Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

So, this is a unique chapter of sorts.

First, I used Chat GPT to try and edit this chapter, only grammar with minimal changes to the initial structure of the chapter, let's see if that helped!

After that, I was thinking if I should redo the chapter, but asking chat GPT to make bigger changes in the structure of the chapter to try and improve it.

What do you all think? Would you read the same chapter twice to give me feedback?

In case you guys are interested, I'll leave the base altered version in Volume 0 after this chapter is posted.

That version was altered by chat GPT from the base chapter before MY own edit, meaning, it's considerably smaller than the main one.

In fact, now that I think about it, I'll leave two versions there.

One before my own edit, and one after, yeah, that's about it!

This chapter also begins the start of the Time Skip I promised not so long ago, it'll be about 2 weeks long and it'll encompass the entirety of the Growth Event of the Village.

It'll be fun.

Thank you for reading!

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(I'll start the time skip by giving a quick summary of the previous two days. You'll understand why later…)

As the days went by, Dale continued with his training and progressed with his plans…

Day 1

The first day of Resko's intensive training.

Starting off with a bang, this was the day Testros reached enlightenment after achieving a long-held dream. While also being the day he set a new goal for himself—a desire to surpass his own limits and create a new future, one in which he can actively participate instead of entrusting it to another generation.

It was also the day Dale learned how to use Mana after watching Testros, an event that would lead to unforeseen consequences due to the opening of the Heart Gate.

This was also the day he learned a bit about the truth of the outside world when he was attacked right next to his home.

This marked the beginning of his growing desire for power and an obsession with the unknown.

What was once simply a means for him to seek out the truth, not a true goal, now held more significance. The situation had escalated, involving the people around him—his family.

And he wouldn't let fate run through him scot-free.

Day 2

Not much happened this day.

Dale witnessed Illia's progress and her growth toward becoming a cook, rather than simply a caretaker.

She had finally settled into doing something with her life, instead of living day by day taking care of children who were not hers.

She no longer let the days pass by without a goal as she now strived to improve with a goal in mind, even if that wasn't as grandiose as a warrior that slew dragons, she would make others smile, one dish at a time.

Although she loved her previous role, it wasn't her true calling, but now, she could take better care of the children around her by preparing tastier, healthier foods.

Since seeing their smiles was everything she could ask for.

Later in the day, through Rodi, Dale created a player squad with the goal of collecting materials in the Catacombs in the hopes this would be enough to silence a certain old man who complained about the lack of materials.

He also hoped this would contribute to the stability of Resko through their empowerment, as with that, they would oppress others in his stead.

Not long after, Dale reached Level 30, being almost 10 levels ahead of the number 1 player in the official leaderboards, becoming the first one to do so and receiving the corresponding privilege for such a grand achievement.

Around this time, Tina returned from the Forest.

And although she tried to brush it off, it was evident that she was lightly injured, worrying many as, for older people like her, no matter how strong they are, their natural healing abilities weren't the same before, and even a simple injury could lead to a series of problems that, one day, could lead to death.

Dale couldn't tell her to stop, as he knew she wouldn't if he tried. At most, he could make her hesitate, and that was the last thing he wanted when she was risking herself like that.

While she usually acted tough, he knew she always took what he and the others said to heart, so what if she were to hesitate at a crucial time?

He didn't want to think about that.

He gave her a potion to help heal her injuries quickly and left. This was the most he could do for now, to support her in her journey and whatever she sought to find at the end of it.

Afterward, he spent the rest of the day studying and later practicing what he had learned by sparing with Testros in the training arena.

Midway through the training session, Misgurd joined in, seeming a bit heated...

It was unclear why he was so eager to fight.

Perhaps he felt motivated by seeing everyone try so hard that he decided to try and work again, as even though his arm didn't function the same way as before, it was still more than enough to challenge Dale.

Once his training was completed, Dale took a quick break to log off and have dinner at home. If not, his mom might punish him. But that only took a few minutes of his time.

And what can I say? He found it very tasty.

He also used this opportunity to test the effects of his skill.

He started experimenting with it, and first, he tested what would happen if he used it for short periods, only to be surprised to find out that he gained nothing from it at all.

It appeared that his skill would only work after a minimum amount of time had passed.

He would need to conduct a few more tests to determine exactly how long this margin was, but it was certainly more than half an hour as that was the most he allowed his character to remain still as he logged off to resolve some things in the real world.

The day ended with Dale taking a quick look at the crop fields. Letting out a sigh of relief when he saw that they were okay, for now.

However, he quickly noticed that one bull and two chickens were missing, which angered him greatly.

According to the information he got from the Village Head, they had a total of Two bulls, slightly over Fifty-five cows, and around Sixty chickens.

It seemed the peace they had experienced in the past few days wouldn't last forever, as the number of bulls had already been cut by 50%.

"Shit..."

'It's manageable for now, but I can't rely on luck with this. Nor can I wait until the players reach a value +10 Reputation. I need them here in the fields, now.' Dale thought to himself as he gazed around with a frown

Dale was clearly stressed.

He wanted to eradicate these pests, as their presence meant additional responsibilities, since now, apart from feeding the farm animals and taking simple care of the crops, he now had to protect them from these abominations of nature.

These were tasks the players could easily handle, allowing the villagers to return after two weeks without problems...

It was just a shame that these pests were like cockroaches, laying thousands of eggs and multiplying rapidly due to little competition.

/Sha sha.../

With a serious look, Dale spread a strange yellow powder around the crops and farm animals. The powder, made by Yumi, was a simple repellent that should minimize the damage, if not resolve the problem entirely.

The farm animals were neither weak nor stupid. A single spider pest wouldn't faze them, not even the chickens, in fact, they were their favorite food.

However, when faced with a swarm of 10, 20, or 30 such insects, even the most formidable Ignition Bovine could be overwhelmed and felled.

So with a complicated expression, Dale logged off, ending another day of hard work.

Day 3 (Actual start of the Time Skip)

Early morning, inside the Mercenary Guild...

"What's this?" Misgurd asked as he looked at a small stack of papers.

"These are a few missions I want to be issued. Can I do that?" Dale asked, arms crossed.

'I can't delay this any longer, I spent quite some time writing these, so please, don't stop me now...'

"... Yes, you can. There isn't a restriction on that. At least, I'm not enforcing it." Misgurd replied as he read the papers.

"Of course, missions have ranks of their own, and what you can request to be posted on the Guild Board is based on your current rank and position."

"The content of the mission itself is also considered. But you don't need to worry about that, we can just jump those annoying formalities."

"I may be strict but I know where to draw the line."

"Thank you... What about the newcomers?" Dale asked as he looked around

Misgurd scoffed and said, "Yes, they can post commissions as well, as long as they pay. It's within the rules." as he crossed his arms.

"I don't mind as long as I'm not the target. I won't do any of their missions unless it's something critical. Neither should you. We aren't here for them; they are here for us."

"Be wary of that, Dale," Misgurd said, wearing a serious expression.

"Once they find out how much money it's necessary to boss you around, they'll keep doing it. Perhaps for you, reputation doesn't matter, but if you keep refusing their commissions after they realize how much you 'cost,' they'll start calling you a pretender."

"So until they prove themselves worthy, don't take commissions from them. Don't let them get their hands on you."

"..."

'That's quite a pessimistic outlook on the players. But he's right.'

'There are all sorts of crazy players. What if they decide to lure me into the forest under the guise of a Quest?' Dale pondered as he tapped his fingers on the Guild counter

"Decency is also a requirement for the Quests. You can't post a Quest that asks someone to run around naked, causing a disturbance and creating more problems. The quests were made to resolve problems, not cause them." Misgurd continued.

"Nor scream next to my office or pull a prank on me. And certainly not call me bald loudly. The last one, I'll make sure to throw the culprit in jail." Misgurd said, his expression darkening.

"Did... something like that already happen?" Dale asked.

"More frequently than you think. But we're getting off-topic. Can you explain to me what this is about? You know very well what we talked about last time. We decided to keep them inside for now." Misgurd asked as he read Dale's papers

"Yes, I know. But we need to take care of the crops, so I'm willing to break the agreement we decided on and have a group do the job for us."

"Something within the rules but at the same time not, a slight twist to fit with our current needs."

'Someone has to feed the animals and someone needs to be outside.'

'And that won't be me, I have other things to do.'

"... Fine, I agree with you on that one."

"Both Edimund and I were discussing how to deal with this issue, and this may very well be a solution."

"I'll issue this Quest as soon as possible. I'll pick the most trustworthy people; you can be assured of that." Misgurd said with a smile as he placed the small stack of papers on the side

"Thanks."

"Why are you thanking me? This benefits both of us." Misgurd chuckled as he patted Dale's back.

"Is there anything else?"

"That was all." Dale replied, shaking his head.

"In that case, I'll be here if you need me for anything else. I've been swamped with work recently, so it's unlikely I'll leave this place anyway." Misgurd said, annoyed

"You should be thankful. As the second-highest-ranking member after me in this Branch, you should be kneeling on the ground that I'm not drafting you to work as the Vice Leader." he said smugly

"Yes, yes. Thank you, Your Highness." Dale replied, bowing

Misgurd rolled his eyes and waved his hand, shooing Dale away

Dale smiled and left to train

...

About a minute later...

"Hopefully, with this, another problem shall be resolved." Dale muttered, glancing back toward the Guild

"A few simple repeatable Quests. It's the best solution to this problem. One Quest that involves hunting the pests, one that involves protecting the crops and animals, and one that involves taking care of them." Dale thought

'Together with a few in-between for other issues that may rise.'

"I'm sure there'll be a lot of players interested in that, or at least one of them, from the older players to the newcomers that just arrived. At first, I was thinking of leaving this to Rodi's Clan, but that may attract too much attention and make the players think I'm favoring them."

"Besides, they don't have time for that after the Quest I assigned them already."

"And although I'm leaving these Quests for the normal players, I doubt they'll mess it up."

'The players within Resko are better than the normal bunch in the beginner Villages, at least in their overall capabilities, I wouldn't say the same regarding their Level and gear...'

"Even if they fail initially, better players will take their place until the Quest's difficulty balances. Over time, suitable players will flock to complete it, while the less capable ones will have to complete miscellaneous Quests to increase their Reputation."

"Increasing the Quest diversity within the Mercenary Guild is key. It's currently one of the best tools for controlling the players, so I need to increase its appeal to them."

"But I'll have to wait and see the effects of these Quests later."

For now, Dale cleared his mind and focused on his training. Each day, he pushed himself a bit further.

He needed to... He had to!

All of it to become...

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Notes

Overall, I did like chat GPTs help, but I feel like its too risky.

There will be a day when I'm tired, use chat GPT, and without realizing I suddenly lose 500 words or some meaningful plot explanation I had built up.

I think that the best I can do is just use it for grammar and solely that as anything else can be disrupted too easily.

I can perhaps be creative and ask ChatGPT to give me suggestions, but that is another case.

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Since you read it all now I would like to say that I'll likely go Premium.

The reason why I got the contract was to try and experiment with new things, and albeit it wasn't originally my idea, I just can't quite take it out of my head now.

What I can promise myself is to work even harder to make it all worth it.

I don't know which chapter I'll start locking chapters, but it should be around after Volume 1 around chapters 65 to 70.

It feels weird writing this, and I even feel bad about it as I feel I'm betraying you all.

I have done nothing yet so I'm still considering.

But I'll make an announcement if I do follow it through, and of course, I still plan on releasing the bonus chapters first before doing so.

Thank you for being here, I hope we can continue going forward together.

Peace!