Leaving aside bad jokes, I looked at the Research tab again and saw it bumped to 219 RP/day as output, thing that made me smile. However, I should start boosting the numbers of the elves, but I can’t exactly buy new ones… so, the only available option is procreation.

“The number of SP I get depend on the Tier of the elves. Therefore, I need to start cleaning up dungeons. Also, the sooner I finish building up the camp, the sooner baby conceptions can begin. So… I need to get those resource output increase a bit tomorrow and wrap it up with the homes.”

The only thing that was left was the Social Policies tab. There were a couple of changes to it, such as the fact that I had actual culture points that I was gaining per day… however their number…

Social policies are a concept representing the non-scientific or religious advancements of your society. They act as a system of gameplay bonuses, activated little by little as your civilization develops its Culture. Some of these bonuses are empire-wide (meaning they act on all cities and empire components at the same time), while others are related to particular buildings, units, or even Great People. Many Social Policies enhance individual buildings' functions - check the list of buildings for more information on that.

All policies are organised into trees, and each tree has to be unlocked before the specific policies in it can be adopted. The policies within each tree (or reforms) are further organized into branches, requiring that lower-level policies be adopted before higher-level ones become available. Unlocking a policy tree also activates a special bonus, as does adopting all five policies in it.

Current civilization growth – 2 culture points/day

Total gathered – 4 culture points

The good news was the fact that after two more days I could buy a social policy based on the next tab I checked. The bad news is that I am 100% unsure of which one should I go with. Probably each has their own benefits, obviously not making my job easier at all.

“I guess I’ll do the same as I always did with the girls on Earth: one at a time!”

Adopting Tradition greatly increases the rate of border expansion (25%) in cities and also grants +3 Culture points in the main settlement. Unlocks a random culture providing building after the Town Hall has been built!

Adopting all Policies in the Tradition tree will grant +15% Food Growth in all cities and a free Aqueduct building in your first four settlements. It also allows the purchase of Great Engineers with Faith Points starting in Industrial Era.

Cost: 7 Culture points

After reading the description, it can be summed up to a policy that automatically increases my borders (I can finally get some forests in my territories and get that religion bonus) and I also get an extra 3 culture points per day once selecting this option. That pretty much doubles my income.

Besides that, there is also that line in the description of the social policies mentioning something about unlocking the five branches from the main reform.

“Probably that means that each main reform will focus on something in specific and I can purchase different benefits from each tree. But given that I have so many options, says that I can select the benefits I want out of each one… that if I unlock each one first… and if I ignore the bonus given once the policy is fully researched...”

The religion boost that comes with the fast expanding borders, as well as the more than doubled culture points income sounds good in theory, however the problem is that I’m 100% sure that the price will go up immediately after the first purchase. The second time I will buy a branch policy or even a main reform, the cost will likely jump. As far as the prices goes, to at least double the original one is within the limits of reason…

“There was that Murphy law saying that ‘whatever can happen will happen’, so it’s better to not worry about it. Especially since it's also something vague in there about a building that can be unlocked and will generate culture... What was the next available reform? Liberty…”

Adopting Liberalism will provide +1 Culture point in every settlemnent. Unlocks a random culture providing building after the Town Hall has been built!

Adopting all policies in the Liberty tree will grant a free Great Person upgrade of your choice near in the main settlement.

Cost: 7 Culture points

Such a stingy reform! It only gives me one culture point increase per day (since I don't have enough elves for a secondary camp)… and not only that, but there is no extra benefit! Why the hell would I even pick this option? It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever…

“And people are always complaining about communism. Look at this shit! What does liberty gives you? Almost nothing! The communism on the other hand gives you so many things. Well… it might take more than what it gives you at the end of the day, but that’s beside the point…”

Nevertheless, if we are to flip the coin, if the reform is stingy, there is a high probability that the branch policies it provides will be generous. There’s that saying that after each high hill there’s a valley just as deep, or simply put, everything has a way of coming back to the middle… Fucking limbo!

“Next one is the Military reform. Now this ones looks like some proper fun! Let’s take a looksie at what’s it about…”

Adopting Military gives a +33% combat bonus against monters; from now on notifications will be provided when new monster encampments spawn in revealed territory. Gain Culture for the empire from each monster unit killed. (the Culture points earned is equal to the maximum LvL of of the defeated unit, multiplied by the average Tier level of the monsters, plus the added levels of the monsters divided by their numbers). Unlocks a random culture providing building after the Town Hall has been built!

Adopting all policies in the Military tree will grant Soul Points for each enemy unit killed (Note that this applies only to units killed directly by your actions. For example, you won't receive Soul Points for a unit killed by the effect of a natural disaster). It also allows the purchase of Great Generals with Faith points starting from the Industrial Era.

Cost: 7 Culture points

Oh boy… I realized I just found the thing to have! How can a better reform exist than this one? I can literally fuck up Murlocs and other monsters and get culture points as a reward. With those culture points, I buy more benefits that I use to strengthen my civilization and my adventurer army and repeat the process.

“Funny how even on this second new world it’s still all about grinding and repeating… Even more after it's fully researched! I can get Soul Points for killing monsters that spawn continuously!!!”

I thought about picking it instantly for a second, but I changed my mind just as fast. Currently the cost to purchase a reform would cost me 7 culture points which I’ll get by the end of tomorrow even without picking anything, so even if the second reform or policy costs me twice or thrice, if I pick Tradition which doubles my income to 4 points per day, it would still be a reasonable pick to make… Nah! It actually makes more sense to go for Tradition first and then for the rest...

“I should stop trying to convince myself to pick something after I saw only three options… What’s next?”

Adopting Piety reduces the cost of building Shrines and Temples by 50%. Provides a permanen boost of 25% to the current Faith points gain. Unlocks a random culture providing building after the Town Hall has been built!

Adopting all policies in the Piety tree will cause a Great Prophet to appear and each holy builing will provide +3 Culture points.

Cost: 7 Culture points

This one gives the obvious boost in Faith points accumulations that I expected and it’s an actual permanent 25%. That means that even later on when new people will be added and adopt the religion, the bonus will still apply to them. In addition, there is the line about reduced cost of holy buildings…

“So I will be able to build structures that will increase my Faith gain… that’s nice to know. Also, this reform is a given since this game is pretty much based on deities and them gathering power through their faithful. I still think that a certain useless game God is hiding things about the game and its purpose, however for now there’s not much I can do about it.”

I found it very likely that in the tree that this reform will unlock, I will be able to find some that will allow me to build things like a temple or an altar, or any other similar structures that will give the faithful a place to pray and worship. Not only that, but it was certain that through the said buildings, my civilization would advance and will become able to provide other bonuses like culture points, research points or who-knows what else…

The conclusion after all this is that I require more culture points!

“The next one is Aesthetics. I can tell by the name that it will be something the girls will love…”

Adopting Aesthetics allows you to earn and train Great Writers, Artists, and Musicians 25% faster. Provides a one time 50% increase in Culture points growth. Unlocks a random culture providing building after the Town Hall has been built!

Adopting all Policies in the Aesthetics tree doubles the Culture points bonus you receive from works of art created by Great Writers, Artists, and Musicians. It also allows the purchase of same previously mentioned three with Faith points starting in the Industrial Era.

Cost: 7 Culture points

I felt a bit shocked when I read the damned thing. I mean, that one time 50% increase is certainly not something you want in the early phase of the game. Right now, that means a measly one extra culture point, but later on it might mean 100. For now I need to focus on boosting the existing points and I could easily do that by picking Tradition after which Liberty and then Military. The first ones will increase the passive gain of culture points, while the last will give me a way to actively gain some by wrecking havoc in the dungeons.

What was a tad more interesting though, was that 25% increase for Great People. The fact that they could be trained or discovered faster, meant that after having them participate in specific activities repeatedly, I could possibly bolster my specialized population by a huge margin.

Also, if I combine that with the Job system unlocked by the researched technologies, I will have a way to focus on improving in an overall manner as soon as possible. Now I see why Eternity said that picking both military advancement and technological evolution was a bad idea…

“Well, is not like I can’t back down at this point, however I chose not to! I will feel bad if I just give up like that all of a sudden, just because things are not moving fast enough. However… improving cultural development through war waging… I suddenly feel very Genghis Khan-like. What else is there for me to check?”

Adopting Commerce boosts the production for materials by 50% main settlement, allows the creation of trade routes between the settlements owned by the same civilization and allows your religion to spread through the trade routes to the newly built atheist camps. Unlocks a random culture providing building after the Town Hall has been built!

Adopting all Policies in the Commerce tree will grant a certain amount of Soul Points from every Trading Post in the civilization's territory. It also allows the purchase of Great Merchants with Faith points starting in the Industrial Era.

Cost: 7 Culture points

When I saw the part mentioning the word ‘settlements’ I froze for a bit. That really meant that I would have to create multiple camps and create them based on specialty production for import and export towards other camps. Like for example, let us say that I create one such settlement by the sea/ocean. Given the access to fish and beaches, I can easily produce an industry-based camp focusing on salt and fishing. The products will be traded with the main camp for furs and grains (if we manage to plant such things) creating a flowing industry and even more important, creating jobs!

In all games I’ve played, unemployment was a biggest issue. To keep your populace working towards a goal is something truly important towards the productivity of a nation.

Such a goal must be always crystal-clear. Take modern society as an example: everybody works his or her asses off for money. Why? Because having currency allows you to do stuff such as buying things you do not need, traveling to places you do not necessarily need to see, or purchase gifts to impress chicks you do not necessarily fancy.

All in all, for a successful and happy civilization, is mandatory to have a working currency and for such a thing to exist, industries are mandatory. For the main camp, I could focus on forestry, mining (if there are good mines nearby) and even hunting in limited amounts for pelts and furs.

“But that’s all for the future. In addition, once the 100-year mark is hit, trading between allied civilizations will be possible as well. I will need to take advantage properly of Eternity and her demon population. However, for me to have more things to trade I need at least a secondary settlement and for that I need more people. For more people I need either more SP generated by the current 200 elves, or I need to get babies going… What I am worried about is the elven girls giving birth in the current conditions. I don’t even have a proper doctor with knowledge about patching up a cut, so let’s not talk about performing a C-section to ensure the life of both the infant and the mother…”

Suddenly I felt really tired and worried about the future. But I had to keep going for the people that are counting on me to guide them. I realized just how much I needed to get my shit together and act like a proper God (pseudo) since there are already so many people praying to me daily.

I never realized just how much of an impact that had on my personality. Maybe I already changed a bit because my divinity is chaotic, but now that I have to shelter so many souls and look out for them, I finally noticed just how heavy the pressure is.

“They say that even shit has a chance of turning into a diamond under enough pressure… Maybe I can become the best version of me in this new world.”

I instinctively looked at my left hand, which still has the scars on it. I didn’t pay attention to it until now, but wasn’t this body supposed to be an avatar of sorts? Why do I still have the exact same appearance?

If one thing is for certain though is that, I will get my answers as time goes on but surely not now. For now, I must focus on developing my pretty elves.

Adopting Exploration gives increased movement speed for scouting units and also increased HP and MP regeneration while outside the territory. Once a new region has been fully explored it will provide a detailed report of the available resources through an interface notification. Provides the option of upgrading units to a higher tier, using Faith points. Unlocks a random culture providing building after the Town Hall has been built!

Adopting all Policies in the Exploration tree allows you to build new settlements with the current standard of the main camp. It also allows the purchase of Great Explorers with Faith points starting in the Industrial Era.

Cost: 7 Culture points

Leaving aside the resource report, I almost stood up and started dancing on the bed when I saw the last bonus. If I can rank up the tiers of the elves using faith points, then I can simply use the soul points they produce to purchase more population, while boosting the daily production because of the higher tier of their soul refinement. Somehow, even I got confused while thinking that...

“Not only will the increase in soul refinement help the elves get stronger, but while fighting the monsters and get more culture points, I could possibly unlock even better benefits from the policies tree. I should change the order in which I’ll get the reforms as Tradition, Liberty, Military and then Exploration. That way, I could properly take advantage of everything... However something tells me that I might have to change those plans sooner than expected …”

I looked outside the windows carved beautifully in the bark of the tree and saw the night sky showing signs of lighting up. Morning was on its way and I had to hurry up with the last available reforms to be selected, in order not to waste another day.

Adopting Navigation gives increased movement speed for naval units and increased range for naval combat units. Automatically awards you a Great Admiral and increases the chances of finding resources at sea. Unlocks a random culture providing building after the Town Hall has been built!

Adopting all Policies in the Navigation tree allows you to locate Treasured Islands. It also allows the purchase of Great Admirals with Faith points starting in the Industrial Era.

Cost: 7 Culture points

Well… this is for later. Even if I have a Great Admiral, there is no use for one at this point… I am intrigued about the Treasured Islands, but I can't seem to read a description out of them, nor would I be able to actually visit them any time soon.

Adopting Technology will grant a permanent increase of +50% to the research points daily production while the civilization is happy. Automatically awards the civilization with a Great Scientist. Unlocks a random culture providing building after the Town Hall has been built!

Adopting all Policies in the Technology tree will grant a free research Technology available to be bought with research points. It also allows the purchase of Great Scientists with Faith points starting in the Industrial Era.

Cost: 7 Culture points

“Oh wow… Now what? I mean… that’s a permanent increase to technology research and I get to have a Great Scientist for free as well. Moreover, that is probably not going to be a Tier 1, but straight up Tier 3. If someone like Denise could easily learn to design something from scratch only from seeing it once as Tier 1, just what would a Tier 3 scientist be capable of? I can only imagine that new stuff will be researched a lot faster… FUCK!”

I found it stupid how I became able to know in advance that I will fuck up my choices without anyone else’s interference, just based on previous experiences. Anyway, I might need Mia’s take on this before making a decision, so I just moved on to the last available reform.

World Order – currently locked until your civilization reaches a higher level of Culture!

“Talk about anti-climactic… But that’s at least one less option to worry about. If I take all the information in consideration, the order in which I pick the reforms should stay the same: there is Tradition first, Liberty second, Military third for the extra culture points and then I need to decide the order of Exploration and Technology. However, no matter how I look at it, Technology comes first. I will check with Mia in the morning to be safe… Also, hehe! Since the culture points are awarded at the beginning of each day, I could get myself Tradition in the morning and hopefully get another first achievement.”

I closed the system interface and began thinking about the new day ahead. Since there are so many things to be done, it is going to be another busy one…