[Faction System Unlocked]
[Dúnedain Reputation +50.]
[Current Dúnedain Reputation: Friendly]
[World Map Unlocked]
[Territory Claim Enabled]
Just as Garrett was feeling frustrated, several notifications suddenly appeared, interrupting his thoughts.
Faction system, map?
Another new feature unlocked?
Without time to worry about anything else, he quickly opened the newly added function interface and skimmed through the instructions.
First was the faction reputation system: when you do something beneficial for a certain faction, your reputation with that faction increases.
However, it wasn't as simple as doing anything to gain reputation, if he was too far away from a faction's area of influence, then that faction wouldn't be aware of what he did, and thus wouldn't reward him with any reputation points.
For example, he was currently in the region where the Dúnedain were active, and there happened to be a witness present.
Halbarad had watched with his own eyes as Garrett single-handedly defeated a war-band, and thus granted him the maximum reputation increase, pushing his Dúnedain reputation to "Friendly."
But if he had gone alone to some remote corner of Mordor and ambushed orcs, even if he defeated many of them, without anyone knowing or word spreading, he wouldn't gain any reputation points, only lose reputation with the Mordor faction.
Faction reputation wasn't just a label; it also had real, practical effects.
For instance, now that his reputation with the Dúnedain had reached "Friendly," any Ranger he encountered from now on would start off treating him as an ally, considering him one of their own.
After getting a basic understanding of the faction system, Garrett turned his attention to the second new feature: the World Map.
The world map recorded the places he had traveled and marked which factions were active in each area, completely accurately. However, he hadn't traveled far yet, so the map only showed the region from the Shire to Bree, and then to his stronghold. The rest of the map was still shrouded in fog of war.
"After this battle, your deeds will be known throughout these wild lands."
The voice beside him pulled Garrett out of his thoughts.
Halbarad continued, "You helped us eliminate a significant threat. That war-band, once fully gathered, would have taken more than a single night to deal with. I speak on behalf of the free peoples of this land, we thank you."
The Ranger was respectful as he offered his gratitude to Garrett.
"I couldn't have done it without your help. If it weren't for your timely warning, I might've been caught off guard. I might have even had to abandon the stronghold and flee. I owe you thanks as well, Halbarad."
This wasn't mere flattery, it was the truth. If he hadn't been prepared in advance, facing that war-band head-on could have ended badly. Those wargs' leaping ability alone might have let them vault over the makeshift wall he'd built earlier.
"It was my honor."
"From today on, you and your kinsmen can enter my stronghold without needing permission. You're free to come and go and use the supplies inside. Think of it as a small token of my gratitude."
"Then I thank you. I'll remember this friendship," Halbarad accepted the offer without hesitation.
Having access to such a sturdy fortress, even just as an occasional place to rest and resupply, was a tremendous advantage.
[Dúnedain Reputation +10]
Another notification appeared.
This fellow was genuinely generous, he really did provide reputation boosts. But speaking of which...
Garrett suddenly remembered that elite orc with 40 HP. On a whim, he glanced up at the space above Halbarad's head.
A health bar appeared.
[25/25]
Twenty-five HP.
The Dúnedain had an average lifespan of several centuries, with naturally stronger vitality than ordinary Men. So it wasn't surprising that they had a higher health maximum. Thinking about it that way, that elite orc with 40 HP, compared to the average orcs who only had around a dozen, probably had some troll blood in his lineage. Otherwise, there was no way he'd be that resilient.
He shook his head and cleared his thoughts.
Night had already fallen completely.
After a long evening of tense battle, well, ambush, he was feeling somewhat weary. He said a quick goodnight and went off to rest.
---
The next morning, Garrett arose to find that Halbarad had already departed. Only a set of iron armor left in the guest chamber showed that he had indeed been there.
He hadn't taken the armor he had gifted him.
That fellow...
He shook his head, then suddenly remembered that he seemed to have unlocked another system yesterday, one that he hadn't had time to examine because Halbarad had interrupted him. He had completely forgotten about it.
[Territory Claim]
[You may claim an unclaimed structure or area as your territory.]
[For every 10 levels gained, you receive one territory claim.]
[Current available claims: 0/3.]
This territory claim system reminded him of various city-building games he'd played, which also allowed a limited number of territorial claims, very useful indeed.
Without hesitation, he immediately claimed the stronghold he had built as his first territory.
[Please confirm territory name.]
He thought for a moment. Since the stronghold was located in a wilderness area not too far from the main road, then...
"Let's call it Wayfort."
[Territory "Wayfort" successfully established]
After claiming the territory, he felt like something was missing. After thinking it over, he crafted a sign and hung it at the stronghold gate.
He carved "Wayfort" onto it.
Perfect.
From this point on, everything within the walls of Wayfort was officially his "territory." According to the system, storage containers like chests within his territory were now protected, others could neither open, destroy, nor move them without his permission.
That was just the most basic level of permanent territorial property protection.
In addition, within his territory, he could summon iron golems and snow golems.
That's right, he had now confirmed that he could only summon golems inside his territory, and those golems could not leave the territorial boundaries.
He sighed.
Sigh.
The grand plan in his head of summoning an iron golem army to march on Mordor... was stillborn. Still, perhaps that was for the best. At least now, when he left his base, he didn't have to worry about it being overrun by orcs or brigands or anything of that nature. In that sense, it did solve a major problem and allowed him to roam freely without concern.
After reviewing the features of the newly unlocked system, he was eager to summon a few iron golems just to see what they looked like, were they blocky like in the original game, or had they been given a more realistic appearance, like actual iron constructs?
However, after searching through every chest, he couldn't find one crucial material, pumpkins.
Right, he remembered now, so far, he had only been growing wheat, and wheat seeds were easy to obtain by breaking the wild grass outside. Other crops, though, would need to be found elsewhere.
With that decided, he focused his mind and opened the world map, then spread out the paper map he had gotten from Bilbo for comparison.
To the west of Wayfort was Bree, a familiar route, as he'd traveled it before.
To the east was Rivendell, and further beyond that were the Misty Mountains.
Judging by the map, he was roughly equidistant from Bree and Rivendell.
Staring at Rivendell to the east, Garrett felt a surge of curiosity.
He hadn't encountered any Elves yet. And if he remembered correctly, Aragorn was dwelling in Rivendell around this time. By the timeline, he should still be a child, probably not even ten years old yet.