[Year 13 Month 3: 1 month has passed]

  With summer coming to an end, Runehold began its preparations for winter. While it had plenty of food for the year, as Gorn had been stockpiling and could secretly slip some to the burgeoning outpost, the construction projects were in no way complete, and progress in the winter would be minimal. So the best time to build was before the ice set in.

  While Astrid had been concerned about finances, I sold some of the raw gems I had stored away; the mineral pillars would produce things other than metal, and nobody in Gorn was specialized in jewelry. The money wouldn’t last forever, especially as the economy of Runehold was mostly stagnate for the moment.

  Of course, all of that changed when the Adventurers really arrived. Unlike common folk and the merchants, they didn’t come with convoys as much, meaning they came together in their smaller parties and very sporadically.

  It was fascinating to watch the changes that occurred when they arrived. Like an engine that just guzzled down its first gallon of fuel, it lit ablaze like nothing I had seen before. Empty streets were instantly replaced with busy stalls and trading, with the shops truly opening for the first time since they had arrived.

  Stock was flying off the shelves as adventurers needed to resupply after the long journey to get here. The two smithies were practically overflowing with orders and repair requests; it was unbelievable how quickly the city had changed.

  While there were several days of chaos and there were several times where someone had to step in to play mediator, the city visibly calmed once the excitement had been quelled.

  It was busy nonetheless, but not frantic like earlier.

  Osbert had also found his own role in the city, as a level 32 [Blessed Guard]; he was the highest leveled non-adventurer in town. More importantly, however, he was a human who could run Runehold’s guards.

  Adventurers didn’t care for the anti-beast-kin propaganda as much; all that mattered to them was the levels and shows of power. The common folk, on the other hand… it was bad.

  The few beast-kin that decided to enter the city despite my insistence were treated horribly. People were intentionally trampling tails or trying to short-change the beast-kin in particular. It was bad enough that the Chiefs of Gorn required the residents to stay in Gorn.

  A few beast-kin wouldn’t cause the church to come to such a distant city, but if people noticed dozens of them, that might change some minds.

  Selfi, on the other hand, had the completely opposite experience.

  Elfs were a rare species, and the church propaganda just didn’t focus on them as much, meaning most humans were fine with their presence. Especially the female elves. How shocking.

  If I remember right, she should be receiving her class soon… I pulled up my clock.

  [Year 13 Month 3]

  She is nineteen right now… her birthday is in the first month. That would mean in 9 months she would receive her class. Wow, time has sure flown.

  I would need to make a gift for her. Probably would ask Sahil for a weapon. Selfi preferred weapons that reminded me strongly of what gladii looked like. Short handle with a highly balanced, dual-edged blade.

  On the topic of weapons and Sahil, the smith moved to Runehold. At first, I was concerned for her safety, as her gray scales stood out against her otherwise pale skin; the concern was completely unnecessary. Turns out, adventurers didn’t let people treat their smiths like crap, and several men found their hands broken when they tried to hurt Sahil.

  I counted five different people with broken bones for that reason.

  It may have been a little cruel, but whenever they used the infirmary, they just happened to heal more slowly than others. One or two had noticed this and complained, but other than the beastkin and my trusted compatriots, no one in the city even suspected a near omnipresent guardian to be lingering in the city.

  Why would they?

  [Year 13 Month 5: 2 months have passed]

  [You have gained many Blessed]

  [You have gained two levels]

  [You are level 23]

  [Your Obelisk Network gains 2 more Secondary Obelisk slots]

  Turns out the notifications began to replace the counter with “many” if you gained more than a thousand Blessed in the same update.

  How did I achieve this, you ask? Well. Adventurers wouldn’t say no to a power boost if offered it for free. Moving the city’s obelisk next to the dungeon and releasing an announcement that it was a Blessing Stone had caused all of the gains.

  I thought the people would be suspicious if it just randomly appeared, so I had Osbert go in with a team of beastkin, who were, of course, completely covered in order to obscure their identities, and ‘found’ the Blessing Stone in the dungeon. Osbert then ‘donated’ the obelisk to the new city.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Apparently, this was an acceptable possibility, and once a few adventurers had used it and confirmed its validity, everyone else just rolled with it.

  [Blessed: 338 -> 1294]

  I felt a surge of satisfaction looking at the numbers. While the number had been steadily increasing, it felt more satisfying to take a step back and look at the total progress.

  While a majority were adventurers, I had noticed a few normal citizens also snagging a blessing. It really appealed to families with young children, as the resistance to sicknesses was a game-changer for the poorer people, who couldn’t afford healing or medicine.

  I reached out to Astrid’s mind, curious about the rapid growth of the city. When I questioned it, she laughed for several minutes straight, with the occasional snort. I didn’t find the question to be funny…

  “Oh, Gol, you have no idea.” She struggled to compose herself, “If we were literally anywhere other than the edge of the Wilds, this city would have already been swamped. Listen to this.” Astrid stood from her desk and pulled a piece of paper from an organizer.

  She cleared her throat, “Currently, the population of Runehold is approximately four thousand, give or take some. When a city in another nation, considerably further north than us, had discovered a nearby dungeon and capitalized on it, the population jumped from 10,349 to over quadruple that. Not in a year or even half of that. In three months.”

  Ah. That was just absurd. “How did the cities support that growth?” I asked, my incredulous emotions seeping through my words.

  She shrugged as she put the paper back where it belonged. “As far as I know? They didn’t; the city had to import food and construction materials for years. Still, at the end of the day, you get the idea. Dungeons aren’t just a rare location; they are literal seats of power. Experience is king.”

  Having interrupted her as Astrid was packing up for the night, I didn’t hold her longer, knowing that her little girl, Audrey, was waiting for her mom.

  As I watched her leave the room, I realized she had probably gained a few levels from the amount of work she had been doing; even while not earning maximum experience, she must have been gaining quite a bit.

  I turned my attention away from the administration building, which had slowly consumed the surrounding plot of land.

  Turning my attention to the dungeon entrance. It was an enigma to me, and I wouldn’t be a proper Guardian if I couldn’t do something if anything went wrong.

  [Year 13 Month 9: 4 months have passed]

  [You have lost 17 blessed]

  [You have gained 3 levels]

  [You are now level 25]

  [Obelisks can now be specialized. You currently have two variations unlocked, the Experiment Obelisk and the normal general usage Obelisk.]

  The winter passed smoothly, and once again, it was spring.

  The people of Runehold were busy with its arrival, as planting season could officially begin. Unlike Gorn village, the city wouldn’t be receiving any growth bonuses from [Nourishment Pillars]. If it came to be absolutely necessary, I would be against it, but as of now, there would be enough once harvesting season hits.

  Roughly a month after Astrid and I had our population growth conversation, the city had hit a critical mass point of five thousand people, where it was now necessary for a small council to be set up to make major decisions.

  Apparently, it was a requirement in the Kingdom of Loria that, once a population hit certain numbers, for proper representation. I was honestly surprised by this, as I didn’t think a king would wish to give local governments more than the bare minimum, but it turned out the entire kingdom was more of a loose mesh of provinces and lords.

  This requirement was both a blessing and a curse, as Astrid now had even more loops to jump through and political agendas to work around, but she made do with the cards she had been dealt.

  While it may sound ridiculous, I still held back the knowledge of my presence from pretty much everyone, and those who knew about me agreed with the decision.

  When I brought it up to Osbert, he simply nodded. “That’s probably for the best; the Churches have been known to crusade on a particularly powerful guardian spirit, which I think you qualify as.” Penelope and Nobu agreed with this sentiment, both saying similar things.

  It was worrying to know that my existence could and likely would cause issues for those around me.

  For now, however, those issues were for the future me, and I would come back to them when I am a much higher level.

  I let out a sigh as I observed the city. Those are thoughts for other days; for now, I am going to enjoy the view.

  With my [Zone of Influence] reaching several hundred meters into the sky, I could easily see the entirety of Runehold and the mana-fueled lamp posts that had been installed by a newly arrived enchanter. The lamps gave off a warm glow, which had to do with the ambient mana they absorbed. They would actually slowly change color as the seasons changed, with the color becoming much bluer and colder during the fall and winter months.

  Nonetheless, they worked, and the people of Runehold used them to continue their business late into the night. Of course, most of the late-night business was normally related to the bars and inns that had begun to pop up like weeds in the residential districts. The city council even had to put out an edict limiting the number on the same block. Rampant alcoholism is inescapable, even in a fantasy world.

  My attention was drawn to the dungeon entrance, its opening having been closed with two ornate metal doors. I requested that Sahil make them and had them installed. It would allow the city to more closely watch the entrance and establish a schedule for registered teams.

  I was beginning to have some doubts about whether leaching off the deaths was completely moral, but I rationalized my choice by thinking of the bigger picture. At the end of the day, they received a decent bonus to their survivability, and I received more power to save more later. It wasn’t like I was the one killing these people afterall.

  [Year 14 Month 0: 3 months have passed]

  [Blessed: 1277 - 31 + 632]

  [You have gained 4 levels]

  [You are level 27]

  Very little had changed in the three months; population growth had slowed down again and stabilized around the 6.3k mark. Astrid nodded when I brought this up. She said it would be slow and steady growth from here on out.

  [Blessed: 1901]

  [You are granted a 190.1% increase in mana regeneration and resistance]

  It was a tremendous bonus, and it was only going to get stronger as time went on and more people migrated.

  With Selfi’s birthday next month, I made sure to prepare a gift. I had high hopes with her class choice, but Osbert wasn’t marked when his class evolved. Considering how she is just getting her class and is marked, I expect something great.

  Sahil and I worked together to create a weapon, and when it was finished, we recruited the local enchanter to add additional effects. They questioned the natural effects, but it was nothing that couldn’t be explained away.