[Name]: Takayama Kaito
[Race]: Human
[Title]: Lord of the Territory
[Level]: 2 (69/100)
[Base Stats]:
HP: 2000
MP: 10
Strength: 10
Agility: 13
Constitution: 12
[Skills]: —
[Stat Points]: 0
[Skill Points]: —
[Gold]: 5
In front of Kaito stood fifty human warriors.
After hunting a total of 61 additional wolves—summoning each time he reached or surpassed 15 gold—he finished the task around noon on Wednesday.
Though slow at first, the process sped up as he summoned more troops.
Once he reached his goal, Kaito asked Ben to lead them to the wolves' guard post.
On the way, they encountered more enemies, but with fifty men covering him, the fights were trivially easy.
After a while, they reached a clearing. It wasn't as vast as his own territory, but still fairly large. It was located at the base of a sloping mountain, with a cave entrance at the foot.
The clearing was filled with wolves, though they all looked ordinary. Kaito assumed they were just guards.
At his command, the group launched their attack.
After a few minutes of battle, they had wiped them all out. There were about a hundred in total.
Kaito was once again surprised by the strength of the summoned humans. Despite being at the same level as him, they could kill wolves with their bare hands.
"None came out?"
He wondered, confused. Despite eliminating so many, none of those inside the cave had emerged.
He thought about it for a while, but found no convincing explanation, so he gave up.
With the experience gained, he leveled up once more before entering the cave, just to be safe. He distributed the 5 points: three to Agility and two to Constitution.
Kaito knew he would eventually need to improve other stats, but for now he focused only on those two.
After all, it didn't matter how strong the enemy was if they couldn't catch him. And if they could catch him despite his current speed, then sheer strength wouldn't help much anyway.
"Let's go in."
He ordered his men, who followed without hesitation.
Upon entering the cave, Kaito was astonished.
It was enormous—at least five hundred meters in diameter, with a lake at the center and some scattered trees. These trees bore glowing fruits that softly lit the entire interior. The ground wasn't rocky, but covered in grass, as if they were still outside.
As soon as they stepped in, several wolves noticed them.
However, Kaito realized there were fewer wolves than Ben had reported the day before.
That could only mean one thing: the wolves he'd been hunting so far belonged to this very pack.
"Could the forest be divided by territories?"
He muttered, intrigued by the implications.
So far, all he knew was that his territory was located in the middle of a vast forest.
He had even sent one of his men to walk in a straight line until he reached the edge. That same day, the man returned to join the raid against the wolves' base. He had traveled more than 200 kilometers without finding an exit, though he had encountered other creatures besides wolves.
That said a lot about the forest's scale. If it was divided into territories and magic existed—something he was almost certain of now—then there were likely other intelligent races as well.
"This isn't the time to get distracted."
He shook his head and refocused.
Although surrounded by dozens of wolves growling defensively, one stood out among the rest.
It was nearly two meters tall, its fur a brilliant silver unlike the common gray of the others. An imposing aura emanated from its body, as if proclaiming: "I am the king."
For a brief moment, Kaito and the wolf locked eyes. As if recognizing him, the wolf raised its head and howled, signaling the attack.
Though surrounded by his men, the number of enemies was overwhelming.
As wolves fell, so did some of his warriors.
The battle dragged on for half an hour. By the time fewer than a hundred enemies remained, at least twenty of Kaito's soldiers had died.
As if unwilling to see more of his kind fall, the wolf leader finally moved. The others stepped aside for him.
He approached Kaito's group.
One warrior tried to stop him, but the wolf bit off his head in one swift motion, then spat it at their feet, as if in challenge.
The others attacked together, but the wolf was too powerful.
A single swipe injured several. One bite meant instant death.
Still, numbers were not in his favor.
While he devoured one, the others coordinated a joint attack. They all aimed at his hind legs, trying to break them.
The wolf howled in pain, but the rest of his pack did not come to his aid. They respected their leader.
With both hind legs broken, the great wolf was now just prey. Though he kept fighting and killed a few more, he eventually fell.
Surrounded by his men, Kaito let out a sigh of relief.
Truth was, he had underestimated the enemy. They only won because the wolves had backed off, allowing them to overwhelm the leader with numbers.
Even in his final moments, that wolf never asked for help. His pride was evident.
Kaito, who hadn't even fought directly, couldn't understand such things. But he didn't care.
In the end, the one who survives is the one who's right.
Still, something bothered him.
There was no reward. That shattered his entire dungeon theory.
Looking around, he noticed that the remaining wolves didn't seem intent on attacking. With only about twenty men left, he decided to retreat.
However, just as he was about to leave, a voice caught him off guard.
"Wait."
Kaito turned immediately. What he saw left him speechless: a silver-furred wolf, though smaller than the last, was approaching him.
"Was that you who spoke?"
He asked, thinking for a moment that he'd gone insane.
"I… speak… little."
Although surprised, Kaito didn't find it strange. After all, this was another world. He had already accepted the existence of intelligent creatures.
"What is it?"
The wolf lowered its head before speaking.
"We surrender."
"You surrender?"
At that moment, a window appeared before his eyes.
[The leader of the silver wolves surrenders to you]
[Do you accept?
– Yes
– No]
Before answering, Kaito looked at the wolf with suspicion.
"Why surrender? The previous leader died without bowing to anyone."
"Father… foolish. Lords… much potential."
The wolf's words startled Kaito.
That meant the inhabitants of this world were aware of the Lords' arrival. Not only that—it was common knowledge. Even a pack of wolves knew.
Also, it seemed this new leader was the son of the previous one. Although he showed no hatred, Kaito decided to be cautious.
Still, after considering it, he accepted. If it were only a verbal promise, he might've rejected it, but since it was part of the system, he didn't hesitate.
The moment he selected "yes" a rain of notifications appeared.
[You have conquered the silver wolves]
[You have acquired the silver wolves' territory]
[Your territory has expanded by 600 meters]
[You have obtained an iron chest]
[As your first conquest, the chest has been upgraded to bronze]
A smile formed on Kaito's face. After the disappointment of not getting a dungeon reward, he finally understood how the system worked.
It made sense, now that he thought about it. From the beginning, the mission was conquest.
"Do you have a name?"
He asked the wolf, who shook his head.
"Alright, from now on, your name is Silver."
Silver visibly brightened at receiving a name from his new master and bowed in gratitude.
The sun was beginning to set. Judging by the time, it was close to five, so Kaito decided to return to his territory and leave the rest for tomorrow.
However, upon exiting the cave, they were met by a group of twenty wolves along with Silver.
Before he could ask what was going on, they all lowered their front legs, allowing themselves to be mounted.
Though confused, Kaito decided to mount Silver.
He was surprised by how comfortable it was. He didn't even need to hold on to maintain balance.
During the return trip, Kaito opened the chest in his inventory.
New notifications appeared:
[You have opened a bronze chest]
[You have obtained:
– 10,000 XP
– Blueprints for basic tools
– Building blueprint: Common House
– Armor piece: Agile Boots]
A new smile appeared on Kaito's face.