Chapter 75 Break Out Of The Slump

Turns out, the third stage of magic specialisation was different from the others.

-

<Learning (Stage 3)>

(Unlike other 'stage 3' specialisations, the training time is normal for magic)

- [Fire Magic]

- [Water Magic]

- [Wind Magic]

- [Earth Magic]

~

They were all pretty stereotypical magic types, however, it was interesting that the third stage wasn't like the others. I could train them like usual without the weird limits and long training time. I guess they probably have a stage 4 or even stage 5, I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Since I had exactly 8 magic Scout Minions, I decided to train two of each type.

I was somewhat curious as to what the basic magic Minions did. Maybe they just had slightly strengthened physical abilities or something?

I would take a look outside but the temperature drops even more at night. I decided that I'd just stay in the comfort of the hut for the time being. I could already begin to hear the sounds of zombies walking in the distance.

I had organised my Minions so that a large number of combat Minions were focussed near the entrance where I hoped to funnel the zombies through. This way I could maximise the effectiveness of my archers. I also kept some Minions stationed around the wall to take care of any zombies that try to climb past.

With this new strategy, I hoped that nights would become a little easier to deal with.

"Hey William, what's your plan from here on out?"

"What do you mean."

"Surely we're not just going to hide in the hut like this for the entire season."

"Well, I'm hoping to find a way to get more stuff done, but I don't really know how to at the moment."

"Ah, I'd like to find some way to be able to work outside."

"I'd also like for that, but aside from getting some thick clothing, I can't really think of another way."

"I'm trying to think of a way."

"I'm thinking of investing in some clothing, despite how expensive it is."

"It might be worth it, but I'm honestly not sure at the moment."

"Yeah, I guess."

There were still too many factors to consider. Clothing was incredibly expensive, like, the price was basically our entire balance. For the most part, it didn't seem economical to purchase clothing, regardless of the benefits.

My thought was that if I could somehow create an area which wasn't as cold as the rest, I might be able to light a fire and keep it warm to some extent and allow space for Chloe to use her system. However, that was still a work in progress.

At the moment, I was simply waiting as zombies approached the border of our settlement. Much like the previous night, there wasn't much I could do, I'd have to rely almost entirely on my Minions.

As the sound of fighting filled the background, I wanted to get some rest. I had already slept plenty of times with the sounds of combat outside. It wasn't really that different anymore. The settlement couldn't really be overrun without my knowledge since I've programmed alerts in my Minions. In the end, if I was going to die, I was going to die fighting.

With that in mind, I slowly closed my eyes and tried to get some sleep, although these days, I hardly do anything during the day anyways. I'd like to change that as much as possible tomorrow.

***

I was awoken by the sound of nothing in particular.

As I opened my eyes, I saw Chloe sleeping on a small bed-thing on the ground. Ah, I guess I really should've made another proper bed. I guess I'll do that today.

I slowly made my way to the door and opened it, taking a look at my Minions.

From what I could see, nothing major occurred.

I guess the wall was really quite effective.

-

<Advanced System Controls>

~

[Resource Division] (121 Minions)

- 3x Woodcutter Minion

- 11x Miner Minion

- 30x Scout Minion (Farming)

- 27x Scout Minion (Mining)

- 30x Scout Minion (Woodcutting)

- 6x Scout Minion (Hunting)

- 1x Scout Minion (Farming)

- 13x Scout Minion (Resource Gathering)

~

[Combat Division] (113 Minions)

- 1x Advanced Warrior Minion

- 1x Warrior Minion

- 20x Scout Minions (Swordplay)

- 22x Scout Minions (Archery)

- 8x Scout Minions (Magic)

- 30x Scout Minion (Combat)

- 31x Scout Minions

~

[Utility Division] (26 Minions)

- 13x Builder Minion

- 10x Scout Minion (Utility)

- 2x Basic Scout Minion

- 1x Minion Manager

!

~

Aside from the loss of a single Scout Minions, I appeared to be unscathed that night.

However, my celebration would have to wait.

[Zombies will now be getting stronger]

I guess I can never get a break. The world decided to bless me with great news.

From the looks of things, just judging from the last difficulty increase, I would probably be losing sleep these few nights. I had just improved my army to a point where it could sustain itself as well.

However, the notifications weren't finished.

[Killer Winter will last a further 62 days]

It was finally finished with its announcements.

It was honestly shorter than I expected, however, it was still quite a long time. It was around two months which meant that after that, we'd probably go back to normal.

There were probably going to be quite a lot of deaths during this harsh season.

Well, I guess I'll take some time to figure out what I was going to do.

With the wall now complete, the settlement had an extra layer of protection, although, I'd like to make it more secure after hearing that announcement. The first thought I had was to make some sort of pedestal or tower for the Archer Scout Minions to be able to shoot over the wall more accurately. At the moment, they could only really shoot down the zombies once they claimed onto the wall since the Minions were all around a metre tall anyways.

With a little bit more height, they'd be able to shoot over the wall and pick off the zombie more effectively. I decided to have a look through my crafting menu to see what I could make.

There wasn't any tower or building, in particular, I could make, however, there was a [wide stone pedestal] which looked to be around a metre or so high.

I guess it'd have to do.