Chapter Eleven: The Expedition Launches!
The white light faded, and in its place appeared three elite soldiers. Two of them carried swords, while the third was a powerfully built man bearing a large round shield.
All three knelt on one knee and saluted Kaiden with respect. He returned their greeting and welcomed them, then the shield-bearer caught his eye. He opened the man's information interface:
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Name: Carter
Rank: Elite Soldier (Shield-Bearer)
Level: 1
Experience: 0 / 100
Loyalty: 75%
Description: Has undergone intensive protection training. Capable of withstanding the impact of various Common-tier monsters, and possesses the ability to draw monsters' attention onto himself, creating openings for other party members.
Future Path: Nascent Champion
Upgrade Requirements:
- Reach rank maximum
- Spend 8 Origin Points to complete the upgrade process
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"From the description, he sounds like the party tank from video games and role-playing novels. Either way, with this remarkable soldier the survival rate of the expedition members has gone up by more than half!" Kaiden muttered with satisfaction.
He didn't linger any further. He told the three soldiers to follow him and headed toward his loyal soldier Golan, sending a villager along the way to summon Laura.
The moment he arrived, Golan greeted him with his customary flattery. Kaiden laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.
He glanced at the large lizard carcass — it was no different from the ones before it, so he didn't examine it further and sent it straight to Joel the Butcher.
They waited briefly until Laura's team arrived, then Kaiden reorganized his forces. First, he gathered all six militia soldiers into a single unit, appointed Rob as their commander, and sent them to carry out the previous plan. Though he wasn't sure whether the six of them could kill even one monster on their own, Kaiden decided to put it to the test. In any case, with the protective barrier in place, their safety was practically guaranteed.
That left five elite soldiers standing before him, awaiting his orders. Kaiden straightened up and began his address with gravity:
"As you can see, comrades, the outside world is completely unknown to us — and that places us in a dangerously passive position. Although the protective barrier shields us for now, it will only last a few more days before it disappears! I refuse to be caught off guard by anything!" Kaiden paused to let his words sink in, then extended his hand and pointed in a direction he had already chosen, continuing in a louder tone:
"Therefore, I have decided to dispatch our first expedition! I hereby appoint Golan as team commander. Your mission is to explore this direction to a depth of five or six kilometers, then return and report everything you find."
The team members knelt in unison and said with one voice: "We guarantee the mission will be completed!"
Kaiden turned to Golan and said: "Keep the expedition team safe."
Golan replied with resolve: "I will do my utmost, my lord!"
Kaiden smiled and clapped Golan on the shoulder once more: "I trust you. Move out — I'll be waiting for your safe return."
He gave them a few words of encouragement, and the team set off on their journey. He watched them for a moment, then turned and walked through the territory. He built a new residential hut beside the existing ones, then headed toward the Lord's Hall — he still hadn't inspected it since the upgrade.
He pushed open the iron-banded door and entered, finding a great many changes. First, there was now a separate private chamber for him. He stepped inside to find his bed had grown larger and more luxurious, and the candles had been replaced by a handsome oil lantern, full to the brim.
A wooden bookcase had also been added — one meter wide and a meter and a half tall — containing four small, empty shelves.
The bed felt exceptionally comfortable. Kaiden resisted the urge to take a nap and stepped back out of the room. He surveyed the main hall and noticed the table had grown longer, now accommodating two additional chairs, while the quality of all the existing chairs had been improved, and the Lord's chair had become considerably more grand.
All in all, it was a better place to live than the small apartment he had occupied before his arrival here.
At that moment, a notification appeared:
[System Alert: "Lord of Soaring Peak Territory" has traded ×1 unit of Common Meat. You have received +17 Triple-Root Mountain Clover (equivalent to one unit's worth). Dispatched to the Lord's inventory — please verify.]
It was followed by another:
[System Alert: "Lord of the Dark Forest Territory" has traded ×1 unit of Common Meat. You have received +14 Green Thanos Tree Leaves. Dispatched to the Lord's inventory — please verify.]
Kaiden looked at the notification contents and exclaimed with delight: "Excellent! Now I have all the ingredients for the Stamina Potion!"
With that thought, he set off toward Luther's Alchemist's Workshop.
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After handing the herbs to the alchemist, Kaiden watched as Luther donned the rudimentary breathing mask — without needing to put on the full protective gear — then lit the fire beneath the furnace.
Seeing this, Kaiden stepped back. He had no protective mask like the alchemist, so he preferred to keep his distance. In any case, the process would take several hours — there was no need to watch the details. The result alone would suffice.
After stepping outside, Kaiden looked around and found himself the only one with nothing to do. He had two ongoing matters: the first was being handled by his soldiers, and the second was upgrading the Crown — which required iron. That meant he needed treasure chests, or to keep monitoring the World Market.
Kaiden chose not to linger outdoors and headed back to his renovated home to rest.
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"Ahh~ The bed has gotten even softer and more comfortable!" Kaiden exclaimed happily as he lay down. It was a simple pleasure — nothing more than a comfortable bed and a roof over his head — yet it filled his heart with warmth.
He opened the World Chat to check on others' progress, and was taken aback by the hot topic of discussion:
**Lord of Purple Hills Territory:** "Today I saw someone from an alien race standing at the edge of my protective barrier, staring into my territory! The sight was terrifying! Two meters tall, entirely blue, and with four arms — four cursed arms! He was carrying two swords in his lower pair. The militia soldiers were completely useless. One of them tried to strike it with a spear from behind the barrier's protection, and he was dragged out along with the spear and cut into dozens of pieces. All of this happened right in front of me! God help us! How are we supposed to survive after seven days?!"
**Lord of the Lost City Territory:** "Dear god! I'm terrified! I was thinking about heading out with my soldiers, but now every bit of desire I had to leave is gone!"
**Lord of Green Valley Territory:** "Actually, I spotted traces of a foreign race too. It looked revolting — like an octopus — and I didn't dare get close. But its movements were slow, and it doesn't seem nearly as powerful as the Asura warrior our friend above is dealing with."
**Lord of Knowledge Territory:** "Why are any of you even surprised? When we arrived yesterday, the voice told us that all races had been sent to the world of Aurandra to compete for dominance. We are simply one of those races! In the World Chat alone I've seen six people who have already encountered different alien races. You need to increase your strength as much as possible. Based on my current research into alien races, we humans are ranked among the lowest of the races sent to this world — or at the very least, we fall in the lower tier in terms of physical capability."
Kaiden stopped at the Lord of Knowledge Territory's message and felt a chill run through him. His rapid progress and the protective barrier had caused him to almost entirely forget the voice's reminder at the very beginning. Now, worry began to creep into his heart…
His expedition team.
Something like this had never entered his calculations.
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— End of Chapter Eleven —