Chapter Eight: A Bronze Treasure Chest! The Expedition Launches!
"I only have 15 units of meat left in storage, but I still have the wolf monster's body being processed," Kaiden muttered as he tallied his remaining supplies. He had thought he had plenty, but without realizing it, three-quarters of his stock had vanished. At first he had feared the monsters drawing near — now he found himself hoping they would come in greater and greater numbers.
[System Notification: Your forces under Laura's command have slain a Common-tier "Prairie Snake" monster. You have gained ×4 Origin Points — Residential Building Blueprint ×1. Gains have been deposited into the Lord's inventory.]
As usual, the system notification cut through his thoughts — something he had grown almost accustomed to by now.
"Another monster… a snake! Ugh!" Kaiden muttered at the sight of the monster's name, a cold shiver running through his body. He hated snakes. He feared them.
But that didn't slow his steps as he made his way toward his newly formed team led by elite soldier archer Laura. In any case, there was no need to be afraid — the protective wall kept him safe.
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When Kaiden approached the battle site, three militiamen were dragging a fearsome snake covered in black-violet scales inside the bounds of the protective barrier. It was roughly ten meters long and as thick as a man's waist. Laura stood nearby, bow in hand, scanning the surrounding area. She heard his footsteps and turned, and upon seeing it was the Lord, she quickly lowered her bow and saluted.
"No need for formalities — you and your team did outstanding work," Kaiden waved his hand and commended Laura and her unit.
He shifted his gaze to the snake. He studied its head and found two arrows — one through its right eye, the other having pierced through the side of its skull. Noticing the Lord examining the snake's wounds, Laura stepped forward, bowed slightly, and explained the battle:
"My lord, while we were on patrol we encountered this snake attempting to breach the protective wall. We used Your Lordship's strategy — while the snake was preoccupied antagonizing the militia soldiers, I seized the opportunity and fired an arrow at its eye. It didn't kill it outright but sent it into convulsions, so I fired a second shot that ended the struggle."
"Well done. Send one of the militiamen to inform the villagers to have the serpent's carcass delivered to Joel the Butcher, then continue your work."
"By your order, my lord!"
Kaiden left them to it and walked toward the newly established residential district, constructing another residential hut to bring the total to four.
"Three workshops and four residential huts, plus a tavern and the Lord's Hall… I only need one more building to complete the mission. I wonder what the rare blueprint will be?" he murmured, then glanced at the quest board to see if there was anything actionable.
As his eyes drifted to the Silver Chest reward, his hands were already itching. With that thought he opened the Lord's Crown interface and the bronze crown appeared before him once again. He focused on the upgrade requirements:
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Upgrade Lord's Hall to Level 6
- 10 buildings present in the territory
- At least 6 combat units present (Completed)
- Origin Points ×12
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He had already fulfilled the 6-combat-unit requirement, and ten buildings were nearly within reach. Even the Origin Points weren't a problem — he already had 10. But upgrading the Lord's Hall was a genuine resource-devouring beast.
Kaiden headed toward the Lord's Hall to check whether he had the required resources — but midway he changed course and turned toward Joel the Butcher. By this hour the old wolf had most likely been fully processed.
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Kaiden's instinct about Joel proved correct. He found him finished with the wolf and cleaning his tools, ready to begin on the snake.
"Good work, Joel," Kaiden greeted him with a smile the moment he arrived.
"Nothing brings me more joy than contributing to the territory!" Joel bowed humbly, though his eyes couldn't quite hide the pride — apparently another person who loved praise.
Kaiden added everything to his inventory. The haul was:
- Prairie Wolf Meat (Common) ×30 units
- Prairie Wolf Fang ×8
- Complete Prairie Wolf Hide ×1
As Kaiden was about to leave, he spotted Joel gathering the wolf's internal organs and dropping them into a foul-smelling barrel. Suddenly — inspiration struck.
This world is magical, but its logic still holds. So… Thoughts raced through his mind and he took several steps forward. He fought back the stench and peered into the barrel, finding it more than half full.
"There's a good amount here!" Kaiden exclaimed with excitement.
Watching the respectable Lord behave like a famished ghost, Joel said in alarm:
"My lord — the internal organs are inedible!"
"Hahaha~ No, Joel, you've misunderstood. I know they can't be eaten. I have a different use for them." Kaiden didn't elaborate further. He turned and called for some villagers, quickly.
On his way he stopped by Sidra's tavern — she was busy cooking — and borrowed an empty wooden barrel she was using as a waste bin. He brought it back to Joel the Butcher.
He didn't reach in himself, of course. He had his dignity as a Lord to maintain, even if his enthusiasm was plain to see. So he ordered the villagers to divide the internal organs into two portions and place each in a separate barrel.
He sent the wooden barrel toward Laura's team, telling the villagers to inform her he would come by later, then set off with the villagers carrying the second barrel toward Golan's team.
As they walked, Kaiden reviewed the plan in his mind several times and found it sound. If the monsters of this world follow routine, it will work. In truth the plan was elegantly simple: place the internal organs just outside the protective barrier and have the unit watch from within. With the protective wall, Kaiden had no fear of large numbers of monsters appearing — on the contrary, he welcomed it.
His fledgling territory's economy and growth depended almost entirely on monster meat at this stage, so drawing in monsters would greatly accelerate his development. Besides, he now had numerous soldiers leveling up through combat — it would be a waste to leave them idle.
Upon arriving, Kaiden ordered the two villagers carrying the barrel to set it near the protective wall, then briefed Golan and Rob on the plan.
Golan seized the opportunity immediately to flatter the Lord:
"Wise as ever, my lord! This will certainly work." Golan appeared cold-faced and imposing, yet no one surpassed him at flattery.
Kaiden gave them a few additional instructions, watched for a moment as they emptied the barrel filled with the sticky, glistening organs of monster carcasses, then hurried off to Laura's team to have them do the same.
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With the plan set in motion, Kaiden didn't linger with his forces — he had more pressing matters.
He arrived at the Lord's Hut to find a sizable pile of accumulated resources waiting, a natural result of improved equipment and the growing villager population. He gathered everything and without delay opened the Lord's Hall interface:
- Wood +52
- Stone +75
- Bonus: Wood +3, Stone +4
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Building Name: Lord's Hall (Level 3)
Description: The Lord's residence and the central hub from which all territory affairs are administered.
Upgrade Requirements:
- Wood × 120 units
- Stone × 80 units
- Iron × 5 units
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"Iron? Seriously? I got twenty units from that treasure chest earlier and I barely have ten left — just enough."
Seeing that he had sufficient materials, Kaiden selected the upgrade.
When the white light faded, the new Lord's Hall stood before him. This time the change was most striking in height — a stone foundation rose a meter and a half from the ground, with several stone steps leading up to a wide wooden door reinforced at its center by iron bands engraved with fine, intricate patterns. On either side of the door were small balconies. The structure was square, and the timber used was noticeably sturdier and finer. The whole scene resembled a grand guesthouse.
Before choosing to enter and inspect the changes inside, Kaiden first checked the requirements for upgrading to Level 5:
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Upgrade Requirements:
- Wood × 240 units
- Stone × 160 units
- Iron × 10 units
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"Iron is going to be a problem," Kaiden sighed. Stone was plentiful, and while the wood requirement was large it could be purchased — but iron, even if he wanted to buy it, he had found no one to sell it. Not once until this moment had he seen anyone offering iron.
"I have no choice but to rely on treasure chests," Kaiden murmured. The iron he had previously gained from a treasure chest made him hope he would find more the same way.
At that very moment, a notification appeared before him — and it made him forget about iron entirely.
[System Notification: Your forces under Laura's command have slain a Common-tier "Prairie Eagle" monster. You have gained ×5 Origin Points — Warehouse Blueprint ×1. Gains have been deposited into the Lord's inventory.]
Before Kaiden could react, another system notification followed:
[System Notification: Your forces under Laura's command have slain a Common-tier "Prairie Eagle" monster. You have gained ×3 Origin Points — Arrow Tower Blueprint ×1. Gains have been deposited into the Lord's inventory.]
Kaiden was stunned. This was the first time his forces had killed two monsters in nearly the same instant. "It seems my plan worked," he murmured — and suddenly he had no desire to go inside and inspect the Lord's Hall. He turned and hurried back toward Laura.
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— End of Chapter Eight —