The production of Beast Wards wasn’t easy, as far as David could tell. They required materials of the highest quality, detailed work, and yet would decay within a few weeks. Even the hide of Silver-ranked monsters—including the Rift Boss and Mini Bosses he’d killed before—wasn’t good enough to produce Wards that lasted longer than six weeks.

But six weeks was more than enough time to change a lot. Of course, creating new Beast Wards was feasible in that time span, but it was only one of many things more than 2,000 Classers could accomplish in six weeks.

Wards were just one of many temporary methods used to repel monsters. Nearly one-third of Orhain’s residents left the town to roam the adjacent regions—not only to cull monsters and ensure their rapidly increasing numbers wouldn’t affect Orhain’s long-term growth, but also to increase their Rank and, most importantly, to build outposts. Using Beast Wards, Camouflage Talismans, and some of the rarer system drops made it relatively safe to construct outposts. Sure, they didn’t look great, but wooden structures reinforced with walls grown from the ground using Mage Skills were more than enough to start with.

Orhain’s walls were fortified once again, yet most attention shifted to the secondary walls erected by a group of six Earthen Mages working with Formation Masons, Makeshift Alchemists, Aqueous Mages, and a Greenwood Druid to create ‘perfect’ walls with deep trenches, covered in plant life that would further fortify the structures as a network of aether-infused roots spread through them.

Even though David had been told all about their plans, the townspeople still explained every detail to see if he could find a flaw in their proposals—but his understanding of magic, real sorcery, wasn’t extensive. Sure, he understood a thing or two about Intents and Laws. He had a thing for bloody work, too. However, most of his ‘in-depth’ understanding came to him by chance. He was far from a scholar and would certainly never become one. If anything, he’d much rather beat the shit out of something than study the structure, foundation, and materials needed to create a perfect... wall.

But while he didn’t have an in-depth understanding of the subject, he could help them experiment. Punching a wall with restricted strength, shooting [Blood Burst] at it, or using one of his other Skills and Intents to test a structure’s fortitude was pretty simple.

The project was far from complete even after several weeks passed. It progressed swiftly, however, and it was only a matter of days—maybe a week or two—before the walls would be finished. Something that would have taken any construction company months, possibly years, was completed by a handful of Classers with magical abilities—despite lacking in-depth knowledge—within days. Days, if one excluded the weeks spent on experiments and discussions.

Fortunately, it didn’t take that long to form the first plots of arable land. Scouts and Seekers, alongside Nature Mages, Herbalists, and other Classers, collected seeds from the surrounding forests. A group of youthful Scouts sneaked out of the flourishing lands surrounding Orhain and entered the Land of the Dead—which was what most townspeople called the ruined towns and cities outside—and emptied the flower shops and shopping centers, searching for more seeds.

They didn’t find a lot, and most would have been useless if not for the existence of Aether and supernatural abilities. But they did find enough to return victorious. The Scouts were lectured for doing something so dangerous, yet it was obvious how happy everyone was about the prospect of farming cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, and much more. A diet of monster meat provided enough nutrients to survive and grow muscles, but it was one-sided and sickening after 18 months.

David didn’t do much when it came to Orhain’s infrastructure. He didn’t decide what the townspeople were supposed to do, or how they should handle problems, either. Yet, even though he tried to remain in the background, David found himself roped into every matter. He wasn’t given a chance to escape and was forced to step up—to help when the townspeople were at the end of their wits.

He jumped in and aided the plowing of arable land using brute force, [Blood Manipulation], and a considerable number of explosive projectiles. He also used [Weave of Life], [Unyielding Vitality], [Vital Weaving], and similar abilities to aid rookie Farmers, Nature Mages, and other Classers using their skills for the sake of agriculture. Though he lacked in-depth knowledge, he could see life signals, control lifeforce, and do a lot more. And that was everything the Classers needed to get started. All they needed was a light push in the right direction—someone who would guide them onto the right path so they could walk it alone—or together.

The monsters in the surrounding regions were still dangerous and steadily growing stronger, but David’s active and passive support had been more than enough to ensure the Warriors, Hunters, and advanced Classers could deal with most. Still, some monsters were beyond their ability to handle.

They could have rushed into danger, and David didn’t doubt they would have succeeded. However, too many good people would have died. Instead of sacrificing their workforce, they asked him for help—or, at the very least, asked for one of the strongest Echos to watch over them.

Since every casualty weakened his source of power—broken bonds wouldn’t provide him with any more energy—David chose to help. That strengthened the bonds and accumulated more Favor. Helping others also gave him a small sense of satisfaction, though the latter was no more than a boon.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Defeating the stronger monsters led to the discovery of several mineral deposits. Not only did they harvest heaps of useful resources from the monsters, but many had built their habitats around places of immense value. Clearings filled with valuable herbs and caves poised to become fully operational mines had been located and claimed. That was how Miners, Herbalists, and many more crucial Secondary Classes came to be in Orhain.

Some Classers considered becoming Porters as their Secondary Class, but David convinced them to let it be. Instead, he helped them store everything temporarily in his defective storage device. At the same time, he ordered the construction of several streets, created with the combined efforts of Aqueous and Earthen Mages and coated in weed-repelling and weather-resistant substances.

But the streets weren’t enough. The townspeople needed David’s help to transport everything. Without him, they would have to carry everything for dozens of kilometers through areas infested by monsters. They considered using more Beast Wards, but spreading the Wards throughout the regions was likely to worsen their situation. Beast Wards were effective at repelling monsters, but what would happen if a monster could not retreat any longer? Once desperate, they might ignore the Wards—or, even worse, attack the locations where they were placed.

It wasn’t possible to tell what would happen, but the chance was there, and nobody wanted to risk it.

Not even David. He liked watching the townspeople and supported them only when they were on the brink of death—quite literally. He also considered it a good thing to let them struggle and merely preserved their lives for Clerics to heal as long as he had the chance. Sure, the bonds suffered a little bit from his actions, but it was worth it.

Many complained, but a quick talk—“Do you want to grow stronger or not?” followed by “I won’t always be here to babysit you, so get used to it”—was enough to silence them.

Orhain’s residents wanted to grow stronger. They had to—to survive once David left.

Everyone was fully aware of that, but there were a select few Classers who didn’t seem to understand what that meant.

They had established several outposts, expanded the town to house more people and offer more protection, and were about to open their first mine of aether-infused ores, crystals, and the like. But if they weren’t strong enough to defend it all, they would lose everything they’d accomplished in the last few weeks.

David supervised the construction of the nearby mine with little interest when he noticed several unfamiliar life signals. They weren’t strong, but he took a look nonetheless.

Approaching the cavern entrance located in a small clearing, David used [True Sight] to locate several somewhat familiar life signals near the unknown ones, which turned out to belong to monsters. But while the life signals were close together, the monsters didn’t attack the townspeople.

David entered the cave and followed a dark and narrow path that barely fit his broad shoulders, eventually arriving at a small cavern hall where familiar youths... played cards?

He cast [Healing Sphere] thrice and sent the glowing bulbs of healing through the hall to discover six teenagers seated around a flat stone, playing cards, while monsters roamed around them, carrying stones and digging holes.

“So that’s what y’all have been doing,” David said, barely loud enough for everyone to hear.

The teenagers’ reactions couldn’t have been more different. One remained seated and was seemingly unbothered by his appearance. The girl beside him screamed in pure terror and jumped to her feet, shivering like a wet dog on a cold night.

One guy let out a high-pitched scream and hurled the playcards in David’s direction, another jumped up, looking like he was ready to fight, and a third turned around to make a run for it. Unfortunately for the latter, there was no escaping—it. The cavern hall was a dead end. The last one, probably surprised by David’s sudden appearance, couldn’t hold it anymore. Her pants were wet, forcing David to cast [Radiant Expulsion] before the others noticed.

“That’s an interesting greeting,” he smiled at the teenagers, but his eyes turned to the Stoneskin Gorilla, a handful of goblin-sized moles with metallic-gleaming claws, and a young Earth Elemental.

“Is that why you picked Tamer and Beastmaster as your Primary or Secondary Classes?”

Some had also picked Summoner and other similar occupations as their first advancement Class following Mage’s advance to Iron X. Regardless, their jobs all had something in common: they allowed them to subdue and control monsters. Some could only tame them and influence them to a certain degree using food, valuable resources, and energy, whereas others had full control of their companions.

One way or another, it looked like the teenagers had used their powers to create their own section in the mine.

“David… Sir! W-What are you doing here?” one of the scared teenagers squealed in surprise.

Even the calm boy looked up in interest, his eyes gleaming. He was one of a handful of people whose bonds had reached new heights, unraveling a new rank labeled Believer. While David did not think that title was suitable, there was little he could do about it. Not that it affected him or anyone whether the bond’s titles were Follower and Believer, or Fishles, Swarm, or whatever. The bonds’ potency and the trickle of power were all that mattered.

“The lot of you put the barn on fire two days ago, didn’t you?” David asked, ignoring the question thrown his way. “Don’t look at me like that. I might not be interested in gossip, but that doesn’t mean I can tune it out.”

He waved dismissively. “I don’t give two shits about the barn, but I’m right, ain’t I? Helping the miners is your punishment, if I’m not mistaken.”

The guilty look on their faces was enough of an answer. Only the calm guy with the Believer bond smiled at him, looking too proud for David’s liking.