WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom

The knight spun lazily in the air, completely unfazed. "Who knows what those Templars are planning," he chirped, sword balanced perfectly on one finger. "But that doesn't mean you lot should start lazing around. And did I say it's urgent?."

Ben's eyebrow twitched. "You did say that. Right before telling me you were going to hibernate again and then you popped out just in time to jump into our fight with Slark."

"Oh, come on," the knight puffed up, crossing his tiny arms. "I saved your hides. That shadow freak nearly skewered the both of you."

"Yeah, sure," Ben muttered. "Funny how you waited until the last second. You could've helped from the start instead waiting that long."

The knight shrugged, still floating. "Where's the fun in that?"

Ben rolled his eyes. But before he could say more, the knight's eyes flared, and his voice deepened, serious now.

"Enough chatter. It's time for your next training session."

Ben groaned. "Again?"

The knight's posture snapped upright, his playful float turning into a rigid stance midair. His voice dropped into a bark that echoed like thunder through the room.

"BACK STRAIGHT. FEET SHOULDER WIDTH. DO NOT EMBARRASS ME, MAGGOT!"

Ben flinched. "Dam. Not this mode again."

"YOU WILL ADDRESS ME AS INSTRUCTOR, REJECTED SHOVEL SWINGER!"

Ben grumbled under his breath, gripping his pickaxe and taking the stance. "This is stupid…"

"STUPID?" The knight zipped in front of him, eyes glowing with command. "I'VE SEEN WORM WITH BETTER FORM. YOU'RE HOLDING THAT PICKAXE LIKE IT'S A FROZEN TURKEY. AGAIN!"

Off to the side, Elvira watched the whole display with a hand over her mouth, giggling uncontrollably. "Oh my beloved, you look so fierce right now."

Ben shot her a look. "You wanna trade?"

"No thanks," she laughed, reclining further on her chair. "This is the most fun I've had in weeks."

The knight spiraled back to Ben's side, suddenly slamming the flat of his sword against Ben's calf. "LEFT FOOT TOO FAR FORWARD! YOU WANT TO FALL ON YOUR FACE? SHIFT YOUR WEIGHT—NOW STRIKE!"

Ben swung the pickaxe. The movement was fast, but clumsy. "PATHETIC!" the knight barked. "AGAIN!"

Ben grit his teeth, trying again. "Ugh, why can't I just use the skill? I thought you said your recovery was done!"

"I SAID I COULD MANIFEST, NOT OPTIMIZE," the knight shouted. "NO ACTIVE SKILLS UNTIL FULL SYSTEM CORE IS REPAIRED. THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO BUILD REAL INSTINCT. AND YOU WILL BE GRATEFUL!"

"Grateful!?" Ben panted, swinging the pickaxe again, sweat dripping. "You're literally electrocuting my ankles every time I make a mistake!"

"CORRECTING FEEDBACK," the knight corrected proudly. "AGAIN!"

The pickaxe blurred through the air.

Swosh!

Ben stumbled, then caught himself.

"BETTER," the knight muttered. "ALMOST LOOKED LIKE YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE DOING."

Ben exhaled heavily. "I'm going to throw you in the white lava."

The knight beamed. "YOU WON'T. I'M TOO USEFUL."

Hours passed by, till the knight finally satisfied with the training, Ben took slouching down on nearest couch.

From the side, Elvira lifted a steaming cup of tea with a smirk tugging at her lips. "Drink some water, my beloved. At this rate, you'll be the strongest disciple in history."

Ben raised an eyebrow, wiping sweat from his brow as he slumped onto a nearby bench. "Let's hope the copyright gods don't smite me for that one."

Elvira tilted her head. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Ben replied, chuckling to himself before changing the topic. "Alright, let's check on the base."

He waved a hand, and a glowing screen flickered into the air, hovering in front of them. The interface displayed a top-down view of the base: the layout of walls, turrets, the positions of the Krell squads, their patrol paths, production queues, and resource consumption.

It looked like a game interface, but it was all real every movement, every action happening in real-time.

This was one of the features unlocked after the system began stabilizing again, the knight's revival bringing new integration between the kingdom system and the hive mind. Creating this new system.

Ben scrolled through the screen, watching resource lines shift. "Mining output's holding steady. Sector Four expanded by another twenty tiles overnight. Looks like Squad Seven finished the new perimeter turrets too."

"They're efficient," Elvira said, sipping her tea. "But not surprising. You've been pushing them like mad."

"Efficiency is survival," Ben muttered. His gaze shifted toward the edge of the map. "Especially now that we know what's coming."

After their last meeting with Draeven and Slark, they'd gathered a clearer picture of the surrounding region. What shocked them wasn't just how far they'd been thrown by the worm, but where they landed.

They were in an uncharted biome, far removed from the territories of the dominant factions. No kingdoms. No major predators. A rare frontier of silence and opportunity.

Well it's said to be the hell worm nest, but so far they haven't found another one.

The map expanded as Ben zoomed out, revealing layers of glowing topography. The region was now sectioned and organized, neatly overlaid with icons and markers.

"Well, it's supposed to be a Hellworm nest," Ben muttered, tapping one corner of the screen. "But we haven't seen a single other one since. Maybe the one we killed was the alpha, or maybe we just haven't gone deep enough."

Elvira crossed one leg over the other, peering at the display. "Let's how we never meet another one. That thing nearly killed us."

Ben nodded, then shifted the map. To the northwest, the once, devastated battlefield where Ben had faced the Magus had been transformed into a forging zone.

The destroyed terrain make it easy for Ben to create muliple floor of superheated environment turning it into an ideal location for refining metals and crafting gears. This forge now operated as the main source of equipment for all their krell.

Nearby, the remains of the Ravager nest had been converted into both a secure storage facility and a biomass hatchery.

Its naturally defensive, curved walls were enhanced with magical reinforcement and trap mechanisms, making it perfect for housing their growing reserves. It also used as house for the krell.