I wasn’t sure how badly she was injured—her armor would certainly need repairs—but I wasn’t going to turn down helping one of my friends.
When we arrived, several of the monsters had collapsed in the training grounds, sweat pouring off them, while Analth stood over them like some tyrannical warlord. She looked up as we arrived, a bright smile on her face.
“Ah, Lord Herald,” she said, running up to me. “I was just showing your—Elyndra, are you alright?”
She paused, as if only just noticing that Elyndra was injured. She hurried over to the Coreborn, touching her side and frowning slightly.
“Ah… Lady Analth, I am… alright. Just a small injury I received in battle,” Elyndra explained, stuttering slightly.
Analth checked her over like a mother hen—at least until I called Johann over to heal her.
The undead cleric frowned as he took a look at her, but it only took a moment for him to make his prognosis.
“She will recover fully without healing magic,” he explained calmly. “In fact, the wound is already closed. There’s just a bruise right now.”
I nodded, looking at Elyndra, who just gave me a smile, before shaking my head.
“You had me worried,” I sighed heavily, before leaving her to Analth and the others.
I headed toward the Town Hall again—or more specifically, the Core Room.
As I walked, I checked both the item I had gained and the quest reward, of course.
[Cinderwake - Rare Halberd]
- +10% Attack
- +5% Strength
- +10 fire damage on hit
- Effect: When infused with mana, each swing releases a wave of searing heat, damaging nearby enemies.
[Cinderwake was wielded by a warlord who ruled beside magma and flame. Those who stand too close do not escape the heat that follows its arc.]
It was my second rare weapon, but I had no one currently using polearms. I briefly wondered if one of the spear-wielders might take it, but shook my head. Spears were different from halberds.
The next thing was the rewards I got from the quest.
[Quest Complete!]
[Quest: The Volcanic Zone]
[Type: Side Quest]
[Objective:] The Herald has changed one of his territories into Volcanic terrain. New monsters await, alongside new things to discover. To better prepare himself for future confrontations, the Herald should learn as much as possible of this new terrain… and slay the rare monster that awaits within.
[Goal:]
- Explore (100%)
- Slay Ga’tuk (1/1)
[Rewards:] 1 Uncommon Armor Box | +300 Soul Essence | Blueprint Unlocked: Forge | Material available for harvest; Flame Cores
I stared at the rewards for a few moments, frowning slightly. The Forge was going to be great—I assumed it would allow me to make my own gear—although I didn’t have any blacksmiths yet, as far as I knew.
But the Flame Cores… what were those, and where did I find them?
[Flame Core - Uncommon Material]
[Found in the heart of Volcanic terrain, these uncommon materials can be harvested by a Herald to enchant and forge gear with the Flame enchantment on them. Also used to summon Flame element-based monsters.]
It was the first new material I had seen. So far, I had only encountered wood and stone, but now I had access to Flame Cores. I wondered briefly if exploring the Ocean terrain bordering the north might reveal Water Cores—or something similar.
I had reached the Core Room and chose to open the weapon box I had received previously, along with the new armor box I had just gotten. As the light faded, I smiled at what I had received.
[Weapons Gained — 1x Bloodroot Spear | 1x Stormbite Kukri | 1x Ashbringers Staff]
[Armor Gained — 1x Scoria Guard | 1x Runebound Mantle]
The weapons were fairly easy to identify without even examining them closely, but the armor was a little different. Scoria Guard was a shield that increased fire resistance and defense, with a chance to burn attackers when blocking.
The mantle, on the other hand, was a cloak that increased passive mana regeneration and reduced the cost of infusing mana into weapons. Both would be handy in the future, and I traded out my own shield for the new one.
It was bulkier than the buckler I had used previously, made of some sort of crimson metal. A flame was etched into its surface, and it was warm to the touch.
The mantle would sit in my inventory for now, but the spear would be given to Elyndra, the kukri to Kareth, one of my assassins, and the staff handed over to Halvard.
All in all, it was a good haul—a worthwhile reward.
I dismissed the notifications and moved on to the next task I had in mind: expanding my territory again. I needed to keep pushing westward, so I selected the next territory in line, spending 1,125 Soul Essence to do so.
If I was right in my calculations—going off what Analth had told me—I was close to reaching where Aelshore lay. Maybe another two or three expansions, and I’d be able to see it at the very least.
The thought was… nerve-wracking. I didn’t want to go to war with the place. I didn’t want to kill a bunch of innocents or anything like that.
But every time I crossed paths with adventurers, they had tried to kill me—kill my monsters.
If I could, I would allow any civilians to escape… but I wouldn’t hesitate to cut down those who fought back. Not anymore.
Once again, the adventurers I had rescued flashed through my mind, and so too did images of my sister.
I wondered briefly if she was an adventurer right now as well, somewhere else in the world leveling up her skills and class.
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Or was she alone—lost somewhere in the woods or trapped in a dungeon—wishing she had someone who knew her beside her?
I sighed heavily and went through the new notifications that had popped up.
[Core has leveled up! Core is now Level 4!]
[Passive Soul Essence gained has increased to 4/10 Minutes!]
[Blueprint Unlocked: Butcher Shop! Blueprint Unlocked: Bakery!]
I blinked, then laughed aloud. What—was I expected to turn my monsters into butchers and bakers now?
I supposed that, at the same time, I could try to find the blacksmith I would soon need to go along with my new forge.
So much to do, and yet not enough hands to do the jobs.
Perhaps it was time for a new summon in that case—or maybe two.
The forge would likely be the most useful structure to have at the moment, which meant I needed to hope for something capable of using its hands well.
What were the chances of summoning monsters with crafting skills anyway?
I checked the resource cost for the forge and frowned. I needed Flame Cores regardless, so I couldn’t build it just yet.
The Butcher Shop and Bakery, on the other hand… those I could build right now.
The Butcher Shop was described as exactly what it sounded like. The only notable difference was that whoever was assigned to it would go out and hunt animals in the morning, butcher them in the afternoon, and then “sell” the meat at night.
The Bakery was much the same, though I wasn’t entirely sure how it sourced flour, eggs, or the other ingredients needed to make baked goods. Magic, I supposed.
I brought up the build menu and selected a couple of spots near the edge of the village for them. That way, as the village expanded outward, they’d end up closer to the center of town—right where traffic would naturally pass through.
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Title:] Crafter
[Condition:] Build a Butcher Shop or Bakery
[Rewards:] +500 Soul Essence | Small Uncommon Resource Box
I smiled at that.
“Always coming through for me, aren’t you?” I whispered, opening the resource box.
[Resources Gained - Flame Core x50, Iron Ore x100, Ashwood x100]
There were the Flame Cores I needed, but I had also gained Iron Ore and Ashwood. Its description listed it as a type of lumber found most commonly in Volcanic terrain.
I remembered the burned-looking trees we had seen there and wondered briefly if that was where it came from.
Come to think of it, I already owned items made from it—a number of the bows I’d taken from adventurers were prefixed with the word Ashwood.
Pushing that aside for now, I summoned the Forge next, placing it a little ways off from where I had built the training grounds.
My resources—and Soul Essence—were running low now, but I could easily replenish the latter by heading west again and hunting monsters.
I debated for a few moments whether I would be better off waiting to summon higher-tier monsters—three of them—to man the new material buildings I had unlocked, or if I should simply summon some minions instead.
In the end, I decided to wait.
It was better to have more experienced hands handling those tasks than minions who couldn’t speak and would need time and training before they were strong enough to hold their own against most threats.
With that in mind, I decided to go mingle amongst the monsters for the rest of the evening.
Tomorrow, I would lead a party out to hunt more monsters—starting with the new territory I had unlocked.
The next morning saw me leading Elyndra, Roderik, Halvard, Andre, and Arathog past the volcanic zone and all the way through the third section I had unlocked, straight to the fourth.
We were starting to get farther away from home, which was fine—as long as I had enough of my monsters remaining behind to defend it.
The trees in this sector had begun to thin out, but the air felt heavier, almost as if something was pressing down on my shoulders.
“Magic… the magic here is heavy, Lord Herald,” Halvard explained when I brought it up.
I frowned at that but didn’t question it.
The air did seem to glow faintly blue, and I could see what I had first thought were fireflies—until Halvard quickly corrected me. They were actually tiny motes of magic, dancing between the trees.
It made me wonder what kind of monsters we would encounter here.
I didn’t have to wait long.
We ran into our first opponent shortly after.
At first, I wasn’t sure what it was. It looked like a floating cloud, but it hovered far too close to the ground.
Then there was a crack of thunder, and a bolt of lightning shot from it straight toward me.
I dodged just in time, the bolt ripping the ground apart behind me.
“The hell…” I cursed, staring at the… thing. Mist?
Whatever it was, it was dangerous—and already charging up for another attack.
Halvard’s flames washed over it, and the shape dissipated.
“An illusion,” Halvard growled, scanning the surroundings.
I could immediately confirm that. There was no system notification indicating the defeat of whatever we had just faced.
Which meant it was still nearby. Still watching.
Just as I began to wonder what was happening, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I caught the sharp scent of ozone in the air—right before Elyndra tackled me aside.
The ground erupted where I had been standing a moment earlier, and a new monster—or perhaps the true form of the illusion—appeared in its place.
It was humanoid in shape, but made entirely of lightning, its body twitching and moving erratically.
Arathog growled, and Elyndra sprang off me to charge straight in.
Before she could take more than a few steps, there were more crashes—more lightning—and two additional creatures appeared. One was slightly different than the others, its arm forming the shape of a crossbow, from which it fired small bolts of lightning.
I blocked the first shot with my shield, ignoring the sharp tingle that coursed through me, while the second struck me head-on.
My vision briefly whited out, and my entire body convulsed as electricity surged through me, my weapon nearly slipping from my grasp.
When it cleared, I slumped forward, holding myself upright with my sword.
Elyndra was engaged with one of the melee creatures, while Arathog fought the other.
Roderik traded shots with the ranged one, yelping as he was grazed by a bolt, while Halvard did his best to counter with magic.
It felt like I was always being carried by my companions. The thought stung—but I supposed this was part of what it meant to be a Herald. We were meant to lead, to direct monsters in battle rather than fight alone.
Still… I refused to grow complacent.
I forced myself upright on unsteady legs and charged the ranged creature.
Its allies were occupied with my monsters, so it turned and fired several bolts in rapid succession at me—earning a pair of arrows to its flank in response.
I was surprised the arrows stuck, but they did, and they must have done some damage, as the monster let out a sound that made my ears ring.
Pushing through the pain, I reached it and lashed out with my sword, catching its shoulder.
There was something solid there—which explained the arrows—but I didn’t have time to process it as lightning coursed from the creature, down through my sword, and into me.
Pain seared through my body once more, and I let out a roar, trying to steady myself.
Another arrow sank into the thing’s chest, and it turned to fire multiple bolts toward Roderik, as if I didn’t exist.
For some reason, that pissed me off.
“Look at me, ugly!” I snapped, jabbing forward with my sword and aiming for the creature’s head.
It turned just in time to catch my blade where its mouth would have been.
There was a sound—a gasp of shock or surprise, perhaps—and something cracked within it before the thing exploded in static.
I grunted as pain coursed through me, momentarily paralyzing my body.
It gave me a moment to see what was happening.
The battle was basically over, my own force overwhelming the monsters.
Elyndra drove her new spear into the chest of one creature, before a wave of flames washed over it, snuffing it from existence.
Arathog and Roderik took out the other one, making it look like a pin cushion as arrow after arrow stuck from its chest.
Neither of the two smaller ones exploded as they died, which told me it was either something unique to the one I killed, or it had something to do with that hard object that had cracked when I pierced it.
As the last bit of static left my body, leaving me tingling but otherwise unharmed, I relaxed, looking at the notifications as they showed up.
[The Herald has slain Aetherblitz Sentinel (Lv. 21)! — +488 Soul Essence]
[Halvard has slain Aetherblitz (Lv. 15)! — +245 Soul Essence]
[Arathog has slain Aetherblitz (Lv. 17)! — +294 Soul Essence]
Another good haul of soul essence. If all the monsters in these woods were strong like that, my Soul Essence stores would increase quickly.
I smiled.
Time for the hunt to begin.
[Current Day: 11]
[Soul Essence: 2,003]
[Kingdom Core: Level 4]
[Domain Size: 7 Sectors]
[Active Quest: — None —]