The convoy arrived like a storm.
A column of one hundred and fifty wolf‑riding cavalry funneled through the Monster Ranch gates, banners snapping, riders shouting as they hauled their prizes behind them. Some beasts walked under their own power; more were dragged on ropes, muzzles and harnesses glinting in the late light. The ranch filled with the raw, animal smell of fur and earth and the sharp tang of adrenaline.
Sunrise Knights and Moonlight Cavalry moved with practiced efficiency, corralling and cataloging. Fifty Tier‑3 Berserker Boars were hauled in first—red fur like spilled embers, black, beady eyes, bodies a meter tall and one and a half meters long, tusks curved and wicked. Many of the boars fought the ropes; a few walked beside riders, snorting and stamping, dangerous even when subdued.
Behind them came thirty Tier‑4 Iron Hide Bulls. They moved with a slow, terrible dignity—fur so dark brown it read almost black, horns like carved stone, bodies three meters long and two meters tall. Handlers fed them and walked them calmly; the bulls' eyes held a patient, lethal intelligence that made even veteran riders give them a wide berth.
Tied across the backs of Solar Wolves were forty Tier‑3 Wind Hawks—white and green plumage, dark green eyes, yellow talons. They lay with wings folded, ropes looped through their legs, glaring at the passing riders with the thin contempt of predators forced into civility. Sunrise Knights walked alongside the wolves, keeping the birds steady and earning a few sharp looks from the hawks for their proximity.
Pens were readied, handlers assigned, clerks began the slow work of logging cores and tags. The first hunting group had returned with a haul that would seed new bonds across the districts and feed the ranch's needs for months.
Not long after, Clone Sam arrived, Tiger Guards in tight formation behind him, each carrying humming Lightning Prison cages. Ten cages in all, sizes varying from small jars to a bulky, reinforced vault. The clone's haul was smaller in number but brutal in quality.
Six Tier‑6 Poison Fog Spiders were unloaded first—green carapaces mottled with black, a cluster of red eyes that blinked in unison, and a faint, shimmering fog that clung to their cages. Handlers moved with masks and long tongs; the fog was thin but poisonous enough to demand respect.
Two Tier‑4 Earth Slimes sloshed in their cages, dull green and heavy with grit. They could spit compacted earth bullets and shift the ground in small, useful ways. Two Tier‑5 Acid Fang Bats hung in their cages, dark purple wings folded, long yellow fangs dripping a slow, corrosive drool. The final cage was the prize: two Tier‑7 Shadow Panthers, black as a moonless night, dark blue eyes closed, claws sheathed but visible as gray‑black crescents. They lay unconscious, muscles twitching in sleep. Clone Sam watched them with a small, private pride—he had wanted these for the ranch and for Sam's collection. He also reported two cave locations that pulsed with strong magical energy; he had not entered them, only marked them for future expeditions.
Beast cores were extracted and stored; wards were placed around the more dangerous pens. The ranchers began the paperwork. The day's haul would seed breeding programs, exhibitions, and the Colosseum's roster.
Sam woke to a pressure in his chest like a tide turning. Power poured into him—hot, bright, insistent—rushing through nerves and bone until his breath hitched. He sat up, cross‑legged on the bed, and forced his body into the slow, practiced calm that had become a ritual. He breathed in, counted, let the energy settle into channels he had learned to open and close.
When the surge stilled, a new clarity remained. Sam had reached Tier Seven.
Before he could fully savor the change a white bundle of fur slammed into his chest. The cub's weight knocked the breath from him and then the little animal was all motion—paws scrabbling, fur flashing like lightning. Sam laughed, half from shock and half from the relief that came with the familiar chaos of a bond.
Indra had changed.
Where the cub had been a mottled blur before, he now sat on Sam's lap like a small storm. His fur was white threaded with green and black stripes; tiny arcs of black lightning danced along his flanks and the air around him smelled faintly of ozone and fresh rain. A constant, playful breeze circled him, lifting loose hairs and making the curtains flutter. Sam's system pinged when he scanned the cub: Tier 6 — Tempest Tiger cub. Wind and lightning bloodlines had fused into a single, coherent lineage.
Petting Indra steadied Sam's own pulse; the cub purred like a small thunderclap and curled against Sam's chest, the green breeze settling into a warm, contented eddy.
The room dimmed as the System's voice cut through the quiet.
Attention Overlords. The protection period is now over. The first test begins in one week. All Overlords will be chosen at random to either attack or defend in three battles against three Overlord Domains. Overlords may win by killing or forcing opposing Overlords to surrender. Defeated Overlords will become subordinate bound by system law. Overlord opponents will be chosen at random between Overlord races.
The Overlord Leaderboards are now open: Planetary and True Overlord leaderboards. All system upgrades have been added. Overlords may now access status sheets, maps, trading, and other updates. Weekly rewards: Top 10 Overlords receive gold chests; placing on both leaderboards earns platinum. Top 3 on both boards will receive special ranked gifts. First round of gifts will be distributed today. Happy hunting, Overlords.
The words landed like stones. A week. Three battles. Random assignments. The system's law that bound defeated Overlords into subordinate status was a cold, final thing—no bargaining, no mercy. Leaderboards would make names public and targets obvious. Rewards would tempt rivals into alliances and betrayals.
Sam sat very still, the new tier humming in his bones. Pride and dread braided together.
Status Panel:
Name: Sam West
Age: 24
Tier : 7
Domain Tier: 4
Overlord Title: Twilight Lord
System Title: None
Class: None
Divine Gift :Daily Gift Roulette
Bonds: Helios; Indra; Dionysus
Key Skills: Beast Bond; Eyes of Horus; (others available)
Population / Assets ~2,000 domain points (people/assets)
Leaderboards #1 Planetary; #1 True Overlord
Troops and Forces
• Moonlight Cavalry: 300 (Tier 5)
• Sunrise Knights: 300 (Tier 5)
• Moon Mages: 300 (mix Tier 4 & 5)
• Shade Assassins: Tier 6 (near Tier 7)
• Nature Mages: 10 (Tier 3)
• Elite units: 10 (Tier 10 Kings Guard Golems; Tiger Guards; other bonded champions
• Total active troops (approx.): ~930
Beasts and Ranch Assets
• Wolves: many tamed; majority Tier 3–4; ~6 Tier‑5 alphas; ≥300 at ranch for bonding
• Stone Skin Bears: multiple, including Tier‑8 Baloo (throne room guardian)
• Earth Serpents: hatched Tier 2; ~20 eggs preparing to hatch; several bonded serpents grown to ~8 m
• Berserker Boars: 50 Tier 3 (red fur) recently delivered
• Iron Hide Bulls: 30 Tier 4 (heavy labor/guard potential)
• Wind Hawks: 40 Tier 3 (scouting/air support)
• Captured high‑tier: 2 Tier‑7 Shadow Panthers; 6 Tier‑6 Poison Fog Spiders; Acid Fang Bats; Earth Slimes; others
• Slimes: Water and Earth Slimes breeding rapidly at the ranch
Inventory and Tokens
• Beast cores: 4,200 (total after scout and hunting loot added)
• Troop tokens: 12 (total after loot added)
• Platinum chest: in inventory (system reward)
• Daily summon status: free daily summon| unused; Divine Gift Roulette available per day| unused
•System Gift: Unopened
One's report followed the System's decree: the ranch intake, the beast cores, and the tokens recovered by the scouting teams. One handed Sam the bag of cores and the troop tokens—cold, tangible proof of the day's work. With the scout and hunting group added, Sam's totals now read 4,200 beast cores and 12 troop tokens.
Sam's mind moved fast. The rapid slime breeding at the ranch, the new bulls and hawks, the panthers and spiders—these were not just trophies. They were tools. He outlined a plan aloud, crisp and efficient.
Water and Earth Slimes would be distributed to farmers under contract to assist irrigation and soil work. Nature Mages would bond with Iron Hide Bulls to accelerate plowing and heavy labor. The household companion program would expand: every family could choose a low‑tier slime or opt for a larger guardian if they preferred. No citizen under Twilight's protection would be defenseless.
"One will coordinate the distribution and training," Sam said. "Prioritize families with children and the elderly. Ensure medics check slimes for any contagion before release. Assign Nature Mages to the farms."
One bowed and moved to set the wheels in motion.
Sam left his bed to find the bedroom door in splinters—Indra's exuberant escape had been literal. Vlad waited in the corridor, expression unreadable until Sam explained the cub's new form. Pride softened the older man's features; tactical concerns sharpened them. A Tempest Tiger cub was a powerful ally and a target.
Sam checked the System map and his Status sheet again, confirming the numbers he'd just been handed. His domain glittered with roughly two thousand green points—people, assets, and beasts. Beyond the borders the world lay under a fog, with a few hundred red dots—likely low‑tier monsters—scattered in the wilds. The leaderboards showed names he barely recognized, and at the very top, in both lists, his own title glowed: 1. Twilight Lord — Tier 7. Pride swelled and then recoiled. The system had painted a target on his back.
A shadow passed over the training grounds and the world brightened with flame. Helios returned, vast and incandescent—now Tier 7, his body over eight meters long and his wings spanning like a living cathedral. He circled once and landed with the grace of a creature that had learned to carry more than a rider: he carried presence.
Dionysus followed, a streak of webbing and laughter, landing on Sam's shoulder with the casual arrogance of a creature that had just stolen the sun. A quick scan showed Dionysus at Tier 6—close to Sam and Helios but not yet equal. Helios dropped four webbed cocoons onto the grass; they were warm and humming with potential. Sam remembered the platinum chest then, the one the system had promised for dual leaderboard placement, and the memory felt like a small, private prize.
Dionysus trilled in Sam's ear, delighted. "We brought the good stuff," she said. Helios's eyes gleamed like coals. They reported leaving Tier‑5 Flame Apes, Tier‑6 Hydro Serpents, and Tier‑7 Poison Salamanders at the ranch—gifts and investments for breeding and training.
Sam allowed himself a grin that was half mischief and half satisfaction. Tokens, cocoons, beasts, and a new tier—each was a tool and a promise. The week ahead would be a crucible: tests, leaderboards, and rivals circling like wolves. He had beasts and tokens and a Tempest Tiger cub who purred like a storm. He had a city that could feed and shelter and a plan to arm his people with guardians.
Night settled over the ranch and the city. The hunt had returned, and with it the tools to build a kingdom—and the reasons to defend it. Sam rose, shoulders squared, and walked toward the pens where the new beasts stirred and the handlers prepared for the next day's work. The System's horn had sounded; the world would answer.