Ben shared a surprised glance with the others, then headed for the gate and stepped outside.

  The newcomers approached cautiously, keeping their distance from the wall, most of them hanging back near the edge of the clearing. Only one woman, athletic-looking and in her late twenties, advanced toward the gate. She wore a shirt with a ripped sleeve and held a crudely made spear in her right hand.

  She studied Ben and the others as they approached.

  “Hello there. Is this the Protectorate?”

  Ben blinked in surprise, then remembered what Zack and Liz had mentioned the night before.

  “Yes, indeed—this is the Protectorate of the Blue Mountain Forest. At least for a couple of days now,” he added with a smile, hoping to ease some of the tension he could sense in the group.

  “And what is this Protectorate?”

  “Well, we were a lumberjack camp until the Energy arrived. With the help of the system, we converted it into a settlement that provides a safe space in this area. While Energy-born creatures can enter our territory, they can’t spawn here—and neither can dungeons. If you need shelter, you’re welcome to stay with us, or at least use our network to call home.”

  “Thank you—that’s appreciated. I’m Anne, a teacher. My colleague Rose and I were on a weeklong trip with our students—sort of a mix between digital detox and survival training,” she added with a smirk. “We’d be grateful if we could rest here and contact the parents to let them know the kids are safe.”

  “Of course. You’re welcome.”

  Anne waved her group forward. The students—likely fourteen or fifteen years old—followed with their teacher, a sturdy woman in her late forties or early fifties.

  Ben introduced himself to Rose as well and asked, “Do your students need our Wi-Fi password?”

  She laughed. “They wish! We made them leave their smartphones at home. Anne and I will contact the school first; they can relay messages to the parents. Maybe later we can arrange individual calls.”

  “Did you encounter any monsters along the way?”

  “We did. The first one appeared just a few hours after the initial event. We saw others in the distance that forced us off our original path. The last ones were just a few hundred meters from here. If it hadn’t been for our ferocious Anne, things might have ended badly. She dispatched two foxes mostly on her own.”

  “Oh, Rose. Don’t exaggerate. It was teamwork,” Anne said, blushing slightly.

  “It’s impressive either way. Did you bring the bodies—or harvest the cores?” Ben asked.

  Anne frowned. “No, we were too preoccupied. And what do you mean by ‘core’?”

  “A core is condensed Energy that some creatures carry inside—usually in their chest. We’re not entirely sure yet what they’re used for, but the system recommends harvesting them, so that’s what we’ve been doing.”

  He glanced at Jamal and Michael.

  “Would you mind bringing the corpses back? We can harvest the cores for Anne and Rose—and maybe Carter can do something with the fur.”

  The two men nodded and headed off.

  Ben led the group inside the palisade. As they entered the clearing, he heard excited murmuring from the students as they caught sight of the white marble square and the dungeon gates.

  “What the heck is this? This does not look like a lumberjack camp in the middle of nowhere!” Anne exclaimed.

  Ben laughed. “Indeed. It looked quite different just a week ago. As part of the Protectorate’s obligations, we need to take care of dungeons that spawn in the area. The gates you see are portals to those dungeons. They’re dangerous—please make sure your students stay well away from them.”

  Both teachers nodded emphatically. Rose turned and repeated the warning in no uncertain terms.

  Soon after, they reached the mess hall, where Luz quickly became everyone’s favorite by handing out cold drinks and snacks to the hungry, weary students. After days of camp food, the treats were met with cheers.

  Allison joined them, welcomed the teachers warmly, and offered any help she or the team could provide.

  After the newcomers had settled down a bit, Ben waved Adam outside. "I think it’s time to build the System Store. And with our new guests, I guess we can build the apartment building right away too."

  "Agreed," Adam nodded. "Do you know where you want to build it?"

  "I think once we grow, we’ll need a proper plan. But for now, it’s probably best to keep the living spaces close to the center, away from the walls."

  Ben opened the Settlement Interface and selected General Infrastructure. First, he selected the System Store. He hadn’t had a clear expectation—but if challenged, he probably would’ve imagined a small building with a counter and some screens.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Instead, just like the first time he’d founded the settlement, a floating, translucent blueprint appeared in his vision: a low, marble square about 1.5 × 1.5 meters, with a chest-high pillar attached on the left side.

  As before, he could move the hologram simply by looking around. After a moment of thought, he placed it on the north side of the square, near the office.

  A short pulse of Energy from the Protectorate Pillar triggered the Store’s emergence from the ground—gleaming white marble with familiar golden veins.

  Before engaging with it, Ben navigated back to the Interface. The citizens, as well as their guests, had begun gathering around the square again, drawn by the familiar burst of Energy and the spectacle of new construction.

  Next, Ben selected the apartment building. Another hologram appeared—this time a two-story rectangular structure with a flat roof and large windows on all sides. He noticed he could also move existing buildings to make space if needed. That’s not just cool—very convenient for future growth, he thought.

  But no rearrangement was needed yet. On the south side of the square, beside the mess hall, there was plenty of room. As he positioned the building, its front entrance shifted automatically to face the square. Satisfied, he confirmed.

  Again, a golden pulse surged outward—and the apartment building rose swiftly from the ground.

  Spontaneous applause erupted from the crowd, with the kids especially shouting and chattering excitedly. Even the most skeptical among them couldn’t help but marvel at the display of magic.

  Allison approached with the four adult guests.

  "As always, you amaze us, son. I assume that pillar is the System Store?"

  "Yes, it is. I’m very curious to check it out," Ben replied, then turned to their guests. "That building there holds five apartments with two beds each. You’re welcome to use them while you stay. Please coordinate with Adam for room assignments."

  "You’re saying you just built that whole apartment building from nothing in seconds? Are you messing with us?" Anne asked, both eyebrows rising.

  "Mhh, sort of," Ben said with a grin. "There’s a cost involved—the currency we need is hard to come by. That’s why we can only build one for now, even though we could clearly use more."

  Anne simply nodded, speechless. Liz and Zack looked equally amazed. Rose stepped forward and shook Ben’s hand. "Thank you so much for using your precious resources to build us a temporary home. We really appreciate it."

  Jamal joined them. "Boss, you’re making our lodges look out of place if you keep this up."

  Ben laughed. "You’re right. The contrast between the white marble and our wooden lodges is a bit jarring. But I hope it doesn’t offend your sensibilities too much!"

  Jamal smirked. "No worries. What’s that pillar over there doing?"

  "Good question. Let me make an announcement to the team."

  Ben gathered his core team and the settlers in a loose circle.

  "Everyone, a couple quick updates. First, we now have access to the System Store—that pillar over there. I haven’t tested it yet, but I will shortly. It’s available to everyone.

  "Second, the new building has five small apartments with two beds each. For now, our guests will use them. I assume everyone is fine staying in the lodges for now?"

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  "Great. Finally, I’ve been thinking about what the Protectorate should stand for—our values. I’d like your feedback on this:

  Community – stronger together

  Growth – ever forward

  Safety – protecting everyone

  No matter your background—if you commit to these values, you can become a citizen of the Protectorate."

  He looked around. Thoughtful faces. Nods. Some smiles.

  Barry cleared his throat. "I for one fully support this. And I truly appreciate that it offers everyone a chance to contribute if they’re committed. Makes me proud to be part of this."

  Allison hugged Barry and the others clapped in support.

  "Awesome—thank you. In that case, I’ll make it official. Going forward, every new citizen will acknowledge these values when registering."

  As the crowd dispersed, Liz and Zack approached, Anne lingering a few steps behind.

  "We overheard your discussion," Zack said shyly. "We’re really impressed with everything you’re building here. If we didn’t have to go back to university, we’d be tempted to ask to stay."

  "Thank you. We’re trying to build a place where we can preserve our community and stay safe. If you change your minds, you’d be welcome later."

  A few steps behind, Anne observed quietly, nodding to herself.

  Finally, Ben and Adam stood before the System Store pillar.

  "Now how’s this going to work?" Adam asked.

  Ben touched the pillar. A golden screen appeared:

  Congratulations on initializing the System Store in your settlement, Protector. The Store can be used to both buy and sell with the System. Credits are the primary currency, though bartering is possible. Selling to the Store is one of the main ways for Credits to enter the planet’s economy; further avenues will unlock with higher levels of development.

  The Store is also one of the key ways for the settlement to earn Credits. The settlement can use Credits to pay employees, purchase equipment, or convert them into Settlement Credits as well.

  The main goods the Store buys are Energy cores and, selectively, natural treasures. At initial levels, the Store will subsidize the settlement by buying raw materials—such as furs—at inflated prices.

  As settlement owner, you may restrict which goods can be traded through the Store. As you progress through settlement levels, you will gain finer control over taxes on specific goods. For now, you may only set an overall tax rate. Default: 10% for buying and selling.

  Do you wish to confirm?

  Ben looked at Adam. "Single decision here—the tax rate. Default is 10% for buying and selling. Okay to stick with that?"

  Adam thought a moment, then nodded. "Yes. We can probably adjust it later once we know more."

  Ben confirmed the setting and relayed the other details to Adam.

  After completing the setup of the shop, a new window opened with a simple menu structure. Focusing on the Sell section, Ben received a prompt to put any items he wanted to sell onto the store pedestal.

  “Hey, do you have the monster cores with you that I gave you earlier?” he asked Adam.

  “Yes, I do,” Adam replied, pulling them out of his shirt’s breast pocket. “As you suggested, I gave Allison, Jamal, and Michael each one from your dungeon trip. That leaves you with four.”

  Ben nodded, remembering the wolf, frog, snake, and panther whose cores he had collected. “Great, thanks. Please put them on the pedestal.”

  After a moment, the shop asked him to confirm:

  Four Tier 1 cores identified. Price per core: 450 Credits. Confirm trade for 1800 Credits?

  “I can sell them for 450 Credits each,” Ben said. “That’s 1800 Credits total. I assume the system keeps 10% tax—so 200 Credits go to the settlement. I can’t think of a reason not to sell them, can you?”

  “Maybe check first what we can get for them?” Adam suggested.

  Ben nodded and canceled the transaction. He checked the Buy side of the menu. “Looks like the offering is quite broad—Weapons, Armor, Consumables, Crafting supplies, Food, etc. Let me dig a bit deeper.”