Chapter 4: Is Settling a City on the Snowfield Human?

Watching those Norscans board their longships in sheer delight, kneeling before him, and then setting sail in the direction of the Devil Fish schools, Li Ang ignored the awestruck gazes of the slaves and the remaining Norscans, pulled his wolf-fur cloak tight, and returned to his room to sit down.

Everything was cool, fitting the crisp and decisive requirements of a not-so-bright divine messenger. Of course, there might be problems, but who would question the gold content of his Star Child status? He had bet correctly once again.

Looking at the heads on the ground that had died with their eyes wide open, Li Ang sat on the massive wooden chair and slowly closed his eyes.

He could feel that the suspicion and panic that had been permeating the settlement were rapidly dissipating.

Because his actions were an unquestionable miracle.

Being able to switch any citizen to any position—in other words, allowing anyone to master the skilled techniques of a profession anytime, anywhere.

Supported by such a miracle, all doubts and confusion were pale.

When the knowledge has already been placed in your mind, how can you still doubt? Establishing prestige, at least ensuring his image didn't appear before all Norscans and slaves merely as the pale figure of a Star Child brought by Wufuruike—this was the first step Li Ang chose.

Because he had the ability to bring people a better life; just knowing how to catch Devil Fish and having some knowledge in their minds was enough to make Norscans living in a near-primitive fishing and hunting society terrified with joy.

Especially given that Magic and gods truly existed in this world.

As for the risk of the so-called gods looking over, to be honest, Li Ang had never cared about such things.

He cared more about the problem at hand.

With the Civilization System, his consciousness and thoughts seemed to have instantly switched to the perspective of civilization itself.

Instinctively, he began wanting to utilize this deformed little settlement before him to expand into a great kingdom.

Or rather, since he already had the Civilization System, why bother with so-called power struggles?

I'll just act as the god myself, alright?

When it comes down to it, these were all minor matters; the real issue had already manifested in Li Ang's consciousness.

"The unrest in your city has been eliminated! All values will return to normal!"

"Main Quest: The First Step to Treading the World"

"Please expand the first city district based on the current watchtower, or assimilate a settlement to create the first city!"

"Reward: 30 Research Points, 15 Culture, 5 Magic, 5 Productivity, and one reasonably appearing Cultural Relic."

The rewards were generous, very suitable for a beginner's development.

Research Points, as the name suggests, are points for improving the level of technology.

After assimilating the Norscans' values, Li Ang was not surprised to find that he was almost starting from the primitive era.

But looking at the research and culture options whose unlock condition was the formal establishment of a city, Li Ang felt a bit silent.

This beachhead position right now didn't actually count as a city at all; at most, it was a watchtower.

It was only a settlement formed thanks to the Norscans' innate traits.

"Plundering for a Living: This race has a special talent for plundering. Plunder gains increased by 20%."

"Dark God Worship: This race's magical talent and manipulation tendencies will lean toward evil characteristics."

"Born Rebellious: This race's loyalty drops extremely quickly."

"Follow the Strong: This race has extremely high support for a single leader."

"Fishing and Hunting Tradition: This race counts as +1 food in hunting and fishing." "Nomadic Nature: This race can establish living settlements, which count as towns."

The Norscans' nature couldn't be called too good; it could only be said that at first glance, they didn't look quite human, which was somewhat different from the start Li Ang had initially imagined.

But precisely because of this, Li Ang was able to create a unique image and stance in the short term by utilizing some traits and abilities.

If there was no doubt regarding authority, then what remained were naturally the matters of arranging the establishment of the city in the true sense.

Without a city established, both the technology tree and the culture tree were locked, and he could only use the abilities the Norscans already possessed. Rationally speaking, settling the city as quickly as possible was the best choice.

Because a rough glance showed that the Norscans really had nothing besides plundering, fishing, and hunting, and their culture was even more abysmal.

Wanting to rely on the Norscans' own talents to develop and build a large civilization in a normal region was pure wishful thinking.

Whether they even had the concept of a city was debatable; it would be better to just sit down right here and eat some benefits first.

However, Li Ang didn't want to settle a city on this ice field.

Using the overhead view to look around the environment of this beachhead, Li Ang sat on the chair inside the wooden house and clicked his tongue in displeasure.

To be honest, with his current status and abilities, he might be in great danger once he reached the real outside world.

From a safety perspective, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush; settling the city stably was the best choice.

But Li Ang really didn't want to urbanize in this godforsaken place.

Because there was truly nothing there.

Looking out, everything around was white. There was no food, no productivity, just stretches of snow-covered land; he couldn't even see an animal.

To be able to utilize this Magic Snowfield, he had to advance the technology tree to Magic Transformation. But if he didn't settle the city, who knew where Magic Transformation was on the technology tree?

Even the shore and the ocean were pitch black, completely devoid of food and productivity symbols.

This meant the coastline didn't even have the most basic food and productivity; only the Devil Fish school tile showed signs of two units of food and one unit of magic offering.

If he used this seaside area as a center, sitting down here would be called "promising" if you put it nicely, or "waiting to die" if you put it bluntly. Whether he could develop a population of ten thousand in this lifetime was a bit doubtful.

Looking on the bright side, yes, Wufuruike might have discovered a Planet Wonder, but what use is a Wonder around a snowfield? Snowfields don't add values.

For a terrain like a Magic Snowfield, no matter how you operate it, it actually has no significance.

No special production capacity, no future, no productivity, no food, surrounded by ice and snow—wouldn't it be better to just utilize the nomadic life trait and wait until he re-embarks to explore other Norscan settlements before making plans?

Just as Li Ang was thinking this, a sensation came to his mind once again.

"Notification: Your exploration team has arrived at the designated area."

"You have discovered a super-large Planet Wonder (Unique): Ancient Ones' Experimental Zone!"

"..."

Suddenly, he felt that settling the city right here didn't seem like something he couldn't accept.

Watching the data cascading like a waterfall before him, Li Ang, sitting on the chair, suddenly felt that living out of thin air on the snowfield didn't seem like such a difficult problem after all.

(End of chapter)