With a thought, he navigated the interface, bypassing the restricted tabs, focused into the Realm Chat.
Akash's eyes drifted away from the frantic messages and locked onto a small, glowing counter at the top right corner of the chat panel.
[Lord Count]: 99,983
As he watched, the number flickered again. 99,982.
His heart skipped a beat. A cold realization washed over him, sharper than the mountain air.
"Eighteen deaths already," he whispered. The voice wasn't kidding about real death. Some had likely spawned close to a predator's den, while others might have slipped off a cliff or inhaled poisonous gas in their initial panic. "This is not trial, this is hide-and-seek with death", he muttered.
Akash noticed another small icon in the top-left corner of the transparent screen. It glowed with a faint, steady light: Chat Count: 5/5.
So, communication is limited in realm chat.
The screen scrolled at a dizzying speed.
Lady Urmila32: "Someone help! I'm in a swamp and I hear splashing. I don't want to die!"
Lord Bhujbal2: "This is incredible! My chronic back pain is gone! I feel like I'm young again. The legendary 'Thrust-Lord' is back"
Lord Mahesh76: "@Lord Bhujbal2, Uncle, please calm down. You got a new body, not a brain transplant. Focus on the timer before the monsters turn your 'legendary' self into snacks."
Lord Mahindra112: "Ignore the horny guy. Does anyone know how to make fire? I landed on a snowy mountain area and I'm freezing."
Lady Ruchita47: "@Mahindra112 Look for dry bark under the snow at the base of trees. The Lord's Core in your [Lord`s Manor] illuminates little light. Use your glasses as a lens to focus the light onto the dry stick, or just rub two dry sticks like the old days. Move fast!"
Akash watched the messages fly by, his eyes cold. While some were celebrating their cured bodies and others were crying for help, a few were already adapting.
Then, a message picked his interest:
Lord Raj99: "Listen up, losers! I'm clearly the protagonist of this world. I just placed my core and unlocked an Upgradable Talent! I'm going to be a god while you lot are scrubbing my floors. Bow down now!"
Akash's lip curled in a sneer. "Raj... there's always a 'Raj' in every group who thinks he's the center of the universe."
The chat immediately humbled the 'Protagonist.'
Lady Simran43: "@Lord Raj, read the room, genius. I just placed mine too. I also have a Common Grade Upgradable Talent. Everyone gets one. You aren't special, you're just another Level 1 noob with a big mouth."
Lord Vikram17: "Lmao, Raj really thinks he's in a manga. All talents are upgradable, but the conditions to upgrade are insane. Good luck 'upgrading' while getting eaten by a wolf."
Akash closed the chat. The info was clear: everyone started with a Common Grade Talent, and while it could be upgraded, the cost was likely to be blood and sweat.
The death toll in the corner ticked down again: 99,978.
He wanted to check more chats to understand what kind of talent they awoke, but the silence was suddenly broken by the sharp crunch of dried leaves. Akash's senses snapped toward the edge of the obsidian forest. Standing there was a creature that looked like a nightmare from an old folk tale.
It was the size of a large dog, reaching his thighs, but it was built like a tank. Instead of fur, its skin was covered in jagged, slate-colored scales that looked like shards of stone. Its most terrifying feature was a pair of glowing, crimson tusks that hummed with a faint, hungry light.
As he stared, a transparent window hovered over the beast:
[Dread-Tusk Grunter]
[Grade] : Common
[Physique]: 7
[Spirit] : 5
[Magic]: 2
[Skills]:
[Heavy Charge] : A straight-line dash where the scales harden, turning the beast into a living battering ram.
[Shatter-Gore]: A strike with its glowing tusks that can crack bone and wood alike.
Akash didn't move. He stood his ground, his eyes flashing with a sudden, fierce defiance. Insulted by the tiny human's stare, the beast lowered its head, its crimson tusks glowing brighter as it triggered [Heavy Charge].
It turned into a gray-black blur, its heavy hooves tearing up the mossy ground.
Akash waited, his heart thumping in his ears.
At the very last second, he pivoted sharply to the side. The Grunter, trapped by its own massive momentum, couldn't adjust. It sailed past him and slammed headfirst into the massive moss-covered rock, on which Akash had been sitting on just moments ago.
BOOM!
The sound of stone hitting stone echoed through the clearing. Bits of moss and rock splinters flew into the air. The Grunter slumped, dazed, its legs wobbling as it struggled to stand steady.
Akash didn't wait for round two nor did he dare to fight it with bare hands. He didn't dare run toward the dark forest where more "Grunters" might be lurking. Instead, he bolted toward the mountain slope. He scrambled up the steep rocks, his breath coming in sharp gasps, using the height to put distance between him and the monster.
Akash ran for nearly twenty minutes, his lungs burning as he pushed himself up the rugged incline. He didn't look back, but the sounds of the dazed [Dread-Tusk Grunter]eventually faded into the distance.
Refusing to return to the death trap of the forest, he kept climbing. The air grew thinner and colder, but his resolve only sharpened. Finally, the slope gave way to a surprisingly broad, flat plateau.
He stood at the summit, panting, and surveyed his new surroundings. The mountain top was a vast, open space, dotted with a few sparse, hardy trees and giant gray boulders.
"It's a natural fortress," he whispered.
He knew the biggest drawback immediately: water. There were no streams or ponds up here, and survival without a source of hydration was a death sentence. But Akash looked at the blue crystal in his palm and then at the strange, swirling clouds above. This was a realm of magic and "Lords." If injuries can be cured in a blink and transport millions of people across space, he believed there had to be a way to solve the water problem—perhaps through a building, a skill, or the Talent he was about to unlock.
The strategic advantage was too good to pass up. In a world of predators, the high ground was king. It was easy to defend and a nightmare for anything trying to attack from below.
Akash didn't settle for the edge of the height; he walked deeper into the heart of the plateau. He looked for the "sweet spot"—the place where his future walls would be hardest to scale and his line of sight would be clearest. He finally stopped at a slight elevation near the center. Here, the ground felt different—not just like rock, but like a solid.
"This is it," he muttered. "No more running."
With a determined look, he firmly placed the Lord's Core on the mountain stone and moved a bit away from the core.
"Establish Territory."