Eternal Empire - Kingdom Building

Laura raised an eyebrow, sensing something off. “You want me to stay outside?”

“If you can…” David hesitated, unsure how to voice his concern.

“Don’t worry. I have more experience in situations like this than you do.” Laura assumed David was worried about her safety, but with her background in adventures, she dismissed the idea that an ordinary cave could pose any real threat.

What David actually feared wasn’t Laura’s safety, but the cave itself. He couldn't shake the thought of it collapsing, a fear that felt outrageous even to him. He knew he couldn't explain that to Laura, so he reluctantly lit a torch and stepped inside.

Laura flicked on her flashlight, following him into the cave.

The air was cooler inside, a refreshing change from the warmth outside. As they walked further in, they found nothing out of the ordinary.

The cave twisted downward, but before long, they reached its end.

“That’s it?” Laura looked around, taking in the walls lined with various ores. She sighed. “It seems like just an ordinary natural mine.”

“Yeah, and the mining difficulty isn’t high,” David replied, surveying the area. This type of open-pit mine was among the easiest to extract from. He couldn’t judge the ore reserves just yet, but even a modest supply would be sufficient for Cold Winter Village—he’d need to recruit a few miners soon.

Brushing his hand over the metallic ores on the walls, David mused that if this were a farming and development game, his home base would be pretty solid. Sure, it was remote, but that came with a perk: fewer threats from “various forces.”

“Looks like this is just an ordinary natural mine. Let’s head out.”

“Wait.” Laura squatted in a corner, deep in concentration. “I think there’s a draft coming from here.”

“Ah?”

David turned to see her holding her hands out, feeling the air. She groped along the wall, finally stopping at a spot where she tapped a few times with her climbing pick.

“There’s another cave here.”

“So?” David shrugged. “It’s normal for these kinds of caves to have smaller gaps or passages, right?”

“I just want to see if I can go deeper.” Laura stood up, grabbed her climbing pick, and swung it hard against the spot she had just identified. To her surprise, after only two strikes, the stone wall crumbled easily.

But that wasn’t the worst part. As the wall broke, a chain reaction began. The ground beneath Laura’s feet gave way, and she felt herself falling.

David reacted instantly. When Laura screamed and the ground gave way, he lunged forward, aiming to catch her. But he was a fraction too late, watching helplessly as she fell. A pickaxe flew through the air, embedding itself firmly in the stone wall just a meter in front of him.

“...”

“Huh~ Luckily, I reacted quickly enough.” Laura looked up at David, who was above her, and flashed a playful grin, half of her body hanging off the edge. “So, scared? Jump.”

No longer the naive girl he’d first met, Laura was now a seasoned adventurer, shaped by her experiences. The incident with Himiko had toughened her up, making her adept at navigating dangerous situations. She felt at home in moments like this, even if her movements were a bit slow.

“Need me to pull you up?” David asked, having already withdrawn his hand. He knew she could climb up using her pick.

Laura lingered, seemingly in no rush to ascend. “Wait, there’s something down here.” She took out several lighting sticks, ignited them, and tossed them into the void below.

The lighting stick landed just a short distance from her, illuminating the area. “I’ll go down and take a look!” Laura said, using her climbing picks to slide down before jumping the last few feet. She landed gracefully, her flashlight cutting through the darkness.

The space was small—about a hundred square meters—but she quickly spotted something unusual at the center: a stele-like structure, clearly man-made, with words engraved on it. “It’s the Common Language!”

Lately, in addition to Fording diligently studying English, both Laura and Mark had been learning the lingua franca of their world.

“Thanks for...blessing, here to offer...the fruits of hard work...hope...”

The inscription was fragmented, much of it unreadable. Laura crouched down, her flashlight revealing the base of the stele, where more dust-covered man-made objects lay hidden.

“The bottom here is a stone slab that’s been precisely treated.”

David’s footsteps echoed behind her, and she knew he had arrived beside her.

At that moment, David squatted down, lightly poking the ground with his hands. Beneath his fingers, he felt the slate, intricately carved with various patterns. “This area seems to be paved with slate.”

He had already taken in the stele before, and Laura had read out the decipherable words.

“This is an altar,” Laura concluded, glancing around thoughtfully. “It’s used to thank the gods for blessings and to ensure a good harvest...er…”

Suddenly, she recalled David’s earlier explanation of this world, where he mentioned that the Common Language was the one used by humans. That meant this altar must have been built by humans.

“Which human kingdom once claimed this place?” she asked.

“According to what I know, no human kingdom has ever ruled this northern region. The Kingdom of Tilan is the northernmost kingdom recorded in history.” David spoke confidently; the stories of Tilan’s glory were often recited throughout the kingdom.

But uncertainty clouded his thoughts. Could this altar belong to elves? They seemed unlikely to inhabit such a cold area. “Maybe a small group of humans lived here?” he speculated. Isolation was not uncommon, and just because no kingdom ruled the area didn’t mean it hadn’t been inhabited. Perhaps those who once called this place home had perished due to the harsh environment.

Another possibility crossed his mind: what if the altar only materialized with Laura’s arrival?

He couldn’t help but think of Mark Watney and his potatoes, and now Laura with this ancient altar—an odd yet logical connection.

“If that’s the case, what’s the purpose of this altar?” David pondered aloud, glancing back at the meager inscriptions on the stone tablet. Perhaps it was meant to offer harvested food, a plea for protection to ensure future bounties.

“Maybe we should try it?” Laura suggested, her curiosity piqued.

David mulled over the various possibilities while Laura explored the altar, confirming that the patterns on the slate didn’t hold any particular meaning. Her interest waned; the only intriguing aspect remained the stone tablet with its sparse content.

“There doesn’t seem to be anything else here.” Laura turned to search the surrounding stone walls for hidden gaps but found nothing. “I wonder why this ancient altar is mixed in with the mine veins. Could it be due to tectonic shifts?”

With no more discoveries to be made, Laura’s enthusiasm faded. She decided to head back up using the rope David had fixed to an iron nail when they descended.

David didn’t linger either. He waited for Laura to climb up, then packed away the rope before they both exited the cave.

“Let’s continue searching for the wolves... what is that?” Laura’s voice trailed off as she stepped into the sunlight, startled by the enormous creature before them.

The beast stood nearly three meters tall, an ugly sight with thick arms covered in dirty white fur, clutching a massive wooden club.

As Laura recoiled in shock, the giant creature locked eyes with her and David. There was no time for warnings. In an instant, the monster roared and charged at them, swinging its club.

But before the creature could close the distance, Laura and David launched their attack. In the blink of an eye, two arrows flew through the air, aimed for the beast's eyes and throat.

The monster reacted swiftly, halting its charge and twisting to avoid the arrows. Although they hadn’t taken it down, the arrows bought David and Laura precious time.

David raised his hand, releasing a burst of golden holy light. Golden shields enveloped both of them, providing a protective barrier. Then he aimed his left hand at the approaching giant. Before it could fully register the threat, a flash of holy light exploded in front of its eyes.

While the holy light didn’t inflict significant damage, it effectively obscured the monster’s vision, further delaying its next move.

Seeing that Laura's arrows had only scratched the surface of the monster's toughness, David dropped his bow and arrow, sprinting toward the beast.

As he charged, a golden flame flickered to life in his right hand. Just as he closed the distance, the holy light shield expanded, intercepting the troll's wooden club mid-swing.

With a fierce determination, David intensified the flames in his hand, focusing his energy.

“Here goes nothing!” he shouted, launching the sacred fire at the creature.

The moment the flames hit, the monster erupted into a towering bonfire, its roar drowning in the crackling blaze.