The thirty-day countdown timer hovered in the corner of Ren's vision, a silent, red thread ticking away his life. *29 Days, 23 Hours, 59 Minutes...*
Ren sat on the rough wooden bed, the cold coffee from his old life long forgotten. He had spent the first hour of his exile analyzing the System, memorizing the interface, and forcing his brain to accept the reality of the situation. Panic was a luxury he couldn't afford.
He needed to know exactly what he was dealing with.
"System," he said aloud, his voice steady despite the knot in his stomach. "Show me the Summoning List."
A holographic scroll unfurled in the air beside the Summoning Circle. It was a list of basic units—the starting lineup for every Lord in the universe.
**[Basic Summoning Pool (Level 1)]**
* **Peasant** - Cost: 10 Wood, 10 Stone. *Skills: Basic Farming, Basic Construction.*
* **Militia** - Cost: 20 Wood, 20 Stone, 10 Iron. *Skills: Rusty Sword Proficiency, Basic Shield Wall.*
* **Scout** - Cost: 15 Wood, 15 Stone. *Skills: Enhanced Sight, Stealth I.*
Ren reviewed his inventory. He had the starter pack: 100 Wood, 100 Stone, 50 Iron.
He could summon one Militia, or he could summon a mix of Peasants. But he had ten free quota slots for today.
"If I summon a Militia, I get a fighter," Ren muttered. "But who builds the walls? Who cooks the food?"
He looked at the empty cabin. The walls were sturdy logs, but there were gaps. The floor was dirt. If he was going to survive the Core Dimension, he needed infrastructure. He couldn't fight off a dragon with a rusty sword, but he *could* hide behind a stone wall.
"Two Peasants," Ren decided. "One focused on construction, one on gathering. And... one Militia. Just in case."
It was a risk using the free quota. He didn't know their personalities yet. But his Talent, *Absolute Dominion*, promised loyalty.
Ren stepped up to the rune circle. He placed his hand on the cold stone.
"I invoke my right as a Lord," Ren commanded. "Summon: Peasant (x2), Militia (x1)."
The runes flared to life. A column of golden light erupted from the floor, illuminating the dark cabin. The air hummed with energy.
*FLASH.*
Three figures materialized on the stone floor, dropping to their knees as if struck by gravity.
Ren tensed, his hand hovering over the rusty axe he had claimed from the Quest reward.
The figures rose.
The first was a woman, perhaps forty years old, with strong arms and weather-beaten skin. She wore a simple roughspun tunic.
The second was a young man, barely eighteen, wiry and quick-eyed.
The third was a tall, broad-shouldered man holding a sword that looked like it would rust if you breathed on it too hard.
They all turned to look at Ren simultaneously.
There was no confusion. No questions of "Where am I?" or "Who are you?"
Their eyes burned with a terrifying intensity.
"My Lord," the woman said, her voice low and respectful. She dropped to one knee. "I am Elara. My life is yours."
"My Lord," the young man echoed, bowing low. "I am Jace. I am your hands."
"My Lord," the swordsman said, his voice like grinding stones. "I am Thorne. My blade is your will."
Ren exhaled slowly. It worked. *Absolute Dominion*.
He looked at their status screens. They were identical in one key aspect.
**[Loyalty: MAX (Absolute)]**
"Stand up," Ren said, gesturing with his hand. "Please. You're making me uncomfortable."
They stood instantly, snapping to attention. It was eerie, how in sync they were.
"Thorne," Ren said, looking at the Militia. "You're a soldier?"
"Yes, my Lord. I have rudimentary training in the sword."
Ren nodded. "Good. Your first duty is not to fight, but to watch. I want you on the porch. Watch the barrier. Do not step past the shimmering line. If anything moves within fifty meters of the barrier, tell me."
"Yes, my Lord." Thorne moved to the door with a disciplined gait, his eyes scanning the purple twilight.
Ren turned to the other two. "Elara, Jace. I need you to assess the cabin. The walls have gaps. The floor is dirt. We need to fortify this place before the thirty days are up."
"Understood, my Lord," Elara said. She walked over to the wall, tapping the logs with experienced fingers. "The chinking is loose. We can use mud and the spare stone to seal it."
Jace was already looking at the ceiling. "The roof is sound, but we need a fireplace for ventilation. The hearth is cold."
"Do it," Ren ordered. "But first... eat."
He opened his inventory and materialized the food rations from the starter pack. Hard tack, dried meat, and water skins.
The three subjects stared at the food as if Ren had just presented them with gold bars.
"My Lord," Elara hesitated. "This is your sustenance. We can forage—"
"There is no forage in the Core Dimension without crossing the barrier," Ren cut in sharply. "And I won't risk you. Eat. We need strength to work."
Ren watched them eat. They didn't gorge; they ate efficiently, fueling their bodies. It was strange, commanding absolute obedience. It felt good, but also heavy. These weren't NPCs. They were people, perhaps resurrected from Earth or created from nothing, and their entire existence revolved around him.
He turned back to the **Quest Log**. He had accepted *Establish a Foundation*. One objective was *Clear Fog within 100 meters*.
Ren walked to the window. The fog was thick, obscuring everything beyond the immediate clearing. But he knew what was out there. Monsters. High-level, deadly monsters.
And he had a Talent that gave him stats for killing them.
"Thorne," Ren called out.
The Militia appeared at the window instantly. "My Lord?"
"Do you see the tree line? About twenty meters out?"
"Yes, my Lord. The... large ferns."
"Watch them."
Ren checked his own stats. *Strength: 15, Agility: 11.* He was stronger than an average human now, thanks to the 5 free points he had allocated earlier. But was he strong enough to hunt?
He looked at the **[Quest]** reward: *50 Units of Lumber*.
He didn't have an axe. Wait.
Ren mentally commanded his Inventory. *Quest Reward Claim: Rusty Iron Axe, Flint and Steel.*
The items materialized on the table. The axe was heavy, the head crusted with rust, but the handle was solid ironwood. The flint and steel were simple.
He picked up the axe. It felt good in his hand. Balanced.
"Jace," Ren said. "Come here."
The young peasant hurried over, wiping crumbs from his mouth.
"Do you know how to chop wood?"
Jace nodded. "Yes, my Lord."
"Take the axe," Ren commanded. "And step to the very edge of the barrier. Do not cross it. Find a loose log or stone near the edge. Don't go looking for it. Just work right there. I need to see if we can interact with the edge of the fog safely."
Jace took the axe with both hands. "As you command, my Lord."
Ren watched him go. Jace approached the shimmering blue barrier that marked the 20-meter limit of the safe zone. He stopped right at the line. He bent down and picked up a fallen branch that had drifted close to the cabin during the Merge.
*SWISH.*
The axe came down. The wood splintered.
"System," Ren whispered. "Update Quest Progress."
**[Objective: Clear Fog (0/100m)]**
**[Update: Visibility increased by 1 meter.]**
Ren frowned. "It's slow."
He looked at the chat. It was scrolling fast.
**[Player_Mike]**: We just built a watchtower!
**[DoomSlayer]**: I saw a goblin. It ran away when I yelled at it. Are they cowards?
**[Lord_Ren]**: "Don't underestimate the AI. If it's Level 1, it might be a scout. Kill it before it calls for help."
Ren closed the chat. He looked out the window. The forest was watching back. The silence of the Core Dimension was heavy, pressing against the shimmering barrier.
He checked his Talent again. *Sovereign's Harvest*. Random stat points from kills.
If he could just kill one thing... just one monster... he could get stronger. Fast.
"My Lord," Thorne's voice came from the doorway, tight with tension. "Movement."
Ren rushed to the door.
Fifty meters away, just at the edge of the visible gloom, something moved. It wasn't a wolf. It was smaller. Scuttling.
A spider. The size of a dinner plate. Its body was covered in pulsating green tumors, and its many eyes glowed with a soft violet light.
**[Monster: Rot-Bloom Weaver]**
**[Level: 2]**
A Level 2 monster. To a normal Level 1 Lord, that was a significant threat.
"It hasn't seen us," Ren whispered.
"My Lord," Thorne gripped his rusty sword. "If you open the barrier, I can kill it."
Ren looked at the spider. It was picking at a dead beetle on a fern.
"If you go out, you might agro more," Ren said. "And your sword is rusted. One bite from that thing... the green tumors... they look poisonous."
"I will die for you, my Lord," Thorne said simply. "It is an honor."
Ren stared at the man. It wasn't just words. The man *believed* it. The *Absolute Dominion* made him want to die for Ren.
"No," Ren said. "You don't die today."
He looked at the axe in Jace's hand. Then he looked at the spider.
Ren checked his own stats again. *Strength: 15*. He had the stats of a professional athlete now. And he had an axe.
"I'll do it," Ren said.
"My Lord?" Thorne looked horrified. "You are the Sovereign. You cannot risk yourself."
"I'm the only one with the stats to kill it in one hit," Ren argued. "If you swing and miss, it bites you. If I swing and miss... well, I'm faster."
Ren picked up the axe. It felt heavy, grounding.
"Jace, back away from the barrier," Ren ordered. "Thorne, keep watch on the perimeter. If anything else moves, scream."
Ren stepped to the edge of the cabin porch. The air smelled of ozone and rot. The spider was still busy with its meal.
He focused. The System highlighted the spider in a faint red outline.
**[Target: Rot-Bloom Weaver (Level 2)]**
**[Weak Point: Abdomen]**
Ren took a deep breath. He wasn't a warrior. He had never killed anything bigger than a cockroach. But he had SSS-Rank potential.
He had to start acting like it.
He vaulted over the porch railing, landing softly on the mossy ground. The spider's legs twitched. It sensed the vibration.
It turned its head. Eight eyes locked onto Ren.
It hissed, baring fangs the size of daggers. It scuttled forward with terrifying speed.
Ren didn't run. He planted his feet.
*Now.*
He swung the axe. It wasn't a wild swing; it was calculated, driven by his 15 Strength.
*CRUNCH.*
The axe cleaved through the spider's chitin and into its thorax, pinning it to the ground. Green ichor sprayed Ren's boots. The spider shrieked, legs flailing uselessly.
Ren yanked the axe out and struck again. And again.
Until the spider stopped moving.
Ren panted, staring down at the corpse. His heart was hammering.
**[Target Defeated: Rot-Bloom Weaver]**
**[Triggering Effect: Sovereign's Harvest...]**
The spider dissolved into blue light. Items fell onto the moss.
* **2x Spider Leg (Edible Meat)**
* **1x Spider Gland (Poison Source)**
* **1x Spider Silk (Low Quality Fabric)**
And then, the bonus.
**[Drop Detected: +1 Agility Point]**
Ren felt the energy surge into him before he even touched the light. His legs felt lighter. His reflexes sharpened. He checked his status.
**[Agility: 11 -> 12]**
Ren smiled. It was a small increase, but it was free power. Just from one kill.
He grabbed the items and ran back to the porch, crossing the safety line of the barrier before the sound of the dying spider could attract anything else.
"My Lord!" Thorne rushed to him, checking for injuries. "You... you did it."
Ren leaned against the wall, wiping sweat from his forehead. "I did. And I got this."
He held up the spider meat. "Dinner, Jace."
Jace looked at the meat with wide eyes. "We can... eat monsters?"
"We can eat anything," Ren said, looking back at the forest. "And they can drop stats."
He looked at the fog. It had retreated slightly, revealing more of the valley. He could see a stream in the distance.
"Thorne," Ren said. "We need to build a wall. A real wall. Because tomorrow, I'm going hunting."
Ren looked at the XP bar. He needed 100 XP to reach Level 2. The spider had given him 20 XP.
Five more spiders. Five more kills. And he would get 5 free stat points on top of the drops.
The thought made him hunger in a way he never had before. This wasn't just survival. This was evolution.
"Let's get to work," Ren ordered.
The cabin of the Apex Sovereign was open for business.
***