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The next morning arrived. I woke up with little Krarlak curled beside me and… someone else pressed against my back. For a moment I thought it was Fenrir, but he was sprawled across my legs, making them feel numb, he was far too heavy.
"Who's there?"
Then I realized it was Sigrid sleeping right next to me. I felt a little startled, but the memory quickly returned: after dinner we had a sleepover. We talked about magic, practiced skills together, ate snacks, and eventually fell asleep.
She was hugging me tightly, arms wrapped around my stomach, face buried against my back. She muttered softly in her sleep.
"Muh… Brun… Brun… smooch, smooch… lemme… lemme smooch…"
She kept kissing the air. I wondered what kind of dream she was having.
"Gauh?"
Little Krarlak woke up early. He looked at me with his big round eyes, licked my face, and started playing.
"What's wrong, baby? Are you bored? Hungry?"
"Awk! Grawr!"
He rolled across the floor, then latched onto my arm with his stubby little arms and legs, doing an adorable crocodile death roll.
"Hahaha! You're really trying your best, huh?"
I chuckled, tickled his soft belly, and kissed the top of his smooth little head. It was perfect for smooches, I couldn't resist.
"My cute little baby, smooch, smooch! Who's a good little baby?"
"Awah!"
"Heheh, yes you are."
I booped his tiny nose. He sneezed cutely.
Sigrid slowly stirred, then looked at me with sudden embarrassment.
"E-Eh? W-Why was I…! Brunhild?! S-Sorry…! Did I sleep too close?"
"Hm? Nah, it's fine. We were having a sleepover anyway. My bad for not preparing a bed for you."
"Still… sorry."
"Don't worry. Here, play with this little guy."
I handed her Krarlak. She looked shocked to see the baby up close. The little lizardman immediately climbed onto her, then bit down.
"Ouch! H-Hey! You bite way too hard!"
"Does he? He never really hurts me… maybe he doesn't trust you yet."
"Or maybe you're just too tough to feel it—Ouch! Hey!"
"Gyehehe!"
Krarlak laughed mischievously, jumped off the bed, and scampered around the room on all fours before scratching at the door, clearly wanting out.
He really acts like a kitten sometimes…
"Hahahah!"
We both ended up laughing as we left the room together. Fenrir and Huginn followed, looking ready for breakfast too.
We joined my family downstairs. Mom had already prepared breakfast: leftovers from yesterday, milk, cheese, mushroom soup, and delicious Sunlight Pears that had cooled in the snow outside.
"Ah, good morning, girls! Come eat with us," Mom said.
"Oh, you two are awake. Did you have fun playing last night?" Dad asked.
"Were you two smooching or something?" Astrid teased with a grin.
"S-Smooching?!" Sigrid blushed and covered her face. "T-That's not…"
"We were practicing spells and skills!" I protested. "Nothing else!"
"Hahaha! Sorry!" Astrid laughed. "Your reactions were just too cute, brats."
"You don't have to tease them like that…" Magnus shook his head, yawning. "Ah, there you are! Are you hungry, Krarlak?"
"Raaar!" Krarlak ran straight to him. "Papa!"
"P-Papa?!" Magnus blinked. "Am I your papa?!"
"Papa!" Krarlak beamed, his fat tail wagging happily.
"Awww, he already sees you as his papa?" Mom laughed. "I thought you were his mama!"
"Hahahahaha!" The whole family burst into laughter.
"Excuse me… is it okay if I eat here?" Sigrid asked shyly.
"You're my daughter's best friend, Sigrid. Of course it's fine! Don't be shy, sweetie," Mom smiled, patting her head. "Come on, eat up. You're a scrawny little thing, aren't you? You need to eat a lot more!"
"I am not scrawny! I'm just slender!" Sigrid huffed.
"I think she's more like Ylva's build," I said. "She definitely leans toward magic. Though she's only eleven, Mom. Maybe she'll get bigger later—don't tease her."
"Yeah, not everyone has a super-powered physique that evolves on its own like you, Brun," Astrid added.
"Exactly!" I nodded. "I'm just a rare exception."
After that, we enjoyed breakfast as a family. Midway through, Grandpa arrived to join us. Once he was here, I told him my next plans.
"I see—so you want to build a lot more things!" he said, nodding. "Hmm, alright. If they're necessary, we have to make them without delay. I'll round up the workers and get everyone ready. Thankfully the snow finally stopped, so we'd better start before the cold winds return."
Grandpa nodded while eating a sandwich and drinking hot Sunlight Pear-flavored milk, then hurried off.
Yeah, mixing milk with Sunlight Pear tastes amazing. It's becoming a new village staple.
If those farms can grow anything, I wonder if they could cultivate Sunlight Pears… They're fruits from spirit trees, so if we plant the seeds, will spirit trees grow there?
I'll experiment later.
"Alright, we're done here. Does anyone want to help with construction?" I asked.
"I'll go," Magnus said.
"Me too!" Astrid nodded.
"Mom, can you watch Krarlak while we're out? It's better to keep him inside during winter. Don't let him out—it's too cold for him," Magnus said.
"Okay, I guess I'll be the babysitter again," Mom sighed. "Good luck, kids." She hugged us, kissed our cheeks, and patted Sigrid's head. "Make sure to keep my daughter in check, alright Sigrid? Don't let her do anything too reckless!"
"Sure, ma'am!" Sigrid nodded.
Bundled in winter clothes, with Fenrir and Huginn following, we stepped outside and walked through the snow-covered village toward the open areas beyond the walls.
Grandpa and the workers were already waiting.
I don't need much preparation for buildings unlocked through the system, but snow blocks placement. When I try, the outline turns red with an annoying "beep, beep!" sound.
"Nothing too heavy today, everyone. Let's just clear the snow and make sure the area is large and clean enough for the buildings Brunhild is going to place!"
"OOOHHH!"
Everyone started shoveling. Sigrid helped too, careful not to overuse magic and cause more problems than solutions.
After two hours, the area was finally cleared. I immediately placed the most important building after the farm.
The barracks!
I double-checked the list to confirm we had all the materials.
[Territory Building System: Available Buildings]
[Large Community Wooden House (E Grade)] [Cost]: [50 Soul Points] [Wood]
[Reinforced Wooden Wall (E Grade)] [Cost]: [100 Soul Points] [Wood]
[Summoning Sanctuary (E Grade)] [Cost]: [200 Soul Points] [Stone]
[Animal Ranch (E Grade)] [Cost]: [50 Soul Points] [Wood]
[Storage Building (E Grade)] [Cost]: [50 Soul Points] [Wood]
[Windmill (E Grade)] [Cost]: [50 Soul Points] [Wood]
[Temple of the Sun (D+ Grade)] [Cost]: [250 Soul Points] [Stone] [Magic Stone] [Sunstone]
[Temple of Nature (D+ Grade)] [Cost]: [250 Soul Points] [Stone] [Magic Stone] [Woodstone]
[Temple of the Spirits (D+ Grade)] [Cost]: [250 Soul Points] [Stone] [Magic Stone] [Spirit Crystal]
[Alchemy Studio (D+ Grade)] [Cost]: [300 Soul Points] [Wood] [Stone] [Magic Stone]
[Old Forge (D+ Grade)] [Cost]: [300 Soul Points] [Stone] [Magic Stone] [Metals]
[Barracks (D+ Grade)] [Cost]: [300 Soul Points] [Wood] [Stone] [Metals]
Wood? Plenty, stacked and ready. Stone? Plenty, freshly mined from the nearby quarry. Metals? Tons from the spirit dungeon.
Everything was set. The materials floated into the air and assembled at my command. Freyja glowed bright red as she wove the system and Soul Orb powers together.
FLAAASH!
The barracks appeared with a wide training area that stayed permanently clear of snow. It even came with twelve training weapons—they couldn't be removed but could be used to improve weapon skills faster.
The main building included twenty rooms with four beds each, plus a large storage area for food (though it was empty for now).
Like the houses, it had water and light generated from Mana via the Magic Towers. That's why those towers are so crucial. I'll need to build four or five more to keep everything running smoothly.
Since we had plenty of resources, I placed two more barracks—three in total. Enough for the whole village to train and for new summoned units to rest properly.
Ding!
[You have exchanged 900 Soul Points and a large quantity of wood and other materials.]
[You have successfully built the [Barracks (D+ Grade)] x3!]
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[Barracks (D+ Grade)]
[Building Type]: [Barracks] [Training Area]
[Building Capacity]: [20 Rooms]
[Building Durability]: [2000/2000]
[Building Abilities]: [Training Regime] [Hastened Growth] [Collective Strength]
[Upgrade Requirements]: [2000 Soul Points] [Wood] [Stone] [Metals] [Magic Stones] [Spirit Stones] [Spiritual Hearts] [Heroic Spirit Core]
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"Alright! It's done. The abilities are…"
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[Training Regime]: Increases warrior growth when training diligently every day without stopping. Weapon Skills, Body Skills, and Weapon Techniques improve 200% faster.
[Hastened Growth]: Accelerates stat growth during diligent training in the barracks by 200%.
[Collective Strength]: After a month of constant training, shares 1% of each warrior's stats with the entire village. If training is missed for a week, the shared stats disappear.
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And this is how the clan will grow stronger!
"Alright, everyone—these are the barracks!" I announced as the villagers gathered. "See those shiny weapons and training dummies inside? Go wild. Spar, train, exercise—do whatever you can to get stronger. These buildings have special spells that accelerate growth! Also, if you don't miss a day of training, your strength will slowly be shared with everyone else. It takes effect after a month, but let's work hard every day—even in snow and cold. The barracks will stay warm and cozy!"
"Interesting…"
"Is that true?"
"Can we really grow stronger this way?"
"Well, it's mostly for the muscleheads, but what the hell—maybe even us magicians can do some workouts, right?"
"Brunhild's Construction Magic is something else, man…"
"Alright, I'm pumped!"
"Let's go."
"Yeah!"
Veldr, Ylva, and Ivar were the first to enter. Veldr and Ivar sparred with the training weapons—painful strikes but no permanent damage.
Ylva started on the gym equipment, lifting weights and running laps around the barracks. As they trained, small red auras flared around them, intensifying their workouts and sparring, helping muscles develop faster.
"Amazing—it works?" Veldr wondered.
"I feel like I'm progressing much faster than normal!" Ivar said.
"Oof… yeah!" Ylva panted.
After they praised the building, more villagers joined. Training and sparring became a village-wide activity.
I joined in too and got completely distracted once Kara and Ulf arrived. We ended up working out and sparring all day with them and my family.
Ahh! I forgot about the other buildings! Well… I'll make them tomorrow.
♢♢♢♢
Far away in the mountains, inside a dark, abandoned castle, a Lich stared into a crystal ball displaying a large map.
He ignored the grasslands; his orcs were already handling the robbers who had disrupted his small monster spawn points. Instead, he looked farther.
Across a scorching sea of sand, a large group of sand nomads rode sand worms and giant centipedes, swinging massive scimitars against his undead army.
"Tsk. These damn sand nomads won't let me reach the Pyramid Dungeon! How else am I supposed to get the Mirror of Ra?!"
He groaned, then waved his skeletal claws. His soul flowed into his undead, boosting their power. He possessed the strongest, a Death Knight.
"It's time to lock in."
The Death Knight roared and charged, slashing through nomads and their tamed beasts, slaughtering dozens.
"W-What is that thing?!"
"It's way too strong!"
"Retreat—we've lost too many!"
The nomads fled, clearing the path for the Lich to continue his conquest.
"Huh… I barely scared them off, but they'll return. I hope those stupid orcs hurry up," he muttered. Then he smiled. "Oh, what do we have here?"
A glowing golden orb lay where one of the nomads had fallen, shimmering with mysterious soul energy.
"A Soul Orb…?!"
Ding!
[The Divinity: {Corpse-Eating Snake} smiles at you with a pleased giggle: "Take this gift, my child. Build an army that will drown this world in death."]
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