The fading light didn’t bother me much—if anything, the shadows felt clearer, sharper. Another reminder that whatever I was now came with good night vision.
The Core pulsed brighter as I stepped inside, almost like it could sense my return. The Soul Essence thrumming through the air made the small chamber hum faintly—alive with energy.
Four hundred points—enough for four Minion-level summons.
“Alright,” I murmured, rubbing my hands together like some greedy con man. “Let’s summon you some new friends, little buddy.”
Thankfully, the system allowed for batch summoning—so I only had to press the button once.
[Summon Four Minion-Level Monsters?]
I hit Yes.
The Core erupted in light, flooding the cave in blinding white. When my vision finally returned, the place had gotten a whole lot more crowded.
First, there was another Kobold, standing beside the first like they were siblings. Both exchanged quick barks before the new one started sniffing around the Core.
Then came a Wolf, padding across the floor with confident steps before settling near the entrance—like some kind of self-appointed guard dog.
Good to know it’s not just humanoid monsters that show up.
Standing next to me was a short, red-skinned creature with pointy ears, beady eyes, and arms longer than its body.
At first, I wasn’t sure what it was—until the system answered for me.
[Skreek - Goblin Level 3]
[Average Stats: 3]
[Average Skill Level: 2]
[Number of Skills: 4]
“A goblin,” I muttered, frowning. “Huh. Not exactly what I expected.”
I’d always imagined green-skinned goblins, like the ones in fantasy novels—but maybe in this world, that was the non-monster version. Who knew?
And lastly, there was a Slime—a small, translucent green blob that squelched its way around the Kobolds’ feet, sucking up bits of dirt and debris as it went.
“Aw,” I said, watching it slurp up a pebble. “A cleaner.”
After a few moments of watching the little thing wobble happily, I turned my attention back to the more humanoid monsters.
Maybe their skills were tied to the weapons they used—which raised another question: how the hell did I get more weapons?
Crafting them?
Or maybe that was what the Marketplace tab was for.
Either way, I still had one spare sword. Might as well test a theory.
I looked between the Goblin and the new Kobold.
The latter’s fur was darker—more black than white—and unlike my first summon, its status showed a higher level and more skills unlocked.
“Here you go, little buddy.” I handed the sword to the new Kobold, who accepted it with a crisp salute.
Disciplined, too. Nice.
Next, I opened my inventory and tapped on the Small Resource Box I’d received earlier.
A flash of light later, and I had an additional 200 Lumber, 100 Stone, and +50 Soul Essence.
Between that and the passive gain I’d accumulated, I was back up to 90 Soul Essence—almost enough for another Minion if I wanted it.
“Alright… now what, though?” I hummed.
As if in answer, the system pinged again.
[New Quest Received!]
[Quest: Build a Base]
[Type: Main Quest]
[Objective:] The cave is not large enough to house all the Herald’s citizens. You must build a new home to shelter your people—and strike fear into the hearts of your enemies.
[Goal:] Build 3 Hovels (0/3)
[Time Limit:] 1 Day
[Rewards:] 1 Small Weapons Box | +200 Soul Essence | ????
[Failure:] The Herald will not be prepared for the battles to come and will suffer an untimely death.
“There we go again with the dying-on-failure thing,” I grumbled.
Three small tents.
Was this something I’d missed earlier, or was there another—
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Minion Summoner!]
[Condition:] Summon a total of five Minions.
[Rewards:] +200 Soul Essence | Blueprint Unlocked: ‘Small Hovels’ | Blueprint Unlocked: ‘Stone Well’
“Guess that answered that question.”
“So where do I find these Blueprints, then?” I muttered, scrolling through the system menu.
They were tucked away under the Kingdom Building tab—which, in hindsight, made sense.
Opening it revealed a short list of options, and right at the top were the Hovels.
Each one required 100 Wood and 50 Stone to construct.
I wasn’t sure if the system would build them automatically or if I was suddenly expected to become a carpenter overnight.
Selecting the Hovel option switched the screen to a three-dimensional view of the land in front of the cave, overlaid with a grid like the world map—only the squares were smaller.
Just like a kingdom sim, a translucent model of the Hovel appeared, glowing green where I could place it and red where I couldn’t.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
It had to sit a little ways from the cave entrance, but apparently there was no penalty for replacing trees.
Satisfied with the spot, I confirmed the placement—and the ground shook
[+30 Lumber Gained]
I looked out from the cave toward where I’d placed the first Hovel—
and froze.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
At least I didn’t have to learn how to build things.
Just like I’d hoped, the system handled construction automatically—and fast.
The finished structure was simple: rough-hewn wooden walls and a roof made of fitted stone slabs.
Crude, but sturdy—perfect for Goblins and Kobolds.
Deciding to keep them close together—but far enough apart in case of fire—I placed the final two.
This time, I braced for the thunderous crash as more trees fell.
Moments later, a notification flickered to life before my eyes.
[Quest Complete!]
[Quest: Build a Base]
[Type: Main Quest]
[Objective:] The cave is not large enough to house all the Herald’s citizens. You must build a new home to shelter your people—and strike fear into the hearts of your enemies.
[Goal:] Build 3 Hovels (3/3)
[Rewards:] 1 Small Weapons Box | +200 Soul Essence | Elite Tier Monster Summoning
The weapon box and Soul Essence were nice—but the real surprise was the Elite-tier summoning unlock.
I still had no idea what each tier truly offered, but if Standard cost five hundred Soul Essence and Elite demanded a thousand…
Yeah, I probably wouldn’t be summoning one of those anytime soon—unless my Soul Essence income changed drastically.
“Well… guess I might as well open the weapon box first,” I muttered, selecting it from my inventory.
A shimmer of light, and two new items appeared before me:
[Weapons Acquired!]
[Iron Longsword | Iron Spear]
Nothing incredible, but definitely nothing to sneeze at either.
I pulled out the spear first and handed it to the Goblin, who accepted it with visible enthusiasm.
Guess that explained what its skills were.
Deciding to step outside despite the late hour, I headed toward the newly built hovels—my small troop of monsters trailing behind me.
All except for the Slime, which stayed behind to keep cleaning the cave.
Cute little thing.
The Hovels were surprisingly decent in size.
As I got closer, I realized they were larger than I’d first thought—big enough that the Kobolds and Goblin could all probably fit into one if they really wanted.
Inside, there weren’t any beds—just patches of packed dirt flattened enough that someone could lie directly on the ground.
Not my cup of tea, but the Kobolds seemed perfectly content—both curled up like dogs in the center of one Hovel, tails twitching lazily.
The Goblin, on the other hand, chose a different one entirely.
No matter how many times I told it to bunk with the Kobolds, it flat-out refused.
Guess species didn’t like to mix much.
I sighed and glanced at the Wolf, which still trailed silently after me—its eyes faintly reflecting the moonlight.
[Howlshade - Wolf Level 3]
[Average Stats: 2]
[Average Skill Level: 1]
[Number of Skills: 2]
Not overly impressive, but it would do. Still stronger than the first Kobold I’d summoned.
I made my way to the third Hovel.
Even if I didn’t feel tired, it couldn’t hurt to rest for a bit and start fresh in the morning.
And who knows—by then, maybe I’d have enough Soul Essence saved up to summon a Standard monster.
When I woke the next morning, it was to another message from the system.
[Congratulations, Herald, on surviving your first day in the new world.]
[The grace period has ended. The monsters of the forest will now once more enter your domain.]
[Be prepared to use your new minions to defend your home, or perhaps you can forcibly recruit new friends?]
I stared at the message for a long moment before sighing and standing.
Looks like I was right about this Herald business scaring everything away yesterday—but I guess that was over.
Now I’d be fighting to keep these new buildings standing.
Well, that was what my monster companions were for.
Speaking of…
[Soul Essence: 538]
It seemed my eight hours of sleep had done more than rest me—it had bumped my Soul Essence total past the four-hundred mark, especially after factoring in the previous day’s quest and achievement rewards.
Which meant I finally had enough to summon a Standard monster.
Still wasn’t sure what that actually meant, but I was about to find out.
The short walk back to the cave was quiet—the Wolf padding beside me while the Kobolds and Goblin milled around their hovels. At some point, one of them had hunted down a few rabbits; they were now roasting them over a fire.
Not sure when they’d had time to do that.
When I stepped into the cave, the Core was pulsing bright—almost eager, like it knew what was coming.
I grinned and opened the system.
Without a second thought, I hit [Summon Standard Monster].
The bright light flashed, and after a moment—
a low, guttural groan filled the cave.
“Oh… what the hell?”
Standing before me was a man—or at least, what was left of one. Roughly six feet tall, short brown hair, dull grey eyes. His skin was ashen, bloated in places, and his clothes were little more than tattered scraps. One pant leg was completely gone. And then there were the missing chunks—gaping holes where flesh should’ve been.
I didn’t even need to check the stats to know.
[Oskar N?gelein - Zombie Level 5]
[Average Stats: 4]
[Average Skill Level: 2]
[Number of Skills: 3]
A zombie.
Of all the things I could’ve gotten… I got a freaking zombie.
Even the Wolf let out a low growl of warning, and I sighed.
“Come on,” I told it. “He’s on our side—probably.”
The zombie groaned in response, and I resisted the urge to facepalm.
I checked its other stats. Stronger than the minions, sure, but it didn’t look capable of much independent thought. Still, strength was strength.
“Alright, big guy,” I said, gesturing toward the entrance. “Congratulations—you’re on guard duty. Try not to eat the help.”
Another groan—then, to my mild surprise, it actually turned and shuffled obediently out of the cave.
I followed close behind, mostly to make sure the Kobolds and Goblin didn’t immediately try to stab the damn thing on sight.
The minions reacted exactly how I expected—snarling, hissing, and generally freaking out—until I raised a hand to stop them.
I eyed the weapon the Kobold was holding and wondered if the zombie would take one of the spare short swords. Might as well upgrade to the iron one while I was at it.
To my surprise, it took the blade without hesitation.
Good to know the undead could use weapons—even if it swung them like it was underwater.
I briefly wondered if it would wear armor too, but decided that experiment could wait.
Before I could give any more orders besides “Guard,” the notification screen dinged again.
[New Quest Received!]
[Quest: Hunting]
[Type: Main Quest]
[Objective:] Now that the Herald has established his base, he must learn the basics of monster hunting. And Adventurer hunting.
[Goal:]
- Kill 0/5 Monsters
- Kill 0/5 Adventurers
[Time Limit:] 3 Days
[Rewards:] 1 Small Armor Box | +350 Soul Essence | ????
[Failure:] The Herald will not be prepared for the fights that come with discovery… and will eventually die a terrible death.
“Not every failure has to end in death!” I shouted, though I knew nothing could hear me—or at least, I hoped it couldn’t.
Still, the quest objectives were… worrisome.
I had no issue killing monsters—they were essentially animals, right?
But killing adventurers—killing people—
That made me feel uneasy.
I wondered if, when the time came, I’d actually be able to do it… or if I’d hesitate.
“Well… no sense worrying about it till the time comes,” I muttered, glancing over at my monsters. “You guys ready to go do some hunting?”
The almost eager looks that crossed all four of their faces made me take a cautious step back—but I couldn’t help smiling despite myself.
Only the zombie would stay behind, guarding our newly built home base.
Adventurers, I figured, would come to me eventually—since I still couldn’t leave my domain—but the monsters?
Yeah, the woods should’ve been crawling with them by now.
Unfortunately, my Soul Essence reserves weren’t looking great after summoning the zombie, so expanding the territory was off the table for now.
I just hoped whatever creatures wandered in were worth more than slimes.
Otherwise, I’d be sitting around waiting forever.
Maybe I should’ve gone for expansion instead of the undead.
I sighed and led the way out into the woods.
Time to kill some monsters.
[Current Day: 2]
[Soul Essence: 38]
[Kingdom Core: Level 1]
[Domain Size: 1 Sector]
[Active Quest: Hunting — 3 Days Remaining]