweetheart, you are kind of scaring me with that smile, could you explain to us what you are thinking?” Julie finally says.

“Ok I will get to the point then. This is all just a game.” I announce to them.

“A game?? This is a fucking game?” Rick yells, now very angry and cusses for the first time. Everyone looks at him astonished.

At his outburst many people start to wander over curious what caused the kindhearted Sheriff to make such an outbursts.

Seeing all the people gathering now, I sigh, but still smile, I feel enlightened, and take the next step. I get on the metal table we have been sitting at and see everyone is looking at me with expectant eyes.

"Folks I know this will sound crazy but hear me out, our lives is now a game, I can not explain how it happened or why, I can only tell you that, that is the case. Everyone who has been initiated has turned back to 18 years of age, no exceptions. The kids over there saw it first, and said so a while back, but we did not listen to them, only worrying about our survival.” I say in a loud voice so all can hear.

“Is it extraterrestrial? Another being who did this? A god? I do not know and frankly right now that really does not matter!” I pause.

People are whispering among themselves. Shaking heads , some nodding

"Those who have been initiated have stats points, gain skills, can take professions, even have hit points just like in a game, and lets not forget Cindy and Julie's magic, that no one can explain. This is all a game now that we have to survive in. We have to adapt and grow stronger as it is only going to get harder from here on. Like any game the difficulty will go up the longer you play.” I say watching everyone.

“What I have come to realize is this, in this game death is real, the monsters are real, the dangers are real. No one here can deny that, as many of you have lost loved ones to them. But we can fight back. In fact we can do better than fight back, we can live, we can regain a semblance of our normal lives again, but it is going to take a lot of hard work and all here have to make a choice here and now. You either adapt and become a part of this new world, or you give up and die.” I keep talking hoping to get my point across to them..

"All you have to become active in this new world now, our old world and the way we did things are gone, this is not dream you are going to wake up from any moment now, so lets stop pretending help is on the way, because frankly it is not, we are on our own here.” I pause again and take a deep breath.

"I now many of you are hoping the Army or the Marines will swoop and and say everything is fine and all as been taken care of, that our President will appear on TV, delivers a speech of hope, and life goes back to normal, but if our Government still exist, it will only be locally in Washington DC, they will have their hands full there dealing with the same problems we are dealing with here. We have gone back in time to a local system it seems, where everyone has to deal with their own problems before they can expand out and help or assist other. And from the looks of it, help is not going to come soon if at all, so that leaves us with one and one choice only, we deal with it ourselves.” I say and again watch all the people in front of me.

“And how do you propose we deal with this Scott?” Someone finally asks.

“We have been given a safe zone, a Barony, it is now in danger of being dissolved due to lack of funds, our safe zone will go away soon.”At that everyone erupts either with panic, anger or confusion.”HOWEVER........LISTEN UP! However, I have also discovered a way to prevent that!”

At that everyone quiets down. I wait for them to settle down and let them think on what I said then begin again.

"We need funds, simple as that. We get funds, we are safe here. So we will go and get those funds, and upgrade this place to better protect everyone. We will expand so that more areas open up. I am hoping at some point everyone will be able to return to their homes in a safe environment. But for now, we will have to say here until such time happens.” I am now feeling everyone's confidence rising.

“In the meantime everyone will have to do their part in one or the other, there will be no more free rides”. I say and see some people nod and some shaking their heads.

“And what will you have us do Scott?” one person calls out.

“Free ride you call this a free ride? I lost my wife and kids to those monsters out there” another one calls out angrily.

"I understand your anger and I grieve with you, at the loss of your family, I am truly sorry it happened, but I can not change that, sorry if that sounds blunt and heartless, but you can go on and feeling sorry for yourself and curl up in a ball and nothing is going to change. You have to move forward to the future now. I wish we could give you the time to grieve over your loss, but your survival depends on your actions now, later when the dust settles we can grieve our losses and have a good cry, now is the time for action and taking control of our lives, if not for us, then for their memories. Let them not die in vain here folks, lets take hold of our future and live for their sake.” I say with a loud and energetic voice.

Some people begin to clap, while others talk to their neighbors. I get off the table and look at the trio still there, Julie, Cindy and Rick. “I need your help, I can not do this alone, will you help me?“ I say slowly and lightly.

Julie smiles and gets up, runs over to me and hugs me” I have been waiting for those words sweetheart”, then she pulls my head to hers and kisses me. It feels good, loving and caring.

Cindy comes to me,” Finally the great Scott Smith realizes he is not alone” she says with a big smile.

Rick looks at me, “Sure Scott what do you need of me?”

“Those jobs we discussed I need each of you to take on those roles.......” I ask looking at each of them.

“Yeah I can do it, anything you need sweetheart” Julie says

“Heh me in charge of money, sure I can do that” Cindy laughs

“not sure how much help I will be, never been a general before” Rick says scratching the back of is neck.

“Do not worry, I just need you in that role for now, we can adjust later if needed, but we need to get the ball rolling on this” I say smiling again.

“Sure thing Scott, whatever you need” Rick says.

"Then with power given me, as the Baron of these lands I hereby appoint and declare that Rick Hanson is now formally the General of the Armies, Cindy Horn the Barony Treasurer, and Julie Matterson is the Chief of Staff, do you all accept and swear to fulfill these duties to the best of your abilities?” I proclaim to them.

They all say yes and nod.

BARONY NOTICE!Congratulations, you have added Rick Hanson to your Staff as General of the Armies

As such as his skill increases your Barony will gain additional benefits and bonuses over time.

Benefits: Barony Fame +1000

Recruitment bonus +10%

Defense bonus +5%

All soldiers receive a Bonus of +3 to all stats while Rick Hanson is in charge of the Army.

NOTICE!You have gained +1000 Fame

BARONY NOTICE!Congratulations, you have added Cindy Horn to your staff as Barony Treasurer.

As such as her skill increases, your Barony will gain additional benefits and bonuses over time.

Benefits: Barony Fame +1000

Income +10%

Taxes threshold increased by 5% without people becoming unhappy

Money conversion increased by 2%

NOTICE!You have gained +1000 Fame

BARONY NOTICE!Your Barony's Monetary influence has increased thru out the region,+2% Conversion

BARONY NOTICE!Your Barony's Monetary influence has increased thru out the region, +1% Trade.

BARONY NOTICE!Congratulations you have added Julie Matterson to your staff as Chief of Staff

As such as her skill increases your Barony will gain additional benefit and bonuses over time.

Benefits Barony Fame +1000

Staff skills increase by +5%

Staff Stats increase by +5%,

Barony influence increases by 1%

NOTICE!You have gained +1000 Fame

BARONY NOTICE!Your Barony's Regional Influence has increased by 1%

Everyone is reading their messages in amazement.

I smile, “ and so it begins”

“Now Rick, how about we go rob some banks?” I laugh.