Chapter 221: The Birth of the Dark Empire

The forest shook beneath the weight of three charging minotaurs, each one thundering forward like a runaway siege beast. Heads low, horns angled to kill, every pounding step sent vibrations rippling through the ground.

Luke stood in the center of the path, hood slightly raised. A faint smile tugged at his lips, barely there, but enough to betray the fact that the rhythm of this fight was already playing out in his head.

The first monster came in like a battering ram. Luke slid aside at the last moment, twisting his body so cleanly that the rush of air from its passing only clipped the ends of his hair.

The second was right behind, too fast for its size. Luke bent his knees, channeled stamina, and leapt. He spun midair, bringing his heel down like a hammer onto the creature’s skull. The blow drove it into the dirt with a satisfying, bone-jarring crack.

He planted both hands toward the ground. Spiked roots burst up, coiling around the minotaur’s limbs as it thrashed in panic.

The third roared, closing in. Luke landed lightly on the pinned monster’s shoulders, using it as a launch point. His bow was already up. The arrow flew before his feet even left their perch, punching clean through the oncoming minotaur’s eye.

The next shot carried Force Infusion, a dense, pulsing energy that exploded on impact, piercing the creature’s chest straight through the heart.

[You have slain a Forest Minotaur – Lvl 55]

The body crumpled. The first minotaur returned, fists pounding the air like sledgehammers. Luke vanished in a flicker of Dark Dash, reappearing behind it.

Three arrows left the string in rapid succession, each one sinking deep into the creature’s back with sharp, meaty cracks. It roared, staggering. Luke shifted aim lower, driving a shot into its leg and forcing it to its knees. His palm hit the dirt. Corrupted Plant Growth erupted from the ground, roots coiling around its limbs. He triggered Thorn Mutation, the bindings tightening with vicious barbs.

The second minotaur, already wounded, swung wildly and hit nothing but earth. Luke sprinted up its arm, summoned his kukri from inventory, and spun into a precise, fluid slash. Steel split flesh with a wet, tearing sound, followed by a hot spray of blood.

[You have slain a Forest Minotaur – Lvl 55]

The last survivor tore free of the roots and charged. Luke met it with a storm of arrows, not to kill, but to break its momentum. Shoulders. Arms. Thighs. Every shot landed in a joint or muscle, each loosed so quickly that the string’s echo overlapped with the next.

When it finally staggered, Luke nocked his last arrow and poured stamina into it. It launched like a thunderbolt, slamming into the target with enough force to spin the beast in midair before it crashed to the forest floor.

He walked toward the downed monster, coaxing roots from the earth to bind it. Without haste, he drove his kukri into his own palm, letting the blood drip onto its forehead.

“So… how about becoming my new servant?”

[This living being has rejected becoming your servant. It is therefore unworthy.]

Luke sighed. The minotaur, still barely breathing, tried to lift a hand for one last strike. He didn’t give it the chance, an arrow through the skull ended it without ceremony.

[You have slain a Forest Minotaur – Lvl 55]

**Your class [Demonic Predator] has reached Level 56!**
Class bonus attributes gained: +10 Strength, +7 Perception, +6 Agility, +6 Vitality, +6 Intelligence, +5 Endurance, +8 Free Points.

When he’d hit Level 55, there had been no new class skill. That meant the gap between skills was growing.

Up ahead, the sounds of battle rang through the trees. Luke broke into a run. In a clearing, Charlie was squaring off against a massive boar. It charged, tusks lowered for the kill. She stepped forward, raised her fist, and met its rush head-on with a full-force punch.

[Princess Charlie has slain an Iron-Tusk Boar – Lvl 35]

*The [Pugilist] 2nd Class of Princess Charlie has reached Level 30! (+3 Strength, +2 Endurance, +2 Agility, +2 Vitality, +2 Perception, +2 Intelligence, +2 Free Points.)*

[Princess Charlie has unlocked new Second Class Skill]

**[Princess Charlie has reached Level 27! Skeleton (Rank F)] (+1 bonus point to all attributes, +1 free point)**

She looked over at him and gave a thumbs-up.

“Nice work,” Luke said as he walked over.

Lunch was taken care of.

Luke was deep in the capital’s surrounding forest now. After all this time exploring, he’d made a few discoveries. First, most of the horizon he’d been seeing was fake. The entire place was a massive, enclosed square. That was the end of the kingdom; there was nothing beyond it except a barrier projecting a false image of far-off mountains. The capital sat in the center, wrapped in forest, and if you went far enough toward the castle, you hit the other side of the square. The literal edge of the map.

Which meant this was it. The whole world, or rather, just this fragment of the first universe. And Luke had stumbled on a few intriguing details that had nothing to do with escaping. Odd little things. If this tutorial really was taking place in a piece of a dead universe, then there could be unique resources here, things that didn’t exist anywhere else in the multiverse.

And that had been his latest… project. Stupid? Probably. But it was still something to do, and weirdly satisfying.

Whistling, Luke walked up to a massive apple tree, plucked a crimson apple from the ground, and held it up.

[Midnight Red Apple]: A rare, deep-scarlet apple with tender, juicy flesh. Its flavor is sweet with a faint acidic bite, and its fresh aroma sharpens the appetite with the very first bite.

“Found another one, Charlie,” he said, sounding proud.

These apples existed only here. Nowhere else in the entire multiverse. He didn’t need to be a genius to realize how valuable that made them. Dropping several into his storage item, he made a mental note to save the seeds; he could grow plenty more later.

“Can I eat a few?” Artemis asked.

“Don’t touch anything on the right wing of the dimension,” Luke replied. “Those are rare specimens I’ve barely been able to find here.”

He was collecting every fruit, vegetable, root, herb, anything that was native to this fragment of the First Universe.

The list was already growing:

[Midnight Blue Berry]: Small and glistening, its dark-blue skin shines like wet sapphire under the light. The taste is refreshing, sweet with a faint minty finish that leaves a cool sensation in the mouth.

[Midnight Black Grape]: Clusters of grapes black as obsidian, with dense, sweet pulp that bursts into juice at the bite. The aroma is reminiscent of young wine, with a faint bitterness at the end to balance the flavor.

[Midnight Golden Peach]: Velvet-skinned and golden-hued, this fruit releases an intoxicatingly sweet perfume. Its soft flesh melts on the tongue, releasing warm, honeyed nectar.

[Midnight Crimson Citrus]: A thin-skinned, crimson-hued fruit whose juice is tart and faintly spicy, jolting the senses awake.

[Midnight Scarlet Root]: A fibrous root of vivid red, rich in nutrients and carrying a sweet, earthy flavor.

[Midnight Black Pumpkin]: Jet-black skin, golden flesh, with a faintly buttery taste.

[Midnight Pearl Onion]: Translucent white, impossibly sweet when caramelized.

[Midnight Amber Carrot]: Crisp, juicy, with a rich amber glow.

[Midnight Verdant Leaf]: Broad, vibrant greens with a faint sweetness, perfect for salads.

[Midnight Gray Herb]: Aromatic, with an earthy, grounding scent.

[Midnight Crimson Basil]: Red-leafed, intensely fragrant, with a spicy bite.

[Midnight Blue Mint]: Cool, sharp, with a hint of natural sweetness.

[Midnight Golden Wheat]: Plump golden grains with a mild honeyed aroma, ideal for fine bread.

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[Midnight Ruby Pepper]: Tiny, ruby-colored, and devastatingly hot.

[Midnight Sugar Blossom]: A delicate flower whose pollen is as sweet as refined sugar.

By now, Luke had collected so much that he’d lost track of the full list.

He bit into an apple.

“Damn, that’s juicy,” he murmured, exhaling through his nose.

It was, without question, the best apple he’d ever eaten in his life. The kind of ingredient that could flip the culinary world upside down. He didn’t want to brag, but when it came to growing things, he was good. Stupidly good.

With these ingredients alone, he could make wine, juice, jam, pumpkin candy, cookies, bread, pasta, hot sauce, soup, salads, stews, exclusive recipes from the First Universe. The sort of thing worth a fortune. Sure, he didn’t actually know how to make half of that, but he wouldn’t mind dedicating years to learning.

“So this your retirement plan?” Artemis asked.

“Pretty much,” Luke replied. “Once I’m out of this tutorial, I’m hanging up the kukris, putting the bow away, and opening a little shop.”

The truth was, with the right pacing and his Plant Growth skill, he was basically a walking factory for mass-producing crops. It didn’t work on magical plants because, while they would grow, they’d lose their magic, and for normal stuff, where he had zero interest in preserving any magic? He was an entire industry by himself. And if he used his own blood as fertilizer… well, that was another level. It was as if he had gold running through his veins.

“All I’d need is to buy a farm, and I’m set,” he said.

“A shop?” she pressed.

“One physical shop to start,” Luke explained. “Then we expand. I don’t have to worry about food spoiling, I can store it all in my storage item. Steady money, plus profession XP. What’s better than that? Pure profit. And Charlie gets a job out of it too. She can be my partner in… Dark Empire.”

“Dark Empire?” Artemis blinked.

“Yeah. My company name. You like it?”

“No, man. It’s awful,” she deadpanned. “Who’s going to buy groceries from a place with that name?”

Luke kept walking. “The products are amazing, juicy, flavorful, fresh. Of course they would.”