Chapter 1318 New World

Lily didn't hesitate.

"You should name it yourself," she said.

Lily looked toward the towering Universal Cornerstone.

"It's your territory, after all."

Timi followed her gaze.

He hadn't really thought much about naming it.

To him, this territory wasn't particularly important. The Universal Cornerstone was valuable, certainly, but the main reason he'd gone through all this trouble was simply because of his sisters.

Whether the territory became powerful, prosperous, or famous wasn't something Timi particularly cared about.

Still, hearing Lily call it his territory made him feel that casually throwing some random name at it would be a little disrespectful.

Even if he didn't value the territory itself that much, he should at least perform the ritual properly.

Timi looked around.

Green grass.

Green trees.

Green ponds.

Even the strangest resource they'd discovered was green.

After several seconds, a name came to him.

"Verdant Abode?"

Lily blinked.

"That's actually pretty good."

"...Why do you sound surprised?"

"No reason."

Timi stared at her suspiciously for another moment before turning back toward the Universal Cornerstone.

Verdant Abode.

It wasn't particularly grand, but he liked it enough.

The territory was certainly verdant, and perhaps one day it would actually become an abode for more than strange fish and monsters.

Timi confirmed the name.

[Territory name confirmed.]

[Verdant Abode]

Seeing the notification disappear, Timi nodded with satisfaction.

That was another matter settled.

There were still several things he needed to do with the Universal Cornerstone, particularly submitting it beneath Michael's main Cornerstone as they'd previously discussed, but those could be handled later.

Timi turned toward Lily.

"Can you wait for me here for a while?"

Timi scratched the side of his face, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Finding a suitable location on Earth might take some time. I can't just put the connection anywhere."

Earth wasn't the Origin Battlefield.

Choosing somewhere merely because it looked convenient could easily cause trouble later.

"If you don't want to wait, I can escort you back first."

Lily immediately waved him off.

"It doesn't matter. I can wait."

She glanced around Verdant Abode.

"If I get bored, I'll just think of a development plan for your territory."

Timi's expression became slightly strange. He found it hard to let Lily take on such a thankless task, especially when he didn't consider himself much of a territory manager in the first place.

Lily continued before he could respond.

"Or I can just leave the Origin Battlefield and come back. I'll appear in Evergreen Haven anyway."

Timi quickly understood what she meant and visibly relaxed.

"Okay. That works."

It didn't particularly matter what Lily chose to do while he was gone.

As long as she was fine with waiting, all he needed to do was settle things on his side as quickly as possible.

"I'll see you soon, then."

"Don't take forever."

Timi gave her one final look before activating his departure from the Origin Battlefield.

His figure rapidly became indistinct.

A moment later, he disappeared completely, leaving Lily standing alone beneath the towering Universal Cornerstone of Verdant Abode.

For several seconds after Timi disappeared, Lily remained beside the Universal Cornerstone.

Her gaze eventually wandered toward the distant greenery.

A thought suddenly occurred to her.

The entire region had just undergone a transformation after becoming a Level One Domain. The land had expanded, the mana had become denser, and the environment itself had clearly benefited.

Perhaps the fish had changed too?

More importantly...

Maybe they looked a little better now.

With some expectation, Lily turned toward the direction of the nearest emerald pond.

Her enhanced vision easily allowed her to see the water from where she stood.

The pond itself certainly appeared more beautiful than before. Its emerald water seemed even clearer, and the mana surrounding it had noticeably increased.

Then Lily spotted one of the Emerald Veilfish swimming near the surface.

Its long translucent body moved beautifully through the water.

Its jade-green scales shimmered.

Then its enormous mouth opened as four bulging black eyes moved independently.

[Image]

Lily immediately turned her head away.

"..."

Absolutely not.

Apparently, becoming a Level One Domain couldn't fix everything.

Lily's expression became increasingly strange as she remembered something she'd occasionally heard some of the boys in her class say.

As long as the body was fine, everything else could be ignored.

Was this what they meant?

Lily glanced back toward the pond.

A beautiful translucent tail briefly broke through the surface before disappearing again.

She imagined the head attached to it.

Her face immediately twisted with disdain.

She suddenly felt equally disdainful toward those former male classmates of hers.

What kind of logic was that?

Isn't the inside what should matter?

Lily decisively abandoned the matter.

Rather than stand around judging creatures that would probably never become pleasant to look at, she decided to explore Verdant Abode.

After all, the territory had just undergone an enormous transformation.

Even if they had examined parts of the original Level Two region before deploying the Cornerstone, Verdant Abode was now considerably larger.

There was no telling what might have changed or what new things she might discover.

With Timi gone and nothing better to do while waiting, Lily chose a direction and began making her way into the newly established territory.

Meanwhile, on Earth.

Sandy Springs, Georgia, on the northern edge of Atlanta.

The once-bustling city had long since lost the appearance it possessed before the apocalypse.

High-rise buildings still pierced through the distant skyline, though there were far fewer of them than in central Atlanta. Some stood mostly intact, while others bore shattered windows, collapsed sections, and dark stains left behind by fires that had burned months ago.

Closer to the ground, nature had already begun reclaiming what humanity had abandoned. Grass pushed through cracks in the roads, vines crawled across buildings and rusting vehicles, and trees had grown wild without anyone left to restrain them.

In a wooded area less than two kilometers from one of the surviving residential compounds, the air suddenly distorted.

A figure appeared.

The instant his feet touched the ground, Timi's relaxed expression disappeared.

His completely black eyes swept across his surroundings as his senses spread outward.

Nothing moved nearby.

More importantly, he couldn't sense any monsters or humans.

Timi remained still for several more seconds before finally relaxing slightly.

"Good."

This was exactly why he'd chosen this location as his entry and exit point for the Origin Battlefield.

When the Origin Battlefield first opened to him, Timi hadn't known exactly what awaited him inside. However, there was one thing he'd understood immediately.

He couldn't allow other people to discover too much about his abilities.

That caution had long since become instinctive.

The apocalypse had taught him that revealing what you possessed was one of the easiest ways to attract trouble.

Before the System descended, perhaps showing others that you had something useful would have earned curiosity, admiration, or even friendship.

That world was gone. In the current world, even the powerful were only as free as their strength allowed them to be.

Timi possessed more secrets than most.

Devour alone was something he had never intended to advertise freely. The speed at which he'd grown because of it was already difficult enough to explain.

The Origin Battlefield was another matter entirely.

Even though there were other Awakeners, Timi had no intention of letting people around him know he was one. Perhaps some had their suspicions, but he wasn't going to confirm them.

That was why he'd deliberately chosen this wooded area rather than entering from his settlement.

It was close enough that he could return home quickly, but far enough from the residential compound that nobody should accidentally witness him appearing or disappearing.

The surrounding vegetation also provided plenty of cover.

It wasn't perfect.

But it had worked so far.

Timi took another careful look around before turning toward the direction of his settlement.

He didn't waste any more time.

A distance of less than two kilometers wasn't much for him. Even without moving at anything close to his full speed, Timi quickly passed through the wooded area and reached the remains of a road that had once connected several residential areas.

The journey was uneventful.

He encountered no monsters.

That wasn't particularly surprising.

The danger around a powerful human settlement couldn't exactly be described as nonexistent, but attacks from monsters within its immediate surroundings had become relatively rare.

Survivors regularly cleared the nearby areas.

Most weaker monsters had either been eliminated or driven away, while those possessing enough intelligence generally learned to avoid large concentrations of humans.

The situation changed drastically once someone traveled beyond that protected range.

The farther one moved from a strong settlement, the greater the likelihood of encountering monsters. Go far enough, and humans once again became the intruders rather than the dominant threat.

Timi was still comfortably within the safer area.

The first signs of life he encountered weren't monsters, but humans.

A group of five appeared farther down the road.

All five carried weapons.

Two had rifles slung across their bodies, while the others carried various melee weapons that looked far less ordinary than anything that would have existed before the apocalypse. Their clothing was an uneven mixture of sportswear, leather protection, and pieces of armor obtained or crafted after the world changed.

None looked relaxed.

They moved as a team, maintaining a loose formation as they walked.

The person in front watched the road. Two watched the sides, while the remaining two occasionally checked behind them.

Even here, where monsters rarely appeared, nobody behaved as though they were completely safe.

Timi recognized one of them.

The man appeared to recognize him as well.

Their eyes met.

The man gave a small nod, and Timi returned it.

That was the entirety of their greeting.

Neither side stopped.

As Timi continued forward, he encountered more people.

Most traveled in groups.

Three here.

Six there.

Another group of nearly ten moved through an intersection while carrying several large bags and the bloody corpse of a strange creature between them.

Those moving alone were noticeably different.

They generally looked stronger.

One muscular woman walked alone with an enormous axe resting across her shoulder.

People unconsciously gave her more space.

That distance was something everyone maintained.

The apocalypse had changed more than cities.

Even people who appeared familiar rarely approached each other carelessly.

A nod or a brief wave.

Perhaps a few words if they knew each other particularly well.

But strangers kept several meters apart whenever possible, and even acquaintances were careful about entering one another's immediate reach without warning.

Weapons remained where they could be reached.

Nobody completely turned their back on anyone they didn't trust.

The atmosphere was gloomy in a way that had long since become ordinary.

There were no crowds laughing along the roadside.

No children casually wandering around unattended.

No one standing around simply because they had nowhere important to be.

Everyone seemed to have a purpose.

Timi blended naturally into the environment.

His long dreadlocks shifted slightly with every step, while his black eyes occasionally swept across the people around him.

Nobody approached him.

Eventually, the settlement came into view.

Before the apocalypse, it had been a large gated residential estate.

Several apartment buildings occupied the interior alongside rows of townhouses and other residential structures. The original perimeter had provided a useful foundation, but very little of its current defenses remained unchanged.

Sections of the old fencing had been reinforced with sheets of metal, concrete barriers, wrecked vehicles, timber, and anything else sturdy enough to form an obstacle.

The entrances had been reduced and fortified.

Makeshift watchtowers overlooked several approaches, and armed survivors constantly occupied them.

More than a thousand people now lived within the estate.

It was enough to make the place one of the more substantial survivor communities in the immediate area, although nowhere near large enough to dominate everything around Sandy Springs.

Most importantly to Timi, his sisters were inside.

His pace increased slightly.

The guards at the entrance recognized him and allowed him through without trouble.

The interior was noticeably more crowded than the roads outside.

People moved between buildings carrying water, food, equipment, and supplies. Several former parking areas had been converted into communal spaces. Makeshift stalls operated beneath awnings, while other sections had been turned into workshops, storage areas, and places for trading.

Even here, however, the atmosphere remained subdued.

Timi had barely gone beyond the entrance when someone noticed him.

A man cautiously approached him.

"Lord Timi."

Timi stopped.

The faint ease he'd possessed upon entering the estate disappeared almost immediately.

His expression became blank.

"What?"

The young man swallowed before continuing.

"The leader's been looking for you."

Timi's eyes settled on him.

A coldness seemed to quietly settle around the sixteen-year-old.

"What business does he have with me?"

"I don't know. I was only told that if anyone saw you, we should tell you he wanted to meet."

Timi stared at him for another second. Then he casually gestured with one hand.

"Go."

The man didn't need to be told twice.

He nodded quickly before turning and hurrying away.

Timi watched his retreating back without any change in expression.

Only after the man disappeared among the nearby buildings did his eyes narrow slightly.

"I hate this."

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A/N: Phew! The author should be back to two chapters daily now, at least. Please vote to support, pretty please! And thank you for the continued support!