Lord: Starting with Contract Half-Elf Twins

Sapphire Bay, on the north side of the cliff, Allen and his two companions carefully made their way along a naturally formed path.

Finding a suitable temporary place to stay is neither easy nor difficult.

Although they were just teenagers, there were still three of them, so they needed a large cave.

In the wilderness, large caves often house large or social wild animals.

Both being large enough and living in groups will leave enough traces within the territory.

Three months of arduous trekking taught the boys and girls a great deal of knowledge about surviving in the wilderness.

For example, identifying the tracks of wild animals, finding their habitats, and avoiding ferocious species that they cannot yet fight.

The "path" beneath their feet was clearly a path worn out by a group of wild animals over the years.

After climbing halfway up the mountain, we finally saw a dark cave entrance in the rock face.

As soon as we arrived near the cave entrance, a strong, fishy stench hit us.

The residents inside the cave also noticed the arrival of the uninvited guests and quickly became agitated.

Allen's gaze pierced through the darkness, revealing restless creatures within the cave, with long snouts covered in sharp teeth, brown scales, and short, stout, webbed claws.

At the same time, information about the beast was also displayed on the panel.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Name: Scale-throated Lizard

[Race: Scale-throated Lizard]

Age: 3

[Character Template: Standard]

[Level: Lizard Lv3]

Status: Normal

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Sorina, Viola, come on!"

Solina and Viola understood what Allen meant; their teamwork had become quite seamless over the past three months.

There were hardly any difficult battles, and everything quickly returned to calm.

As an amphibious beast, the Scale-throated Lizard prefers damp environments, is nocturnal, and is naturally afraid of high temperatures and flames, making it completely unable to withstand the combined attack of Allen and his two companions.

Apart from two Scale-throated Lizard Beasts that managed to escape and leap into the sea before the flames encircled them, the remaining lizard beasts were all surrounded and captured by Allen and his two companions.

Allen didn't bother to stop the fleeing lizard beast. Unlike the social packs of wolves, these beasts only gather to lay eggs and don't have a concept of revenge.

Soon, the original fishy smell was burned away, and the cave was filled with the aroma of meat.

However, only the outer skin is baked; to eat it properly, it needs to be cut open and baked thoroughly.

Although these three months have been a period of eating raw meat and drinking blood, none of the three currently have any plans to eat raw meat.

Allen went into the cave, looked around, and was quite satisfied with this temporary place of shelter.

This cave was probably dug out by a group of lizards from a crack in the original cliff. However, due to the sea breeze blowing and polishing it over the years, the details are not rough, but rather quite clean and smooth.

The cave is quite spacious and can accommodate three people. However, it is a place where the lizard herd lays eggs and rests, so it is a bit damp, which is a slight drawback.

However, Allen doesn't plan to stay there permanently. He will build a proper residence once he activates the [Territory] function.

Therefore, he will not bother to renovate this place.

After taking control of the cave, Solina didn't intend to rest and left with her water bag.

"I'll go find a water source nearby and gather some firewood. Since we'll be staying here temporarily, we need to prepare some essentials."

"Okay." Viola followed, leaving Allen alone.

He was finally about to officially launch the last interface of the "Lord's Handbook"—the [Territory] interface.

Open the Lord's Handbook and launch the [Territory] interface.

Three large red exclamation marks appeared before Allen's eyes:

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Establish a [Basic Lord's Hut]:

1. Insufficient scope of control;

2. Insufficient disposable labor force;

3. Insufficient consumable resources.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Allen recalled his memories of playing the game in his previous life. Although only three months had passed, it felt like a lifetime had passed.

He recalled that building the initial [Secondary Lord's Hut] in the game was originally part of the "new player tutorial".

Once players enter the game, they naturally possess a territory, which can be a village, a cave, or a hill.

Depending on the initial territory, you will also have a "tribe" and "building resources" under your command that you can freely control.

If it is a village, then the dominant group is the villagers, and the building resources are bricks, stones, or wood.

If it is a monster cave, then the dominant race is most likely a secondary individual of the same race, and the building resources are varied, ranging from stone to bone.

So how do you meet the conditions for building a "Lord's Hut" in the real world?

Allen muttered to himself as he pondered.

"If we compare this to the real world, a lord's territory would be at least the size of a village."

"Just to be on the safe side, I can try using this cliff as a base to expand my 'territory,' which means driving away other wild beasts, magical beasts, and even dangerous species..."

"As for disposable labor, any intelligent life form that can be controlled within the game counts as 'labor.' I remember slimes with a certain level of intelligence that can understand commands all count."

"Although there are no highly intelligent races like humans, elves, or dwarves here, there are bound to be low-level monsters. I've encountered some goblins or kobolds in the wilderness..."

"Finally, there are resources, which is the simplest. There is plenty of wood and stone here. Once the 'labor' requirement is met, we can order them to collect it slowly."

"Only after the 'Lord's Hut' is built will the first territory be considered successfully established, and the abilities of the [Territory] interface will then be truly unlocked for me."

"Hmm... The only thing I need to consider is that, based on the situation with [Recruiting Followers], I can't completely control the actions of my subjects like I do in the game."

"I must first establish my authority and ensure their loyalty before I can be considered to have acquired 'disposable labor force,' right?"

Thinking about this, Allen fell into deep thought, but he didn't dwell on it for long.

Every day since arriving in this world, he has clearly felt that he is not a high-dimensional player outside the game, and cannot manipulate other people's behavior and actions as freely as a god.

No, or perhaps more accurately, even the gods who actually exist in this world cannot completely control the fate of mortals.

Perhaps one day, the blood oath he shared with Solina and Viola, a bond forged through life and death, will break, and they will leave him.

Allen couldn't expect any of this to stay away, nor could he expect fate to always be on his side.

Instead, he builds his own path to destiny, just like the [territory] he hasn't even seen a shadow of yet.

From nothing to something, from one to a hundred, from foundation to tower.

So there's nothing to worry about.

If there are goblins, use goblins; if there are ratmen, use ratmen; if there are slimes, use slimes. We'll accept whatever comes our way.

As for how to become their "lord"?

There's always a way.

He really wanted to see just how many monsters this vibrant land, this continent full of magic and miracles, had, and how many of them could be used by him.

What kind of haven will I build for myself?

Allen slowly walked out of the cave entrance, sat down on the edge of the cliff, his legs swinging freely in the sea breeze, and stretched out his arms, facing the unobstructed view of Sapphire Bay.

Refreshing and happy.