Rory had last checked his [Settlement Status] a good while back. There hadn’t been much chance for it to grow, and he certainly hadn’t acquired any new Settlement Sigils to add to it. Nevertheless, it would be nice to see how it had progressed.

It was also his best shot of contacting Alex directly.

So, he headed to the main hall and placed his hand on the column where he had Warded the Sigil of Settlement.

[Settlement Status]

Belcourt Palace

Type: Base

Leader: Rory McIlroy

Tier: Cerulean VIII [15%]

Stats

Population: 49

Area of Influence: 120m2

Treasury: 37,900 Mana, 180 Credits

Defences [Selectable]

Passive Reconstruction [Major]

Bolt Blaster [Major]

-

Components

Sigil of Shelter: Ordinary, [Teal I]

Sigil of Finance: Uncommon, [Cerulean IV]

Sigil of Security: Remarkable, [Cerulean IX]

Sigil of Produce: Exceptional, [Cerulean VIII]

Sigil of Healing: Remarkable, [Cerulean VIII]

Sigil of Learning: Exceptional, [Cerulean VI]

Sigil of Energy: Remarkable, [Teal I]

It was interesting to note how the top and bottom Sigils had both risen to Teal. That had to be their passive advancement coming into play. After all, they used shelter and generated electricity automatically every day.

The other Sigils had more focused applications, so it made sense they were a bit far behind. With the lack of monsters coming into the Safe Zone in recent weeks, the Sigils of Security and Healing hadn’t seen much direct use.

For the Sigils of Learning and Finance, the lack of use was even worse. Hmm, Rory would have to look into those.

But more importantly, for now at least, he tried to see if there was some option that would allow him to go beyond anything he could do with the Sigils in the Settlement. He found nothing, not even a way to ask the system for help. So lacking, and a little frustrating.

Rory consoled himself with the fact that there was a nice amount of Credits to be spent. He opened the System Shop just to see if there was anything that could ease his annoyance.

[System Shop]

Waste not, want not. Credits aren’t infinite. Purchase wisely.

Settlement Perks, Upgrades, and Bonuses

Efficiency Perk: Allows Settlement to boost production and movement in certain areas [Cost: 90 Credits] Mode Perk: Allows Settlement to switch between different modes to provide different bonuses [Cost: 60 Credits]

Crafting Materials

Minor pack of organic materials [Cost: 80 Credits] Minor pack of crystals [Cost: 80 Credits] Minor pack of mineral materials [Cost: 80 Credits]

Sigils

Sigil of Evasion [Cost: 55 Credits] Sigil of Ecstasy [Cost: 70 Credits] Sigil of Glass [Cost: 50 Credits] Sigil of Sand [Cost: 95 Credits]

Decorations

Painting of Imperial Overarch Betelgeuse [Cost: 120 Credits] Moon pearl waist belt [Cost: 930 Credits] Suction-cup boots, all sizes available, including pets (cats and dogs only, NO donkeys) [Cost: 40 Credits] Fire-resistant fire extinguisher [Cost: 18 Credits]

Rory couldn’t help but blink at a few of those choices. Fire-resistant fire extinguisher? Weren’t fire extinguishers automatically fire resistant? Wasn’t that the whole point?

He felt as though the system was having fun, so he decided to focus on the Sigils. There was still no description attached to them, much as he wished there had been, so it seemed he was still going to have to make a judgment call. At least the names were informative, more or less, this time.

All the options were appealing, to an extent, but Rory didn’t have enough Credits for them all, especially if he went for the expensive Sigils.

He wasn’t wholly sure what a Sigil of Ecstasy was supposed to be able to do, and a part of him wondered if it was something one used on themselves. Set oneself into a state of bliss and… then what? Live in the clouds for a few moments? He could see how that might be appealing, but it felt fake.

Then again, feelings of pleasure from things like alcohol and other similar things weren’t exactly real either. In other words, the Sigil wasn’t exactly useful.

More importantly, pricey as the Sigil of Ecstasy was, the Sigil of Sand was strangely even more expensive. Rory had been equating usefulness with cost—though that might not necessarily be the case—so the system might be deeming the Sigil of Sand to be extremely valuable. That made a case that he, or someone else in the group, would find it useful too.

The same went for the Sigils of Evasion and Glass, to an extent. Glass was the least appealing of the lot, since he didn’t like the idea of fighting with glass. He shuddered, imagining the shards flying everywhere and shredding everything. Too much chance of collateral damage.

In the end, Rory paid for the Sigils of Evasion and Sand, which took away enough of his Credits that he couldn’t afford any other Sigils.

On a whim, he grabbed the fire-resistant fire extinguisher as well, since it was starting to tickle him. Maybe it could extinguish magical blazes, like Miles’s Stormfire and Dez’s Chthonic Inferno, who knew. Only one way to tell.

New Sigil!

You’ve obtained a Sigil of Sand. Destroy your enemies with the frustration of sending sand everywhere, including into the unmentionables.

[Teal I] allows creation, manipulation, imbuing, embodying of element in a 73-meter radius.

Stats

Type: Concept

Rarity: Mythic

Tier: Teal I [0%]

Efficiency: High [70%]

New Sigil!

You’ve obtained a Sigil of Evasion. There is nothing wrong with evading an attack instead of withstanding or blocking it. Throw your enemy off balance by dodging their blow at just the right moment.

[Teal I] allows evasion of 21 attacks per day.

Stats

Type: Concept

Rarity: Remarkable

Tier: Teal I [0%]

Efficiency: High [52%]

Incredible. The Sigil of Sand was actually of Mythic rarity. Rory hadn’t expected that.

He would have marvelled at the Sigils some more and wondered how best he could up with ways to use them, but he was distracted by a familiar sound. Rory put his hands to his pocket and pulled out his walky-talky. The Sigil of Calling blinked on its bottom half.

Rory clicked the button on the side and spoke into the receiver. “Hello?”

“Rory,” Talvic’s voice came in, sharp and staticky. “You are at your palace, correct?”

“No hellos or how-do-you-dos?”

“Hello, how do you do?” Talvic asked in the most deadpan voice anyone could have ever mustered.

Rory sighed. “I’m fine, thank you. To what do I owe the pleasure, minelord?”

“You never answered me. Are you or are you not at your palace?”

“I am at my palace.”

“Good. I have already sent Devrum there and it would be a hassle to hear him grumble under his breath all day about a pointless visit had you not been there. But since you are, that catastrophe has been avoided.”

“Wait, what’s Devrum coming here for?” Rory wasn’t surprised the dwarf minelord was sending his second-in-command, which was what he often did. What surprised Rory was that he hadn’t really heard how Talvic’s group had been doing since the Corebeast’s attack. “And are you guys alright after… you know, everything that happened?”

“If you meant your debacle with the Corebeast, our cloud mine was far enough away that we never needed to worry.” Talvic paused for a second. “Though, I will admit it was quite the sight from the balconies.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re all alright. But yes, what were you and Devrum looking for? Just the regular shipment of materials and a new Sigil in return?”

“You will find out soon enough! In fact—”

A sudden shout came in from outside. Rory looked up with a frown. That was the shout that indicated someone had come to pay them a visit. Ah, of course. Devrum was already here.

“Are you listening to me?” Talvic asked. Apparently, he had been talking while Rory had been distracted.

“I think Devrum is here,” Rory said. “Time to find out what you sent your dwarf here for, right?”

“Correct.”

“I’ll talk to you later, then. Goodbye.”

Rory cut off the call. He could at least give the minelord some credit for trying to warn him, belated though it was.

With a decently heavy amount of expectation, Rory headed outside. A rather naïve part of him had expected Arelland to show up with good news by now, but it seemed that was not to be.

“Greetings,” Devrum said when Rory met him at the gate.

Ned, who often switched between keeping a lookout at the rear and the front of the palace, had accompanied the dwarf. The stocky bearded man in heavy work clothes, broad brimmed hat, sunglasses, and a cloth mask over his face didn’t seem to mind.

Rory tried not to feel disappointed all of a sudden. “You’re not using the Sigil I gave you guys?”

“Do you mean the one that is rumoured to protect us from the searing rays of your deadly star?” the dwarf asked.

“…Yes.”

“Well, it has been confiscated by the Dwarven Committee in Sanctorum and is being carefully tested to ensure that it works well enough. Can’t have us just putting it on and hoping we don’t catch fire, see.”

“No, I understand.” Although, that didn’t stop a pang of disappointment echoing through him. Rory’s assurances of quality weren’t enough. Not that he blamed the dwarves for testing out the Sigil of Shaded Region out. It was a matter of life or death for them. “Any idea when they might decide if it’s good enough?”

Some of the others were joining them as they talked. Viv teleported in with a small flash of red lightning, Trish, Dez, and April not far behind.

“I am unsure,” Devrum said, nodding a greeting at the others. “However, rest assured that they do not judge you or your efforts. They are simply ensuring that it will indeed protect us.”

“No, I get it. No rush. Proper testing takes time.”

“Correct.” Devrum fumbled with something on his tool belt, which he had neglected to remove before coming over. Clearly, he didn’t think much of the visit. “I have your regular shipment, but I also have a new proposal from the minelord.”

“A new proposal?” Viv asked. “We’re not reducing our prices or providing a discount.”

“Nothing for the sort. Instead, we want a deal on something else. Read this.”

Devrum handed a tightly-furled scroll to Rory, who opened it up and began reading. It was in English. He had no idea how or when the Otherworlders had learned to write it, but he wasn’t about to complain. His eyes did widen as he read more, though.

“What’s it say?” Trish asked.

Rory handed the letter to Viv and the others once he was done. While they read as well, he tried to formulate his thoughts into a cohesive line.

“You want us to give you the dungeon under the park?” April asked.

“Correct,” Devrum said. “We will mine the dungeon, parking our cloud over it, and we will share profits. I believe the percentage share was seventy-to-thirty, if I recall correctly.”

“But we don’t even own that dungeon. That one’s filled with Wilders and other monsters.”

“We have a good relationship with them too,” Viv said. “We can’t just hand over something that doesn’t belong to us.”

Instead of being dismayed, Devrum’s eyes had taken on an even more avaricious glint. “You are in contact with the creatures there? That is an incredible development. That means you can convince them to leave without needing to resort to violence.”

“Oh, so the mining dwarves don’t want to fight the monsters themselves and wanted us to do it for you?” Dez asked. “We’re a merchanting business, not a dungeon-clearing one.”

“Of course, of course. But you see, there is only so much we can obtain from one cloud at a time before replenishing its supplies. This replenishing must occur at a fertile spot on the surface, or rather, from just underneath it. Good dungeons are perfect for it. From the survey we carried out, we concluded that the green dungeon would work the best.”

That explanation didn’t soften anyone’s looks. While the Wilders hadn’t exactly been the best of hosts when they had first visited the dungeon, they had at least been reasonable once Rory got to talk to them.

In the end, they couldn’t just go betraying them.

“We’re not sure how something like that can be managed,” Rory said truthfully. “We don’t want to turn on the Wilders who live there. It wouldn’t be right.” He narrowed his eyes. “And if that’s what you’re demanding, we can cut things off right here.”

Devrum blinked at the force in Rory’s words, then raised a hand. “I do not know what exactly the minelord had planned, but I am sure he doesn’t want to compromise our working relationship. If it is entirely off-limits, I will go report it back to him.”

Rory sighed. “We don’t know if it’s entirely off-limits. Tell you what, we’ll go talk to the Wilders and see what can be done. But I think it would help if you came along with us.”

“Me?” Devrum gripped the lower edge of his beard. “I’m not sure—”

Viv stepped forward with a rather menacing grin. “We need a representative from the dwarves to make sure the offer is legitimate. Who better to represent the dwarves than… a dwarf?”

Devrum coughed. “I will need to confirm with the minelord. Please await my answer.”

The dwarf turned and fled. Rory blinked and watched him go, belatedly waving at his departing back and yelling out his farewell.

“Well, that went well.” Trish beamed at them all. “I should join these negotiation-thingies more often.”

“Yes.” Viv threw a grin back at the younger woman. “I’ll be sure to leave the nasty implications and veiled threats to you next time.”

“Oh, that sounds too subtle for me. Just call me if you need a big axe or something.”

They all laughed. Rory had to admit that the meeting had left a lot for him to think about. If the dwarves were moving their cloud mine, what would that imply for the war that had to be restarting at any time now? He hadn’t heard reports of any fights going on near the park.

Even more, he had no idea how the Wilders would react to the news. He hadn’t been in touch with them for a while now, not since he had freed Ferdous and the others.

Ah well. It was time to see.