Chapter 12: 012
【012】 Opening a Full-time Profession
Time passed quickly, and in 10 days, the developing territory had undergone tremendous changes.
The originally protective fence around the territory, after enough stone materials were gathered, had been upgraded to a full-fledged wall, enclosing the entire territory. The security was now much higher than before.
Within the territory, all the buildings that had been constructed had already entered a steady development phase, and the overall appearance of the residents had also changed. There was no longer the panic and confusion that had once been on their faces, now, everyone was filled with hope for the future.
At this time, a group of refugees was brought into the territory.
Looking at the towering walls, the soldiers guarding the entrance, and the energetic residents coming and going, they felt as if they had crossed into a different world.
This was a different world entirely.
The refugees couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed. This newly established territory seemed stronger than they had imagined.
“I’ll take you to register first. After registration, you can exchange the wood you have for supplies and get settled,” said Brook, the resident who had saved the group of refugees, noticing their stunned expressions and kindly explaining.
Not long ago, they had the same feelings when they saw the territory. He was just a refugee who had arrived a few days earlier than them.
After registering at the entrance guard station, the group walked through the main gate of the territory.
Upon entering the territory, the sense of shock grew even stronger. It felt as if they had returned to the time before their original territory had been breached by the beast tide.
At this moment, they passed by a shop, where customers were lined up. When they came out, they were holding long spears—wooden shafts with sharp stone tips. Obviously, these were weapons, and the shop’s name was simply three characters:
#Blacksmith Shop#
The blacksmith shop’s products were made of wood and stone?
Brook seemed to notice the refugees’ confusion and hurriedly explained, “The territory has only been established for about ten days, and many resources are still lacking. The blacksmith shop has been built, and we’ve hired a blacksmith, but because there isn’t enough ore, we’re temporarily using wood and stone to make weapons. Although they’re rudimentary, they are still weapons, and their prices are reasonable. They also have some effectiveness against magical beasts. These weapons are selling quite well in the territory!”
“How much do they cost?”
“They’re not expensive, just 1 copper coin. Around 50 units of wood should be enough,” Brook replied with a smile. “Our Lord is very kind. As long as you’re willing to work, you won’t starve in this territory, and you’ll live a decent life. I just arrived a few days earlier than you.”
Upon hearing Brook’s words, the refugees were surprised, but they also felt a sense of comfort.
Brook then took them to the Village Affairs Center.
Inside the Village Affairs Center, it was a scene of bustling activity. Some refugees were still registering, and Brook greeted Stanford, who was with the group of refugees, “Stanford, how many refugees did your team rescue today?”
“Nine.”
“Our team rescued twelve,” Brook said, his face involuntarily breaking into a smile.
They had indeed rescued more than the others!
They each worked for different teams in the territory, and these two teams were not under the command of the two soldier squad leaders in the territory.
Everyone knew that joining these two teams would provide an opportunity to enter the territory’s military camp and become soldiers.
After all, once someone became a soldier, their strength would grow significantly.
Especially with the two squad leaders, who had already become professionals, quickly rising to become highly sought-after figures in the territory. The other soldiers felt as though they were just one step away from becoming professionals.
Professionals! They could hold their ground in medium to large territories.
If they could become professionals, even if the territory was breached by a beast tide, they could directly head to those larger territories.
The thought crossed their minds, and they immediately shook it off. Although they deeply yearned for those large and medium-sized territories, they were still quite fond of their current one.
Although it was still small, the territory treated its residents well, with no harsh demands, allowing people to feel the beauty of life. Naturally, they hoped this territory could last as long as possible.
“Was Captain Alex personally leading the team?” Stanford asked curiously.
“Yes, Captain Alex didn’t even show himself. He simply shot down all the magical beasts in the forest and saved these refugees who were being chased by the beasts. He had other tasks to attend to, so he arranged for me to escort these refugees back. After clearing the area within a few hundred meters around the territory, it has become quite safe. I haven’t encountered any beasts since,” Brook said, his expression clearly relaxed.
After the 7 days of training in the military training camp, the two soldier teams received the task of clearing magical beasts near the territory. The rewards from the task would be divided between the two teams, with half being handed over as training funds for future use. Once accumulated to a certain level, the teams could apply for specialized training.
In addition to clearing beasts, the two teams could also take on refugee rescue missions, but the copper coins earned from these would also have to be split, with half handed over.
Having benefited from the training camp, the two teams had no objections to these arrangements. In fact, they held even more respect for Lord Gu Qing.
In their understanding, once they became soldiers, they essentially became Lord Gu Qing’s “private property.” They never expected they could still organize their own teams and manage their assets outside, which made them extremely grateful.
“Indeed! Recently, no one in our team has gotten injured while collecting outside.”
“Life’s getting more and more rewarding.”
The two of them spoke, genuinely satisfied with their current life.
The refugees nearby, overhearing their conversation, now had a better understanding of life in the territory and couldn’t help but feel a bit hopeful.
Soon, the refugees brought by Stanford had finished their registration. After the system adjudicated, they received the copper coins for the rescue mission and left, satisfied.
Brook quickly led his refugees to complete their registration as well.
After they finished, and upon receiving the copper coins, Gu Qing also received a notification from the system about the copper coins being deposited.
999 System: 【Host, you’re really something. Not only are you gaining experience, but you’re also using soldiers to raise more soldiers.】
Gu Qing smiled at the remark. “It wasn’t about sending soldiers out to clear the area. These soldiers are so honest that they want to give me all their earnings, which made me come up with this idea. Now, it seems like a good plan.”
999 System: 【In this world, once someone becomes a soldier, everything belongs to the lord as private property. You’re probably the first one in this world to do something like this.】
“As long as it works, that’s fine,” Gu Qing responded indifferently. After all, she was not a native of this world and didn’t feel the need to follow its rules.
999 System: 【Lazy people have their lazy blessings.】
He knew that all of this had only one reason: laziness.
Gu Qing pretended not to hear it.
【Congratulations, host. By killing mushroom monsters, your team has gained 100 mushrooms and 10 spores.】
At that moment, a new system notification appeared in front of her.
Gu Qing looked over and saw that the team she was with had already dealt with this wave of small monsters.
It was only when Gu Qing accompanied the soldier team on an external mission that she realized, as the lord, she only needed to follow the soldier team and form a team mode, which allowed her to gain collective experience. The collective experience was much more than the individual experience she would gain by hunting monsters alone.
Gu Qing finally understood that, as the lord, her strength didn’t rely on individual action but on collective efforts.
After a full team operation, it wasn’t difficult for her to level up by one or two levels.
After realizing this, for several days, Gu Qing, the lord, would send a few soldiers on missions, which led to the morale of the entire soldier team soaring, and their monster-hunting efficiency increased drastically.
After dealing with this wave of mushroom monsters, the team’s scout discovered another wave of small monsters through reconnaissance.
“Lord, there are level 3 venomous snakes ahead, with the abilities venom and high-speed movement.” The scout quickly relayed the characteristics of the monsters ahead. Most importantly, during training in the camp, he had acquired his own skill—Basic Reconnaissance. With this skill, he became the team’s vanguard, seeking out suitable magical beasts for the team.
“Let’s go.” Hearing about the level 3 monsters, Gu Qing’s eyes lit up, and she quickly led the team forward.
It wasn’t for any other reason, but level 3 magical beasts could drop copper coins.
Originally, with the growing population in the territory, the over 20,000 copper coins on hand allowed free circulation in the territory, but the amount of copper coins kept decreasing. Gu Qing had already considered the issue of copper coins.
Once she discovered that level 3 and above magical beasts could drop copper coins, she had only one thought about level 3 magical beasts.
Level 3 magical beasts = copper coins.
Soon, Gu Qing, leading four soldiers, spotted the venomous snake group ahead that was eating snakefruit.
After counting briefly, she found there were three venomous snakes.
Immediately, Gu Qing made a gesture.
The other soldiers quickly understood, splitting into pairs to lure away one venomous snake each, leaving Gu Qing to face one on her own.
When the venomous snakes saw Gu Qing, they immediately charged at her, opening their mouths wide, with sharp teeth clearly visible.
Gu Qing could clearly see that the scales on the snake’s body had developed to be almost like armor, making it highly resistant to damage.
Tentatively, Gu Qing used her chain attack skill, repeatedly striking at the venomous snake.
Due to the level difference, her attacks quickly left marks on the venomous snake.
The sharp pain immediately sent the venomous snake into a frenzy. Its slit pupils fixed on Gu Qing, and it charged toward her at an incredible speed, clearly using its high-speed movement skill.
Seeing this, Gu Qing quickly activated her chain sprinting skill card, successfully creating some distance between herself and the snake.
The venomous snake didn’t expect that even after activating its skill, it couldn’t catch up with Gu Qing, making it even more agitated.
However, Gu Qing’s skill card had a time limit, and soon her speed began to slow down.
The venomous snake saw its opportunity and lunged toward her.
But just as it was about to bite Gu Qing, it suddenly realized that she had disappeared from its sight.
Stealth.
Gu Qing had activated her stealth skill card, already beneath the venomous snake.
When the snake finally realized Gu Qing was far away, Gu Qing used her chain attack skill, which had just cooled down, and successfully made a cut across the snake’s “neck.” Then, using the remaining swordsmanship skill card, she aimed at the cut.
With a sharp snap, the snake’s head and body separated.
Even as the snake’s head detached, it still struggled, exerting its last ounce of strength as it crawled toward Gu Qing.
Without hesitation, Gu Qing pulled out a new item from the blacksmith shop, a sharp-edged tool, and forcefully thrust it into the venomous snake’s head.
It was completely dead.
Feeling the force required for the final blow, Gu Qing glanced at the sharp stone tip of the tool, still feeling it wasn’t sharp enough. It would need to be made from iron.
As for iron tools, that would require mining resources, and she wondered how well Alex had done in investigating the goblin gathering area.
While Gu Qing was thinking, the system’s reward notifications began to come through, drawing her attention back to the present.
【Congratulations, host. By killing the venomous snake, you have obtained antidote2, snake meat1, snake skin1, copper coin1.】
【Congratulations, host. Experience points have reached 10,000, meeting the upgrade requirements. Do you wish to upgrade to level 10?】
【Yes.】
【Congratulations, host. You have reached level 10 and unlocked professional careers. You can now choose from the following careers: Mage, Archer, Warrior, Assassin, Support. Please choose.】
When Gu Qing saw this notification, her expression shifted slightly.
Here it comes.