He took a breath. “I was heading home when I found a portal—a dungeon gate. I didn’t want to enter, but a boar—twice, maybe three times normal size—charged me and knocked me through it. The system wouldn’t let me leave until I’d killed at least one creature.”
Adam leaned forward, eyes shining. “What was it like? Dark tunnels? Dwarves?”
“No,” Ben said with a chuckle. “It looked like a jungle—dense, dark, nothing like our forest. A single path led to the end.” He paused, weighing his words. “It was dangerous. Without [Resilient Body] I doubt I’d have gone through with it.”
He produced a few more cores and a blue-petaled plants. “But dungeons offer resources: more cores—plus things like these Sapphire Blossoms.”
Luz stepped over, holding out a hand. “May I? I’ve got a perk—[Herbal Touch]—lets me identify plants and work with them.”
“Go ahead.” Ben watched as she examined a blossom.
“These are a key ingredient for simple healing potions,” she announced. “If we can harvest more of them, that’s huge.”
Barry, the grizzled former teacher and inmate, the first of the group of ‘2nd chance’ convicts that they had hired, who was now deeply respected in the group, grunted his approval. “What else have you learned?”
“I got another perk,” Ben said. “For clearing the dungeon—apparently I was the first human to do that as well—the system offered me a choice of two common perks. But I worried it still wouldn’t be enough to keep everyone safe, so I asked Mesa if there was another path.”
He sipped his tea, and took a bite of cheese, slowly chewing.
“Oi, bastard,” Adam called, flinging a napkin. “Quit teasing. Spit it out!”
Ben laughed. “All right. Meta and Mesa offered me a different perk—[Knight Protector]. With it, I can create an Energy-enabled settlement. Inside its boundaries, no new Energy-born creatures or wild dungeons can spawn. But we have to power it and expand it.”
Stunned silence.
“The catch?” Ben went on. “First, any dungeon in our zone has to be cleared before it breaks. Second, the settlement must grow—ten thousand people within a year, Fort level in system terms and that’s just the first step. Third, I have to stay in the top one percent of Earth’s power scale.”
More silence, then Adam grinned. “So… do we call you Sir Knight now?”
“Not in general,” Ben said, grinning back. “But you—I expect you to kneel.”
Laughter broke the tension.
Barry raised a hand. “Those obligations are steep, but doable. They force you, and all of us, on a path of continuous learning and improving ourselves. If we are clear about our purpose, clear in our convictions, lots of people will flock to zone of safety in the chaos that surrounds us.”
Ben nodded. “I can’t build it alone, it requires all of us. But if we do it, we could build a true safe haven. A community where we can grow, together. Let’s decide this together. Tomorrow, though.” He stood. “It’s late. Let’s sleep on it.”
The group dispersed, leaving Ben, Allison, and Adam.
Allison cupped Ben’s cheek. “Tell me honestly—how dangerous was that dungeon?”
“There were close calls,” Ben admitted. “Without the perk, I’d have died. And after the wolf and that boar… I don’t think we can stay here unless we do something drastic.”
His voice faltered. “I don’t want to abandon this place where Dad lived and died. I don’t want to leave our people.”
“Oh, foolish boy,” Allison whispered, pulling him into a hug. “Your father would want you safe above all.”
Adam clapped Ben’s shoulder. “Might be foolish… but also exciting. A once-in-a-lifetime chance to build something new.”
Ben looked between them. “I need you both. Adam, just like you helped us bring the business back on track, you could help run the settlement. Mom, everyone trusts you.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do, and we have to bring Julia and the kids here.” Allison said, smiling through misty eyes. “But first—bed.”
Ben finally allowed himself a weary smile. Tomorrow, the real work—and the real decisions—would begin.
***
Ben stood at the head of the long table and raised his voice just enough to carry over the clatter of dishes.
“How’s everyone feeling this morning?”
The mood was positive—hot porridge, fresh bread, and Luz’s spiced tea went a long way—but no one answered at first. Finally Barry cleared his throat.
“I, for one, am intrigued,” he said. “This place is risky, sure—but by stepping into the unknown we can learn a lot about ourselves and the world around us and I’d rather do it beside people I trust than in a big anonymous city.”
Several heads nodded in agreement.
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Adam grinned. “You have my full support, Ben. Just remember: I refuse to call you ‘Sir Knight,’ and I’m definitely not kneeling.”
A ripple of laughter eased the tension. Then Allison got to her feet, sweeping the room with a steady gaze.
“We’ve been together a long time,” she said, “but if anyone wants to leave for the city, there’ll be no hard feelings. We’ll help you any way we can. Personally, I’m all-in. I’ll back Ben in building a place where our families can live and grow in—well, as much safety as this new world allows.”
Her words drew the last hesitant smiles. Even Luz looked positively giddy at the prospect of experimenting with her new herbal perk.
Ben’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank you—truly. Together we’ll build something great.”
He could hardly contain his excitement. “And I, for one, want to see what an Energy-enabled settlement looks like—right now.”
A few people clapped; chairs scraped back. The group filed outside to the small square ringed by their log cabins. Ben opened his interface, searching for the promised Settlement tab. As the familiar status panel appeared, his eyes caught on something that froze him mid-step.
Body: 10
Yesterday it had been eight.
He scrolled to confirm. [Spinal Injury] was still listed, yet somehow his [Resilient Body] perk had already clawed back two full attribute points. If the healing pace held, he might—unthinkably—be back to full strength within days. Months of pain, coming to an end.
“Everything okay, Ben?” Allison asked.
“Just distracted—sorry.” He shook it off, focused on the new tab at the top, and selected Settlement.
A flat, golden prompt appeared:
Found Settlement?
He confirmed. The status window dissolved, replaced by a floating, translucent blueprint of a square plinth—identical to the one in the dungeon that had held the portal’s core. The hologram drifted with his gaze, waiting for him to choose a spot.
Ben stepped to the exact center of the square and nodded. The blueprint locked in place, sank to the ground—and reality answered.
A soft pressure wave rippled outward, far milder than yesterday’s planetary surge but strong enough to make several people stagger. It faded, and silence settled.
Then stone rose from the earth: a waist-high block of white marble veined with gold. As it solidified, a four-sided pyramid of the same glowing, condensed-Energy material formed on its surface. The golden veins pulsed in a slow, steady rhythm, filling the square with warm light.
The packed earth of the square began to change, starting from the obelisk’s base and rippling outward like liquid stone. Soil crystallized into polished white marble veined with gold. The square doubled in size, yet the surrounding lodges glided outward without so much as a cracked timber—the System calmly rewriting reality.
On the east and west sides, two smaller plinths rose from the new marble floor. Unlike the centerpiece, they lacked golden pyramids; their tops were hollowed, plainly meant to receive dungeon cores.
A low murmur ran through the onlookers. Allison stepped beside Ben, her eyes reflecting the marble’s glow.
“Just look at this.” Awe softened her voice. “A pristine white plaza in the middle of our forest—it feels… otherworldly. Thank you, son, for bringing this to us.” Pride lit her smile.
Ben grinned. “We’re not done yet.” He produced the dungeon core—a fist-sized orb of lattice-bound gold—and walked to the right-hand plinth. Setting the core into its socket, he stepped back.
The main plinth pulsed. A soft wave of Energy washed across the plaza; the dungeon core-plinth sank as if swallowed, marble closing over it seamlessly. In its place, a familiar arch rose—white stone streaked with gold, its apex crowned by a milky crystal the size of two clenched fists.
A blue screen blossomed in Ben’s vision:
Tier-1 Dungeon integrated (1 level)
Current Theme: Wilderness – Forest
Confirm theme or select new theme
So we can retheme a dungeon. Interesting. For now, better to keep what we know.
With his experience in completing it once, he should be able to do it more effectively in the future and help others master it as well.
Ben chose Confirm. The crystal atop the arch glowed, and golden mist filled the gateway.
Curious, he reached toward the portal—and flinched when Allison slapped his arm.
“What are you doing?”
“Just trying to bring up the description—nothing dangerous should happen…”
“Should?” She arched an eyebrow. “Going to gamble on should without a weapon?”
“Fair point.” Ben glanced around. “My axe is still inside—”
“Don’t worry,” Jamal rumbled. He hefted his own axe, strode forward, and tapped the portal’s frame. His eyes unfocused—obviously reading a System panel only he could see. “Theme: Wilderness. Tier One. Max party size: one. Single instance, single level. Average break—three days.”
He lowered his hand and stepped back unharmed.
“Thank you,” Ben said. “That matches what I saw yesterday, except the break timer was five days. Looks like integrating a dungeon channels more Energy into it—so it needs clearing faster. Something to remember.” He exhaled, a mixture of excitement and responsibility settling in his chest. “But for now, step one is complete.”
The Protectorate of the Blue Mountain Forest had risen.
Ben noticed two new icons pulsing in the corner of his vision. He focused on the first.
A blue-and-gold window—identical in style to the earlier Protector-Protocol notice—unfolded:
Congratulations on founding the Protectorate
Find relevant information and management options via the Settlement tab in your interface.
Information regarding your personal progress and obligations under the Protector Protocol can be found in the [Knight Protector] perk panel.
Alert: There is currently one wild dungeon inside the Energy-condensation zone. You have 24 hours to clear it.
Ben stiffened. Didn’t expect a dungeon right on our doorstep.
He opened the second message:
Congratulations on your first step as Protector.
Select a core attribute for growth under your Knight-Protector perk.
— Body
— Mind
— Magic
Ben chuckled. Ten percent of nothing is still nothing—Magic’s out.
Mind tempted him—running a settlement with potentially tens of thousands souls would demand serious administration—but Body was already his strongest stat, assuming his healing continued, and the key to keeping his people safe.
Decision made, he selected Body.
A surge of Energy slammed through him. Every cell itched; his brain flashed with a brain freeze. Then it was gone.
Jamal, standing nearby, frowned. “Boss, you okay? Looked like a live wire hit you.”
“I’m good—better than good,” Ben said, surprised at how light his legs felt. He unbuckled the exoskeleton, stepped free, and—astonishment spreading across every face—walked a slow circle unaided.
Allison rushed forward. “Ben, what are you doing?”
“Testing something.” He squatted, lunged. No searing pain, only strength. “[Resilient Body] is healing the spinal injury. Two, maybe three more days and I’ll be back to full capacity.”
Relief and applause from all around, almost all of them had helped him over recent months. Barry clapped his shoulder. “Whatever this new world is, that right there is a miracle, a miracle that you enabled with hard work and dedication.”
“Thank you all for everything you’ve done these past months. You can’t imagine how much it means to me.
“But now I need to dive into the settlement interface figure a few things out. While no new Energy-born creatures will spawn inside the Protectorate, we have to remember that creatures from outside the zone can still wander in, so we’ll need a solid defense plan.”
