After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

Everyone knew in their guts that Alterra, even if it took decades, would become a City someday. This was not arrogance, just logical supposition.

So…why wouldn't they plan with that in mind?

This was evident with the treatment and importance given to the final subgroup, the Training and Recruitment Department. This group existed to ensure the skill level of the new recruits was up to par, their foundations solid, and their growth guaranteed.

The budget allocated here was not small, especially compared to the close-to-nil training budget of other territories, and the teachers made sure the trainees never forgot.

Whenever they were being thrown to harsh training, common lines thrown around were 'Don't waste taxpayers' money!' and 'That's all you can do?! Are you not ashamed to face the citizens?!'

Those assigned to teach the Schools' fighting classes and physical education sessions would also be from this group.

They were to ensure that the attitude and potential of the next generation were only increasing, not decreasing, like how it was with so many other powerful territories that had grown stagnant and complacent after reaching their peak.

To guarantee that the students would never grow stagnant, they were usually exposed to beasts early on, like how the Young Valors were, though obviously with a lot more handicap.

Other than the guards, the citizens themselves also had a very strong drive for growth.

For one, the Training Hall was fully booked for the whole 28 hours of the day. Anyway, they only had to sleep a few hours a day after a certain level. Past level 30, they heard that they would only need two to three hours to feel re-energized.

Of course, the issue with Spirit was different, so if one had gone on an exhausting adventure or fight, two hours of sleep was not enough even for a high-leveled individual.

The mobs also did not choose what time to attack and with the aether of Alterra so strong, they were pretty much endless and coming from all directions. There was no lack of places to train for the normal citizen who wanted to grow strong, grow rich, and extend their lifespans.

Since the time needed to rest wasn't much anymore, some freelancers had odd working hours. The territory didn't have to require them to work at certain times; they simply determined the times when there were fewer fighters and chose those times.

On top of the noble cause of making sure the territory was protected at all hours of the day, these periods of time also meant there were more monsters for them, and therefore more contribution points.

Although life was good, even if they didn't have too many points, humans were greedy critters—they always wanted more!

Interestingly, because of this, there were shops that were open for a full 28 Hours every day, mostly comprising of the stalls in the marketplace, making it busy all throughout the day.

Some of the people who chose the odd times of the day were Fred and those with day jobs.

Fred joined the guard clearing, and Baku was there. Their meeting was not the best, with Baku even causing Fred to inadvertently pee on his pants.

Rumor has it that Fred was rejected by a few suitors because of this reputation.

Baku felt guilty for himself, so he always was next to Fred to protect him, making the redhead extremely flattered.

Baku still disliked Gill, though, for no other reason than that he just had a punchable face, along with their horrid first impressions.

Orcs and half-orcs held very deep grudges, at least the aggressive types like Baku. Because his first impression of Gill was very bad—with the smell of Gochi's blood —it was estimated it'd take a while before he got over this grudge.

This would manifest during sparring times and the like, where Gill and Baku would always find themselves in the Sparring ring one way or another. While it was a good training, Gill had been punched in the face more than a few times.

Cassandra and the others just found it amusing. Many people had always wanted to punch Gill, anyway.

In any case, with the help of Baku, Fred was now holding his own against an (injured) Level 13 monster. The rest of the guards and citizens were handling their own monsters to train.

The guards were specifically instructed never to baby the citizens and only save them if they were about to die or receive irreversible damage, so now Fred was filled with wounds, but he gritted his teeth and pushed himself.

Amusingly, Baky would also occasionally give instructions. "You can yell. Roar. From the stomach. Adds force."

"HYAAA!" Fred stupidly yelled as he barraged the monster with attacks, feeling the power of his bellow.

Fred's element was fire, and his weapon of choice was the sword (which was the weapon 95% of protagonists in adventure stories use). He was now level 13, and he only needed a few more kills to level up.

The monster he was up against was a monster called the Flaggoid, which usually came from the East, and had levels ranging from 12 through 15. It had the appearance of a giant centipede, except much more disgusting. It also had a taste for heads.

"HYAAAAA!" he bellowed again, concentrating aura in his stomach. This allowed his hits to become firmer and stronger, while at the same time improving his firepower as well.

One by one, he reduced its legs to burnt sticks or detached sticks. He was a bit more bloodied and wet with sweat, though he was determined not to receive any more help at this point in the fight.

Anyway, enough was known about this monster that it was a shame for him to get so much help!

For example, unlike centipedes, its underside was not weak, but quite armored. He couldn't take advantage of its underbelly because it was no less hard than the rest of it.

However, like centipedes, its confirmed weaknesses were the segments. They were especially weak to heat!

So after several more hacks and a few more wounds, Fred successfully broke through a segment, his sword embedded deep into it.

And because most of its legs have already been cut off, it could only wiggle wildly, which was enough time for Fred to swipe his sword to the side, completely decapitating it!

They looked satisfied at the kill, and Fred couldn't be any prouder.