The first light of dawn bled over the broken village, casting long, cold shadows across the remnants of a once-proud settlement. The cracked stone walls, the rotting timber beams — all whispered stories of a forgotten glory.
Miguel sat on a rough log by the dying embers of their campfire, staring at the blackened sky slowly giving way to morning.
For a moment, he wondered if he had made a mistake.
He was no noble, no king — just an overworked man thrust into a world where dreams and nightmares lived side by side.
But he clenched his fists.
No. I chose this path. I won't back down.
Sylvara approached him, her silver hair tied messily behind her pointed ears. She wore a rough cloak and carried a basic dagger she had sharpened herself.
"It's time," she said simply.
Miguel nodded, standing and opening the translucent blue panel that floated before him.
[Village Reconstruction System Activated!]
[Main Objective: Rebuild the Lord's Manor.]
[Sub-Objective: Gather Basic Materials: Stone (0/200), Wood (0/300), Cement (0/50).]
Miguel whistled low. "Well, that's… ambitious."
They had no workforce, no tools, and no resources — only tired villagers, broken spirits, and the ever-thinning hope of survival.
But sometimes, a spark was enough to ignite a fire.
Morning Work Begins
Miguel rallied the few willing villagers in the village square — if you could call the broken cobblestone lot a "square."
Out of the hundred or so villagers, only a dozen agreed to work, the rest watching suspiciously from a distance.
A burly man named Garon grumbled under his breath, "Waste of time. What can a foreigner do that we can't?"
Miguel overheard but ignored it.
Instead, he demonstrated basic techniques — how to properly fell trees without wasting wood, how to safely gather stone without causing landslides.
His experience from years of construction in Japan flowed naturally through him.
At first, the villagers fumbled, skeptical and clumsy.
But as the sun rose higher, something remarkable began to happen.
The work became smoother.
Axes bit deeper into bark.
Wagons filled with timber.
The villagers began to murmur among themselves — not complaints, but curiosity, even hope.
Miguel wiped sweat from his brow and smiled.
"One step at a time."
Tensions Simmer
By midday, the mood soured.
A young woman dropped her bundle of wood and collapsed to the ground, sobbing from exhaustion.
Another man threw down his tools, cursing loudly.
"This is pointless! The soil is bad! The manor is a ruin! We're cursed!"
Miguel stepped forward.
"You think I don't know that?" he shouted, voice carrying across the tired crowd.
"You think I don't see the broken walls, the dying fields?"
He paused, taking a deep breath.
"But I'm still here.
If you walk away now, you're not just giving up on this village — you're giving up on yourselves."
The villagers murmured uneasily.
Miguel pressed on.
"I won't promise miracles," he said, softer now. "But if we work together, if we fight for every stone, every nail, we can build something new. Something better."
For a long moment, silence reigned.
Then slowly, one by one, they picked up their tools again.
Hope — fragile, trembling — flickered into life.
That Night
Miguel sat by the newly reinforced campfire, flipping through the System Market Menu.
Stone. Wood. Cement. Basic Tools. Even enchanted materials.
All within reach — for a price.
His balance still read:
[Gold: 0]
Miguel sighed heavily.
"No shortcut then."
Sylvara joined him, her keen eyes scanning the menu over his shoulder.
"You lack gold," she said plainly.
"Yeah," Miguel chuckled. "Story of my life."
At that moment, a System Notification chimed softly.
[New Quest Available: "The Forgotten Mines."]
[Objective: Investigate the abandoned mines north of the village. Possible treasures and dangers await.]
[Rewards: Variable — includes Gold, Materials, Equipment.]
Miguel leaned forward, interest piqued.
Abandoned mines? Treasure? Monsters?
It was dangerous — but it was their only shot.
"We're going to need supplies," Miguel muttered.
Sylvara tilted her head. "And weapons. Stronger ones."
Miguel smiled grimly.
Adventure was calling.
And they would answer.
Beyond the Trees…
In the thick woods past the northern ridge, a shadow moved between trees.
A filthy man in torn leathers — a scout for the Bloodfang Bandits — watched the glowing lights of the rekindled village with greedy eyes.
"They're trying to rebuild, the fools," he whispered to himself.
He turned and melted into the forest, racing back to his camp
At a clearing littered with broken tents and rusted weapons, he knelt before a hulking figure — the Bandit Captain, a scarred man known only as Rugar.
"What news?" Rugar growled.
The scout smirked. "New blood in the ruins. Just a few dozen. Weak. Tired. Easy prey."
Rugar laughed, a deep, cruel sound.
"Good," he said. "We move under the next full moon.
This time, we take everything."
The forest swallowed their laughter.