System Nemesis

When Derrick returned, it was already evening. He discreetly roamed around and a.s.sessed the progress of the Military Quarters. The land was starting to take shape as the self-taught lumberjacks plowed through.

He didn"t convey a meeting as it would be pointless without something concrete to present. The immediate thing to do was to go to the forge to get iron and bronze alloys. It was a prerequisite for the spell to work. When he approached the building, he heard clinging sounds and saw smoke coming out. The dwarf was already hard at work, hammering what seemed to be his ninth set of Iron armor.

"You"ve been working hard!"

Fomamli nearly jumped through the roof in surprise. Why the h.e.l.l would someone annoy him during such a delicate step?! He was about rain curses on the intruder, but the moment he turned around, his face changed from one of anger to one of pure bliss. What betrayed his real emotions were the large beads of sweat that instantly formed on his forehead. He continuously thanked the G.o.ds that he had restrained himself before erupting.

The reaction of the dwarf made it hard for Derrick to restrain his laughter.

"Sorry for the disturbance. I only came to borrow Iron and Bronze alloys. I"ll soon return them. Also, well done on the progress. I wasn"t mistaken about picking you. Keep up the good work"

Without waiting for a response, the necromancer took the materials and left, leaving behind a truly happy Fomamli. He knew that he had a long road ahead, but he was happy that he could already repay his debt.

***

While riding Io above the town-square, Derrick started casting the spell. The first thing he wanted to find was iron. It was the very foundation of economies, as it was the most versatile metal.

"Discovery Spell : Iron"

A small shock wave emanated from the hand who was holding the ore, and it extended 10 kilometers around the town.

[Searching... 1 deposit found. Size of the deposit : Large. Located 3 kilometers south of Akata]

Derrick was happy, but frustrated. Happy that he had been right, but frustrated of the distance that separated them from the resources. Three kilometers in this wilderness filled with danger was ma.s.sive. It appeared that he would have to fast-forward his road project, which required more people.

With that in mind, Derrick couldn"t help but grin. His conquest plans could finally go ahead. After noting down the location of the iron mine, it was time to find copper and tin! Bronze alloys were the amalgam of these two minerals.

"Discovery Spell : Bronze"

The same phenomenon occurred and the system went to work.

[Searching... 1 deposit found. Nature : Copper. Size of the deposit : Small. Located 6 kilometers north of Akata]

Another jackpot! It was even further away, but Derrick could always go and explore once Akata was big enough to handle more on its plate.

It was time to go back conquering.

***

Yamato village, 8 kilometers north of Akata.

The villagers were having a pleasant day. The sun was s.h.i.+ning and there were barely any clouds, exposing a beautiful azure sky. The soldiers on patrol duty were sitting down together at a table, drinking and gambling. There was no conflict in these remote areas and their jobs were more symbolic than anything else nowadays. On top of this, their mentality and will to improve had gradually disappeared since they were the biggest village around. n.o.body dared attacking them, which had made them complacent to the extreme.

"You lazy s.h.i.+ts! Aren"t you ashamed of yourselves?"

In a loud bang, a fist came cras.h.i.+ng down on the table, shattering it in a million pieces. The soldiers instantly got up and ran away, terrified at the sight of their worst nightmare. With a humph, the figure turned around, satisfied by the reaction she had generated. Her name was Moira. She had just turned 21 years old and was the fiercest warrior of the village, as well as its utmost beauty. Her silk brown hair, green eyes, slender waist and perky b.r.e.a.s.t.s had earned her the nickname of a Viper. Beautiful, but deadly.

However, her history was anything but easy. During her childhood, the Krakow Empire had purged her native village, accusing it of hiding refugees of other races. Of course, this had been a completely fabricated lie. The reason they had been targeted was because they couldn"t pay the exorbitant tax that their lord had imposed. The lord had then taken it upon himself to show what would happen if anyone else defaulted, and they were made into a vivid example.

Her father had managed to sneak her out, but her mother hadn"t been so lucky. She had been killed in front of her, stabbed from behind. The last memory Moira had of her was her warm smile and the sentence she had uttered in her final breath.

"Grow to be a strong and fierce woman that can choose her path..."

Together with her father, they had fled the Empire and had taken refuge in the wilderness, isolated from the world. During the fleeting years, they both built the refuge in which lived many exiled. By abiding to her mother"s words, she had made her father very proud and felt like she had honored her memory.

*BUUUUUUUUUUUVVVVVV*

A horn sounded, stopping her in her tracks. It signaled the presence of an intruder. Without waiting another second, she bolted to the top of their wooden walls.

"Where"s the intruder?"

The guard that had sounded the alarm was taken aback by seeing the serious expression in Moira"s face, but he rapidly responded.

"He"s over there"

She looked in the direction and saw a peculiar sight. A single man, wrapped in a black cloak, walked nonchalantly in their direction. He was tall, had golden hair, and from the distance, looked rather handsome as well. When there was a distance of 100 meters separating them, he stopped.

"Villagers and soldiers of Yamato, my name is Derrick Tarlin, and I ask your surrender. No blood needs to be spilled"

The loud and large voice resounded throughout the village and took its people by enormous surprise. Who the h.e.l.l was this man?! He had some major b.a.l.l.s to come here and ask for their surrender by himself!

Moira couldn"t believe her ears. What the f.u.c.k? How could one person be this arrogant! Shortly after, her father, chief Julio, arrived.

"Moira, what the h.e.l.l is going on?"

"I"m as lost as you are... This man just arrived and asked for our surrender"

The tone in her voice was filled with contempt, and she was simply waiting for her father to allow her to go beat down that p.r.i.c.k. The eyes of Julio narrowed when he a.n.a.lyzed Derrick. The man was unscathed and looked well-fed. The wilderness was filled with danger, so how did he achieve that?

"Traveler, we have no intentions of surrendering to you. Nevertheless, we would be prepared to offer you shelter and food"

Moira was stunned. Why was her father being accommodating right now? When he sensed her daughter"s doubt, the elderly man explained.

"Look at his condition, he"s definitely not weak to have crossed the forest unharmed. Your worst enemy is always the unknown. Remember that"

Derrick, which could hear the entire conversation, was quite impressed by the astute old man. Moreover, his daughter really struck him, and he wanted her.

"I"m thankful for your kindness, but I will have to decline. I came here to conquer, not to put on false pretenses"

The expressions of the two figures on the wall drastically changed and were replaced by fury. The fellow clearly didn"t value his life! Julio started shouting.

"Well, don"t blame me for being heartless... Open the gates! Send the soldiers to put him down"

Derrick"s heartbeat accelerated. The party could finally get started...