Alex and seven other lords meet a mysterious Tier 7 mage who claims to be recruiting for the Wilderness region. He offers them lands close together, but the only available plots are near a dangerous High Orc lord. Despite the obvious danger, Alex accepts the offer to keep his group united.
Amidst the vast expanse of the Wilderness, the gaze of every inhabitant was fixed upon the town hall, the centerpiece of their humble city.
The populace appeared weary, their attire threadbare and faded, some even showing signs of disrepair. Beyond their worn clothing, a deeper weariness was evident, a testament to prolonged hardship. The surrounding terrain was parched, as if untouched by rain for an immeasurable duration.
As if these adversities were not enough, the looming threat of the Red Orcs, who had established control in a nearby territory, cast a long shadow of fear. The possibility of their city succumbing to these abyssal lords filled them with dread, anticipating a fate potentially worse than starvation or death.
“Mommy, do you think we will finally get a city lord this time?” a small girl inquired, her innocent face etched with a rare flicker of apprehension as she turned to her mother.
“Don’t worry, my dear. I have faith that we will be granted a benevolent and upright city lord this time, someone who will champion our cause and help our city flourish,” the woman reassured her daughter, gently stroking her hair. Despite her words, the woman’s heart held little conviction. Nevertheless, she couldn't bear to extinguish the glimmer of hope in her child’s eyes.
It was widely known that the mages dispatched to govern rarely desired positions in the Wilderness Region. This region, aptly named the Wilderness, possessed exceedingly scarce resources. Many appointed lords even referred to it as the Barren Lands.
Furthermore, the human populace in these remote areas had been isolated from the mainland for so long that individuals reaching beyond the Tier 3 realm were a rarity. Possessing such limited strength, they could offer little substantial assistance to any lord assigned to their city. Yet, each month, they clung to their hopes, praying for the fortune of a new city lord willing to lead them. For any city, the presence of a city lord was paramount to its survival and growth.
The oppressive sun beat down relentlessly, and as time wore on, those who had been waiting began to succumb to despair. Some, their spirits broken, started to depart, their shoulders slumped. A few, overwhelmed by their desperate circumstances and sensing imminent demise, collapsed onto the parched ground.
Suddenly, a portal materialized in the sky. Instantly, all eyes snapped upward, rekindled with hope as eight golden lights blazed forth from the rift. A collective gasp swept through the crowd; never before had they witnessed such a confluence of eight lord symbols. However, their astonishment turned to observation as seven of the lights transformed into streaks and vanished in different directions, while the eighth descended slowly towards the town hall.
“We finally have a city lord! Yaaaaaa!!!” some voices erupted, and the next moment, a wave of unrestrained jubilation engulfed the assembly.
An elder, a cultivator at the Tier 2 realm, stepped forward, raising his hands to the heavens. “Alright now, settle down, settle down. I am sure we all desire for this lord who has arrived to remain with us, so please, let us conduct ourselves with the utmost propriety. And if there are no objections, I would like to proceed with a delegation from the elder coalition to formally welcome our new lord,” the old man announced, earning nods of agreement from the gathered citizens.
Although they were now aware of the lord’s arrival and were theoretically free to return home, rest, or resume their daily tasks, they collectively chose to await the elders’ return, eager for any news or pronouncements from their new leader.
Even those who had begun to leave rushed back upon hearing the renewed commotion and witnessing the distant golden light illuminating the town hall, situated at the city’s highest point. With renewed optimism and curiosity, they all reconvened to wait.
_ _
The final golden light to descend belonged to Alec Gordons. Upon stepping through the portal with his retinue into this utterly unfamiliar territory, he noticed a golden aura enveloping him. This energy emanated from the lord’s token, bestowed upon him by the elder. He observed as the members of his inner circle were drawn away towards various destinations, yet he intuitively sensed they remained within a perceptible proximity.
Once they had apparently reached their intended cities, he felt his own lord’s token begin to exert a downward pull. While he sensed the capacity to resist this force, he voluntarily yielded, allowing the token’s inherent energy to guide him further down.
Moments later, the golden effulgence surrounding him coalesced once more, reforming into the distinct shape of the lord’s token.
Floating before him, Alec took his time to survey his new environment, realizing he was now inside a grand throne room. Before him, a massive cube with a downward-pointing edge rotated slowly.
A faint blue light pulsed across its various surfaces.
Above it, a message appeared:
[Attach your lord token to bind yourself to the present city.]
This came as a significant shock to Alec. Although he had noted signs indicating the technology of this new realm surpassed that of the Five Kingdom Continents, he hadn't anticipated the creation of features resembling a system.
Even so, he doubted this entity could rival his own golden-finger system.
If it were truly comparable, the preceding lords wouldn't have fallen so easily, nor would there be so many avoiding the responsibility of ruling these lands.
Alec surmised it was clearly designed to aid a lord in managing specific functions more conveniently.
“Well, let’s see what you do,” Alec murmured, gripping the lord token that had been levitating nearby. He then propelled it toward the cube.
Like a magnet, the token was swiftly drawn forward the moment his hand approached.
[Ding! An insignificant system feature detected. Absorb and gain full control mechanism of the system? (Y/N)]
<— page:1 -->The moment his hand, along with the lord token, merged into the cube as if physical barriers were nonexistent, his own system presented a message.
This confirmed his earlier suspicion of his system's superiority, as it had just classified this artifact as insignificant. It also dawned on him that upon absorption, he would possess complete command over it.
This implied that while the features might remain, his system acting as the ultimate administrator promised unique advantages.
Alec had already learned that anything connected to his system yielded rewards beyond imagination. Thus, he promptly selected 'Y'.
_ _
In a region not far from Alec's location, where humans had been subjugated and were now undergoing rigorous training under their new Orc overlords, a figure seated upon a throne within a dimly lit chamber unexpectedly rose.
The figure moved towards its own rotating cube and gestured in the air. A holographic map materialized beneath it, while the cube ascended to grant clearer access to the map.
In real-time, he observed eight green zones begin to encroach upon all the gray territories surrounding his newly acquired domain – the very lands he had already targeted.
“Orga!” he commanded. Approximately ten seconds later, a female High Orc entered the room and knelt respectfully.
“My lord.”
“It appears the old man the king cautioned us about has made another move. Dispatch another team to eliminate the new lords he has brought in this time. Let the old man understand that he cannot impede our advance,” the Orc figure, shrouded in darkness, declared.
The female High Orc straightened and struck her right hand across her chest in a salute.
“As my lord wishes,” Orga responded before exiting the throne room with a subtle smile.
