[Respected Lord, congratulations! Upgrade successful!]
Without hesitation, Alex spent 1000 wood and 500 stone to upgrade her castle.
[Castle Level: Lv2]
[HP: 20k (Invincible State)]
[Territory Range: 1000-meter radius]
(Same functions)
[Upgrade Requirements: 2000 wood, 1000 stone]
"10k more HP, and my territory's doubled in size… Is that it?" Alex blinked, checking her warehouse. [Wood: 3210, Stone: 1290]. Enough for another upgrade!
"Do it!"
[Upgrade castle for 2000 wood and 1000 stone?]
[Yes] or [No]
Alex firmly chose [Yes].
[Respected Lord, congratulations! Upgrade successful!]
[Castle Level: Lv3]
[HP: 30k (Invincible State)]
[Territory Range: 1500-meter radius]
(Same functions)
[Upgrade Requirements: 3000 wood, 2000 stone]
"So…" Alex was a bit underwhelmed. Level 1 to 3, and all she got was more HP and a bigger territory. No new functions, no bonus rewards. "If that's all there is, there's no point upgrading during the beginner's period," she thought. The castle was invincible anyway. Better to save the resources.
Her gaze shifted to the Undead Altar. The only other thing she could upgrade.
(Undead Altar stats, same as before)
But the altar needed Magic Stones and Red Crystals, not wood and stone.
"If I'm not rushing the castle upgrades, I can sell the cooked meat for Magic Stones and Red Crystals," Alex mused. "Cooked meat is still in high demand. As long as the price isn't too outrageous, billions of lords will be fighting over it. Upgrading the altar might increase my daily summons. Okay, new plan: focus on the altar for the next seven days. Castle upgrades can wait."
Alex jotted down her new seven-day plan. And then immediately changed it.
Because… in the sky, 10,000 meters from her castle, she saw a massive… dragon. Not a Skeletal Dragon like Arthur, but a real, flesh-and-blood, living dragon. A huge, mountain lion-like body, giant bat wings, a long, sinuous tail, powerful limbs… a Western dragon.
In every story, dragons were powerful creatures, often slain, but still representing the peak of a world's power. Seeing this dragon, Alex's face went pale. And when the dragon started circling and descending… her heart sank with it.
"Crap. Am I neighbors with a dragon?!" This was not good. Who knew what this dragon's temperament was like? Maybe it would ignore her. But what if it didn't? Alex wasn't taking that chance. Her life was too precious to gamble on a dragon's mood.
The beginner's protection only lasted seven days… no, less than that. It was already late afternoon on day one.
"Can't rely on anyone but myself," she thought. She immediately used her castle's scouting function to check the dragon's stats. Know thy enemy.
"Let's see what kind of stats a dragon has in this world!"
[Beep—!]
[Target outside territory range. Cannot view detailed information.]
"Oh!" Alex realized. Her castle's omniscience only worked within her territory. That's how she'd seen the wolves' and roosters' stats. Outside her territory, she was on her own. And right now, she couldn't judge a dragon's power to save her life.
"So…" she concluded. "Castle upgrades are back on the menu." A bigger territory meant a bigger scouting range. Once the dragon was within her range, she could assess its strength and decide whether to slay it or… run for the hills. Survival was paramount.
"I need to expand my territory to at least 10,000 meters before the beginner's protection ends!" Her resolve hardened. "And the Undead Altar needs to be upgraded too!" The altar's troops were her best bet against the dragon. Castle and altar, both were crucial.
Alex revised her plan again. "Cooked meat is still valuable. I need to milk this for all it's worth."
"Arthur!"
The Skeletal Dragon flew to her side and bowed his bony head. "My respected master, your most loyal servant awaits your command."
"Skeleton Squad!"
The 145 skeletons lumbered over and knelt. "My respected master!"
Alex pointed to a level 3 skeleton. "You 145 skeletons are now Skeleton Squad 1. You are the squad leader."
"As you command, master!"
Alex turned to Arthur. "Arthur, I command you to lead Skeleton Squad 1 and hunt monsters. Focus on low-level targets, and use your Dragon Flame to roast the corpses. I need lots of cooked meat. Understood?"
Arthur spread his wings. "Master, entrust this task to Arthur. You will not be disappointed."
"Go. Don't let me down."
"Yes, master!"
Arthur and Skeleton Squad 1 marched off to hunt. Alex felt confident in Arthur. He was God Tier, with immense potential. And he'd already leveled up! After slaughtering the chickens, he was now level 2.
[Skeletal Dragon (Arthur)]
(Stats doubled from before)
Arthur, now twice as strong, followed Alex's instructions to the letter. His opening move against any prey?
"Dragon Flame!"