"So... can you tell me why you want to live in isolation?" she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper as she tried to understand this man beneath her.
Seth pushed her gently aside and began getting dressed, "It's nothing special or dramatic. I simply realized I didn't want to live among humans anymore. That's all there is to it."
He headed toward the door to resume his training, leaving the statement hanging in the air like an unfinished thought. Chu Yin frowned after his retreating back, her expression troubled for several long moments. But then, slowly, her lips curved into a genuine smile. She'd made a breakthrough in Seth's emotional walls, however small it might seem. It wouldn't be much longer until he could truly open up to her completely. She just needed patience.
***
"Things look bad."
The statement hung heavy in the air as a group of men stood gathered around a circular table, their faces grim in the dim lighting. They studied the map spread across its surface with intense focus, their eyes tracing the various markings and boundaries. The map displayed a ten-thousand-mile radius—a coverage area that was more than enough to swallow Earth many times over in the past. The world had become impossibly large and impossibly dangerous.
Countless lines carved across the terrain like scars, each one carefully drawn to mark the borders between various overlords' territories and the regions that had fallen under monster control.
They moved the map around with careful deliberation, sliding it across the table's surface to examine various regions and overlord territories one by one. Their fingers traced borders and boundaries as they assessed the current state of the world. Finally, they came across a particular region that made them all freeze in place—a massive territory that consumed a full quarter of the nineteen thousand nine hundred ninety-nine miles the map was capable of displaying.
"Who the hell is that? How could any power possibly be growing this fast in such a short amount of time?" A man wearing glasses spoke through gritted teeth, his hands clenching into fists on the table's edge. The rapid expansion defied everything he understood about territorial conquest and resource management. It shouldn't be possible.
"That's not even the worst news I have to share." A red-haired man leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh, his expression dark with worry. "There are signs that monsters are beginning to abandon their established regions. I brought intelligence from our merchant contact, and according to him, this behavior is a clear harbinger—a sign that a tier seven monster is about to emerge into our world. We might be forced to push our S-tier talents to reach tier two prematurely, but that strategy carries significant risks we can't ignore."
"I say we become subordinate to this growing power." A young, beautiful woman leaned forward, her lips curving into a calculating smirk as she studied the massive territory on the map. "They clearly possess something—some advantage or resource—that makes them this powerful. We should try to infiltrate their organization, get our hands on whatever their secret is, then look for an opportunity to escape once we've acquired it for ourselves."
"That's an incredibly risky proposition without knowing how they treat former overlords who submit to them." A middle-aged man stroked his chin thoughtfully, his weathered face creased with concern.
"But she raises a valid point that we can't dismiss. Trying to fight back against such rapidly expanding power would be foolish—suicidal, even. We'd be crushed. Instead, we should try to take advantage of this moment while we still have options."
He turned his gaze toward the red-haired man, his eyes searching. "What do you think, son? You've always had good instincts about these things."
"Dad..." The young man chose his words carefully, aware that lives hung in the balance of this decision. "I would send scouts to observe them first. We need to see how they actually treat people who submit to their rule before we commit to anything. Once we have that information, we can make an informed choice about our next move."
His father nodded slowly in approval, recognizing the wisdom in gathering intelligence before acting.
The mathematics of power were straightforward enough, even if the politics surrounding them were anything but simple. An SS-tier talent at tier zero would reach a maximum combat power of five thousand—an impressive figure by any standard. Meanwhile, an S-tier talent would plateau at a maximum combat power of three thousand seven hundred fifty at the same tier, a noticeable gap in raw capability.
So why didn't overlords simply allow their S-tier talents to advance through the tiers freely until they reached a point where they could obliterate threats like the upcoming tier seven monsters with a single devastating attack? The answer lay in human nature and the psychology of power.
Because what rational person would willingly allow someone else to become stronger than themselves? Who would hand another person the power to overthrow them?
At tier one, an S-tier talent would reach a maximum combat power of approximately thirty-five thousand—a massive jump that dwarfed what SS-tier talents could achieve at tier zero. Even more concerning for overlords, S-tier talents had an easier time progressing through tiers compared to their SS-tier counterparts. This meant that if everyone shared an equal amount of resources and opportunities, S-tier talents would rapidly surpass those who were a full tier higher than them. The power dynamic would flip overnight.
This paranoid logic explained why most overlords distributed rewards based on perceived loyalty and personal preference rather than merit or efficiency. Betrayal was far too easy to encounter when it came to human nature. People would smile to your face while sharpening knives behind your back. Better to keep everyone weak and dependent than risk empowering a potential traitor.
But this same fear-driven strategy would be the downfall of countless overlords when the tier seven monsters finally arrived. They'd kept themselves and their subordinates too weak to withstand the coming catastrophe. They'd prioritized control over survival, and now they would pay the price.
After all, monsters abandoning their established regions carried a specific meaning that chilled the blood of anyone who understood the system. It meant these creatures were naturally born into this world, not simply spawned by the system. Born monsters were exponentially more dangerous, more intelligent, and more driven than their spawned counterparts.
"Of course, they want to submit."
Chu Yin sat regally upon her ice throne as she read the reports displayed on her phone. She'd established a comprehensive network of sentries and surveillance systems to maintain constant watch over their territories, especially after reports began filtering in about monsters abandoning their regions.
Some monsters were even forming unprecedented alliances to launch coordinated attacks against human settlements, which presented genuine problems. These unified monster forces were considerably stronger and far more organized than anything they'd previously encountered.
But these troubling changes had brought unexpected benefits alongside the dangers. Chu Yin had been receiving a steady stream of reports from border patrols about numerous groups of humans arriving at their territorial boundaries, seeking to pledge allegiance to their rule. Refugees, former overlord subordinates, independent survivors—they all came bearing the same request.
And naturally, she welcomed them all with open arms. More subjects meant more workers, more fighters, more resources flowing into their growing empire.
After sending a quick confirmation message to her border commanders, she rose gracefully from her throne and walked toward the massive windows of her castle. She gazed out at the sprawling metropolis that stretched before her, a vast city surrounded by towering defensive walls, which was, of course, enchanted
Seth had purchased an extensive array of items from the Overlord store, spending their accumulated resources. He'd acquired everything from pre-constructed buildings and farms to even a river system that he'd routed through the city's heart, providing fresh water and a defensive moat in one elegant solution.
This wasn't their only settlement, either—not by a long shot. For every former region that had been under monster control, Seth had established a new city using the store's construction options. The scale of their empire was staggering. They now ruled over more than one thousand cities scattered across their territory, and that number continued growing with each passing day as they conquered more land.
"I'm guessing you're leaving?" she asked softly, her voice carrying across the throne room without her needing to turn around. She could sense Seth's presence behind her, could feel him standing there fully geared up for travel.
Two weeks had passed since that special night when they'd first consummated their relationship. After two weeks of relentless training—with her occasionally dragging him away from his exercises to pull him into bed for other activities—Seth had finally reached the point where he was ready to set off on his next journey.
"Yeah, since I've reached my current limit," Seth said quietly, his tone matter-of-fact.
His limit stood at seventy-five thousand five hundred combat power—a staggering figure by most standards. Initially, his ceiling had been fifty thousand, but he'd managed to push it significantly higher through brutal training. He'd broken down his body repeatedly, forcing it to rebuild stronger each time. But now, despite continued effort, his stats refused to increase by even a single point. He'd hit a wall that training alone couldn't break through.