Ats had secured one Rank-S item from each exclusive bahough he still hadn’t gottely what he was after—a spear that would be truly useful for him.

  Even so, he restrained himself from spending all his remaining tickets. He knew he o save resources and focus on preparing for the uping casual expedition, which would begin as soon as the teleportation pad was plete.

  Deg to joihers, Ats pitched in with the terrain work. He watched as Mira guided everyone, helping to water the nd and pnt seeds. Parts of the isnd were now covered with patches of grass and flowers, a noticeable improvement from the barren ndscape it had been just the day before.

  He noticed that everyone was holding hoes and spades.

  Wait, where did those e from? he wondered.

  After cheg, he realized Mira had pulled these tools from her iory. It was amusing—she had been carrying gardening tools with her all this time.

  "Are you fighting with that hoe too, Mira?" he asked as he walked over to the bunny girl, who was cheerfully w the soil.

  "My Lord!" she responded instantly, fshing him her bright smile. "I have a lovely hoe that’s better suited for bat, but… I ’t seem to find it in my iory. Uhm… hehe."

  "I’ll see if I get it for you from my Gacha System. Just need a bit of luck with the pulls. I’ll let you know when it shows up."

  "Thanks, My Lord!"

  "Do you have any gardening tools for me? I want to join everyone and help with the nd.”

  Mira blinked and tapped her cheek, surprised. "Are you sure about that, My Lord?"

  "Yes, this is our isnd. We work on it together."

  Her grin widened, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Alright!"

  She summoned another spade, and Ats took it, joining the others as they worked on shaping their isnd together.

  Time passed, and the teleportation pad was finally pleted. Ats approached the low, circur structure, its surface marked with glowing runes. Edrik and Karian followed closely behind as he ied the pad.

  "Tell me, Jackpot, I build two structures at the same time?"

  [Host, currently you only build oructure at a time, but you set a queue. One structure is fihe will automatically begin as long as the materials are suffit.]

  "Good," Ats nodded.

  He had already sidered what they should build —Basic Hut Residential.

  With the isnd's popution growing, they desperately needed proper shelters. There was no way they could sleep outside any longer; it wouldn’t be good for their health or morale.

  Still, he felt the o build at least three huts. While Edrik and Karian could easily share a space, he wasn’t so sure about putting all three women together. The thought of the Vampire Queen being unhappy about sharing her quarters with others lingered uneasily in his mind.

  "Alright, Jackpot, queue up three Basic Huts for me."

  [Uood, Host. Task initiated.]

  [You have spent 80 units of wood, 50 units of stone, 10 units of iron, and 5 units of mana crystals to build Basic Residential Huts.]

  After finishing the stru setting, he summohe interface for the teleportation pad. To his surprise, the structure unlocked quite a useful feature. He could now see exactly where his floating isnd was located on the map of h.

  His isnd, The Gacha Haven, was h above a vast desert region on the Saharasia ti. This ti was mostly covered is, with only a small portion being inhabited.

  Despite the barren ndscape below, the floating isnd moved steadily across the sky. Iingly, the isnd’s unique gravity made the movement almost unnoticeable to those on board. They felt only a strong breeze, but not the isnd’s actual movement. Likely because it wasn’t moving too quickly.

  "Tell me, Jackpot, I trol the movement of this isnd?"

  [Host, at your current stage, you are uo trol the isnd’s movement.]

  "Okay, fair enough.”

  He then sed the surrounding area, and several items appeared on his s: unoccupied isnds, and—oh—occupied isnds too. A few isnds nearby were uninhabited, while others had varying development stages, ranging from rank 1 to rank 3.

  Isnds of the same rank as his could easily bee his rivals. Most were probably keeping a close wat his isnd, waiting for the moment his protective barrier would fall—likely pnning an attack as soon as they spotted an opening.

  I’ll have to be prepared when that time es.

  Ats checked out the nearby floating isnds, notig a variety of sizes—some small, e enough to house aire city, and a few even big enough to hold multiple cities. However, the interface didn’t provide any information about who might be inhabiting these isnds; it only showed the terrain. There were isnds covered in dense jungle, barren idscapes, and even volic mountain regions.

  That’s exactly what I need!

  It could offer valuable resources for the isnd upgrades and also potentially found the materials o build the Fme Bea.

  He also sidered the likelihood of entering other floating isnd inhabitants who might be hunting in the same areas. It was only a matter of time before they crossed paths with potential rivals.

  Turning his attention to his team, he reviewed their readiness. Manna had her signature on, and while she was his stro subordi the moment, he wasirely sure if she was ready to cooperate.

  Karian had also secured his signature on, making him a solid fighter, and Lyrassa could provide excellent support with her healing abilities. Together, they gave the team a much better ce of surviving any dangerous enters.

  Edrik, while more of an escape artist, was clever enough to keep himself alive in most situations.

  As for Mira... No, she’s better off staying on the isnd. Her level was still the lowest among them, and bringing her along on such a dangerous expedition would be too risky. It was best to let her tinue w on the isnd while they prepared for the phase.

  Ats thought through his decision once more. In this early phase, he had no choice but to leave the isnd for exploration and resathering. Staying put wasn’t an option—there was nothing to harvest or colle this isnd, and without expanding his reach, he couldn’t develop further.

  However, venturing outside also posed a real threat. The lords of other floating isnds could easily attack him, which presented a signifit danger.

  "Tell me, Jackpot, is there an easy way to return to the isnd, say, if we get ambushed during the expedition?"

  [Host, you will receive a token that be used oo open a portal back to the isnd. Everyone in your party must stand on the circur portal to be transported back.]

  [The challenge is ensuring only your party members are on the portal, because if anyone else steps in, there’s a high ce they’ll be brought along as well.]

  That could be a problem.

  Ats’s attention was suddenly pulled away by Manna, alking toward him. She made her way to the teleportation pad, giving him a bored look as she stood there.

  "Activate this thing. I want to go out. Your stupid isnd is b," she said in her usual ft tone.

  Ats couldn’t help but smile. He gnced over at Edrik, Karian, and Lyrassa, who were already ready to go.

  Ats summoned his floating throne, and instantly, a ptform appeared beh it, h in the air. He jumped onto the ptform, quickly followed by Edrik and Karian.

  Lyrassa, to his surprise, floated effortlessly as well, settling onto the ptform with her legs dangling over the edge.

  Ats settled into the throne, and the Vampire Queen, Manna, floated up as well, gracefully nding beside him. She sat casually on the armrest of the throne, leaning slightly against his shoulder.

  Mira, who had been watg, waved them off enthusiastically.

  "My Lord, everyone, safe travels! Take care and e back soon—I’ll miss you all!" she said with her i, cheerful smile.

  "Bye, Mira. Take care of the isnd while we’re gone.”

  He then activated the teleportation pad, seleg their destination isnd. A glowing magic circle formed beh them.

  [Transp you to the destination Floating Isnd—Fre Peak.]

  A burst of light shot upward, engulfing them as their bodies were quickly pulled into the swirling energy. In an instant, they were on their way to the new isnd.

  Their vision cleared just as a loud crash echoed around them, followed by a deafening roar that seemed to pierce their ears. The intense heat hit them immediately, the air scorg their skin with a sudden, drastic rise in temperature.

  Ats quickly registered his surroundings, sing the enviroo get a sense of where they had he grouh them was cracked and scorched, with streams of molten va snaking through jagged rocks. The sky above was filled with thick clouds, tinged with red from the volic glow below.

  They were on a hostile, volid—Fre Peak. And who knows what they might enter there.