"I finished that too. When your stats are high enough and you have clones helping you, handling several things at once isn’t difficult," Catherine replied with a chuckle.
Isaac nodded as he listened. He could tell she was in an unusually good mood, although he didn’t ask what had happened. Whatever business she had taken care of had clearly produced a result she was happy with.
"Alright. You’ll need this first," he said as he reached out and held her hand.
He transferred enough Gold Coins for her to purchase ownership of the city. Catherine quietly waited until the transfer finished before giving him a small nod.
Only a few moments passed before a familiar notification appeared before Isaac.
[Your subject, Conqueror Candidate Catherine Lorraine, has conquered Fortified City 62 for you.]
[Accept / Decline?]
Isaac selected the obvious answer without hesitation.
[You have gained ownership of Tier 1 Fortified City 62.]
[Lord Level has increased. Level 7 → Level 8.]
[Barrack slots have been increased by one.]
A smile spread across Isaac’s face as he finished reading the notifications. Another Barrack slot was valuable since it allowed him to expand his army even further. More importantly, every human city now belonged to him.
For a few moments, he quietly reflected on everything that had happened since he awakened his Talent. At the beginning, he had been perfectly content owning a small farm. Later, he realized he needed to become the Lord of a city, but even then he had hesitated because the responsibility had seemed overwhelming.
Now, things had changed completely. He had gone from cautiously protecting a single piece of land to deliberately conquering every human city that existed. Looking back, he could clearly see how much he had grown.
In this world, opportunities didn’t wait forever. The people who became strong were usually the ones willing to seize them when they appeared. Isaac was glad he had gradually become one of those people.
Another notification suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
[Isaac Hargraves, you now rule over 90% of humans.]
[Would you like to gain the Title: Human Lord?]
Isaac raised a brow as he read the message. This was the first time the System had ever asked whether he wanted to accept a Title. Every previous Title had simply been awarded automatically, making this one feel much more significant.
Instead of making a decision immediately, he decided to ask someone more knowledgeable first. He headed toward the backyard, where the others were still training as usual.
Eleanor stood calmly to one side with her arm resting on her sword while observing the sparring match. Sera and Alice exchanged blows in the center of the yard, while Avery remained farther back and occasionally fired arrows whenever an opportunity presented itself.
Before Isaac could even speak, Eleanor looked in his direction. "You received the notification for the Human Lord title, didn’t you?"
Isaac stopped walking and looked at her in surprise. "You could already tell why I came here?"
"Considering Catherine’s speed, she should have reached Fortified City 62 by now. Once you conquered every human city, this notification was the obvious next step," she replied
"Human Lord title?" Sera asked while casually blocking another strike from Alice. Despite carrying on a conversation, her movements never slowed in the slightest.
Alice’s eyelids twitched. She knew Sera was the War God’s angel and possessed far more combat experience than she did. Even so, seeing Sera casually chat while fighting her was still not a good feeling.
Without saying a word, Alice increased the speed and intensity of her attacks. Sera noticed the change immediately, and the faint smile on her face widened just a little. She had easily baited Alice into becoming more aggressive.
"Yes," Isaac answered before turning back to Eleanor. "What exactly does the title do?"
"It connects you to every human regardless of where they are. Once you accept it, you’ll become the Lord of the entire human race," Eleanor explained.
Isaac blinked a couple of times. That certainly sounded impressive, but it still didn’t explain why the System had allowed him to refuse the title instead of directly giving it to him.
Eleanor noticed his expression and continued her explanation. "Once a race gains a Lord, every member of that race becomes connected to one another. Whenever someone exceptional appears within that race, they naturally elevate everyone else."
She paused briefly before continuing. "You’re already an Apex-rank species. If you become the Human Lord, there will be a small chance for humans of mid-rank or even higher to be born naturally, even though humanity is currently only a low-rank species."
Isaac stood there in stunned silence. He had expected the Title to provide him with personal benefits, but changing the future potential of the entire human race was on an entirely different level.
"That isn’t all. The connection works both ways. Whenever another remarkable individual appears among humanity, they also strengthen the race as a whole, and because you’re the Human Lord, you’ll receive part of those benefits as well," Eleanor said.
"I’ll receive benefits too?" Isaac asked.
Eleanor nodded. "Take me as an example. My talent for the sword is much higher than average. Once humanity is connected, you’ll inherit a small portion of that talent. Learning Sword Arts will become easier for you, and every other human will also receive some improvement, although the amount each person gains will differ."
"There are more effects as well," Sera added while effortlessly deflecting Alice’s latest attack. "For example, Humans normally can’t fly, but you can. Once the Human Lord title connects everyone together, Talents or bloodlines that allow flight will slowly begin appearing among humans who are born in the future."
Isaac couldn’t help but be amazed. This was incredible. In the beginning, it would be people like him and Eleanor who would be elevating the entire human race.
But later on, others would begin contributing as well. As more powerful humans appeared, they would also help raise the race. Even if the boost Isaac received from each person was small, it would continue stacking as more and more humans grew stronger.
"Since you are the Human Lord, you will gain a good portion of the benefits that come from all of this," Eleanor said.
Isaac thought about it for a moment before asking, "Can a human refuse to be part of this species-level bond?"
"They can’t. Only you can decide who stays and who leaves," Eleanor replied.
Isaac nodded.
He also realized why powerful kingdoms were mostly populated by their core species. That would mean the ruler of Florathi was the Lord of the Florathi race, and it was probably the same for the rulers of the other races as well.
Isaac became excited. How many powerful humans existed? What kinds of fields would he become talented in because of them?
He wanted to find out. Moreover, he already planned to make everyone in his cities stronger, including the humans, so this Title was perfect for his goals. There was no reason for him to refuse it.
’I accept the Human Lord Title,’ Isaac thought.
[Human Lord Title gained.]
[Creating the Weave of Humanity.]
Isaac vanished from where he stood.