The golden glow of dusk spread its wings through the sky, the perfect sunrise many don't admire.
Ashton did not enjoy the sun either, which wasn't surprising since his predominant genes were attuned to darkness.
However, the day was different. For the first time in a while, he decided to deactivate the vampire and undead genes and embrace his lively side.
'It's been so long I forgot how it felt to have blood rushing through my veins.' He thought while strolling around Livan with Aegis by his side.
The construction work was moving faster than anyone had predicted. Ashton had no doubts that Vulcan and the Giholan reinforcement were the reason behind the rapid progress.
With Vulcan's creationist skills and human-Giholan workforce, the results were astonishing. No matter what they did, the work was always a bit over the top. But Ashton didn't mind, and neither did the residents.
"Kyuu~" Aegis purred, rubbing his scent all over Ashton.
Ashton playfully pinched his cheeks before settling Aegis on his shoulder. Master's shoulder was his favourite place to be as he got to play with Ashton's unkempt hair and ears.
Upon watching how happy Aegis was wherever he was around him, Ashton had made it a point to spend as much time as possible with his pet. After all, he hadn't found the opportunity to do it before, and it seemed Aegis was thoroughly enjoying Ashton's decision.
"My lord," Priska, the Giholan consulate, greeted Ashton.
It was Otiga's idea to set up an embassy for the Giholans as it would let other civilisations know that earth had attained intergalactic allies. Detering other civilisations from exploiting the earth.
Also, it would boost the trading of resources and technologies between the two planets while encouraging other civilisations to do the same. That said, Ashton formally appointed Otiga to be earth's representative with a vote of confidence from the undead and the vampires.
"Lady Priska, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Ashton politely inquired.
Ashton's politeness came out of mutual respect and admiration, even though he didn't need to show respect towards the Giholan as they technically viewed him as a god.
"I have taken care of the arrangements as you wanted." Priska replied, her eyes planted on the ground, "Kass wanted me to deliver the news to you."
"Thank you for your help. I hope your relations with my people continue prospering even in my absence."
"It will, your lordship. We Giholans will gladly give up our lives to fulfil your wishes!"
"That's where you are wrong," Ashton shook his head while Aegis imitated him, "The Giholans are as close to my heart as the earthlings. I would never want anything to happen to either of you, so please, no giving up your life. Am I clear?"
Ashton's casual gesture was enough to make Priska overwhelmed with happiness. While Seraph's descendant didn't realise it, his words of affirmation were equivalent to a slave being treated as a family member by its masters.
Priska silently nodded before hurriedly retreating. Her actions left Ashton confused until he realised what had happened.
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The Familiarity of [Giholan] civilisation has increased!
Relationship level has increased!
Status: Followers (Lvl 2) -- The Giholans would follow your every command even if it leads to certain death.
Perks:
-- Industrialisation: Goods production rate will be increased by 2% as long as 4 Giholans contribute to the production facility. (Maximum number of facilities: 5)
-- Warfare: Giholans on the battlefield grant a 5% stat boost to surrounding non-Giholan units. (Can be stacked up to 3 times.)
-- Tech: Discoveries and inventions will enjoy a higher success rate of coming to fruition under Giholan supervision.
__
'What the heck is all this?'
[Have patience, will you, I need to remember how to do this...]
'Do what?'
As if on cue, another notification appeared before Ashton's eyes, which left him bamboozled.
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The administrator has recognised your efforts and unlocked <Territory Management tab>!
You can now assign roles and resources to develop your territory anywhere across the galaxy.
Proceed with registering <Livan> as the host's first territory?
<Yes/No>
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'Wait, you're telling me I could have managed Livan remotely this entire time?'
[Yeah, I kind of forgot about it till I saw the previous pop-up. But the good thing is, I remembered it now! Let's not waste any more time and get the city registered.]
Ashton had a lot of questions about the system and the secrets Astaroth had 'forgotten' about but decided to focus on the massive thing hovering before him instead.
As soon as Ashton selected yes, a detailed map of Livan appeared before him with names of everyone currently within the city. Even the buildings were named and had unique roles such as production, granary, weapon storage, and whatnot.
The sudden influx of information was a bit overwhelming, but with Astaroth's guidance, Ashton got accustomed to everything reasonably quickly.
[Now select the perks you want to apply to the city. Since it's a lvl 1 community, you can only use three perks, which is perfect since you got three bonuses from Giholan familiarity.]
Ashton nodded, and immediately a list of perks appeared before him. There were quite a few perks related to humans, werewolves, vampires, inhumans and basically every species that lived in the city. But only the ones he got from Giholans were useful for now.
Sadly, it seemed his personal achievements had nothing to do with the perks. Instead, a community effort was of more importance.
'Well, it's territory management, so it makes sense community achievements are more important.'
[One less thing for me to explain. Why can't you keep getting stuff on your own?]
'Why do you keep forgetting system functions?'
[Fair.]
While bickering, Ashton selected the perks, which got activated immediately. Since they were only beginner-level perks, there wasn't a noticeable change. However, the changes would bear fruits in the long run.
Also, Ashton would get more perks as more people settled down in Livan and when the territory eventually levelled up.
'By the way, thanks. This would make my life a lot easier.'
[Hehe.]
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