Kaito stood in front of Loyd, watching him craft an axe.
"That's it?" he asked, visibly confused.
"That's it..." Loyd replied, just as puzzled by his master's question.
And understandably so—Kaito had expected some kind of magic, but the process was surprisingly simple. They just sharpened a stone to give it an edge, tied it to a piece of wood to serve as a handle, and that was it.
Even Kaito knew that was how you made a basic axe, but he had expected something more… special. Especially considering they had used a blueprint. With that level of guidance, even he could have made it.
The only thing that caught his attention was that, upon inspecting the axe, it had its own status:
[Basic Stone Axe
Durability: 100/100]
The fact that it had durability meant it wouldn't break immediately, that some axes would be better than others… and, more importantly, that it actually worked.
Kaito took the axe and walked over to a nearby tree.
With the first strike, the durability dropped by one.
"That means it has 100 uses… at least against trees. Maybe it'll wear down faster doing other things."
Putting that aside, he returned to Loyd and handed him back the axe.
"Good work."
Loyd, who had been tense the entire time, relaxed upon hearing his master's words, and immediately got back to crafting more axes, just as he had been ordered.
Meanwhile, Kaito headed to the unit summoning tower.
Thanks to the battle against the wolves, he had gathered 2,470 gold.
He spent 1,050 of it to summon 70 warriors, raising the total to 100. Then he used another 980 to summon 98 workers, also bringing that total to 100.
Among them were 10 architects—needed to build houses—who could direct any other worker. No need to summon more.
There were also 28 craftsmen, making 30 in total counting the 2 he already had. The rest were lumberjacks and miners.
The craftsmen were sent to continue crafting axes and pickaxes. They were slow at first since they had to gather wood and stone from the ground, but once everyone had their tools, the process became much faster.
The axes were handed out immediately to the lumberjacks, who began chopping trees.
Each tree used up one entire axe. While it seemed wasteful, the wood from a single tree was enough to make at least 30 axes, so the benefit was clear.
The only downside was having to swap axes after each tree, so each lumberjack was given five.
While they chopped trees, the warriors transported the logs.
The process for stone was similar, though it was gathered in small chunks carried in large wooden buckets.
For some reason, "Large Wooden Bucket" was included in the furniture blueprint. Kaito wasn't going to complain about something so useful.
And so, the village buzzed with activity again, and with so many new inhabitants, it felt livelier than ever.
He had enough wolf meat to not worry about food, and water was easily collected from a nearby river, the same one he drank from.
After stacking up at least 30 logs, Kaito went to the architects to ask when they could start building houses.
"We can start anytime" one of them replied.
Curious, Kaito decided to stay and watch the process.
And he was immediately surprised.
Just like before, he expected manual labor… but the construction looked like something straight out of a game.
Right where the house was going to be, a translucent figure appeared, a projection of what the finished building would look like. Floating above it was a counter:
• Wooden Logs: 0/25
• Stone: 0/100
The system was easy to understand for anyone who had ever played a building game: all they had to do was bring the materials, and the house would be built.
"So tools are made by hand, but buildings are constructed like in a game…" Kaito said, delighted.
Building a house took time in the real world, and if he had to raise an entire territory, this kind of help was a gift from heaven.
Still, only the architects could activate this process. If anyone else tried to build a house, they'd have to do it by hand… assuming they knew how.
That made Kaito realize something important: the role of each unit.
Until now, he had thought that a "job" just referred to what someone did. But if craftsmen automatically learned to make tools from a blueprint, architects built by magical means, and warriors defeated five wolves with ease, then the word "job" clearly meant more.
It was like a job in an RPG. Not just a profession, but a title with skills, advantages… and maybe even limitations.
And apparently, not even the people of this world knew that. Loyd, for example, had said he didn't understand how he learned blueprints.
Intrigued, Kaito went to one of the architects who had just finished a house and asked him a question:
"When did you officially become an architect?"
"Although I always wanted to be one since I was young, I only became one when the God of the Earth approved my decision."
"The God of the Earth?"
"The God of the Earth is Gaia's deity. He created this world and all its rules. He also announced the arrival of the Lords through an oracle.
The Earth religion is the most widespread in the world. At least 90% of people believe in Him."
"So you need His approval to become an architect?"
"Not exactly," he said, shaking his head. "But it's tradition to ask for His blessing when making a life-changing decision. Everyone I know does it, so I don't know what happens to those who don't."
'Interesting' Kaito thought.
'Most likely, this so-called God of the Earth is the one who assigns them their jobs. But I need to find someone who didn't follow that custom to confirm it.
So he's also the creator of this world? Could he be the one who brought us here…?'
Setting that aside, he asked one final question:
"Since we're talking about religion… what happens when you die? Many died yesterday, and I wanted to build a cemetery, but I don't know if it fits your customs."
He recalled the battle with the wolves. With so many people sacrificing themselves, the least he could do was build graves.
Of course, there were no bodies—they vanished upon death—but at least it would be a symbolic gesture.
However, the architect shook his head again.
"That's not necessary. The warriors are merely resting… they can be summoned again later."
Kaito was bewildered.
"What do you mean?"
Then the man lifted his gaze slightly and recited solemnly:
"Fear not death, for those who live righteously shall not perish.
But the wicked shall be consumed, and their souls, forgotten.
Yet the just… they shall rest, and be born again on the appointed day.
Like the sun that sleeps and shines once more, so shall be their return.
Death shall be but a breath, a brief nap before eternal life.
And when your Lord reigns, there shall be no more pain, nor fear, nor darkness,
but only prosperity under His light."
The architect lowered his gaze and looked at him with a gentle smile.
"It's an excerpt from the Holy Grimoire,where the words of the saints chosen by the God of the Earth are written. I chose to believe in life… and also in life after death."
Kaito was even more confused.
So… are they basically angels?
Their "life after death" is like a summonable unit?
He had never stopped to think about where the units actually came from… but he hadn't expected them to all be people who had already died.
Still, that confirmed one thing:
The so-called God of the Earth was definitely involved in their summoning.
Maybe even… the one who brought him to this world.