He pulled up the details of the item they'd earned as a reward for completing a full Breach run.
Golden Village Creation Cube (Legendary)
His Majesty, the King of Eternia, no longer wishes to remain confined within the twin-walled Rings. He has declared it time to reclaim the lands beyond—and has entrusted a select few with the authority to lead that effort.
Effects:
Grants the right to establish a golden-grade village at a location of your choosing outside the Ring;
This item has been imparted with special features;
The village will be under royal protection for 10 days.
They would be using this item soon, so it made sense for him to base his decision on what would best suit the task of setting up a village.
Reclaiming the lands beyond… Starting a village in the wild… Royal protection…
Jack frowned at the vague wording. There was still so much they did not know. No one had ever founded a village before.
When he showed his team the token, Amari mentioned that setting up a village might share some similarities with guild castles. In New Earth, large guilds could secure castles or fortresses out in the wilds. These were usually located near valuable gathering spots or leveling maps that were too far away from the Rings.
Every week, each castle had a siege event. Guilds tried to storm the castle and steal it from its current occupants. Whoever won the battle held the castle for a week.
During that time, every time players made purchases or used services within the fortress, the castle’s masters received taxes. A week of income was easily worth a few thousand gold. It was a reliable and steady source of income.
That kind of setup relied on consistent player traffic.
If the village worked anything like those fortresses, then placing it in a strategic location would be essential.
It needed to be close enough to high-traffic areas to draw in visitors, but far enough from the Rings to offer a more convenient alternative.
But that also meant exposure. The mention of Royal Guard protection raised more questions than it answered. Were they expected to defend the village from monsters? From roaming bandits? Or was the real threat other players?
The benefit sounded ominous. The protection lasted ten days, and the way it was phrased made it sound as if, once those ten days were up, an attack was all but inevitable.
It would suck if guilds or stronger teams could come and "siege" the village, just like in castle sieges. That felt unfair.
That seems unlikely, Jack thought. If the goal was to create a fortress that guilds would later contest, then what was the point of even receiving this item as a reward? That would be more like being set up—fattening a chicken, only for the guilds to swoop in and feast later.
No. That couldn’t be it. There had to be a reason this item was given as a reward. It had to offer some kind of advantage to their team.
Either way, they would have to defend the village, just like they’d defended the fortress during the Breach. They couldn't afford to get this wrong, not when the success of this village might be his best shot at earning the money to save his dad.
Jack drummed his fingers on the floor. He thought back to all those days fighting off beasts in the Breach’s mountains. He remembered the trapfield, the moats, and the layers of fortification.
Then his thoughts drifted to Ariadne’s camp and her fortress-like camp. She’d built a palisade Jack suspected could stop a large carnivorous dinosaur. There was also a moat, a moat bridge, and a gate. What if he could bring that to their future village?
Now that he thought about it, many of the bushcrafters camped around Red Lake had small fortifications protecting their camps. None of them had the scale of Ariadne’s setup, but the ability to build fortifications was clearly there.
Perhaps that would be his contribution to the village: setting up defenses. That was clearly within the power of bushcrafters. All he needed to figure out was how to unlock the right recipes and skills.
Ariadne was offline, so he couldn’t message her. He took a deep breath. He needed to hurry—every minute spent standing around was a minute wasted.
He looked around. Five other bushcrafters were here, scrolling through their own upgrade menus.
He cleared his throat. “Hey, everyone! Can I have your attention? Does anyone know how to unlock the ability to build a palisade?” he called out to the other bushcrafters gathered in the treehouse.
Heads turned. A few looked amused. Others seemed mildly annoyed, as if giving away information for free was a personal offense.
“Just keep upgrading [Camping],” one of them said after a moment. His voice was calm, a little rough around the edges.
Jack nodded. “Thanks.”
“No worries, kid.”
Around the tent, a few bushcrafters sneered, shaking their heads. One let out a quiet scoff, as if the answer had been too obvious to bother repeating. But others took mental note, eyes flicking upward as they brought up their own interfaces to check the skill tree for themselves.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Jack pulled up the details of the [Camping] skill.
Camping (Common)
Skill level: 1
Skill description: You’ve grown accustomed to the wild and learned how to make yourself and others comfortable while you’re in the great outdoors.
Skill effects:
You can set up a camp;
While within 5 meters of a tent, passively recover health;
Boosts nearby fire’s power to repel weak monsters;
Slightly boosts the effects of meals cooked nearby.
Requires: Tent.
The skill was still at level 1, just as it had been when he first unlocked it back at level six of the Bushcraft minor. Every improvement since then had come from upgrading [Kindle] or crafting the [Mud Hut].
He now knew what he was going to spend all this XP on. Or did he?
His thoughts drifted back to the Cooking Association—the visit he'd made not even an hour ago. Those recipes had looked good. Moreover, they were special, the kind that required a legendary title just to buy. Unlocking them could open up a whole new branch of income.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
Maybe I should go back and grab the [Survival Kebab] recipe?
He shook his head.
No. Kebabs weren’t going to help him make 50,000 gold. He had to go all in on the village.
Now that he’d set his mind, he glanced at the XP cost for the next rank: 30,000 XP. A significant chunk, but manageable.
He confirmed the upgrade.
Congratulations! [Camping] has been upgraded to level 2.
Fire’s power to repel monsters is strengthened.
Tools and food lose durability more slowly in the camp.
Jack skimmed the new perks. Fires now affected all monsters, not just weaker ones. The durability bonus would mean fewer wasted resources, which was always welcome. He would save some money and time on making pots and replacing knives. But that wasn’t what he was after.
Alright. Next.
The next level cost 60,000 XP. He accepted the upgrade.
Congratulations! [Camping] has been upgraded to level 3.
Camp radius increased to 10 meters.
You’ve learned a new recipe: [Reinforced Tent].
[Bushcraft] and [Beekeeping] synergize.
You’ve learned a new skill: [Tent Waxing].
He quickly glanced through the two rewards. The [Reinforced Tent] was a sturdier, roomier version of his current one. Tent Waxing was a skill that let him coat the tent with wax to make it water-resistant. He didn’t know how that would benefit him, but he’d try them later.
He spent 120,000 XP to level the skill again.
Congratulations! [Camping] has been upgraded to level 4.
While within camp, now passively recover stamina.
You’ve learned a new recipe: [Windbreak Fence].
Jack skipped past the buff to recovery. There it was. The first fortification!
Recipe for: [Windbreak Fence]
Ingredients:
-
[Stakes]
-
[Brushwood]
-
[Rope]
Instructions:
-
Drive stakes in a curved arc.
-
Weave brushwood tightly.
-
Tie off with a rope to reinforce the structure.
Requirements:
-
[Bushcraft], lvl. 10
-
[Camping], lvl. 4
Jack scratched his chin. He tried to imagine what the end product would look like, and in his mind, it was something much more fragile than the palisade he’d seen on Ariadne’s camp. That wall had been built from thick tree trunks, sharpened to points and driven deep into the ground—something even high-level players would struggle to break through.
I’m not there yet. I need to keep going.
The next upgrade cost 250,000 XP. The prices were getting scarier, and his XP reserves smaller.
He bit his lip and confirmed the purchase.
Congratulations! [Camping] has been upgraded to level 5.
Camp Radius increased to 15 meters.
Meals cooked in camp now grant minor Fire, Cold, and Water Resistance.
New recipe unlocked: [Watering Hole].
The boosts to dishes and the new recipe were welcome, but the lack of new fortifications was disappointing.
He checked the new recipe.
Recipe for: [Watering Hole]
Ingredients:
[Shovel]
[Clay]
Instructions:
Dig a deep hole in the ground.
Line with clay to prevent seepage.
Requirements:
[Camping], lvl. 5
[Water Sniffing], lvl. 2
The [Watering Hole] sounded promising, but it was gated behind an upgrade to one of his other bushcraft skills.
Water Sniffing… It allowed him to automatically add any nearby bodies of water to his map, as long as he was 100 meters away from them. He had hardly used it, except when he was looking for water in the Breach.
He pulled it up in the store and smiled. It was just 10,000 XP.
He confirmed the purchase.
Congratulations! [Water Sniffing] has been upgraded to level 2.
Water Sniffing (Common)
Skill level: 2
Skill description: After spending time in the wild, your senses pick up the presence of nearby water more easily.
Skill effects:
Automatically add any bodies of water within a 100-meter radius to your map;
Automatically add any underground water within a 5-meter radius.
So that’s why I need the upgraded version of the skill!
He had to be able to tell where there was water underground before digging.
With all the water he used—between pottery, cooking, and brewing—this new recipe could save him a ton of hauling time. No more long treks to the lake or a river.
He checked the bushcraft XP he had left. There was only enough for one more upgrade.
Crossing his fingers, he purchased the next level of [Camping].
Congratulations! [Camping] has been upgraded to level 6.
Fire now repels strong monsters.
You’ve learned a new recipe: [Palisade].
You’ve learned a new skill: [Bush Camouflage].
Pottery and Bushcraft synergize.
You’ve learned a new recipe: [Mud Wall].
Jack let out a quiet breath as the notifications scrolled by.
There it was—[Palisade]. Not a decorative fence or a windbreak, but real defense. This was what he needed to contribute to the village’s security, to make sure that anyone eyeing their golden chicken thought twice before trying to attack.
He opened the new recipe right away.
Recipe for: [Palisade]
Ingredients:
[Logs]
[Knife]
[Shovel]
Instructions:
Use the knife to sharpen the end of a log.
Stick it in the ground.
Requirements:
[Camping], lvl. 6
Everything about it matched what he’d seen around Ariadne’s camp.
And it looks like I even got an alternative, too. The synergies had kicked in, and now he could make [Mud Wall], a new recipe linked to Pottery. He opened it. The method was similar to how he'd built the mud hut—only this time, shaped like a wall.
He also unlocked a new skill: [Bush Camouflage]. It was simple, but clever. It let him conceal structures by covering them with local brush and foliage, boosting stealth and reducing visibility from a distance. It was perfect for hiding temporary camps or protecting valuable infrastructure.
With this, he was done and ready to head back.
“Bye, guys,” Jack said, not waiting for a reply as he descended the rope ladder. He summoned Snowy and began the trip back to Ashengate.
He’d spent his professional XP as well as he could. Now it was time to fill the two new minor slots.