Through the forest came a low, guttural howl.
Karl felt his heart beat faster.
Crunch.
Behind him, heavy footsteps rustled through the brush.
He jerked his head around—and stopped.
Out of the trees, a huge grey wolf with a twitching nose appeared. It had smelled the blood that had seeped into his ripped garments. A low growl rumbled from its throat as its yellow eyes fixed themselves on him.
He felt a wave of panic. He had no clue where he was, no weapons, and no remaining strength to fight.
Then he remembered something—the System.
Wasn't it stated that he was free to come and go?
He didn't think twice.
He yelled, "Enter Kingdom Space!"
The wolf leaped——but Karl disappeared in a burst of light.
With a gentle thud, he hit solid ground.
Not a word. Calm.
Karl opened his eyes slowly. The stifling forest had vanished.
Now he was standing in his Kingdom Space, a completely different world.
It was enormous—possibly as big as a small village. Green, soft grass grew everywhere. A tiny wooden hut stood in the middle of the area, and a lake in the distance sparkled. There were a few strange buildings farther out, some hazy, some crumbling, as though they were still under construction.
Karl inhaled, then let out a long sigh.
"All right, this is real."
He headed for the main hut. With a creaking wooden door and vines creeping up the sides, it appeared old and worn. The air inside was musty. The oddest feature was the glowing screen that hung against the far wall, looking out of place like a television in a medieval cabin, but there was also a plain bed in one corner.
Karl took a step forward. The following words briefly appeared on the screen: [Kingdom System Interface – Welcome, Host]
The following options are available:
[Intro]; [Build]; [Store]; [Hero Recruitment]; [Warehouse]; [Camera]
In the upper-right corner: 🪙 500 gold
Karl muttered, "Huh. Looks like the system gave me starting funds."
He gave the [Build] icon a tap. A fresh range of choices emerged:
50 Gold for Farm and 50 Gold for Sawmill
50 Gold Barracks • [Other Buildings – Locked]
Karl chose Farm. 50 Gold was subtracted.
The land outside shimmered as the screen pulsed once. Karl left the hut, curious, and turned to face the fields.
Fresh, green, and already sprouting, a fully built 5-acre wheat farm stood where there had been nothing but empty grass.
He was stunned.
He murmured, "Enough wheat to feed hundreds… this alone could sustain a village for a year."
A smile pulled at his mouth. "At least I won't go hungry."
With encouragement, he went back to the hut and reopened the build menu. Sawmill was tapped.
-50 gold is subtracted.
Barracks comes next.
-50 gold is subtracted.
His balance as of right now is: 🪙 Gold: 350
Karl went out again, eager to see the changes.
A sturdy wooden building had emerged in one corner of the area, encircled by a stand of trees. He approached and took a look at it.
"Sawmill, I suppose?" he whispered.
There was silence in the building. No workers, no movement. It didn't feel like a real facility, but rather like a prop.
He exclaimed, "How is this thing supposed to run?" "No one is present."
He scowled and proceeded to the recently constructed barracks. Clean, empty, and lifeless—the same scenario.
He sighed and remarked, "This system really doesn't believe in tutorials, does it?" "If I can't use all of this, why even build it?"
Karl went back to the hut and gazed at the glowing screen once more, frustrated.
"I must be missing something."
In search of a clue, he carefully scanned the screen.
________________________________________
Do you want the Tutorial Assistant to be activated?
[NO] / [YES]
Karl blinked. "You must be joking with me."