BUILDING MY OWN EMPIRE - My Journey from Nothing to Overwhelming Power

Restrain five raging bulls and lead them to the barn...

Is this really an adventurer mission...

Have I suddenly become a cowboy...

Well then... where do I find them?

The farmer said the five bulls went berserk without reason... then rushed toward the upper parts of the mountain...

The distance seems long...

I looked right and left... then dashed forward.

The weather was beautiful on the mountain slope... while greenery was spread everywhere...

Here and there... a forager would appear, earning harvest points from those plants I see for the first time...

Even some stones were granting accumulation...

In the end... it seems these simple missions may bring benefit...

"There it is," I whispered.

In front of me... one of the bulls stood... it wasn’t raging...

Rather, it stood firmly as if it feared nothing...

"What is this?" I muttered in confusion... a transparent barrier surrounded the bull...

Thoughts started playing in my mind... then I decided to search for the others...

The presence of one bull inside a pen is, by itself, a positive thing that prevents it from escaping...

All I need now... is to bring the others and place them with it one by one... until they gather...

Then lead them to the farmer...

I continued searching... going deeper into the mountain forest...

Light struck in distorted lines inside the forest...

While the trees rose high...

I stopped...

I smelled something...

I moved to the side...

Several meters... then...

I stopped...

Blood filled the ground...

I bent down... then extended my hand...

There was a lot of blood... something or someone had bled heavily...

I stood up... my steps accelerated...

I followed the trail of blood...

Then...

I stopped and bent quickly...

A villager was lying on the ground... dead...

I moved him...

Many long wounds...

"Claws? Or perhaps a claw-like weapon..." I said... then stood...

I moved again... then stopped shortly after...

Since the beginning of the mission... I decided to use power equivalent only to second rank...

But... with the current situation and the presence of a corpse...

There seems to be no choice but to use greater power to speed up the search...

Suddenly...

I released part of my energy... closed my eyes and focused...

I pushed my accumulation outward... like a radar...

After a while... dozens of meters away... there was a signal indicating four bulls...

As I got closer... my senses became more disturbed...

"This?" I whispered... then my steps slowed...

"It’s not just bull energy..."

One slow step after another...

It wasn’t an energy I recognized...

My senses trembled... I moved closer...

Among many bushes... there was an area surrounded by trees...

But it had no trees inside... instead there was an entrance to a cave...

In front of the cave... there were traces of a fire from last night...

There was nothing in the open area...

But the energy was there... and someone was watching from somewhere...

It did not attack... it only observed...

"Where is it?" I whispered... I turned again... there was nothing...

Then... suddenly...

I closed my eyes...

I pushed my accumulation outward...

The accumulation collided with the entity...

I opened my eyes...

"Show yourself," I said...

Nothing appeared...

"If you don’t, I’ll be forced to attack..."

Nothing...

I raised my left hand... formed an air blade... and aimed it toward where the accumulation collided...

At that moment...

A cloak like a cloud began to appear... then disappear...

Under it... three legs ending in hooves stood...

The body was human... but short...

On its head were many red lines like ropes... emerging from its body like a porcupine...

The head was completely human...

Very similar... to the dead man...

"What are you?" I said...

"Two... Face..." the voice came out heavy and broken...

Upon hearing the name... the understanding formed inside me...

A shapeshifter...

It killed that man and stole his face...

My eyes shifted to the side... four red threads extended from the shapeshifter’s body...

Each thread tied around a bull’s neck... leading them calmly...

"So you’re the one who stole the bulls," I said...

"I... di... did not..."

"And what are you doing leading them?" I asked...

"I... was tricked... the farmer said they were his... and that another farmer stole them... in exchange for some food... I told him I would return them... when I did... he lied... the bulls were not his... he used me to steal them... then tried to kill me... I killed him..."

I looked again at the bulls...

"...Alright," I said...

I raised my hand... took out a yellow butterfly...

I released it toward him...

When it got close... the shapeshifter waved its hands and cut the butterfly with its sharp claws...

"What is this?!" the shapeshifter shouted, stepping back...

"Calm down," I said...

"It’s just a butterfly that prevents you from lying... it reveals the truth... if you’re honest I’ll let you go... if you’re lying you’ll be punished..."

I took out another butterfly... released it toward him...

He rushed—

Slash—

Cut it again... stepped back further...

"Heh..." I smiled...

"It was just a normal butterfly... in truth, I don’t have anything that forces someone to tell only the truth..."

"But it’s an effective method... to expose liars..." I laughed...

"You deceived the farmer and stole the bulls... now you will be punished..."

I pulled the sword from behind me...

The shapeshifter’s lips split... blood scattered...

A long tongue shot out from its mouth...

Then...

It bent and prepared to attack...

Its fangs expanded and its claws lengthened...

Then...

It leaped toward me at high speed...

"Heh..." I whispered...

I moved my left side...

Then two quick steps forward... then two to the side...

I evaded its attack...

I raised my sword in an instant...

Slash—

Two steps forward...

Then...

The ugly head flew several meters away...

I looked right and left... no one was there...

Suddenly...

The bulls’ voices exploded...

The head was near them...

"Damn," I clicked my tongue...

The four bulls rushed in different directions...

Without thinking...

I released many flame threads...

I launched them...

I restrained the bulls instantly... and controlled them...

"...Alright..." I exhaled deeply...

After a while... I reached the fifth bull...

I led them all... toward the farmer...

After delivering the bulls... the farmer gave me his mission stone...

At that moment... I exhaled...

"Finally... I finished five missions in just two days..." I whispered...

A sudden sense of joy surrounded me...

In the previous two days... I had been cleaning stables from rats...

Chasing a chicken thief...

Cutting wood like in the old days for a noble...

And collecting a type of yellow butterfly that was hard to catch...

I finished my five missions in two days... with physical exhaustion only from searching... as for challenges...

They did not exist...

Now... about 69 hours have passed...

I still have three hours left for the system mission...

But...?

Where is the notification?

I waited for moments... then... nothing...

I closed my eyes...

"Record... I have completed the missions I accepted... have they been counted?"

"It is not possible to count completed missions before submitting their stones to the guild headquarters."

"...What?"

I closed my eyes again and checked the remaining time...

{ 2:44 }

Damn...

What do I do?

I looked around...

No one...

I moved... quickly...

I used all the speed I could at second rank...

After half an hour of running...

"Damn..." I clicked my tongue...

The distance was still far...

"At this rate... I will never reach in time..." I whispered...

Then...

I narrowed my eyes...

I decided...

I knew... with certainty...

That the missions requested by the system usually give rewards perfectly suited to my situation...

Regardless of how I reach the guild...

I must not fail the mission...

My speed increased...

My feet...

Shot like lightning...

I dashed at immense speed...

Suddenly... I exited the shadow of the mountain...

Toward the trees at the side of the city...

I leaped like a raging wind...

I left only sound behind me...

In moments...

I was at the gates of the city...

My eyes scanned everything...

I analyzed at extreme speed...

I pushed myself to maximum speed...

The guards around the wall were discussing how nice the weather was...

They heard nothing else...

They looked right and left trying to understand the wind that passed by them...

None of them noticed anything...

Suddenly...

I was inside the city...

{ 1:20 }

"Not yet..." I whispered...

I dashed further...

Above buildings... between them...

Passing area after area...

{ 50:00 }

I did not stop... I was close to the guild street...

But I was still not reassured...

Even if I arrive on time... maybe only twenty minutes remain...

What guarantees the guild will process me fast enough?

I must arrive as quickly as possible...

I moved like a shadow...

Passing bodies and objects without them feeling me...

Perhaps just a passing cold that made a woman’s clothes flutter without knowing why...

Or animals scattering when they sensed me...

Then...

I stopped... above one of the shops...

I jumped down quietly...

About twenty meters... or less...

I was close to the guild...

I moved...

Entered...

They turned... the two girls and the man were still there...

"Welcome," they said...

"I want to redeem these stones," I said...

The girl extended her hands slowly toward the stones... then began examining them...

"As fast as possible, please," I said...

She glanced at me from the corner of her eye... then sped up...

She brought another tray...

The tray had designated slots...

She placed all ten stones into it...

Then... in a moment—

"You have successfully completed the assigned missions... congratulations," the voice echoed inside me...

"Finally..." I whispered...

"You have earned 25,000 dinars," the voice said... then added...

"You have earned 25 rank points... you need to reach 1000 points to apply for second rank license – shining silver –"

"I see..." I whispered...

There is still a long way... and the amount is not large... but it is enough for now...

{ Ding... Ding... Ding }

Heh...

Yes... this is what I’ve been waiting for...

{ System mission – Silver rank missions – completed successfully }

{ Ding... Ding... Ding }

{ Do you wish to sacrifice unknown rewards to unlock hidden missions }

{ Yes – No }

...This is something new indeed...

I don’t know what the rewards are... but...

{ Yes }

I will never hesitate to unlock hidden things in exchange for ordinary rewards...

{ Ding... Ding... Ding }

{ General mission rewards have been sacrificed... unlocking hidden missions requires sacrificing nine more general rewards }

{ Ding... Ding... Ding }

{ Unlocked... Exchange }

Exchange?

Let’s see what it is...

{ System }

{ Exchange }

{ Upon succeeding in an adventurer mission... do not submit the stone on time... the exchange system will convert your sacrifice into a point... every ten points can be exchanged for one successful general mission }

"...What is this..." I muttered...

What does this even mean...

I need to calm down...

I looked around... the two girls were staring at me...

Damn... I didn’t realize I was still standing...

I moved...

Exited quickly... then...

Headed to the inn...

I sat on the bed quickly... reviewed everything again...

After a while... I analyzed it...

At first... the system gave me something new called hidden missions... but they are locked...

To unlock them... I must first succeed in ten general system missions... and not only that... I must also sacrifice their rewards...

In return... with each sacrificed reward... I get closer to unlocking hidden missions...

I need to sacrifice ten rewards...

After presenting that category... the system introduced something new... the Exchange System...

It can be considered a system linking guild missions and system missions...

The Exchange System depends on priority...

With every guild mission I succeed in... I must fail it at the same time...

How?

Simple...

For example... the bull mission had a time limit...

If I returned the bulls... but didn’t submit the stone in time...

Then I succeeded... and failed... at the same time...

That is exactly what the system wants...

To succeed and fail simultaneously...

Meaning...

I must choose time-limited missions...

Complete them... but fail to submit...

Each such mission gives one exchange point...

After obtaining ten points...

I can sacrifice them... to get one successful system mission...

And that point... I will sacrifice again... to unlock hidden missions...

"...This is a headache..."

But overall...

I need to succeed and fail in one hundred guild missions...

To unlock hidden missions...

Maybe less... if system missions appear...

But of course...

Now that this alternative exists...

I will never sacrifice system missions again.