Chapter 12: The First Encounter with an Alien Race!
Kaiden was not the type to be defeated by fear, so the feeling of worry dissipated quickly. Unlike the others, he had a full team of elite soldiers, and he didn't doubt their quality for a single moment. Besides, the distance they had covered wasn't great — five or six kilometers at most.
"So we humans sit at the bottom of the hierarchy among the other intelligent races, do we?" Kaiden muttered under his breath, then his tone rose sharply as he clenched his fist: "I don't know about the others — but as for me, I will turn this territory into a nightmare that terrifies them all!"
Kaiden made this grand vow with absolute confidence. His faith in his talent was unshakeable, and within five more days, his territory would be unrecognizable from what it was now.
With that iron resolve, Kaiden lost all desire to browse the World Chat. He stood up and went to inspect his territory himself.
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Over the next two hours, Kaiden made his rounds throughout the territory to check on progress. His first stop was the blacksmith's workshop, where he found Hook had completed four pieces of equipment — two axes and two pickaxes — and was nearly finished with a third pickaxe to bring the total to five.
The carpenter's progress was equally satisfying. He had produced a total of ten handles for pickaxes and axes. At this point the supply was more than sufficient, so Kaiden asked him to change his plan and begin work on a large wooden barrel. The carpenter nodded and told him it would take a full day to complete, and that he would need the blacksmith's help to produce iron bands to hold the barrel together.
Afterward, Kaiden headed to Joel the Butcher's workshop and found him having just finished processing the black snake carcass. Kaiden looked over the haul:
- Prairie Snake Monster Meat (Common) ×35 units
- Venomous Snake Fang ×4
- Snake Bile Gland ×1
- Snake Venom Sac ×1
- Complete Snake Monster Hide ×1
It was a truly remarkable yield. But Kaiden had a phobia of snakes, and a shiver ran through him the moment he laid eyes on the dismembered carcass. He immediately decided to set aside all the snake meat for future trading — he had no desire to see it in his food stores.
As for the snake's bile gland and venom sac, along with the herbs he had recently acquired through trade, he sent them directly to Luther the Alchemist, hoping he could craft something useful from them.
While making his rounds, he recalled the two notifications that had reached him some time ago regarding the expedition team. The first had read:
[System Notification: Your forces under Golan's command have slain a Common-tier "Prairie Boar" monster.
Reward: ×3 Origin Points + Apprentice Leatherworker's Workshop Bundle Blueprint ×1
Rewards have been deposited into the Lord's inventory.]
But it was the second notification — which had arrived an hour ago — that had consumed his thoughts entirely:
[System Notification: Your forces under Golan's command have slain a Bronze-tier alien warrior of the "Twin-Headed" race.
Reward: ×3 Origin Points.
Rewards have been deposited into the Lord's inventory.]
Immediately following it came a red alert — the likes of which Kaiden had never seen before:
[System Alert: You have slain a soldier belonging to another Lord's territory. Your relationship with the Lord of the Twin-Headed Clan Territory has become Hostile.]
Upon seeing this final notification, unease crept into Kaiden's heart. What was coming would come regardless. He took a deep breath and shifted his focus to analyzing the contents of the messages. First, the alien race they had encountered — judging by the name, they appeared to possess two heads. Second, although he had received no blueprints from the kill, he had gained Origin Points, which pleased him. Third, he didn't know the exact location of this territory, but it was certainly nearby. Most likely the distance between his lands and the alien race's territory didn't exceed ten kilometers.
Kaiden's analysis rested on the assumption that all Lords were still in the early stages of exploration, where scouting activity couldn't extend beyond a circle of roughly ten kilometers in diameter.
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As it happened, Kaiden's estimate was accurate.
At the very same moment his notification arrived, an entirely different notification appeared before another Lord situated on nearby land — land that shared the same arid, semi-desert terrain as Kaiden's territory.
But the scene in this territory was utterly unlike the lively, building-filled bustle of Kaiden's. Here, everything was still extremely primitive. There were only three strangely shaped stone structures, drawn from the architectural aesthetics unique to the Twin-Headed race's civilization.
The owner of this territory was named Ashbel. Days ago he had been nothing more than a marginalized member of his clan — then he and millions of his fellow Twin-Headed race members were inexplicably torn from their world and hurled into this strange one. But Ashbel didn't particularly mind the change. On the contrary — back there he had been a nobody, while here he had become the master of his own clan. This radical transformation had filled him with enthusiasm and ambition.
So his goal today was clear: develop his Lord's Crown for the very first time. But his bleak, barren territory was suffering from a severe shortage of wood. Ashbel steeled his nerves and made his decision, dispatching all of his combat units — three Twin-Headed warriors — to scout the area and protect his resource gatherers.
The first outing went smoothly, and the harvest was excellent. But in the afternoon, he sent his forces out again. After roughly an hour of waiting, a terrifying notification suddenly appeared before his eyes:
[System Notification: One of your forces has been slain by an alien warrior of the "Human" race at the Black Iron tier.]
It was immediately followed by:
[System Alert: One of your forces has been killed by troops belonging to another Lord's territory. Your relationship with the Lord of the Fertile Lands Territory has automatically become Hostile.]
"What! Curse these humans!" Ashbel leapt from his seat, shock written across both of his faces. Something like this had happened without any warning whatsoever.
It was the first time he had ever heard of this race. He quickly opened the World Chat to ask around. Some members of his race had already had run-ins with humans, and they told him what they knew.
The Human race: one of the repulsive races that possessed only a single head. And the color of their skin was hideous and strange, unlike the beautiful grey of their own. According to the chat, this race was not powerful at all — in fact far weaker than theirs in terms of traits and the quality of their Bronze-tier soldiers. And so the mockery from his fellow tribesmen rained down on him. How could a lowly human kill one of his soldiers? They told him it was a disgrace to the Twin-Headed race, and that he ought to take his own life to wipe away the shame.
But Ashbel cared nothing for anyone's mockery in that moment. He was facing a genuine problem — an existential crisis that could threaten his entire territory.
He had no choice but to wait. He sat in his chair, worry gnawing at his heart, awaiting the return of his soldiers — or whoever remained alive — to learn more about the forces of that wretched human Lord.
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While Ashbel was drowning in his dread, Kaiden had no idea that an alien being was trembling because of him — nor that part of the vow he had made to himself just hours ago had already begun to come true. The pace of his development exceeded all expectations.
At this moment, he stood at the entrance of his territory, waiting.
He didn't have to wait long. Suddenly, distant silhouettes flickered on the horizon. Kaiden squinted — then a wide smile spread across his face.
He could see them clearly now: his expedition team, returning from afar, bearing the spoils of their journey with them.
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— End of Chapter Twelve —