Akash swept his hand across the floor, and the stone tools, the leather bag, and the bundle of bananas dissolved into streaks of light, tucking neatly into his inventory. With his supplies secured, he stood tall in the center of the quiet [Lord`s Manor]and focused his mind.
"Lords Panel," he thought.
The previously locked tabs were now pulsating with a soft, inviting light.He bypassed Personal Attributes tab and went straight to the heart of his new existence: the Territory Panel
[Territory Panel]
[Name]: [Pending...]
[Lord]: Akash77
[Level]: 1
[Population]: 1
[Buildings]: Lord`s Manor
[Resources]: Empty
His gaze drifted back to the naming prompt. He looked out through the open door at the sparse rocks and the vast, empty plateau. It was a lonely place, hard to reach and harder to survive, but it was the only place in this nightmare realm where he felt in control.
"A name..." he mused. He wanted something that reflected the heights he intended to reach, and the solid, unyielding nature of the mountain that had saved him from the [Dread-Tusk Grunter].
"Aegis Summit," Akash whispered, the words feeling heavy and right in the thin mountain air.
He confirmed the name on the mental interface. Immediately, the gold prompt shattered into a thousand sparks, and the header of his territory panel refreshed with a bold, authoritative glow.
[Territory Panel]
[Name]: Aegis Summit
[Lord]: Akash77
[Population]: 1
[Buildings]: Lord's Manor
[Resources]: Empty
With the name finalized, he turned his focus to the[Lord`s Manor] listed under the buildings. It wasn't just a shack; it was the shell protecting his Core. He focused his mind, digging into the building's specific details.
[Lord`s Manor]
[Grade]: Special
[Area]: 25sqm
[Level]: 1
[Upgrade Requirements]:
[Wood]: x50
[Stone]: x25
[Spirit Coins]: x5
Akash looked at the numbers and then at the empty, silent plateau outside. There were no villagers to order around, no lumberjacks to fell trees, and no masons to haul rock.
"One person population," he muttered, a dry chuckle escaping him. "I guess the 'Lord' is also the 'Laborer' for now."
Seeking a connection to his old life, he focussed to the Friends Tab. Unlike the chaotic Regional and Global chats—which had strict message limits and moved too fast to read—the Friends and Groups tab allowed for unlimited, private communication.
Akash's heart tightened as he thought of his family and friends. Were they fighting for their lives in a forest, or drowning in a swamp? Were they among those whose names had already flickered out on the death toll? The silence of the mountain top felt heavy with the weight of the missing, a chilling reminder of his isolation.
He tried to search for their names, but the result was a nightmare. He searched for "Deepak" and "Priya" which brought up more than hundred identical entries. Without their specific Lord IDs or a way to find them, they were needles in a cosmic haystack.
Frustrated by the sea of identical names in the friends list, Akash realized that without more means, the system would keep him blind. He focused on Store Tab, noticing a small "Authority: Level 1" badge in the corner.
The selection was underwhelming. It was a basic survival market: small bundles of wood, rough stones, bananas, and more stone tools—all priced in Spirit Coins. The prices were steep; He looked at the [Sell] section. He had nothing of value yet, and he certainly wasn't going to sell his only water bag and stone tools.
Seeking a better grasp of his situation before he started the back-breaking labor of gathering material, he opened the Realm Chat Tab. This was the local heartbeat of the area—people who had landed in the same geographical zone as him.
Akash's breath hitched as his gaze locked onto the corner of the Realm Chat interface.
[Lord Count]: 99,722
"Nearly three hundred people... gone," he whispered. In less than two hours, hundreds of "Lords" in his realm alone had already perished. He didn't even want to imagine the global scale. Those weren't just numbers; they were people.
The chat was a frantic mess of terror and small victories
Lady Geetha14: "Just found a Wooden Treasure Chest behind a cluster of rocks! Got some apples, wood and spirit coins. Keep your eyes peeled!"
Lord Akhil87: "Lucked out with a Bronze Chest! Pulled an [Rusty Iron Sword]. It's heavy, but I just sliced a giant rat in half. Feeling like a real Lord now."
Lady Anjali26: "Careful in the woods! I saw a group of Goblins lingering near my border. They have wooden clubs and look hungry."
Lord Mallesh Yadav16: "Is anyone else's stamina draining fast? I've been chopping wood for thirty minutes and I'm already seeing stars. This[Crude Stone Axe] is a joke."
"Treasure chests and Goblin raids," Akash muttered, closing the panel with a flick of his wrist.
The disparity was clear. Some people were already wielding iron and finding chests, while others were realizing the brutal reality of their own physical limits. With a Physique of 6, Akash knew he wasn't a powerhouse. If he spent hours swinging his[Crude Stone Axe] like a common laborer, he'd be exhausted and vulnerable before sunset.
He looked at the[Crude Stone Axe]in his hand. Its [Inferior Toughness] was a liability, and his own stamina was a ticking clock.
"I can't work harder than them," Akash realized, his gaze shifting back to the[ Architect's Crucible] sitting in the corner. "I have to work smarter. If a [Crude Stone Axe]is a joke, I need to rewrite the punchline."
After closing the chat, Akash felt the dry mountain air catching in his throat. He pulled the [Rough Leather Water Bag] from his inventory and took two careful sips—cool, but slightly tasting of hide. He then peeled a couple of [Wild Banana], the starchy fruits filled his stomach with a dull sense of satisfaction.
Feeling his energy stabilize, he stepped out of the [Lord`s Manor]to properly survey his domain. The protection dome didn't just cover the [Lord`s Manor]; it extended in a radius of roughly 50 meters, enclosing about 2 acres of the summit.
The plateau within the protection dome was rugged. He spotted a few scattered, wind-swept trees with thick, twisted trunks and plenty of loose boulders and grey rock outcroppings.
"The resources are here," he noted, his eyes scanning the terrain. "50 wood and 25 stone... if I clear everything inside the dome, I can hit the upgrade requirement for the [Lord`s Manor]. But that's not the real problem."
His balance sat at a mocking 0. Without coins, he couldn't use his[ Architect of Essence] talent, nor could he finalize the [Lord's Manor] upgrade, which required 5 Spirit Coins in addition to the raw materials.
He opened the Store tab. While he couldn't trade with players yet, the system was more than happy to act as a pawn shop.
[Sell Interface]
Wood: 0.1 Spirit Coin/unit
Stone: 0.15 Spirit Coin/unit
Note: System buy-back rates are 50% lower than market value.
Author Note : SP represents Spirit Coin.
"Highway robbery," Akash growled. To get just 5 Spirit Coins, he would have to gather and sell a massive amount of extra stone or wood—resources he desperately needed for the upgrade itself. It was a classic survival trap: you need money to build, but you have to sell your building blocks to get the money.