The raccoons had made a complete mess of the second goblin's corpse. Between the blood splatters, deep bite marks, and torn flesh, the System deducted a noticeable quality penalty. After selling the remains, I only netted 18 points this time.
That brought the total from the two goblins to 42 points.
On the other hand, three raccoons had sadly died in the fierce fight.
(Rest in peace, little ones.)
Of course, I looted them as well. Each one fetched a modest 2 points.
So, in total… 48 points.
Cha-ching!
That was a lot. Almost half of what I needed to upgrade one of the shops. And considering it had only cost me 4 points in bait to set the whole trap, the return on investment was absolutely insane!
[Points Remaining: 50]
(Damn… Now this is good business!)
(But… urgh.)
When it came to the ethical side of things, I still felt deeply uneasy.
Every time I replayed the violent scene in my mind, a cold chill ran through my stone foundations. Watching a living goblin get torn apart by a swarm of frenzied raccoons was… honestly terrifying. On the other hand, I felt genuinely bad for the raccoons too. They were just enjoying a peaceful daytime sleep in their dark basement den when a monster had suddenly invaded their home. They hadn't asked for this war.
Still, if I wanted to grow stronger as fast as possible and actually make meaningful progress in this new world, this was something I would have to learn to accept.
Because what if… once I reached a certain level, I could evolve into something far more powerful?
Or even something that could actually move?
I would absolutely love to move. To explore this vast world, one way or another. Without that ability, if I were forced to live as a motionless castle for thousands of years, stuck forever in this same lonely clearing… then what would be the point of this second life?
I didn't know what the future held. I didn't know if I would ever gain the power to move or transform. But at the very least, I had to try.
(I aim to become the strongest castle in the universe!)
(System, don't let me down, please!!!)
****
For the next three days, life settled back into a peaceful routine. I continued quietly watching the wildlife that now inhabited my halls and grounds. As for Points, I was hoarding them carefully until I reached 100. That was the exact amount needed to upgrade the System Shop to Level 2.
[System Shop Level 2 Upgrade]
Requirement: Castle Core Level 1
Upgrade Cost: 100 Points
Prerequisite: Required for other shop upgrades
Unlocks: New Basic Materials, Bulk Discount, Material Exchange, Sovereign Shop
The unlocks sounded genuinely amazing! At this steady rate, relying solely on my [Point Generator] skill, I would be able to upgrade one of my shops within one or two months.
I found myself secretly wishing more goblins would come wandering out of the forest. Every time the trees stirred and something emerged from the shadows, my hopes spiked with excitement. But most of the time, it was just regular animals going about their day.
Either way, I couldn't help but wonder.
(Just how many goblins are there in this forest?)
(And are there other, stronger monsters besides goblins?)
I would love to explore the forest one day.
***
Reincarnated as a Castle – Day 26
[Status]
Points: 55
At last, four days after the first two goblins had visited, I spotted more.
And this time, there were three of them!
Just like the previous ones, they charged the moment they spotted the castle.
"YARRRRR!"
"YARRRRR!"
(Come.)
(COME TO ME, MY BAGS OF POINTS!)
I immediately raised the portcullis, greeting them with wide-open gates and strategically placed steaks. I used the exact same strategy as before. And unsurprisingly, it worked wonders once again.
Just like last time, they fought each other viciously over the first piece of steak until only one remained standing. And, just like before, the raccoons took care of the final survivor in the basement.
(Haha. Goblins really are low-intelligence creatures, I guess!)
Either way, an easy 62 points went straight into the bag.
CHA-CHING!
That brought my total to 117 points.
Now then…
It was finally time to upgrade the System Shop!
****
(Upgrade System Shop.)
[Ding!]
[System Shop Upgrade Successful!]
[-100 Points]
[System Shop Level 2 Unlocked!]
[Points Remaining: 17]
My point balance plummeted instantly.
Seeing that number hurt more than being struck by lightning. Back to being broke again, I guess!
It reminded me painfully of my old gacha addiction days. Imagine saving ten thousand primogems for your favorite waifu character in Fantasy Impact, feeling like the richest guy in the world — then BAM! A new limited banner drops and wipes your entire wallet clean in seconds!
Anyway, new menus unfolded smoothly in my mind.
[New Basic Materials Unlocked: Iron!]
That sent a fresh wave of excitement coursing through me. Because iron — this precious metal — was literally what I had been waiting for!
Why?
It was simple! If I had iron, that meant I would finally be able to buy or craft real swords, spears, and proper metal equipment, right?
So far, all the weapons in the Item Shop were just wooden or stone-age level junk. So I wondered if the addition of iron to the material list would finally change things for the better.
I checked the Item Shop right away, but nothing had changed yet. I had already used my free daily refresh, so I would have to wait one more day to see the new options.
But then…
The moment I went back and checked the price of Iron in the Construction Shop, reality came crashing down hard.
[Iron ×1 — Cost: 30 Points]
…
I closed and reopened the screen, thinking there must be some kind of error or miscalculation.
But no.
It was true.
[Iron ×1 — Cost: 30 Points]
(What… the fuck is this shit, System-san?)
(Thirty. Freaking. Points.)
(For what? One iron?)
(ONE?!)
(Are you serious?!)
If I had a heart, I would've had a heart attack, died on the spot, and gotten isekai'd for the second freaking time right now!
THIRTY POINTS!?
That wasn't just expensive; that was outright highway robbery!
To put it into perspective, I could buy 3 Stone or 3 Wood for just 1 Point. That meant Stone only cost roughly 0.33 Points — literally one hundred times cheaper than Iron!
(COME ON!)
I protested.
(Iron is supposed to be basic! BASIC!)
Yet here it was, priced like some premium endgame material! At this rate, upgrading anything iron-related would drain my entire savings in minutes!
And sure, there was a bulk-buy option, but it wasn't much better. The bulk discount was only five percent. Worse, I had to buy 100 Iron at once to qualify for it. That was 3,000 freaking Points! There was no way I could afford that anytime soon!
I let out a mental sigh.
Thinking about it, this was the System doing the pricing. This greedy, scamming System. What the hell had I even expected?
Haha… I laughed bitterly to myself.
After all, it was clearly designed to squeeze every last Point out of me.
In the end, my protest did nothing. I clicked my tongue internally and moved on.
The next thing that unlocked was Material Exchange.
Surely… this would be useful, right?
…
[Material Exchange]
2 Stone → 1 Wood
2 Wood → 1 Stone
1 Food → 3 Wood
10 Wood → 1 Food
1 Iron → 60 Wood
150 Wood → 1 Iron
(Damn…)
(Why the hell does everything have to be so expensive?!)
(Who in their right mind would ever use this?)