One month.
That was how long it had taken for the world to change.
In the past thirty days, Vayne Corp had transformed from a simple magical conglomerate into a global superpower. The release of the Star-Tear Elixir—priced at a cool one million credits a vial—had drained the coffers of every noble house in the Empire and funneled that wealth directly into my pocket.
I wasn't just rich anymore. I was an economy onto myself.
I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my suite, adjusting the tactical straps of my new combat gear. It was a sleek, midnight-blue light armor woven from Hydra leather, enchanted with weight-reduction and mana-regeneration runes.
I checked my status.
[Name: Lucas Vayne]
[Level: 20 (Cap Reached)]
[Class: Shadow Sovereign / Corporate Overlord]
[Assets: Liquid Capital (Immeasurable)]
"Time to harvest," I whispered.
Meanwhile, in the Royal Capital, desperation wore a very different face.
Kaelen stood in the center of the City Guard's War Room, his face flushed with frustration. He slammed his hands on the heavy oak table, staring down the Commander of the Royal Army.
"You have to listen to me!" Kaelen pleaded. "The darkness is coming! I can feel it! The Southern Border... specifically near Oakhaven. Something terrible is going to happen today!"
Commander Valerius, a gruff veteran with a grey beard, sighed and rubbed his temples. "Kid, we've been over this. You have 'a feeling.' You have a 'bad dream.' You do not have intel."
"But the prophecy—"
"Prophecies don't move battalions!" Valerius snapped. "Moving a legion to the border costs millions of credits in supplies and mana-fuel. I cannot authorize a deployment based on the gut instinct of a freshman student who got arrested for breaking into the Archives last month!"
Kaelen gritted his teeth. It was true. Since the "Vault Incident," his reputation was in tatters. Without the [Map of the Calamity]—which had mysteriously vanished before he could secure it—he had no proof.
"You're making a mistake," Kaelen warned, his voice trembling. "People are going to die."
"Get out of my office, son," Valerius said, turning back to his paperwork. "Go back to school."
Kaelen stormed out of the headquarters. He grabbed the reins of his horse, tied to the post outside.
"Fine," Kaelen muttered, mounting the steed. "If the Army won't save them, I will."
He kicked the horse into a gallop, riding south.
It would take him three days to reach Oakhaven. The Calamity was starting in four hours.
While Kaelen was playing the tragic hero on horseback, I was sipping champagne at 30,000 feet.
The Vayne Corp Flagship, a massive mana-airship the size of a floating city block, cast a menacing shadow over the clouds as it cruised toward the southern border.
I sat in the command lounge, surrounded by holographic screens displaying terrain data.
"Are we there yet?"
I looked up. Seraphina Frost was sitting opposite me. She wore a combat-ready variation of her academy uniform, and around her neck hung the Sunfire Amulet. The fifty-million-credit ruby glowed softly against her pale skin.
"We are beginning our descent," I said calmly. "Nervous?"
"I don't understand," Seraphina said, looking out the window. "Why are we going to Oakhaven? It's a farming village. It produces wheat and wool. Why did you bring the Black Lances?"
She gestured to the cargo hold below, where fifty of the Empire's most expensive mercenaries—S-Rank veterans paid in advance—were currently checking their weapons.
"We aren't here for wheat, Seraphina," I said, standing up. "We're here for pest control."
Oakhaven was a peaceful hamlet of rolling green hills and thatched cottages. The villagers were tending to their fields, blissfully unaware that their coordinates were marked on a doomsday map.
Then, the sky darkened.
The villagers looked up, gasping as the massive silhouette of my airship blocked out the sun. The engines hummed with a bone-vibrating bass as the ship lowered, landing in the town square with the grace of a falling mountain.
The ramp lowered. I walked out, flanked by the Black Lances and Seraphina.
The Mayor, a stout man with a straw hat, ran up to us, trembling. "L-Lord Vayne! To what do we owe this honor? We... we haven't paid our taxes yet?"
"I'm not here for taxes," I said, pulling a checkbook from my jacket. "I'm here to buy the village."
The Mayor blinked. "Excuse me?"
I scribbled a number on a check and ripped it out. I handed it to him.
"This is ten million credits. That is roughly three times the value of every house, crop, and cow in this town."
The Mayor stared at the check, his eyes bulging. "I... what?"
"You have one hour," I ordered, checking my watch. "Take your people, take your valuables, and get on the transport trucks I've arranged on the east road. Evacuate everyone."
"But... why?"
"Because," I said, pointing at the setting sun. "In two hours, this town ceases to be a home. It becomes a kill box."
Money moves faster than bureaucracy.
Within forty-five minutes, Oakhaven was empty. The villagers were gone, confused but rich.
In their place, Vayne Corp engineers had transformed the quaint hamlet into a fortress.
Portable Mana-Barrier Generators hummed at the perimeter, creating a dome of shimmering blue energy. Automated Sentry Turrets—military grade, usually illegal for private use—were mounted on the rooftops of the cottages. Golem Sentries, massive constructs of stone and iron, stood shoulder-to-shoulder at the village entrance, forming a living wall.
I sat on a lawn chair I had set up on the roof of the Mayor's house, overlooking the southern fields. I held a glass of iced tea.
Seraphina stood next to me, gripping her staff. The Sunfire Amulet pulsed warmly against her chest, reacting to the encroaching twilight.
"The air..." Seraphina whispered, shivering. "It feels... wrong. The mana is curdling."
"It's starting," I said.
A notification chimed in my vision.
[ System Alert: The First Calamity has begun. ]
[ Event: The Void Swarm. ]
[ Objective: Defeat the Wave. ]
The sky above the southern field didn't just darken; it tore open.
A jagged, purple rift cracked the reality of the world. It looked like a wound in the sky, bleeding darkness.
SKREEEEEEE!
A sound like a thousand screaming metal saws erupted from the rift.
Then, they fell.
Void Crawlers. Giant, insectoid monsters the size of horses, with chitinous black armor and scythe-like claws. They poured out of the rift like a waterfall of oil, crashing onto the ground and chittering with hunger.
Hundreds. Then thousands.
Seraphina took a step back, her face pale. "My god... there are so many. We can't fight that! We need the Army!"
"We don't need the Army," I said, taking a sip of my tea. "We have a budget."
The swarm shrieked, sensing the mana of the village. They surged forward, a tidal wave of black carapace and clicking mandibles rushing toward our walls.
Seraphina raised her staff, her hands shaking. "Lucas! Orders?!"
I looked at the approaching horde. In the game, this wave wiped out the village. Kaelen arrived three days later to bury the dead and swear vengeance.
Today, Kaelen was three days away, riding a tired horse. And I was right here.
I lowered my sunglasses.
"Open fire."
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.
Fifty automated mana-turrets fired in unison.
Beams of concentrated thermal energy tore through the air. The front line of the Void Swarm didn't just die; they evaporated. Green blood misted the air as the high-caliber spells shredded their armor like wet paper.
The mercenaries on the ground opened up with heavy repeater-crossbows loaded with explosive bolts. The Golems smashed anything that got too close.
It wasn't a battle. It was a meat grinder.
The screeching of the monsters was drowned out by the rhythmic, mechanical thrum of superior firepower.
I watched the carnage with a satisfied smile, the reflection of the explosions dancing in my red eyes.
"Look at that, Seraphina," I said, pointing to the slaughter. "No tragic backstories. No heroic sacrifices. just efficiency."
I checked my system log. It was scrolling so fast it was a blur.
[Enemy Defeated: Void Crawler]
[XP +500]
[Enemy Defeated: Void Crawler]
[XP +500]
[Enemy Defeated: Void Crawler]
[XP +500]
"Welcome," I whispered, "to the XP farm."