Chapter : 693

[Description: Enhances the core functionality of the [Echo of Will] protocol. Allows the user to manifest and maintain two (2) separate Echo constructs simultaneously. Each Echo can be assigned a unique Task Protocol and will operate independently on its own energy cycle. This upgrade represents a 100% increase in passive resource generation potential.]

One hundred percent increase. The words sang to the industrialist in his soul. It was the promise of doubling his factory’s output with a single capital investment. The tedious, soul-crushing hours he and Fang Fairy had spent grinding for those coins suddenly felt like the wisest investment he had ever made. He had endured the boredom, resisted the temptation to spend his FC on minor perks, and had saved diligently for this single, game-changing moment.

He still had a healthy reserve of Farming Coins, a testament to his recent brutal hunts in the Savage Brushland. The purchase would not deplete his savings entirely, leaving him with a comfortable buffer for any future needs. There was no need for hesitation, no room for debate. This was the logical, optimal, and most strategically sound decision he could make.

He focused his will on the purchase button, the mental command as firm and decisive as a signature on a ducal decree.

“Execute purchase.”

[Purchase confirmed,] the familiar, rustic chime of the Farming System echoed in his mind. [1000 FC has been deducted from your account. Upgrading [Automated Harvesting Protocol] to Mark II. Please stand by.]

Unlike the agonizing, invasive process of his Void Power integration, this upgrade was a quiet, clean software patch. He felt a gentle pulse of energy from the System, a soft warmth that spread through his consciousness. The Farming System interface flickered for a moment, the icons rearranging themselves, before settling into a new, expanded configuration.

Where there had been a single slot for his [Echo of Will], there were now two, sitting side-by-side like twin portraits. [ECHO_01] was currently listed as ‘Active - Slime Plains.’ [ECHO_02] was listed as ‘Dormant - Awaiting Protocol.’

A slow, profoundly satisfied smile spread across Lloyd’s face. He had just doubled his workforce without hiring a single new employee. He had cloned himself, creating a second spectral slave to toil away in his private dimension, farming resources for his war effort while he slept, ate, or attended mind-numbingly dull court functions. It was the ultimate expression of efficiency.

His mind immediately went to work, optimizing his new asset. The Slime Plains were a low-yield, low-risk environment. It was inefficient to have two Echos working the same, unprofitable territory. He needed to move his automated harvesting up the value chain.

He accessed the command interface for ECHO_01. He could feel the distant, mental connection to his spectral twin, a faint, dispassionate hum of a task being perfectly executed. With a thought, he cancelled its current protocol. The Echo on the distant plains would now be standing idle, a blank slate awaiting new orders.

His new plan was simple. The goblins of the Shadowfen Forest were a far more profitable, if slightly more complex, target. Their suppression yielded significantly more FC and occasionally dropped useful alchemical components. He would assign both of his Echos to this new task.

He focused, calling up the memory of his own goblin-slaying campaigns. He didn’t just remember the fights; he remembered the strategy, the flow, the optimal path of destruction. He packaged this experience into a clean, concise mental blueprint, a new Task Protocol he designated ‘Goblin Suppression - Low Energy Perimeter Control.’ It was a strategy based on stealth, traps, and efficient, single-strike kills, designed to minimize energy expenditure and maximize yield.

He imprinted this new protocol onto ECHO_01. Then, he did the same for the dormant ECHO_02. The System confirmed the successful imprinting. Two perfect, spectral copies of himself were now armed with the knowledge of his own hard-won combat experience.

With a final mental command, he gave the order. “Activate ECHO_01 and ECHO_02. Execute protocol. Continuous operation.”

He felt the twin hums of his Echos coming online, their vacant minds now filled with a single, deadly purpose. He could visualize them moving in perfect, silent sync through the gloomy twilight of the Shadowfen Forest, a pair of ghost-assassins beginning their endless, automated harvest. The flow of Farming Coins into his account would not just be steady now; it would be a river.

The feeling of triumph was immense. He had transformed his own labor into a self-sustaining, passive system. He had weaponized his own expertise and outsourced it to himself. But as he basked in the glow of his own cleverness, a new notification chimed in the interface, a small, pulsing icon he hadn't seen before.

Chapter : 694

[System Upgrade Reward,] the text read. [For successfully upgrading your Farming System to Mark II, a new Tier-4 Farming Zone has been unlocked.]

Lloyd’s eyes widened. A Tier-4 zone. The Savage Brushland had been a brutal Tier-3. The next level of challenge, and reward, would be exponentially greater.

With a surge of curiosity, he opened the notification.

[New Zone Unlocked: The Ashen Peaks - Savage Wolf Pack Territory.]

The name itself sent a predatory shiver down his spine. Wolves. Not lone creatures, but packs. Intelligent, coordinated predators. The icon for the new zone was a snarling wolf’s head, its eyes burning with a feral, red light. The description was brief and chilling.

[A mountainous region of volcanic ash and petrified forests. Home to large, highly intelligent packs of Shadow-Wrought Wolves. These creatures are fast, resilient, and hunt with a sophisticated pack mentality. Warning: This is a high-risk, high-reward environment. User discretion is strongly advised.]

Lloyd’s smile returned, wider and more dangerous than before. The grind was about to get interesting again.

The description of the Savage Wolf Pack territory was a siren’s call to the warrior in Lloyd’s soul. The slimes had been a tedious chore. The goblins, while tactically more interesting, were ultimately cowardly and brutish. But wolves… wolves were different. They were intelligent, they were strategic, and they hunted with a pack synergy that mirrored a well-trained military unit. To face them would not just be a grind; it would be a true test of his own command-and-control abilities.

He felt the pull, the instinctive urge to portal into the Soul Farm immediately, to test his mettle against this new, more worthy foe. The thought of unleashing Iffrit and Fang Fairy upon a tide of shadowy predators, of coordinating his two divine spirits against a thinking, adapting enemy, was an exhilarating prospect. The potential rewards, both in Farming Coins and in valuable combat experience, would be immense.

But then, the pragmatist reasserted control. The eighty-year-old general in his mind poured a bucket of cold, logical water on the nineteen-year-old’s fiery enthusiasm. He was still recovering from the painful integration of his new Void Power. His energy reserves were stable but not at their peak. And more importantly, he had a real-world, time-sensitive mission that took precedence over any virtual hunt. His trip to Zakaria, his fated encounter, his quest for the Lilith Stones—that was the primary objective. The Soul Farm was a tool to prepare for that mission, not a distraction from it.

He reluctantly shelved the idea of exploring the Ashen Peaks for now. It would be his reward, his next project, after he returned from his journey. With his passive income now doubled and his new analytical powers online, his preparation phase was nearly complete. All that remained were the real-world logistics.

He closed the System interface, the bustling activity of his mind returning to the quiet solitude of his study. He stood up, stretching his limbs, feeling the faint, lingering ache from the power integration. He had spent a fortune of his hard-earned coins, but he was now a different creature than he had been just an hour ago. He was stronger, more versatile, and, thanks to his new Echos, exponentially more efficient. He felt ready.

His first step was to formalize his travel plans. He needed the official blessing of the head of his house. He left the manufactory, his stride now filled with a new, quiet confidence, and made his way to his father’s main study in the ducal estate.

He found Arch Duke Roy Ferrum exactly where he expected him to be: seated behind his massive, imposing desk, a mountain of reports and ledgers before him, his expression a familiar mask of stern concentration. The air in the room was always the same—cool, still, and heavy with the weight of responsibility.

“Father,” Lloyd said, offering a respectful bow.

Roy looked up, his dark eyes sharp and assessing. He missed nothing. He would have already noticed the subtle shift in Lloyd’s demeanor, the new layer of contained power that now clung to him. “Lloyd. You have been… occupied. The reports from the manufactory indicate a new level of productivity. And yet, the gossip from the court says you have been reclusive. An unusual combination.”

“I have been focused on research and development, Father,” Lloyd replied smoothly, using the carefully prepared script he had devised. “The AURA brand and Project Brine are stable, but innovation requires constant effort. To that end, I have identified a potential new source for rare alchemical components that could revolutionize our production of essential oils, and perhaps even lead to new product lines.”

He paused, letting his father process the commercial angle. Roy was a warrior, but he was also a pragmatist who understood the power of a full treasury.