7: Picking up the pieces

[Year 10 Month 11: 1 month has passed]

A month had passed since Gorn had been destroyed, and there had been no sign of the Vexus, having moved on now that the population was so small. If Gorn had been closer to other cities, it probably would have avoided the catastrophe simply because of the difference in people.

Alas, it wasn’t.

It had taken a day for the children to feel comfortable leaving their cave; the adults and I understood, considering the situation. I honestly suspected Osbert and the other two were just holding it together for the kids.

Fortunately, Osbert had checked the area and found no dead bodies, likely having been eaten or dragged away by the swarm. While everyone had wanted to have proper burial rights, it was probably for the best, as the children didn’t directly see anything.

Having moved to the hill I resided on, I felt considerably more comfortable with them above ground, as my [Sanctuary] skill would be able to protect them in a pinch.

A few days after they came out of hiding, I tried my new [Totem Pillars] and placed one of each. Curiously, it felt sort of like a tabletop game where I could mentally drag and drop them out into the surroundings.

When they materialized, they appeared as almost perfect cylinders, two meters tall, and managed to sit perfectly level with the ground. While they shared the same runes I had on my body, they also had an additional rune that glowed brighter than the other three. Each rune was an indicator of the type of pillar.

Asking Osbert to enter their range (which was several times larger than the smaller totem versions), he confirmed that the [Protection Pillar] increased his health regeneration and gave him several minor resistances, like that of my blessing ability. While the [Warding Pillar] did not affect him, he did mention a brief notification saying his mana was hidden, pretty much confirming it was the anti-detection field version.

The oddball out was the [Mineral Pillar], as it didn’t have any area effect, and only after a few days did it become apparent. With my almost complete vision in my miniature domain, I was able to see small crystals forming over its surface, creating small nodes of various minerals.

While it was useless for now, the three villagers confirmed it would be helpful if a trader ever came by. Personally, I found it severely unlikely, but they assured me someone would come along eventually, the surrounding nations taking Vexus attacks seriously. As such, I left the pillar alone, placing two more warding pillars to keep away any creature that may try to harm my survivors.

[Year 10 Month 12: 1 month has passed]

With two months of distance, I watched as some semblance of normalcy was restored. The trauma delt would never honestly go away, but it wasn’t constantly on everyone’s minds.

Salfi had settled into an older sister role for some of the younger children. While she was still considered an adolescent, she was pretty responsible, so no one complained. According to her, she had about four years, and she would receive a class on her twentieth birthday. She was a little sour about humans getting theirs a few years earlier, but honestly? I think she got the better end of the stick. What’s four more years when you live to be four hundred? I guess I will find out.

Recently, I had grown a little concerned about one of the women named Penelope. It was evident that the baby was arriving pretty much any day. Astrid, the other lady, had assured me all was fine, but I still insisted that both of them stay inside the healing fields of my [Protection Pillar].

While Astrid herself was looking far along, I think she still has another month or two before a baby shows up.

[Year 11 Month 2: 2 month has passed]

I was right on the money. Astrid’s little girl decided to make her entrance right when I thought so. I should have bought a scratch-off ticket. Do they have those here?

Her name was Audrey, named after her grandmother, who had passed when the Vexus passed through. Her hair was a dark brown, similar to that of her mother.

Penelope’s own little one had just begun to babble a few days earlier. Named Inca after Inra, he was surprisingly active. Penelope agreed it was a bit odd, but attributed it to the [Blessing of Warding] I had everyone refresh. It took some effort to get the babies to touch the cold runes on the central pillar willingly, but we also managed to get the blessing applied to them.

When everyone had finally refreshed their blessings, I felt a wave of relief hit me. Not knowing the child mortality rate of this world had me in protective mode, and I was pretty sure my blessing and [Protection Pillar] would be able to handle most sicknesses thrown at it.

Possibly the strangest thing I received was a natural upgrade to [Sanctuary]. Even when inactive, it now grants additional comfort to those dwelling inside of it.

That’s the first skill development not caused by death… I need to look into this.

I knew that humans could receive upgrades by using their skills in various situations, and my actions had definitely influenced mine, but always required an input of experience.

Something to look into.

[Year 11 Month 5: 3 months have passed]

Winter had come a little earlier this time around. While I was a little concerned about food, it turns out there were plenty of forageable plants in the forest, with Osbert able to hunt the occasional animal for protein.

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It seemed that the ‘comfort’ bonus also extended to temperature, so that meant on the more mild days they didn’t require any fire or salvaged clothes from the village.

As Audrey and Inca grew a little older, their mothers felt more comfortable leaving them with the older children, letting them renovate a nearby house that had been mostly intact. Since my vision had increased in range as I leveled, I watched over both of them and moved a [Warding Pillar] to cover the house while also letting me see even further.

Penelope had the class [Homemaker], and while I thought it wasn’t the best of names, it still gave her good abilities to help tend to the children, and even had a skill that let her magically repair small items. Astrid was a bit different as a level 10 [Shopkeeper], and her abilities had more to do with charisma and interacting with customers.

Frankly, this whole ‘guardian’ role was tiring, and I found myself slipping into [Dormancy]’s clutches more often. Fortunately, they were able to make do without me, even if I felt nervous.

On a more serious note, Osbert had leveled a few times and got to level 25. One night, he approached me when the others were sleeping in the house.

“Gol? Are you asleep?” He asked, as there had been a few embarrassing times when one of the humans woke me up.

“No. Although I probably will be soon.”

He seemed to hesitate for a moment. “Well, I want some advice. I reached level 25 and received a class evolution choice.”

Oh?

He continued, “Right now, I am a level 25 [Guard]. I can stick to my current path, and go with [Guard Captain], or choose something I haven’t seen before.”

Curiously, I asked, “What is it?”