Chapter 43
"You must be Giles. Hi! I'm Bonnie, the other member of Lili's Lord Party."
Bonnie came out to greet them the moment Lilith returned with Giles in tow. He nodded, guilt written all over his face.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Giles. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble."
Bonnie smiled at him, then shot Lilith a questioning look — she had no idea what Lilith actually planned to do with the man.
Lilith gestured at the settlement around them. "This is my Territory. The forest around it is a Wonder that doubles as a natural barrier."
For an ordinary Lord like Giles, the sheer number of buildings inside should have been staggering. He showed little curiosity about any of it; his attention kept going to the land itself. "So your Territory isn't in the Frostlands..."
"Of course not. Who would willingly settle in that frozen wasteland?
" She headed for the residential district.
"We're not far from the Frostlands, though.
" She pointed out a row of villas. "These were built specifically for Vassals.
My Territory can currently support ten, and you'll be the first. Pick whichever one you like. "
Giles glanced at the villas, then turned back to her. "Shouldn't we sign the contract first?"
Lilith laughed. "What, afraid I'll change my mind?" Then her expression sobered. "Becoming a Vassal carries a heavy price. Are you certain?"
"I am." No hesitation at all.
"All right." She opened the System interface. They were already friends in the System, so the contract could go to him directly, and a notification bloomed in front of Giles.
[Accept God of Light's invitation and become her Vassal?]
[Vassal Benefits: Receive all applicable bonuses granted by your new Lord, gain access to special Legacy Classes if available, receive the protection of the Lord's Territory, and more.]
[Penalties: You will lose your status as a Lord, along with your Territory and Barracks. Your life will become bound to your new Lord's through the contract. Certain System functions will be restricted, but your Lord Talent will be retained.]
[Upon becoming a Vassal, only 30% of the resources currently stored within your Territory may be preserved. These resources must be moved manually. Everything left behind will be destroyed along with the Territory.]
Benefits aside, the penalties alone would scare off most Lords.
Losing the title was survivable; the real weight lay in the fact that the Vassal Contract amounted to a binding oath of absolute loyalty.
Once it took hold, the Vassal could never betray their new Lord — and if that Lord died, the contract's backlash killed the Vassal with them.
Brutal terms. Under normal circumstances, only a Lord with no other road left would sign, and the System required it to be voluntary besides. No one could be forced in.
For Giles, the greatest benefit was obvious: Lilith's protection. The Legacy Class access meant far less to him — though for most other Lords, taking a Vassal Contract under someone without a Legacy would be tantamount to crippling their entire future progression.
"Only ten Lords in the entire channel currently hold a Legacy," Lilith murmured. "Any Vassals they recruit gain access to stronger progression paths, and those Lords are already among the highest-ranked—"
Giles pressed Accept before she could finish.
The System sealed the life-altering contract in an instant, without so much as a twinge.
[Congratulations!]
[You have become a Vassal of God of Light.]
A second notification appeared before Lilith.
[You have acquired your first Vassal.]
[View his information now?]
She selected Yes.
[Vassal: Giles]
[Rank: Tier 3 Veteran]
[Attributes: 112]
[Legacy Progress: None]
[Talent (Mutated): Foldspace Cube]
[Foldspace Cube: Grants the ability to manipulate and compress space. Cannot directly affect targets stronger than the user.]
[Note: Lord Talents that conflict with the new Lord's Legacy may not be retained after the Vassal Contract takes effect.]
So his Talent had survived — meaning it didn't conflict with her Legacy Class. Beyond that, the panel offered nothing of note.
"Foldspace Cube?" Lilith asked. "I remember you telling me your original Talent had a different name."
Giles sighed. "It did. I have no idea why it mutated.
" He went on, resigned. "I've tested it quite a bit.
The spatial manipulation mostly lets me swap positions with objects or creatures — it can't affect anyone stronger than me, and even opponents at my own Rank usually resist it, so it's nearly useless in a fight.
As for the compression, the only practical use I've found is crafting equipment. "
"That explains it." Lilith read the description again. "But I doubt that's all it can do. Keep experimenting with it."
Stripped of the werewolf bloodline, Giles had fallen back to something close to an ordinary human. Fortunately the Talent remained — and Lilith intended to complete her Legacy quest, which would open him another road back to strength.
"My Territory's Legacy Class is Necromancer," she explained. "I haven't finished the quest yet, so you'll have to wait before you can learn it."
"That's completely fine," Giles said quickly. Keeping his Talent was already more than he'd hoped for, and learning that her Territory held a Legacy Class at all was a bigger surprise on top of it. He would eventually be able to contribute instead of staying powerless. For Giles, that was enough.
Lilith smiled. "Then let's make it official. Welcome to the Territory."
Before Giles could respond, another notification chimed in.
"Huh?" She opened it.
[Congratulations!]
[You have recruited your first Vassal within a Town-tier Territory.]
[This achievement is equivalent to defeating your first enemy Lord at this Territory Rank.]
[Fixed Territory Reward: Territory Level +1.]
[Note: You will no longer receive the first Lord kill reward at the current Territory Rank.]
Lilith remembered this mechanic — the first enemy Lord defeated at each Territory Rank granted one free Territory Level. What she hadn't expected was for recruiting a Vassal to trigger the same reward.
Perfect. Now I don't have to hunt down another Lord just for the upgrade.
Giles watched quietly as she accepted the reward. Light swept across the Territory, and its Level rose once again.