Ats stepped out of the tent, still adjusting his clothes and shrouded in a whirlwind of questions. Manna was still asleep ihough they had been under a b, he had a nagging feeling she was wearing far less than she had before. As for himself? He had been pletely naked earlier.

  Just what the hell happe night?

  He checked his neo new bite marks. His hands? Normal. No paleness indig he’d turned into a vampire. His skin was still warm, still human. He even checked his throat and body, feeling more energized than ever.

  I feel like I could run around this isnd a huimes, he thought, surprised at the surge of energy c through him.

  Then, with a hint of dread, he checked... down there.

  It's more... tehan usual—no, it’s normal! It's just the m!

  No! What am I even thinking?

  He shook his head, trying to dispel the ridiculous thought.

  That couldn’t have happened!

  But still… how had he ended up naked? Who had undressed him? Had anything happened between them? He couldn’t remember a thing, and that only made it worse.

  His frantic thoughts came to a sudden stop when he looked around. The once barren, sandy grouh him was now covered in soft, lush grass.

  What...?

  He sed the area and noticed Karian and Edrik in the far end of the isnd. What are they doing over there? he wondered, but that wasn’t the most shog part.

  Grass, even flowers, had sprouted. He turned his attention toward the spot where the Aqua Crystal had bee up the day before and hurried over, uo believe what he was seeing.

  There, where the dry ground had been, a pond had formed, crystal-clear water shimmering in the early m light.

  Edrik and Karian approached with smiles on their faces.

  "My Lord, I hope you had a wonderful night's sleep," Edrik was the first to speak, his tone light but with a hint of something else.

  Ats eyed them both suspiciously.

  Do they know something about what happened ient?

  "My Lord, I dug around here and made it into a small pond," Karian chimed in.

  "Yes!" Ats responded quickly, still feeling a bit off bance. He crouched down by the pond, scooped some water into his hands, and spshed it on his fabsp;

  Oh my goodness, he thought, this water is so fresh, so .

  As he ehe refreshiion of the water, he noticed Edrik and Karian's attention had shifted. Ats followed their gaze and saw Manna emerging from the tent. She was ba her dress, her fareadable as she gnced in their dire without saying a word.

  She held a bottle of drink and a snack, making her way over to a camping chair where she sat dowing and drinking casually, as if nothing had happened.

  Does she not remember what happe night either? Ats worying to make sense of the situation.

  Why isn’t she ag any differently?

  "My Lord, the fortress," Edrik spoke again, breaking Ats from his thoughts.

  Ats turned his attention to the ructure that he had noticed but hadn’t fully processed until now. The Outpost Fortress—it stood behind the tent, t over the isnd like a symbol of new beginnings.

  He rose to his feet and took in the sight. The Outpost Fortress was modest yet impressive, with tall stone walls made of smooth, dark-gray stone. A watchtower stood proudly at the ter, keeping a watchful eye over the isnd. It had a unique a medieval design, which felt out of p their modern, post-apocalyptic era.

  But it wasirely stras khat as the Fortress progressed through stages, its design would evolve as well. Eventually, it would grow from its medieval roots into something futuristic.

  Ats explored the interior of the fortress, stepping into an open space that could serve multiple purposes—perhaps a spot to set up a tent, a training area, or anything else that could be useful, all protected by the fortress's sturdy walls. Off to one side, he noticed a more developed structure with three floors.

  He walked into one of the rooms, which was furnished with a few chairs and tables. Another room was mostly empty, except for several rge chests stacked in the ers.

  "My Lord, we store items in those Iory Chests," Edrik expined.

  "So, are these ected to the same iory ste I access through the system?"

  "Correct, My Lord.”

  Ats tinued his tour of the fortress, moving upstairs to a trol room on the sed floor, and finally, up to the watchtower at the very top. From there, he had a clear view of the entire isnd. It was impressive—everything looked smaller, more manageable from this vantage point, and he could easily keep an eye on the whole isnd from up here.

  "Remarkable," he muttered to himself.

  But there was one more thing nagging at him. He hadn’t yet checked the notifications he received after waking up this m. With a slight sense ency, Ats opehe system menu, scrolling back to review what he had skipped earlier in the rush of fusion and curiosity.

  Ats scrolled through the notifications.

  [gratutions! The Fortress Stage 1 has been successfully built.]

  [You have unlocked a ructure: Basic Barracks.]

  [You have unlocked a ructure: Residential Huts.]

  [You have unlocked a ructure: Teleportation Pad.]

  [You have unlocked a ructure: Lumber Mill.]

  [You have unlocked a ructure: Quarry.]

  [You have unlocked a ructure: Mana Well.]

  [You have unlocked a ructure: Training Grounds.]

  [You have unlocked a ructure: Bcksmith Workshop.]

  [..]

  This is amazing!

  [ask: Assign new name for the isnd.]

  [ask: Design your attires.]

  [ask: Design your Emblem.]

  [..]

  [You have received 10 Elemental Stones.]

  [You have received 500 Are Shards.]

  [You have received 500 Gold.]

  [..]

  [You have unlocked the Isnd Ma Feature.]

  [You further develop your isnd and expand it by fulfilliain requirements.]

  [You have unlocked the Resource Dete Ser.]

  [The ser deteearby resources, including dungeons and uncimed floating isnds.]

  Ats read through the notifications one by ohough it was a lot to take in all at oill, he mao summarize the key points: ructures to build, small tasks like setting up the isnd's tire, and emblem, along with some pretty det bonuses.

  Are Shards? He wasn’t sure what those were exactly yet, and the 500 Gold—he had no idea how much that would get him.

  And then there were features like Isnd Ma, and the Resource Dete Ser.

  I’ll have to figure those out ter.

  But first, the most important task: naming the isnd.

  He summohe system interfad began brainst a name, something that reted to the cept of gacha.

  After some thought, he found the perfeame.

  [gratutions! You have named your Floating Isnd: Gacha Haven.]

  He smiled as the notification appeared. Edrik and Karian seemed to notice his satisfa. And he expihe details to them.

  "My Lord, that’s a unique directly reflects the distinature of our floating isnd. I like the idea," Edrik ented.

  Karian, oher hand, seemed puzzled. "I’m not familiar with this term... gacha?"

  Edrik smirked. "Your world must be terribly dull. What kind of pce doesn’t even know what gacha is?"

  Ats chuckled. "Don’t worry, you’ll cat soon enough. But for now, we o focus. Help me design our attire and the isnd emblem."