Gacha Kingdom Building

--This Chapter is written in Erik’s POV--

The forest’s dense canopy hid the sun, making it difficult to measure the time.

After twenty-seven thousand steps, I expected roughly three hours to have passed. Yet when I jumped over the canopy, I found the sun hanging above me.

Even if I had miscounted my steps, it was unlikely I would be so far off, despite the forest’s dizzying heat.

Most likely, a day on this planet was shorter than on Earth.

The planet had to be spinning faster, which meant both day and night would last less than expected.

From my estimates, a full day would last roughly twenty hours.

I had only run into monsters and one Champion thus far, and I’d only enjoy a few more hours of daylight.

From what Alexis told me, most beastkin had senses far superior to those of humans; they were far better hunters, and some grew stronger under the moonlight and other conditions.

While I couldn’t prepare accordingly for all of the different races participating in the Divine Event, I should at the very least make use of my own advantages and prepare for the most obvious disadvantage.

Unlike Maya’s brother, I couldn’t force those under my contracts to do things outside their abilities, and no one could join me to keep watch during the night.

Under these circumstances, I could avoid sleeping for at least three consecutive nights, but that would render me less effective.

It was best to make use of the remaining daylight time and my peak efficiency to get myself a useful piece on the board.

Erik: "I might only have five hours, at best..."

I would’ve liked to explore more and find interesting locations I could use for a mental map, but I wasn’t given the luxury.

Running at my maximum speed, weaving between trees and vaulting over slopes, I covered kilometers in seconds.

Several different things flashed before my eyes, all of them ignored. My objective remained finding another Champion, or at least an intelligent creature I could put under a contract.

It shouldn’t take me long.

But luck wasn’t on my side.

Most monsters in this world, despite being stronger than the average found on Earth, had no means to stop me even for a second.

However, one did.

It was a massive wolf whose golden fur hung from above the trees until it reached the ground, hiding all of its blue skin, except for its underbelly.

The beast stared at me, its sharp pupils seemingly a meter larger than my entire body.

Our gaze met, and I stood still, holding my breath.

One...

Two seconds passed.

The surrounding trees cracked under the pressure of the mana emanating from the beast’s body, and even the mana layer I kept around my body for protection was forcefully brushed away like a leaf caught in stormy winds.

As the wolf opened its mouth, showing bloody fangs, I broke eye contact and searched for a straight path among the trees I could retreat into.

My chances of defeating it were... close to zero.

But before I could turn away, the monster acted first.

Seemingly having sniffed something in the distance, it turned its head from me.

A gust of wind burst toward me with enough strength to get one of my feet off the ground.

The wolf had disappeared, a path of fallen trees left in its wake.

I unclenched my fists and turned toward a nearby tree, adjusting the glasses that the wolf’s wind pressure had nearly knocked off my nose.

Erik: "...Why did it not kill you?"

Regardless of circumstance or intelligence, it was unusual for a monster not to attack a human.

Especially when it knew its prey couldn’t fight back.

Yet, the wolf had spared two.

Me, and whoever the pair of blue wings hiding behind the tree belonged to.

The owner of these wings seemed to be a female angel who, like me, had her breath caught in her throat for the past few seconds.

Blue-Winged Woman: "I could ask you the same."

A single, rectangular plate on her forearm extended several more, forming a round, silver shield.

Her hand reached for a scabbard near her waist, from which she took a sword, its blade engraved with golden letters.

The woman stepped forward, pointing her blade at me.

Erik: "Fair."

Around the path the wolf had created, I heard something rustling behind bushes.

I lifted my arms, and the two Champions, seeing me unarmed and at the mercy of the angel’s blade, took the bait.

One of them, a skinny man with daggers on his hands, threw a small blue sphere that exploded in a flash of light matching its color.

While blinded by the blue light, I felt my clothes torn and surprisingly warm steel scratching my chest.

From the direction the other two Champions came from, a blade of fire reached my neck. It burned through my mana barrier, leaving my neck annoyingly pink and warm.

Several bolts of blue light shattered against my skull.

With my vision returned, I turned my back to the angel. She seemed in disbelief that her blade had only managed to draw one drop of blood without stabbing my heart, while I was impressed she got that far.

Charging forward, the two champions tried attacking me with more bolts of light and fire slashes, both seemingly bigger and stronger than before.

They didn’t seem as powerful as the angel, but I took no chances and dodged them, grabbing the two by the neck.

Not escaping me when they had the chance was a huge blunder.

It was too late now.

They were too weak to free themselves.

One of them, a bulkier man, coated his hands in fire, trying to burn my arm as he grabbed onto it and punched my stomach.

The scrawny one blasted another flash of light, leaving me blind while desperately trying to stab my hands.

Once I could see again, I found the two still caught in my grip, their weapons shattered without leaving a scratch on my arms.

They had managed to warm my arms slightly before the light faded from their eyes.

With Gifts like those, they weren’t particularly useful to me.

At least, not as much as the angel flying away from our location.

Erik: "Smart. But you’ve miscalculated."

After taking the badges from the corpses on the dirt path, I followed the angel through the forest, leaping above the canopy to keep an eye on her general direction.

Despite the trees standing in my way, I was closing the distance, and the angel flinched.

A torrent of white light fell from the sky in the shape of swords and spears, trailing after her.

It was meaningless.

Once I was close enough, I soared into the sky one last time, catching her midair.

She struggled, trying to shake me off, but her sword failed her again.

Without air reaching her lungs, she slowly started losing altitude, but before she could fall, I threw her against the ground below.

Even her wings weren’t enough to break her fall.

Her body slammed into the ground with so much force that she lay in a crater, her eyes closed and her breath rough.

Erik: "Now, how does this work?"

While I inspected her badge, golden lines of light stitched the cuts across her body.

A few moments later, she jolted awake, immediately trying to reach for her sword.

Erik: "Stop."

The woman froze, her fingers centimeters away from the blade.

Erik: "...Stand up."

Blue-Winged Woman: "Kh...!"

Despite the struggling and flinching from the pain, the angel rose from the ground, her knees still shaking.

Catherine told us that obtaining someone’s badge would give us ownership over them, but I didn’t expect the effects to be this strong.

Their curse of obedience seemed to be as strong as my Gift.

I should be careful.

Even though I was passing the badge I got from the first Champion I ran into off as my own, having mine stolen could end in an instant defeat for me, regardless of my strength.

Still, with the angel’s and my own, plus the three badges from the Champions I ran into so far, I already had five in total.

I couldn’t measure my pace against anyone other than the ones I defeated, but considering each only had one badge, I decided this was good enough for the first day.

Especially since I had found someone to keep watch during the night.

Erik: "State your name."

Blue Winged Woman: "...Mynna! Of the Kyrizaight Temple-"

Erik: "Scout the sky, Mynna. Look for somewhere we can hide and return to me once you find it."

It only took her a few minutes to find a small cave we could use.

On our way, I tested a few commands to see exactly what the badge could do.

Like my Gift, the badge’s commands seemed absolute yet remained subject to the target’s own abilities.

Erik: "...Lastly, you may not harm me under any circumstances."

Inside the cave, I forced Mynna to enter a contract with me.

While there wasn’t much point during the second phase of the Divine Event, that could change depending on the contents of the next phase.

Besides, if someone were to take her badge from me, I could catch them off-guard by still commanding her.

Though whether my Gift was stronger than the badge’s curse was something I’d have to test later.

Erik: "...Stand watch tonight. Wake me up if you feel someone’s presence close by."

Mynna: "...I-Is that all you want from me?"

Since I got her badge, she seemed frightened, but once I gave her my final order, most of her hesitation had turned into shock.

Erik: "That’s all I need from you."

I had also told her not to distance herself from the cave, and that if she felt like falling asleep, she had to wake me up so I wouldn’t be vulnerable.

Even if she couldn’t perform her duty fully, it’d still be more efficient than staying awake the entire night.

After that, I could just find someone else to share the burden with her.

That seemed solid enough for now, but she still seemed anxious.

Mynna: "Well... You could send me to hunt?"

Erik: "During the night, with that wolf out there? Too risky."

Besides, other than that beast, I’d have no trouble hunting monsters during the day.

It wasn’t worth sacrificing this piece for so little gain.

Mynna: "Then... What about your neck? It’s still burnt, right?"

Erik: "It’s not affecting my abilities. Save your mana for yourself."

She was stronger than the average Champion, but someone like Maya or her brother could easily defeat her.

As long as it was just a small burn mark, I could have it dealt with later.

Mynna: "Hmm... I see, I see."

She scratched her chin, wearing a soft, relieved smile on her face.

Erik: "What is it?"

I could already tell she had misunderstood my intentions.

Mynna: "I was told humans can be as cruel as demons. But... I guess it could be worse. You hardly seem interested in me."

Her body finally stopped trembling.

She seemed relaxed.

Mynna: "You have an interesting soul. It’s like a dark lamp. I can’t help but think if it can be turned on, and how bright it would-"

Alexis told me angels were one of the most trusting races in existence, capable of seeing goodness even in the smallest acts, but to think it was to this extent...

No wonder they tended not to interact with other races and isolate themselves.

Despite their abilities, they were far too vulnerable.

Erik: "It’s naive to trust others so easily, and you’re completely wrong about me. As for your concern... I wouldn’t waste my energy on meaningless torture and abuse."

The only reason I chose to spare her and not the men was because of her wings.

Leaping through the canopy to measure the time every hour or so was a waste of energy, and if we ran into another Champion capable of flight, I could have her keep them busy so I’d waste less energy chasing them.

While I feared few things in this forest, she also provided me access to healing magic, in case I found something else on par with the wolf, or a Champion with an annoying Gift.

She was useful in many ways; being a woman mattered far less than her wings.

Erik: "Just focus on your job."

Mynna: "I’ll do my best!"

She was already happy to collaborate.

Interesting.

Perhaps I should seek to recruit more in the future.

Though I’d probably have an easier time with demons, considering my methods probably wouldn’t sit right with angels under circumstances other than the ones forced by the Divine Event.

Erik: "I expect nothing less."

Mynna: "Hm! Good night!"

As the moon took the sky, it started to rain.

Though the water was, for some reason, black.

I would’ve liked to investigate, but that would mean wasting the effort I’d put into getting someone to stand watch.

Though my rest wasn’t too pleasant either way, and I was woken as soon as the sky got slightly brighter.

Mynna: "I feel someone a few meters ahead... They are coming our way... What should we do?"

She looked tired, but she’d done a perfect job.

Erik: "We’ll get them before they get us. Arm yourself."

They could be useful pieces, but even if they weren’t, I’d be a step closer to being done with this meaningless play.

Whatever the case, my luck had finally turned.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!