Rise of empire: From gamer to emperor

The next day after storing the purchased food resources and distributing them accordingly to the farmers he returned to the now almost complete mineshaft.

After the last touches were done on the mineshaft.

The systems notification came immediately.

[Mission complete..]

[Distributing rewards...]

Walking to a secluded portion of the mineshaft, he navigated to his inbox, clicking on claim. Twenty pickaxes materialised along with a wrapped blue paper.

Staring at the items he blinked. "Uhm where are the miners?"

[Where you expecting the miners to appear out of thin air?]

[You do realize even though this is a game, it's your reality now.]

"So?"

[Do people appear out of thin air in reality?]

"Magicians do."

[Alakazam bitch, oh wait no one.]

Ethan sighed, a frown etched on his face as he glanced around. "Seriously? I just built an entire mineshaft, and now I have no workers?"

[No need to fret, the miners are already at your village.]

[I tweaked the game logic to have them appear as immigrants who lost their home]

[Go on, say it. No need to be shy… I'm awesome.]

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Congratulations. You want a medal?"

[Finally, some recognition. About time, really.]

Ethan rubbed his chin. More mouths to feed… but also more hands to work.

This village wasn't just a handful of people anymore. It was growing and it felt good to watch that happen.

He exhaled. "Fine. I'll deal with them when we get back."

He picked up the blue paper, slowly unwrapping it, revealing a detailed blueprint.

[Stone Wall Blueprint Acquired.]

He stared at it for a second, then exhaled. Finally, some damn defenses.

Turning to the crew now consisting of only Romelu and Sigrid. "Alright we're done here. Time to head back."

While they walked towards the carriage, Sigrid paused staring back at the mineshaft. "What about the miners Chief?"

"That will be handled in a few days."

Shrugging, "If you say so." He climbed aboard, half an hour later their horse galloped into the village.

Just as Ethan sighed, preparing to head back.

"Chief!" A villager ran toward him, panting. "You need to come to the village square. Now."

Ethan groaned. "Can I get five minutes of peace?"

[Nope. Welcome to leadership.]

Walking to the village square he saw thirty people consisting of Men, women and children.

Uhm I thought it was just the miners.

[Yeah cause they obviously don't have families.]

Ethan's rolled his eyes at the remark, before scanning the group. Their clothes were torn, dust clung to their skin, and some of the children clung to their mothers' legs, eyes wide with fear.

A woman held a small bundle—a baby, barely breathing. Another man had a crude bandage wrapped around his leg, dried blood staining the cloth.

A faint, acrid smell lingered on their clothes—charred wood, burnt flesh.

The villagers of Cross murmured among themselves, some already stepping forward with water and bread.

The oldest among them, stepped forward bowing slightly, "You must be the Chief of this village?"

"Yes I am. What brings you to Cross village?"

The man hesitated, gulping loudly. "It—it was."

Shuddering lightly, Ethan nodded walking towards the man placing a hand in his shoulders. "You're safe now."

The man exhaled, his fingers still trembling.

"It… it wasn't normal," he whispered. "We thought it was just another wild beast, but then—"

He swallowed hard, glancing south as if afraid it could hear him.

"Flames. It… it breathed fire, like something out of a nightmare. Our homes, our crops—it burned everything."

The crowd shifted uneasily. A few villagers whispered to each other, glancing toward the southern horizon.

A woman muttered, "A demon…" clutching a prayer pendant.

"It's just a beast," a man grumbled, but his hands trembled.

[Side mission: El matador.]

[Objective: Kill the enraged Bull.]

[Reward: The remaining villagers from Bomo Village move to Cross and are assimilated perfectly.]

More mouths to feed. Great that's just what I needed right now!.

[No need to thank me, just doing my job.]

Noticing Ethan's silence the Elder clenched his fist before speaking up again. "We won't live here for free, we'd like to help out too."

"Most of the men here are adept at mining, and the women can help out with the farm. All we ask for in return is some food and shelter."

Ethan exhaled, glancing towards the storage shed. More mouths to feed. More problems.

But then he looked at the woman holding a barely breathing baby. The man clutching his burned arm. The kids too scared to cry.

He straightened. His thoughts flashing to the newly completed houses. "Alright. You can stay."

"Might as well occupy the newly completed houses, it might be crowded but at least it's manageable."

The man bowed slightly Ethan reached out holding him, "No need for that."

Morris crossed his arms, frowning. "Chief, we barely have enough food for our own. You sure about this?"

Helen nodded. "It's a kind offer, but kindness won't fill empty stomachs."

Ethan turned to them, voice firm. "They're miners and farmers. They won't be dead weight—they'll help us survive."

One of the men shifted, revealing a deep, angry burn trailing up his arm. He flinched when Ethan's eyes landed on it.

"We tried to fight it," the elder whispered. "We never stood a chance."

"Anna! Take the wounded to Maester Roland."

Stepping out of the crowd, Anna saluted stamping her feet on the ground. "Yes Chief."

Facing the immigrants she smiled, "Follow me." Swinging her hands as she marched through the dirt patch, the injured following closely behind.

Helen stared at Ethan opening her mouth to talk, but Ethan beat her to it. "We'll talk about this in tomorrow's meeting. For now help them settle in."

A burly man stepped forward, arms crossed. "Chief, my family already barely eats twice a day. You bring in more mouths, who starves first?"

Ethan glared at him. "No one starves. Because no one here sits idle."

The man hesitated. Then, with a grunt, he turned away, mumbling as he walked through the dirt patch.

Rubbing his forehead he sighed walking back to his house. Inside he sat at a desk reviewing the events of the past few days as a village Chief.

Ethan rubbed his temples. "So let me get this straight. I build a mineshaft, and instead of spawning miners, the game just… drops off refugees?"

[I'm a genius, Not to brag but...]

Ethan stared blankly. "I hate you so much right now."

Anna's knock on the door interrupted him, he turned staring at the door as she walked in with a food tray. Placing it at the the desk

Ethan stared at the tray. Bread. Soup. Again.

He let out a slow breath. "One day… just one day…"

Dipping the bread into the soup he bit into it, crunching sounds resounding through the room, a had ran across his shoulders.

Shivering he looked over his hands eyes gaze locking with Anna's blue eyes. "Wha—what are you doing."

Anna blinked. "Giving you a massage you seemed tense. Should I stop?"

"What's the catch?"

Anna gasped exaggeratedly, "How dare you! I don't only do things for you when I want to ask you for something."

Ethan continued staring at her.

"Fine, I heard about that Bull, Promise me you won't go after it."

Her fingers massaging Ethan gripped him tightly as she muttered. "I can't bear the thought of ever losing."

Ethan stood up, drawing her closer, he stared into her eyes, "I can't promise you that Anna, but I promise you I'll always come back. No matter what." Leaning in slightly he kissed her forehead.