Chapter 30: Strange Setup

Let’s take a blue trait called “Gluttony” as an example. Literally, it means this NPC eats a lot.

Logically, eating more means consuming more food, which should be considered a negative trait.

But “Gluttony” has another effect: when this NPC is full, all their stats can temporarily surge to 200% of their original values.

Food is one of the least valuable resources in the late game. If you can trade food for combat power, who wouldn’t want to? That’s why “Gluttony” is classified as a blue trait.

Traits can be good or bad, but even among those, there are degrees—some are just mildly good or bad, while others are exceptionally good or bad... It’s like how both 59 and 0 are failing grades, while 60 and 100 are both passing.

Of course, all these definitions are made by players during gameplay and aren’t set by the game itself.

For example, Domi’s “Reclusive” trait is an exceptionally bad red trait.

Traits affect socialization speed. Both loyalty and favorability are tied to social interactions, so Domi’s starting loyalty and favorability are lower than the other two NPCs—this is all because of “Reclusive.”

Not only are the initial values lower, but when you try to increase Domi’s loyalty or favorability later, the gains are also smaller than with other NPCs. For example, if you give their favorite item, others might gain ten favor points, but Domi might only gain five, or even less.

This is the second reason why Su You didn’t choose Domi.

If it were just low starting stats, she could accept it. But if the growth rate is also slow, Su You can’t accept that.

Because these two stats are very important—not just as loyalty and favorability, but also as a measure of how much the NPC trusts their territory and its ruler.

If loyalty is too low, the NPC might rebel. If favorability is too low, the NPC may have their own hidden agendas and won’t be completely loyal.

“...Honestly, there’s not much of a choice here anyway.” The main issue is that the gap between these three NPCs is just too big.

One is arrogant, one is reclusive—both have negative traits rated below twenty points.

But Doya is different. She has two positive traits, two skills, high talent stats, and her only negative trait only triggers in specific circumstances.

If Su You guessed right, that specific circumstance refers to “wolf packs.”

After all, Doya’s trauma comes from her father’s death, which was related to wolves... Some might think that just witnessing her father’s death shouldn’t leave such a shadow, and maybe it’s more about hatred than trauma.

But the thing is, in Doya’s eyes, her father wasn’t just a parent—he was also a powerful hunter and an all-capable mentor.

If even someone as strong as him couldn’t escape the wolves, wouldn’t that leave a psychological scar?

What’s more, he died because he was trying to bring Doya a gift, which makes the blow even worse for her.

So, there’s definitely hatred, but also trauma... After all, trauma isn’t only caused by fear.

But anyway, as long as there are no wolves around, Doya is basically a perfect NPC with no negative traits.

A negative trait that only triggers under certain conditions is much better than the other two, whose negative traits are always present.

Coincidentally, Su You was just worrying about how to deal with the shadow creatures on the tenth day. If she could successfully recruit Doya and equip her with suitable weapons and gear...

[Confirm recruitment of Doya?]

[Kind reminder: You can only recruit one NPC this time. Once confirmed, all other NPC recruitment info will be cleared from the panel. The NPC you choose will arrive at your territory within one day.]

“Yes.” As Su You made her choice, Doya’s information was enlarged and locked on the panel, while the other two NPCs’ info was wiped.

In addition, Su You noticed a new line of text after Doya’s name.

[This NPC is on their way to your territory. Estimated arrival time: ???]

Right now, the tavern is at a low level, so you can’t see any timing info—neither when new NPCs will refresh nor when they’ll arrive. Once you upgrade, these times will be displayed.

Not only that, upgrading the tavern will also shorten the refresh and arrival times for NPCs.

Now, all that’s left is a long wait.

Even though there’s no residential house or “Lord’s Mansion” for the player to live in, thanks to the tavern, Su You doesn’t have to rough it outdoors.

No matter how basic, the tavern is at least a roof over her head.

Su You wasn’t picky. She left the tavern door half open, dragged the only chair to the entrance, and sat down, leaning against the wall and basking in the firelight from the territory’s heart flame. She closed her eyes to rest.

...

...

“Is anyone there?” A faint voice sounded—it seemed to belong to a young woman.

Not only that, but from her tone, you could tell she wasn’t in great shape. Her voice was weak and feeble, as if she might pass out at any moment.

“...Is there really no one here?” The newcomer sounded doubtful, because she’d clearly seen the territory’s heart flame not far away...

A heart flame means there’s a territory nearby, and if there’s a territory, there should be people, right?

But she really didn’t hear anyone respond... Was her voice too soft?

Thinking this, the girl took a deep breath and forced herself to take a few more steps toward the heart flame.

She hadn’t eaten or rested properly for days, so she was in terrible shape. Even just a few steps felt like a lifetime, draining all her energy.

Once she stepped out from the cover of the trees, she saw what had been hidden from view—a very simple, small camp surrounded by a wooden fence, with just two signboards at the entrance (a notice board and a bounty board).

Because it was only a wooden fence and not a tall wall, she could clearly see everything inside.

There was the burning heart flame, two wooden crates, and a tavern.

The girl: ...What kind of weird setup is this?

Although she wasn’t a player but an NPC, NPCs also know about territories. Some especially talented management-type NPCs can even help players run and develop their territories.

This girl didn’t have that talent, but her past experience told her that building a tavern first was definitely not normal.

Who builds a tavern before even putting up a place to live?"

"Here is a fluent, natural English translation of your text: