Chapter 173: The Domain’s Evolution
Kellar lay in bed, staring at the wooden ceiling while the scents of mint and jasmine from his women filled the room. Frejya had returned from her silent patrol through the treetops with the news that the northern caravan had left the valley without attempting anything suspicious. The border was clear for now, but the unease in Kellar’s chest lingered. He urgently needed more people. Five hundred slaves would arrive in three months, but the real dilemma was how to integrate that force without destabilizing the territory. He couldn’t simply arm every inhabitant; arming a population without proper loyalty and doctrine would only breed anarchy. He had to be cautious.
Meli was sucking his dick with soft, rhythmic movements, enjoying every muffled groan from Kellar, while Mila dressed his hair with patience, combing each strand as part of their usual morning ritual to send Kellar off relaxed, focused, and happy.
Kellar came hard straight into Meli’s mouth. The girl swallowed without a second thought, wiping the corner of her lips with a pleased smile before planting a tender kiss on his thigh. Kellar stood up, adjusting his trousers to go supervise the silver ingots, gold, and servitude scrolls left by the merchant caravan.
Before he could cross the threshold of his room, a chime echoed directly in his mind.
[Ding!]
[System Updated. Congratulations, you have successfully raised your village level.] [Review the new upgrades in your interface system.]
Kellar stopped in his tracks, opening the floating transparent screen before his eyes. He went straight to the section for available skills to purchase. Now every technology had a fixed cost of 50 Tech Points, and the shop displayed three brand-new options:
Engine
Machinery Design
Ammunition Design
All three options were ridiculously crucial. If he could acquire Engine technology, he would kick off the true Industrial Age; he could build trains, railroads, and heavy transport to move resources across the entire territory. But the cost... shit, fifty Tech Points were not going to be easy to gather.
He kept scrolling down the menu until he hit the list of requirements to consolidate the new village level:
[Expand your territory]
[Build roads]
[Build a drainage system]
[Build an educational system] (Completed)
[Build a security team] (Completed)
Kellar examined the details of the first uncompleted goal. Territorial expansion demanded dominance over four key zones: the Red Forest, the river, the mountain fortress, and the high peaks where the giant eagles nested. Almost the entire territory already belonged to him completely; only the upper mountainous zone dominated by those winged beasts remained to be subdued.
Then he checked the second requirement: Build roads. He urgently needed to develop cement to pave the main thoroughfares and connect the defensive outposts, but cement was not even listed in the tech shop. He only vaguely remembered the basic mixture of limestone and clay from his past life. It seemed he would have to find another way to synthesize it or figure out the process through trial and error.
Finally, sliding his finger to the far right of the interface, he found a brand-new tab marked in golden letters: Consumables Shop.
"Well now, this is what I’m talking about..." Kellar muttered to himself, framing a smirk.
The currency required here was not Tech Points, but Tribal Evolution Points. There was finally a place to spend the hoard from his achievements. He checked his current balance: he had 9,836 points.
He took a glance at the consumables catalog:
Water Bottle (500 ml): 10 p
Can of Coca-Cola (355 ml): 20 p
Cotton Shirt: 150 p
Denim Pants: 300 p
...
As he continued scrolling down, several options appeared grayed out: Milling Machine, Lathe, Mixer, Drill Press.
"Shit... this is exactly what I need," Kellar thought, his heart beating fast.
Upon selecting the Drill Press option, a prompt immediately popped up:
[Cost: 10,000 p - Requirement: Village Level 3]
He was barely at Level 2 and had no idea how much it would cost him to obtain such heavy machinery in the future. Nevertheless, he did not give up and kept reviewing the shop in detail. Among the extensive list, he saw blueprints and formulas of all kinds, including the Recipe for Macedonian Steel.
"Don’t tell me this is...", Kellar whispered, speeding up his search with his eyes glued to the screen.
He searched and searched through hundreds of records until he finally found it: Formula and Recipe for Hydraulic Cement.
The price listed on the interface was 5,000 Tribal Evolution Points. Without hesitating for even a second, Kellar pressed the Accept button to complete the purchase before anything else could get in the way.
[Purchase successful! You have acquired: Formula and Recipe for Hydraulic Cement.]
A wave of knowledge immediately unfolded before his eyes. Upon opening the full breakdown of the newly purchased recipe, the interface detailed with absolute precision the ingredients and proportions required for its creation:
Limestone: 75%
Clay: 20%
Iron oxides and gypsum: 5%
Process: Fine crushing, high-temperature kiln firing (1450°c) to form clinker, and final grinding with gypsum.
"Shit, it was right here...", Kellar exclaimed with a broad smile of relief as he reviewed the data processed in his mind. "The limestone and suitable clay deposits... it’s all inside the AshValley."
He ran a hand over his face, letting out a long sigh. The Ash Valley was not merely an unexplored area; it was the lair of the dragon that dominated the territory’s heights.
"It’s risky, but I have no other choice," Kellar whispered, fixing his eyes on the mountain peaks visible in the distance from his window. "Looks like we’ll have to explore that damned place. I just hope the dragon is like in the web novels and I can actually talk with him... rather than him being just a mindless, aggressive beast."
Kellar closed the floating screen with a swift flick of his hand, feeling his spirits soar all at once. The uncertainty surrounding the cement and the roads had vanished, replaced by a renewed sense of determination.
He crossed his arms, threw back his head, and shouted down the hallway with a powerful voice that echoed throughout the entire residence:
"Someone call Mentz and Grok! Bring them here immediately!"