Rook checked his status at sunrise.
Not immediately after the fight.Not in the rush of adrenaline.
He waited until the valley was quiet again—until the traps were reset, the boundary repaired, and Lena had finally sat down to eat without scanning the tree line every few seconds.
Only then did he open the interface.
Name: Rook
Class: Engineer (Foundation)
Level: 13
The numbers updated cleanly, without flourish.
Strength: 14V
itality: 15
Agility: 12
Intelligence: 16
Perception: 13
Charm: 12
Balanced. Intentional.
He scrolled.
Talent Points Available: 3
That was new.
Rook exhaled slowly.
Three levels from defense.From preparation.From not stepping outside the walls once.
He didn't allocate them yet. He kept reading.
New notifications waited beneath the stats.
[Territory Milestone Reached: Successful Hostile Defense]
[Engineer Path Expanded]
A new branch unfolded in his class panel.
— Territory Engineer (Unlocked)— Defensive Systems Integration— Structural Synergy— Population Scaling (Locked)
Rook's eyes lingered on the last one.
Population Scaling.
Housing efficiency.Resource compression.Morale optimization.
This wasn't survival anymore.
This was infrastructure dominance.
Another panel slid open.
[New Blueprints Available]
— Reinforced Palisade
— Barracks (Tier 1)
— Guard Post
— Water Purification Station
Rook closed the interface and leaned back against the cabin wall.
Outside, Lena was sharpening her knife on a smooth stone, movements steady, practiced.
"How bad?" she asked without looking up.
Rook considered the question.
"Better," he said.
That got her attention.
She wiped the blade clean and glanced at her own status.
"Level fourteen," she said. "Stats went up across the board. Agility jumped more than the rest."
She paused, then added, "I've got a skill now. Evasion-based. Makes sense."
Rook nodded.
Combat paid fast.
But it didn't scale forever.
He looked back at the open ground near the cabin—the space that would soon hold barracks, guard rotations, controlled growth.
The System chimed once more.
[Territory Ranking: Unlisted]
[Projected Growth: Accelerating]
Unlisted.
For now.
Rook closed the interface and stood.
"Eat," he said. "Then rest."
Lena tilted her head. "And after?"
Rook's gaze drifted toward the forest, toward the paths people would eventually take when they realized the world had shifted somewhere they weren't invited.
"After," he said calmly, "we expand."
The valley remained still.
But the numbers had already moved.
And nothing outside those walls was catching up.