A/N : This upload is an accidental duplicate of Chapter 51 (original full version). It contains only partial content and is not the official continuation. Please skip this Chapter to avoid confusion.

The Darkstone Wall continued to rise.

Even several minutes later, the sight remained just as unbelievable as when it had first emerged from the earth.

Massive charcoal-colored blocks pushed upward from the trench surrounding the territory. Soil trembled. Stone shifted. The wall grew steadily higher, enclosing Velaris piece by piece beneath the fading afternoon sky.

Nobody seemed willing to look away.

Caleb tilted his head back until his neck protested.

"Yeah, I’m never getting used to that."

"You’ve said that five times already," Marcus said.

"And I’ll probably say it five more."

Nobody argued with him.

Because honestly, the wall was ridiculous.

It needed no machines, no workers, no cranes.

Just stone rising from the ground as if the world itself had accepted Iris’s purchase and decided to obey.

A faint smile appeared on Iris’s face before her attention returned to the territory panel floating in front of her.

The excitement was nice.

The wall was nice.

But eventually reality would catch up to all of them.

Walls did not build villages.

Resources did.

Her gaze lingered on the remaining numbers.

Four thousand wood.

Two thousand stone.

Ten thousand, two hundred and eleven gold.

It sounded like a lot.

It probably was not.

Not after seeing the prices inside the building tab.

The village center alone cost hundreds of gold.

The warehouse cost hundreds more.

Future upgrades would undoubtedly be even worse.

The brief satisfaction from buying the wall faded almost immediately.

They were going to need far more resources than she originally thought.

Iris closed the panel.

"We’re going to need more wood and stone."

The conversation around her quieted.

Benjamin looked over.

"How much more?"

"A lot."

That earned several groans.

"That is not a number," Caleb complained.

"It is the most accurate number I have right now."

That was somehow worse.

Benjamin rubbed his forehead.

"Define a lot."

Iris glanced toward the towering wall still rising in the distance.

"That thing cost one thousand wood and one thousand stone."

Silence.

The number settled over everyone.

Marcus was the first to react.

"...What?"

"A thousand?" Caleb repeated.

"A thousand," Iris confirmed.

Victor let out a low whistle.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

Back when they were still on Earth, a thousand pieces of anything sounded manageable.

Now it did not.

Benjamin’s expression grew thoughtful.

"So future construction is going to be expensive."

"Very."

"And we will need a steady supply."

"Exactly."

The atmosphere shifted.

The excitement of watching the wall rise gave way to practicality.

A territory was not something you built once and forgot about.

It would constantly consume resources.

Wood, stone, and materials they had not even unlocked yet.

The realization settled over everyone at roughly the same time.

Elias was the first to move.

"We should start gathering."

Several bodyguards immediately nodded.

Marcus pushed himself upright.

"Better now than later."

Daniel looked toward the distant forest beyond the territory.

"There should be plenty nearby."

Victor rolled his injured shoulder before grimacing.

The movement clearly was not comfortable.

"I will stay behind."

Nobody argued.

The injury on his forearm had improved, but not enough to justify unnecessary strain.

"Do not go too far," Iris told them.

"We will not."

Within minutes, the group began preparing to leave.

Weapons were checked.

Water was distributed.

Routes were discussed.

Soon, Elias, Marcus, Daniel, and several others disappeared beyond the edge of the territory.

The remaining group watched them go.

Then Caleb stretched dramatically.

"Well."

Nobody responded.

Caleb looked around.

"...Anybody else suddenly feel unemployed?"

That finally earned a laugh.

Even Veronica smiled.

Iris shook her head before opening her storage.

A moment later, two large tents appeared on the grass.

The reaction was immediate.

"Whoa."

Caleb stumbled backward.

The tents were far larger than the simple camping tents most people imagined.

One was large enough to comfortably accommodate the entire family.

The second was not much smaller.

For several seconds, Caleb simply stared.

Then he slowly turned toward Iris. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Okay."

His expression was completely serious.

"Are you secretly a magician?"

Without hesitation, Iris flicked his forehead.

"Ow!"

"You deserved that."

"I asked a reasonable question."

"No, you did not."

Caleb rubbed his forehead dramatically.

"I think all the fighting is affecting my memory."

"I think it might be."

The others chuckled.

Meanwhile, Benjamin crouched beside one of the tents, examining it.

"Where did you even get these?"

"The basement."

The answer came so naturally that nobody reacted at first.

Then several expressions froze.

"The basement," Veronica repeated softly.

For a moment, everyone seemed to remember the same thing.

The endless shelves.

The mountains of supplies.

The countless boxes they had spent weeks gathering.

Food, tools, camping equipment, medical supplies, and emergency resources.

The preparations for an apocalypse they had not truly believed would happen.

A complicated look appeared on Veronica’s face.

"We left so much behind."

The laughter faded.

Nobody disagreed.

Because they all remembered it.

Entire shelves.

Entire stacks.

Entire rooms filled with things they never had the chance to bring.

Veronica sighed.

"Honestly... if we had known all this was going to happen, we should have bought more gold instead."

Benjamin looked up.

"Gold. Silver. Jewelry. Anything valuable."

"We spent so much time focusing on supplies."

A faint smile touched her lips.

"Turns out the system likes precious metals more than canned food."

Caleb slowly stroked his chin.

"Huh."

His gaze shifted.

Then shifted again.

Then landed on Benjamin.

The others followed.

Benjamin immediately narrowed his eyes.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," Caleb said.

Benjamin sighed.

"I do not like that look."

Caleb pointed at him.

"We cannot just sell everything because of a fever dream."

Benjamin covered his face.

The imitation was nearly perfect.

Several people burst into laughter.

"It was not a fever dream," Caleb continued.

"It was apparently a highly accurate prophetic warning."

Benjamin groaned.

"You all sound ridiculous."

"Do we?"

"Yes."

"You called it a fever dream."

"Because it sounded like one."

More laughter erupted.

Even Benjamin eventually failed to maintain his serious expression.

A reluctant smile escaped him.

"In my defense, most people do not prepare for the apocalypse because someone had a strange dream."

"Fair."

"Very fair."

"Reasonable, even."

Benjamin pointed at Caleb.

"Thank you."

Caleb immediately continued.

"Still wrong, though."

The resulting groan from Benjamin only made everyone laugh harder.

The laughter gradually died down.

The sun continued its slow descent.

Golden light painted the rising Darkstone Wall in bronze and amber.

For a brief moment, everything felt peaceful.

No monsters. No running. No immediate danger.

Just family, conversation, and distant stone rising from the earth.

The moment was interrupted by approaching footsteps.

Several heads turned.

Elias and the others were returning.

Marcus was carrying something over one shoulder.

Daniel had dirt smeared across half his jacket.

Yet despite exhaustion, all of them looked excited.

Caleb noticed immediately.

"Why do you all look like that?"

Marcus grinned.

"We found something interesting."