Landlord World - Start with SSS talent

[Ding! Do you want to spend 1,000 F-rank energy crystals to upgrade the 'Resource Center'?]

"Accept!" Noan did not hesitate and responded immediately.

[Ding! Upgrade successful. You have received 'Resource Production Center' Level 2.]

…

Name: Resource Production Center

Level: 2

Description: Each day, this facility will produce 500 units of wood, 500 units of stone, 100 units of iron, 500 food pills, and 50 E-rank energy crystals.

Each day, the Resource Center has a 20% chance to double the amount of resources you can receive and a 20% chance to produce D-rank energy crystals instead of E-rank ones.

Upgrade Requirement: 5,000 E-rank energy crystals (Higher-rank energy crystals can be used as substitutes)

…

Seeing the significant increase in daily resource production from the 'Resource Production Center,' Noan was delighted.

Especially since the facility had a chance to double its output and even upgrade the rank of the energy crystals it could produce.

After contemplating momentarily, Noan decided not to use the 'Upgrade Card' on the 'Resource Production Center.'

"Maybe I should wait until it levels again," he murmured.

To upgrade the 'Resource Production Center' to Level 3, he needed 5,000 E-rank energy crystals, equivalent to 5 Peak D-rank crystals.

That amount was still within Noan's capabilities. However, what about after reaching Level 3? At that point, the required resources for upgrading would likely be enormous.

When that time came, he would use the free upgrade card.

Noan then took out the blueprint for the 'Combat Simulation Room.'

"System, activate the Sandbox function."

Immediately, a Sandbox appeared before Noan, resembling a miniature version of his Territory.

When Noan threw the construction blueprint into the Sandbox, a notification panel appeared.

[Ding! Construction blueprint detected - Combat Simulation Room. Do you want to spend 1,000 units of wood, 1,000 units of stone, 100 units of iron, and 1,000 F-rank energy crystals to build this facility?]

"Accept!"

[Ding! Please select a location to construct the new facility.]

A small dome-shaped house suddenly appeared outside the Sandbox. Noan knew this was the 'Combat Simulation Room,' so he used his hand to drag it into the Sandbox and placed it in an empty spot he had prepared in advance.

[Ding! Do you want to construct the new facility at this location? Once built, you can move the facilities to the new position using the Sandbox.]

"Agree!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

At that moment, the ground trembled slightly, and in the distance, a dome-shaped building with an area of about 100 square meters emerged.

Amid the classical-style garden, the structure stood out awkwardly, as its architectural style seemed to come from the future.

Seeing that the new facility was now installed, Noan immediately approached it.

Now, he could see that this building was truly something from the future.

Its dome-shaped roof was composed of interlocking metallic plates, and its door was made of an incredibly sturdy alloy.

[Ding! Each day, you have one chance to enter the 'Combat Simulation Room,' where you can stay inside for 24 hours. However, 24 hours inside the 'Combat Simulation Room' only equals one hour in real time.]

Reading the notification from the System, Noan nodded.

Although the time inside was somewhat limited—only 24 hours—at the very least, he could enter this place once a day.

Moreover, even if he spent 24 hours inside the 'Combat Simulation Room,' only one hour would pass in real-time.

"Open the door!"

When Noan finished speaking, the alloy door automatically slid open, revealing a space of darkness.

Noan felt no fear—after all, this was his facility. How could he possibly encounter danger here?

The moment he stepped inside, the door shut behind him, and another notification panel appeared. Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire

[Ding! You can choose the environment and monsters for training. Any injuries sustained in this world will not affect the real world. Even if you die here, you will be instantly revived.]

Seeing this notification, Noan was startled. He had not expected the 'Combat Simulation Room' to have such an incredible function.

If the notification was true, he could freely experiment with anything within this space.

At this moment, Noan realized that the cost of constructing the 'Combat Simulation Room' had been far too cheap.

"Set the environment to plains, generate 1,000 zombies."

[Ding! Initializing environment and simulating enemies.]

Immediately, the surrounding darkness faded away, replaced by a vast grassland. The sun hung high in the sky, casting warm rays over the field, while a cool breeze swept past Noan's body.

All his senses told him this was a real world, not a mere simulation.

At that moment, 1,000 zombies appeared in the distance and charged toward him.

Noan grinned and leapt into battle.

…

Meanwhile, deep within the Gloomy Forest, Caleb and Austin moved together, accompanied by the Stone Golem and the Lava Lizard trailing behind them.

"You found another cave?" Caleb frowned and asked.

Austin immediately nodded. "That's right. Yesterday, I planned to enter the Gloomy Forest to hunt some zombies, but then I heard the sound of a landslide and rushed over to check."

"When I got there, I saw a massive cave, but there seemed to be something inside."

"I didn't want to take any risks, so I returned to tell you and bring you along for the exploration."

Hearing this, Caleb frowned and said, "Oy! You didn't report this to the Master? Why are you telling me instead?"

"Are you stupid?" Austin replied, irritated. "We don't even know what's inside that cave yet, so why bother the Master?"

"I think we should investigate first. If we find something strange, we can report it to the Master—it won't be too late."

Caleb nodded in agreement. "You're right."

About thirty minutes later, they arrived at a large cave. The entrance was more than three meters wide and over two meters tall.

The forest was already gloomy, so they saw nothing but pitch-black darkness when they looked into the cave.

A sudden chill ran down Caleb's spine.

Naturally cautious, he immediately asked, "Oy! Do you think this cave isn't dangerous?"

"Of course!" Austin replied confidently, laughing. "This zone is meant for E- and F-rank Lords. How could there be a monster stronger than Peak D-rank here, right?"

Caleb found this reasoning logical but suddenly recalled something and said, "Have you forgotten about the Master? He's already surpassed Peak D-rank by a huge margin."

"Ack!" Austin was momentarily at a loss for words. Embarrassed, he chuckled. "Well... hehehe... the Master is a special case. I don't believe another is being here stronger than us besides him."

Caleb: "..."

Internally, Caleb cursed. He knew Austin was overly confident, but this level of arrogance was something he hadn't seen before.

Still, since they had already made it this far, there was no reason to turn back.

After thinking it through, Caleb admitted that Austin's words weren't entirely wrong.

Perhaps Noan was just an exception. After all, this was a territory meant for F- and E-rank Lords—how could there possibly be monsters stronger than Austin's creatures?

Without further words, Austin commanded the Lava Lizard to ignite a flame bright enough to illuminate the surroundings, then stepped forward alongside Caleb into the cave.

The cave was spacious, and the further they walked, the more it seemed to slope downward.

A growing sense of unease swelled within Caleb.

"Austin, don't you feel like something terrifying is getting closer?" he asked urgently.

Austin tilted his head to look at him, his face filled with disdain. "Are you seriously this much of a coward? It's just a cave. There's probably nothing special at the end, so why are you so scared?"

"I… I just…"

Bruhh!

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew from deep within the cave, rushing upward and carrying an eerie coldness that made them shiver.

"Austin!" Caleb shouted in fear. "Turn back! Hurry! I can feel something monstrous down there!"

Austin, however, was unfazed. He chuckled and said, "You're such a coward. It's just a gust of wind. That means there's probably another entrance at the end of this cave."

"Come on, this cave might lead us out of this barren region."