I stepped back out into the forest, smiling as I noted the others checking out the two new huts.

  Analth, in particular, seemed deeply interested in the sudden construction, her eyes wide with wonder.

  As soon as I got closer, she ran up to me.

  “Eric, these buildings appeared from nowhere!” she exclaimed. “I thought we were under attack—then I stepped outside and there were two more huts!”

  “That’s because I created them,” I said simply.

  Her eyes widened even further.

  “Created… them?” she echoed, glancing from me to the huts and back again. “I knew Heralds were capable of many things, but the ones I encountered before still required actual labor to construct buildings…”

  I frowned, then chuckled softly.

  “As far as I can tell, I just pick what I want to build and select where it goes on the grid,” I said, watching her expression shift from confusion to pure intrigue.

  “Fascinating,” she murmured, almost to herself.

  I left her to her musings, turning to my monsters—including the two new ones. Before I could speak, though, a new quest appeared.

  [New Quest Received!]

  [Quest: Evolution]

  [Type: Main Quest]

  [Objective:] The Herald will soon need soldiers to go to war with. The only way to do this is through evolution. The Herald must have his minions reach Level 10.

  [Goal:] Evolve Three Monsters.

  [Time Limit:] 2 Days

  [Rewards:] +300 Soul Essence | ????

  [Failure:] Without stronger minions, the Herald will struggle in the war to come. This could result in their potential death.

  I frowned at that for a moment before looking at Analth.

  “Analth, what does monster evolution entail?” I asked.

  She stopped gawking at the buildings to turn to me, her face taking on that disappointed-teacher look.

  “Monster evolution is a basic process all monsters go through as they get stronger,” she stated. “And it depends on both their environment and skills.”

  I looked at her, waiting for her to continue, and she sighed, clearly exasperated.

  “For example”—she waved at Skreek, who was currently spinning the spear on the ground like some kind of top—“when the goblin there evolves, he might become a Goblin Phalanx or a Goblin Linesman based on his use of spears and the armor you’ve given him.”

  “Oh, so they gain a class based on what they’re good at,” I said, almost sage-like.

  “Exactly.” She smiled. “I myself am considered a—” She froze, then cleared her throat, looking away. Something flickered in her eyes, but it was gone before I could place it. “Anyway, it’s related to skills and environments. A goblin or kobold in colder environs might gain a frost-based class, and the same could be said for monsters in hotter climates.”

  I frowned at the sudden change of attitude but didn’t pry.

  So environment, gear, and skills all played a part in how a monster would evolve.

  I wondered briefly how that would affect a monster like my slime or the… wolf I had lost.

  “Something for later,” I muttered before looking at Analth. If evolution is what the system wanted, then I’d need to start earning experience fast. “I’m taking the monsters out hunting and probably exploring my new domain. Are you coming with us?”

  She shook her head.

  “No, I’ll stay here and watch over your domain.” She smiled. “Come back when you are stronger, Herald. This world won’t wait for you.”

  “Hah!” My blade came down on the spider’s face, green ichor spraying as its legs curled inward.

  Behind me, steel clashed, and the sounds of battle faded one by one.

  “Phew, tough work,” I muttered, earning a noise that sounded close to a laugh from Roderik. The air stank of blood.

  [The Herald has slain Giant Spider (Lv. 2)! — +40 Soul Essence]

  [Roderik has slain Giant Spider (Lv. 1)! — +35 Soul Essence]

  [Skreek has slain Giant Spider (Lv. 2)! — +40 Soul Essence]

  [Sootwing has slain Giant Spider (Lv. 1)! — +35 Soul Essence]

  [Skreek has slain Giant Spider (Lv. 3)! — +46 Soul Essence]

  All in all, not a bad haul. We had slain a few wolves earlier as well, so our total Soul Essence was already over two hundred—and we had only been traveling for a little over an hour.

  It was like something was increasing the number of monsters in the forest… maybe it was the presence of a Herald. There were definitely more of them here today than the day before, and more than there had been on my first day here.

  We were getting close now to entering my new territory, which I was sure meant even more monsters would be found. After all, the monsters had been scared out of my domain into the surrounding areas.

  I looked over my monsters while we rested, inspecting each one in turn.

  Roderik was now Level 8.

  Falkar was Level 6, while Skreek had hit 7.

  Sootwing had reached Level 4.

  I had brought Oskar with me this time, alongside Dominic, but neither had gained a level in the couple of fights we’d had. Neither had Halvard, but his magic was impressive—he had summoned a ball of pure shadow that seemed to drain the life out of everything it touched… including the forest floor.

  All in all, I was pretty happy, and it was looking like Roderik would be the first to evolve.

  “Right, let’s keep moving, you lot,” I ordered, leading the way forward.

  We moved on, ever westward, and while checking my map, I knew the exact moment we entered the new part of my domain. Much like the first square I owned, this was more forest—the trees dense, and the sound of birdsong the only melody in the air.

  A moment later, however, the forest went quiet. Too quiet.

  I felt the hairs on the back of my neck begin to prickle and got the unmistakable feeling of being watched.

  I held up a hand, making my group of monsters pause.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  “Gah!” I grunted, an arrow catching me in the shoulder.

  Pain lanced through my shoulder, hot and bright. Adrenaline kept me from falling to my knees.

  Skreek made a sound as another arrow bounced off his armor, and I looked around.

  Nothing… nothing… there!

  In the tops of the trees were four figures—tall, lean, their cloaks blending into the canopy. Elves.

  “Damnit, adventurers!” I cursed, before looking at Halvard. “Smoke ’em out!”

  Halvard grinned, shadows already coiling around his hands.

  The adventurers seemed to realize that taking that attack would be unwise, as they jumped from their perches right before the death orb smashed into the bark.

  The tree it hit didn’t stay standing—decaying in moments and crashing to the ground, leaving the four elves disoriented.

  “Skreek, Oskar, take the one on the left!” I barked orders, forcing my minions into battle formations. “Falkar, you and Halvard handle the one on the right! Roderik, Sootwing, Dominic—keep the one with the dual swords busy—I’ll tank the last one!”

  With the orders given, my monster horde rushed forth, me leading the charge.

  The adventurers were… moderately equipped, but I was honestly surprised they had decided to attack us.

  Perhaps they thought the initial ambush would cow us into running away.

  Or maybe they were just stupid.

  Regardless, they had tried to kill me and my minions, and any hesitation about killing them was gone from my mind as I clashed blades with the first elf I reached.

  She had traded her bow for a longsword, and while her skill and speed were greater than mine, my strength outmatched hers.

  The forest exploded with motion—snarls, shouts, and the crack of branches underfoot. Steel met steel, and chaos erupted in the woods.

  Despite our greater numbers, the battle was not as one-sided as I would have hoped.

  Oskar collapsed when a blade pierced straight through his eye socket, the light in his undead gaze snuffed out in an instant.

  Skreek seemed to barely be holding his own against the warrior.

  Dominic was struggling to keep up with the dual-sword wielder, and I suspected his shield was the only reason he hadn’t become a pile of bones yet.

  Only Falkar and Halvard seemed to be holding their own—and that was mostly because the one they fought seemed too afraid to do much more than block.

  I was too focused on the others, too confident in my numbers.

  My distraction cost me, and I hissed in pain as the longsword sliced open a cut along my thigh.

  “Asshole!” I snarled, forgoing the swordplay and slamming my fist—and the buckler strapped to it—into her gut.

  The hit drove the air from her lungs, and she crumpled to her knees, gasping.

  Before she could recover, I drove my sword down into her back, through her heart.

  She cried out once, shuddered, then went still.

  Her body slumped forward, and for a moment the smell of iron and sap filled the air.

  The dual-swordsman shouted in rage and pushed off from Dominic, rushing my way—taking an arrow to his side in the process.

  He came at me screaming, blades flashing, leaves scattering around his feet.

  I barely had time to raise my buckler to block, catching one blade while the second met my own.

  The warrior took another arrow to the back, snarling and shouting in that language I still didn’t fully understand—though the words kill and die came through clear enough.

  When a third arrow struck him at the base of the spine, his eyes went wide in shock, his legs suddenly giving out beneath him.

  Dominic caught up, raising his sword and taking a single swing that cut deep into the warrior’s neck.

  The strike was clean. The elf’s body hit the dirt beside his fallen ally, blood pooling red beneath them both.

  Two down. My shoulder throbbed, my thigh burned—but the fight wasn’t over yet.

  With a growl, I moved toward the warrior fighting Skreek, Dominic moving to help Falkar.

  The remainder of the battle barely lasted a minute. Down two members, the elves were swiftly overwhelmed, and soon they were dead.

  The forest went still again, broken only by the hiss of my own breathing and the slow crackle of dying flames, courtesy of one of Halvard's spells.

  [Oskar N?gelein (Lv. 5 Zombie) has been slain by Pascal P?lzl! — +151 Soul Essence]

  [The Herald has slain Rebeca Kasper (Lv. 6)! — +100 Soul Essence]

  [Dominic B?deker has slain Chris Scheider (Lv. 4)! — +72 Soul Essence]

  [Roderik has slain Joseph Buchwald (Lv. 5)! — +106 Soul Essence]

  [Sootwing has slain Nick Stettin (Lv. 4)! — +72 Soul Essence]

  The Soul Essence notifications flashed one after another, painting my vision in gold—but for once, I didn’t feel any satisfaction.

  I was breathing heavily again by the time we finished and swayed on my feet for a moment, barely managing to stay upright.

  “Damn,” I muttered, leaning heavily on my blade as I stuck it in the ground. It seemed this body could still get exhausted.

  Two days. I had two days to level up my minions to Level 10—and three of them were already pretty close.

  Hell, at this point, four of them were.

  Roderik was sitting pretty at Level 9 now, Skreek at 8.

  Halvard had also leveled up to 8.

  Dominic was now Level 3.

  Sootwing hadn’t gained a level, and Oskar… well, he died, so no point in counting him now.

  It was still fairly early in the afternoon, and we had just made it to my new territory.

  Now would be the best time to explore and learn the lay of the land.

  I snatched the equipment from the elves and took back the sword from Oskar.

  The elves’ weapons were simple but well-kept—their bows polished, their blades dull from sap and blood.

  [Weapons Gained — 4× Ashwood Longbow | 4× Iron Shortsword | 1× Iron Longsword | 1× Bronze Shortsword]

  [Armor Gained — 4× Wolfhide Leather Armor | 4× Linen Cloaks]

  Nothing overly special, really. I offered the leather to Roderik and Falkar, and traded out my beginner leathers for one myself.

  Funny. Not long ago, I’d have felt bad stripping gear off a corpse. Hard to believe it had only been three days in this new world.

  No one wanted the cloaks, so I just stored them in my inventory.

  The shortswords I swapped out with Falkar and Dominic, putting their beginner and bronze swords back in storage.

  I hoped this thing was infinite—it was starting to get a little full.

  The trees, if anything, were getting thicker the farther west we moved, and the deeper we went, the quieter the forest seemed to get, like even the birds didn’t want to be heard.

  It was becoming harder to maneuver, but it was also becoming noticeably more packed with monsters.

  For now, we had avoided fighting most of them, but I saw some strange creatures.

  A wolf-like monster with blade-like tusks.

  A larger quadruped with what looked like steel skin.

  Another that looked like something out of a horror movie—dripping ichor and fangs, crawling around on six limbs, with a tail that ended in three blades.

  There were also signs of battle as we moved, including more dead adventurers and monsters.

  One location in particular, near a small clearing, seemed to have suffered heavily.

  Roderik pointed it out to me as we passed, the air growing heavy with the tang of blood long dried, and what I saw nearly made me sick to my stomach.

  Five dead adventurers—mauled and slashed.

  Their gear was so mangled it wasn’t worth stealing, even if I wanted to.

  One human, helmet knocked off his head and arm torn to shreds, looked barely sixteen or seventeen.

  For a moment, I just stood there, staring at them.

  This was the world I lived in now.

  This was something I had contributed to as well—

  the death of others, living, breathing people.

  And yet, I felt no sorrow.

  Maybe that should’ve scared me. It didn’t.

  Because it was kill or be killed in this world.

  I just wondered why, if this forest was so dangerous, so many adventurers still wandered it.

  Maybe this was just normal here—dying young, chasing power that never lasted.

  Perhaps adventurers earned something besides experience from killing monsters.

  I doubted it was Soul Essence—that seemed to be linked to the Core.

  But maybe they gained something else.

  In video games, monsters always dropped loot when you killed them.

  Maybe that was what adventurers gained—something only they could see.

  I looked away first and kept walking. The minions followed in silence.

  [Current Day: 3]

  [Soul Essence: 776]

  [Kingdom Core: Level 2]

  [Domain Size: 2 Sectors]

  [Active Quest: Evolution — 2 Days Remaining]