“Luna?” Ats murmured softly, turning the name over in his mind, but no ideas surfaced.

  “Jackpot, tell me— a package from another Lord be accepted in this phase? And is it safe?”

  [Host, the System will s the tents and ehey’re safe if that’s your .]

  “Alright, please accept the package for me.”

  A moment after Ats firmed the package, he saw a drone approag from a distance. He watched from behind the protective barrier as the drone shone a light onto the isnd. Then, suddenly, a rge pile of items materialized in front of him, and Ats stepped back to give it space.

  He read the message attached to the package, stunned by what he saw inside.

  [2000 Units of Wood]

  [2000 Units of Stone]

  [2000 Units of Iron]

  [1000 Units of Wood Ingots]

  [500 Mana Crystals]

  [100 Lava Shards]

  [50 Magma Core Fragments]

  [100 Elite Exp Orb]

  [50 Bloodstones]

  "What the hell?! This many items?!" Ats excimed.

  With all these materials, he could build up his isnd in no time.

  Edrik and the others approached him from behind, looking intrigued.

  "My Lord, it seems someorying to propose to you," Edrik said with a smirk.

  "Propose?"

  "I mean... in this early phase, most Lords are looking to form alliao support each other. I think another Lord sees great potential in you a all of this," Edrik expined.

  "Yes, it says the package was sent by someone named Luna. But I don’t recall knowing anyone by that name.”

  "Luna?" Mira chimed in, tilting her head thoughtfully. "Ah... Luna..." she trailed off, seeming to eething in her mind.

  "Do you know something, Mira?"

  Mira nodded enthusiastically, her eyes lighting up. "My Lord... uhm... yesterday, while I was busy with the gardening, two girls—uhm—came by. One of them was wearing a blue outfit…"

  She the on, reting i detail, even mimig the versation she had with the twers.

  Ats sighed as he listeo Mira’s at, trying to piece together what might actually be happening. A smirk crossed his face as he let out a chuckle.

  “Wait, don’t tell me those two girls assumed you were the Lord of this isnd, Mira?”

  “It seems that way, My Lord,” Edrik replied with a hint of amusement.

  “Oh… no, no, no, My Lord, I didn’t say anything like that!” Mira stammered, looking flustered.

  “No, it’s alright. It seems our new friends may have misuood.” Ats paused, thinking it over. “But… what if they find out they sent all this to the wrong person?”

  “My Lord… f alliances with other Lords, especially those of higher ranks, isn’t always a purely good thing,” Edrik cautioned. “But I suspect this Lord sent help out of sympathy for Mira.”

  “Yeah, I see that,” Ats replied thoughtfully.

  He paused, sidering his options. “They might be disappointed if they discover the truth about this isnd. But now that the supplies are here, there’s no way I’m sending these materials back. I’ll make the most of what they’ve sent,” he added with a grin.

  “My Lord,” Edrik said. “Five me, but I feel I should warn you… this could potentially create an enemy. Not because I doubt our strength, but because I think it’s best to be cautious.”

  “That’s fair, and I uand the risk,” Ats replied calmly. “But I’ll still take it. Even without actively making ehese so-called Lord battles will naturally draw them to us. So I’m not going to py nice just because this will be my first battle.”

  “I’d say you’re mentally prepared for this, My Lord. I respect that,” Edrik said.

  Ats quickly refocused, s through the structures he o prioritize in this early phase. He khe Fme Bea was crucial—it would signifitly strehe isnd’s defenses. But he was still short on Fire Crystals, and they’d likely o make several more trips to the volids to gather enough.

  With a sigh, he decided to struct every avaible structure and queue everything up.

  “Jackpot, I want to start building: two Lumber Mills, two Quarries, two Training Grounds, one Bcksmith Workshop, and two Residential Huts.”

  [You have spent 160 Units of Wood, 100 Units of Stone, 20 Iron Ingots to build a Residential Hut.]

  [You have spent …]

  [You have spent 240 Units of Wood, 80 Units of Stone, 20 Iron Ingots to build the Lumber Mill.]

  [You have spent …]

  [You have spent 160 Units of Stone, 40 Iron Ingots, 40 Units of Wood to build the Quarry.]

  [You have spent …]

  [You have spent 200 Units of Wood, 100 Units of Stone, 30 Iron Ingots to build Training Grounds.]

  [You have spent …]

  [You have spent 80 Units of Stone, 150 Units of Iron, 20 Units of Wood to build Bcksmith Workshop.]

  Ats felt a surge of satisfa watg the structures rise and the task queue fill. Now, all he had to do was wait as everything took shape, piece by piece. But one crucial element remaio push his isnd’s development forward: his army.

  Fortunately, he had the Gacha System at his disposal, allowing him to summon subordinates from other worlds—even other Lords. Araordinary advantage.

  With the subordinates he had now, he should be able to hahe first battle smoothly—unless he faced a Lord who had already formed alliances and secured early-phase resources.

  But he needed more thae summons; he needed a plete army. Workers and soldiers were essential to expand the isnd and bolster his forces for the battles ahead. To tackle this, he gathered Edrik and the others for a discussion.

  The first option was a structure called the Gateway Altar, desigo summon awakeners directly by gold or simir resources. Unfortunately, he was still short on three World Shards—essential materials he hadn’t yet gathered to struct it.

  The sed option involved Recruiting Awakeners from the Lower Lands. This was straightforward: he’d simply go down to the lower nds and recruit anyone willing to work for him, either long-term or temporarily.

  Payment? Gold, mostly, depending oerms agreed upon. While some recruits might only want gold, others—especially those seeking stability—would need more, like Exp Orbs, better equipment, and other essentials for a better life.

  The third option was tracted Meraries. This option was clearly temporary, with hires only stig around for specific battles. While effective for short-term needs, relying on meraries wasn’t ideal in the long run si required stant re-hiring.

  There were other methods as well: Involuntary Recruitment (using prisoners or sves), Summoning Creatures from nearby nds, recruiting Refugees and Dispced People, and even bringing in Guild Initiates and Apprentices.

  Each approach was different, but all served the same essential purpose—building his ranks and workforce, each with its ow of trade-offs.

  Ats sighed, s through everything he o do. Workers for the isnd were a priority—bcksmiths, and the like. Acc to Edrik, he’d also least 20 to 30 troops for the first battle.

  Would he o rely on Gacha pulls? No, not yet. Better to get things settled first, and save those pulls for ued upgrades.

  What if they visited the lower nds?

  Currently, they were h above the Saharia ti—a pce where he could likely fily what he here should be an Awakener Associatiuild there, along with meraries, and possibly merts for trading supplies.

  Ats weighed his options. With enough gold on hand in this early phase, it seemed like the right move to explore what the lower nds had to offer.

  He raised his head, meeting everyone’s gaze. “Let’s go visit the lower nds,” he said.

  ***

  (Author's Note:)

  I hate to say it, but I really chose the hard way to build this story—keeping track of every little detail, right down to the numbers in each chapter and every bit ress.

  No, I’m not kidding. It means I ’t just write freely wherever I want; I have to double-check all the data to make sure I’m not messing up any numbers. And that really only works in a proper setup with my extended monitor. Lol.

  But hey, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!