We limped our way back home—bodies aching, exhausted, but proud.

  We’d survived the fight.

  A feat I’m sure not many could claim, judging by the number of undead we’d cut down just to reach that tower.

  We avoided any more combat on the way back—though honestly, I doubted anything else in these woods could have posed a threat after what we’d just faced.

  Each monster with me had gained several levels. Halvard had even reached level 20.

  I wasn’t sure if that meant he had another evolution available, but I’d find out soon enough.

  The rain began about fifteen minutes from home—soft at first, cool droplets tapping against my skin. It felt good after the sweat and grime of battle, and for the first time since coming to this world, I found myself wishing for a shower… or at least a bath.

  Mona and Andre took the lead, deep in some conversation. Halvard walked behind us, while Elyndra stayed at my flank.

  She kept glancing at me, like she wanted to speak but kept stopping herself.

  “If you have something to say, Elyndra, speak your mind,” I said, amused.

  She looked away, cleared her throat, then finally spoke.

  “Do you think the skeleton will truly align himself with us, Lord Herald?”

  Andre perked up slightly at the question, though he didn’t pause his conversation with Mona.

  I hummed and hawed for a moment, searching for an answer. The truth was… I wasn’t entirely sure.

  From what I could tell, he had to be some kind of Lich. And in every fantasy I’d ever played or read, Liches were selfish creatures—seeking power for themselves above all else.

  So why align with someone weaker than him? Weaker by a lot.

  My only conclusion was that, at some point, he believed I would make a better ally than enemy—and so, for now, our goals aligned.

  “I think he might,” I said at last. “If for no other reason than he thinks I might be of benefit to him in the future.”

  Elyndra seemed to turn that over in her mind for several moments before nodding.

  “That makes sense,” she said quietly. “But whatever happens, we will follow you until the end, Lord Herald.”

  I smiled—and on instinct, reached out and ruffled her hair before walking ahead.

  Elyndra froze for a heartbeat at the gesture… then a faint smile tugged at her lips as she hurried to catch up.

  When we arrived back at the Village, Analth was waiting for us, concern etched plainly across her face as she took in our condition. I waved her off, but Elyndra went straight to her and began explaining everything.

  Analth’s eye twitched, and she looked moments away from launching into the sky, so I stepped in immediately.

  “Relax, Analth,” I soothed. “We made it out alive — and even gained a new, powerful ally.”

  She frowned, growled, and spun on her heel, stomping back toward the town hall while muttering about my ‘stupidity’ and ‘recklessness.’

  I sighed and followed; I needed to check on my Core anyway.

  “Analth, we’re fine,” I said as I caught up to her. “We made it out alive, didn’t we?”

  She rounded on me sharply, a stern look in her glowing eyes. The sudden anger made me take a step back.

  “Yes, you survived, Herald,” she snapped. “But you could have died. Monsters like that undead caster — that Lich — do not align themselves with others. Especially not with Heralds.”

  I crossed my arms, frowning.

  “He said he saw great potential in me,” I muttered.

  She scowled deeper, throwing her hands up in exasperation.

  “Yes, Herald — you have potential!” she barked. “But that Gerwulf… he doesn’t see potential in you. He sees a convenient path to more summons under his control.”

  I didn’t have a counter to that. She’d lived in this world far longer than me, and she wasn’t exactly known for being wrong about monsters.

  “Alright… well, even if that’s the case, next time we face him, we’ll be ready,” I said at last.

  Analth snorted.

  “You have a long way to go before you’re ready for him,” she grumbled — though some of her tension seemed to ease.

  “Which is why I will help you. On days you cannot train them yourself, or when you leave some minions behind, I will take command. I’ll lead them to level up.”

  I blinked, surprised.

  “You… you’d do that?”

  She scoffed, giving me a look that said the answer should've been obvious.

  “Of course I would,” she said firmly. “You’ve earned my loyalty, Herald — at least some of it. I won’t abandon you or your people just because you made a reckless mistake.”

  With a flick of her tail — she was clearly becoming more comfortable showing her draconic features around me now — and a sharp turn on her heel, she marched up the stairs toward her room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

  I sighed and made my way to the core room, my shoulders heavy.

  It was good to know she wouldn’t abandon me… but I still felt like I’d messed up big time.

  Still. Lessons learned, apparently.

  The moment I entered the core room, a notification pinged into view.

  [New feature unlocked!]

  [Ruins of Khal’doth Cleared!]

  [Gain +10 additional passive Soul Essence an hour!]

  [Gain 5 Barley/Day From the Ghosts of the Past]

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  That was a nice little bonus—and now I finally had the name of the ruins Gerwulf had been guarding.

  The Barley gain was especially interesting. Once again, I wasn’t going to question how it worked; I just assumed it was magic. But once I had fifty of it, I could finally build the Inn I had unlocked so long ago.

  Next, I opened the region menu. I needed to expand my territory again.

  Which meant spending a thousand Soul Essence.

  I exhaled and confirmed the purchase, expanding one more square to the west. That made three so far in that direction. Each square, I’d learned, was about an hour’s travel. Meaning I still had a long way to go before reaching Aelshore.

  I technically had enough Soul Essence to buy a fourth expansion… but it was starting to get expensive.

  And I needed more monsters too.

  So I held off.

  There was no rush to meet the adventurers or the citizens of Aelshore just yet.

  In fact… I’d rather they come to me first.

  The next morning dawned to more rain.

  I rolled out of bed—still getting used to having an actual bed—and quickly got dressed.

  Just as I finished, there was a knock on my door.

  “Lord Herald,” Elyndra’s voice called through the wooden frame. “Are you awake?”

  “Come in, Elyndra,” I said calmly, fastening the last of my leather armor.

  The door opened, and the coreborn woman stepped inside, looking as if she were already prepared for battle.

  “Lord Herald,” she began slowly. “I would like to request to join you on any excursions today. Yesterday taught me that I need to grow stronger… and I believe I would be at my best at your side.”

  I hummed, and nodded.

  “Of course, Elyndra. I was thinking of taking some of the old crew out to level as well — and exploring the new region I unlocked to the west.”

  She smiled and bowed her head.

  “I will fetch Roderik and the others immediately and meet you at the western border, Lord Herald.” With that, she bowed once more and left me alone.

  I stood in my room for a moment longer before grabbing my weapon and shield and heading out.

  Today I’d lead some of the older squad toward the farthest western area I had unlocked. The battles would be fiercer there — and there was a decent chance we’d run into adventurers again.

  When I stepped outside, Elyndra was already waiting with Roderik.

  Behind them stood Skreek, Halvard, Falkar, and Dominic.

  The original team — with Elyndra now standing proudly among them.

  “Lord Herald, we are ready when you are,” she said with a bow.

  I smiled and nodded before glancing around the village. Eventually I spotted Arathog lounging against the wall of one of the huts.

  “Arathog — now’s your chance to show some leadership skills,” I called.

  The High-Class demon immediately dropped to one knee, bowing his head low.

  “Take Mona, Brindle, Xele, Torekk, and Maya. Head north. Fight until each of you reaches level ten.”

  “Yes, Lord Herald,” he rasped, bowing deeper before rising and marching off to gather the others.

  My gaze shifted to Varka and Bjorrek next, but before I could speak, Analth’s voice carried from behind me.

  “Lord Herald — if you don’t mind, I’ll take some of your minions out east.”

  She smiled at me, though the look in her eyes made it clear she wasn’t really asking.

  “Right… ah, of course, Analth,” I said, returning a smile of my own.

  “Take Zareth, Rukhar, Tisandros, and Tirven.”

  “Perfect,” she said, sounding amused. “Let’s go, you four.”

  With that, she headed east, her chosen troop falling in behind her. I watched her go for a moment before sighing and shaking my head.

  “Well… we might as well head out too.”

  I turned west, taking a deep breath as I started forward. The battles ahead would be harder than ever —

  but I was certain my monsters would come out on top.

  Two hours of marching later — with a few fights along the way — we arrived in the newest section of the western forest. Much like the previous areas, it was the same type of trees… except thicker here, packed closer together.

  It felt almost eerie. The thin shafts of sunlight that managed to pierce through the canopy cast long, shifting shadows across the forest floor.

  There was a stillness to the air that made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

  I lifted a hand, signaling everyone to slow and stay alert.

  Something was off.

  I could feel eyes on me — but I had no idea from where.

  “Watch the trees,” I muttered, remembering the elves from before.

  It wasn’t from the trees that the attack came, though… it was from below the ground.

  I took a step, and the earth erupted beneath my feet, a terrifying screech tearing out of whatever burst upward. I was knocked off my feet, hitting the ground hard, and before I could get up, I had to roll as a massive claw slammed down where I had been just a moment before.

  “Lord Herald!” Elyndra rushed into battle, and the twang of a bowstring told me Roderik was already firing.

  I looked up and saw what had ambushed me—

  and that it wasn’t alone. Two others like it were emerging as well.

  It was bipedal, standing nearly eight feet tall. Its body resembled that of an insect, with a massive set of pincers for a mouth.

  Four arms, each ending in razor-sharp claws, sprouted from its sides, and both legs ended in a single, thick talon—like a boot knife.

  Something told me these creatures were strong. Stronger than anything we’d faced in the woods to date.

  Elyndra met one head-on, jabbing with her spear. It dipped to the side before swooping in with one of its pincers, attempting to cut her in half. She leapt back, but the creature pressed forward. An arrow pierced its chest, causing it to stumble backward.

  Skreek challenged another one, making fast, precise jabs with his spear, never standing in one spot long enough for the creature to retaliate, while Halvard launched balls of shadow-flame towards it.

  Falkar and Dominic were engaged with the last creature, each of them taking turns tanking and falling back.

  I smiled at the easy teamwork my companions had before moving to help Skreek.

  I focused on my blade, lightning crackling through the sky before slamming down onto the monster—to little effect. It barely flinched, only casting a brief glance in my direction before trying to impale Skreek with one of its pincers, only succeeding in digging a furrow in the ground as the little goblin dodged.

  “Lord Herald, keep it distracted—I have a plan!” Skreek shouted, jumping back as I reached the monster.

  I nodded, drawing the thing’s attention with a couple of quick slashes.

  It blocked, its carapace harder than steel, and I had to duck as a massive claw swooped over my head.

  The force of the swing was enough to make my hair flutter, and it tore up the ground behind me. Definitely not something I wanted to be hit by.

  I moved left, dodging another blow from its claws, before raising my shield to take the hit from its pincers. The impact made me wince as a brief numbness coursed through my arm.

  “Bloody bastard,” I cursed, stepping back to avoid another swing, then darting in with one of my own.

  This time, my blade bit deep, sending greenish-red blood spraying across the forest floor and causing the creature to shriek as it stumbled away from me.

  “Now, Lord Herald!”

  Skreek’s call was my only warning, and I leapt away.

  Still disoriented from my blow, the creature was wide open.

  Skreek’s spear glowed white-hot, flames licking along the tip as he drove forward.

  The blade of the spear parted the creature’s carapace like a hot knife through butter, and the little goblin rammed the weapon up into where its heart would be.

  It shuddered once, went stiff—then collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

  We didn’t have time to stop, so I turned to face the one Elyndra was dealing with, my heart skipping a beat at what I saw.

  Elyndra was on the ground, holding her spear up, her face scrunched with the effort of holding back the monster’s pincers. Her armor was shredded, and her left leg was bleeding heavily.

  “Elyndra!”

  I charged the insectoid, slamming into its side. It was like running into a brick wall.

  The air was knocked from my lungs, but I distracted it enough that it abandoned Elyndra and rounded on me instead.

  A massive claw caught me in the chest.

  Burning pain coursed through me as I was thrown several feet, stopping only when I slammed into a tree.

  I groaned, my vision swimming. The monster marched toward me as if it had already secured its kill. A hissing sound escaped it—almost amused.

  So it didn’t see Falkar coming from behind.

  The kobold leapt, bringing his blade down in a vicious arc, landing in a crouch before the insectoid.

  It took one… two more steps—

  Then its head slid free from its shoulders, bounced once against the forest floor, and its body toppled backward.

  I blinked once—twice—before sagging in relief.

  The post-combat screen popped up, allowing me to relax a bit.

  [Skreek has slain Dreadpincer (Lv. 18)! — +256 Soul Essence]

  [Falkar has slain Dreadpincer (Lv. 17)! — +235 Soul Essence]

  [Falkar has slain Dreadpincer (Lv. 20)! — +301 Soul Essence]

  “Worth it,” I whispered, before consciousness faded.

  [Current Day: 10]

  [Soul Essence: 2930]

  [Kingdom Core: Level 3]

  [Domain Size: 6 Sectors]

  [Active Quest: — None —]