Legendary Extraction: Kingdom Builder in a Ruined World

Night passed in the territory, and soon, morning arrived. Elias stood at the northern border of his land, with Vael by his side. Opposite them stood a group of thirty-one residents who had come to see him off.

Elias smiled at them as they waved him farewell.

"Thanks for sending me off," he said with a warm smile.

They responded with well wishes, hoping for his safe return and success.

Elias nodded. "I'll be sure to return in one piece. Thanks for the kind words."

He then turned to Garrett. "Take care of the territory while Vael and I are away."

Garrett straightened. "I'll do my best while you're gone."

Elias smiled once more and said, "Alright, we'll be heading out now."

With that, he and Vael walked through the barrier, making their way toward the Embergrove Forest. Elias could still feel the eyes of those watching him from behind, but he didn't turn back. He simply kept moving forward. Their journey had begun.

Just then, Alia's cute voice rang in his head.

"[Master, are you nervous?]"

Elias gave a small nod. "A bit."

Even though he had grown stronger, he wasn't arrogant. He understood how powerful the true experts of this world were. Compared to them, he was nothing but a small ant. Norwyn City was a major city under a strong kingdom, and it was bound to have several such experts wandering about.

If he got careless and one of his secrets was exposed, he could be in serious danger. Of course, he didn't plan on making any mistakes. As long as he kept his head down and didn't provoke anyone, those experts likely wouldn't bother with him. Still, knowing that didn't stop the nervous feeling. In fact, it made him even more eager to get to the city.

According to the map, the journey to Norwyn City would take three days. There were faster routes that could cut the time down a lot, but Elias didn't dare take them. There was a reason the map was made. The Embergrove Forest stretched far and wide, and it was filled with dangers. At his current strength, going off-path was just asking for death. Sticking to the forged and safest route was his best option. And so, they began their journey.

---

Three days later, Elias and Vael emerged from the other end of the Embergrove Forest. In the distance stood the tall walls of Norwyn City, clearly visible under the sun.

Elias smiled as he looked ahead. "Finally," he muttered.

They had made it after three days and nights of travel.

The journey though hadn't been without challenges. Even though the route they followed was the safest, there was no such thing as a truly safe path in the Embergrove Forest. The only difference was that this route had weaker beasts and fewer ambushes.

Still, during those three days, Elias and Vael had been forced to fight several times. The battles hadn't been too dangerous for them though so Elias used them as training. He used those chances to sharpen his close-combat skills, learning to rely on his fists more. Now, he could proudly say his hand-to-hand combat had improved a lot. He still wasn't an expert, but he was no longer the beginner he had been just days ago. He was confident that if he sparred with Vael now, it wouldn't be a completely one-sided beating.

That was solid progress.

He stared at the city walls in the distance. Norwyn City—the first step toward growing his territory. A bigger smile appeared on his face. It was time to go.

He turned to Vael beside him. With his sleek gear and appearance, Vael stood out too much. That kind of attention could lead to unnecessary trouble. So Elias made a decision. With a simple thought, he unsummoned Vael.

Vael vanished from sight. The moment he disappeared, Elias felt a strange emptiness. After all, Vael had always been at his side since he was summoned. This was the first time Elias had unsummoned him. Still, he could sense Vael's presence, waiting quietly. With one thought, he could call him back. There was no issue.

With that settled, it was time to enter the city.

---

Soon, Elias arrived at the city gate. The wall was tall and made of thick, tightly stacked stone bricks. The large gate stood open. Guards were posted above the walls and on both sides of the gate. A line of people waited to enter.

Some wore armor and looked like adventurers. There were also merchant carriages and people in different types of clothes, all queued up for entry into the city.

Elias joined the line.

Vendors had set up stalls by the roadside, shouting and calling out to passersby to check their goods.

Elias stood still for a moment, taking in the bustling scene. The place was lively—truly the sight of a busy city. Judging by the size of the crowd waiting to enter, Norwyn City was clearly active and well-populated. His gaze moved toward the city gates where guards stood armed, inspecting everyone who passed through. They checked carriages, requested identification, and sometimes collected entrance fees.

Elias's expression darkened slightly. He had no identification. Even worse, he had no currency from this world. Since arriving here, he had only relied on his karma points to purchase things through his system. This was his first time stepping into a human city.

Fortunately, some vendors were buying and selling. And he had many valuable items in his inventory.

Without wasting time, Elias approached one of the vendor stalls.

---

A short while later, Elias walked away from the vendor stand with a satisfied look. He had sold a few beast cores and some treasures from his inventory. In return, he received ten gold coins and one thousand silver coins.

He smiled.

One silver coin was worth one hundred Corper coins. One gold coin equaled one hundred silver coins. Although technically exchangeable, no one in their right mind would trade down unless they were desperate. With money now in hand, Elias joined the line to enter the city.

'Just selling a few items gave me this much. If I sell everything, how much more could I make?' he mused as he joined the end of the line, looking quite pleased with himself.

What he had sold was only a small part of what he had. Thanks to his extraction talent, collecting such items had become easy. Without that talent, he would've struggled to gather a fraction of that. A wide smile formed on his face as he waited in line.

Soon, he reached the gate.

"Identification," one of the guards demanded.

Elias let out a quiet sigh. "It's my first time here. I don't have one."

The guard gave a brief "Oh," then turned and waved over another. "Take this one to the Registry Hall."

The second guard nodded and stepped down. "Follow me."

Elias followed behind him without a word. The clinking of armor echoed with every step the guard took. They passed through the city gate, entering Norwyn City.

After some walking, the guard stopped in front of a building and turned around.

"This is it. Go inside."

Without waiting for a reply, he turned and walked away.

Elias looked at his back for a moment, then turned and stepped into the building.

Inside, a young woman sat behind a desk, looking slightly bored. But the moment the door opened and she saw Elias, her expression changed. She straightened up and put on a professional smile.

"Welcome, sir. How may I help you?"

"I'm new in the city," Elias replied. "I came to register."

"Ah, understood," she said politely. "The registration fee is ten silver coins."

Elias nodded. "That's fine."

Though he agreed, he winced internally.

One of the main reasons he came to Norwyn was to recruit people into his territory—offering them benefits to settle there. Now here he was, paying just to stay in someone else's city.

'I wonder how long it'll take before my territory reaches this level...' he thought.

While he was thinking, the receptionist had already started the process. A short while later, she handed him a small token that looked ordinary.

"Please insert a bit of your mana into it."

Elias nodded and did as instructed. The moment his mana touched the token, it lit up. Strange runes appeared, and the token became bound to him.

The lady smiled. "It's done. This token will serve as your identification in Norwyn City. You'll need it to access most places. Also, always carry it. If you lose it, you'll have to come back here and pay for a replacement."

Elias gave a small nod.

Then, he raised his hand. With a flick of his fingers, a gold coin appeared.

The receptionist's eyes widened.

Gold coins were rare. Only the wealthy held them. For someone like her, working a regular job, seeing one up close was uncommon.

Elias placed the coin on the desk with a gentle smile.

The woman blinked in surprise. "T-This…"

"You can keep the change," Elias said calmly, "if you can give me something even more valuable."

She raised a brow, leaning forward slightly with a seductive smile. "And what might that be?"

Elias's eyes narrowed, glinting with interest. "Tell me everything you can about Norwyn City."