[Territory Expansion — 100m -> 200m]
[All Requirements Met.]
[Confirm?]
The western quadrant lay beyond the current boundary, consisting of dark waters, tangled roots, and the peculiar stillness of a swamp that had never been told it was somebody else's problem.
The northern quadrant, meanwhile, was dense woodland, its canopy so thick that even the morning sunlight struggled to reach the forest floor beneath it.
'Here comes more work...'
I pressed [Confirm].
[Territory Expanded: 200m Radius]
[EXP Gained: +20]
[Scanning New Territory...]
[Western Quadrant: Swamp Extension Detected.]
[Northern Quadrant: Dense Woodland Detected.]
"Alright, team!" I called out while dismissing the interface overflowing with notifications. "Now that we have more members here, we should start expanding a little further and build something that's actually useful for a village. Share your opinions. And as you all already know, we—"
Before I could finish speaking, another barrage of notifications suddenly flooded my vision.
[Congratulations, Host. Tamed Beast Lys has ascended: Adept ★★★ -> Adept ★★★★]
[Tamed Beast Nepoleon has reached the threshold of Initiate.]
[Evolution Available for Tamed Beast Nepoleon.]
[Ding! Tamed Beast Timber has reached the threshold of Initiate.]
[Evolution Available for Tamed Beast Timber.]
[Would You Like To View Evolution Requirements?]
[Yes] || [No]
"Why did you stop speaking midway?"
Kaira's curious voice pulled me back to reality.
I blinked before letting out a small sigh.
"Ah... right. What was I talking about again? Sorry, I completely forgot. Let's discuss it a little later. I'll gather everyone when the time comes."
Aldric narrowed his eyes at me for a few moments before silently leaving the perimeter, clearly deciding not to question my strange behavior.
Soon after, Kaira departed as well, accompanied by Lys, who looked slightly concerned while carrying the goblin infant in her arms.
Once everyone was gone, I finally shifted my full attention toward the notifications.
'It must be the Territorial Vessel. Lys evolved immediately after the territory expanded. Good thing it's automatic. If I had to manually approve every evolution myself, it'd become a headache sooner or later.'
Scrolling through the notifications, I eventually arrived at Nepoleon's evolutionary requirements.
"Let's see what this is about."
Pressing [Yes], I watched as another interface appeared before me.
---
[BEAST EVOLUTION PATH]
[Available Evolutionary Beast: Gallus Rex]
[Nickname: Nepoleon]
[Rank: Initiate ★★★★★★★ (On the Verge of Evolution)]
[Evolutionary Requirements: Three Shards of Juvenile Gallus Rex Liver, 3ml of Blood]
---
I silently stared at the interface for a few seconds.
"Zero?"
[Yes, Mortal?]
"How come I don't know anything about this?"
[Maybe because you aren't from this world?]
"Of course. However, don't you think someone should have informed me about it?"
[I don't know, man. I don't believe anyone is obligated to teach you such things.]
"I can think of at least one individual who is obligated to do so."
[My, my. Who could that be?]
"I believe it's a foul-mouthed AI."
[Kehehe. I don't believe any AI is obligated to provide information that you never bothered asking for.]
I stared at those words in disbelief, accompanied by a healthy amount of annoyance. If Zero had possessed an actual body, I would've challenged him to a serious staring contest right then and there.
Taking a deep breath, I suppressed the urge to argue and instead got straight to the point.
"Explain."
[I'm sure someone as intelligent and witty as yourself has already grasped the basics, so I'll keep it brief. Every monster possesses a potential limit. Once that limit is reached, they can evolve further. However, advancing from one rank to another requires specific ingredients. Through those ingredients, they cultivate and strengthen themselves, improving both their physical and mental capabilities. In some cases, the process even results in dramatic transformations.]
The explanation struck me like a blade cleaving through stagnant water.
Suddenly, countless observations that had lingered in the back of my mind began connecting together.
The way the drakes had focused solely on Pride.
The way certain creatures always seemed drawn toward specific targets during combat.
The strange obsessions and instincts monsters occasionally displayed.
Everything suddenly made far more sense than before.
I unconsciously clenched my fist.
"Does this apply to humans as well?"
[Yes. The higher your rank, the greater the struggle and the rarer the ingredients you'll need to gather.]
I immediately nodded.
"Right. That's what I thought."
The answer explained several things.
"And the reason none of that has happened to me yet is because I'm still within the Mortal Realm where the changes remain relatively minor?"
[Correct.]
"Ah, right. The Norm."
A thoughtful expression appeared on my face.
"The Norm keeps natives within the Mortal Realm fixed within ordinary biological limitations. That's why there aren't any major transformations at this stage."
A brief silence followed before another question surfaced.
"Zero... when I eventually reach the Ascension Realm, will I need to gather ingredients for myself as well?"
No answer came.
I waited.
Then frowned.
"Zero?"
Silence.
Still nothing.
Maybe he didn't want to answer.
Maybe he couldn't.
Or maybe he was simply being his usual irritating self.
Whatever the reason, he clearly had no intention of discussing the matter further.
If what he said applied to humans as well, however, then this world was even crueler than I had originally imagined.
Every advancement demanded resources.
Every step upward demanded sacrifice.
Strength wasn't simply earned.
It was consumed.
I lingered on that thought for a while before eventually setting it aside.
For now, my immediate problem was figuring out where I was supposed to obtain three shards of Juvenile Gallus Rex liver and three milliliters of blood.
The issue was obvious.
Where exactly was I supposed to find a Gallus Rex?
Didn't Nepoleon come from the gacha in the first place?
Rubbing my forehead, I let out a groan.
"Ugh. Zero, can you at least tell me where I'm supposed to scavenge Gallus Rex liver and blood?"
[From the Store.]
Zero finally answered.
"The Store?"
Immediately opening the Store interface, I searched through it.
Nothing.
No Gallus Rex liver.
No Gallus Rex blood.
No evolutionary ingredients at all.
[Sigh... what a waste of a perfectly functional human brain.]
A vein twitched on my forehead.
[Did you already forget about the Store Privilege feature? Upgrade the Store and you'll unlock additional categories.]
"Then shut up and tell me how to unlock Store Privilege Tier II."
[It's simple. You only need 5000 SP.]
My brain stopped functioning for a moment.
"...How much?"
[5000 SP.]
"Five thousand?"
[Correct.]
My heart instantly sank.
"Y-You're messing with me, right?"
[...]
"That's my entire life savings we're talking about!"
[No one is forcing you, little bro.]
"..."
I immediately checked my balance.
[SP: 5,260]
A painful silence descended upon me.
After several moments of mourning, I finally surrendered.
"Open the interface."
The Store instantly complied.
---
[Upgrade Store Level I → Store Level II?]
[Cost: 5000 SP]
[Buy] || [Cancel]
---
My finger hovered over the button while my soul desperately begged me not to do it.
Unfortunately, my future village had other plans.
With the expression of a man signing away his inheritance, I clicked [Buy] and then immediately confirmed it before I could change my mind.
[Store Privilege II Purchased.]
[Remaining SP: 260]
[Store Privilege II Unlocked.]
[New Inventory Categories Available.]
The Store interface expanded almost instantly. New sections unfolded before me one after another, revealing a far broader catalogue than before.
I began browsing through them.
Construction Materials contained higher-grade stone, treated timber, iron fixtures, and several other resources that would prove useful for future development.
'Useful.'
Seed Varieties held an expanded collection of crops and plants, including several I didn't recognize. Their descriptions suggested medicinal and alchemical applications.
'Even more useful.'
Equipment featured tools, farming implements, storage solutions, and a variety of practical items that would've saved me countless headaches earlier.
'Very useful.'
As I continued categorizing each section according to its value, my attention suddenly stopped on a newly unlocked category.
[Native Animals]
A smile slowly stretched across my face.
Without hesitation, I opened it.
"Cows. Pigs. Chickens. Sheep. Ducks..."
My eyes gradually widened.
The catalogue contained practically every domesticated animal from Earth.
Each one possessed ordinary descriptions regarding milk production, wool yield, egg output, meat quality, breeding speed, and various agricultural uses. They were completely normal animals—nothing magical, nothing extraordinary, and certainly nothing comparable to Lunara Goats, Gallus Rexes, or the various monsters currently inhabiting my territory.
Yet their value...
Their value was enormous.
"Hehehehe..."
The grin on my face widened.
"Kehehehehe..."
[Have you finally lost your last remaining brain cell, Mortal?]
I completely ignored Zero.
My mind was already racing through dozens of possibilities.
Livestock.
Agriculture.
Food security.
Population growth.
Trade.
Economic leverage.
The more I thought about it, the more absurd the potential became.
Eventually, however, my attention shifted toward the final newly unlocked category.
[Beast Evolution Ingredients]
My anticipation immediately rose.
If the previous categories were already this valuable, then this one had to be even better.
I eagerly opened it.
A second later, my soul nearly departed from my body.
"What...?"
I stared.
Then stared harder.
"What is this scam?!"
The interface displayed countless ingredients.
Many of them looked painfully familiar.
Because they were.
They were ingredients I had personally sold to the Store.
Granted, there were additional materials present as well, but that wasn't the issue.
The issue was the pricing.
Hellhound Heart — 4,500 SP
Spine Bore Core — 5,000 SP
Six-Star Juvenile Drake Core — 7,000 SP
I couldn't remember exactly how much the Store had paid me for those materials.
But I knew one thing with absolute certainty.
It wasn't anywhere near these numbers.
"I've been robbed. Thoroughly. Utterly scammed by my own system."
The realization hit me like a truck.
Suddenly, all those suspicious notifications and oddly smug responses made perfect sense.
The Store had been laughing at me the entire time.
I slowly lifted my gaze toward the sky, then toward the surrounding trees, before finally staring at my house with the expression of a man who had just discovered his accountant was also a professional thief.
"I have been fucked."
A few moments passed.
"I have truly been fucked."
Several more moments passed.
After spending an appropriate amount of time mourning my financial ruin, I finally gathered enough strength to search for what I actually needed.
Juvenile Gallus Rex Liver Shard ×1 — 1,000 SP
Juvenile Gallus Rex Blood (1ml) — 100 SP
I stared at the prices for several long seconds.
'That's expensive...'
At my current balance, evolving Nepoleon alone would require a ridiculous amount of grinding.
And if Nepoleon's evolution already cost this much, I didn't even want to imagine how expensive Timber's would be.
Unfortunately, curiosity won in the end.
With the grim determination of a man preparing to be scammed for a second time, I opened Timber's evolution requirements.