The scent of blood still hung in the air as dawn broke over Ashenhold. A pallid sun cast dim light over charred ground, shattered pikes, and the unmoving bodies of both men and beasts. Hikaru stood at the heart of the training yard, armor unbuckled at the waist, hands dirty with ash and grit. His expression was unreadable.
The first raid was over—but the true war had only begun.
He pulled up his System Overview, skimming through the recent notifications.
System Alert: Battle Summary – Beast Raid Phase 1 Complete
➤ Victory Status: Minor Victory
➤ Territory Damage: 23%
➤ Total Casualties: 9
➤ Units Trained During Raid: +4
➤ Morale: +12
➤ Reputation (Regional): +3 – Word of Ashenhold's resistance is spreading.
"Sir," Kora's voice broke his focus. She limped forward, her left arm wrapped in rough linen. "We've recovered something... odd."
She gestured toward two soldiers dragging a grotesque, armored beast corpse on a litter. Its flesh bore strange glyphs burned into the skin—runes that pulsed faintly even in death.
"A magical signature?" Hikaru muttered, crouching down. "Looks like a binding ritual. Beast Callers didn't summon this—they bred it."
Blake stepped beside him. "So they've got warlocks or some kind of enhancement unit. That's a level above feral raiders."
Hikaru stood up slowly, the gears turning in his mind. "Then we're being scouted. Someone—or something—is using these raids to test our limits."
System Update: New Quest Chain Unlocked – "The Strategist's Path"
Quest 1/5: Identify the Source of the Beast Glyphs
➤ Objective: Build a Mage Tower (Tier 1)
➤ Reward: +1 System Skill Unlock Token, +20 Intelligence XP
➤ Time Limit: 72 in-game hours
Mage Tower, huh? That wasn't even in his construction queue yet. He tapped the build menu.
Mage Tower (Tier 1)
➤ Requires: 500 Wood, 400 Stone, 120 Iron, 1 Arcane Crystal
➤ Construction Time: 4 hours
➤ Unlocks: Basic Magic Research, Glyph Identification, Mana Storage
Arcane Crystal: 0 in inventory.
"Looks like we're going mining," Hikaru said, turning to Blake. "Dispatch a scout party to the Broken Hollow caves west of the ridge. Tell them to look for blue-glowing ore veins."
"Got it. I'll lead them myself," Blake replied without hesitation.
The forest gave way to a craggy hillside where vines strangled the rocks and faint blue lights pulsed like fireflies between cracks.
Blake led a group of four through the gnarled pass. The deeper they went, the more unnatural the air became. Birds avoided the area. No animal prints. Just silence.
Then—a rustle.
SKREEEEEEE!
A four-legged creature, half-wolf, half-lizard, sprang from the darkness. Its mouth frothed, and its claws shimmered with a blue residue.
Blake drew his sword, slashing the thing mid-leap. "Ambush! Hold positions!"
The group fought with ruthless precision. The lizard-beasts were fast—but not coordinated. Blake's team downed five of them before the beasts scattered into the caves.
Among the corpses, a faintly glowing shard rolled free from one of the creatures' chest cavities.
Item Acquired: Arcane Crystal (Raw)
Needs purification at Mage Tower
"Mission complete," Blake muttered, handing it to the courier.
With the Arcane Crystal delivered, construction of the Mage Tower began immediately at the north end of Ashenhold.
A special crew of builders—those with affinity traits or minor talent in magic—was tasked with its foundation. Hikaru watched the tower rise in pulses of blue light, layered stone, and spiraling runes.
The System's approval came quickly.
Structure Complete: Mage Tower (Tier 1)
➤ Research Unlocked: Glyph Analysis
➤ Bonus: Spell Resistance Aura (Minor) within 50 meters
➤ Mana Storage Capacity: 100
➤ New Building Chain Available: Arcane Lab, Rune Forge
Hikaru stepped inside. The air crackled faintly with stored power. In the center of the room, a glowing console awaited him.
He placed the beast glyph sample onto it.
The System began a scan.
Analyzing Beast Glyph...
Progress: 12%... 36%... 71%...
Match Found: Shadowbinding Sigil – Tier 2 Enhancement Ritual
Origin: Unknown
User Affiliation: Player-Controlled Faction – Venatrix Ascendant
Status: Aggressive Expansionism
Warning: Player Enemy Detected
➤ Profile: [Name Redacted]
➤ Title: The Shadowcaller
➤ Region: Deep Mists
➤ Threat Level: High
➤ Known Units: Beast Callers, War Apes, Fog Stalkers
Hikaru's heart thudded. So it wasn't just NPC forces after all.
Another player was behind the beast attacks.
"A PvP war," he muttered. "And I don't even know how many others are out there yet."
System Alert: Quest Progress Updated
The Strategist's Path – Stage 1 Complete
➤ Reward Claimed: +1 Skill Token, +20 Intelligence XP
➤ Next Quest: Prepare for the Shadowcaller's Retaliation
➤ Objective: Upgrade Defensive Line, Train Mage Units (Min. 2)
Hikaru opened his Skill Menu and hovered over the unused token. Options flickered in front of him.
He scanned the list, then selected:
[Tactical Insight – Active Skill]
➤ Description: Temporarily reveals enemy movement paths on the minimap.
➤ Duration: 30 seconds
➤ Cooldown: 10 minutes
➤ Tier: Rare
Perfect for a defensive lord.
The map table was covered in inked paths, enemy markings, and prediction arcs.
Hikaru stared at it, eyes tracing the paths of the last raid, over and over.
Kora sat nearby, nursing her wrapped arm.
"You haven't slept," she said.
"There's no time," Hikaru replied.
"You're trying to outthink an enemy you don't even know. They could be ten steps ahead."
"That's why I need to be eleven."
Kora smirked. "You sound like a real lord now."
Outside, the wind shifted. The fog that had begun lifting that morning rolled in again—thicker than before.
And in the far distance... a horn sounded.
Not the system's.
A player's war horn.
The next battle was coming faster than expected.