[Territory: Ashen Hollow]
[Lord: Ashveil Sunday]
[Territory Grade: F]
[Population: 4]
[Military Units: 0]
[Buildings: Lord’s Hall ×1, Dilapidated Cottages]
[Resources: Wood ×20 | Stone ×10 | Food ×12 (3 Days)]
[Territory Evaluation: Extremely Poor]
"Extremely poor? You don’t fucking say."
Ashveil stared at the floating screen before examining his surroundings once more.
Perhaps there was something he had overlooked. A hidden barracks, an underground treasury, or at the very least, a properly constructed house.
Unfortunately, the scenery remained unchanged.
His territory consisted of a shabby wooden building, two abandoned cottages, and a half-collapsed watchtower.
Four villagers dressed in worn clothing were standing nearby, looking at him with expectant expressions.
Ashveil looked back at them, wondering what exactly they expected him to do.
According to the Lord System, territories were divided into seven grades ranging from F to S. Higher grades provided better starting conditions, while an S-rank Lord could begin with a magnificent city, powerful Heroes, and an army of elite soldiers.
Even ordinary C-rank territories generally possessed functional buildings and enough military strength to defend themselves.
Meanwhile, Ashveil had received four villagers and a house that looked as though a strong wind could finish it off.
"My Lord, what should we do?"
A middle-aged man approached him with an expectant expression.
Ashveil straightened his back. Regardless of his circumstances, he was technically the ruler of this territory. He ought to behave like one.
"First, tell me your name."
"Rowan, my Lord."
Curious about his abilities, Ashveil focused his attention on the man, and a translucent panel immediately appeared.
[Name: Rowan]
[Unit Type: Villager | Grade: F]
[Combat Ability: Very Low]
[Skills: Woodcutting (Basic), Construction (Basic)]
[Status: Healthy]
Apparently, the system allowed Lords to inspect the abilities of their subordinates.
Every unit possessed a grade representing its quality and growth potential.
Combat units also possessed tiers and levels, with tiers determining their overall strength and levels representing individual progress.
Grades ranged from F to S, while combat tiers extended from Tier 1 to Tier 10.
Unfortunately, Rowan was merely an ordinary F-grade villager. But still, having someone capable of construction wasn’t necessarily bad.
"Rowan, can you fight?"
"I know how to use an axe, my Lord."
Ashveil’s eyes brightened. "Against monsters?"
"Mostly trees."
"...Right."
Well, at least the trees wouldn’t stand a chance.
He inspected the other villagers and discovered that their abilities were similarly unimpressive.
The two younger men possessed basic labor skills, while the elderly woman was experienced in farming.
On the bright side, they were all healthy and willing to work.
"Alright, Rowan. Take those two and start gathering wood. Stick to the trees around the clearing. Nobody goes deeper into the forest without my permission."
"Understood, my Lord!"
Ashveil then approached the elderly woman.
"What’s your name, Grandma?"
"Martha, my Lord."
"Can you grow crops?"
"Of course! I’ve been farming for most of my life."
"Excellent. Then I’ll leave our food supply to you."
Martha smiled proudly, but Ashveil suddenly remembered the twelve units of food in his inventory.
"Actually, wait. We only have enough provisions for three days. Can you find anything edible around the settlement?"
"There should be some wild vegetables and edible plants nearby, my Lord."
"Good. Stay within sight of the village for now. I don’t want anyone wandering into the forest until we have soldiers."
Martha nodded before heading toward the nearby clearing to begin her work.
After assigning everyone their tasks, Ashveil finally entered the Lord’s Hall.
Although calling it a hall was rather generous, the building at least possessed four walls and a roof that hadn’t collapsed yet.
A new panel appeared when he examined it.
[Building: Lord’s Hall]
[Grade: F | Level: 1]
[Durability: 100/100]
[Functions: Territory Management, Construction, Recruitment]
[Upgrade Requirements: Wood ×100 | Stone ×50]
Ashveil stared at the requirements. He currently possessed twenty wood and ten stone, which meant he couldn’t even afford to upgrade his own house.
Every territory possessed a Lord’s Hall that served as its administrative center.
Upgrading it would unlock additional construction options and development functions, while the territory’s overall grade represented its quality and potential.
In other words, his miserable wooden hall could eventually become something impressive, provided he didn’t starve first.
Ashveil opened the construction interface.
[Territory Construction]
[Available Buildings]
[Cottage: Wood ×30 | Stone ×10]
[Lumber Mill: Wood ×50 | Stone ×20]
[Quarry: Wood ×50 | Stone ×30]
[Farm: Wood ×40 | Stone ×10]
[Barracks: Wood ×150 | Stone ×80 | Iron ×30 | Gold Coins ×120]
[Additional Buildings require higher Lord’s Hall levels.]
Ashveil examined the list in silence before checking his resources again.
"...I can’t afford a single building?"
[Insufficient Resources.]
"Yeah, I can fucking see that!"
He briefly wondered whether the system was deliberately mocking him.
Nevertheless, the construction interface was fairly straightforward. Resource buildings improved production, cottages provided housing, and military facilities allowed Lords to recruit soldiers.
The Barracks was particularly interesting.
[Barracks | Level 1]
[Available Units: Militia, Swordsman, Spearman, Archer]
[Recruitment Capacity: 5 Units per Day]
[Recruitment Costs]
[Militia: Gold Coins ×10]
[Swordsman: Gold Coins ×20]
[Spearman: Gold Coins ×20]
[Archer: Gold Coins ×25]
Ashveil rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
A Barracks could recruit five soldiers every day. If he built one and recruited continuously, he could theoretically assemble a small army within a few weeks.
Then he noticed another detail.
[Daily Upkeep]
[Villager: Food ×1]
[Basic Soldier: Food ×2]
His expression froze.
"Wait. Soldiers eat too?"
[Military units require sufficient upkeep.]
"Of course they do."
Ten soldiers would consume twenty units of food every day. Including his four villagers, Ashen Hollow would require twenty-four units daily just to feed everyone.
His current food supply wouldn’t even last them a full day at that rate.
"So even if I somehow recruit a hundred soldiers, they’ll all starve to death?"
The system offered no response.
Ashveil could practically imagine a magnificent army marching out of his territory, only to surrender to the first village offering free lunch.
What a glorious beginning to his conquest of Eryndor.
Still, the logic made sense.
A powerful army required a functioning economy, which needed workers, production facilities, and resources. Apparently, becoming a Lord involved considerably more management than he had anticipated.
Just as he was wondering how to obtain his first soldiers, another notification appeared.
[Attention, All Lords!]
[Forty-Five-Day Protection Period Activated!]
[The Lord’s Hall is protected from direct monster attacks.]
[Protection expires in 45 days.]
[The First Monster Tide will follow.]
Ashveil immediately straightened.
"Now we’re talking!"
Forty-five days of protection! He could spend that time gathering resources, constructing buildings, and recruiting soldiers without worrying about monsters destroying everything.
Perhaps the system wasn’t completely unreasonable after all.
Then he reread the notification.
[The Lord’s Hall is protected from direct monster attacks.]
"...Hold on."
He narrowed his eyes.
"System, does that protection cover the entire territory?"
[No. Only the Lord’s Hall is protected.]
Ashveil blinked.
"What about my villagers?"
[Not Protected.]
"My farms and other buildings?"
[Not Protected.]
He slowly lowered his head.
"So you’re telling me that if a monster attacks tomorrow, it can kill all four villagers, destroy my farms, steal my resources, and burn down everything except this shitty wooden house?"
[Correct.]
"What kind of protection is that supposed to be?!"
Ashveil had genuinely believed that the protection period would give newcomers a chance to develop safely. Instead, the system had apparently decided that protecting one building was enough.
His villagers could still die, his resources could still disappear, and his entire settlement could be destroyed.
Even worse, the First Monster Tide would arrive when the protection expired.
He didn’t know how powerful those monsters would be, but given that his current military consisted of three lumberjacks and an elderly farmer, he wasn’t particularly optimistic.
He briefly considered calling everyone back inside the Lord’s Hall.
However, without gathering resources and food, they would simply starve while waiting for the monsters to arrive. At least the villagers were working within sight of the settlement, where he could warn them if anything appeared.
Still, he couldn’t afford to leave them defenseless for long.
Ashveil immediately reopened the recruitment interface, searching for anything he might have overlooked.
[Military Recruitment]
[Normal Recruitment: Requires military buildings and resources.]
[Voucher Recruitment: Instantly recruits designated military units.]
[Available Vouchers: 0]
"Voucher Recruitment?"
He selected the second option.
[Tier 1 Troop Recruitment Voucher]
[Effect: Instantly recruits 10 Tier 1 soldiers.]
[Available Units: Militia, Swordsman, Spearman, Archer]
Ashveil’s eyes lit up.
A single voucher could summon ten soldiers without requiring a Barracks or any additional recruitment costs. Naturally, the soldiers would still require food afterward, but having ten armed men to protect his villagers would make gathering resources considerably safer.
There was just one minor issue.
[Available Vouchers: 0]
Ashveil stared at the number for a moment. He finally had a solution to his military problem, yet the system was apparently determined to keep it just beyond his reach.
Still, if recruitment vouchers existed, there had to be some way of obtaining them.
He looked toward the floating interface.
"Alright, system. Where the hell am I supposed to get one?"