Chapter 34: The Path Forward

Leon sat on the edge of his bed, running a hand through his hair as he tried to steady his thoughts. The dream still clung to him like a thick fog—vivid and relentless. It had been a long time since he last saw his mother's face, and the pain of betrayal burned just as fiercely as the night he died.

But there was no point dwelling on it.

His mother was in another world, and his former friends… they were untouchable now.

If I ever get the chance, I'll settle things.

For now, survival came first. He had been granted this new life, and he wasn't going to waste it. The only way forward was to grow stronger—to climb higher in this world than he ever had in the last.

The sun barely crested the horizon, casting soft golden hues over the settlement. Leon exhaled sharply and pushed himself up. He wouldn't get any more sleep, so he might as well get started.

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The first order of business was testing out his newly acquired Transmutation ability. He still wasn't sure of its full capabilities, but the possibilities were too great to ignore.

Stepping outside, he grabbed a chunk of silver ore and activated his skill, willing it to change into iron.

A faint glow surrounded the ore, and within moments, the silvery sheen dulled into the familiar dark-gray color of iron. But what caught Leon's attention was the quantity—he had started with a small amount of silver, but the resulting iron was nearly twice as much.

So, lower-tier materials yield more when converted…

Encouraged, he tried another experiment. He turned iron into wood. The process consumed a noticeable amount of his energy, and the conversion rate wasn't as favorable. Still, the fact that he could create wood from metal was groundbreaking in itself.

Similar materials require less energy and can even yield more… but vastly different materials take more energy and provide less output.

He moved on to the final test—silver to gold.

As expected, it took more energy than turning silver into iron, and the amount of gold he received was noticeably lower than the original silver. But it wasn't useless; even with the loss in quantity, this method could still serve as an emergency way to obtain precious metals if needed.

After conducting several more tests, Leon was confident that he understood the basics of Transmutation. It would be a game-changer, but he had to be mindful of its limits.

---

With that done, he moved on to the next major task—the Summoning Gate.

Taking out 80 Lord Summoning Scrolls along with the 10 bonus scrolls he had obtained from the system over the past two days, Leon stood before the gate, bracing himself.

With a deep breath, he activated the summons.

A powerful light burst forth, illuminating the settlement as wave after wave of new people emerged. By the time the process was complete, 90 fresh recruits stood before him, looking around in awe.

Leon wasted no time organizing them. He quickly assigned roles based on their skills—some were placed in construction to assist with building efforts, others joined the labor force to strengthen the economy, and a handful were selected for guard duty.

As he finished distributing orders, he took a step back and assessed his situation.

The settlement had come a long way, but there were still critical gaps that needed to be addressed.

He crossed his arms, thinking aloud.

"Alright, let's see… We have solid stone walls and passable defenses. The river gives us steady access to water, and farming is improving, though still too slow for my liking. Right now, my top priorities are—"

1. Boosting Agriculture: They needed a way to accelerate food production and stabilize their food supply. If the population kept growing, they would be in trouble if they didn't get ahead of the issue now.

2. Building Roads: Trade with Edric was going to be crucial, and creating a proper road between their settlements would make travel and commerce significantly easier. It would also allow them to send reinforcements faster if either settlement was under attack.

3. Acquiring Beasts of Burden & Horses: Transportation was a major limitation. Even Edric, who had been in this world for over a year, only had a dozen horses. They needed a way to move troops and supplies more efficiently.

All of these were important, but one thing took precedence above all else.

Leon clenched his fist.

"Before anything else, I need a proper army."

His people were strong, but they lacked proper military structure. The time for makeshift defenses was over.

It was time to build the barracks.