Alex emerged from within the town hall alongside Rhyss, squinting in the sudden daylight. The small crowd of people that had been gathered around the entrance of the building were half-distracted — presumably by whatever it was the System was doing to create his buildings — but the ones looking in his direction lurched back in surprise.
"Shit!" Aaron exclaimed, nearly tripping over himself as he dropped into a fighting stance. "Alex, is that one of your monsters? Because if it isn't, there's a really creepy thing floating next to you. Just in case you didn't notice."
"This is Rhyss," Alex said, nodding to the one-eyed monster. "He's the Advisor for the town."
"Towns come with advisors?" Anna asked. "How does that work? Does the System just… make them? Is it sapient?"
Trust me. You really don't want to know how it works.
Claire studied Rhyss with an unreadable expression. She didn't look nearly as off-balance as the others, but that was probably more because she was very good at controlling her expression than it was because she wasn't actually surprised.
"I am perfectly sapient," Rhyss said. "And my hearing is more than adequate."
Aaron seemed to shrink in on himself. The rest of the campers backed up, many of them looking from Rhyss off to the sides, toward the areas that Alex had selected to place his buildings.
Out of everyone present, the only one that wasn't even slightly interested in the buildings was Orchid. Her gaze was completely focused on Rhyss, eyes widened and lips parted. Alex didn't miss the shock in her expression. It definitely wasn't there because Rhyss was a monster. She was an Outworlder with a lot of experience. Orchid had definitely seen weird monsters before.
No. This had nothing to do with what Rhyss looked like and everything to do with what he was. Orchid knew the significance of having a named Advisor.
Well, at least that proves I probably made the right choice. Orchid wouldn't look that impressed by something that every normal Outworlder does since she thinks I'm from the Starfallen family.
"I don't know if you all noticed, but I managed to succeed in creating the town. It took a while, so thanks for your patience," Alex said.
A dozen stared were leveled directly at him.
"A while? It took you like one second. And the System made the town's creation abundantly clear," Claire said. "There was a System announcement that the first naturally established town had been created in our Subsector. It didn't say where we were, fortunately."
A second? It definitely took longer than that. The System must have sped time up for me or something like that.
And I suppose the announcement makes sense considering the town got me onto the Leaderboards. Still, though. That's going to be a pain in the future. Definitely can't dally around. Even if we manage to defeat the Region Boss, we're going to have a lot of attention directed our way very soon.
"I see," Alex said wisely. He squinted past the small crowd and they parted for him, finally granting him his first look at the buildings that had been created by the System.
The closest was a strange 3-story tower made of black marble. It had a wide, circular base floor with a large tube rising directly up from its center like the center pole of a circus tent. The tube seemed roughly wide enough for one or two people to stand within side by side.
Dangling vines of metal swayed from the central pole, running down to the wide base floor. Faint crackles of purple energy shimmered within the metal, bright enough to light it from within. Even the air around the building seemed to hum with faint energy, almost like a cloud of static electricity hung around it.
It was definitely the Warp Relay.
Out of the corner of Alex's eye, he spotted the Vibrant Garden. At least, Alex was pretty certain it was the garden. He didn't know what else it could be. It seemed the System had marked the garden off by placing a giant hedge in a square around the area he'd indicated. The foliage was about ten feet high and completely solid, leaving not so much as a gap in its dense leaves to peek through.
"You got two buildings?" Orchid asked, clearly choosing her words carefully. "Your town started with two buildings? What rarity is this circular building? It doesn't look common."
Is that more than normal? I don't know what the standard town is meant to start with. Doesn't it depend on how you end up spending your Boons?
"Four," Alex said. "I got a Cultivation Array inside the town hall."
"Where's the fourth building?" May asked, glancing around. "Or is that the big hall thing you just came out of?"
"No. That's the town hall. It came with the package," Alex said. He stepped past the crowd and started toward the left of the town hall. "It's on the other side."
Everyone piled after him and rounded the corner, where they all ground to a dead halt. Alex blinked in surprise.
Standing about fifteen feet away from the hall was what could only be described as a wooden shack. Malformed walls that looked like they were a strong breeze away from collapsing upon themselves supported a poorly shingled roof.
The door hung askew on one hinge, cracked open just enough to let Alex peer into the building. That didn't do him a whole lot of good. It was pitch black. Looking through the crack was like trying to peer into the void itself. There was only absolute nothingness lying in wait.
"What is that?" Orchid asked.
"The Warped Embassy," Rhyss said helpfully.
Alex approached the building, his brow furrowed. This little ramshackle pile of wood looked like a joke standing beside the relatively grandiose town hall. But, despite its appearance, something about it felt… odd. Familiar.
He set a hand on the wooden walls of the shack. His fingertips prickled as faint traces of energy danced across his skin. A flicker of dark, purplish-red energy slipped free of the wood and slithered across the back of his hand before darting back into the building.
The corners of his lips pulled up.
"That's… disappointing," someone muttered. "Why did the System give him a shack?"
"He chose it," another person replied. "I think that's how it works. Back when I was with Firesong, I heard people talking about building a town. They said something about the leader deciding what buildings can be built on its grounds."
Alex ignored them. All the Outworlders that had been part of the camp were deserters. That didn't mean he had anything against them. Alex didn't see the slightest reason to fight for the invading families — but it meant that the people here likely didn't have much more information than he did. These weren't seasoned warriors. They were just people that had gotten kidnapped from their planets.
"Hey," Claire said, drawing up alongside him. "Isn't that…"
"Yeah," Alex said. He squinted past the door in an attempt to see into the embassy, but it was pointless. All that lurked before him was darkness. He turned to look at his Advisor. "Rhyss, how do I activate this thing? Surely it does something."
"Entering the door would typically be the most common answer." Rhyss' tone made it abundantly clear that he was not suggesting that Alex walk right into the darkness. "But, unless buildings are concealed by the System, you should be able to summon its information."
"Really?" Alex looked back to the shack and furrowed his brows. "How do I—"
A screen, much like the one that the System had given him to choose his Boons, snapped to life in the air before Alex with such speed that he flinched back in surprise. Sentences shimmered across its surface.
Ambassador: [Unchosen]
Alex's eyes narrowed. That was it. The extent of the information that the System had given him on his building was two lines — and he'd already known the damn thing's name.
"You can't be serious," Alex said.
"What?" Claire asked.
"Can you not see it?"
"Building information is only available to the Town Leader and its Advisor under certain circumstances," Rhyss supplied.
"Oh. The System gave me some information on this building, but it's basically useless," Alex said through a sigh. "It's called the Warped Embassy, and the only new thing the System revealed was that I need to choose an ambassador. Rhyss, any thoughts?"
"I have not heard of any buildings that function . Towns do have roles that can be assigned, but I have not heard of an ambassador role. This building is unknown to me. All I know is that one person can only occupy a single role."
So I can't choose myself as the ambassador. Whelp. Of everyone here, the one I trust the most… it's Claire. That's ironic given slightly recent events. Doesn't change that she's the reason I went for the Town Token in the first place. She can't reveal everything, but I think she's on my side. I can't think of anyone else who would be a better ambassador. It's a political role, isn't it? That has her name written on it.
"You want this?" Alex asked Claire. "Knowing the System, it's probably going to come with a challenge."
"If it increases our chances against the Region Boss, then I won't say no. I do have some minor experience in the field."
Alex looked from her to the building. He wasn't sure exactly how he was meant to select the ambassador, but he had a pretty good guess.
"I think you've got to go in."
Claire sighed. "Somehow, I thought you were going to say that. Wish me luck."
Then she stepped into the darkness.
The askew door creaked shut behind her.
A shimmer of energy passed through the System screen before Alex as its contents updated.
Ambassador: Claire (In Town Trial)
Town Potential: ??/100%
"What?" Alex breathed, staring at the screen as lips parted in surprise. "Why is Claire in a Town Trial?"