"Right then, let's see what we can actually do now," Karl said while rubbing his hands together eagerly.
The earlier enthusiasm in the room had mostly faded after nearly half an hour of assigning positions, responsibilities, and ranks within the newly established faction. something that they had already discussed beforehand, as it was deemed unwise to do it in the moment without proper time to think.
Even so, most people had spent that entire process trying to avoid authority wherever possible, pushing responsibilities onto one another like children avoiding chores.
Nobody wanted to spend their days buried beneath paperwork when the system had suddenly made growth and training visibly possible before their eyes.
The reason was simple.
For the first time in their lives, the members of the Sonneberg family could physically feel themselves improving every single day.
Before the arrival of the system, an effective shot beyond one hundred and eighty meters had already been considered exceptional among archers.
Every extra meter after that had required years of painful effort, stronger bows, and endless conditioning that ruined the body over time.
Even the most talented archers in the family usually only reached such distances around their forties.
To improve further, they needed heavier bows, harsher training, and years spent adapting to the new draw weight before they could even think about increasing their range again.
By the time someone consistently reached the two-hundred-meter mark, their shoulders, fingers, and joints were often already beginning to fail.
That was simply the reality of traditional archery before the system descended upon Earth.
But now?
Now people could literally feel their bodies adapting at impossible speeds.
Their muscles recovered faster, their eyesight sharpened slightly with training, and their control over breathing techniques improved day after day.
Every practice session produced visible results, making the younger generation especially obsessed with training instead of administration.
Which was precisely why nobody wanted leadership roles.
Managing recruits, overseeing supply chains, organizing patrols, handling contracts, teaching newcomers, and resolving disputes sounded unbearably tedious compared to becoming stronger.
Even Arin had nearly fled the room when Karl casually suggested he might oversee ranger instruction for future recruits.
Unfortunately for him, Karl had noticed immediately.
"Don't think I missed that," Karl said flatly while pointing at his grandson.
"You're one of the strongest young archers we have, so stop trying to disappear into the couch."
Arin immediately looked away while pretending intense interest in the ceiling beams above them.
Several people burst into laughter at the blatant attempt to escape responsibility.
Eventually, however, the process finally ended.
Positions had been assigned, authority structures established, and responsibilities divided as fairly as possible among the family members.
Most importantly, no one had killed each other during the negotiations, which Karl privately considered a massive success.
Now only the more enjoyable parts of faction creation remained.
"Alright," Karl announced while stretching his shoulders.
"The boring part is finally over, so let's move on to something more interesting."
That immediately brought the room back to life as people leaned closer toward the visible system screen floating before Karl.
Even the children looked excited now that official responsibilities were no longer being discussed.
The next section involved designing the faction's emblem, banner, and visual identity.
That alone immediately sparked interest throughout the room because symbols carried enormous importance for organizations, especially now that factions were officially recognized by the system itself.
A proper banner was more than decoration.
It represented history, culture, identity, and reputation all at once.
Karl scrolled through the options slowly before suddenly pausing.
"Oh?" he muttered with visible surprise.
"There's an option here that allows the system to automatically generate a banner based on our history, culture, and faction name."
That instantly drew enthusiastic reactions from everyone nearby.
"Oh, you have to click that."
"There's no way we're skipping that."
"Do it immediately."
"Please let it look cool."
Karl chuckled before pressing the option.
For several long seconds nothing happened.
Then the screen flashed brightly, and a massive banner slowly unfolded across the air before them.
The entire room fell completely silent.
The system-generated banner was breathtaking.
At its center hung a massive crimson sun radiating dark red light across an ancient forest beneath it.
The woods themselves were deep green, yet subtle streaks of crimson wove naturally through the leaves and shadows like flowing blood hidden among nature.
It looked hauntingly beautiful.
But what truly stunned the family was the realization that the forest depicted there was their home.
Not a generic woodland.
Not some fantasy landscape designed by the system.
It was their forest.
They recognized it instantly.
The narrow river winding through the trees.
The small lake hidden near the center of the woods.
Even the placement of certain tree species matched reality perfectly.
The trees closest to the foreground were the same specially cultivated woods the family had used for generations to craft bows and bowstrings.
The undergrowth, the moss-covered stones, the distant hill lines—every detail was accurate beyond belief.
It felt less like a designed emblem and more like someone had captured the soul of their homeland itself.
The deeper people looked, the more hidden details they discovered.
Bows and arrows could be seen hidden within the shadows of the trees.
Small silhouettes lurked among the forest like ghosts waiting patiently for intruders.
And if one stared carefully enough, occasional corpses could be spotted half-hidden beneath the undergrowth.
The banner was elegant, beautiful, and deeply unsettling all at once.
Nobody spoke for nearly five full minutes.
The room simply stared at the floating image in complete silence.
Even Karl looked genuinely stunned by how accurately the system had represented them.
It was as though the banner understood their family better than they understood themselves.
Finally, Tom broke the silence with a sigh.
"Well," he muttered helplessly, "it seems logo artists are about to become unemployed."
That earned several quiet chuckles from the others.
Because honestly, none of them could imagine creating something better than this.
"There's no reason not to use it," Tom continued.
"This thing practically screams who we are."
The others nodded slowly in agreement.
Rejecting it almost felt foolish.
Bennie stroked his beard thoughtfully while staring at the banner.
"You know," the old man sighed, "if our ancestors could see us now, I genuinely don't know whether they'd be proud… or mock us endlessly for behaving like nobles."
That immediately caused several older family members to laugh loudly.
The younger generation looked confused.
But the older members understood perfectly.
Contrary to modern belief, medieval battlefields were not gray wastelands filled with dull armor and mud.
They had actually been incredibly colorful places.
Nobles loved vibrant banners, polished armor, decorated shields, and elaborate clothing because standing out allowed allies to identify them easily during battle.
Unfortunately, that also painted massive targets on their backs.
And the Sonneberg ancestors had made entire careers out of exploiting exactly that weakness.
In the family records, nobles were mocked relentlessly for announcing their positions so proudly on battlefields.
To the ancestors, brightly dressed commanders practically looked like walking treasure chests begging to be shot.
Many family stories ended with some arrogant nobleman dying because he wanted everyone to admire his expensive armor. and live to tell the tale as he was more useful alive. The old hunters had found such behavior hysterically stupid.
"I think they'd approve," Karl said with a grin."We're not planning to wave this thing around while charging dramatically into battle."His smile widened slightly.
"We'll put it somewhere visible and then patiently wait to see which idiots walk directly into our traps."
That immediately sounded far more like the Sonneberg family.
Laughter spread throughout the room again while Karl finalized the banner selection through the system interface.
Afterward he continued scrolling through the remaining faction options with growing curiosity.
Most of the optional settings, however, proved disappointing.
The system accepted their designated headquarters immediately after Karl uploaded the relevant ownership documents for the forest territory.
It even produced a bizarre rating evaluating how suitable the location was as a faction headquarters.
Apparently their isolated woodland scored remarkably high.
Nobody was entirely sure whether that was reassuring or deeply concerning.
Then Karl opened the faction shop.
His excitement vanished almost instantly.
"…That's it?" he asked blankly.
Most of the truly interesting sections were completely locked.
Breathing techniques, advanced manuals, knowledge tomes, specialized faction skills, and development paths all remained inaccessible without explanation.
Only a few practical items were actually available for purchase.
The most notable among them were loyalty contracts.
The system offered multiple versions with strict wording that apparently could not be altered under any circumstances.
Both parties signing needed to be of sound body and mind, and the contracts heavily emphasized mutual agreement and free will.
The system clearly despised coercion.
"Looks like the system really loves free will," Johny muttered thoughtfully while examining the restrictions.
"Honestly, that explains a lot about how everything has worked so far."
Nobody disagreed with him.
The systems seemed obsessed with choice above all else.
Karl looked visibly crestfallen while browsing the disappointing shop.
Teun immediately tried cheering him up.
"Hey, it's not completely useless," he said optimistically.
"At least mineral and seed prices dropped massively for factions."
"That alone will help attract recruits," Teun continued.
"If we can offer resources cheaper than normal markets, people will absolutely want to cooperate with us."
Karl admitted that was true with a reluctant nod.
Johny also leaned forward thoughtfully.
"I think the system is intentionally limiting information right now," he said slowly.
"We haven't even fully processed the contents of our individual shops yet, let alone faction systems."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before continuing.
"It probably wants factions to develop naturally instead of immediately becoming overpowered."
Karl finally sighed before smiling faintly again.
"You're probably right," he admitted.
Then he straightened his back and closed the system menu with renewed determination shining in his eyes.
"Still, we've come this far already."
He looked around the room proudly.
At his family.
At the people who had survived eleven months of war beside him and now stood at the beginning of an entirely new world.
Then Karl grinned.
"Alright everyone," he declared firmly.
"Let's sign these contracts…"
"And then let's go see how the system plans to rebuild humanity."