The metallic whisper echoed through the cold, empty void like a drop of ice water hitting a hot stove.
"Found you..."
Arthur stood completely still near the edge of his thirty-step stone island. His breathing caught in his throat. The adrenaline from the great monster wave was still pumping through his veins, but this sound was different. It wasn’t the mindless barking or raw hunger of the Void Beasts. It was deliberate, sharp, and cold.
He gripped the handle of his metal dagger so tightly his fingers hurt. His eyes scanned the swirling purple fog just beyond his newly broken wooden fence.
For a long moment, nothing happened. The void remained silent, save for the low, distant hum of the infinite stars.
"Is someone there?" Arthur called out, his voice steady even though his heart was beating wildly against his ribs. "Show yourself!"
No one answered. But then, right at the edge of the gray stone platform, something heavy scraped against the rock.
Clank.
Arthur stepped closer, lowering his body into a ready stance. He peered over the broken remains of the wooden fence.
There, clinging to the vertical side of the gray stone slab, was a thick, rusty iron chain. One end of the chain was buried deep in the bottomless purple fog below, stretching down into the dark abyss where no light could reach. The other end had a large, wicked-looking iron hook dug firmly into the stone edge, holding it in place like an anchor.
Someone—or something—had thrown that chain up from the depths of the void and hooked it onto his territory.
"A climbing rope... or a ladder," Arthur whispered, a cold sweat breaking out across his forehead.
Back in the city of Neo-Veridia, people talked about scavengers—pirates and outcasts of the infinite universes who traveled through the dark voids, hunting for newly awakened lords to steal their territory resources before they could grow strong. If a scavenger found a tiny, defenseless thirty-step island with a glowing magic well, they wouldn’t trade. They would kill the lord and take everything.
Arthur knew he didn’t have time to be scared. He couldn’t wait for them to climb all the way up.
"I have to cut that chain," he said to himself.
He rushed forward, pulled his metal dagger from his belt, and hacked down hard against the thick iron link hooked over the stone.
Ting!
Sparks flew into the dark air. The metal dagger bounced off the thick iron link with a sharp ring, sending a painful jolt up Arthur’s arm. The blade did not even leave a scratch on the rusty iron.
Arthur stared at his dagger in disbelief. The steel blade was nicked and dented at the edge. The rusty chain was far too thick and hard to cut with a simple household knife.
Before Arthur could think of another plan, the iron chain jerked violently.
Rattle, rattle, rattle!
The heavy chain pulled taut, and something started climbing up it from the dark fog below with terrifying speed. Metal clanked against stone, and a low, raspy breathing sound echoed up the line.
Climb, climb, climb.
Arthur scrambled backward away from the edge, his boots slipping slightly on the dust. He looked around his tiny island in a panic. The wooden fence was broken in two places. He had no army, no traps, and no heavy weapons.
Then his eyes landed on the leather pouch he had received as a reward after the monster wave.
Inside that pouch were the ten pure energy crystals and the territory upgrade blueprint for the Small Stone Wall and Gate.
"The blueprint!" Arthur gasped.
He didn’t hesitate. He dived onto the stone floor near the well, ripped open the leather pouch, and pulled out the rolled-up parchment of the stone wall blueprint, along with the ten glowing purple crystals he had collected from the defeated Void Beasts.
The system window floated up automatically in front of his eyes, glowing with bright blue text:
[ Territory Upgrade Blueprint: Small Stone Wall & Gate ] [ Requirements: Ten Purple Energy Crystals, Zero Copper Coins ] [ Action: Upgrade current boundary from Wood to Stone? ]
"Yes! Upgrade now!" Arthur shouted in his mind.
In an instant, the ten purple crystals in his hand dissolved into a warm, violet mist. The mist shot forward, wrapping around the broken wooden fence and the entire outer edge of the thirty-step platform.
A bright flash of white light filled the island, so brilliant that Arthur had to cover his eyes with his arm.
Boom!
A low, deep sound echoed through the stone beneath his feet. The old wooden fence vanished completely. In its place, rising rapidly out of the white light, solid blocks of gray granite locked together one by one, forming a thick, sturdy stone wall three feet high, topped with a smooth, reinforced ledge and a heavy stone gate right at the front.
The entire outer perimeter of his territory was transformed in a matter of seconds. It looked like a miniature fortress wall, strong, heavy, and solid.
Clank!
Just as the last stone block clicked into place, a dark, gloved hand reached over the edge of the platform.
A figure vaulted up over the side of the stone wall, landing heavily on the gray stone floor inside Arthur’s territory.
Arthur froze, watching the intruder closely.
The intruder was a short, stocky man wearing a dark leather jacket covered in steel plates and spikes. A wide-brimmed leather hat cast a heavy shadow over his face, hiding his eyes, but Arthur could see a wide, ugly scar running across his chin. In his right hand, the man held a short, heavy iron mace covered in rusty spikes.
The scavenger stood up straight, shook his shoulders, and looked around the tiny island with a sneer. His eyes landed on the stone well glowing with blue light, and then turned to look right at Arthur.
"Well, well, well," the scavenger said, his voice raspy and cruel, like dry leaves scraping across concrete. "A fresh new lord. Not even a proper castle, just a little rock and a magic well. And look at you—just a skinny kid all by yourself. You must be the luckiest—or unluckiest—orphan in the whole void."
Arthur gripped his dented metal dagger in his hand. He didn’t step back. He stood tall behind the new stone wall, his eyes fixed on the man.
"This is my territory," Arthur said, his voice clear and steady. "Get out."
The scavenger let out a harsh, barking laugh.
"Get out? Oh, kid, you don’t understand how things work out here in the infinite universes," the scavenger sneered, taking a slow step forward, swinging his spiked iron mace back and forth. "There are no laws here. There are no city guards to save you. Strong lords eat weak lords. I am taking your well, I am taking your crystals, and then I am throwing your little body down into the purple fog. Consider it a lesson in growing up."
The scavenger didn’t wait any longer. He roared, raised his spiked mace high in the air, and charged straight at Arthur like a mad bull.
Arthur’s heart raced, but his mind stayed ice-cold. He remembered the Void Beasts. He remembered fighting for his survival with a heavy rock and a cup of water. He wasn’t going to let some low-life scavenger take everything he had built.
As the scavenger swung his heavy mace down in a vicious arc aimed right at Arthur’s head, Arthur didn’t try to block it with his weak dagger.
Instead, he dropped flat to the stone floor, sliding forward on his knees.
Whoosh!
The spiked mace whistled right through the air above Arthur’s hair, missing him by less than an inch.
The scavenger’s momentum carried him forward, stumbling slightly as he tried to stop his charge.
Arthur sprang up instantly from the ground like a coiled spring. He didn’t aim for the scavenger’s thick leather jacket or steel plates. He aimed low. He thrust his metal dagger forward, driving the point straight into the back of the scavenger’s knee joint where the leather was thin.
Rip!
"Arggh!" the scavenger screamed in sudden, sharp pain, his leg buckling beneath him as blood spurted out onto the gray stone.
The scavenger lost his balance and crashed hard onto the ground, dropping his spiked mace with a loud clatter.
Arthur didn’t hesitate for a second. He leaped forward, pinning the scavenger’s arm to the stone floor with his knee, and pressed the tip of his dented dagger right against the man’s throat.
The scavenger gasped, his eyes wide with sudden terror as he stared up at the young boy. The cruel, cocky smile was completely gone, replaced by sweaty panic.
"Wait... wait, kid! Don’t kill me!" the scavenger choked out, his hands trembling as he raised them in surrender. "I have information! I know about the Lord Markets! I can tell you where to trade!"
Arthur looked down at him. His chest heaved with fast breaths, but his hand holding the dagger did not shake.
"I don’t need your information," Arthur said quietly, his voice cold. "Pack up your chain and get off my island. If I ever see you again, I won’t just aim for your knee."
The scavenger nodded frantically, his face pale with fear. "I’m going! I’m going right now! Just let me up!"
Arthur slowly pulled his dagger back, stepping off the man’s arm.
The scavenger scrambled backward on his hands and feet like a frightened dog, grabbed his bleeding knee, and crawled over to the edge of the stone platform where the iron chain hung down. Without looking back, he grabbed the chain and dropped backward into the dark, bottomless purple fog, disappearing into the abyss with a splash of sound.
Arthur stood alone on his island once more.
The heavy stone walls stood firm around him. The stone well glowed peacefully in the center. The air was quiet again, save for the distant twinkling of the void stars.
Arthur let out a long, shaky breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his sleeve. He sheathed his dented dagger back into his belt.
He walked over to the edge of the stone wall and looked down into the dark fog where the scavenger had vanished. He knew that scavenger wasn’t the last enemy he would face. Out there in the infinite universes, there were thousands of lords, merchants, warriors, and monsters watching in the dark.
Suddenly, right where the scavenger had dropped his spiked mace, something on the ground caught Arthur’s eye.
It was a small, round metal disc that had fallen out of the scavenger’s pocket during the fight.
Arthur walked over and picked it up. It was made of dark bronze, cold to the touch, with strange ancient letters carved into the surface.
As soon as Arthur’s thumb brushed against the metal disc, it lit up with a soft blue light. A holographic projection popped up into the air above the disc, displaying words in clear, simple letters:
[ Invitation Token: The Lower Realm Lord Bazaar ] [ Location Coordinate: Sector Seven, Universe 404 ] [ Event: First Annual Beginner Trade Fair ] [ Status: Verified Owner ] [ Warning: Only lords with active territory walls may attend. Gate opens in twelve hours. ]
Arthur stared at the floating projection, his eyes widening with surprise and excitement.
A trade fair? A place where different lords from different universes could meet, buy, sell, and trade resources without fighting?
Back in Neo-Veridia, he was just an orphan with zero family and zero money. But here, standing on his own thirty-step stone island with a magic well and a stone wall, he held an invitation to a universe-spanning market.
He closed his hand tightly around the bronze token, feeling its cool metal surface.
"Twelve hours," Arthur whispered softly to himself, looking out into the vast, endless sea of stars. "Let’s see what the rest of the universe has to offer."