The 'Extra' Lord - A Plundering Kingdom Building LitRPG

Owen, along with Shelldon and Draed, left the safety of the dome Lord’s shield, and the sun intensified. Owen swore at not having been given sun lotion, but he took a sip of water to wet his tongue at least.

The scorching sun beat down mercilessly on the vast expanse of desert. Sand dunes stretched as far as the eye could see, shimmering under the relentless heat. Cacti poked out of the sand and he swore some of them vanished from sight as he laid eyes on them.

Where he was situated was right by a mountain. The sun was slowly inching toward the horizon, and it wouldn’t be long before the mountain blocked the vicious sun rays from assaulting his flesh. Thank god.

He headed for a bunch of cacti. He needed water and although he had some already, it wouldn’t last very long. Besides, he had builders back in the dome and they needed to be looked after. With Unlimited Plunder, he stored all of them without the need of a bag. The freedom felt exhilarating. Then he moved on.

Owen sat atop his tortoise mount, who trudged steadily across the shifting sands. Meanwhile Draed nimbly stood, bow pointed forwards. His eyes scanned the horizon, alert for any sign of danger, before focusing on the land beneath them.

It wouldn’t be long before—

Suddenly, as if on cue, the ground trembled beneath them. Owen's heart pounded as a colossal sand creature burst from the dune ahead. Its body, a swirling mass of sand, grit, and coarse fur, rose up like a towering troll. Glowing red eyes pierced through the storm of debris, casting a menacing glare over the group.

“Steady, Shelldon,” Owen shouted, fear gripping hold of him.

The sand monster let out a deafening roar, its mouth lined with sharp, crystalline teeth. It lunged at them with surprising speed for a creature of its size. Owen barely had time to react. Shelldon retracted into his shell. Draed fired a powered arrow, thudding against the monster’s hairy body.

The monster's claws scraped against the tortoise's hard shell, sending sparks flying.

Owen seized the moment to strike. He summoned his kukri, the blade gleaming in the sunlight, and swung it with all his might in an uncontrolled, wide arc. The sword sliced through the sand, but the monster's body simply reformed around the wound. It was like trying to cut through water. Not that he would have dealt any damage anyway, considering his pitiful Attributes.

Draed fired three arrows in quick succession, one of them boring into the creature’s eyeball. It squealed and thrashed.

Not good, Owen thought. He had to think of something fast.

The monster's next attack came swiftly. It raised a massive arm of sand and brought it crashing down towards them. Shelldon moved quickly, but not quickly enough. The blow sent them sprawling, and Owen was thrown from his mount, landing hard on the sand.

Draed had already leapt from Shelldon before the strike hit, and continued his volley of arrows, whittling down the beast with precise aim.

Gasping for breath, sand entering his mouth, Owen scrambled to his feet spitting out the grains. His mind was a blazing storm, battered by the sun above. He needed to end this quickly. Previous plans deemed insane appeared at the forefront of his thoughts.

Dune Ravager, Owen thought in pain. Heart is its weakness.

He focused, drawing on the power of Unlimited Plunder, unable to think of the consequences of doing so.

“Heart, just beneath its naval!” Owen shouted over to Draed.

Draed listened. The air swirled around him and he fired a mighty arrow the next second. It slammed into the Dune Ravager’s chest, halfway disappearing. It roared out in pain and thrashed the sand around. But it was still alive. It rampaged toward Owen.

The sand monster loomed over him, ready to deliver a finishing blow. Owen reached out with his power, his hand glowing with a dark, eerie light. He aimed for the monster's core, where its heart would be based on what he knew from the novel. Where he hoped it would be.

As he touched the coarse fur of the monster, a surge of energy burst from his hand followed by an immediate bout of weakness.

The sand monster froze in place, its eyes widening in shock. Owen ripped out a pulsating heart from its chest. The monster instantly dropped dead, not another sound coming from its throat.

You and your subordinate has defeated a Dune Ravager (Level 13)

| Hunter: Draed Level 3 -> Level 5

| Owen Taylor Level 8 -> Level 10

Placing all the points into Vitality, Owen's victory was short-lived. The strain of using Unlimited Plunder on a living target hit him like a freight train. Pain wracked his body, and he fell to his knees, clutching his chest. Blood seeped from his nose and mouth, and his vision blurred.

Shelldon emerged from his shell and hurried over to Owen, nudging him gently. Owen smiled weakly, patting his loyal mount's head. Draed arrived like the wind, standing over him with his bow ready for any other attackers.

“Good boy, Shelldon. Good work, Draed,” he whispered, his voice barely audible. “Now let's get back”

Fighting against the exhaustion consuming him, Owen stored the corpse for future use, battling through the pain, and then returned back to the safezone.

He checked up on Pyris once he returned, then sat under the tarp with her to recover his wounds. A few hours had passed when Owen finally felt ready to use Plunder once more. He brought out the Dune Ravager and placed it in front of him, and used his Skill.

You have plundered a Dune Ravager.

| Claimed materials: Summoning Ticket 1x Hunter, Summoning Ticket 1x Builder, Dune Ravager Pelt x2 (Normal), Dune Ravager Organs (Normal) Dune Ravager Bones (Normal).

| Stats gained: 6 Strength, 4 Vitality, 3 Dexterity.

First, he inspected the pelts. Normal quality, he thought. He effectively had the job of a Skinner all in one ability.

Unlimited Plunder

| Mastery: (None)

After looking at his ability once again, Owen had a guess as to how it worked. His current Mastery allowed him to skin the monster at Normal quality. Which was already a great bonus. If he started out as a Skinner, the quality would only be Low, if not a high chance of being Ruined. To already plunder something at Normal quality was a great boon to have as it would provide him with a higher income.

Then, finally, it was time to add to his civilization. He gazed at the golden tickets in his hand, hope brimming within him. He hoped it was a high-Star hunter. With them, he’d be able to let them go out and hunt, Levelling him up, gaining more tickets passively, without him doing anything. The more Stars they had, the quicker they'd become powerhouses for his kingdom. And thanks to his Rogue Class, all basic Hunters would have their perception greatly increased--along with all their Attributes.

Without further ado, he ripped the Hunter ticket he had gained.

***

Pyris was under far too much pain and suffering to move. She tried moving her fingers, toes, anything, but it was helpless. Whatever wounds had been scored into her flesh, were serious. Not only that, she detected a vicious poison that she had never experienced before. It was so potent, that not even her natural healing factor could combat it.

Where am I?

One moment she was… well, she couldn’t remember. Her memories were a haze, like a puzzle missing its pieces. The next moment, she was here, laying under the beating sun, a young man crouched over her, feeding her a healing tincture to no avail.

She first had the thought of killing him, but what good would that do her? The young boy had tried to help her, sheltering her from the sun—not that the sun could do anything to her. But it was the thought that mattered. Then he held his blade against her throat. Desire to end her life flashed for a single second, if that, only for him to decide against it.

I don’t blame you, Pyris thought weakly. In his place, she’d have done the same. No, she’d have gone through with it.

Pyris watched him laugh and smile and clumsily climb onto his mount, and fight in the distance. If she had the strength, maybe she’d have even laughed at his silly nature.

There was also something else that held back her desire to lash out; there was a strange connection between them. It was telling her that he wasn’t a threat—even when he held his blade against her throat. It was telling her that he was her partner. Her master. It should have made her uncomfortable, angry, but she felt a strange honour taking hold of her instead.

She wanted to fight for this young man. Prop him up and let him show his grandeur to the universe.

And then, her tired eyes watched as the man—his name Owen as she subconsciously realised—summoned a clean looking man wearing brown leather armour, holding a curved sword appeared before him.

The swordsman, the moment he appeared, got to one knee and lowered his head. He spoke in a language she knew, but didn’t at the same time. It was strange.

“My Lord,” he said, his voice rough, but noble. “It is my honour to be summoned to your land. Please, give me your orders.”

“Cedric, it’s nice to have you here,” Owen said, pinching his chin in thought. “I would have preferred to wait until I had more of you, but I’m in dire straits, as you can see.”

The hunter looked around and nodded in agreement. “Your wish is my command, no matter the dangers, my Lord.”

“Please, stand. I don't think I’m used to the whole kneeling thing yet.”

The swordsman stood. “Understood.”

“Draed, Cedric, I wish for you to scout the land,” her master continued. “I need to know where my enemies are, and how many they lurk. Especially if any Lords are nearby. But be careful, the desert monsters are known to prefer ambush. If you can take a shot, take it, but only if you are confident in taking down the opponent. It's important, if possible, to bring their bodies back here. I have use of them. But above all else, you must return safe, no matter what. You are important.”

The hunters bowed deeply. “I understand, my Lord.”

“Good, thank you.” Owen moved his hand over to his tortoise. “Take my Spectre with you. His name is Shelldon. He can take a hit. You can even hide in his shell if you can deal with tight spaces.”

The hunters bowed, mounted the tortoise and left the safety of the dome. His eyes followed them as they vanished into the horizon. He sighed, then addressed the other people around. They were Builders. Owen deposited huge chunks of stone and told them to start building a house for shelter during the day. They listened, and quickly got to work.

Then, her Lord approached her, kneeling down. Her eyes were only open by a slit.

A Lord is kneeling in front of me? She thought incredulously.

“Damn,” he cursed, talking to himself. “Your wounds aren’t healing, are they? I wonder if you’re poisoned or something? Not only that, your wounds are still bleeding. It seems the health potions only worked for a while. I need more, but they’re expensive.”

So he said, but he took out the other health potion despite being wounded himself, and fed her it again. She felt the warmth invade her body, wrapping it in a pleasing cocoon away from the pain assaulting her. But she knew it would only last a few minutes at best.

“That was my second last one. I need more. I need anti-poison. A good one, I’d wager. 7-Star Spectres sure are tough. Don’t worry. I won’t let you die. Just please don’t kill me when you wake up, promise?”

Owen stood up. "Well, let's get this other Builder summoned. We need a house, don't you think?"

And so, with the last golden ticket, he ripped it down the middle--and smiled.