Ats and the athered around the dining table, trying out all the snacks he’d brought. Karian, of course, was quick to grab whatever he liked and devour it at lightning speed. At one point, as Karian reached for another sna the table, Manna gave him a fierce look. He immediately hesitated a her take it instead.

  Afterward, Ats pulled out the Awakener Devices he’d acquired earlier and distributed them.

  “Activate these with your Mana,” he expined. “They’re essentially unication devices with a range of other features. I’m sure we’ll find them useful. I’ve gotten one for each of you.”

  He handed out the devices, and Edrik was the first to respond, quickly pressing a few interfaces on the s and seg the devito his pocket. Karian, however, seemed a bit puzzled, struggling with his oversized thumbs on the small s while Edrik watched in amusement, not any help.

  Ats noticed Lyrassa simply staring at her deviot iing with it. He moved cluidihumb to touch the s. The device lit up green, signaling activation.

  “See? That’s all there is to it. Feel free to explore it, a me know if you have any questions.”

  Lyrassa stayed quiet, hesitantly tapping the s with her index finger, a bit nervously expl her new device.

  Ats gnced over at Manna, who was also staring at her device. He walked over and ently, "Hey, need a hand?"

  She didn’t respond, but her did she turn him away.

  He moved closer, standing at her side, and his shoulder lightly brushed hers as he poi the s.

  “Here, pce your thumb right there.”

  The Vampire Queen followed his instrus, her device lighting up with a soft glow. After a moment of watg the s, she began tapping and navigating it on her own.

  Had any of them worked with advaeology before?

  Yet, as he observed her, it was clear Manna wasn’t as hesitant as Lyrassa had been; she adapted swiftly. Perhaps, in her own world, she’d been familiar with teology, just of a different design and purpose.

  After finishing up his expnation of the Awakener Devices and ensuring everyone was ected to him, Ats turned his attention to some messages from the Awakener Association.

  They’d sent over a list of the supplies he needed. He took a sharp breath as he skimmed through it. The items would quickly drain about 300 gold from his funds. But at least this would allow him to build four Fme Beas as soon as he returo Gacha Haven.

  Surprisingly, Fire Crystals weren’t as expensive as he’d anticipated. True, he could hunt for more, but a full day of hunting had only earned him 30, while he needed 100 just to strue Fme Bea.

  No matter. The fme towers would be a valuable asset for defense against attacks, and four should be enough for the initial phase.

  However, oem immediately caught his attention: the World Shard.

  He hree of these to build a Gateway Altar, which would allow him to summon awakeners more easily. But the price was steep, between 150 to 200 gold per shard. And now, the Association was him three for a total of 480 gold s?!

  Should he take the offer? 480 gold s? That was a huge amount. With that money, he could almost pay for over 100 awakeners. Buying these World Shards now would nearly drain his gold reserves.

  Without a Gateway Altar, he’d be forced to keep returning to the lower nds to recruit awakeners, wasting valuable time.

  Visiting the lower nds might be enjoyable if he entered advanced, weling cities like Veymar, where they were now. But having to stop in harsh or hostile territories would make gathering resources a real challenge.

  The 480 gold s were extremely precious to him at this stage. He decided he’d dey for a week; if he could secure more funds in other ways, he could resider the purchase.

  Besides, a single Rank-A item pull could fetch a good amount of gold if he sold it. Just imagihe value of the Epic-grade greatsword he’d pulled for Karian—it would be worth a small fortune if put up for sale.

  But no, that sword was rare and valuable, and he couldn’t part with it. He’d have to find another way to secure the funds he needed.

  Ats had secured all the essentials he needed. Food supplies, some critical tools, seeds, additional ons, and clothing. Now, he could only hope to gather 30 awakeners quickly and head back to Gacha Haven.

  While he enjoyed his time in this city, which truly felt like a paradise for ah the moo buy what they wanted, he knew he couldn’t afford to get too fortable. He had to make the most of his time here.

  That evening, he returo the Awakener Association for a presentation to the assembled awakeners, followed by interviews aion rounds with those ied in his offer.

  The event took p a spacious room lined with rows of chairs fag a small stage prepared for Ats and his team. He stood before the crowd, looking out at the faces of the awakeners who were ily studying him.

  Yes, that’s the look of assessment!

  They were gauging him, analyzing his potential as a Lord, as if to judge just hoable and promisiruly was, as a new awakened Lord!

  Once everyone had gathered, he received the final t, around 70 people had shown up. Not a small all. But no, seleg 30 out of 70 was too high a ratio, and he doubted they’d all meet his criteria.

  He’d already set clear requirements for his recruits. In terms of level, he’d asked for a minimum of level 35, and as for roles, he specified a need for batants, support, and workers. Judging by the turnout, he leased with the ban skill sets.

  His ask was to present himself to the group. He o gairust first, and then he’d narrow down the didates to those who were willing to put their faith in him.

  Well, he wasn’t bad at talking. With a fident smile, he stepped forward and began.

  "Three days ago, I was just an awakener with F-rated spear talent," he began. "My other abilities? Useless in bat, barely scraping by with B and C ratings. I was trash. No, I was trash among the trash."

  "But tonight," he tinued, "that so-called 'trash' spear talent rated F? It’s now rated B. And I’ve gained a new, superior S-rated talent. Those pathetic B and C skills? They’ve evolved to A-rated."

  His speech clearly held their i, and he kheir skepticism was melting just a little.

  "Not only that," he said, gesturing to the figures seated behind him, "I also have people I trust by my side. And yes, I summohem myself."

  He gestured toward Karian. "Feel free to challenge Karian, the Dragon Warrior, one-on-one. He’ll take you on, any of you, without breaking a sweat. And as for the others, well… you imagiheir abilities."

  He tinued. "All this in just three days!"

  He paused, letting his words sink in. "I’m fident in leading my isnd to greatness. And if anyone doubts that… you’re free to challenge my words."

  Hands shot up around the room, owo, ten, twenty… soon nearly everyone had their hand raised. But no, they weren’t volunteering to join. They were eager to challenge him, maybe even mock his apparent overfidence.

  One man stood up, sneering. "That’s ridiculous! Who the hell would believe your nonsehere’s no way anyone aplish that in three days. Either you’re a scammer, or you’re looking to exploit us."

  Ats offered a thin smile, unfazed by the rea.

  ***

  Author’s Note (Important)

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