The clearing smelled strongly of blood, earth, and fresh pine.
Marcus stood in the middle of it all, staring at the aftermath of the battle.
Fifteen wolves.
Fifteen meteors.
Fifteen explosions.
The grass was torn up in several places where the tiny space rocks had slammed into the ground. Small craters dotted the clearing like someone had attacked the land with a hammer.
Bits of loose dirt and leaves still drifted slowly through the air.
But that wasn't what Marcus was staring at.
No.
His attention was focused on the loot.
It was everywhere.
Wolf meat wrapped in faintly glowing bundles of energy lay scattered across the grass. Thick gray fur shimmered faintly as the system stabilized the materials. Several weapon cards floated a few inches above the ground, rotating slowly like collectibles waiting to be picked up.
And then there were the unit cards.
Three of them.
Three glowing crystal cards resting in the grass.
Marcus crouched down and picked one up.
The card felt cool and smooth, like polished glass, but surprisingly heavy.
Inside the crystal surface, an image of a gray wolf slowly moved like a tiny living creature trapped inside the card.
Marcus turned it over in his hand.
A small blue window appeared.
Unit Card – Gray Wolf
Race: Beast
Level: 1
Strength: 6
Agility: 9
Endurance: 7
Intelligence: 3
Spirit: 3
Ability: Pack Hunter
Description:
A basic predator commonly found in forest regions. Weak alone, dangerous in groups.
Marcus whistled softly.
"Well that's convenient."
Behind him, Lyrielle stepped closer, her boots crunching softly against broken twigs and disturbed soil. The faint scent of forest leaves clung to her clothes.
Her violet eyes scanned the battlefield.
The elf clearly wasn't used to seeing so many items dropped from such a small fight.
"My lord…"
Marcus glanced over his shoulder.
"Yeah?"
She pointed to the ground.
"There is far too much here."
Marcus grinned.
"That's the whole point of my talent."
He tapped his chest proudly.
"SSS Rank – One Hundred Percent Drop Rate."
Lyrielle frowned slightly.
"Even legendary monsters do not always drop their full loot."
Marcus shrugged.
"Guess I'm lucky."
Lyrielle looked at the massive pile of materials again.
Then she looked back at him.
Then back at the loot.
Finally she spoke very carefully.
"My lord… with this ability…"
She paused.
"You could become incredibly wealthy."
Marcus chuckled.
"Funny you should mention that."
He picked up a bundle of glowing red meat.
Wolf Meat x40
It smelled surprisingly fresh.
Rich.
Like high-quality venison.
Marcus blinked.
"Huh."
He sniffed it again.
"...Why does monster meat smell better than grocery store meat?"
Lyrielle crossed her arms thoughtfully.
"The system preserves monster materials. They do not spoil easily."
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"Oh that's dangerous information."
Lyrielle tilted her head.
"Dangerous?"
Marcus smiled.
"Because food is always valuable."
He continued collecting items from the ground.
Each time he touched something, the system quietly absorbed it into his territory storage.
Wolf Fur x15
Water Essence x20
Spirit Shards +5
The notifications appeared rapidly.
Within a few minutes the entire battlefield had been cleared.
Except for the three wolf unit cards.
Marcus held them in his hand.
They pulsed faintly with soft gray light.
"So… same as Lyrielle?"
Lyrielle nodded.
"You may summon them."
Marcus looked toward the forest.
The trees rustled quietly as a light breeze passed through the branches. The distant mist shifted slowly like a living wall creeping toward the clearing.
Somewhere far away a strange animal howled.
The world suddenly felt very large.
Very wild.
Marcus turned the wolf card between his fingers.
"Alright."
He grinned.
"Let's build an army."
He pressed the card.
The crystal surface shattered into thousands of glowing particles.
Lyrielle instinctively stepped back as the light gathered in the center of the clearing.
The particles swirled together like silver dust caught in a tiny tornado.
Then they formed a shape.
Four legs.
Lean body.
Sharp ears.
A gray wolf appeared in front of them.
The creature blinked its golden eyes and looked around.
For a moment it seemed confused.
Then its gaze locked onto Marcus.
The wolf immediately lowered its head.
A system message appeared.
Unit Summoned
Gray Wolf – Level 1
Unit Bound to Territory Core
Marcus crouched down slowly.
The wolf stepped closer.
It sniffed the air.
Marcus extended his hand.
For a moment the animal simply stared at him.
Then it licked his hand once.
Marcus laughed.
"Well that's friendly."
Lyrielle studied the creature carefully.
"Units summoned through cards are loyal to their summoner."
Marcus stood up again.
"Perfect."
He activated the other two cards.
Two more bursts of light filled the clearing.
Within seconds two more wolves stood beside the first.
The three animals sniffed each other briefly before turning their attention back to Marcus.
Their tails wagged slowly.
Marcus crossed his arms.
"Okay that's actually awesome."
Lyrielle nodded slowly.
"A small pack."
Marcus grinned.
"Exactly."
He looked toward the forest again.
The trees swayed quietly in the wind.
Beyond them the mist shifted endlessly.
Somewhere out there were more monsters.
More loot.
More cards.
More everything.
Marcus cracked his knuckles.
"We're gonna need a bigger storage room."
Lyrielle blinked.
"Storage room?"
Marcus pointed toward the house.
"Buildings."
"Oh."
Lyrielle followed his gaze.
The small house stood quietly in the center of the clearing.
Smoke drifted faintly from the chimney.
Marcus opened his system menu.
A new interface appeared.
Territory Management
Core Level: 1
Territory Radius: 50 meters
Structures:
Basic House
Wooden Fence
Available Construction:
Barracks
Warehouse
Watchtower
Farm Plot
Temple
Marcus's eyes widened slightly.
"Oh."
"Oh this is dangerous."
Lyrielle leaned closer.
"What is it?"
Marcus grinned.
"I can build stuff."
Lyrielle nodded slowly.
"Of course."
Marcus looked at the material requirements.
Barracks — 400 Wood / 300 Stone
Warehouse — 200 Wood / 200 Stone
Marcus laughed.
"That's it?"
Lyrielle looked confused.
"Those are large amounts of resources."
Marcus opened his inventory.
Wood: 200
Stone: 200
Spirit Shards: 75
Marcus shrugged.
"Close enough."
But another icon caught his attention.
Player Market – Unlocked
Marcus blinked.
"Oh?"
Lyrielle watched curiously as he opened the interface.
A large list appeared.
Hundreds.
No…
Thousands of listings.
Players from across the world were already trading.
Marcus scrolled through them slowly.
His grin grew wider with every second.
The market was chaos.
10 Bread → 30 Wood
5 Water → 20 Stone
2 Meat → 10 Spirit Shards
Marcus burst out laughing.
Lyrielle looked startled.
"My lord?"
Marcus wiped tears from his eyes.
"Food."
He pointed at the listings.
"They're desperate."
Lyrielle looked closer.
Understanding dawned on her face.
"Many players must have spawned in dangerous areas."
Marcus nodded.
"And they didn't start with food."
He opened his storage again.
Bread: 100
Water: 100
Wolf Meat: 600
Marcus grinned like a man who had just discovered a gold mine.
"Oh this is beautiful."
Lyrielle tilted her head.
"My lord?"
Marcus leaned back in his chair.
"Supply."
He tapped the screen.
"Meet demand."
He began listing items.
10 Wolf Meat → 40 Wood
10 Wolf Meat → 40 Stone
5 Water → 20 Spirit Shards
Lyrielle watched silently.
Within seconds the first notification appeared.
Trade Completed
40 Wood Received
Then another.
And another.
And another.
Marcus leaned back and stretched his arms.
The warm sunlight poured through the window.
The wolves lay comfortably in the grass outside.
The forest rustled gently beyond the barrier.
And the system notifications continued to appear one after another.
Wood.
Stone.
Spirit shards.
All flowing into his territory storage.
Marcus chuckled softly.
"I think…"
He looked at Lyrielle.
"...we might become rich."
Lyrielle smiled faintly.
The wolves outside lifted their heads.
Far beyond the forest—
The mist shifted again.
And deep within it—
Something much larger was watching Marcus's territory.