The valley hadn't changed.
That was the first thing Rook noticed.
The road narrowed into a dirt path just beyond the outskirts, trees closing in as the city noise faded behind him. The air cooled. The smell of smoke thinned, replaced by damp earth and pine.
He parked at the edge of the clearing and stepped out slowly, crowbar still in hand—not raised, not relaxed.
Familiar ground.
Years ago, before everything broke, he'd walked this path with a leash in his hand, dogs pulling eagerly toward the stream at the valley's center. Neighbors paid him to take them out here when they didn't have time. He remembered which roots caught your foot if you weren't paying attention. Which stones grew slick after rain. Which bend in the stream deepened just enough to soak your boots.
It wasn't wilderness.
It was known.
The valley sloped gently inward, trees forming a natural perimeter. The stream cut through the center, clean and steady, its banks wide enough to support foot traffic without collapsing. No structures. No signs of habitation. No monsters in sight.
Shelter. Water. Lines of approach.
Rook stood still and listened.
No shrieks.No alarms.No distant screams.
Just wind through leaves.
The blue screen hovered patiently at his side.
He opened the System interface and selected the function again.
— Territory Claim
The description appeared, unchanged.
[Territory Claim allows a human participant to designate and manage a controlled zone.][Only one territory may be claimed per participant.][Once confirmed, ownership is permanent.]
Permanent.
Rook reached into the trunk and retrieved the surveyor's kit. He moved with purpose now, stakes driven into the soil at measured intervals, fluorescent string stretched taut between them. The valley responded naturally, the boundaries forming a clean square that fit the terrain instead of fighting it.
One hundred meters by one hundred meters.
Enough to defend.Enough to grow.Enough to begin.
He returned to the center of the marked area, boots planted firmly in the dirt where the stream bent slightly east.
Rook straightened.
The world felt quiet in a way that had nothing to do with sound.
He opened the interface.
Tapped the function.
And spoke.
"Claim."
The ground shuddered.
Not violently—decisively.
Light erupted outward from his position, invisible walls tracing the boundary lines he'd marked moments earlier. The air thickened, pressure settling over the valley like a held breath.
The System responded.
[Territory Claim Successful.]
[Territory Core Generated.]
[Designation: Unnamed Territory]
[Initial Radius: 100m × 100m]
A pulse rolled through the land.
The stream brightened faintly. The trees seemed to straighten, roots digging deeper into soil that now belonged to something.
To him.
Rook exhaled slowly.
This wasn't borrowed ground.
This wasn't contested space.
This was his.
A new panel unfolded.
[Territory Interface Unlocked.]
— Construction
— Defense
— Resources
— Population
— Management
Another prompt followed immediately.
[Class Selection Available.]
Rook didn't hesitate.
He didn't scroll.
He didn't weigh flashy options.
He chose what he'd always been.
Engineer.
The confirmation chimed softly.
[Class Selected: Engineer]
[Bonuses Applied: Construction Efficiency Increased.]
[System Recognition: Infrastructure-Oriented Path.]
No applause.
No fireworks.
Just systems aligning.
Rook looked around the valley again—at the stream, the tree line, the open ground where structures would rise.
This place had always been quiet.
Now it was something else entirely.
A foothold.
A beginning.