After they filled up their bellies with food, the two beastmen transformed so they could venture further into the south easily.
They continued their journey through a cycle of hunting, sleeping, finding rivers to drink from, and then traveling farther and farther south. And then, they found a rather dense forest. The trees grew taller and thicker, their trunks coated in moss.
Birds crooned from the canopy, and the air smelled sweet. So this is a tropical forest.
Veric padded through the bush, paws sinking into the wet earth, while Finn trotted close behind, ears swirling in every direction at the sounds.
By the time they reached a clearing, the sun began to sink, turning the sky into a rich mixture of amber and violet. The vast meadow opened up before them—a circle of tall grass and soft soil, bordered by trees.
Veric lifted his snout to the sky, taking in the scent of the air. The air felt fresh, and he was confident that food was nearby. They also discovered a sizable river nearby, providing easy access to water.
Veric shifted back to human form first, and Liam transformed beside him. They both wore their clothes as their eyes scanned the surroundings, marveling at the beautiful scenery.
"This is it," Veric let out a breath.
"It's beautiful, Mr.Veric..." Finn whispered, ears flicking as he pivoted. "Are you going to use this as your land?"
"Yeah," Veric smirked. "It's more than perfect. This land is now mine."
The ground pulsed.
A faint ring of blue light spread outward from where he stood, racing through the grass like a wave. It stretched around the area, as if hinting that what the blue light circled was the area of his land.
Finn yelped in surprise, his tail puffing up.
"W-wha?! What just happened?! What was that! IS IT THE END OF THE WORLD?!"
Veric ignored the fox since his attention was now focused on the system box that appeared in front of him.
[Mission Cleared: Find a land and claim it!]
[New Mission: Build Your First House. Requirements: x80 units of logs.]
[Reward: Resource Storage & Basic Construction Blueprint Unlocked.]
[Note: Two axes have been provided nearby.]
Veric turned to find the axes, and sure enough, lying neatly beside the nearest trees were two axes. Wow. This system thing is really magical.
Veric felt a strange mix of awe and disbelief.
"Look, Finn." Veric pointed at the axes.
Finn looked at where Veric was pointing and gaped.
"I—those weren't there a second ago! How?! AND WHAT WAS THE BLUE LIGHT FROM EARLIER?!"
Veric let out a laugh, amused by Finn's bewildered reaction. "Guess we're lucky. Anyway, we got work to do. Let's get some logs to build a house."
"Oh, is this the first thing we'll build to make the city?"
"Yes."
The two boys grabbed their axes and looked over the towering trees. His fox ears lowered as he swallowed nervously.
"M-mr.Veric. How are two skinny kids like us supposed to chop down trees this big?"
Veric hummed. Since all the system told him to do was to chop logs, he figured it was possible.
He took a deep breath as he summoned his shadows, darkness seeped on the ground like ink as the tendrils began to rise—shifting and taking shape. Three silhouettes emerged, a shadow that took the form of Veric.
Finn stumbled back, eyes wide. "Whoa! T-That surprised me. I saw you summoned three of your shadows while fighting the orc earlier. Is this your power?"
"Ythra's power is darkness. Originally, Ythras, who has stronger magic, could swallow all the light in the world. However, I'm not on that level yet. And these shadows are extensions of me," Veric explained with a smile.
The shadows, as if they understood that he was addressing them, turned to look at him and stepped closer to nuzzle themselves on him.
Veric giggled because the shadows felt like feathers, and it tickled.
"Whoa..." Finn whispered.
As if on cue, the shadows reached their arms in the sky, and they summoned their own axes that were made out of shadow.
"That's so cool..." Finn stared in awe. "Oh! Can you only summon three shadows, Mr.Veric?"
"For now, yes. I'm still too young to summon more. I need more mana to create more and make them stronger."
"Mana? Oh! magic."
"Yep. Ythras grow by absorbing magic essence, or mana, by hibernating. The longer I sleep, the stronger my magic will be."
"Whoa!" Finn gasped. "Have you hibernated before?"
"Yep. For a whole year," Veric smirked.
"WHAT?!"
"It's normal." Veric shrugged. "Ythras are blessed with longer lifespan than normal humans and beastmen, so we could sleep for years and still look the same."
"That's really cool... You're so cool, Mr.Veric. I'll follow you forever!"
Veric chuckled. "That's enough talking, we need to start working."
"Yes!"
The two of them, including Veric's three shadow clones, swung against the giant tree together. The sound of metal biting into wood echoed through the air. Each impact sent chips of bark flying, the scent of fresh pine filling the air.
Within minutes, the first tree groaned and fell, shaking the ground as it crashed.
Finn jumped, tail puffing out in surprise. "T-That was fast!"
"We can collect these logs faster. Come on, let's keep going."
They all worked seamlessly to the next tree, and the next.
Until—
Swoosh!
[Mission Cleared: Build Your First House]
[Reward Unlocked: Resource Storage & Basic Construction Blueprint]
"!!!"