Dawnforged did not sleep in.
Not in Emberton.
By sunrise, the Copper Kettle vibrated with movement: armor buckles clinking, spirits thumping across floorboards, Mira complaining that someone mixed her "light tools" with her "medium-actually-heavy tools."
Riley stood in the common room, fastening Dawnstring to his back, egg sling adjusted comfortably. Arcial sat like a vigilant statue at his feet, gaze sweeping the room.
"Alright," Riley said, raising his voice enough to cut through the chatter. "Listen up. Today we split."
The chatter died instantly.
Sofia leaned over. "Split… how many ways?"
"Seven." Riley marked the numbers on his minimap. "Seven teams. Seven routes."
Aria perked up. "Oooh, world conquest speedrun?"
"Grinding," Hayes corrected flatly. "Resources. Experience. No world domination until after breakfast."
Kipp raised a finger. "We could dominate after lunch—"
Mira elbowed him so hard he squeaked.
Riley continued, "We've got thirty people. If we sit around waiting for the next storyline beat, we fall behind. This city moves fast. We need to move faster."
He let that sink in.
Newbies straightened.
Old hands nodded.
Hayley gave a tired but excited grin.
Kalyani cracked her knuckles. "Finally. Combat therapy."
Dot nodded solemnly from Aria's shoulder.
"Each team," Riley said, "is led by one of the core. Your goals are simple:
• Hit level 17–18 within two days.
• Gather spirit food, reagent drops, and crafting materials.
• Don't die.
• Don't get recruited by a cult."
Maybe find a alchemy recipe or forge design.
Aria raised her hand. "Define cult?"
"Anyone who offers snacks, cloaks, or enlightenment," Sofia answered.
Aria gasped. "So the bakery counts?"
Ether bonked her.
Riley reached up and tapped the map again. "Hayes, Hayley, Jonathan, Sofia, Rezion, Kalyani, Aria — you're each taking a team. Avoid guild-controlled zones. Stay away from flagged PvP areas unless you outnumber enemies."
Jonathan cleared his throat. "And you?"
"I'm not grinding today."
Twenty heads snapped toward him.
Aria's jaw dropped. "Are you DEAD? Are you DYING? Have you been body-snatched?"
Dot poked Riley suspiciously with one leg.
Riley cracked a smile. "No. I've got paperwork."
Everyone groaned.
Hayley looked wounded. "You're leaving us with administrative responsibility while you handle paperwork?"
"Yes," Riley said. "Because someone needs to register Dawnforged in the Emberton Guild Ledger, negotiate land rights, and figure out how much gold we actually have left."
Mira tightened her goggles. "And someone needs to secure forge permits before the city shuts down access for the daily crafting rush."
Kipp nodded vigorously. "And WE need ingredients for—"
Mira clapped her hand over his mouth. "No one needs to know."
Riley gestured toward the door. "So Mira, Kipp, and I are handling the guild registration and finances. Everyone else scatters. Level up. Learn the city outskirts. Don't do anything stupid."
Aria saluted dramatically. "Doing stupid things is my entire identity, but I will suppress it for the team."
Dot smacked her.
It took only minutes.
Team assignments populated HUDs.
Spirits hopped to their partners.
Bags tightened. Armor strapped. Spellbooks checked.
Sofia approached Riley before leaving with her squad — Luna hovering, Echo drifting protectively, Ether humming low.
"You good?" she asked quietly.
"Ask me after this guild trip," Riley said. "And after I look at our gold total."
She smiled sympathetically. "Try not to fight anyone."
"No promises."
She squeezed his arm lightly and left with her team.
Aria blew him a kiss. Kalyani spun her daggers and winked. Rezion saluted nervously. Hayes just grunted, which was Hayes-language for good luck, idiot.
Soon the room was nearly empty.
Riley exhaled.
Arcial leaned against his leg.
Lumi drifted down, pulsing a soft ready.
"Alright," Riley said. "Guild registration, land scouting, financial crisis planning. Easy day."
"Easy?" Kipp squeaked. "People like us DIE in administrative quests."
Mira clapped his back. "Relax. Bureaucrats are only dangerous if you show weakness."
Kipp whimpered.
Riley pushed open the inn door.
"Let's go."
The Guild Authority was a fortress of glass, copper, and glowing runes. It buzzed with magic signatures — guild banners outside, enchanted filing golems inside, and a massive board listing registered groups.
Dawnforged wasn't there yet.
Not until Riley walked up to the counter.
The clerk, an NPC wearing a copper tabard and a look of pure bureaucratic exhaustion, adjusted his glasses.
"Name?"
"Riley Grant. Guild: Dawnforged."
The clerk's quill froze.
He checked a system panel.
His eyebrows rose.
"Oh. You."
Kipp whispered to Mira, "Is that good?"
"No idea," Mira whispered back.
The clerk turned a page. "You cleared Azure Hollow. Route priority. First caravan entry. You have accumulated… hm." He squinted again. "Significant fame ticks. Congratulations."
He slid them a form made of glowing runes.
"Guild registration fee is 200 gold. Optional territory licensing begins at 500. Resource extraction rights… vary."
Riley breathed out.
Here it was.
The moment he'd been both dreading and preparing for.
He turned to Kipp and Mira.
"How much gold do we have?"
Kipp pulled out a notebook the way normal people pulled out receipts. A completely overstuffed, barely-holding-together notebook. Pages fluttered.
"Accounting!" he cried. "I love accounting!"
Mira sighed. "Please don't shout that in public."
Riley waited.
Kipp scribbled, flipped pages, muttered about potion ingredients, loot drops, Dawnview payout, route rewards, selling bandit gear, and emergency mushroom fines.
Finally:
"We have… 3,820 gold."
Mira blinked. "That's… a lot."
Riley nodded slowly. He'd expected less.
"Okay," he said. "We need… 200 for registration. 500 for license. That leaves 3,120. Enough for gear upgrades. Permits. Food. And maybe…"
He hesitated.
Mira tilted her head. "Maybe what?"
Riley opened the Emberton Land Registry.
An enormous map unrolled in holographic light.
He zoomed in on the northeast outskirts.
There.
A stretch of rolling terrain: dry grass, stunted trees, rocky edges.
Marked as:
> Low-Value Agricultural Zone
Purchase price: 3,000 gold
Notes: Unfertile. Resource-poor. Minimal water access. Historically unstable ground.
Status: No guild interest.
Kipp squinted. "It looks… terrible."
Mira frowned. "Why here?"
Riley's heart thudded.
Because he remembered.
From his last life.
This land wasn't just land.
Not useless.
Not barren.
It sat on top of something.
A node.
No — three nodes.
Vibrant Ore Veins
Spiritwild Burrows
Emberflow Rift
Guilds would spill blood over it in six months.
Prices would skyrocket into the tens of thousands.
And whoever owned it early… owned the future.
Riley tightened his grip on the map.
"We buy it," he said.
Kipp choked. "We WHAT—"
"Buy," Riley repeated. "A farm. On the outskirts."
Mira looked between the map and Riley's face.
"Riley," she said softly, "are you sure?"
He nodded once.
"I'm sure."
He didn't say: It saved my life in another timeline.
He didn't say: I'm not letting history repeat.
The clerk cleared his throat. "If you wish to proceed, I will file the ownership contract."
Riley inhaled.
"Do it."
The contract window burst open:
> DAWNFORGED HAS PURCHASED: Emberfield Plot 47
Status: Guild-Owned
Upgrades unlocked:
• Basic housing (Tier F)
• Storage shed
• Outdoor forge/alchemy rights
• Stable rights
• Land expansion permits (locked)
Kipp fainted.
Mira caught him by the collar without looking away from the map.
"It's ours," she whispered. "Riley… it's actually ours."
Riley exhaled.
A weight lifted off his chest — replaced by something larger, steadier, more terrifying:
Responsibility.
Land meant roots.
Land meant future.
Land meant he wasn't just surviving Emberton —
He was claiming a place in it.
Arcial nudged his knee.
Lumi glowed proudly.
Riley allowed a smile.
"Let's go tell the guild," he said.
"And then," Mira added, eyes sparkling, "we start building."
"And then," Kipp croaked from the floor, "I vomit from stress."
Riley lifted him anyway.
"Come on. Dawnforged just got a home."
And outside the copper-tinted windows of the Authority building…
Emberton waited.
Alive.
Loud.
Competitive.
And now —
watching them.