Since that time he fought a wolf on the first day, Kaito hadn't fought again.
Even so, he kept leveling up, so his confidence only continued to grow.
From the beginning, he had prioritized agility, betting everything on speed. His idea was simple: if the enemy can't touch you, they can't beat you. As long as he didn't run into someone just as fast, even an invulnerable tank would eventually fall.
And right now, in front of him, stood the perfect opponent to test that theory.
A brute-force enemy. Much stronger than him, sure… but also much slower.
Perfect to see whether his strategy worked or if he had been wasting points from the start.
Following his orders, the others stayed back. Only about twenty watched from a distance; the rest were still busy dealing with the remaining goblins.
Without giving him time to think, the goblin leader launched the first attack.
Thanks to his agility—which boosted not just his speed, but also his reflexes and reaction time—Kaito noticed it instantly.
To him, the goblin leader moved as if he were walking. Not in slow motion, but slow enough that his movements felt clumsy in comparison.
Kaito dodged easily.
The goblin leader looked visibly surprised. He gave Kaito a confused look, then attacked again.
This time he jumped and came down with a straight punch. But Kaito was no longer there.
He looked at him with a mocking smile that only made the goblin angrier.
But then something strange happened. Under Kaito's curious gaze, the goblin began to glow with an aura, only to return to normal seconds later.
And he attacked again. But Kaito noticed it: the pressure in the air, his presence… it was more intense than before. He had gotten stronger.
Kaito dodged again, but this time it was different. The goblin's blow was so powerful it shook the ground, throwing Kaito off balance for a moment.
Taking advantage of that, the goblin charged straight at him. Caught off guard, Kaito barely managed to dodge.
He breathed heavily. But he didn't back down.
He had noticed something important. Despite the power boost, the goblin was still just as slow.
That meant the only stat he had increased was strength. In the real world, that wouldn't make sense. How can someone get stronger without gaining endurance?
But in Gaia, where everything was governed by stats, it made perfect sense.
Wanting to confirm it, Kaito waited for the next attack. He ducked to dodge and threw a punch in return.
The blow made the goblin stagger back, and a smile appeared on Kaito's face.
He had confirmed it. Despite his strength, the goblin was still vulnerable. He had only raised his strength stat, not his overall defense.
With that in mind, Kaito became much more aggressive. He dodged every one of the goblin's attacks with ease, countering with precise blows.
Little by little, the enemy's green skin was covered in bruises and wounds.
Kaito charged one final time. The goblin crossed his arms to shield himself—but felt nothing.
Kaito was no longer in front of him.
He had reappeared behind him, this time with a spear he had picked up from the battlefield. Without hesitation, he drove it into the goblin's skull, piercing through his head and out one of his eyes.
The truth was, Kaito could have ended it from the start with that strike. But he had wanted to use the fight to sharpen his combat instincts.
The battle was a success, though the experiment ended somewhere in the middle.
He confirmed the effectiveness of focusing on speed, yes… but also saw the danger of putting too much into a single stat. The goblin had overwhelming strength, but without other abilities, he was easy to defeat as long as you could avoid his hits.
Kaito decided to stick to his path. The goblin's mistake was maxing out strength and leaving everything else at the minimum.
Kaito, on the other hand, while prioritizing agility, wouldn't completely ignore the other stats. Not to the same degree, of course—but they would grow over time.
Then, a new notification appeared:
[You have slain the Goblin Leader]
[You have obtained: Amulet - Superior's Strength
Description: A ruler is more than just a title. You must have the presence… and the strength to back it up. The stronger your 'presence' as a 'superior,' the more your Strength stat will increase.]
Kaito looked at the item in his hand and smiled.
"So this is what made him stronger..."
He equipped it immediately. His previous amulet had shattered when he dodged the goblin leader's surprise attack, so he had no problem replacing it.
As soon as he put it on, his Strength increased by 20 points.
Unlike the goblin leader, who only looked like a ruler with fancy clothes and loot, Kaito truly was one. So he didn't need to dress up to activate the amulet's effect.
Shortly after, new notifications appeared before him:
[You have conquered the Goblin Territory]
[Your territory expands by 1000 meters]
[You have obtained a Bronze Chest]
Though slightly disappointed by the chest's rank, he understood this hadn't been a particularly difficult territory to conquer, considering Gaia's planetary size.
Even so, he didn't show his disappointment. He smiled brightly at his warriors and raised a fist in victory.
The soldiers cheered in response before collapsing onto the ground to rest.
Kaito ordered a search of the village, but they only found low-quality furniture, which he chose to ignore.
The real treasure was in the leader's house: 20,000 gold coins, which he took without hesitation.
Back in his own territory, and with little time left before being recalled, Kaito reviewed his gains:
He had gotten 20,000 gold in the village, and another 10,000 from the goblins.
From the bronze chest, he received:
• 20,000 XP
• Building Blueprint: Private House
• Armor Piece: Swift Gloves
The private house was more luxurious than the basic ones: same functions, but more space, a shower, a private room, and some basic furniture.
As for the gloves, Kaito put them on because they looked cool. They were black, fingerless, and had a sleek design.
Though, of course… they were completely useless to him.
[Name: Swift Gloves
Rarity: Uncommon
Description: Reduces spell-casting time by 10%]
Kaito didn't know any magic, nor how to learn it, so the effect was entirely useless to him.
In addition to the XP from the chest, he also gained XP from killing goblins. Unlike normal enemies that gave 1 XP, these gave 5 XP each. In total, he earned another 5,000 XP.
Reward summary:
• 30,000 gold coins
• 25,000 XP
• Blueprint: Private House
• Cool-looking gloves
He didn't have much time left before being returned to Earth.
---
The next day, the first thing he did was use his accumulated experience.
He reached level 9, with 18,342 / 20,000 XP for the next level.
He assigned the five stat points to Agility again.
With 30,000 gold, he summoned new humans until his population reached exactly 500.
Due to the casualties in the previous battle, he had to summon about 200 people, leaving him with 28,000 gold.
Most were assigned to house construction; others were sent to hunt the goblins that had fled north.
With the union of the north, south, east, and west territories, Kaito had formed a sort of circle with a diameter of 3 kilometers. It wasn't much, but compared to the 100 meters he had started with that same week, it was a big achievement.
That day was spent expanding the territory and building. The area felt wider thanks to the trees being cleared.
By nightfall, thanks to everyone's efforts, they had built 80 basic houses and 20 private ones.
These private homes were assigned by merit for now and were occupied by key figures like Lorim, Loyd, Ben, and others.
There were already six blocks around the central area, which was starting to resemble a real city center.
More houses were needed, but Kaito was more than satisfied with the progress.
However, the biggest surprise came just before he was returned to Earth.
He reached level 10, allocated the points to HP, and then…
The level bar became completely locked.
When he tapped it, a message appeared:
[You have reached your race's level cap]
[To continue leveling up, you must evolve or change your race]
[Required: 'Race Evolution Scroll' or 'Race Change Scroll']
Excitement surged in Kaito.
The system wouldn't ask for something impossible. If that requirement existed, then there had to be a way to obtain it. And considering how fast he had progressed, it was obvious where he needed to go.
A place that would open for the first time the next day—Sunday.
A place that promised rewards capable of changing everything.
The Tower of Worlds.