The Black Iron Stone in Orion's hand felt dense and cold. Its weight was at least three times that of a normal stone of the same size. There were no cracks, no flaws. It was a perfect chunk of material that completely defied Earth's laws of conservation of mass and energy.
Orion slipped the stone into his pants pocket and refocused on the holographic interface in front of him. Time was a luxury he did not possess. Seven days sounded like a long time, but to build defenses capable of withstanding a monster horde, it was terrifyingly short.
He opened the [Inventory] menu. Just as he expected from standard strategy games or survival novels, there was a glowing gift box sitting in one of the 50 empty slots available.
[Novice Gift Pack (Bound)] [Description: Initial assistance from the System for newly awakened Lords. Open?]
"Open," Orion commanded in his mind.
A flash of white light radiated from the interface, and a series of items slowly populated his empty inventory slots.
[Ding! You have opened the Novice Gift Pack.] [Obtained: 1x Stone Axe (Normal)] [Obtained: 1x Stone Pickaxe (Normal)] [Obtained: 50x Hardtack] [Obtained: 50x Bottled Water] [Obtained: 1x Blueprint: Summoning Gateway] [Obtained: 1x Basic Magic Crystal]
Orion's gaze instantly locked onto the [Blueprint: Summoning Gateway]. He immediately tapped the item to view its details.
[Blueprint: Summoning Gateway (Normal)] [Description: The core building for a Lord to recruit troops. Generates 2 random units (Normal to Bronze Tier) daily.] [Construction Cost: 100 Units of Wood, 100 Units of Stone, 1x Basic Magic Crystal.]
"A hundred units of wood and stone," Orion muttered, glancing around.
His protective dome covered a circular area with a 50-meter radius. Within this radius, there were several pitch-black trees and large boulders scattered among the undergrowth. The materials were here; the question was how fast he could gather them.
Orion took out the [Stone Axe (Normal)] from his inventory. The axe was incredibly crude; just a chunk of sharpened rock tied to a tree branch with hemp rope. Orion, whose daily life consisted only of typing in front of a computer, swung the axe at one of the nearest black trees.
CLANG!
A loud metallic clash rang out, followed by a numb sensation shooting up from Orion's palm to his shoulder. The stone axe merely left a thin white scratch on the bark of the black tree, while Orion felt as though the bones in his hands had almost shattered.
[Obtained: 0.1 Unit of Wood]
Orion's eye twitched. "Zero point one? For one swing that almost broke my arm?"
If he had to swing this axe a thousand times just to get 100 units of wood, he would die of exhaustion before sunset. He quickly realized that his physical strength as an ordinary Earthling put him at the very bottom of this world's food chain.
However, panic did not overtake him. Instead, a cunning smirk crept back onto his face. Why should he play by the System's rules when he possessed a rule-breaking cheat?
He opened the basic [Crafting] menu provided by the system. There, he found recipes for making simple tools.
[Stone Axe (Normal) - Cost: 5 Units of Wood, 5 Units of Stone]
"I just need five more units of wood and five stones," Orion thought.
He pushed himself. Ignoring the pain and the blisters starting to form on his palms, Orion continued hacking at the tree and mining small rocks on the ground using his stone pickaxe. After nearly an hour of sweating profusely and panting like an exhausted dog, he finally gathered enough materials.
"Craft one Stone Axe," he ordered.
Instantly, the wood and stone in his inventory vanished, replaced by a brand-new stone axe identical to his first one. Now, he possessed two [Stone Axes (Normal)].
Orion held the two crude axes in his hands. His breathing was still heavy, but his eyes sparkled with anticipation. He called upon his Innate Talent.
"Forge of Genesis: Synthesis!"
The majestic, cosmic golden energy cube reappeared in the air. The two crude stone axes were sucked into it. The golden light swirled in a mesmerizing rhythm, as if restructuring the molecular makeup of the objects at an atomic level. In a matter of seconds, the light faded, and a new axe fell into Orion's grasp.
The new axe emitted a cold, metallic gleam. Its handle was made of incredibly dense, smooth wood, while the axe blade was forged from pitch-black metal honed to a razor-sharp edge. Its weight felt perfect, precisely balanced for swinging.
[Synthesis Successful!] [2x Stone Axe (Normal) -> 1x Black Iron Axe (Black Iron)] [Description: A Black Iron-tier cutting tool. Increases logging efficiency by 500% and reduces user fatigue by 50%. Sharp enough to cleave through the bones of low-level monsters.]
"Incredible..." Orion clicked his tongue in awe.
He stepped back toward the giant black tree that had tortured him earlier. With a much more relaxed swing, he brought the blade of the Black Iron Axe crashing into the trunk.
CRAAASH!
The axe cleaved through the thick black wood as if slicing through a block of butter. Wood chips flew, and a notification popped up in his peripheral vision.
[Obtained: 5 Units of Wood]
Five units of wood from a single swing! The 50% fatigue reduction made Orion feel like a professional athlete. With a Black Iron-tier tool in his hands, what should have been a nightmare of manual labor turned into a mass harvest.
In less than two hours, Orion had gathered 150 Units of Wood and 150 Units of Stone (after synthesizing his pickaxe into a Black Iron Pickaxe).
The sun began to dip toward the west, casting a reddish-orange glow that pierced through the gaps of the giant trees. Orion stood in an empty clearing next to his shack. He opened his inventory, selected the Blueprint: Summoning Gateway, and inserted the required materials along with the 1x Basic Magic Crystal.
"Build."
The blueprint transformed into blue particle light that shot into the ground. The earth trembled slightly. Stones and wood floated, assembling themselves like a video played in reverse. Within ten seconds, a three-meter-tall stone archway stood proudly before him. In the center of the arch swirled a vortex of gray energy.
[Construction Complete!] [Summoning Gateway (Normal) has been erected. You have 2 free summoning quotas today. Do you wish to use them?]
Orion's heart raced. Troops. This was the absolute core of the Game of Sovereigns. Without an army, a Lord was nothing but a lump of meat waiting to be eaten. Before confirming, Orion took a moment to open the [Regional Channel] to assess the situation.
"Damn System! What the hell is this?! I built the Summoning Gateway and spent my magic crystal, but all I got were two skinny 'Old Peasants' who tremble just holding a pitchfork!" "Hahaha, you have it easy! I got two 'Mud Slimes'. What am I supposed to do with them? Have them mop the floor?!" "Help, did anyone get actual combat troops? I'm seeing the shadows of wolves the size of vans outside my dome..."
Reading these complaints, Orion realized the bitter reality. The rarity tier of the building dictated the quality of the troops. A 'Normal' tier gateway would statistically always produce trash units like Peasants, Weak Militia, or Lowly Monsters. To obtain combat units like Knights or Archers, one had to be extremely lucky or possess a Bronze or Silver tier Gateway.
Orion stared at his Summoning Gateway. "Let's see what I get. Summon."
The gray energy vortex in the gateway spun faster. Two shadowy figures slowly stepped out of the portal. When the light faded, Orion couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Standing before him were two incredibly emaciated middle-aged men. Their clothing consisted of nothing but ragged, patched hemp cloth. They each held a rusty pitchfork. Their faces were deathly pale, looking around with deep terror, before immediately falling to their knees upon seeing Orion.
"G-Greetings, My Lord... W-We are ready to serve you," one of them stuttered, his voice trembling.
[Peasant (Normal)] [Level: 1] [Strength: 3] [Agility: 3] [Physique: 4] [Skill: Basic Farming]
Their stats were utterly pathetic. The average adult human on Earth had basic stats of 5. They were even weaker than normal humans due to severe malnutrition. If Orion sent them out to fight the monsters beyond the dome, they would serve as nothing more than an appetizer.
"Stand up," Orion ordered in a flat yet calming tone.
The two peasants stood up awkwardly, their knees still trembling slightly. They were prepared to be berated, fully aware of their own uselessness in combat.
However, instead of getting angry, Orion looked at them with the gaze of a sculptor admiring a block of pure clay. In his mind, an insane theory was forming. His Forge of Genesis talent clearly stated: 'You can fuse identical objects, materials, buildings, or living units...'.
"The system categorizes them as identical entities," Orion thought to himself. "Will synthesizing living beings hurt them? Or... is it a form of evolution?"
There was only one way to find out.
Orion stepped forward, raised his hands, and aimed them at the two confused peasants.
"Forgive me if this hurts, but I need swords, not pitchforks," Orion whispered. "Synthesis."
Orion's eyes flashed with golden light. From his palms, the Origin-Grade cube erupted and engulfed the two peasants. The two men did not scream; instead, their faces displayed expressions of profound peace as their bodies dissolved into pure energy light and merged in mid-air.
The energy churned, swelled, and shifted its shape. The pale white light faded, replaced by a heavy, intimidating aura of steel.
When the light completely dispersed, the two shabby peasants were gone.
In their place stood a burly man, nearly two meters tall. He wore a gleaming black iron breastplate, sturdy leather pants, and military boots. His muscles were dense and packed, exuding the aura of a veteran warrior who had survived dozens of battlefields. Hanging at his waist was a longsword forged from high-quality steel.
The warrior opened his eyes—eyes as sharp as an eagle's. He looked at Orion, then immediately dropped to one knee, smashing his right fist against his chest in a perfect, honorable military salute.
"My sword is your will, My Lord!" his deep voice echoed with unwavering loyalty.
Orion held his breath as he read the holographic status window floating above the warrior's head.
[Synthesis Successful!] [2x Peasant (Normal) -> 1x Elite Soldier (Black Iron)] [Level: 1] [Strength: 15] [Agility: 12] [Physique: 15] [Skill: Basic Swordsmanship (Passive), Fatal Slash (Active)]
His strength had increased fivefold! While millions of other Lords were weeping over pulling weak peasants, Orion, within his first few hours of arrival, had birthed his very first killing machine.
Orion smiled broadly. He gazed toward the dark forest beyond his dome with the look of a predator that had just discovered its fangs.
"Perfect. Now, let's build an army."