The beginner protection held strong for another night. As there were no incidents the next day. All four of his summons seemed well-rested.

With that sorted he made his way back into his hovel, ready to summon another crop.

He was more than a little excited, as a third-level Hovel gave out four recruits. While he wouldn't have any more scouting opportunities. He would still be able to double his population.

He seemed to have used up much of his luck the day before, as there wasn't a single person over a six-star rating.

He had to settle for two six-star farmers, one six-star hunter and one five-star hunter.

His little village was looking a lot better with their additions. With the extra people, he also built another place for them to stay. Allowing the hunters and farmers to live apart.

With the two additional hunters fully geared up. Hunter David was a lot more confident about venturing further into the forest.

Julius had gained enough confidence in the man from the previous day to not worry too much.

With the help of the two new farmers, they would have a path to the stone deposit by mid-afternoon.

After that, they could split their attention between setting up their farm. As well as gathering more resources.

Julius knew that he would only get in the way of their work. So he returned to his successful gambling.

At his current earnings, he earned two colourless draws for everyone he used. With that, his stockpile only grew. Selling back the tools he didn't need.

He couldn't replicate the luck of the Elite Blade or skill, but he was more than happy with his progress.

It would only take a few hours to reach the fourth-level hovel. With that, he could begin to build some low-level defences.

He didn't think he would worry about that too much before he had the resources to rise to a townhouse. It would be the tavern at level five that he was more interested in. With that, you could gain a few wanderers each day to join their territory.

Julius wasn't sure how effective his would be. But even the fringe benefits of the tavern would make it more than worthwhile.

The Forum had lost much of its utility as more people became titled lords. Without people in the local or kingdom forums. He found himself spending less time scrolling through.

The market however had become far more interesting. With countless different items being posted at every moment.

A marketplace of a billion people was truly vibrant. At the top of the market, there was even a cultivation manual.

[Rare Breathing of the Leaf]

[19/20]

There wasn't much information beyond that it would be useful until you reached the fourth tier. It could also only be used nineteen more times.

It was unfortunate that Julius still had no scale for the different power levels in the world.

He was also scared off by the exorbitant price. A thousand mana crystals. Something he hadn't even managed to get his hand on yet. Even a single mana crystal couldn't be bought with a thousand stone or wood.

That level of wealth was something he probably couldn't think about for quite some time.

He soon found his next goal, however. As past the townhouse, the guild store of a Lord's Manor could sell Bronze treasure draws.

They cost far too much for him to think about at the moment. But he hoped he would soon be able to spend his time opening Bronze treasure draws.

His routine for the morning continued. Between opening draws, selling what he didn't need and beginning the process again.

It was a good business for him especially now that more lords had reached the townhouse level. Driving down the price of things from the Lord's Store.

It was about an hour after midday that he was able to upgrade the hovel once again to Level Four. The four hundred wood had been easy to gather. The stone had been a little harder. But he didn't feel too bad about using the colourless draws. They had settled around the price of thirty stone. But he could easily earn fifty from each draw.

For other Lords without his skill, the draws were a lot less valuable.

But as one of the few things sold by the Lord's Store at the townhouse level. He didn't think they were going anywhere anytime soon.

If he were in any other location, he would begin building some measure of defence. But with his upgrade to a townhouse imminent. He would have to get it done soon.

While it was cheaper to upgrade rather than build straight. At the lower levels, it wouldn't make too much of a difference.

It was also around that time that the team of Hunter's had returned. This time with another good haul. Even managing to pick up a Tier 0 deer.

The feast for lunch was the best yet. With the hope of upgrading to a tavern very soon. By that point, meals would be a far nicer affair.

The other hunters seemed equally competent. But they hadn't found out too much more information than they already knew.

They did find some tracks of a Tier 1 beast. But they seemed to be quite old.

They also found a small stream about a ten-minute walk from the safe zone.

That was good news, he hadn't seen any sign of any other water sources. He would soon be able to build a well. But having a source of running water would also be good.

After the meal, they went off once again. This time in a different direction. The farmers had managed to build the path to the small source of stone.

Julius followed it and soon came to a small hill a stone's throw outside of his zone of control. There would be slight risk mining it, but being so close to his land, he wasn't too worried.

It would also not be nearly as efficient as the collecting of wood had been. With the farmers working with their uncommon tools. They were quite a bit more efficient than before.

He was more than happy to leave them be and return to his abode. He looked forward to the more comfortable living he would soon have.

He had already upgraded the living quarters for both the Hunters and the Farmers. As such they were now living in a nicer place than he had. He hoped that it wouldn't be for too long.

There was only one thing getting in the way of upgrading to a townhouse. It would require a thousand wood and stone as well as a hundred iron.

There hadn't been a single source of Iron around his location. The price of it was also currently sky high in the market.

It would be far easier if they were available in the colourless draws. But he had no such luck.

He would have to find a way to afford the price of the Iron. He knew with his talent that he would be able to get it done. But overpaying so much for a near-basic resource didn't feel right to him.

Left with no other choice, he continued to draw items. Hoping to strike lucky once again.

After some more bad results. He needed something to distract him. With the amount of resources he had now, he could finally build a barracks. It would be his first defensive building. Depending on talent, it could be used to learn martial skills.

He hoped that at least one of the hunters would be able to do so. With them being more talented fighters, he would hope they would be able to travel far enough to find some iron.

Since Iron was needed for every upgrade past the hovel abode. It wouldn't be soon that the price would be going down.

While gaining a hundred would still be possible. Even trying to upgrade to a level two townhouse was far beyond his current abilities.

The barracks would be the largest building yet. Taking up over four spaces in his territory. It was multi-purpose and could hold around fifty soldiers if needed. Of course, it would be quite some time before he had access to a force of that size. Especially if he wanted it to be anyway competent.

There had only been one so far he had scouted with a talent for the martial path. Unfortunately, he had been too old and had fallen to a two-star level of power. Not someone he would be confident in recruiting.

He hoped that his luck would be a little better in the future. For now, he was forced to wait five hours for the building to be finished.

He also had to plan out fully the buildings he would need for the future. Past the hovel stage, required people working to build buildings. While it was still far less than what would have been required in reality. It would still be a drain on resources.

The so-called tutorial-building ability was what most titled lords missed the most. A few never having even experienced it.

It took a few more hours but he finally had enough resources to upgrade to a Lv 5 Hovel. The peak of the first abode.

With that, he could finally build the tavern he had been dreaming of since he had heard about it on the first day.

Fortunately, it was faster to build than the barracks. With it built. There was now a comfortable place for them to eat their food. Since the Hunters had been focusing on exploration. The hunting had been ignored. Fortunately, there was still enough food from lunch for a nice meal.

He would have to recruit a suitable person to run the tavern. As it was there wasn't much utility. The food tasted no different to how it was prepared before.

With the tavern built. There was little else to do than to begin stockpiling the necessary resources to build a townhouse.

The others had their first comfortable night in the tavern as Julius returned to his hovel.

He was more than a little excited as he had been able to afford his first bronze draw. There had been one for thirty colourless draws on the marketplace. Despite the exorbitant price, the chance of using it had been too much.

With bated breath, he activated the draw. Thankful that his talent took control once again and he was taken to a page with another fifty options.

The difference between the two draws was immediately clear. There was only a slim chance to gain a basic resource like Stone or Wood. You were far more likely to earn iron. That sight brought a smile to his face. Another path he could take.

Finally, he took a look at the better prizes. This time around there wasn't only one technique. There were three scrolls at the end of the page.

It was at this moment he was more than glad that he had seen what the cultivation manual had looked like. The difference between that and a skill scroll was small. But with the full image were more than noticeable.

While skills were simple pieces of paper, the manual seemed far more ornate. With several seals and diagrams barely visible.

With that information, he was more than sure that the final option was a cultivation manual. While he was sure that the chances of it being a manual on the same level as the one in the market were small. He couldn't help but cross his fingers as he selected the option.

[Elite Muddy Magic Arts]

[A manual of the path of magic. Pinnacle users of the art can contend with any Tier 3 Powerhouses.]

[5/5]

Julius wasn't sure to be elated or disappointed. While it seemed lacking compared to the [Rare Breathing of the Leaf]. He was sure that the manual would be worth a huge amount of money. Compared to the other manual there were far fewer uses.

As such he was unsure if he should use it for himself. He still had no idea where his talents lay. While he was sure that it wouldn't take too long to build up a force of talented youngsters. He also knew that with the resources he could earn from selling it. He could be summoning Tier 1 recruits the next day.

There hadn't been much information about the manuals. He had no idea how hard it would be to switch in the future.

But now he also knew that he wouldn't have difficulty earning money. Once he could consistently earn bronze draws. The money would begin to flow.

With that in mind, he could only bite the bullet and sell the manual.

While he did not need mana crystals, he was not shy about asking for the basic resources. He hoped he could earn enough to boost him to the peak of townhouse. For that, he would need to build more stockpiles.

By the time he went to bed that evening, his territory was quite worse for wear. Most of it had been taken over by stockpiles for the various resources he would be requesting for the manual.

With riches on his mind, he finally managed to fall into a fitful sleep. Hoping that his manual would be sold come the morning.