I enter my system interface and tap where it says town hall. Nothing new appears.

It reiterates that I need the goblin population (requirement met) and the town hall (requirement not met) to access the village control interface. I don't get a list of necessary materials, and it doesn't ask if I want to build the town hall.

So it's not going to be the quick way. Well, I hope when I have the control interface things will change and it will help me build structures. For now, it's going to have to be the traditional way.

Since both the totem and more curious goblins have followed me again, I turn to him and ask:

"Can you tell me what's in a goblin town hall?"

"Of course. A large wooden table, seats around it, and a cabinet to store maps and writing and drawing tools. Plus the pedestal."

"Is it made of wood?"

"Stone. Circular, this wide," he says, spreading his hands a little over a meter apart, "and as tall as my waist."

"Perfect. Except for the pedestal, bring everything from other caves. You can craft them again later to replace them."

The totem gives an order and four of the goblins hurry off to fetch the table, seats, and cabinet. Meanwhile, I'm going to handle the pedestal.

My mana is full after a night's rest. Though before casting the spell, I tell the totem he'll have to give me instructions to adjust it until it looks like he remembers.

So, without further delay, I cast the spell and mold and raise the stone from the floor to make the pedestal. The first thing I form is a cylinder with the dimensions he gave me.

"Make it a bit wider at the top," he guides me.

Following his instructions, I end up refining the width of the cylinder, making it a bit narrower in the middle, and placing something like a circular platform on top, wider and about a palm thick. It's at the totem's waist height; but, I don't know why, it doesn't seem right to me.

Hmm, maybe because it's me or Ronan who are going to use it.

I raise its height until it's appropriate for a human. And I leave it there. I'm about to release control of the spell when the totem tells me:

"You need to engrave your settlement's symbol at the top. In our case it was a goblin fang."

Perfect.

Truth is, I also need a name for my people. And it's not just the Splintered Fang tribe. There are also undead and bears. And I want to raise some of those majestic wolves we saw in the forest.

Decided.

I carve, with my mental stone control, a bear claw. Half has fur and represents a living creature. The other half is just bones.

The best part of all is that if someone gave me a chisel, I wouldn't have known how to do it. But like this, I manage without problems to reproduce the image I paint in my mind onto the pedestal.

I release the spell.

Then something strange happens: the room we're in starts to glow.

The crude wooden furniture—which the goblins brought and placed while I, focused as I was on my spell and the pedestal, didn't even notice—emits a bright green light, same as the pedestal and even the floor, ceiling, and walls.

Gump jumps back a step, looking scared. I barely glance at him. I'm too absorbed by what's unfolding before my eyes, as I can see how the color of the pedestal's stone changes until it turns green and the engraving I made is marked in a vibrant jet black.

The furniture seems to gain quality. They're still sturdy and solid wood, but their finishes are finer and polished. The seats are still all stools except the one presiding over the table. That one grows, glows more intensely, and when the light starts fading, I can see it's now a regal chair, with arms and a high back.

Worthy of a leader.

Finally, the green luminosity fades, turning black, and disappears.

A new notification opens before my eyes.

Congratulations, your level 0 beginner settlement meets the requirements to rise to level 1. Assign it a name.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I don't even think about it.

"Convergence," I say.

Because that's what I was thinking when I designed the claw. Living and dead, men and beasts, working together. Coexisting. Growing stronger and thriving.

Maybe I'm influenced by the whole thing about me having to achieve balance, but I feel it's a perfect name.

Congratulations. Your settlement Convergence has risen to level 1. You can now access the settlement control interface. To do so, approach and place your hand on the engraving on the town hall pedestal.

Congratulations, you have gained 100 influence points.

Amid the cheers of the totem and the other goblins, even from a couple of zombie trolls who are also in the room (were they the ones who brought the table?), I approach and place my hand on the black claw.

Immediately, a screen like the system's rises above the pedestal, as wide as it and tall up to the crown of my head.

On Earth, I'd say it's like a hologram. Here, it resembles the screens the system usually shows me. From the goblins' exclamations of surprise, they can see it too.

Settlement Convergence. Level 1. Influence points: 179.

Population:

Living: 68 goblins, 8 bears.

Undead: 57 skeletons, 36 zombies.

Current buildings: 4

Available buildings: 6

Current blessings: 0

Available blessings: 3

Leadership

"Can you see it?"

"Leader Bianca," the totem tells me, "in the prosperous village the humans drove us from, my grandfather had this same pedestal. All of us can see there are letters written above, in the air, but of all of us only I can read. My grandfather taught me."

Interesting.

Good to know it's not something that appears only before my eyes.

I tap on leadership, since I'm not entirely clear what it is.

Permitted users: 1. Bianca L'Crom.

Oh, so I can't add Ronan? Or the totem, who can read.

I tap on the words permitted users.

The word "change" appears.

I tap it.

No additional users permitted until settlement level 2. Current user cannot be changed, as she is the leader of Convergence. Inheritance options unlock at kingdom level.

Alright.

Makes sense. If I handed over my leadership to someone, it would be like I stopped being the future demon lord. Nothing the seed of darkness and its contract are going to allow.

I tap where it says kingdom, to see if I can find out what settlement level is needed for that, but the screen doesn't change.

And how do I go back?

All this time, I'm interacting with my left hand, since I have my right on the pedestal. Next time, I'll try switching them since I'm not left-handed.

I try tapping twice quickly on the screen. Nothing. I swipe it to the side (that's how I close my system windows) and watch as the screen disappears and returns to the previous one. The one with the 5 options.

This time, I start from the top and select the first option: current buildings.

I can see that the ones Ronan built the traditional way are being counted as part of the settlement. It also shows me the cost to upgrade them.

Forge-Smithy

Maximum workers: 2

Unlock cost: 20 influence points

Construction cost (choose one): 100 gold coins 1 gold coin, 10 logs, and 800 stone bricks 1 gold coin, 10 logs, and 160 stone blocks 200 influence points

Upgrade cost (choose one): 400 gold coins 1 gold coin, 15 logs, and 1200 stone bricks 1 gold coin, 15 logs, and 240 stone blocks 800 influence points

The smithy has a stone-brick furnace, bellows, and iron anvils. Its constant fire keeps the heart of the village warm, where tools, weapons, and horseshoes are repaired.

Cold Storage

Maximum workers: 1

Unlock cost: 10 influence points

Construction cost (choose one): 100 gold coins 1 gold coin, 8 logs, and 600 stone bricks 1 gold coin, 8 logs, and 120 stone blocks 200 influence points

Upgrade cost (choose one): 140 gold coins 1 gold coin, 12 logs, and 900 stone bricks 1 gold coin, 12 logs, and 180 stone blocks 280 influence points

An underground chamber insulated with polished stone and clay, kept at low temperature by ice golems. Allows long-term preservation of food, medicine, and other perishables.

Additional Effect: Reduces food consumption across the village and prevents spoilage.

Smokehouse

Maximum workers: 2

Unlock cost: 10 influence points

Construction cost (choose one): 70 gold coins 1 gold coin, 10 logs, and 500 stone bricks 1 gold coin, 10 logs, and 100 stone blocks 140 influence points

Upgrade cost (choose one): 120 gold coins 1 gold coin, 14 logs, and 700 stone bricks 1 gold coin, 14 logs, and 140 stone blocks 240 influence points

A sturdy stone-and-wood structure with tall chimneys where meat and fish are cured and smoked.

Additional Effect: Enables food preservation without the need for Cold Storage, though with lower efficiency.

Town Hall

Maximum workers: -

Unlock cost: 10 influence points

Construction cost (choose one): 140 gold coins 1 gold coin, 20 logs, and 1200 stone bricks 1 gold coin, 20 logs, and 240 stone blocks 280 influence points

Upgrade cost (choose one): 360 gold coins 25 gold coin, 25 logs, and 1600 stone bricks 25 gold coin, 25 logs, and 320 stone blocks 720 influence points

Built of simple stone and timber, the Town Hall stands as the heart of the village where decisions are made, expeditions organized, and resources distributed.

Additional Effect: Unlocks fast construction of buildings such as Workshops, Market, and Garrison. Increases citizen morale and work efficiency.

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