Shrine Maiden Candidates (2)
I trusted Sechem Yaret to handle the priestesses' ranks properly. I pulled out Nepheka and unleashed Three Sand Claws twenty-one times from the center of the apartment complex. Boom, boom, boom—the claws spread out in a frenzy. "Rise, my followers! The morning has dawned!" My booming declaration echoed through the entire complex.
The claws raked in a whopping 945 coins. Insane. Nearly a thousand just from the claws.
"Hmm, how many was that?" I summoned Nephkent the warrior and stepped back outside, trying to do the math in my head. Fuck. Too much to calculate. After crunching the numbers, each claw blast netted about 45 coins. It fired three claws at once, originally worth 30, so 10 per claw—now up to 15. A 50% firepower boost. Not bad at all.
But the claws' spread was slowing down as they auto-hunted for coins. After sweeping up 945 zombies in the area, even the sneaky stragglers weren't keeping up. The cleaning radius outpaced the arrivals now. This was how you built a safe zone. Ah, the morning sun felt great. Standing in the parking lot with my spear, basking in the light, I planned the day's goals.
The upper shopping street still had more to loot. But yesterday's big miss: that portal left at the Recreation Center. Hands full at the time, whatever. People were just starting to trickle out. Still looking pretty grimy. They hadn't gotten enough water yet. At least they'd managed to wash their hair somehow.
"Fuck, yesterday I found lice while washing my hair."
"Eek! Lice? But everyone's got hair now."
"Yeah, I scrubbed like hell."
The folks walking over, chatting like that.
"Good morning, God!"
"Have a great morning, God!"
They bowed deeply—seemed like they'd perked up a bit. One... two, three... five. Sixteen in total. A fair number of aunties mixed in. Some other aunties and uncles came with water jugs to fetch more, bowing weakly. Looked drained. The malnourished ones Sechem Yaret mentioned? Everyone was underfed, really. Still, she was taking good care—they could at least fetch water.
"Let's go."
Nothing major happened—we looted the shopping street clean. The warrior had scoured the area yesterday, wiping out over a thousand zombies on the ground and first floors. Plus, the mage fired off 21 claw blasts. The apartments behind the shops had quite a few broken windows—must've been my claws claiming this building too. The safe zone was definitely expanding. This was the way.
Sixteen people stuffed their bags and sacks full, hands loaded. I carried four bags myself. The whole shopping building was stripped bare. Nothing left. On the way back, I said,
"Tomorrow, we head to Gache-dong. Take this haul, rest up today, and we'll all go together tomorrow. I'll go ahead and clear it out."
"Uh... can we... come too?"
They could keep everything they looted, and I'd secured their safety—that lit a fire in their eyes. But no dice.
"I'm going to fight. I've tidied up the shopping street side, but there could be human-faced fish or whatever. Can't protect you while battling. The routine's this: mornings, you grab goods and head back. That wraps your day. Then I go hunt monsters again. Next time, it'll be even safer."
"Understood, God!"
Of course, I could flip the order. Clear monsters first, then bring people for a wider sweep. But if big ones popped up when we were low on stamina and mana? Nah, this sequence was safer.
I stashed the loot inside my shrine door and stepped out. The women were still sleeping. Ushabti busy incubating eggs and farming. No sign of Sechem Yaret? Probably handling something.
One more skill from yesterday's upgrades left: Set's Anchor. Portal teleportation, enhanced? As expected. Another portal stone appeared. Origin: my sarcophagus. Stones could link to each other.
"Haa..."
Crouched on the rooftop. I'd chugged recovery and farmed plenty of coins already. Lunchtime already. Gache-dong's roads were mostly cleared. Holding two portal stones, one in each hand like shields. Reason? Zombies weren't showing up much on ground or first floors anymore. Hunting stragglers room by room in buildings as a warrior—climbing walls—took forever. Better to plant a stone and AoE them.
So I brought it, but... ha... roads cleared, now what? ...That rotten egg? No maggots. ...Hmm. Anyway. Stones here and up ahead. Rotten egg and Orc building on left and right, eight-lane road in between—walk to the overpass end. Past it was Dujai-dong, not Gache-dong. Who knew if more people there. Too far to walk, fuck that—I summoned the lion and zipped there instantly. Felt like 100 km/h, and hard stop without flying off. Wild. A car would've shattered the windshield. But it wasn't my body. Avatar, whatever.
A few zombies on the streets near the overpass—not satisfying. ...Right. Underpass. Let's check. Leaped off the roof, placed a stone in the alley, followed the road down into the underpass. Escalator? Dead, obviously. Trudged down the stairs.
Grrrrrrowl— Whoa, fuck. Listen to that. Zombies packed the underpass like mad. Entrance crawling with heads like mosquito eggs. ...Poking them one by one? Fuck that. Warrior time. Auto-hunt.
"Horus's Lion."
Growl! The lion burst out in front of me. But upgraded—simple head ornament before, now small shoulder guards on front paws. Defense boost? Hmm... Could it hunt maggots? No maggots here.
"Go hunt some zombies."
Growl! Lion leaped down the stairs, pouncing into the horde.
Fuckin' hell. Lion guzzled 3 mana per go but barely 100 coins before it tapped out. Great mobility and defense, decent combat, but short-burst hitter—not a sustained farmer. Exactly that. Ended up poking them myself.
Result: Combined with yesterday's leftovers, 3552 coins. See? One level up and it skyrockets! Combat levels make a huge difference!
Pondered what to upgrade next. Serious dilemma. Warrior farms XP like crazy, proven. But one-by-one stabbing? Maddening. Time sink. Pump the mage to 10 instead. In one go! 2400 coins!
Nile's Sand Mire +2
Set's Anchor +2
Set's Storm
...Oh? Set's Storm... What was this? Only this one's text was gold—others white. Ultimate? Oooh! But mage was spent for today. Save it for tomorrow. Perfect, two stones planted in Gache-dong!
Was gonna level producer next, but changed plans. Level 10 unlocks ultimates, right? Warrior! But 1700 coins to 10—only 1152 left. Damn. Lion wasted time, or I'd have more. Still short? Hit 9 anyway. Stamina 176, mana 21. Horus's Lion +2. More armor now. Shit, lion's useless here anyway. Spent remaining 352 on 4 days' upkeep. 32 coins left. From over 3k to 32 in a flash. But daily gains exploding—felt it. Producer important, but combat too.
"This enough?"
Had Ushabti dump accessories everywhere. Sechem Yaret nodded approvingly, carefully gathering them into a pot.
"Excellent jeweled ornaments. This basket is inadequate, my Lord. Even utensils like this one uphold the shrine's dignity."
"That's not a basket, it's a pot... Whatever, you're right. But why accessories suddenly?"
"Did you not entrust me with assigning ranks to God's women?"
"Oh, right."
"Highest: God's Wife. As many as you wish, but rarity elevates value."
"Hm."
She outlined the ranks: God's Wife. High Priestess. Priestess. Lay Devotee. Priestesses danced or played instruments.
"...Four tiers?"
"Yes. Assigning fitting ornaments seems proper."
"Good idea."
"Thus, my Lord. Yeonsu and Hyeyoon as God's Wives. For Iseo and Jeong-eun?"
"Hmm..."
Leg up on the sarcophagus, lounging lazily, stroking my chin.
"...Like this. Start as lay devotees. As they grow, promote gradually? That vibe."
"Of course. Wise, as expected. Headpieces for devotees, then."
"For Yeonsu and Hyeyoon?"
"Full-body adornments."
...Full body? Ushabti pile was huge. Pot overflowing with gold and gems. Sell in modern world? Buy a small country? Wow. Sucks the world's gone.
"...Jangling everywhere sounds annoying."
"I'll advise the maidens: wear only when appearing to lay followers."
"Good. If they hate it, no forcing."
"Naturally."
Hm... My place was starting to feel like a real shrine.
"Oh, and my Lord."
"Yeah?"
"Regarding the shrine maiden candidates."