A gentle evening breeze drifted through the trees of the western forest.
The sound of an axe echoed once more.
Thwack!
Another massive tree fell with a single swing.
The young man wiped the sweat from his brow before cutting the trunk into smaller sections for easier transport.
Behind him, Hax continued watching in silence.
Several System windows were still open.
[Skill Analysis Complete]
[Estimated Productivity: Extremely High]
[Suitable Occupation: Lumber Specialist]
"..."
Hax closed the windows.
"Is something wrong?"
the young man asked nervously.
"No."
Hax gave a slight shake of his head.
"You're working?"
"Yeah."
"If I don't cut wood today, the village won't have enough firewood tomorrow."
Hax looked toward the pile of logs beside the cart.
"How much are you paid?"
The young man thought for a moment.
"When business is good..."
"About forty copper coins a day."
"If it's slow..."
"...a little less."
Hax calculated the amount almost instantly.
Far too little.
With ability like that...
His economic value was far higher.
"I have a job for you."
The young man blinked.
"A job?"
"I need timber."
"A lot of it."
"As payment..."
Hax reached beneath his black cloak and took out a small pouch.
Not his Spatial Inventory.
Just the ordinary leather pouch he always used to disguise the System's functions in front of other people.
From inside, he produced a single gold coin.
The coin landed gently in the young man's palm.
He froze.
"..."
"...Huh?"
He stared at the gold coin for several long moments.
"Well?"
Hax asked.
The young man slowly raised his head.
"...This..."
"For a week's work?"
"No."
"A month?"
"No."
"Then..."
Hax answered flatly.
"Today."
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
The young man stood frozen for several seconds before hurriedly shaking his head.
"...I'm sorry."
"I can't accept the job."
Hax tilted his head slightly.
"...Why?"
The young man looked toward the vast forest stretching before them.
"If it's only a few trees, that's fine."
"But if it's a large amount..."
"...I can't do it."
He let out a quiet sigh.
"This forest isn't just where we gather timber."
"It protects our village as well."
"If too many trees are cut down, the forest's edge will retreat."
He pointed toward the small village hidden beyond the trees.
"My village will become much more exposed."
"Even the monsters that usually stay near the edge of the forest could start wandering closer."
Hax followed the direction of his finger.
The village did indeed sit directly beside the forest.
If most of the trees disappeared...
Its natural protection would disappear with them.
The young man looked back at his axe.
"Besides..."
"My father always taught me..."
"For every tree you cut down..."
"Plant five in its place."
"That's my family's rule."
"I've never broken it."
Silence settled between them.
Hax did not answer immediately.
Instead...
The System began running a simulation.
[Forest Preservation Protocol...]
[Calculating...]
A few seconds later...
The result appeared.
[Solution Found.]
Hax raised his head.
"What if I can replant them..."
"Faster than you can cut them down?"
"...?"
The young man blinked.
"What do you mean?"
"I possess a method that can accelerate plant growth."
"Every area we harvest will be replanted."
"Five times over."
"Or more."
The young man stared at Hax for a moment.
Then let out a small laugh.
"...If magic like that really existed..."
"...lumberjacks wouldn't have jobs anymore."
"It's not ordinary magic."
Hax replied calmly.
"It's an ability belonging to another race."
"...?"
The young man had no idea what he meant.
Yet there wasn't the slightest hint of a joke on Hax's expression.
Silence.
The wind drifted gently through the trees once more.
At last...
The young man let out a long breath.
"...If that's really true..."
"Then I'll help you."
"But..."
He raised one finger.
"Only the mature trees."
"The young ones are off-limits."
Hax gave a short nod.
"Agreed."
The two reached an agreement.
"Then I'll start tomorrow morning."
He extended his right hand.
"My name's Cain."
"I live in that village."
He pointed toward the small settlement beyond the trees.
"I'm a lumberjack."
Hax looked at the offered hand for a moment before briefly shaking it.
"Hax."
"Just Hax?"
"Yes."
Cain blinked several times.
An unusual name.
It didn't sound like the name of a noble.
Yet it didn't sound like someone from the surrounding villages, either.
"Where should I deliver the timber?"
Hax raised a hand and pointed east.
"To the hill over there."
Cain followed his finger.
"Oh?"
"There's a newly built stone house."
"It's mine."
"Yours...?"
Hax nodded.
"I was granted land in the western territory."
"I'm building my home there."
Cain looked slightly surprised.
"So you're a noble?"
"No."
"Then..."
Cain frowned in thought.
"A royal knight?"
"No."
"Hmm..."
He was genuinely confused now.
"If you're neither a noble..."
"Nor a knight..."
"How did the kingdom give you such a huge piece of land?"
Hax answered without the slightest change in tone.
"It was part of an agreement."
"An agreement?"
"Yes."
That was all.
No further explanation.
As far as Hax was concerned, that answer was more than sufficient.
Hax then turned away.
"Tomorrow."
"Come after sunrise."
"We'll begin work."
"W-Wait..."
Cain called out instinctively.
But Hax had already disappeared deeper into the forest without looking back.
His black armor gradually vanished among the trees until it disappeared from sight.
Cain remained standing where he was.
Then he looked toward the hill Hax had pointed to.
"Assuming he wasn't joking..."
he muttered.
"Just how big is that stone house?"
His curiosity growing stronger by the moment, Cain slung his axe over his shoulder and headed back toward the village.
Unbeknownst to him...
The job he had accepted that day would change his life far more than he could ever imagine.
----
Night gradually descended over the western hills.
While most of the villagers had already extinguished their lamps and gone to sleep, a lone figure clad in black armor still stood before a towering cliff that rose dozens of meters into the air.
Hax looked up at the rocky hillside.
"...Stone."
The timber problem had already been solved.
Now all he needed was a massive supply of stone.
He slowly raised his right hand.
Dozens of skill icons appeared before him until one of them began to glow.
Dwarven King's Excavation
It wasn't magic.
It was an ancient construction technique once passed down exclusively among the Dwarves' Master Builders. They had used it to build underground cities and fortresses capable of enduring for thousands of years.
And now...
That same technique rested in Hax's hands.
"Construction Skill: Stonewright."
There was no explosion.
No deafening roar.
The only sound was the faint crack of splitting stone.
Krrrk...
Thin golden lines spread across the face of the cliff, weaving themselves into perfectly symmetrical geometric patterns.
A moment later—
KRAAAK!
The entire rock face split apart with astonishing precision.
The enormous slabs of stone did not shatter into rubble.
Instead, they were cleanly divided into construction blocks of nearly identical size, as though carved by thousands of the world's finest craftsmen.
Not a single piece was wasted.
Not a single fragment was left behind unnecessarily.
The System immediately generated a report.
[Stone Blocks Created × 6,412]
[Material Loss: 0.2%]
"...Efficient."
Hax waved his left hand.
A faint ripple appeared beside him.
One stone block after another vanished, neatly stored inside his Inventory.
The hill itself slowly began to change shape.
Sections that were too steep were leveled.
Sloping ground was raised.
Massive boulders blocking potential roads were relocated elsewhere.
Little by little...
The terrain surrounding his base began to transform.
No longer a stretch of untamed hills.
But a broad expanse of land far better suited for a settlement.
Hax continued working.
Hour after hour passed.
He knew no fatigue.
He required no food.
Nor did he need sleep.
For the Living Armor that now served as his body, day and night were merely measurements of time.
Just before dawn, his Inventory updated once again.
[Construction Stone Acquired]
×18,973
Hax observed the result for a moment.
"...Enough."
He then withdrew a bundle of blueprint scrolls from the leather pouch at his waist.
Not one.
But twenty-five of them at once.
Dozens of blue circles of light immediately appeared across the open field that, only the night before, had been nothing but empty grassland.
The System began its calculations.
[Required Materials... Confirmed.]
[Blueprint Synchronization... Complete.]
[Construction Initiated.]
The ground trembled gently.
Stone blocks emerged from the Inventory on their own.
Wooden support beams floated into position.
The foundations formed first.
Then the walls.
Then the roofs.
One house.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
The number continued to grow.
Between the houses, stone roads assembled themselves, connecting every building in a perfectly ordered layout.
Along the outer perimeter, granite blocks locked together to form a defensive stone wall encircling the entire settlement.
Hax stood quietly, watching it all unfold.
Not long afterward...
The sun began to rise over the eastern horizon.
At the same time...
A young man could be seen walking along the narrow path with an axe slung over his shoulder.
"...I hope I'm not late."
It was Cain.
Just as promised, he had arrived shortly after sunrise.
But after taking only a few steps onto the hill...
He came to an abrupt halt.
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
Before him stood a massive stone wall stretching around the entire hillside.
From a distance, the place looked more like a fortress than an ordinary settlement.
"..."
Cain stopped dead in his tracks.
Yesterday...
This place had been nothing more than an empty grassland dotted with rocky hills.
But now...
An entire settlement stood before him.
Dozens of stone houses lined the streets behind the walls, connected by carefully planned stone roads laid out with such precision that they looked as though they had all been designed by the same master architect.
Not a single building appeared to have been placed at random.
Every house was evenly spaced.
Every road connected seamlessly.
Even the empty lots between them looked intentionally reserved for future construction.
"...What..."
Cain's voice was barely audible.
Then...
His gaze slowly shifted toward the very center of the settlement.
There stood the largest structure of all.
A massive black stone residence with twin towers, towering granite walls, and a broad courtyard overlooking the entire settlement.
Its sheer size made it resemble a small black castle rather than a private home.
The morning sunlight illuminated its stone walls, making the entire place appear as though it had stood proudly for decades.
In the courtyard before the main residence...
Hax stood alone.
His head was turned slightly toward the empty space before him.
There was nothing there.
Yet his gaze remained fixed, as though reading something invisible.
System windows continued appearing and disappearing before his eyes.
None of them could be seen by anyone in this world.
A few moments later, Hax slowly moved a finger through the air.
One by one, the windows vanished.
"...There are still improvements to be made."
He shifted his gaze toward one of the vacant lots inside the walls, already planning the next phase of construction.
In the distance...
The axe slipped slowly from Cain's hand.
"..."
"...Sir Hax..."
He swallowed hard.
His eyes moved back and forth between the castle-like residence, the dozens of stone houses, and the man clad in black armor standing calmly at the center of it all.
"...Who... are you, really?"
Silence lingered for several moments.
Hax slowly turned toward the voice.
"..."
His gaze fell upon the young man, who still stood frozen in place.
"Is there a problem?"
"N-No..."
Cain hurriedly shook his head.
"It's just..."
He looked once more at the settlement behind Hax.
The neatly arranged stone houses.
The main road running through the center.
The towering stone walls surrounding the entire settlement.
He stared at them for a long while.
"...A residence this large..."
he murmured quietly.
"I've never even seen a noble own something this impressive."
His eyes swept across the settlement once again.
The stone houses.
The orderly streets.
The sturdy defensive walls.
Everything looked meticulously planned.
At last, he turned back to Hax.
"...Sir Hax..."
"Does all of this really belong to you?"
"Yes."
That simple answer only left Cain even more speechless.
"..."
For a moment...
He truly had no idea how to react.
Hax turned away.
"Come."
"Huh?"
"I'll show you where you'll be working."
Without waiting for a reply, Hax began walking down the main road.
Cain quickly hurried after him.
The farther they went, the harder it became for him to believe what he was seeing.
These buildings hadn't merely been constructed.
Their entire layout had been carefully designed.
The main avenue was wide enough for two horse-drawn wagons to pass each other comfortably.
Every house was evenly spaced.
Stone drainage channels ran alongside the streets.
Near the front gate stood a warehouse even larger than the village hall back home.
"Warehouse."
Hax pointed toward the first building.
"The timber will be stored there."
A few steps later, he pointed toward a large vacant lot.
"That area is reserved for the next phase of construction."
Then he pointed elsewhere.
"Farmland."
Cain blinked.
"But..."
"There's nobody living here yet."
"Correct."
"Then..."
"Why build so much?"
Hax came to a stop.
He looked across the newly built settlement.
"...Because there will be."
His answer was brief.
Then, as if discussing something perfectly ordinary, he added,
"If one day the people of your village need a place to live..."
"There are still plenty of empty houses."
Cain blinked.
"...Huh?"
Silence settled between them once again.
For a moment, Cain wondered if he had misheard.
"...The entire village?"
"Yes."
"..."
He was completely at a loss for words.
Why would someone he had met only a few hours ago...
Be willing to prepare homes for his entire village?
"I-I..."
Cain scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"I can't give you an answer right away."
"The village doesn't belong to me alone."
"I'll have to discuss it with the Village Chief and everyone else."
Hax gave a short nod.
"Of course."
"My offer isn't time-sensitive."
"As long as those houses remain empty..."
"I don't mind who lives in them."
"As long as they follow the rules I establish."
Cain looked once more at the rows of stone houses lining the main road.
Every one of them stood empty.
Waiting for residents.
"...I'll remember that."
Hax said nothing.
He simply continued walking past the warehouse, as though the conversation had been of little importance.
But for Cain...
Those simple words lingered in his mind for reasons he couldn't explain.
They continued onward until they reached the fortress's northern gate.
Hax opened it.
"Today..."
"Start harvesting trees from the northern side."
Cain nodded.
"Understood."
"And..."
Hax added,
"Don't worry."
"I'll replant everything we cut."
Cain smiled faintly.
"Then I have nothing to worry about."
Before long...
He disappeared back into the forest.
Soon, the sound of his axe echoed through the trees.
Thwack!
Thwack!
Thwack!
Meanwhile...
Hax did not follow him.
He stood silently for a moment before surveying the settlement once again.
The System windows reappeared before him.
[Construction Progress]
Residential District: Complete
Outer Wall: Complete
Main Residence: Complete
Remaining Construction Slots: 84
"..."
There was still plenty of empty space.
Many facilities remained unbuilt.
Watchtowers.
Workshops.
A blacksmith.
Additional warehouses.
A meeting hall.
All of them still existed only as blueprints.
Hax closed the System window.
"Continue."
He turned toward the rocky hill on the western side.
That day...
While the rhythmic sounds of an axe and falling trees echoed from deep within the forest...
The sound of splitting stone began reverberating across the hillside.
One man gathered timber.
The other gathered stone.
Without either of them realizing it...
The small settlement was slowly becoming the foundation of a fortified city.
As evening approached...
The sky gradually turned a deep shade of orange.
The creaking of wagon wheels echoed faintly in the distance.
This time, the young man did not arrive alone.
Several villagers followed behind him, pushing carts piled high with freshly cut timber.
"I brought a few people from the village," Cain said.
"There was too much wood for me to haul by myself."
Hax gave a brief nod.
"Good."
However...
After taking only a few steps past the trees, the three villagers suddenly stopped.
"..."
"...What is that?"
One of them instinctively pointed ahead.
Before them stood an enormous stone wall enclosing the entire hillside.
A sturdy stone gate.
Watchtowers flanking both sides.
Rows of stone houses visible beyond the walls.
And in the center of it all...
A magnificent residence that looked more like a small castle than a home.
"...Wasn't this hill empty yesterday?"
"Since when was there a fortress here?"
"Did the kingdom build a new military outpost?"
Questions immediately began flying back and forth.
They exchanged bewildered glances.
Cain could only give them a wry smile.
"Honestly..."
"I still don't understand it myself."
The four of them entered the settlement, hauling the timber behind them.
Hax led them toward the warehouse.
"Put everything there."
They did as instructed.
Before long, every last log had been unloaded.
Hax reached into the leather pouch at his waist.
One by one, he handed each of them a small coin pouch.
"Your wages."
The first man opened his pouch for a quick look.
His eyes immediately widened.
"...Gold?"
"Not copper?"
The second man checked his own pouch as well.
"Whoa... This is more than I make in an entire week."
"At this rate..."
"One day's work is enough to feed my family for a whole month."
The three men exchanged glances.
Their stunned expressions slowly turned into broad smiles.
"If you need more timber tomorrow..."
"Just call for us again."
"Absolutely!"
"We'll definitely come!"
Every question they had about the fortress, the castle, and the mysterious man in black armor...
Seemed to disappear into thin air.
To them...
The wages in their hands were far more real than their curiosity.
Hax observed them for a moment.
Then another System window appeared before him.
[Human Behavior Analysis Updated]
Conclusion: Appropriate compensation significantly improves work efficiency and reduces unnecessary inquiries.
Without another word, Hax closed the System window and resumed his work.
Cain watched the man in black armor for quite some time.
"...Until tomorrow, Sir Hax."
Hax simply nodded without pausing his work.
Before long...
Cain headed back toward the village.
Meanwhile, Hax continued constructing until the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon.
Behind the stone walls, which were beginning to resemble a small city...
---
Silence once again settled over the entire settlement.
There was no longer the sound of axes.
No wagon wheels.
No human footsteps.
Only the night breeze drifting through the newly laid stone streets.
Hax stood alone in the courtyard before his main residence.
His gaze slowly swept across every structure.
Twenty-eight houses.
The warehouse.
The defensive walls.
The main gate.
The stone roads.
Everything had been completed according to plan.
Yet...
It still felt empty.
He walked into the main hall.
His footsteps echoed softly.
Tok...
Tok...
Tok...
The hall was enormous.
Yet there wasn't a single sign of life inside.
No voices.
No one waiting to welcome him home.
Hax stopped in the middle of the room.
A System window slowly appeared before him.
[Base Management System]
Population: 2
Settlement Status: Operational
Maintenance Personnel: None
Administrative Personnel: None
Domestic Personnel: None
"..."
Hax silently read through the report.
Then his gaze settled on a menu he had not opened in a very long time.
[Enigma Management]
He touched it.
Seven names immediately appeared in sequence.
Noct Erebus.
Lilith De Veyloria.
Aegis.
Vermyx Miasmore.
Lunette Cryheart.
Umbra.
...
And the final name.
Nocelle Cordelia.
Hax stared at it for a long moment.
"..."
"Summon."
Nothing exploded.
No brilliant light filled the hall.
Instead...
The shadows in the corner of the room slowly rippled.
As though the darkness itself were being stitched into shape.
Countless slender black threads emerged from the void.
Connecting.
Weaving.
Intertwining.
Gradually forming the silhouette of a woman.
A neatly tailored black-and-white maid dress.
Long silver hair.
Skin as pale as porcelain.
And a pair of lifeless eyes staring straight ahead.
A moment later...
Color slowly returned to those eyes.
Consciousness awakened.
The woman gracefully lifted the edges of her skirt.
Then offered a flawless curtsy.
"..."
Silence.
Several seconds passed.
Then...
A gentle smile slowly appeared upon her face.
"It's been... such a long time..."
she whispered softly.
She raised her head.
Her eyes immediately met the towering figure clad in black armor before her.
Those once-empty eyes trembled.
"...Your Majesty."
Her voice quivered.
Not from fear.
But from overwhelming emotion.
She immediately knelt.
Both hands rested upon the polished marble floor.
Her head lowered deeply.
"Marionette Phantom..."
"Nocelle Cordelia..."
"...reporting for duty."
"It is truly an honor..."
"...to stand before Your Majesty once again."
Hax looked at her in silence.
"...Welcome back."
Just two words.
Yet...
To Nocelle...
They meant more than anything else in the world.
Crystal-clear tears slowly fell onto the marble floor.
Her body might have been nothing more than a puppet.
But...
Her loyalty...
Had never been made of wood or thread.
She had waited to hear those words...
Ever since the old world came to an end.