An important question

One of my readers sent me an edited chapter of an older chapter. Turns out he used ChatGPT. I now tried it on the latest chapter and would like your feedback.

Chapter 187

Upon returning to the town slated for demolition, I found myself with some spare time. It was the perfect opportunity to explore my other traits and hopefully understand some of the abilities I had acquired as well.

First, I delved into Sharmar's Organ. This was the initial trait that added something to my body rather than modifying it. Near my heart, there was now an egg-sized organ I had tried to ignore until this moment.

I couldn't decide how I felt about it. Would I eventually gain a trait that added extra arms, drastically altering my appearance? I certainly hoped not. Connecting the trait to my core took some time, but once it was done, I grasped its purpose and found myself grateful for its presence.

Originally, this organ belonged to a crocodile-like creature inhabiting the swamps. It functioned as a filter, cleansing the bloodstream of contaminants such as parasites, poisons, and harmful bacteria.

The next trait I incorporated into my core was not as appealing. Hunting Steps made me seem more sinister when I moved. Although it had a mental component that allowed me some control and affected others' minds, it seemed rather useless. However, I accepted that not every trait would be a lucky find.

Battle Spirit, on the other hand, proved quite beneficial. The stronger my conviction, the more power my body could handle. This invaluable trait would enable me to push myself harder during critical battles. It had been a long time since I had gone all-out, and even in the raid dungeon, I had held back. I knew that in the upcoming fight, I would need to give everything I had.

Ever Quicker was a trait whose implications eluded me. It took the longest to connect and understand, and its effects were currently minimal. However, it might become my most valuable trait.

It allowed my body and mind to adapt to my ever-increasing strength. Throughout my time on this planet, I had experienced instances when my mind outpaced my body or vice versa. This trait aimed to remedy that issue. While it might take time, I would eventually overcome any imbalance.

Illusion Sight was initially designed to help me see through illusions, but my other traits and abilities greatly enhanced it. Even I was uncertain of its true potential, as I lacked a proper way to test it.

I was already familiar with Life Giving Energy and Life's Vitality. Life Giving Energy altered my energy to better support life, while Life's Vitality significantly boosted my energy when used to aid others. If I were a healer, my spells would be three or four times more effective.

After examining all my traits, I realized I had spent over a week in the town. During that time, more and more people had arrived, and we were now working around the clock to dismantle the houses.

There were 420 houses, shops, and other buildings, the majority of which were constructed from wood. However, we didn't begin with dismantling the houses; instead, we focused on the gate. We needed a larger entrance to accommodate the full-sized logs that made up the houses.

Progress was initially slow, but with nearly 200 people now working, our pace had increased. We examined each house and removed all its contents. Useful items were placed in piles, ready to be transported back to our village, while the rest were designated for burning.

What surprised me was the extent to which people hid things in the nooks and crannies of their homes. Almost every house contained something hidden. Small bags of coins were the most common, followed closely by high-quality weapons, healing potions, and powders.

It was fascinating to see what individuals considered essential to conceal. Personal effects, such as pictures or letters, were also discovered. These items were placed in special chests to be brought back to the village. While the odds of anyone valuing these belongings were slim, I believed that if even one person reclaimed an item, the extra effort would be worthwhile.

Now that I had completed my investigation of the traits, I joined the efforts to dismantle the houses. The most challenging aspect for others was removing the roofs, which required a sledgehammer and considerable labor. For me, it was a pleasant task that allowed me to contemplate the information I had acquired. Goose had successfully retrieved the intelligence Mirhit had gathered.

The number of troops I had anticipated arriving would likely be lower. More importantly, their arrival schedule was continuously delayed, thanks to a small mining town that proved more difficult to conquer than the Slave King had anticipated.

The town, nestled against a rocky hill with only one exposed side, boasted a formidable wall for protection. Many people in the area believed it would be an ideal place to hold out, resulting in a higher-than-expected population. All of these individuals shared a determination to avoid enslavement. Unfortunately, their fate was sealed. The Slave King's army remained largely intact, and although the siege would take time, the town would eventually fall. Each day the townspeople could hold out gave us more time to prepare, and for that, I would be eternally grateful to them, even if they never knew it.

The reports indicated that the Slave King's army possessed numerous ranged units, which would pose a significant threat if they reached us. However, I had devised special plans to neutralize them. The greatest concern was that the Slave King had brought his entire former first-rank adventuring party. If they all arrived, we would be in dire straits. I would still give my all, but I wasn't sure if I could triumph against them.

There were many factors that needed to align for us to stand a chance of victory, but I had seen far slimmer odds turn into resounding triumphs. All I could do was try to stack the odds in our favor and hope that luck wouldn't turn against us.

The following week passed by in a blur. I divided my time between honing my energy control, assisting in dismantling the town, and using the alchemy shop to produce healing powders. I had managed to raise my alchemy skill to basic level 5. After botching yet another batch of healing powder—the third one for the day—I paused to consult my small notebook.

There wasn't supposed to be a report for another day, but this notebook was connected to another held by the team I was relying on to handle the enemy army's ranged units.

Last night, scouts had spotted nearly 20 undead approaching from the east. We had dealt with them efficiently, but their presence was the real issue. All undead were meant to be gathered and guided to the ambush site, prepared to strike the advancing army. The latest report mentioned nearly 2,000 undead, but that wouldn't be enough. I could only hope that no issues had arisen in the past four days that might have caused the team to miss some undead groups.

Interestingly, the reports indicated that the undead didn't tend to form massive hordes without a compelling reason. While this was a fascinating observation, it didn't hold much significance at the moment.

The following day, I finally received the report I had been waiting for and understood what had happened. The team had discovered a small horde led by a semi-intelligent undead creature. The horde numbered almost 300, and it took the team some time to find and seize the perfect opportunity to eliminate the smart undead and assume control of its horde. There were some powerful undead among them, which was good news.

The mining town was still holding on. I was impressed and wished we could have such resilient people in our nation. Their ability to withstand such odds for so long was legendary. However, according to the report, their defenses were already crumbling, and I suspected they would fall within the next few days.

Nevertheless, a town that should have been conquered in three days had managed to hold out for three times longer. I doubted that I could have done any better, which suggested that they must have had a highly capable leader with a strong grasp of warfare.

I secretly hoped that this individual would survive and find their way to us. In the future, we would need people like that. While there were some promising talents in our military, none of them were at that level. They would make good commanders, but not generals.

Perhaps having many generals wouldn't be as critical in this world, as there were ways to communicate and travel long distances much faster than medieval technology should allow. However, I would still feel more secure if every future fort had a capable general who could continue defending it, even without support from the rest of the nation.