Chapter Six: A New Day! New Region Quests!
"So... yesterday was not a dream..."
When Kaiden opened his eyes for the second time and saw that the ceiling had changed — no longer the concrete grey of his apartment but the unfamiliar grain of rough-hewn wood — the memories of the day before came flooding back. He was not dreaming. The magically acquired abdominal muscles he had never earned in a gym were still there, solid as ever.
He got out of bed and stretched, feeling energy and vitality fill his body. He went to the washroom, took care of his needs, then washed his hands and face with the water sitting in the wooden barrel on the side.
He had borrowed the barrel the previous day from the carpenter's workshop, where it had been used to store equipment. It was not perfectly sealed and leaked slightly — but Kaiden was a practical man. He used what was available.
As for the water source — he had found several people selling river water in the World Market at very reasonable exchange rates. One unit of meat bought ten liters of drinking-quality river water. Some were even selling seawater at far cheaper rates, but dealing with saltwater was a nuisance even for cleaning. He did not have many wooden barrels or containers at the moment, and would think about building a proper storage tank or something similar later on.
His stomach's protest cut through his thoughts. He placed a hand on his belly, felt the hunger, then stepped outside — only to find he was the last one up.
Everyone was already at work.
The villagers were gathering resources from the newly expanded region, and there were already some materials stacked in front of the Lord's Hall.
Wood +15 units
Stone +26 units
The stone count was higher because Hook the blacksmith had managed to finish the iron pickaxe before sundown the previous day — the villagers just had not had the chance to use it until today.
Kaiden surveyed his region. The faint sound of hammering drifted from the blacksmith and carpenter workshops.
Joel the butcher was busy cleaning the bloodstains in front of his workshop.
Meanwhile, Golan and Rob were on patrol along the new region boundaries.
Kaiden looked up at the sky — the sun had been up for a while. Probably around seven or eight in the morning.
"It is nice having hardworking subjects~" he muttered contentedly.
He was beginning to like this magical world more and more — to the point where ambitions had started taking shape and quietly taking root within him.
At that moment, one of the villagers approached, carrying wood on his shoulder. Spotting the Lord, he greeted him immediately.
"Good morning, my respected Lord."
"Ah... good morning. Thank you all for your hard work. Call everyone for breakfast."
The villager's voice pulled Kaiden out of his thoughts, and he responded quickly.
Kaiden chose not to summon new residents or generate the new quests yet, deciding to wait until after breakfast. Newly summoned residents did not need food immediately — and though that felt slightly inhumane, he had his reasons. Despite having plenty of food, water was still a problem.
Everyone gathered at the same spot as yesterday's feast, in front of the Lord's Hall.
They all greeted Kaiden the moment he arrived, and he returned the greeting with a smile.
Breakfast for all ten of them — Kaiden included — consisted of three grilled fish, three loaves of brown bread, and two roasted chickens. The food was fresh, confirming his suspicion that items stored in the Lord's Inventory were perfectly preserved.
On top of that, he remembered that monster meat had physical-enhancing properties, so he asked the villagers to grill four additional cuts of meat as well.
Half an hour later, everyone had finished eating and returned to their work.
Kaiden remained seated and opened the Region Quest Generator first.
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Region Quest Generator:
Daily quest generation available...
Generating daily quests...
5 Region Quests generated:
1 — Nascent Region
Details: Have 10 buildings within the Region.
Time Limit: 24 hours
Reward: Rare Blueprint
2 — World Market Trader
Details: Acquire 100 units through exchange in the World Market (cumulative).
Time Limit: 24 hours
Reward: Apprentice Cook Cafeteria Bundle Blueprint
3 — Novice Explorer
Send an exploration party outside the Region's boundaries in one direction for at least 5 km.
Time Limit: 24 hours
Reward: Black Iron Treasure Chest x1
4 — Second Kill
Kill 5 monsters of any level.
Time Limit: 24 hours
Reward: Random Elite Soldier x3
5 — Another Step Toward Dominance
Upgrade the Crown to the Black Iron tier.
Time Limit: 24 hours
Reward: Silver Treasure Chest x1
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Five quests this time — two fewer than yesterday, but the rewards were far better.
A Rare Blueprint! Three Elite Soldiers! And a Silver Treasure Chest!
Kaiden's eyes gleamed with greed.
He wanted every single reward.
But before thinking about any of them, he first used the available daily summon to call new residents. Since he had upgraded the Crown the previous day, he could now summon ten people at once.
The familiar white light appeared — and fortunately, this time he was already outside the Lord's Hall, so there was no issue.
When the light faded, ten new figures stood before him.
"Long live the Lord!"
They shouted in unison, dropping to one knee.
The quality of today's summon made Kaiden's eyes light up.
Among the ten:
6 villagers — four women and two men
3 militia soldiers
And one Elite Soldier — a beautiful young blonde woman, carrying a longbow and a quiver full of arrows.
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Name: Laura
Rank: Elite Soldier (Archer)
Level: 1
Experience: 0 / 100
Loyalty: 75%
Description: Has received intensive archery training. Skilled at hitting both stationary and moving targets, at close and long range. Capable of fighting the weakest common-tier monsters.
Future Path: Emerging Hero
Advancement Requirements:
- Reach the rank's maximum level
- Spend 8 Origin Points to complete the advancement
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The status panels for the militia soldiers and Elite Soldier Laura — including their advancement requirements — mirrored those of Golan and Rob. Kaiden noted this, then divided the six villagers and sent them to the logging team and the stone gathering and mining team respectively.
As for the matter of labor being too physically demanding for women?
Not a chance.
Kaiden believed in equality and paid no mind to such distinctions — especially in a magical world where everyone had the potential to grow.
That left him with three militia soldiers carrying rusted weapons, plus Laura.
He thought for a moment, then sent one of the militia soldiers to join Golan and Rob's team.
As for Laura, he briefed her on the previous day's events, explained the strategy for eliminating monsters using the Protective Barrier as an advantage, and assigned her as the leader of a new team covering the opposite side from Golan's — especially now that the region had expanded and it had become difficult for Golan and Rob to cover the entire area on their own.
Once everyone had dispersed, Kaiden found himself the only one with nothing to do — which suited him just fine. Everyone loves being the one in charge, watching others work on their behalf. Kaiden was no exception.
His attention returned to the quests, and this time he studied them carefully.
The "Nascent Region" quest was straightforward — practically guaranteed with the Lord's Hall already counted. He only needed 4 more buildings.
"World Market Trader" came right after in terms of ease. He needed to do a bit of trading, and while he did not have large amounts of wood or stone, he had plenty of meat — and that was his advantage.
"Novice Explorer," however, carried some risk.
This world was full of monsters. His soldiers had managed to kill them before, but that had been with the Protective Barrier as their safety net. Outside it, things would be entirely different.
"Hmm... the reward for killing five monsters is three Elite Soldiers... and with them, the exploration team's safety increases considerably... but time is a bit tight..."
Kaiden thought it over for a while, then decided — if he had not completed the "Second Kill" quest by midday, he would take the risk and send out whatever forces he had available.
At that moment, while still deep in thought, a notification appeared before him.
[System Notification: Your forces led by Golan have slain a "Wilderness Wolf" — Common Tier. You have gained: Origin Points x4, Residential Blueprint x1. Gains deposited into Lord's Inventory.]
"Oh~ Another kill... but this time not a lizard — a wolf? Let me go see."
Kaiden headed toward Golan's team. The walk took longer than before due to the region's recent expansion.
...
"Good work, everyone."
Kaiden greeted them upon arrival and saw the carcass of a large, lean grey wolf — its throat punctured clean through — lying on the ground behind them, already dragged inside the region's boundaries.
"Greetings, my Lord."
All three responded respectfully, with Golan stepping forward to explain what had happened.
"The wolf was fast, but its defenses were weak — and with the Protective Barrier, dealing with it was straightforward. That said, my Lord, you should know that wolves run in packs. This one appears to be an old wolf driven out from its pack, but the possibility of a pack roaming near our region's land is something that should be looked into."
Kaiden looked at the wolf's carcass, then out at the semi-barren wilderness beyond the region's boundaries.
The terrain was not open flatland. Rocky hills and mountains were scattered everywhere, blocking the view of whatever lay beyond them.
As he stared at those hills and the secrets they concealed, a faint but distinct sense of danger stirred within him.
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End of Chapter Six