Morning sunlight spread across the capital of Aurelion.
The city was already alive with noise—carriages moving through the streets, merchants opening their stalls, and soldiers patrolling the gates.
But today, one noble house remained unusually quiet.
Inside a modest courtyard stood a young boy with a small travel bag over his shoulder.
Aren Valerian.
Today was the day he would leave the capital.
Today he would travel to the land assigned to him during the awakening ceremony.
The Forgotten Creation Valley.
A land that most nobles considered cursed.
Aren looked back at the mansion behind him.
House Valerian had once been powerful.
But after generations of decline, only a few servants remained.
His father stood near the entrance watching him.
"You really plan to go alone?" his father asked.
Aren nodded.
"If I want to build my territory, I have to start somewhere."
His father sighed.
"Most F-rank nobles give up their land and stay in the capital."
"I know."
"But I'm not most nobles."
For a moment, silence hung between them.
Finally, his father handed him a small pouch.
"Your family can't give you much support."
"But take this."
Aren opened it.
Inside were a few silver coins.
Enough to survive for a few weeks.
"Thank you."
His father nodded slowly.
"…Just don't die out there."
Aren smiled faintly.
"I won't."
Then he turned and walked toward the city gate.
---
The road leading out of the capital stretched across rolling green hills.
Aren walked quietly while reading the glowing system panel floating before his eyes.
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HOST: Aren Valerian
Level: 1
EXP: 0 / 100
Skill Rank: F
Territory: Forgotten Creation Valley
Territory Rank: F
Population: 0
Army: 0
Skills
• Unknown Craft (F)
• Basic Swordsmanship (F)
Authority
• Power of Creation
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Below it was the active quest.
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QUEST: First Settlement
Objective
Create 10 houses using Creation Power
Reward
Population +100
Militia Soldiers ×20
Basic Farming Knowledge
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Aren rubbed his chin.
"Ten houses…"
"That means I first need land and materials."
According to the map he had received, Forgotten Creation Valley was about three days away from the capital.
The road slowly changed as he traveled.
Paved stone roads became dirt paths.
Green fields turned into thick forests.
By the second day, even travelers had disappeared.
The further he went…
The more isolated the land became.
---
On the third day, Aren finally reached a mountain pass.
A narrow trail wound through steep cliffs.
At the end of the pass—
He saw it.
A massive valley surrounded by tall mountains.
"This must be it…"
The Forgotten Creation Valley.
From above, the valley looked wild and untouched.
Forests covered most of the land.
A small river ran through the center.
Ruins of ancient stone structures could be seen scattered across the valley floor.
And strangely…
No villages.
No farms.
No people.
Aren slowly walked down the mountain path into the valley.
The air felt different here.
He couldn't explain it.
But it felt…
Ancient.
As if something very old once existed here.
Suddenly—
DING
The system panel appeared again.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
TERRITORY DISCOVERED
Forgotten Creation Valley
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Another panel opened.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
TERRITORY STATUS
Territory Rank: F
Population: 0
Army: 0
Resources Detected
• Forest
• River Water
• Stone Deposits
Special Condition
Ancient Ruins Detected
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Aren raised an eyebrow.
"Ruins?"
He walked toward one of the broken structures nearby.
It looked like the remains of an ancient stone building.
The walls were cracked and covered in vines.
He placed his hand on one of the stones.
Suddenly—
A strange energy flowed through his body.
The Power of Creation reacted.
Images appeared in his mind.
Blueprints.
Designs.
Construction patterns.
Aren's eyes widened.
"…This stone."
"It's not ordinary stone."
It was reinforced creation stone, a material used in ancient construction.
Even broken pieces were stronger than normal rock.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
"Maybe this valley isn't useless after all."
At that moment—
A loud growl echoed from the forest.
Aren froze.
Something moved in the bushes.
Then a massive wolf stepped out.
A Gray Fang Wolf.
A common monster in the wilderness.
But still dangerous for an untrained boy.
The wolf stared at him with hungry eyes.
Aren slowly pulled the sword from his waist.
His only weapon.
Basic Swordsmanship was only an F-rank skill, but it was better than nothing.
The wolf lunged forward.
Aren barely dodged.
Its claws scraped across the ground where he had been standing.
"Fast…"
He gripped the sword tighter.
The wolf attacked again.
This time Aren stepped forward and swung his blade.
The sword cut across the wolf's shoulder.
The beast howled in pain.
Then it retreated slightly.
Aren didn't hesitate.
He rushed forward and struck again.
The second slash hit the wolf's neck.
The beast collapsed onto the ground.
Dead.
Aren breathed heavily.
"That was close…"
Suddenly the system appeared again.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
MONSTER DEFEATED
Gray Fang Wolf
EXP Gained: +20
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The experience bar updated.
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Level: 1
EXP: 20 / 100
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"So defeating monsters gives experience."
That was useful information.
Then the system displayed another notification.
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NEW RESOURCE DISCOVERED
Monster Materials
Gray Fang Wolf Hide
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Aren nodded.
"Materials for crafting."
Everything was starting to make sense.
This valley might look empty…
But it had resources, monsters, ruins, and land.
Everything needed to build a territory.
Aren walked to the center of the valley near the river.
This area had flat land and good water access.
"Perfect."
He closed his eyes.
The Power of Creation flowed through his body.
He placed his hand on the ground.
"Let's begin."
Stone and wood nearby began to tremble.
Small fragments slowly lifted into the air.
Aren focused.
Using the blueprint forming in his mind.
Slowly—
Wooden walls began to shape themselves.
Beams connected together.
A roof formed.
In a few minutes…
A small house stood before him.
Aren stared at it.
He had just created his first building.
Immediately the system appeared.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
CREATION COMPLETE
Structure Built
Wooden House ×1
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The quest progress updated.
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QUEST PROGRESS
First Settlement
Houses Built: 1 / 10
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Aren smiled.
Nine more to go.
He looked across the empty valley.
This place had been abandoned for centuries.
But not anymore.
With the Power of Creation…
This valley would become something far greater.
Aren raised his hand toward the empty land.
"Let's build a kingdom."
A/N:
If you enjoyed this chapter, please consider supporting the novel with your Powerstones! Your support helps the story climb the rankings and motivates me to release more chapters faster. Let's grow Aren's kingdom together!