The morning light slipped through the narrow gap between the curtains, falling across the cramped apartment in a pale golden line.
Dust drifted lazily through the air.
On the bed, Lin Aether lay on his side, one hand holding his phone above his face while the other rested beside an empty cup of instant noodles. His eyes were half-lidded, but his thumb kept scrolling.
The title on the screen read:
Tribe: I Became Invincible with My 10,000x Bonus from the Start.
Lin stared at the latest chapter for three full seconds.
Then he scoffed.
"What kind of idiot wastes a cheat like that?" he muttered to the empty room. "If it were me, I would've done things differently."
The moment those words left his mouth, the world stopped.
The faint hum of the refrigerator vanished.
The traffic outside his apartment window disappeared.
Even the dust floating in the sunlight froze in place, suspended like tiny stars trapped in glass.
Lin's pupils shrank.
"What the—"
He tried to sit up.
His body did not move.
He tried to breathe.
His lungs refused to obey.
Panic surged through him, cold and sharp, but before he could struggle, the sunlight collapsed.
The apartment, the bed, the phone, the frozen dust—
Everything vanished into absolute darkness.
Then a voice echoed inside his skull.
[Welcome to the Lost Continent, Lords.]
[We hope you have a wonderful journey.]
Lin's eyes snapped open.
For a moment, he could not understand what he was seeing.
There was no ceiling above him.
No cracked wallpaper.
No cheap electric fan spinning lazily in the corner.
Instead, towering trees stretched high into the sky, their ancient branches weaving together into a dense green canopy. Pale morning light spilled through the leaves, scattering across the forest floor in broken patches. The air smelled of damp earth, pine needles, and smoke.
Smoke?
Lin groaned and pushed himself up.
His palm pressed against cold dirt.
"This isn't my room."
His voice came out hoarse.
Behind him stood a small clearing. At its center burned a low campfire, its flames struggling against the morning breeze. Beyond it sat a handful of primitive structures: a thatch-roofed wooden hall, a sturdy timber warehouse, and a strange three-meter-tall portal shimmering with faint silver light.
Around the campfire stood ten people.
Seven men.
Three women.
All of them were dressed in simple linen and leather, their faces weathered like villagers from some medieval frontier settlement. Some carried bows. Some held spears. A few clutched parchment, tools, or bundles of rope.
The instant their eyes met Lin's, they moved.
As one, they dropped to their knees.
Their heads bowed.
Their voices rang out in perfect unison.
"We greet you, Our Lord!"
Lin froze.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
For a few seconds, he could only stare at them.
Lord?
Me?
No. This was impossible.
A minute ago, he had been lying in his apartment, reading a webnovel and complaining about the protagonist's choices. Now he was in a forest, surrounded by kneeling strangers who were treating him like their ruler.
His mouth went dry.
"Okay," Lin whispered. "Either I died, went insane, or…"
As if answering his thought, a translucent blue screen shimmered into existence before his eyes.
[Lord Panel]
[Name: Lin Aether]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 1]
[Talent: Rewards Multiplier — SSS Rank]
Lin stopped breathing.
A panel.
A system panel.
His gaze locked onto the Talent section.
"Rewards Multiplier?"
The words seemed to react to his attention. The panel expanded, revealing a more detailed description.
[Talent: Rewards Multiplier]
[Effect: Automatically multiplies the value and quantity of all acquired rewards by 10,000.]
For a long moment, Lin did not move.
Then a chill ran down his spine.
Not fear.
Excitement.
"Ten thousand times?"
His voice was barely a whisper.
He read it again.
Then again.
The words did not change.
Automatically multiplies the value and quantity of all acquired rewards by 10,000.
Lin's fingers curled.
A second ago, he had been terrified.
Now his mind was racing.
If the system was telling the truth, then this Talent was not just strong. It was absurd. A single reward could become ten thousand rewards. A small advantage could become an avalanche. If handled correctly, even a weak starting territory could snowball into something unstoppable.
If handled incorrectly…
Lin glanced at the kneeling villagers.
Then at the forest.
Then at the wooden warehouse.
…he could bury himself under his own rewards.
"Calm down," he muttered. "First, information."
He focused on the panel again. Several tabs appeared at the side of his vision.
[Regional Chat]
[Inventory]
[Crafting]
[Territory]
[Recruitment]
Lin chose [Regional Chat].
The screen instantly filled with messages.
Gin: Help! I'm in a desert! Does anyone have water?!
Melisa: Where is everyone? Mommy? Please, I'm scared.
Rafael: So this is real? We were all transported?
Alex: Finally! My talent is [Limitless]! This world will remember my name!
Kira: Do not leave your starting barrier. I repeat, do not leave your starting barrier. Something is moving outside mine.
Unknown: My villagers are calling me Lord. Is this happening to everyone?
The messages flew by too quickly to read.
Fear.
Confusion.
Panic.
Excitement.
Ego.
Humanity had not just lost one person.
Everyone had been dragged into this world.
Lin closed the chat.
He did not have time to drown in other people's chaos. If this was real, then the first few hours mattered. Food, shelter, defense, information—those came first.
He looked at the ten kneeling people.
"Stand up."
His voice came out steadier than he felt.
The villagers rose immediately.
White text appeared above their heads as Lin focused on them.
[Geralt — Iron Tier 1 — Hunter — Loyalty: 50]
[Ainstrad — Iron Tier 1 — Hunter — Loyalty: 49]
[Gordand — Iron Tier 1 — Hunter — Loyalty: 51]
[Rex — Iron Tier 1 — Guard — Loyalty: 50]
[Boris — Iron Tier 1 — Guard — Loyalty: 48]
[Clain — Iron Tier 1 — Guard — Loyalty: 50]
[Harman — Iron Tier 1 — Architect — Loyalty: 52]
[Mira — Iron Tier 1 — Official — Loyalty: 50]
[Selene — Iron Tier 1 — Official — Loyalty: 49]
[Tessa — Iron Tier 1 — Housekeeper — Loyalty: 53]
Lin read through the list quickly.
Three hunters.
Three guards.
One architect.
Two officials.
One housekeeper.
A basic starting staff.
The hunters carried recurve bows and short knives. The guards held spears and wore simple leather armor. The architect, Harman, had a measuring cord tied to his belt and a roll of parchment under his arm. The two officials looked strangely out of place in the wilderness, each carrying writing boards and ink-stained quills. Tessa stood quietly near the campfire, her posture calm but alert.
Lin forced himself to meet their eyes.
"Tell me what you know," he said. "Where are we? What is this place? And why are you calling me Lord?"
The villagers looked at one another.
Finally, Rex, the guard with the broadest shoulders, stepped forward and bowed.
"My Lord, this is your territory. We were summoned to serve you and assist in the growth of your domain."
"Summoned from where?"
Rex hesitated.
His brows furrowed, as if the question itself caused him pain.
"I… do not know, My Lord. I remember my name. I remember my spear. I remember how to guard a gate, scout a perimeter, and fight beasts. But before that…"
His voice trailed off.
Geralt, the lead hunter, lowered his head.
"It is the same for us. Our skills remain, but our pasts are blurry."
Conjured servants, Lin thought.
Not mindless, though. They had names, emotions, fear, and loyalty scores. That made things more complicated.
And more important.
"What about this world?" Lin asked.
Mira, one of the officials, stepped forward.
"My Lord, the Lost Continent follows the law of tiers. People, buildings, equipment, beasts, resources, and territories are commonly ranked from Tier 1 to Tier 9. Higher tiers possess greater strength and potential."
Lin nodded slowly.
"So everything has a ceiling."
"Yes, My Lord."
Everything has a ceiling, Lin thought.
Then his eyes shifted back to his Talent.
Except maybe me.
He looked over the villagers again.
Their average loyalty hovered around 50. Not hostile, but not devoted either. They obeyed him because the system had placed them under him, not because he had earned their trust.
That was dangerous.
A Lord with unwilling subjects would collapse faster than a bad investment.
Food.
Security.
Opportunity.
A future.
Those were the four things he needed to provide if he wanted loyalty to become more than a number on a screen.
"Show me the territory," Lin said.
The villagers obeyed.
The so-called Lord's Hall was a wooden cabin roughly ten meters by ten meters. Inside, it had a plain office table, a few rough chairs, a dining area, and a bed that looked like it had been designed by someone who hated the human spine.
Lin touched the mattress once and grimaced.
"I already miss my apartment."
To the left of the hall stood the shimmering portal.
[Iron-Tier Recruitment Portal]
The words appeared as soon as Lin approached it.
The portal pulsed softly, its surface rippling like liquid moonlight. It seemed important, but Lin did not activate it yet. Recruitment could wait until he understood his resource situation.
To the right stood the warehouse. It was sturdier than the hall, built from thick timber planks, but it was not large. At most, it could hold a few weeks' worth of basic supplies for a small village.
Beyond the clearing, a faint golden dome shimmered around the territory.
[Novice Protection Barrier]
[Remaining Time: 6 Days, 23 Hours, 41 Minutes]
Lin stared at the timer.
Less than a week of safety.
After that, whatever lived in the forest could come in.
He exhaled.
"No time to waste."
The villagers straightened.
Lin turned to them.
"Hunters, search for game, but do not leave the golden barrier. If you find tracks leading outside, mark them but don't pursue."
"Yes, My Lord!" Geralt answered.
"Guards, split into pairs. Rex, take command. Check the edge of the barrier, look for threats, and memorize the terrain."
Rex struck his fist against his chest.
"As you command."
"Harman, inspect the Lord's Hall, the Warehouse, and the Recruitment Portal. I want to know what can be repaired, upgraded, or expanded. Mira and Selene, assist him and record everything."
"Yes, My Lord," Harman said.
Lin looked at Tessa.
"Tessa, check what supplies we already have. Food, water, tools, anything useful. After that, help gather edible fruits or vegetables within the barrier. Do not eat anything unfamiliar until the hunters confirm it's safe."
Tessa bowed.
"Understood, My Lord."
Lin swept his gaze across all ten of them.
"Listen carefully. Nobody leaves the barrier. Nobody works alone. If you see something strange, you report it. We survive first. We expand later."
For the first time, something in the villagers' eyes shifted.
Not devotion.
Not yet.
But recognition.
Their Lord was not panicking.
That mattered.
"Yes, Lord Lin!"
They scattered to carry out his orders.
For the next hour, Lin remained near the campfire, studying the system and making a rough list of priorities.
Food.
Water.
Storage.
Defense.
Recruitment.
Shelter.
Tools.
Information.
The Talent was powerful, but it was not a complete plan by itself. If he multiplied the wrong thing at the wrong time, he might create problems instead of solving them.
A 10,000x multiplier sounded invincible in theory.
In practice, it depended on what counted as a "reward," how the system measured quantity and value, and whether multiplied items appeared physically or entered storage automatically.
Lin needed tests.
Small tests.
Controlled tests.
Unfortunately, the first test came sooner than expected.
The bushes near the edge of the clearing rustled.
Lin stood instantly.
The guards turned, spears raised.
Then Geralt emerged from the trees with Ainstrad and Gordand behind him. The three hunters were breathing hard, their boots muddy and their clothes scratched by branches.
Behind them, dragged across the ground, were two deer and a small rabbit.
"Lord Lin," Geralt said, his face flushed with excitement, "the woods are plentiful. We found these within the barrier."
Lin's gaze sharpened.
Two deer.
One rabbit.
A modest but successful first hunt.
For a normal starting territory, this would be excellent. Enough meat for his ten villagers and himself, maybe enough hides for basic crafting.
For him…
Lin stepped forward.
The moment his fingers touched the deer carcass, a heavy metallic chime echoed through his mind.
[Ding!]
[Rewards Multiplier Activated!]
[Acquired: 20,000 units of Venison.]
[Acquired: 20,000 units of Deer Fur.]
[Acquired: 10,000 units of Rabbit Meat.]
For half a second, nothing happened.
Then the carcasses vanished.
CRACK.
The ground groaned beneath a sudden, impossible weight.
A mountain of raw venison erupted into existence in the center of the clearing, piled higher than a grown man. Beside it, stacks of deer fur rose in thick bundled layers, nearly reaching the roof of the Lord's Hall. A smaller but still absurd mound of rabbit meat appeared beside them.
The smell of fresh blood and raw meat flooded the clearing.
The earth sank.
The campfire hissed as loose dirt scattered over the flames.
The hunters stumbled backward, faces pale.
Ainstrad dropped his bow.
Gordand fell onto his backside.
Geralt stared at the mountain of meat as if he had just witnessed a miracle.
[Ding! Geralt's Loyalty +10.]
[Ding! Ainstrad's Loyalty +10.]
[Ding! Gordand's Loyalty +10.]
[Ding! Tessa's Loyalty +5.]
[Ding! Rex's Loyalty +5.]
Notifications flashed one after another.
To the villagers, this was not a system bug.
It was providence.
It was proof that their Lord could feed them.
Proof that they would not starve.
Lin should have been celebrating.
Instead, he stared at the mountain of raw meat.
Then he looked at the sun.
Then he looked at the small wooden warehouse.
His excitement slowly froze.
The warehouse was meant to store a few weeks' worth of grain and tools.
He now had enough meat to feed a small town, and all of it was sitting outside in the open air.
Lin swallowed.
"This…"
He rubbed his forehead.
"This is going to be a problem."
The villagers looked at him, still awed by the miracle.
Lin looked at the mountain of meat again.
His first reward had not made him invincible.
It had given him a logistics crisis.