The Hollow kept attacking, over and over again, circling the orc settlement. The attacks were as small as before, ranging from a dozen to a few dozenorc-type Hollow. They were easily dealt with by patrols of orcs, Mafu's mushroom soldiers, or Jod on one of his daily border checkups.

  What bothered both Jod and Mafu was that the attacks were not random, as they had seemed to be at first. The Hollow was looking for gaps in the defense. And by now, they had attacked all around the settlement.

  The last attack had been a couple of days ago, and since then it had been silent. Now that Mafu (really, Athena) had learned that the Hollow were parasites, research on countermeasures had started. They tested different plants, ores, and whatever material they could find to see if the parasites were averse to it.

  A few had been captured, on order of Mafu, by Jod, who could easily shrug off any attack from the Hollow. However, the research was at a standstill. The parasites were physically weak but were not averse to any easily found materials or compounds.

  It had gotten to the point where Mafu had put Athena and Demeter on a project to cultivate poisonous plants. After all, they had managed to plant tomatoes, which technically belong to the family of "nightshade."

  Although tomatoes weren't toxic, many plants from the nightshade family were. So now a barred-off area outside the village was used to experiment in developing new seeds.

  Nothing could really be done about the Hollow, other than what Mafu and the people had already been doing. Growing from conquering the dungeon, training in the training grounds, and trying to progress by getting iron.

  On that note, the first pieces of iron ore had been collected by Oran and Otek, the only ones who could move somewhat stealthily. The two orcs had truly been helpful, and Mafu tried to talk to both of them when any chance arose.

  While Mafu tried to let all the people present grow, if he could find a way to make either Oran or Otek stronger, it would be a force multiplier. While watching Oran fire his arrows, Mafu equated it to a gunshot. It was as strong as a high-caliber rifle and could punch a hole clean through a centipede and still keep flying.

  Oran's class was focused on one thing. Penetration. He fired his bow slower than a normal [archer], and his effective range was not much further. His class also lowered damage against intelligent beings; after all, it was a hunter-type class. In return, he dealt fatal damage to animals and monsters.

  Otek, however, had the most flexible class. He could copy skills off of anyone that agreed to lend him the copy. He was also extremely good at playing tricks on people, animals, and monsters. Suddenly five Oteks could be standing where there was one a millisecond ago.

  All this while, Otek was slacking off somewhere else. His biggest weakness was that creatures that did not rely on their eyes as much were harder to trick. Most beasts with a good sense of smell would follow the real Otek.

  But that was not the end of it. Oteks class was a warrior-type, which meant that all the passive skills of the warrior skill tree were more easily attainable. Even if his tricks failed, he was a fierce orcish warrior and could fight with most melee weapons.

  Speaking of letting all the people grow, Mafu had never forgotten about the beast-kin kids. In fact, he was very interested in the development of them. After all, they were the first humanoids who had joined his ragtag group of survivors.

  Kira had not hunted outside of the settlement since they came to this world. She had seen the strength of the Hollow and knew her own limits. Of the three kids, Kira was the most independent. During the day she trained with multiple weapons at the training grounds.

  During evenings and nights, she trained in sneaking. The orc guards had started competing to see who could find her, staking their allotment of meat for the next meal on the winner. This was actually helpful, as the orc guards now put their full effort into not missing anything.

  Another consequence of it was that Kira leveled faster. Mafu spoke to her every now and then, but she needed no guidance. She knew what her class was and how to train it. At level 10, she had gotten the class [Rogue].

  From Toqlan's teachings, Mafu had learned that [Rogue] was the precursor to most stealth-focused classes. Thieves, rangers, assassins, and spies. Although there were other paths to stealth classes, such as Orans [Greatbeast Hunter], the clearest path was through [Rogue].

  Akro had been working mostly as a laborer back in the other world. However, Mafu thought that it was a shame to use Akro as a laborer when there were already so many orcs. Even Uther was more suited to it. Akro suffered lower physical strength due to being a cat-kin after all.

  He had tried getting Akro interested in crafting, as he was good with his hands. Unfortunately though, Mafu had not had access to ore, good leather, or thread. Now though, he had access to two of those. He had started talking about blacksmithing with Akro, and he had shown interest. He was yet to be level 10, so if he took to blacksmithing, he would most likely get the [Blacksmith] class.

  Ula was Mafu's most important person for the future. The kid was shy and silent, but her eyes lit up when talking about technology. She was a genius in any world, and Mafu was constantly in awe of her intuition.

  He had talked extensively with Ula, and what started with relatively simple projects of watermills had evolved beyond Mafu's control. He had described the basic characteristics of energy to Ula. Magnetism and electricity.

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  Ula had instantly taken to it. Her questions were never-ending. Although Mafu was a scientist in his previous life, he found it hard to answer some of her questions. After all, his understanding of electricity was at a basic level for a scientist, as he had been a biologist focusing on mushrooms.

  But it had borne fruit anyway; Ula had started experimenting with different contraptions and was well on the path to becoming an inventor.

  That was when Mafu mentioned something that he wanted to have. Trains. The steam engine was one of the earliest points of the industrial society, and trains were how the industry was sustained. Now, this was not something that would happen for many years. But putting that idea in Ulas's head had effectively started the project.

  Although Mafu had to answer questions every day for a few weeks, it would pay off in the far future. Logistics made for a greater society; in peace it was great. In war it was even greater. After finding out how powerful Jod had become with only a thousand subordinates, the plans to invade the world of Doloran had quickly been delayed.

  If the people could not reach a high level, then technology would have to fill the gaps. If they could construct cannons, that would help whittle down the enemy armies. If they could get trains, Mafu could supply the army through the portal. If they had communications such as a simple radio, they would have the advantage of adapting to the enemies' movements.

  Even low-level people could load a cannon, drive a train, or operate a radio. Earth had proven that.

  Mafu preferred to try to get his people to level up. But it was not as easy as he had envisioned. Some people had it easier to level than others. It was due to the hidden "potential" stat.

  Mafu had 76 potential. But some of the orcs had 10. For them, it would be a hundred times harder to level. Therefore, it might take them 200 years to get to level 100. Orcs did not live that long, much like humans.

  ---

  Jod and his mother, Jenna, walked through the settlement. They were to meet with Elder Onka in her tent, where some of the orc women had gathered. This had been going on for a few weeks, as Jod was trying to convince the orc women to give up their levels and skills to start a new path.

  Even Jod found it somewhat ridiculous. He had asked the Dukes for permission, as this was definitely orc business. The three of them had readily agreed, and Parek had even laughed out loud. None of them thought that Jod could convince a single orc to give up their levels.

  However, he had not been laughed out of the tent when he had explained this plan of Mafus the first time. Some of the women had gotten a look of greed in their eyes, mixed with hope. They had not agreed on the spot but had told him to come back next week after they had had some time to think about it.

  This had repeated with the next group of women, and the next. The only orc woman who was a constant when they met was Elder Onka. She was the eldest orc woman, and as such, the other women respected her deeply.

  Onka mediated these meetings and had valuable input. It was the same today.

  "If you are worried about Mafu tricking you, you just have to look at your council. The three orc dukes look younger than ever, revitalized and stronger than they ever were. That was due to the actions of Mafu."

  A few women instinctively nodded; others made low sounds of agreement. A few only looked at Onka, as if waiting to see what she said before they agreed or disagreed.

  "Young Jod, no one doubts the mushroom. We have all heard of what he has done since he arrived here. We are already eating the mushrooms he provides for us. Would we do that if we had doubts about him? No." Onka drank some of her tea, her cup intricately carved and adorned with small colorful stones.

  "The risk is all on us, you see. What if the mushroom cannot help us to succeed in our new professions? What if there are too many of us who become blacksmiths, and there is not enough work for all of us? When all of the men are equipped with the best equipment, what happens to us then?"

  An uncomfortable silence followed, and Jod could not deny the risk. Even Mafu did not know if they would succeed in their new professions. Toqlan could check their potential, and thus leveling should not be a problem. But individual talent in a specific field could not be measured before trying it.

  But today Jod had come more prepared, and he had talked to Mafu for hours trying to intercept the arguments before they happened.

  "It is a risk, that is true. There is no one but you who can succeed in your new profession, and there is no real way to check until you have already given up your level. But what about now? You already get fewer privileges and work with work you are not passionate about. Could a new profession be worse than something you already dislike?"

  Jod took a few moments to think through his next words, and the group, who had been mixed with greed and hope, now looked more energetic. It was a younger group of orc women.

  "As for the other two points you mentioned, that is no issue at all. There will always be work for you, even if all the men are fully equipped. Mafu not only needs swords and armor, but he also needs other things as well. He has plans spanning for years on end."

  Jod then took out an item from inside his leather jacket and presented it to the orc women. He did not say anything about it and let them investigate it.

  The women looked at the item, confused. It looked like a stick. A normal stick, although completely straight. It had grooves on the sides, but other than that it was not anything special.

  After a while, Onka smiled and finally asked Jod:

  "And what is this stick supposed to prove to us?"

  "That is a stick, yes. This one is made of wood, like any other stick. But imagine this stick being made out of metal. This stick, with hundreds of others, will be put in a stone mixture that will harden. With those two new technologies, we can build buildings taller than the treetops."

  The orc women were doubtful, to say the least. Jenna now spoke for the first time.

  "Jod, I think since they don't believe you, we will have to show them." She stood up and waved for the women to follow her.

  It took them a few minutes of walking, but all the women had followed, even Elder Onka. She walked with anticipation, like the rest of them.

  On the inside of the wall to the east, a construction project had been underway for a few days. Akro and Mafu had been working hard with a makeshift furnace making the iron rebar. It was not as sturdy as modern-day rebar, but it would do for now.

  The concrete was precious, as the materials could only be obtained by Mafu through his mineral extraction ability. It was technically Roman concrete, although perfected by Athena to be optimal. Paired with the rebar, the project had gone well.

  The orc women stared at the half-finished building. It was clear what it was. A watchtower. However, this one was seemingly built of stone and reached much higher than any other watchtower. It looked impregnable, like a cliff had suddenly sprung up in their settlement.

  Jod smiled and decided now was the time:

  "So, who wants to be part of building even larger, greater buildings?"

  He did not doubt that this time, he would gather at least a few willing participants.