Legendary Shelter Survival Guide

"They haven't split yet, which is a good thing."

Both John and Lucas sat near the river, observing the map. It had been a quarter of an hour, and all they had done so far was watch the dots' movement.

"But it makes me wonder about their intentions. They could either be here to assess our resources or to locate our base. Judging by their movement, it's better to assume they're heading toward the base," Lucas said, stroking his chin—a habit he had picked up in the quest world.

"Yeah, they're moving directly toward the shelter. As for their speed… it's very fast," John said, a frown etched on his face.

On the map, a straight line was forming as a new dot appeared every minute.

"If the system hadn't alerted us, it would have been bad. We wouldn't have known something had infiltrated our territory. The location of their entry is vital information this time. Without it, we might have assumed the kobolds were coming from multiple directions instead of just the north."

John looked at Lucas in surprise. "I hadn't thought of it that way. It's definitely a good advantage to have."

"But still… we desperately need more people in the territory. Having more than one scout could be a game-changer. It would also stabilize our territory's surveillance. For now, Bill has to monitor the entire territory alone, which isn't ideal," Lucas said, his gaze shifting to the small canal flowing past them.

The number of fish had increased, providing a stable source of food for the shelter and trades.

"You're right, but the only way to get more people is through your teleportation skill, Lucas. Phil was the last person we found stumbling into our territory. If his group hadn't perished, we could have had more people to help us progress. Truly a pity," John said, shaking his head with a sigh of disappointment.

"There's still a chance more people will stumble into our territory. Many wouldn't have made it on their own. And even if they did and made a territory, some must have realized how difficult it is to progress, even with all the instructions we have," Lucas replied with a smile toward John. "Only with competent and dependable people can a territory truly prosper."

"Wise words."

The duo talked for a while, discussing their thoughts. John, who had already enjoyed conversing with the curious Lucas a month ago, now appreciated their conversations even more, impressed by Lucas's newfound level of insight.

"Uncle John, I'll start processing the logs for now. Considering how fast they're moving, they'll slow down soon and approach us more cautiously. I'll need your help to maintain surveillance. Please contact me if you hear from Bill."

"Alright," John replied, staying seated under the tree. He continued watching the screen while the soothing sound of the canal's flowing water filled the air.

Lucas returned to the location of the fallen tree. Even from afar, he could see it had been cut into small, uniform chunks as he had instructed.

When he reached the brothers, who were working diligently, he couldn't help but comment, "That's good work, gentlemen. The measurements are all on point."

However, as they turned toward him, sweat-soaked and frowning, Lucas chuckled inwardly.

"Man, this is tough work, Lucas! My arms are completely numb," Sean said, shaking his hands to alleviate the discomfort.

"It's tough…" Even Barney, drenched in sweat, nodded in agreement.

"Really?" Lucas approached them, examining their arms and shoulders with skepticism.

He placed a hand on Sean's shoulder, causing him to wince. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire

"Yo, be gentle, bro! It hurts a lot."

Barney instinctively took a step back as Lucas turned toward him.

"This is good work, but the exhaustion you're feeling doesn't align with the task. Your muscles have weakened…" Lucas observed their lanky shoulders before continuing, "This won't do if we're counting on manpower like this."

He crossed his arms and added, "Alright, you have two options from here on: you can either train with me in the mornings to build strength, or you can keep working on these trees around the shelter, as I assign."

The brothers exchanged uneasy glances before looking back at Lucas, their expressions resembling scared mongooses.

"Haha, Lucas… g-good joke. But I think we're already assigned plenty of work. This was a volunteer position to begin with, right?" Barney said, his tone hesitant.

Lucas was amused to see the usually quiet Barney speak up for himself. It was admirable, yet he had effectively dug his own grave.

"Yeah, what he said! I'm the runesmith of the shelter, for crying out loud! I'm not taking on more work!" Sean blurted out loudly, only to receive an elbow to the ribs from his brother.

"What he means is, we already have a lot on our plate. Adding this would be difficult," Barney tried to clarify, but when he looked at Lucas's smiling face, it felt futile to play smart.

Barney sighed, realizing there was no point in arguing further. He glanced at Sean, who was still smugly smirking, oblivious to the situation.

"Haaah… fine. I'll do this work for a few hours each day. But let me tell you, I've seen your muscle training, and it's something I'd never willingly do," Barney conceded, much to Sean's shock.

Sean stared at Barney as if he had just betrayed him. "You've got to be kidding me! You're actually agreeing to this?"

Barney shrugged, wiping sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. "It's either this or muscle training with Lucas. You know how brutal that is. Besides, a few hours of chopping wood isn't the end of the world."

Lucas smirked, crossing his arms. "Glad to see one of you understands priorities. Sean, you're welcome to join the training sessions if you want to keep complaining."

Sean groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. "Fine, fine! I'll stick to chopping wood, but only because I don't want to deal with your insane workouts."

Lucas smiled and went to inspect the chopped logs on the ground. It was finally time to process them further.