*Aria's Pov*

  The massive creature lumbered into view, its body covered in bark-like armor and its claws glinting like polished steel. Its glowing green eyes locked onto us, and I swear I heard it growl, Lunch.

  System, What the fuck?! Can't you see we're about to be bear food?!

  The Pine Bear roared, shaking the forest around us. Bits of its bark-like armor cracked and shifted as it moved, making it look like a walking, very angry tree. It charged, its claws tearing up the ground.

  "System, are you serious right now? A riddle?!" I yelled, diving to the side as the bear's claws swiped where I had been standing. "This is NOT the time for a quiz!"

  [System Notification:

  Answer the riddle to reveal the creature's weakness. Timer: 45 seconds. ]

  The beast roared, and I felt a chill—not from my magic, but from sheer primal terror. Its bark cracked, releasing bursts of green spores that burned through the ground like acid.

  [System Notification:

  Pine Bear emits toxic spores. Use ranged combat to minimize risk.]

  "Ranged combat, huh? Fine!" I shouted. With a wave of my hand, jagged ice spikes formed in the air. "Glacier Spikes, go!" I launched them at the bear. The first spike hit its chest, shattering on impact. "What?!"

  [System Notification:

  Ice resistance detected. Adjust attack strategy.]

  "Adjust strategy? To what?!"

  Leah yanked me to my feet. "What are you doing? Stop dawdling around and stand up!!" she shouted, drawing her sword. And rushing forward again.

  "Fuck!" I snapped, dodging another swing. "What the fuck is 'I'm alive, but I don't breathe, I can eat, but I don't drink. I grow, but I don't sleep. What am I?!'"

  Leah groaned, parrying a claw with her blade. "Are you kidding me? Is this some kind of joke?"

  Titan, bless his silent stoicism, didn't waste time complaining. He charged at the Pine Bear, his massive sword slashing at its bark armor. Sparks flew, but the beast barely flinched.

  I scrambled to think. "Alive, but doesn't breathe. Eats, doesn't drink… grows, doesn't sleep…" I muttered, ducking behind a tree for cover. "What the hell is it?!"

  The bear roared again, this time catching Leah's sword with one of its claws. She staggered but managed to hold her ground, her blade biting into the creature's thick hide.

  "Ice magic isn't gonna do much to this thing," I muttered, summoning a freezing spike and flinging it at the beast. The ice shattered on impact. "Great. Just great."

  Titan roared—a metallic sound that somehow carried emotion—and unleashed his flamethrower attachment. A jet of fire shot out, bathing the Pine Bear in flames. For a moment, I thought we had it, but the flames were weak, sputtering out before they could do serious damage.

  "What is that, a campfire?!" I shouted. Titan turned his head towards me, and if he had eyes, I was sure they'd be rolling.

  The System pinged again. [Time remaining: 29 seconds.]

  I gave up. "Leah!" I screamed, flinging another ice spike. "What's the answer? 'Alive, doesn't breathe!' Think!"

  She dodged a swipe from the bear, then ducked under another. "How the hell should I know? A rock?!"

  "No!" I yelled, barely avoiding the bear's massive paw as it swiped at me again. "A rock doesn't grow! Titan, any ideas?!"

  Titan, still blasting his flamethrower, turned his head towards me. Without a word, he motioned with his free hand—fire.

  My eyes widened. "Fire! It's fire!"

  [Sytem Response:

  Congratulations. You've found out you're not stupid after all. ]

  I'm ignoring you!

  Leah, slashing at the beast's legs, barked a laugh. "Oh, great! Too bad Titan's flamethrower's running on fumes!"

  Sarcastic much?

  The Pine Bear, now partially charred but still very alive, roared louder than ever. It swiped Titan's flamethrower attachment aside and charged at me.

  Fire, Fire, Fire... I only have Ice magic what the fuck would ice do!?

  Shit...

  Wait...that's it! There was that!

  "Hahahahaha!" I laughed as I looked at the bear again from a safe distance.

  I could hear Leah, mutter something about me being crazy, but who cares!

  I then used Ice magic to keep the guy from moving, but I know that'll only hold him off for about 10 seconds or below so I have to be fast!!

  "Perfect." I visualized the sensation—like holding ice so long it burned like fire. That intense heat, the paradox of ice searing flesh. "Let's make this work."

  [System Notification:

  New Spell Created: Frostburn

  Effect: Supercooled ice creates a burning sensation on contact, dealing fire-like damage over time.]

  The air around me froze, frost climbing the trees and ground. I felt the raw power surge through me, and I grinned.

  "Hey, Pine Bear!" I shouted. The creature turned to me, growling low. "Feel the burn!" I unleashed Frostburn, sending a wave of glowing, searing cold straight at the beast.

  The ice struck its exposed flesh, and the bear let out a deafening roar. Steam rose where the spell hit, the icy burn eating through its armor. The green spores it emitted hissed and evaporated on contact.

  "Leah! Titan! Now!"

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Leah didn't hesitate. She launched herself into the air, sword glowing as she brought it down on the bear's exposed neck. Titan followed, his massive blade cleaving through its side.

  The bear staggered, its roars turning into pitiful growls. I poured the last of my mana into another Frostburn, coating the beast in a layer of icy fire. It collapsed, writhing, before finally falling still.

  [System Notification:

  Pine Bear defeated. Rewards:

  500 gold coins

  Skill Upgrade: Frostburn (Lv. 2)

  Ice Magic (Lv. 3)

  Glacier Spikes (Lv. 4)]

  I collapsed onto the ground, panting. "Remind me… to never… go north again."

  Leah landed beside me, wiping soot off her blade. "Not bad for a walking ice cube." She grinned. "You actually made a decent spell."

  Titan patted my head like a proud parent, his silent approval warming me despite the exhaustion.

  I glared at the System notification. "500 gold? Really? That was a high-level predator, and we almost died!"

  [System Response:

  Consider it a learning experience.]

  "Learning experience, my ass," I muttered, already dreading what the System had in store for us next.

  Little Theater:

  Aria: *sighing dramatically* "Ugh... I'm so tired. I just want to crawl into my bed and cuddle with it all night long..."

  Leah: *raising an eyebrow, smirking* "Oh? Is the bed really that charming? What’s it got that I don’t?

  Aria: *Looks towards the barren land then at her*

  Leah: (╬ ò﹏ó)

  A few weeks after the monster evolution, life in the village had hit a new stride. Scarface and Fen had finally evolved into High Ogres, which was both exciting and terrifying. Exciting because, hey, magic-wielding ogres were a rare breed. Terrifying because...magic-wielding ogres were a rare breed.

  Scar demonstrated his newfound abilities by summoning a ball of fire the size of my head, which he promptly threw at a tree. The tree? Gone. Just...gone.

  "Boss, did you see that?" Scar beamed, his fangs glinting in the sunlight.

  "Yeah," I said, trying not to let my voice tremble. "Amazing work. But maybe don't aim near the village next time?"

  Fen had taken a different route. She now specialized in defensive magic, forming barriers and shields out of thin air. Useful, but she had a habit of testing them by letting Boulder punch her full force.

  Ever wondered why Boulder hasn't evolved yet? I dunno either, but from how beat up he gets everytime he and Mela comes back. I'm guessing it's endurance training, if they both keep that up they might just become the kingdom's Guardian!

  The other ogres weren't far behind, either. They'd all turned into Greater Ogres, which meant they were bigger, meaner, and somehow even louder than before.

  ...Damn it.

  At least the village was coming together nicely. The walls were finally high enough to keep out most threats, and there were watchtowers now, complete with ogre-sized chairs. Boulder, bless his rocky heart, had crafted a grand door for the entrance. It looked like something you'd see in a human kingdom, with intricate carvings and an imposing archway.

  Of course, Nia had to one-up him by adding protective runes to the walls and gate. She claimed it was to make them more durable, but I think she just wanted an excuse to show off her rune magic. Not that I was complaining—it worked like a charm, even if it drained her mana reserves for days.

  Something told me her rune magic was more than it seemed. Maybe I'd dig into that later.

  ---

  [System Updated]

  Name: Aria

  Race: Ice Oni (Epic!)

  Titles: Boss, Runt, Little Weakling, The One Who Killed 2 Bosses at Once, The One Who Builds, Oni

  Stats:

  Strength: 567

  Intelligence: 496

  Dexterity: 391

  Vitality: 455 (+70)

  Mana: 439 (+75)

  Skills:

  Bite (Lv. 2)

  Squeal (Lv. 2)

  Spore Manipulation (Lv. 3)

  Spore Cloud (Lv. 3)

  Spore Burst (Lv. 2)

  Stone toss (Lv. 3)

  Magic Skills:

  1. Ice Magic (Lv. 3)

  2. Foresight (Lv. 2)

  3. Frostbound Aura (Lv. 2)

  4. Glacier Spikes (Lv. 3)

  5. Frostburn (Lv. 2)

  Bonds:

  Village bond

  Family bond

  Domain Skills:

  Map (New!)

  Tower of Ascension (New!)

  ---

  [System Notification]

  Congratulations! You have created the first step to building a monster kingdom! Explore more to find the clue towards the next step!

  ---

  I stared at the glowing message, the words "monster kingdom" hanging in the air like a bad joke.

  For those wondering, I ate lots of those Manashrooms we had, they're the ones I ate back when I first got here. And also most of what the knuckleheads sold off to the merchant before. And I also changed the name, that was just embarrasing especially since if this place really becomes a kingdom it would need a tourist spot to attract customers.

  Sounds cool right? I named it after reading that one story about a guy that dies and then returns back 24 hours before!

  I loved that novel, maybe if I named this after that Tower it would connect and maybe the mc from there would show up!!

  ....

  Okay, that was off topic. Anyway, as I was saying, this dungeon will help them get stronger by fighting the holographic monsters inside. The system helped with that using the dungeon core's mana, also, like I said, I made it from a certain returner story. So, of course! Every person who goes inside the Tower will never truly die! But it will take a toll on their mental capacity and their mana so only once a month!

  Another thing, see how the tower is inside my status window? Yeah, I can watch which floor they're at. It's like a radar, if I open Tower of Ascension, a map like thing shows up. But not normal ones, they show me red dots which are the monsters, blue dots as the villagers, and on the right upper side I can see what floor they are at.

  Mind you, I asked for their opinion about this before, but they seemed oddly fine, even happy about it?

  They acted like the thought of dying was nothing. Weird, but since we're hunted, I guess they've thought that way since the beginning?

  I wanna go inside too, but someone needs to stay outside while they go in. Although it's still by rotation with groups like before, that doesn't mean it's truly okay for me to go.

  "Guess I have to explore again, huh?" I muttered, scratching the back of my neck. "Dang it. I was just getting comfortable."

  But that could wait. For now...

  "Alright! Everyone line up!" I called out, hopping onto a platform I'd built for announcements. It was mostly for show, but it made me feel taller, so win-win.

  The monsters below groaned but shuffled into place.

  "I'm adding a new training regime!" I announced. "You'll be entering a dungeon I own—yes, I own it, no autographs—and training inside once a month! The tower will kick you out automatically when it decides you've had enough, and we'll keep this up until you all can climb to atleast floor 50!"

  "Floor 50?!" one of the Greater Ogres yelled, his voice cracking.

  "Yes, floor 50," I said, crossing my arms. "Do you want to stay weak forever? No? Then suck it up!"

  The ogres exchanged nervous glances but nodded.

  "This dungeon," I continued, gesturing towards the tower dramatically, "is not just for training. It's also a shelter. If anything dangerous happens—like, oh, I don't know, another monster invasion—you can all hide inside. It's indestructible!"

  That earned me a few blank stares. Tough crowd.

  I wasn't exaggerating. After I plopped the dungeon into the middle of the village, Titan and the others had gone wild trying to break it. Titan even used some skill that shook the ground so hard I thought we were getting hit by an earthquake. The result? A faint scratch on the dungeon's surface, which disappeared a second later.

  "Anyway, this dungeon is state-of-the-art. It creates holographic monsters for you to fight, so no one actually dies inside. You'll take some hits to your mana and mental stamina, though, so it's limited to once a month. You're welcome."

  More groans. Ungrateful monsters.

  Titan's armored shoulders shook, he's probably laughing..

  Not helping, buddy.

  "Alright, first group, you're up!" I shouted, clapping my hands. "Let's see what you've got!"

  The first batch of monsters trudged into the tower, muttering complaints under their breath. While Scarface and Fen led the way for them. I settled into a makeshift chair, watching them disappear inside.

  ---

  An hour later, the first group emerged, battered but alive.

  "That was insane," one of them panted, collapsing onto the ground. "The monsters in there don't mess around!"

  "Good," I said, handing him a water pouch. "Next time, aim for floor 10. I saw you guys only made it to floor 7. You've got a month to recover. Use it wisely."

  "Floor 7?! We just went through all of that and we didn't even make it halfway?!" he sputtered, staring at me like I'd just told him something absurd.

  "Yes, floor 7. You've got this."

  The ogre groaned but gave me a thumbs up before dragging himself away.

  Even Scarface and the others looked tired, what did they fight inside?

  ---

  As the day went on, the groups rotated through the tower. Each time, they came out stronger—or at least more determined.

  Watching them, I felt a strange sense of pride. Maybe we really could build a monster kingdom someday.

  For now, though, I needed a break.

  "Titan, you're in charge," I said, climbing onto a hammock I'd strung between two trees near the center.

  Titan stopped for a bit with his training─ he's been swinging his blade for awhile now─ and crossed his arms but nodded, amused by my antics.

  I closed my eyes, letting the sounds of the village wash over me. Life wasn't perfect, but it was mine. And for now, that was enough.

  Little Theater:

  Scarface: "Boss, if we die in there, do we die in real life?"

  Aria: "No, but you'll wish you did when I'm done yelling at you."

  Gorn: "I'm taking bets on who cries first."