After seeing the insufficient materials notification, I glanced at Rave and asked, “You can see this, right?”

“Yes, master. We summons above epic rank can see it directly, but if you want, you can remove our permission to see it.”

“That’s good to know, but that’s not what I’m asking. If you can see this, do you know how to acquire materials?”

With a small bow, she apologized and replied, “There are mainly four ways you can obtain construction materials. Since the system only recognizes materials present in this world, you can acquire them in different nations and forests. The other way is as a mission completion reward. The third way could be through mystery boxes, and another way is through dungeon completion missions. However, the only way you can use at the moment is through the system shop.”

Hearing her words, I was reminded once again of how much I still had to learn. What caught my attention most from her explanation was the fact that materials could definitely be found in different parts of the world. In the future, we might need to create relationships with different groups to obtain items, or perhaps steal them if possible—or even go to war just to acquire them. Trying to predict all the possibilities and “what ifs” was something I should do in my free time, if I ever get any. But right now, it felt like a waste of time.

“System shop, you say. Hah!”

System shop [Level 1] [10/10]

Trying to operate the system shop felt familiar to me. The online black-market shop in my previous world was similar to this, with different items categorized into various sections. The materials I needed were in the construction materials category; however, there was a search bar option, so I searched for the first material.

"Red Salaman Wood." The search result showed a picture of a red-colored wood log, with the price listed below along with its dimensions: 2 meters in height and 30 centimeters in diameter. Each log cost 1 CP, which meant I would have to spend 90 CP just on Red Salaman Wood. It was costly, especially considering that I didn’t even know where in this world Red Salaman Wood could be found, and earning CP seemed like a tough task. Before buying the Red Salaman Wood, I decided to check the price of the other items, hoping they wouldn’t be as outrageous.

The next item I searched was Black Rock Plywood. It was a black-coloured cuboidal plywood with a description that claimed its strength was beyond that of 100 normal humans. Was it showing me a comparison based on my imagination? I didn’t know. Its price was 10 CP per piece.

Sigh! Even in this world, I begin my life as a poor man.

The total cost, including Red Salaman Wood and Black Rock Plywood, had already reached 290 CP, and there were still three other items left to purchase.

Next, I checked for Feren Steel. They were long steel rods, each costing 1 CP. The next item was Dye; Rave told me that dye was just the colors you could select for the army camp, allowing you to designate what colors you wanted where. Each dye pack cost 10 CP.

The last item was Hardened Glass, which cost 20 CP each.

Now, the total cost had reached 640 CP. I took a deep breath.

Well, being poor it is. And I purchased all of it.

Ding! Thank you for your purchase.

Ding! There is no inventory. The items will be delivered in your notifications.

Seeing the notifications above, Rave told me to call Cary and instruct him to stop working. I understood that she knew how to handle things, so I asked her to teach me, and she guided me through the process.

I called Cary, and he arrived instantly, his bald head somehow brightening my mood. That monk definitely had a good aura around him. I was then told to open the Layer Cryptor and select the location, and I followed the instructions.

Ding! Proceed with building the Army Camp?

I said, “Yes.”

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Ding! You have only one constructor. Would you like to proceed?

Constructor: Cary Liquidator

Estimated Time: 2 hours

Cost: 50 CP

I had a vague guess, but now I was certain, as Rave had explained. I needed to have Cary free from other work, as a constructor must be available to build other buildings then only can you instruct him to build.

“Yes,” I replied, and Cary, with his chin held high, moved to the location where all the materials were waiting. I didn’t know how much noise it would produce, so I asked Rave again, and she came in handy, telling me about the noise cancellation feature of the Layer Cryptor for only 10 CP.

I felt like she was a robber sent by the system to loot my CP, but reluctantly, I bought the feature for the sake of my barbarian brethren.

After completing the monumental task of setting up the army camp, it was time to quench my thirst for answers. Without wasting any time, I inquired with Rave. “You mentioned that I needed to free Cary from his previous task before I could use him to build other buildings. So, what would have happened if I didn’t have Carry?”

She replied, “Then you wouldn’t have been able to build anything else, Master. You could say you were lucky to summon first before attempting to build. If you didn’t have a constructor, you would have needed to complete missions and obtain willow shards to summon until you found one. Though they’re easily summoned—if my guess is correct, you could get one in just three tries.”

Understanding this, I moved on to the question upon which our tribe's future depended. “Do you know how they can cultivate?”

As soon as I asked this question, Rave’s face brightened more than before. The change was sudden and subtle, but noticeable. This girl definitely liked cultivation more than anything; nothing else had lit up her face like this.

“Master, I to—” She paused, averting her gaze suspiciously, and then continued in a low voice, “I-I, Master, touched one of the ladies, ahem, and tried to check their meridians or any sign of a dantian. But I was surprised to find that she didn’t have those. Then I touched another barbarian, and she didn’t have any either. So, I understood that barbarians don’t have any channels to circulate qi or any other type of energy. However, when I focused on their physique, I discovered how brilliant barbarians are, including you, Master. You all have innate strength, speed, and other physical aspects. If you practiced body cultivation, it would benefit you greatly. So, I suggest finding a body cultivation technique above rare rank.” She spoke all this without stopping, fascinated by her findings.

Seeing her enthusiasm was contagious, and with a nod, I asked, “Very well. I presume cultivation manuals can be found in the system shop too?”

“Yes,” she replied. And so, we began searching for cultivation methods that would be suitable for me and my barbarian brethren. However, this search soon turned out to be more frustrating than anticipated.

“What are these prices? Is this system asking me to sell my kidneys?”

While I was in agony seeing the prices, Rave’s dark eyes had an uncanny brightness as she read the brief descriptions of each cultivation technique. Hearing my words, she smiled and said, “Master, it’s just CP. You can earn it whenever you like.”

I chuckled and continued looking through cultivation techniques. I didn’t know why I was being so stingy; after living more than ten years of my life filthy rich, the moment I became poor, my old habits came rushing back, denying that I was ever that rich in my previous life.

We continued searching through cultivation techniques, and in the process, I learned more about what they were and how they were divided, as Rave explained with newfound vigor. What I found mind-boggling were the names of these techniques; each one seemed more domineering than the last, to the point where they stopped making sense. What made even less sense were their prices. A rare-ranked cultivation technique for just its first realm of cultivation was priced at 10,000 CP. However, there was an option to purchase these techniques in stages.

The first realm of cultivation had ten stages, and buying each stage separately cost 1,000 CP per stage. If this seemed expensive, I checked the prices for techniques ranked above rare.

A Super Rare rank cultivation technique for the first realm of cultivation cost between 10,000 and 20,000 CP. An Epic rank cultivation technique for the first realm of cultivation cost between 25,000 and 50,000 CP and a Crystalline rank cost between 50,000 and 100,000 CP.

However, there were no techniques available for the Legendary rank. The only explanation Rave gave was that I couldn’t buy Legendary rank items—I’d have to earn them through main quests and other options that would become available later.

I took a deep breath as we continued checking. I didn’t realize how much time had passed, but I began to feel sleepy. My body felt robotic and fatigued. I understood that even though my body had recovered from the damage it had suffered, it wasn’t a machine.

If it’s not a machine, I have to make it one. I was the type of guy who, if I knew I had to work twenty hours today just to get a rest day afterward, I’d do it in a heartbeat. And it’s even better when a continuous amount of work today guarantees an easy life tomorrow.

This bizarre day of strange acceptance was finally coming to an end. I spoke to Rave and told her to continue looking through the cultivation techniques and filter out the ones she thought were not just better but the best.

“CP isn’t a problem. We’ll earn it anyway. Just find the best.”

She was way too enthusiastic as she complied without hesitation. I moved my legs, which felt quite stiff, and reached the campfire where the men were resting. Now I had to wake up Tharl and get some sleep myself. It took a bit of pushing and kicking before he finally woke up—talk about sweet dreams for this guy.

And so, finally, the first day and night for me, Skylar Liquidator—now Skylar Reigns—came to an end. Though tomorrow would be a hassle too.