There's a lot of people entering the city.
"Yeah, I wonder why," Dave replied.
They just kept going straight and stopped there at the entrance.
Dave asked one of the city guards, "Hey you! What's happening here?! Why are there so many people wanting to enter the city?"
The guard responded, "Those are refugees, Sir Dave. They seek shelter, but we can't just let them in. We need a thorough examination before we let them enter. The Duke tightened the security because of the incident last night."
"What happened last night?"
"Monsters attacked the city last night. It was pure chaos. Many civilians lost their lives. That started when the surroundings became foggy and cold, the animals acted strange, and we felt uneasy," the guard was shaken from what happened and still continued, "And suddenly, we heard a scary shrieking sound, then a woman screamed. We rushed toward the noise. It was chaos. A woman was being bitten by those monsters, some houses were on fire, children crying, some people turning into one of them. Thankfully, the sorcerers came and helped us."
"I see. It must've been a terrible night. Thanks for your time," Dave said and went straight ahead to a tavern.
I didn't expect the situation here would be this bad. If this continues, the city will fall in a few months, and it's very bad.
"We'll talk about it later. That's the tavern. Go now, I'll meet you back there. I'm just going to get my equipment."
OK, take care. Rafael entered the tavern. People inside stared at him frozen. Uh… this is kind of weird. He walked through the aisle and sat at the counter.
A woman approached him, "Sir, what is your order?"
Give me everything on your menu.
"Okay, sir. Here, have some soup for your appetizer. We'll prepare everything and serve it right away," the woman left.
Hm… there aren't any promising individuals around here. Their class and stats are all average. Sigh...
The woman served all the food Rafael ordered. Rafael feasted and ate like he was in a competition.
This food tastes so great. Better than those in 5-star restaurants.
A boy suddenly approached him, "Hey mister, do you have some spare coins? My money is a bit short. I can't buy some food. I'm kinda broke right now… I'll pay you later when I earn some money."
Oh, is that so? Dig in.
"Really?" the boy asked.
Yeah… come and sit. Here, eat this. Take also what you like. By the way, my name is Rafael. Nice to meet you.
"My name is Chuck. Thank you for your kind hospitality, Sir Rafael."
No problem. You said that you work. Are you a mercenary? What's your class?
"Yes, I'm a mercenary. My class is Priest," Chuck replied.
A p-priest! Rafael choked on his food. Argh… what's this? The light? Am I going to die like this?
"Oh no!" Chuck quickly slapped Rafael's back as hard as he could. Rafael's face was already turning pale.
Dave arrived at the right time and struck Rafael's back so hard that the small chunk of meat that was stuck in his throat went flying.
"How come you're already planning to die when you haven't even proven yourself to me?" Dave smirked.
I was clearly choking… Say, Rock—I mean Chuck, want to work under me? You said you don't have a job. I'll hire you—1 gold coin per month. Is that good enough?
Chuck's face lit up with excitement, "Really, mister? What would the work be?"
You're just going to defend a fortress and heal people.
"Alright, I accept your offer," Chuck replied.
"Why recruit this kid?" Dave said.
He's a priest. He will be a huge help to us. They are also hard to find. I'm lucky I found him.
Dave spoke, "Well, you guys are already done eating. Let's go now to the builders' hub."
Rafael paid for the food, and they headed out of the tavern. Dave got in front of the caravan and said, "Get in. I will drive us on the way to the builders' hub."
Let's get in, Chuck. The caravan started moving. Whoa, there's a lot of food in here. This is very handy and quite thoughtful of you, Dave.
"Shut up and wear those clothes. They're getting the attention of other people. They keep looking at you because your clothes are different—your hair color too, and your eyes."
Am I weird?
Chuck said, "You're not weird, mister. You look like you're from a western region. You got their features—the hair color and the eyes too."
I see. Call me Rafael, not mister. You're being too formal. We're comrades now. The caravan stopped. Looks like we're here. They got off the caravan and entered the builders' hub. They were greeted by a dwarf, "Hello, gentlemen. What can I do for you?"
"You seem polite to be a dwarf," Dave muttered.
Hey, don't be rude. Ignore him, kind sir. I have business with you. I want you to build me a fortress.
The dwarf asked, "Do you have the blueprint for your fortress?"
I don't, but I can draw it. Do you have a paper and a pencil?
"Yes, I do have. Here, take this."
Rafael found a table and began drawing. I'm finished. This is easy.
The dwarf said, "I'm impressed. Your drawing is very detailed, and the fortress looks tough. The terrain makes it even harder for a siege."
How'd you know?
The dwarf replied, "I've been designing this kind of stuff before."
How much would it cost to build the first wall?
"I would like to check the place first before I name the price. I need to measure how long it is so I can calculate how many materials would be used. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Brumble. Nice to meet you, sir."
My name is Rafael. Nice to meet you too, Brumble. Should we check the place now?
"Sure thing, Sir Rafael."
"By the looks of it, this will cost around 10 gold coins. Here's the contract. Sign it. When will you pay the down payment?" Brumble said.
I will pay it in full now.
"That's great! We could start building tomorrow. We can finish this within 7 days if there's no delay," Brumble responded.
Whoa, that's nice.
Brumble left.
Hey everyone, we'll prepare a tactic for tonight.
"Um… Rafael, who are we going to fight tonight?" Chuck asked.
We are going to fight zombies.
"You mean those monsters who terrorized the city last night? Gulp," Chuck said anxiously.
Yes, don't worry. Look at me. I'm unscathed. We killed a lot of them last night, hehe.
"What do you mean? I killed all of them last night." Dave raised his eyebrow.
Shh… don't take all the glory by yourself. Be humble.
"Whatever. I'll just sleep in the caravan. Wake me up when it's night," Dave said.
Alright, you should take a rest too, Chuck.
"Ok, boss," Chuck went to the caravan and slept.
I haven't checked Chuck's details. Hm… let me see.
[Name: Chuck][Class: Priest][Nobility: N/A][lvl:11]
Bloodline: House Solarei 10% Vilerian 90%
Stats
Str: D−
Dex: E
Agi: D
Vit: D+
Int: B
Will: A+
Traits
Kind - Minus 3% Str, Plus 5% Will
Blessing of Life Mark - Plus 20% Vit, 5% Will
[Skills]
Divine Heal - Heals allies physically and mentally.
The God of Life's Blessing - Upon use, allies will gain 5% Str buff, 10% Vit buff, and restores allies' stamina.
This boy is stacked. His skills are on top. The God of Life's Blessing—this is a very rare skill to obtain.
Rafael planned a tactic for tonight's battle until sunset.
It's already time to fight, huh?