An hour passed.

  Then another.

  David lost track of time somewhere between pain and stubbornness.

  He sat in the tall orange grass, legs drawn up, breathing slow and shallow. His shirt lay several meters away, abandoned and half-burnt—the fabric had started to smoke at one point, forcing him to tear it off and throw it aside before it caught fire.

  His skin glistened with sweat. Heat radiated from his chest in steady waves, like a poorly shielded engine.

  The mana never stopped coming.

  It poured into his core endlessly, an invisible tide that refused to ebb. Every instinct screamed at him to keep venting it, to fire another Overcharge and buy himself a few seconds of relief—but he forced himself to endure.

  To feel.

  To understand.

  Little by little, something changed.

  The pressure didn’t vanish—but it softened. The relentless pull weakened, as if the world itself had grown tired of feeding him.

  David opened his eyes.

  “…Did it work?”

  Carefully, he activated [Mana Perception].

  This time, the forest didn’t blind him.

  The mana streams were thinner here. Sparse. Wispy. Around him stretched a faintly hollowed space—an invisible bubble where the currents bent away instead of rushing inward.

  A discharged zone.

  David stared at it for a long moment.

  Then snorted.

  “So I didn’t control anything,” he muttered. “I just… ate it all.”

  Not exactly a breakthrough.

  But the heat in his chest had dulled to a tolerable warmth instead of a burning ache.

  Good enough.

  He leaned back into the grass, letting his breathing steady.

  “Alright,” he said quietly. “Time to see what I missed.”

  The frozen system notifications unfolded in front of him.

  —

  Congratulations! Nursery stage completed.

  Final Evaluation: Time Taken: F

  Number of Attempts: F

  Combat Technique: ANOMALY

  Overall Grade: F

  —

  David blinked.

  “…Hey!”

  He pushed himself upright, glaring at the glowing text as if it could feel shame.

  “I tried, alright? I killed a ridiculous number of monsters! They didn’t even count!”

  A new line appeared.

  You are 1 / 1 candidates who completed the Nursery stage on your world.

  David froze.

  “…One?”

  His mouth went dry.

  “Wait. I was alone?”

  Another message followed immediately.

  Candidate selection on your planet has concluded.

  You rank FIRST on your planet with a score of: F

  Congratulations!

  David stared, unable to decide whether to laugh or curse.

  “So Kra’velon lied,” he whispered. “Or…”

  He didn’t finish the thought.

  The system continued.

  You have been appointed Ruler of your region. Expand your territory, earn points, and exchange them for goods in the Shop.

  David exhaled slowly.

  “…Ruler, huh?”

  A corner of his mouth twitched.

  “Well,” he said dryly, “at least it’s not ‘king.’”

  One final window slid into place.

  Attention! Access to the Shop has been unlocked.

  David’s eyes lit up.

  “…Now that,” he said, sitting up straighter, “is interesting.”

  But by the time David finished skimming the system messages, the pressure in his chest had returned and he had to grit his teeth and release another [Overcharge].

  Only when the pressure eased did David finally exhale.

  “Right,” he muttered hoarsely. “Shop.”

  The moment the thought formed, a translucent window unfolded in front of his eyes.

  It was… disappointing.

  One item.

  That was it.

  David squinted at the interface.

  Balance: 0

  Settlement Crystal Lv. 0 — Price: 0

  “…That’s a pretty terrible shop,” he said aloud.

  Still, zero price meant zero alternatives.

  “Looks like I don’t have a choice.”

  He selected the only available option.

  A warning slammed into view, flashing insistently.

  WARNING!

  After purchasing this item, your territory will be placed on the shared map.

  Your land will become vulnerable to attacks from other landowners.

  Proceed?

  David hesitated.

  Other landowners.

  Sounds dangerous, but what else can he do?

  “Yeah,” he muttered. “Figures.”

  He confirmed.

  This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  The world changed.

  David felt it before he saw it—a subtle pressure shift, like the air itself had been swapped out. He looked up.

  The clouds around his camp were different.

  Moments ago, one pattern. Now another. Only the part that was directly above him didn't seem to change

  “Huh,” David said slowly. “So… did I leave the dome? Or did I just upgrade to a bigger one?”

  Something began to hum beside him.

  David turned just in time to see the portal shrinking.

  The swirling aperture collapsed inward, edges folding like liquid glass drawn into a drain.

  “Wait—”

  Too late.

  The portal compressed into a single glowing point and vanished.

  For half a heartbeat, there was nothing.

  Then the ground trembled.

  At the spot where the portal had been, a crystal began to grow.

  It rose from the earth like a living thing knocking over a stepladder in the process. Mana flowed into it from the surrounding air, visible even without perception, as if the forest itself were feeding it.

  David watched, transfixed, as it grew taller.

  One meter.

  Two.

  Finally, it stopped—roughly human-sized.

  David closed his eyes and activated [Mana Perception].

  The crystal felt… familiar.

  He glanced down at his own chest, at the spot where his mana core burned beneath skin and bone.

  “…Yeah,” he murmured. “That tracks.”

  Stepping closer, David placed a hand against the crystal.

  Warm.

  A new message appeared.

  Settlement No. 4214354

  Owner: David Mason

  Shield Status: 100%

  “Shield?” David repeated, looking around.

  He saw no barrier. No dome. No visible protection.

  “So what, it activates when someone tries to steal my stuff?” he muttered. “And where exactly does it cover? The crystal? The land? My… settlement?”

  His gaze drifted sideways.

  A robot stood nearby, connected to a charging station, motionless and patient.

  David snorted.

  “Yeah. Real impressive city you’ve got here, David. Population: fully metallic.”

  Another prompt appeared.

  Would you like to rename your settlement?

  He blinked.

  “…Wait. That was an option?”

  He didn’t even hesitate.

  “Davidburg,” he said decisively.

  The system confirmed.

  Settlement renamed successfully.

  David nodded, satisfied.

  A new notification flashed into existence in front of David’s eyes.

  ITEMS NOW AVAILABLE IN THE SHOP.

  +100 POINTS AWARDED FOR CLAIMING YOUR FIRST TERRITORY.

  NEW FUNCTION UNLOCKED: TAXATION (SETTLEMENT CRYSTAL).

  David blinked slowly.

  "Taxes," he muttered. "Of course. What kind of landowner would I be without taxes?"

  He glanced around at his silent surroundings — the humming crystal, the lone charging robot, the endless amber forest.

  "And who exactly is going to pay me? My robots? In Bitcoin?" He snorted quietly at his own joke.

  Still, points were points.

  "Alright," he said, rolling his shoulders. "Let’s see what you’ve got."

  The shop window opened.

  For a moment — nothing.

  Then the interface flickered.

  Once.

  Twice.

  David frowned. "…Is it lagging? Don’t tell me even cosmic systems run on bad servers."

  The list finally stabilized.

  BALANCE: 100

  PAGE 1 / 232

  Gallon of Water — 1 point

  Flint Striker — 5 points

  Nutrient Block — 2 points

  Oil — 2 points

  Blanket — 10 points

  ...

  David stared.

  Then swept through the first pages..

  Then slowly dragged a hand down his face.

  "There is so much… junk."

  Page after page stretched endlessly downward — survival scraps, basic supplies, mundane tools. Nothing rare. Nothing powerful.

  And worst of all — no sorting.

  "You’ve got to be kidding me," he groaned. "Two hundred pages and no filters? What is this, prehistoric UI design?"

  Think.

  Kra’velon gave him a clue. The store can’t be 100% useless.

  "Alright," David murmured, eyes narrowing as he began to scroll. "I guess to find something powerful, I have to go through all of this junk…"

  Somewhere in these two hundred pages was hiding something important.

  And David intended to find it.

  Interlude 5

  I am Warrong.

  Before the Sky-Voice came, I was nothing.

  I watched crates. I counted sacks. I chased rats from the tribe’s storage pit and slept beside cold stone. Others were stronger. Others had longer claws, louder voices, better blood. I was only… a little sharper with mana than most. Enough to light a charm. Not enough to be taught.

  My parents were poor. Thin tails, thin bowls. One generation only — no deep burrow behind us, no honored bones. When our tribe was swallowed by the Great Tribe, shamans chose students from worthy lines. Not me. Never me.

  I would have lived small.

  One female, maybe.

  A little more meat on feast-days, if lucky.

  Then old. Then bones in dark.

  But the day came.

  The day of the System.

  I woke alone.

  The village empty.

  Huts open, fires dead, air wrong.

  Then monsters came.

  Wave after wave. Teeth, claws, hunger without smell. I fought with spear, with stone, with broken breath. I died. I remember dying. Cold. Dark. End.

  Then start again.

  Same hut. Same day. Same monsters coming.

  This place was cursed… or blessed.

  The Chief’s hut had no chief. No guards. No claim. Inside — treasures. Real treasures. Bone-idols filled with defencive spells. Wards painted in blood-ash. Reagents in sealed stone bowls. Power, left with no owner.

  I took them.

  All.

  I died again. And again. But each death taught me more. Each return gave me more knowing. I learned the guard-charms. Learned the sleep-wards. When I slept, the monsters stayed away — pushed back by old magic and the whisper in my head.

  The whisper called itself Administrator.

  It spoke little. But enough.It helped me learn magic.

  "Place ward here you idiot."

  "NOT LIKE THAT."

  "Yeah, I bit to the left."

  "Good, now don’t forget the sigil."

  "Focus on your core."

  …

  So I lived longer.

  Long enough to grow strong.

  And one day… the Biggest came.

  Huge. Taller than hut. Hide like stone. Eyes like dead moons. It broke idols. Shattered walls. Roared and the ground feared it.

  I did not run.

  I used everything.

  Charms burned. Idols cracked. Mana tore my veins. I climbed its back, drove spear through eye, through brain, through fate.

  It fell.

  The Sky-Voice thundered.

  KING.

  I became King Warrong.

  Strongest of my people.

  Level C.

  No longer nothing.

  Now… others will bow.

  I am Warrong. King Warrong. Strong. Fed. Untouchable.

  I sit high now.

  Not on stone of storage pit. Not beside sacks and dust. No. I sit on raised bone-seat — carved, layered, stolen, earned. Some would call it a throne. Yes… throne is good word.

  At my feet lies soft-scale female.

  To non-kobold eyes, males and females look the same — small fangs, narrow snout, scaled hide, thin tails. But kobolds see truth. The curve of horns. The shine of scales. The warmth of scent. She is beautiful. Very beautiful. Tribe knows it. I know it.

  She rests against my leg, tail curled, eyes half-closed, safe in my shadow.

  I chew meat.

  Real meat.

  Thick. Juicy. Heavy with fat.

  Not scraps. Not bone-soup. Not ration.

  King-meat.

  Once, I would watch others eat like this. Chiefs. Warriors. Blood-lines. Never me.

  Now I tear flesh with my own fangs and let grease run down claws. I eat slowly. I enjoy.

  Life is good.

  Then — steps. Fast. Urgent.

  A scout crashes into the hall, breath sharp, tail stiff.

  "Sky-change!" he hisses. "Part of sky… different!"

  I stop chewing.

  Sky-change.

  I know what that means.

  New sky — new land.

  New land — new prey.

  Like the goblins.

  A week ago, sky changed and green-things came. Loud. Weak. Many. Their shamans threw fire and curse… but nothing touched me. My perfect protection did not even scratch.

  We hunted them.

  We broke them.

  We chained them.

  System rewarded well.

  With points we bought sweet meat, clean water, and weapons of hard metal. Tribe grew strong. Bellies full. Eyes bright.

  I look at the bone in my hand.

  …Goblins tasted good too.

  I rise from the throne.

  The female lifts her head. The hall grows still.

  I smile — showing fangs.

  "Hunters," I say, voice deep and certain. "Prepare."