Please note, water consumption projected to exceed current capacity if significant additional infrastructure added. Water Source Energy Interface needed.

  “Adam, what the heck is this?”

  “Hmm, I am checking it out. It is a new feature in the Settlement Interface. It pairs with the Water Treatment Energy Interface that we already have. Apparently, it is more geared towards residential use, not for the greenhouses and herb garden that we have.

  “It appears that the Water Source Energy Interface needs to be placed near a natural source of water, meaning a river or lake.”

  Ben grunted. “Well, that’s new. It’s not like we have a shortage of that around here, but I am wondering whether it would be safe?”

  “We will see once we have built it,” Allison cut further speculation short.

  “Okay, another mission we will have to complete. Let’s go and build some workshops.”

  ***

  They had doubled the number of workshops they had, up to eight. Still not enough for the growing population, but significant progress had been made. Increasing that number was one of Ben’s key priorities before the introduction of the new economy.

  It was the next day, and it had started off with another mission to evacuate a village. The places they ventured to now were quite a bit bigger than the first ones, and it was increasingly harder to convince all of the inhabitants to move to a new place. But 68 new citizens had joined them. Getting to Level 3 was now very much in their line of sight. It was one of the reasons why he wanted to spend as much as possible, as the systems had increased infrastructure costs the last time they leveled up.

  For the first time since moving into the HQ, Ben finally personalized his office. First, he put his old armor, the first one he got from Carter, on a mannequin that one of the crafters had created for him; second, he put a woodcutter’s axe as a stand-in for the axe that had served him through the first days of the new world, and his trusted battle axe on the wall.

  The axes and the armor were visible reminders of some of the hardships they had faced and how far they had come. He liked what it represented and felt more at home at the formerly sterile-feeling place.

  Afterwards he walked over to the 3D map that the systems had granted him in his office. There were many streams and lakes throughout the Blue Mountain Forest, some of which were quite close, so the question was not if they would find a spot to place the water pump—as he called it in his head—but rather which one.

  After a few minutes, he settled on a lake to the southeast that was just a few hours’ walking distance from them.

  Despite it being close to noon, he thought that it was a trip that they could still do that day. He messaged the rest of the team and asked who wanted to come along. Unsurprisingly, everyone but his mother was up for the journey. She suggested that he take the SEALs along, which Ben thought was a great idea to get closer to them and show them a bit of the area that was now their home.

  ***

  Joe watched impassively as the latest bunch of recruits… no, he should call them Protectors, were training with Tracy and Barry.

  He didn’t really know what to make of it. What to make of this whole Protectorate.

  After spending more than two months in the wilderness without any contact with their unit while fighting against fantastical monsters, coming into a place, more village than city, felt like a dream.

  He had no doubt, after seeing Ben and his people fight against the Drakniks, that the dream was built on blood, sweat, and tears, but still… even for someone who had spent almost a decade in the Teams, the gear shift gave him whiplash.

  Now these recr… Protectors lacked clear SOPs. While SEALs might have been portrayed as being gung-ho and solitary figures in popular culture, in reality there was no excellence, there was no teamwork without discipline.

  That was not the case with these people.

  He had to admit that the PT in the Protectorate in general seemed top notch. Even the civilians were fit and participated in the daily morning routines. After the morning fitness, he had participated in the meditation session and enjoyed it.

  He also was happy to acknowledge that the fighting style that Barry was working on seemed well adjusted to the new circumstances and the weapons that they used.

  The one thing that he criticized, though, was that it felt too philosophical, too beautiful—it lacked killer instinct.

  But given that none of these people had had any military experience just a couple of months ago, that was natural.

  He could see how he and his team could help them. He looked forward to it. They seemed like good people, and helping them grow seemed like something worthwhile.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  ***

  Ben found Joe at the training grounds where he was in discussion with Barry.

  “Hey Joe, we are exploring a nearby lake to tap for fresh water. Do you and your guys want to come along? No problem if this is too short notice!”

  The slightly older man just nodded and whistled, which led his two remaining teammates to come jogging over. “We’re rolling.”

  Fifteen minutes later the two groups walked out of the gate, heading southeast, slightly up the mountain, Hercules circling in the air above them.

  The trip turned out to be a great opportunity for Ben to get to know the SEALs better, and Joe in turn used the opportunity to convey some basic tactics when moving through potentially hostile terrain in a small group.

  Michael was especially interested and, compared to his usual silence, engaged in an astounding dialogue with the experienced military men. Fortunately, the respect was mutual, and the teams got along well.

  After just two and a half hours, the group closed in on the lake. To Ben’s knowledge it did not have a name, and given its small size—just about 50 meters broad and 200 meters long—it probably didn’t warrant one, either. But given that they would make it a key resource node, if things worked out, they would have to think of one. He would make it a competition for the Protectorate’s kids; getting them engaged in the founding myths of the settlement was something that Howard was always preaching.

  It turned out that the lake had changed quite a bit since the last time that Ben had visited.

  For one, it looked deeper. The color was a bright teal that almost glowed with intensity. It was hard to guess, but Ben thought that it was more than five meters deep, while in the past it had been barely enough to cover him standing on the lake bed.

  Second, a small island, just roughly five by five meters, had formed in the center. A lively spring rose from its center and fed the lake. On its northern edge was a cluster of flowers with large white blossoms in the form of stars.

  Star Lilies. Energy-infused plant. Tier 1. Rare crafting ingredient.

  Ben was quite tempted to harvest some of them to bring back to the settlement. He didn’t believe the monks would be able to grow them without access to a proper lake in the emerging city, but maybe Luz or one of the others could use it in a recipe.

  The third change was a large rock that had somehow risen from the earth and overlooked the lake from the west.

  On it rested a family of lynx. That alone was noteworthy, as lynx were usually solitary creatures and females would raise the young alone.

  What made it even more special was that these lynxes were clearly affected by the Energy surrounding them.

  Sentinel Lynx. Evolved local fauna. Tier 1.

  The adults were almost a meter high at the shoulders, which was almost double the typical size; they still had the characteristic compact body with long legs and oversized paws and the long tufts on their ears. However, instead of the typical dark coloring, the tufts were bright white and turned into white stripes that covered the head and shoulders of the large cats.

  The family, three kittens included, watched the humans cautiously with intelligent eyes, but did not move from their perch, nor did they make any aggressive moves.

  Hercules screeched from above and began to descend toward the lake, and Ben was worried that the large eagle would try to snatch one of the kittens. However, the lynxes didn’t seem concerned, and the eagle landed on the rock close to the male lynx and started to clean his wings, as if it were the most normal behavior.

  Instead of being worried, the kittens started to play again and even approached the eagle to include him in their games, which he largely ignored.

  “The kittens are so cute,” Allison said.

  Ben nodded. “Indeed. The behavior is also very interesting. So far, all the evolved local fauna has been quite patient with us, and now it seems like they are also getting along with each other. I think it would be worth having somebody in the Academy researching this further.”

  The others nodded.

  “Boss, can we all get giant pets?”

  Ben started to make a joke about giant predators in city walls but stopped himself. He looked at Hercules. It would definitely be wrong to call the proud eagle a pet. But there was something to be explored. From his behavior so far and the way the lynxes and eagle were now interacting, it seemed like something had fundamentally changed. Maybe—and he was aware that he was just speculating—these creatures felt the need for a community and to form new bonds, given that the environment had become so much more hostile than before.

  Also, it seemed to him like the creatures were more intelligent, so if the bonds between human and animal could be intensified with the help of a perk, they could maybe find a place side by side with the citizens of the Protectorate.

  “You know what, Jamal, I think it is worth exploring!”

  “That would be pretty cool, boss.”

  “I want a lynx if we go down that route!” Anne exclaimed.

  Joe looked on in a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Is this how your life goes? You just find valuable plants and animals and use them to grow more powerful?”

  Ben grinned. “Pretty much, yes. But in all seriousness, regarding plants, yes, we need them as they help our alchemists to grow. The creatures are just a fantasy at this point.”

  Having spent a bit more time observing the evolved creatures and exploring the lake surroundings, Ben stepped to the shore and turned to his friends.

  “I think it would be nice to put the device on the island, close to the spring. But you don’t all need to get wet, I’ll be gone for just a minute.”

  “We are SEALs; getting wet is what we do. Unless there is a specific operational need, you should never leave a teammate alone in a hostile environment.”

  “Will you listen to the man? He is an expert!” Allison said, slightly exasperated.

  Ben nodded with a rueful smile, knowing that while the risk was probably nonexistent, he still had fallen back to old habits.

  “Okay, SEALs come along, the others hold position on the shore.”

  As he stepped into the lake, he spotted several fish swimming around, but nothing significantly larger than what had been common prior to Arrival Day.

  With their high Body attributes and the short distance, they were on the island in seconds.

  For the first time, Ben activated his Settlement Interface outside of the Protectorate zone and accessed the infrastructure menu. For a manageable, but still painful, fee of 500 SCs, Ben bought the Water Source Energy Interface, and a simple one-by-one-meter white marble block was created from a golden lattice that formed on the shore of the small island, submerged under water.

  Connection with Settlement Water Treatment established. Source and inflow estimated to be sufficient until Settlement Level 4.

  He then turned towards the lynxes and looked at the Star Lilies. The male observed him closely but did not react.

  Ben slowly approached the lilies and picked a handful, then stepped back. The lynx rested his head on his paws and closed his eyes.

  Ben resolved to explore whether bonding with the evolved creatures was possible right when he got back to the Settlement.