Chapter 6: Eternia
"A name... hmm," I murmured, lost in thought.
I paced back and forth, my gaze fixed on the ground.
I wanted to discuss the important matter with Mia, so I headed to the sleeping quarters.
Carefully, I peeked through the door slit and saw my wife peacefully sleeping in bed. A sunbeam streaming through the window illuminated her, making her black hair shimmer. Her beautiful lips... it was an unforgettable sight, one I wished to find forever.
"Forever! That's it!" I exclaimed, and a smile spread across my face. A secure place for eternity.
"I will name my kingdom Eternia!"
[Are you sure? It's irreversible!]
"Yes," I confirmed.
My status and name changed accordingly.
"Oh, now I'm called Leo Eternia."
[Do you want to choose a queen?]
"Yes, I choose Mia as my queen!" I declared without hesitation.
[Successful]
[Mia Eternia is now the queen of Eternia]
[Your destinies are now intertwined]
I smiled.
"So, that's settled!" I said and returned to the throne room.
Back in the small room with the sphere, I opened my skill tree and was thrilled with what I saw.
The start was like all others [Mana Control], but this time, only one ability branched off from it, not the usual three.
"[Royal Aura]," I read aloud.
And from this [Royal Aura], not three main branches, but five emerged: Infrastructure, Military, Constructions, Agriculture, and Population.
"Amazing!"
"How many SP do I have?" I wondered and read with anticipation, "More than 1900!"
"But why is there only one option for each path and no everyday magic?"
For each main branch, I saw only the basic option, which already cost 10 SP! And the inability to unlock magic bothered me a bit.
I observed the graphic a bit more and then noticed [Castle: Lvl. 0] written above the first options.
That led me to scrutinize the entire system, and I came to some conclusions that I summarized on a sheet of paper.
1. To unlock more skills in the skill tree, I need to improve my castle.
2. The skills in the skill tree are different; after unlocking them, I have more subfields in the [Kingdom] management center.
3. With these "subfields," I can, for example, create buildings. I even have an overview of the entire kingdom.
4. To upgrade my castle or construct other buildings, I need materials.
5. As long as the materials are not in the treasury, they are not counted in the system.
6. I can conquer more land by either declaring unowned land as mine, for which I have to pay a small fee, or completely conquering it if it belongs to someone.
"I think that's it for now," I pondered and scratched my head with the pen.
I stood up from the floor and strolled leisurely through the corridors toward the sleeping quarters. I wanted to explore the skills with Mia and, as it was already afternoon, I thought it was time for the sleepyhead to wake up.
*Knock Knock*
I knocked on the door and entered. My wife was still asleep, so I woke her gently.
"Mia," I whispered in her ear, "wake up!"
She rolled over and looked at me sleepily.
"Good morning," she mumbled sleepily.
"It's already afternoon," I corrected her teasing.
She shot up and asked, "So late already?"
I nodded and stood up to get her a glass of water. When I came back, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, asking, "Thanks, can you help me change?"
"Of course, but why?" I asked, grinning.
"You know exactly why!" she replied, blushing.
I laughed and once again dressed her in the blue dress.
„You changed somehow!" remarked Mia with a uncertain frown.
„I wonder." I answered, "Come, follow me to the garden." I took some steps forward.
"LEO!" she called, "please?," reaching out her arms.
"I almost forgot!" I realized doing a shocked face.
"Don't pretend!"
I took Mia in my arms and carried her through the corridors.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"By what?" I asked back.
"The thing with the queen!"
"Now that I'm a king, you are now the queen," I replied. "Check your status; it should also say so."
She did, and it was true.
————
Name: Mia Eternia
Occupation: Queen, Healer
———
Even her occupation had changed, as we found out.
"But Leo! What are we kings of?"
I smiled. "The people will come! I'll show you our territory now!"
I sat in the garden on the grass and positioned Mia beside my legs. I opened my status system aloud and was about to explore it with Mia.
Then she said with an intimidating look, "Again! you look somehow different... more...?"
"Regal?" I suggested.
"Yes!"
"Look here!" I opened my skill tree. "I now have a [Royal Aura]. Currently, it's a passive influence, but I could enhance it with mana. Just now I used a little bit."
"Please don't!" Mia quickly pleaded. "I already feel a slight sense of awe!"
"Oh, that's not good!" I pondered. "I think we should be on an equal footing!"
"Absolutely not!" she laughed. "I'm tall enough as it is!"
I smiled at her dumbfounded. "No, seriously, a relationship should be on equal terms, and neither should feel awe for the other."
I thought for a moment and had a brilliant idea. Before Mia could say anything, I said, "Please open your skill tree!"
"Okay?" she replied and did so.
"As I thought!" I sighed in relief.
"I've never seen or heard of anything like this!" Mia marveled.
"Me neither, but as long as it works!" I tousled her hair, „ But it also means you need to level up a bit!"
She nodded thoughtfully while she smoothed her hair again.
"Don't worry," I reassured her, "I'll help you." I grinned.
"Oh no," Mia mumbled.
Now it was a must because fortunately, Mia's skill tree had changed by one point.
Namely, the skill [Royal Couple] was now in the opposite direction of the main branches.
This had exactly the purpose we wanted: a relationship on equal terms.
"So, what about tomorrow?" I smiled.
Mia nodded hesitantly.
"Alright, now onto the next point," I said. "As you can see, I've already unlocked the skill for constructions since I have enough points. I'll unlock the others now with you."
…
I showed her many things and discussed a lot with her.
When we looked at the map of our kingdom, we saw the island that belonged to us completely and part of the lake.
We examined the individual skills in my tree and decided to gather some materials tomorrow too.
"What do you think of the idea of leveling up the castle first so that we have a better infrastructure from the beginning, for example?" Mia asked.
I thought for a moment and said, "That's a great idea; there's no rush for us!"
The first skills were quite simple; with enough resources, we could build fields, landscape tools, all kinds of mines, create livestock, construct buildings, bridges, and walls, as well as make weapons and armor, and set up training camps or special buildings with a certain ability.
When we came to the population, it was a bit different. As one might think, people don't come from the air. No. You could "invite" fleeing or dissatisfied people. This also cost resources, but there was a risk of rejection from the invited ones.
But what was even more special was the monthly "Self-Created." With a high price, you could create one person there.
"Crazy!" Mia stammered. "But the most insane part is the infrastructure!"
"That's true!"
There, you could buy a kind of model, which you then simply placed on the existing city or kingdom. Then the already built things changed, or you paid the construction costs, and it was built.
But since every skill was currently [Basic], each enhanced ability of the skills was limited to [Human Masterpieces].
In my opinion, that was already very good, but from Mia's perspective, it was a waste of resources.
That's why she had the great idea to level up the castle first.
"I'm really looking forward to tomorrow!" I grinned. "Shall we go to bed?"
"Yes! But I probably can't..." she said, looking to the side with a blush.
"It's okay!" I interrupted her. "We need to be fit tomorrow."
So, we went back to the castle, had some food, and went to bed.
We cuddled and talked a bit.
But for some reason, my wife insisted on pleasuring me with her mouth.
I enjoyed it and am looking forward to tomorrow.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone