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Chapter 217 - The City
🕑 Added 2025-01-10 22:10:21 +0000 UTCMiles (cont.)
Hearing the gruesome end of the story, Miles didn't feel as disgusted as he'd thought he'd be. He imagined that after hearing of the enforcement of the death penalty, he would've been more aggrieved, should've been more aggrieved, but he wasn't.
What he'd gone through, what everyone had gone through, had changed who they were, and that change was most obvious in what he was feeling now.
After hearing the story, and the actions of the man leading up to his death, he didn't feel anything except justification. Like it was only right that he was killed.
Miles wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not that he felt this way.
Still, with Nathan finishing up the story, he digested what he'd heard. When first reading over the Laws, worry spiked but they didn't seem that bad in comparison.
His fear of the Leader being a dictator or tyrant was still there, but it had subsided after learning more. He'd seen enough people with power abuse it that worrying about that would never fully go away, but at least this man had a Code.
He'd have to learn the extent of it before judging it good or bad, but his initial impression wasn't horrible.
"How far away from the City are we?" Miles asked.
It had been a day or two after the story and his travel fatigue was reaching new heights. He couldn't wait until he could get off the cart for the last time.
His ass would be sore for weeks!
"Not that much further. A few days depending on the weather. If it snows, a week or two." Nathan said off-handedly.
Miles desperately wished for it not to snow, eyeing the grey cloud cover overhead suspiciously.
"The first time the trip was made took over a month. Their group was larger and there wasn't a path to follow back then. Now the journey's been cut down to two and a half weeks." Nathan said. "The cleared trees saved most of it."
While he was grateful the trip had been shortened, it was still much too long. He wanted cars! Miles wouldn't even wish for teleporters or something else magical, just for bringing cars back!
After spending two weeks riding beside the man, he and Nathan had grown accustomed to one another. Miles was less suspicious and open to talking now than he was before.
Nathan picked up on it and broached topics he hadn't before.
"You got work lined up in the City already? I should warn you that if you're looking to freeload, they'll kick you out." Nathan warned.
"No, nothing like that." even back home, he'd never been a freeloader. It was an affront to his pride. "I've got enough to get on my feet saved up. Depending on costs, it should last until I figure something out."
Nathan looked surprised, "Oh, I took you for one of the recruited."
"Recruited?" Miles asked.
"Didn't you hear the offer when they came to advertise Frostheim?"
Miles shook his head. "I heard of the City from a friend. I don't know anything about an offer."
"Oh, it's not that complicated. The City needs workers and is offering a reward for specific ones. The reward depends on the Profession you have but most are good enough that people join up."
Hearing they were recruiting workers was unsurprising, but he couldn't help but regret his decision of Profession once again. He'd picked it in the Tutorial without knowing the situation he'd be returned to.
It'd been nearly useless and caused him to lose out on the little opportunities there were back home. Nathan mistook his disappointment for something else.
"Don't worry if you don't have a Profession. Many didn't manage to get them in their tutorial for one reason or another. If you agree to their terms they have trainers that can get the one you want. There are some even selling their services in the City as trainers. They charge coin up front for it though, so it's a bit on the expensive side and it's not guaranteed by the City. I have a list of what they're looking for if you're interested."
"I have a Profession." Miles defended himself. He wasn't like the slackers who didn't make use of the tutorial. Those usually died quickly, unable to adapt to the Change.
"Oh, even then, they'll pay you if you're willing to change it. Some say the pain isn't worth it but the opportunity's there." Nathan shrugged and continued looking for the list anyway.
Miles had thought about changing his Profession a few times before but could never go through with it. It wasn't a bad Profession, and he liked doing it. It felt shortsighted to change it for temporary gain.
"Ah, here it is. It might've changed since when this list came out but not by much. I was there a few weeks ago after all." Nathan pulled the list from the same place he pulled the Laws and handed it over.
Miles wasn't that interested in changing his Profession and was set on finding another way to earn some coin, but he perused it anyway for curiosity's sake.
At the top of the list was Miner. An odd thing to be in desperate need of. The City either was well enough to not need more essential Professions, or the leadership was awful. He doubted it was the second one.
All manner of Construction Professions were in demand. Builder, Stonemason, Engineer, Architect, Carpenter. Nearly every profession to do with building or construction was on the list at various wages offered.
The other Professions on the list were more obvious. Farmers and the like were needed everywhere and so were Craftsman of any kind.
What drew his eye were the two at the bottom. They looked newer than the rest of the list, the ink used to write them fresher.
Assistant and Secretary.
Nathan saw his eyes linger on the bottom and explained, "Those were recently announced. With the population growing and the work to manage it all rising, the Leaders are looking for some help. Both the City Lord and Mayor are looking for aides."
"Do you have to have the Assistant Profession?" he asked.
"I... don't know. Do you have something adjacent or something?" Nathan guessed.
"No, not even close, but a person can still Smith without the Blacksmithing Profession." Miles pointed out. It was an unlikely idea but it didn't hurt to try.
"Yes, but it's significantly harder and more time-consuming." Nathan said, "But it doesn't have any restrictions listed..."
His voice trailed off at the end and he shook his head. While Professions helped and made everything easier in their field, it wasn't a requirement. A non-smith could still create weapons and armor. A non-alchemist could still brew potions.
You didn't have the aid of the System and had to figure everything out from scratch, but it was possible.
If nothing else, he would get shot down and have to find work elsewhere. The pay was enough that he'd make a killing, but that wasn't why he wanted the job.
He would do it unpaid if he could and instead receive something else for his time.
What would the instruction of the City Lord be worth? If he could get taught by him... he got excited thinking about it, even as outlandish as it was.
It doesn't hurt to try.
~~
Thankfully, the clouds blessed them and the snow held off. Their trip ended two days later right on schedule. Miles was thankful for it too, because he wasn't sure how many more dull days of riding in the cart he could take.
He was trying to sleep away the time when Nathan interrupted his nap.
"Come up here kid, you'll wanna see this." He hollered.
Grumbling and upset, he hopped out and made his way to the front. With stats involved, the cart didn't even have to stop while he switched positions.
"See what? All I see are more trees." He grumbled.
Nathan said nothing. Miles could see there was a gap in the forest up ahead but not much further than that. The canopies overlapped enough that seeing anything further would have to wait until they exited the tree line.
Even as bare as they were without any leaves, there were enough branches to block his view.
Resigning himself from complaining more, he waited patiently.
What his eyes saw when the path opened up made him suck in air. He... no... there wasn't...
It was unreal.
He knew something like this hadn't been here Before. He lived in Canada, and he knew for a fact there were no Castles anywhere near here. He doubted there were Castles this large anywhere.
It was huge.
The Walls alone were enough to take his breath away. They towered over the ground at nearly 40 feet in the air with the ramparts extending even further and the spaced out towers growing even higher.
Every settlement, or what could generously be called a settlement, he'd seen since the Change was a hodgepodge of construction. His home had rickety wooden walls, hastily built to keep the beasts at bay and The Fort had little better.
Their Walls at least looked sturdy enough to take a charge, but this was something entirely different. It looked like it was pulled straight out of someone's fantasies.
You could give Miles a hundred years and he wasn't sure he'd make it through.
It wasn't just the thick stone and tall walls that made it feel pointless to try, there was something else pushing that thought on him. Like every giant stone brick used in its construction combined to impress upon him their unyieldingness.
Is that an enchantment? To make it feel hopeless to siege? Psychological effect?
Miles wasn't sure why they would waste resources on something like that but it certainly worked. Just looking at it felt indestructible. He knew for certain, that nothing he did would affect the stone. Even his strongest skill wouldn't leave a scratch.
"That's the look I was waiting for." Nathan laughed heartily and slapped him on the back, drawing him out of his reverie. Miles hadn't known he was gawking until Nathan broke him out of it.
"It's something of a game for us to see the newcomer's faces and it never gets old."
No wonder his answers were short when it came to describing the City, he wanted to see my reaction.
He followed the curve of the walls in both directions until they ended abruptly. He expected the entire City to be encircled but the Walls only protected half in a giant semi-circle.
It wasn't until he looked closer that he realized why.
The walls ended at the edge of a cliff. There wasn't land to protect on the other side, as the City was built butted up against the edge. The Walls blocked most of his view of what stood behind, but he could see the Castle itself poking over the top.
It gave off the same feeling as the Walls, but somehow it was even stronger. Even further away, it felt more robust than the closer Walls.
Miles hadn't even set foot in the City and it was already the nicest one he'd seen. Fort Hope had nothing on this. However they'd done this in such a short time was a mystery, and was one he was keen to discover.
Giant Castles and Walls didn't just spring from the ground. The defenseless settlements he'd seen before were evidence of that.
The rattling of the cart was forgotten for the first time during the trip as Miles stared in wonder.
The line at the gate wasn't long and it took only a few moments for the caravan of carts he was a part of to be waved through. The wait was barely enough time to look at the gate itself.
Wood strengthened with plates and bolts of metal barred entry not one bit inferior to the stone surrounding it. Lines of inlaid metal curved over its surface and even though his knowledge of enchanting was minimal, he knew it was powerful.
The mana he sensed that made up the enchantment's structure was enough to tell that much.
As the cart rolled by, he wanted to call out and stop it so he could get a better look but held his tongue. His eyes were already moving on to the City itself.
Houses, actual houses. There weren't ramshackle huts or mud holes in the ground. Stone foundation and wood-walled houses. Roofs pitched sharply, shingled with slabs of cut-up stone.
Shops displaying better gear than he'd ever seen before. A blade better than his own, one he'd hide away lest it be stolen, sat in a display case open for people to see.
A hammer and flame motif pressed right above the cross guard.
While the structures were stout and matched the sturdy nature of what he'd already seen, it was the people that were so different from what Miles knew.
Smiles.
Laughter.
He didn't know the last time he'd seen genuine joy. People chatted in the streets and greeted each other in passing. There weren't any side-eyed looks, looking for an easy target.
There weren't any evaluating eyes, seeing if they could take you in a fight.
While the people's expressions were what he focused on the most, the clothes they wore entered his eye as well.
Thick, heavy furs for most or fur-lined cloth for the rest. His own tunic and pants were leather and did little to keep out the cold compared to what he was seeing. The people here were probably used to it already and their clothes were much heavier than his.
The craftsmanship of them was better than what he had. He hadn't replaced his wardrobe since the tutorial as nothing could come close to the protection store-bought items had, but he was mistaken.
None of what he saw looked store-bought, it was impossible to be as there were too many to be so.
"I've seen those eyes before." His driver interrupted, "It looks like you're staying."
Miles wanted to get mad at the assumption but he didn't. His mind was already made up.
"Well, let's get you some furs then. Can't have you walking around in that, you'll freeze to death even before the Winter comes!" He laughed.
Comments
Corey Shelikoff
I think they discussed enchanting for anti flight, scaling, etc
Alexander C Hyde
(Restraining)Resigning himself from complaining more, he waited patiently.
Bacon Sir
I’d understand if we go back to other POVs after this chapter, but I still want more of this one tbh. Maybe his reaction to the Zalenski family or the general workings of Frostheim
Demonlord
Thanks for the nice chapter 😊 Seeing the city from an outsider POV really puts into perspective how much work they put into it... Chris and his family definitely made the correct decision with building for heavy protection... I mean their tutorials was one of the most gruesome ones and they definitely learned what is important there... No one can easily overpower Frostheim and with Chris there it's even more impossible XD
Penguin Glutton
Bte would freezing water be consider for the artic element? Or something different
Luciaron
Hmm I wonder what they’ll do for defense once people get powerful enough to scale cliffs easily. Like that storm mage probably antagonist guy might be able to fly early on because of his affinity. Can he just fly around the walls or do they go heavy on the enchantment and formations cliffside
Buck
Great back-to-back chapters! Really puts the cities look and feel into perspective seeing it from the outside! Can’t wait to read more!
Penguin Glutton
Tftc! Looks like the castle finished!
KipBR
It's going to be something that ends up really important and integral to the settlement, that's why we are getting chapters about him.
Thomas Issa
Chris would probably have Miles level up his profession then make skill choices that are adjacent to responsibilities as an assistant
Joshua allen
i want a pic of the castle now lol
Thomas Issa
I wonder what his profession is, something he thinks is useless but enjoyable for him Scholar, chess player, musician?
