All around the little bubble of space around me, I saw soldiers rushing to dump materials on top of me. I was almost worried that I’d crack, since I wasn’t sure what my one health point truly meant, but it seems whatever enchanted crystal I’m made from doesn’t even get scuffed.

I still hadn’t been told why I’m here, but I could infer from the whole ‘Tide and wall core’ situation that I’m expected to build a wall capable of holding back those demonic things.

yeah right, I'm sure the one health-point crystal will save the world. As if.

This whole situation was honestly feeling sketchier by the moment. Getting dragged out of my world into this one apparently meant I had to serve my summoners will or something like that.

Is this slavery? Am I a slave?

Probably, but I’m not strong enough yet to question these people, let alone challenge the monsters that are on the way. Maybe once I invent howitzers I’ll consider fighting against these strangers.

Back to the soldiers, I see they completely buried me, and I still hear them bring more stuff.

I should figure out how to take this…

Got to know how to absorb materials…

Nothing? Really system? You come up from something as vague as ‘I wish I could do something,’ but not ‘absorb materials?’ ugh, useless.

[System Query Detected] [System functions must be manually assigned a prompt word. Status page is an exception]

Fine, I reply to the strange box, bring up abilities.

[Abilities: Owned] [Absorption (multi-Purpose): Installed, no prompt] [Summoning (multi-purpose): Installed, no prompt] [Construction (multi-purpose): Installed, no prompt]

[Available for Purchase] [Direct Control: Available, 2 Credits] [Magic Missile: Available, 1 Credit] [Fireball: 2 Credits] [False Core: 4 Credits] [Focus to See more Options]

Great, I’ve got a headache from all the selections, and I don’t even have a head.

I absently assign the prompts Absorb, Summon, and Construct to their respective abilities, and start scrolling through the available ones.

Magic Missile, Fireball, Blade Swarm, Acid, Ignite, Phantom Blow, Barrage, Slice, so many attack spells! I suppose it make sense considering what I’ll be facing against.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

I kept scrolling down further, and I noticed something of a pattern, even with how spaced out they were.

Direct control, Obedience, Influence Thought, Enforce Will, Wipe Mind, Shock Training.

All these things directly effect a living, thinking being, and bring them to servitude.

These influence abilities only confirm to me that when I select a species, it most likely will be a true sapient with some sort of binding to me.

The core-slave controls an army of slaves. I was already weary about this world, but this seems ridiculous.

I mentally dismiss all the influence stuff. If I’m going to have workers, I would rather them be willing to do the work out of respect and appreciation, rather than fear of punishment.

So… what would a person want from me in exchange for their work? If they’re being summoned to me, they probably want some comforting items, like food, clothes, bedding, and while nothing in my territory is truly private, they probably would appreciate a room to themselves as well.

I quickly grab two abilities that will come in handy for that.

[Food Summon: 1 Credit] [Cloth Summon: 1 Credit] [Abilities Purchased. 3 Credits Remaining]

After that I started looking for other useful skills in the same line of thinking. If I was going to build a wall that also acted as a city and barracks, I was going to do it better that any human could hope to dream of let alone execute.

As I was browsing, I occasionally used my [Absorb] to slowly lower the pile of wood, clay, and stone which currently covered my gem. From what I could tell, each absorb cost 3 mana, and I had a regeneration of 2 per hour, and with [Absorb] having a radius of around half a meter, I made a slow, steady impact on the pile.

At certain points in my excavation, I could tell the time was getting around noon based on the dwindling streaks of sunlight, so the soldiers will probably be leaving by then, or at least the majority. They might leave guards to watch over me, after all.

The seemingly endless selection of skills, spells, effects, and attacks was rather mind numbing to scroll through, but I powered through for the sake of making plans.

I reached the end of the purchasable abilities and made a list of the ones I could use to best effect. With only 3 of these credits, I had to make the best of what I had.

Spike Wall, Trap Making, Weapon Summoning, Metallurgy, Advanced Timber, Advanced Masonry, Superior Material, Efficiency, Unit Promoting, Combat Training, goodness there’s so many ways I could do this…

In the end I knew that everything was going to come down to my ‘servants’, and I wanted them to be willing to defend me, each other, and the empire beyond.

Until I manage to declare independence, obviously.

[Unit Promoting: 1 Credit] [Superior Material: 2 Credits] [Abilities Purchased: 0 Credits, Next Credits at Lvl 5]

With all my abilities in place, and a quick assignment of prompt words, I was finally ready for selecting a species.

Except for all the materials in the way…

----------------------------------------

***Luo Tung-Mei***

From the top of a nearby hill, I watched as the industrious little core went to work, slowly assimilating the various materials I had pooled for this moment.

By next morning it’d be a clean valley once more, with only the gem left.

My head was still having phantom pains from last month’s explosion in the palace, and I still felt pity for the young core down below.

Perhaps I’ll make a habit of visiting, at least for a little. If the core manages to survive the wave, I might even move out here. The fresh air would probably help.

“Sorceress, night approaches, we must return to civilization. Do you wish to station guards for this asset?”

I nod in reply, mind occupied by thoughts of souls and systems.