Chương 47: B1 | Chapter 41

Aidan As it turns out, I can actually assign workers to a building job just by thinking it. So it doesn't take long before I have the City Hall working as intended, with it being manned by voidlings. All of whom are humanoid voidlings, since the wolf-sized ant voidlings aren't tall enough to be taller than the counter. And that would make things awkward for a receptionist or desk worker. After dealing with that, I leave the city to explore the surrounding mountains.

But no matter where I go, there are always voidlings for as far as the eye can see. Just how many voidlings are there in my city…? I shake my head at the thought as I pass by the many voidlings, most of whom are currently chopping down trees and replanting more trees in their place. A ridiculous sight to see considering that most of them are oversized pitch black ants. On a side note, I have to wonder how they know so much about tree cutting and mining when the void doesn't have trees. It doesn't even have mines.

Even the few rare metals found in the void aren't mined in the ground but formed in the air around large pockets of void mana. That's a question for later, though. For now, I continue my exploration of the area. And eventually, after walking around for a couple hours at a speed faster than a regular human would, I find a city. One with much more normal looking walls than my own. But they're probably the same type of walls at the end of the day. Just different in color and texture.

The walls around my city are pitch black with a shiny and smooth texture, while the walls around this city look like regular stone. Meanwhile I find several dozen lizardkin standing alert on the walls that are staring at the many voidlings passing by their city. Neither side is attacking the other, though, as the voidlings move past undisturbed. And the lizardkin, while clearly wary, don't attack. Probably having learned their lesson from that small war that happened on the fourth floor of the Tutorial.

I continue exploring before finding three more cities. The first of which belongs to a species I haven't met before. Something called a grayling, which looks like a human with gray skin that is half the size of a normal human. They don't seem surprised by the voidlings at all and aren't even alert. Possibly due to already knowing what voidlings are, judging by their reactions to them. Did they have a lot of interactions with them on the fourth floor of the Tutorial?

Or maybe they already knew about voidlings before the System? Either way, they aren't a problem. The second city belongs to a bunch of ratkin, who were messing around, stealing from each other, and cowering from my voidlings at first sight. So I just moved past them without a care. And the third city actually belongs to dwarves. Which could make for a good trading partner considering that most dwarves, from what I heard in the Tutorial, were crafters. Blacksmiths, for most of them, but not all of them.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. After finding the dwarves, who are acting the same as the graylings towards the voidlings albeit while keeping an eye on them, I head back to my own city to find construction having already begun for numerous homes and other buildings all across the city. With a lot more voidlings here now than before. At least ten thousand. And the number is still growing. It's like a sea of black carapace…

The voidlings are also manning all of the walls all around the city, with numerous voidlings walking on top of the walls and walking around patrolling on both sides of the walls. And there also seems to be a lot more sapient voidlings capable of speech amongst them now than before. All of the voidlings who get near me immediately bow their heads before continuing with their current jobs. But I largely ignore them as I walk through the city, where numerous buildings are mid-construction.

Eventually, I arrive at the City Hall, where I find the first voidling I spoke to earlier discussing design plans with other voidlings. All of whom are humanoid voidlings. Each voidling stops speaking once they notice me before bowing their heads before Ratha says, "Great One, there has been no news on your family. However, we have scouted out all of the neighboring cities.

There are twenty System Cities in the area searched by the voidlings, and amongst them, three belong to lizardkin, three belong to dwarves, three belong to graylings, two belong to witches, five belong to humans, and four belong to zelbar. Of these System Cities, all of the lizardkin are cautious and afraid of us but not hostile, all of the dwarves have opened friendly relations with us, and all of the graylings have either opened friendly relations or maintained neutrality.

Three of the human cities have opened friendly relations with us, one of them is openly hostile, and one of them is terrified and were not capable of communication while unconscious from fear. Lastly, all four System Cities containing zelbar are hostile and attacked the instant they saw us." So about a fourth of the cities closest to my own are hostile towards us. That's not good.

"How many users are in each of the hostile cities?" I ask with a frown on my face before glancing to the side to notice a new set of armor similar to my current gear. Except brand new instead of badly damaged like mine. Oh, nice. They made new gear for me. Now I don't have to wear these anymore, considering the holes and cuts covering this set.

"Before their assault, the zelbar in the first city numbered approximately eight hundred, the second city numbered approximately three hundred, the third city numbered approximately one hundred, and the fourth city numbered approximately two hundred and fifty. Now they all number half of their prior numbers after attacking the swarm," Ratha answers, surprising me by the number the voidlings have already wiped out.

"The hostile human forces numbered eighty and treated the swarm as mere monsters to slay. However, they did not chase after the swarm during the swarm's departure. Therefore, they were not exterminated. Only a third of their number were slain before they retreated and the scouting mission resumed." My face darkens a little at the mention of so many human deaths, but after taking a deep breath, I look past it. Because they attacked first.

And I feel that some of my attachment to humans has vanished after becoming a Void Crowne anyway. Not all of it, of course, but I'm at least not very upset at the idea of random humans I don't know dying anymore. I am worried about Ali, Mom, and Dad, though. Please let them be okay… I take a deep breath before letting it out and asking, "Are there any matters I need to see personally to progress?" Ratha shakes his insectoid head as he answers, "There is nothing, Great One."

"Then I will go check out the Labyrinth," I tell him with a nod before glancing at the armor one of the voidlings is carrying to me. Then I nod my head at the voidling and take the armor. Moving up towards the suite at the top of the City Hall to change into it and store the old set. After finishing with that, I leave the City Hall and head towards the colosseum. But the first thing I do when I go inside isn't enter the Labyrinth.

The first thing I do inside the colosseum is look at the board located right next to the Labyrinth. Just to see if anyone has already started the Labyrinth or not. And the Gaia board is already filled with names. With the furthest person in the Labyrinth having reached the third floor already, and the rest of the names all being on the second floor. Hmm. Guess there are people who immediately entered the Labyrinth after arriving.

Although, it could just be that the first couple floors are really easy to clear for Bronze Tier users. I don't waste any more time as I move to walk down the stairs into the Labyrinth. Time to farm some War Points and source mana.