More by Andrew Karevik
The Tradesmen are no more. With the help of his allies, Charles finally managed to oust the nefarious guild and free Liora of its iron grip. Yet, the destruction of the Tradesmen had an unexpected effect. The vast territory they were controlling is now up for grabs, triggering a race for all Champions to claim as much land as possible. And in that rush, new dangers and enemies arise.
To counter those threats, Charles—always the big thinker—decides to create a coalition, some sort of defensive organization like NATO from his old world. But when he sets on his way to meet with possible members, something happens and one Champion is murdered in front of him. Before he disappears, the assassin makes it clear that Charles is next. And not even Roost, Knives or Alamander might save him.
Is this the end of the road for the ruler of Tine, or will he manage to use his wits and a lifetime of experience to once again escape sure death and the annihilation of his nation?
Follow Charles as he returns to the Scale Market to trade with more dragons and curry favor with them. Follow him as he is finally forced to develop his army and start investing money and points into military advancements.
Charles’ crazy wager paid off. After facing near annihilation, he managed to upend Nicos the warmonger and secure a new strip of land near the coast. With Tine growing steadily, he can now turn his attention to developing this new village and turning it into a new powerhouse.
But as always, nothing ever goes as planned. For one, the borders of his new territory do not quite reach the water, so he cannot build a Seaport until he levels up his village. He cannot even access the resource tiles such as the fish, making this place completely depend on Tine for food.
On top of that, Charles still needs to find a way to reinstate Tanders who’s been chased away from Igithor by rival Henderson Aimes (with the help of the Silver Fools.) One of the possible options is to recruit more Heroes to retake the guildhall, especially since his loyal wizard Alamander has yet to return from his secret leave.
But to get access to those special units, he first needs to build a Hall of Heroes. And for that, he needs rare artifacts…
Follow our dear champion as he juggles a dozen different problems at the same time yet again, embarks on perilous expeditions and strives to strike those new deals that will finally turn Tine into a real trade empire.
Now a Level 3 village, Tine has grown considerably since that fateful day Charles Morris got thrown in Liora by mistake and decided to become its Champion. With threats of uprising behind him, Charles could focus on bringing the Satisfaction and Happiness rates higher than ever, while also adding the basic structures that would generate enough weekly income to keep Tine growing steadily.
But as with the companies he used to run in his previous life, he’ll find that the bigger a village gets, the bigger the problems.
Follow our dear champion as he embarks on a delicate mission to switch governments. Follow him as he must select the best candidates for new advisor slots as they open and also find a way to up his Cultural Points in order to unlock new options in the Great Picture… all the while having to deal with a mighty warmonger and a mysterious group of thieves that could very well ruin everything he’s been working so hard for.
Today is the day that I, Luciano Fjorborn, First Paladin of Berella, go out into Yurnip County to push back the forces of darkness with a few vigorous thrusts of my mighty lance! Who’s Berella? Why, she’s the goddess of love, tenderness and hot rumpy-pumpy, of course! As her loyal servant, it is my mission to go out of my cloister and show the world Berella’s divine love. Repeatedly. And in multiple positions!
But it’s a cruel world out there, especially for a Paladin who doesn’t believe in violence (unless it’s consensual and proper headgear is involved.) So I’m going to need as many hands on deck to ensure we can get the job done properly! No, wait, I said, ‘Deck. Deck!’
Come on, don’t call me a perv! I’m a holy warrior from a totally legit religion! Just give me a chance to show you Berella’s glory! No! Not like that! Officer, wait, let me explain!
Your Diplomacy skill has failed! Next time, try opening with a compliment on her hair, you weirdo.
Content warning: Profanity? Check. Intimate relationships with scenes hot enough to cook a turkey? Check. Good and bad jokes? Check, please! Finally, an ecumenical sexy comedy that’ll be fun, unless you’re an old fogy.
I guess trying to catch the bus with your laces undone isn’t such a smart decision after all…
One fatal collision later and I’m facing my judgment. As it turns out, I’ve been a lazy sob and my short, uneventful life of playing games and getting up late wasn’t worth much. And so I don’t qualify to move on to the afterlife.
I try to argue to the goddess in front of me that I do have skills, that it was hard work playing those simulation and management games. But she will not concede.
In the end, I manage to get the benefit of the doubt and a wager is made. To test my claims, I’ll be sent to a desolate, Level 1 village with the mission to make it thrive. If I fail or die, the goddess will bring me back to my old life, back to the drudge of working at the grocery store.
But that’s not going to happen. I will prove that all these countless hours spent in front of my computer were not in—
Ack, my head! Where the hell have I landed? Looks like a dilapidated farm, with a few huts scattered about. Qualifies as a desolate village alright. I can’t believe it. This is it! I’m actually doing this! But where do I even begin… Yes, first, find the Mayor… but then what, convince her to hand over the keys so I can work my magic? Could it be that simple?
Oh, there she is. Uh, hello? Hmm, why isn’t she waking up? Maybe I should go look for some quest to do in the meantime. Uh, are these goblins I see there on the road?
“You are under attack!”
Dang.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
The gods should have agreed to fight the giants and let Ragnarök run its course and bring about the end of time. For a new world could only rise from the ashes of the old. But because the gods prophesied to die refused to take part, Yggdrasil—the World Tree—was forced to act before the stalemate led to the annihilation of the nine worlds and its very existence.
And so I was born.
One of the many seeds dispersed by the mighty World Tree, I was teleported through different planes and universes to find a new home where to settle. Eventually, I landed in a strange forest known as the Feverwood. However, this place is nothing like my home world. Here, there are no mighty Vikings or Valkyries, but humans, elves, orcs, and other strange creatures.
If I want to flourish and carry on the World Tree’s legacy, I will have to grow my roots and expand my branches towards the sky. But if, at first, I rely on the ambient magic to power my growth, as my Mother did before me, I quickly learn that there’s a far more efficient way…
This is the story of how I find how to attract adventurers into my mouth and absorb their raw essence as they succumb to the challenges I pit them against. This is the story of how I make the acquaintance of many a friend and foe, both mortals and gods. This is the story of how a stranger in a strange land must face many a peril to ensure its own survival. This is the story of the Tree Dungeon.
I’m not alone anymore.
Since that day I injured a Kinru and absorbed the Bloodpoints that turned me into a Venator, I had been doing every darn thing on my own. From tracking monsters to setting traps or even having to figure this whole craziness out, I could count on no one but myself.
Luckily, things have changed. With the creation of the first Lodge in centuries, I now have recruits to follow in my footsteps, recruits who will—once blessed by the power of Bloodpoints—each have their own special class and abilities, depending on their personality and natural talents. Yes, I finally have people to watch my back.
Still, that doesn’t mean that I can slack off in the least, oh no! The Zinoss Jungle is still far from a safe place. There are myriad other monsters roaming the surface…and Mulrand, the worst of them all, the terrifying Titan who’s reigning over this particular region.
If we want to have a chance to defeat him and bring the villagers to the surface, we need to grow our ranks and power. Thankfully, as I push further into the jungle than I’ve ever been before, I stumble upon a few new villages that might give us that edge that we lacked: new technology, miners, metal, engineers, as well as a few more recruits…
But if I’m not alone in this anymore, I might not feel entirely like myself these days. The more I hunt down those monsters, the more I can feel the malicious effects of the Hunter’s Stare, that condition known to drive a Venator slowly insane until he turns into a Dread Beast. I will need to find answers to that sentence, especially now that I have other fellow hunters who could fall victim to it.
When I climbed out to the surface this morning, to scavenge some food for my village, I knew the odds were severely stacked against me. A mere nurse, I had no business going out into the sun where all kinds of monstrosities roamed. But what other choice did I have? All our scouts had already perished on previous surface runs, leaving us few other options. It was either take the gamble or let my people die of hunger.
As if to prove my fears right, I was only out in the open for a few minutes when a pack of Kinru spotted me. Standing absolutely no chance, I started to run for my life but was quickly cornered by one of the fearsome beasts.
In a last desperate attempt to defend myself, I managed to hurt one in the face…right before the creature was snatched by an even bigger monster that turned it into a snack. Then everything became a blur.
When I came to, I wasn’t the same anymore. As it turns out, wounding the Kinru had earned me some mystical energy called “Bloodpoints” which gave me access to the “Hunter’s Sight.” Now, wherever I look, I have strange words floating before my eyes urging me to assign those Bloodpoints to gain incredible skills and abilities. Moreover, if I manage to kill a monster in the future, it would seem that I could use its bones to craft powerful talismans and its organs to brew magical potions.
As I’ll learn, there’s a name for people like me who’ve unlocked the Hunter’s Sight: Venators. But if those new talents give me a chance to survive on the surface, I still am very much a green and weak Venator. I will need to keep hunting monsters if I want to increase my points and provide for my people. Who knows, someday, I might even grow strong enough to reclaim the surface from those foul beasts and the worst of them all: the Titans, the dreaded giants which drove humanity underground in the first place…
When Charles Morris is forced into retirement, the old multinational company CEO has to accept that it is all over. The days of running his financial empire have finally come to an end. All because of a stupid heart attack. Now what is there for him to do but to curl up in a corner and die?
While Charles is attending a fundraiser, however, something happens and he’s transported into a strange medieval world where magic is real and legendary heroes coexist with mythical monsters.
As it turns out, he’s been snatched by a goddess who was in need of a Champion to grow her village. But the goddess made a mistake. He wasn’t the one she was targeting with her spell. Long story short, she departs without even a word of excuse, leaving Charles stuck with no means of going back home. Not one to feel sorry for himself, Charles embraces this new opportunity, especially since the goddess’ magic returned him to his prime during the transfer.
On his way, Charles meets the inhabitants of Tine, a modest village that’s been awaiting a sign from the gods for centuries. And after discussing the situation with the Mayor, he decides to help them out by assuming the role of their Champion.
Relying on a lifetime of business expertise and the Topsight—an ability that allows him to see and manage the entire village from above—he will have to start back from the bottom and find how to bring this measly Level 1 village to prosperity. One thing is for certain, it will be a long road.
As Charles starts looking for any opportunity to generate gold, the problems begin to pile up. Soon, Charles not only has to deal with bandits and other rulers looking to make a profit out of him, he also has to face internal crises that threaten to escalate into a full-blown uprising.
Because, as he’ll quickly learn, the Mayor had somehow "forgotten" to tell the villagers of their deal, and now they’re mad at him for usurping the position of Champion without the approval of the gods. And so, they give him an ultimatum: he has one month to prove himself and improve Tine, otherwise it’s the hangman’s noose.
Follow Charles as he takes on the challenge of a lifetime. Follow him as he builds roads and shops, hires heroes, develops alliances with neighboring villages…but also fights terrible foes while struggling to maintain the Happiness and Satisfaction levels of his village in the positives.
The time is now. Ever since he first set foot in Liora, Charles had to suffer the Tradesmen’s criminal practices, but now is the time for him to strike back and take them down for good.
But as our dear Champion gets ready to make his move, his plans are smashed to bits. While he counted on his trading with Liskoa to bring him the money needed to fund his retaliation, he can only watch as a pirate ship sinks one of his vessels, cutting off the cash coming in.
As it turns out, those pirates received their orders from a city under Tradesmen management. Willing to investigate the matter, Charles decides to pay the place a visit. Maybe there’s a way he can sway the guildmaster and get him in his pocket, just like he did with Tanders… His hopes quickly vanish when he finds that two factions are really governing the city, and none is interested in challenging the status quo. Thankfully, not all is lost. Working on a side operation, Charles manages to secure some gunpowder that might allow him to research cannon technology, which could arm his ships and improve the defenses of Brightwinds…
Join Charles as the borders of his small empire continue to expand, threatening to gobble up that of an allied force. Join him as yet another advisor slot opens, allowing him to finally appoint a Spymaster and create an intelligence network to help him subvert his enemies.