Might be a good idea, in fact, he thought. Some training for everyone.
But first, fortifications. He rolled up the sleeves of his tunic, now a rich brown accented with gold thread. He'd changed it a handful of times already, still delighted by its extremely responsive array. The sleeves, instead of simple folding back, literally shortened until they were just below his elbows. Man, this thing is cool.
Expanding his senses, aided by both his connection to the Spirit Tree above him and his Authority, Felix felt at the edges of what the System called his Stronghold. He'd already had the Haarguard go around and ensure no one was in the construction zone, but he felt compelled to make one last check. Everyone was either well within the boundaries or beyond them. A number of Henaari had taken up his Quest, and he could even sense the fading presences of Evie and Vess to the north. Good. Nothing Evie likes more than fighting. Good job Vess.
He was ready. Once more, Felix lined up the patterns for Bulwarks and Square Towers as provided by his interface and took a single, steadying breath.
"Here goes nothing."
The patterns burst alight in his senses, become suddenly real. Visible only to him, a strange set of vibrating cords erupted from the earth, almost like wire-frame models made of light; System Mana began to pour into them and the dirt and stone beneath slowly rose.
"No no, not that," he said. Felix reached out and fixed his Willpower and Intent upon the fortification patterns, all of them at once. The energy from the System squealed.
WARNING!
System Construction In Progress!
Do You Wish To Take Manual Control?
Y/N
Felix grinned. Yes.
The squealing stopped, and the earth quietened beneath the still-visible patterns of wall and towers. Fearful of losing a moment, Felix he sounded his own Skills.
Stone Shaping!
Rime Shaping!
Green Shaping!
Cardinal Flame!
Mana drained from Felix like a sieve, thousands of points in seconds, as stone turned liquid before crawling upward all along the edge of his Stronghold. At the same time, a variety of seeds beneath the earth, inert or hibernating, suddenly burst into frenetic life. Flowing trunks, vines, and branches all sprung upward, tangling among the liquefied stone as dusty brown and green-gold Mana met and intertwined. Through it all, he laced the crystalline formation of ice, laying it out in accordance with the patterns he'd memorized, and burning sharp-edged sigils and glyphs within each distinct coating.
Felix began to sweat almost immediately, and his Body quaked as if he were physically lifting every inch of the growing wall himself. It was maddeningly difficult, far more so than he had expected. Felix's powerful Intelligence sped up his thoughts while his Perception flared in order to keep all of it in view at all times. It was a powerful burden, and had he known how much, perhaps he would have started with just a single wall at first. Too late now, he grimaced.
But his stats were well above the Third Threshold now, and his Mind and Spirit worked in smooth concert with one another. Standing stock still, Felix directed power to the edge of his nascent Stronghold, and the world around him changed.
Congratulations!
You Have Built Your First Fortification!
XP Earned!
Your Stronghold Has Improved!
Continue Improving It To Increase Its Rank!
Stone Shaping is level 69!
Green Shaping is level 2!
...
Green Shaping is level 19!
Rime Shaping is level 2!
...
Rime Shaping is level 22!
It was done.
Felix hissed a breath through his teeth and wiped sweat from his brow with a shaky arm. He felt like he'd been doing hard labor all day, and his muscles quivered with sympathetic strain. Looking up, Felix considered it well worth the aches and pains. In what felt like hours, but was likely only five minutes, a huge wall had risen from the depths of the earth. A dull roar of amazement, wonder, and a dash of fear sounded in Felix's ears, both physical and not; but he paid them all little mind. He was far more interested in the wall itself.
Just as the pattern had indicated it, the wall was forty feet tall and thick. It all appeared to be made of a glassy, dark blue-black stone veined with a faint, luminescent red-gold. The towers were fifteen feet taller than the top of the wall, and both featured those same crenelations along the edge, as well as a parapet where guards could walk the length of it. At the base of each tower was a door made of a darker stone, and arrow slits were formed into the walls. Unadorned steps were interspersed along the wall to provide access to the tops, and all of it was seamless. There were no visible blocks or joins, no mortar or clever junctions. It had been risen as a single, monolithic fortification.
Felix opened his Stronghold menu and checked the overview again.
Stronghold Defensive Strength: 40%
Stronghold Offensive Strength: 5%
The offense rating of his Stronghold was unchanged, but seeing the huge jump in defense made Felix's heart soar. "Karys, you seeing this?"
"I am. It appears your efforts have been rewarded. The effects of your manual control were overwhelmingly positive. Hm," his sword buzzed. "Likely because you fused it all into one piece. Was that intentional?"
"If I say no, does that make it less impressive?" Felix asked with a tired grin.
Karys laughed. "No. But please keep in mind that efforts like this put you at risk. If this were a proper settlement, you would have engineers to worry about construction like this."
"We have the Henaari now, so perhaps engineers aren't quite so far off," Felix mused. That largely depended on how well the Henaari integrated with his people, and what exactly Felix's plans were, going forward. "What's next on the agenda, then?"
"You wish to make your Stronghold safer, yes?"
"Of course."
"Then next must come the Forge."