"I’m not leaving you alone in a room with my daughter," Lucius replied flatly.
"Dad!" Selene turned red almost instantly, the color spreading from her cheeks to the tips of her ears. "Isaac isn’t like that. He wouldn’t... he wouldn’t..."
She was too shy to complete her words.
Chairman Lucius clicked his tongue, seeing his daughter’s reaction.
"Isn’t like what? You know what people are calling you, Isaac? Girlfriend snatcher. Lustful bastard. Things I don’t even feel like repeating. How many girls did you end up close to within weeks of awakening? I’m not leaving her alone with you."
Isaac’s lips twitched.
He wasn’t angry since Chairman Lucius was technically his father-in-law.
Moreover, he knew Chairman Lucious was not actually angry and only pulling Isaac’s legs.
If Chairman Lucius were truly angry, Alice wouldn’t be anywhere near him, and Selene wouldn’t have been allowed into this room in the first place.
This wasn’t outrage.
It was a father’s last line of defense, even if he already knew he was losing ground.
"Fine. You can stay," Isaac said after a moment.
Lucius grunted, satisfied, and took a seat again.
Isaac turned to Selene. "Why haven’t you used the Bloodline Awakening potion I gave you?"
Selene hesitated.
"That..."
Selene became a little disappointed when she understood Isaac wanted to talk about this.
"I have a drake bloodline. It’s strong, but it isn’t much compared to people you are meeting now. Using a potion on my bloodline feels wasteful. You should give it to someone with a better bloodline. Besides, I’m... not going to fight. I like my office. So using a bloodline potion is wasteful on me."
Isaac didn’t respond right away.
Chairman Lucius frowned, his eyes had a hurt look.
Selene’s trauma, of when she was kidnapped by assassins, hadn’t truly disappeared.
The trauma was only strengthened after she witnessed the monstrous battles in the Promo Video of Isaac.
Selene was... afraid.
Isaac tapped his finger on the arm-rest and looked at Chairman Lucius. He didn’t want to say this in front of Chairman Lucius, but Chairman Lucius brought this upon himself by staying in the room.
"Selene."
She raised her head and looked at him.
His next words stunned him.
"You are mine."
The room froze.
Selene’s breath caught in her throat. Chairman Lucius forgot to blink.
A deep red spread across Selene’s face as the words sank in. Her mind didn’t move past that sentence. It couldn’t.
However, Isaac had not completed his words.
"This City is mine, so is every person living in it. I decide who gets what reward. If I tell you to accept a reward, you only need to say ’thank you’ and accept it. Worrying whether someone deserves a reward or not, is my job, not yours." Chairman Lucius winced.
Chairman Lucius’s expression twitched.
Did Isaac really have to say those words like that?
He looked to the side and noticed Selene was frozen stiff.
’I don’t think she heard anything after the first sentence. Sigh, this is a disaster.’
"So use the potion," Isaac finished.
"H-Huh?" Selene blinked, pulled back into the room. "What?"
"The potion. Use it today," Isaac repeated.
"O-Okay," she said automatically.
She stood, movements stiff, and walked out of the room like she was afraid her legs might forget how to work.
Her face was still burning, and Isaac’s words kept looping in her head whether she wanted them to or not.
Chairman Lucius waited until the door closed behind her before turning back to Isaac.
"Did you have to say it like that?" he asked.
Isaac shrugged.
Chairman Lucius gave him on last stare and left without another word.
When Isaac was alone, he leaned forward and covered his face with both hands.
"What was that?" he muttered.
There had been a reason he’d chosen those words.
He wanted to test his own feelings. Perhaps saying those intimate words would help him realize what he thought of Selene.
But when he said those words—
Selene, you are mine .
—immense possessiveness had surged through him.
If Chairman Lucius had not been in the room, Isaac might’ve said something else instead of talking about the city and people.
He let out a slow breath.
"I need to get a grip."
He couldn’t allow his emotions to control him like this. He was a man, not a beast who moved on instincts.
After a few minutes, he stood and headed out.
Althea was waiting near the central promenade, where the newer buildings blended into the destroyed sections of the city.
The new architecture was breathtakingly beautiful. Stone, metal, and living colorful plants were woven together in harmony.
Isaac stopped beside her and looked around.
"It’s beautiful," he said.
Althea smiled. "It is."
Her gaze drifted toward the massive white tree rising in the distance.
The White Parasite Tree, as Isaac called it, glowed softly.
Since the tree was magical in nature, it’s light was distributed equally throughout the city, and you could look at trees without taxing your eyes.
This made the tree, that was covering the entire city, breathtakingly beautiful.
Coupled with the buildings Althea and Charlotta built, the view was almost divine.
’It’s comfortable here. Everyone is working together. Nobody seems to be planning on backstabbing each other, there are no political schemes and everyone is focusing on their own matters,’ Althea thought with a smile.
"We will retire for the night now. Thank you for looking after us throughout the day, Lord Isaac," Althea said.
"I should be thanking you," Isaac replied.
They shook hands and went their separate ways.
Isaac had barely taken a few steps when a window appeared in front of him.
[Standardized Battalion has been built. Lord EXP: +10]
[You have leveled up. Lord Level: 1 → 2]
[New blueprints have been unlocked. City size will expand.]
He looked up just in time to see the world change.
The city walls began to move.
It wasn’t fast, and it wasn’t violent.
The city walls slid outward like they were being guided by invisible hands. As the walls advanced, the land beyond them shifted. Cracked ground smoothed. Dark patches of corrupted soil faded into something clean and solid.
Above, the dome that covered the city stretched to match the new boundaries, the sky adjusting as if it had always been that wide.
Isaac rose into the air, letting his feet leave the ground as he took in the view.
From above, the expansion was clearer. The city had grown, not just in space, but in presence. The new land at the edges looked empty now, but he could already see where roads would go, where buildings would rise, where people would eventually gather.
"It’s about a tenth bigger. That’s more than I expected."
A smile crept onto his face.
Seeing the city, now his home, growing made him feel fulfilled.
He checked his status again, scanning the new options and the locked sections beneath them.
"Lord Level Five. I need to reach it fast. That’s when the real stuff opens up."
Lord Skills.
Abilities designed not just for fighting, but for shaping territory, people, and systems. Tools that could turn a fortified city into something closer to a small world.
The thought was exciting.
Isaac forced himself to calm down and brought his attention back to the ground below.
His clone was still moving through the crowd, offering words of praise to builders and organizers who had finished the Standardized Battalion. Some of them looked exhausted. Others looked proud.
"I want watchtowers and proper weapon storage along the walls. But let’s do it tomorrow. People are not machines. They can’t keep creating buildings 24/7. They need rest, food and entertainment too."
He watched a group of workers laugh as they leaned against a stack of newly purified stone.
Tomorrow would be different.
The merge with Fortified City 82 was scheduled for the next day, and that alone would bring a surge of people, skills, and resources. More builders. More administrators. More hands to work.
Isaac exhaled and flew down toward the newest structure near the inner wall.
The Standardized Battalion building sat in a wide, open plaza.
From a distance, it looked similar to the Summoning Altar, but as he got closer, the differences became clear.
The altar felt ancient, almost ceremonial. This place felt practical, as if it was an office rather than a building for reverence.
He landed in front of it and looked up.
"I wonder what kind of troops I’m going to get," he said.
A system window appeared.
[Standardized Battalion Level 1: Allows summon of up to Low-rank species and Champion-rank units. Twenty free daily summons available. Each additional summon costs 10 Silver Coins.]
[Upgrade Materials Required: Administrative Core (x1), Blessed Marble (x50), Spirit Steel (x1000), Mana Thread (x25).]
[Upgrade Condition: Lord Level 3.]
Isaac scanned the details and nodded.
It was similar to the Summoning Altar, but the purpose was different. The altar focused on quality. It would give individuals who could grow into something unique.
This place focused on numbers.
Troops summoned here didn’t come with Talents. That was the drawback. But the trade-off was clear. More daily free summons. Lower cost. Uniform skills and higher stats when summoned.
These weren’t meant to be heroes.
They were meant to be an army.
"For dungeons and exploration, I need specialists. They will come from Summoning Altar. For borders and wars, I need people who can hold a line. They will come from here."
He stepped forward and placed his hand on the summoning plate.
"Let’s see what I get."
Light flared.
It was a deep, pulsing glow that spread across the plaza like a slow wave. The air thickened for a moment, and then twenty figures began to take shape.
They appeared in formation.
At the front stood a man mounted on a broad, armored steed. He wore red armor that looked more like forged plates than cloth, and a long spear rested against his shoulder. His face was hidden behind a helmet shaped to resemble a snarling beast.
Behind him were others in matching colors.
Infantry in red armor, shields held close to their chests.
Mages in deep crimson robes, staffs tipped with dark crystals.
Healers in lighter red cloaks, hands already faintly glowing with restrained energy.
They dropped to one knee in unison.
"The Blood Mountain troops greet Lord Isaac," the mounted man said, his voice clear and steady through the helmet.
Isaac nodded. "Welcome to my city."
He brought up the battalion’s description.
[Blood Mountain Amry: Once belonging to an ancient warlord’s domain, this elite royal army laid mountains of corpses and rivers of blood wherever it marched. Time and rest have dulled their edge, but their potential remains immense.]
Isaac shifted his focus to the individual readouts.
Seven Champions.
The rest Masters and Elites.
No talents, but clean, efficient skill sets and stats pushed to the upper limit of their ranks.
’They are perfect for my army,’ he thought.
Not flashy. Not unique.
But reliable, nonetheless.
He turned back to the troops. "You’ll be staying in the city for now. There are people who will help you get used to how things work here."
The mounted leader inclined his head. "We will follow your orders."
Isaac signaled to a group waiting near the edge of the plaza. Representatives from the top three universities stepped forward, along with a few administrators who handled cultural training.
"They look human," one of the instructors whispered.
"They’re Blood Fiends. They’ll need the same orientation as the other summons. Teach them about laws, customs, and how not to start a fight every time someone looks at them wrong," Isaac replied.
The instructor nodded, already making notes.
The Blood Mountain troops moved off in organized lines, following their guides.
Isaac watched them go, a small sense of satisfaction settling in his chest.
"Finally, work is done for today. I can go home. I wonder what Selene made for dinner."
"I wonder what Selene cooked," he muttered. "If everyone else is out, it’s probably her turn."
Since he was going to rest in Chairman Lucoius’ mansion today too, and everyone was out, it would be Selene who made the dishes.
She was a good cook and Isaac was looking forward to what was made.
As he was about to fly, Catherine appeared in front of him.
Her expression was serious
"We have a situation," she said.
"What happened?" Isaac became alert.
"Do you remember the two Monster Tribes near us? The Ashfang tribe, the orcs. And the Crawling Serpent tribe."
"Yes. The Ashfang tribe is a tribe of orcs, and the Crawling Serpents are a tribe of serpent-type monsters. What about them?"
"We’ve subjugated both."
"???"
There was a brief, very clear pause in his thoughts.
"Both?" he repeated.
Catherine nodded.
"Today?"
"Yes."
Hadn’t it been only a few hours since they went into the wilderness. How did they subjugate two Monster tribes in that time?
No, in the first place, how did they defeat the Monster Tribes at all.
Each of those tribes should have had dozens of Overlords. Even with Catherine, Emily, and Celia working together, that should have turned into a drawn-out fight at best.
Catherine opened her mouth to answer, then seemed to reconsider.
"Before I explain, do you remember the Eltari?"
"Yes. They ones who knew about the Sinkhole Worms and didn’t warn us. What about them?"
"We subjugated them too."
"????"
Did the world suddenly change?
When did it become so easy to subjugate other tribes and races?