Global Lord in the Apocalypse: I Begin with a Greenhouse

Chapter 2 - The New World

“This place isn't any better than the old world! Just as I expected!”

Adrian swept his gaze across the surroundings.

It was a vast plain, with mountains stretching across the distance behind him and a forest lying ahead.

The land couldn't exactly be called barren, but neither was it fertile. The trees had no leaves on their branches, and many of them already looked as though they were beginning to wither.

When Adrian noticed the thin red mist beneath his feet, he immediately pulled the mask from his waist and put it over his face.

In the old world, this mist had contaminated the soil and vegetation. Although it didn't poison humans immediately, prolonged exposure could slowly transform them into zombies.

“With conditions like this, food is bound to be scarce. I need to find a source of food first.”

Adrian swept his gaze across the area again, but there was nothing in sight except a small structure in the distance.

His greenhouse.

“There's nothing here? How am I supposed to survive with this?”

He moved closer and looked inside.

There was nothing.

Aside from the bare soil, it was nothing more than a fragile structure that looked more like an abandoned building.

The Doomsday would begin in three days, when the monsters started attacking humanity.

But without food, and with Adrian already having gone three days without eating because he had given his food to Valia, he might already be defeated before that day even arrived.

Adrian opened the transparent screen in front of him and checked his Shelter's information.

“What? It only has one star?”

A Shelter wasn't measured solely by its tier, such as Bronze and above. It was also rated according to the number of stars it possessed.

The fewer stars it had, the lower its level.

And vice versa.

That meant Adrian's Shelter was the lowest-ranked among all Bronze-level Shelters.

“All right. There's no point complaining. I'd better do something.”

Adrian extended his hand, reaching toward the Greenhouse's door, which was nearly falling apart under the force of the wind.

“Even if this is all I have, I'll make the best possible use of it to survive!”

“Welcome, Lord Galael, to your special Shelter!”

A System notification sounded the moment his hand touched the Shelter.

Adrian frowned when he heard the word special.

What could possibly be special about a Shelter like this?

“Your Shelter can be upgraded according to your wishes. Not only can its level increase, but its tier can also be raised. You only need to provide the required Elemental Stones.”

Alongside Energy Stones, Elemental Stones were one of the most important resources in the New World.

They were essential for constructing and upgrading Shelters.

“Furthermore, your Shelter will also transform whenever another building enters your territory. The more guests you invite, the stronger your Shelter will become.”

“Oh, so that's how it works!”

Adrian nodded, and the light in his eyes grew brighter.

Other Shelters could only upgrade certain aspects of their structures.

His, however, could actually increase in level.

With an ability like that, what was he waiting for?

He had to try it right now.

But when Adrian flipped through the pages on his screen, his expression fell.

“Not enough Elemental Stones! This is useless!”

Upgrading from one star to two stars alone required one hundred Elemental Stones.

Meanwhile, Adrian had only one thousand Energy Stones and zero Elemental Stones.

If he wanted to upgrade his Shelter, the only option was to exchange his Energy Stones for Elemental Stones.

But that wasn't a wise choice right now.

One Elemental Stone cost ten Energy Stones.

That meant he would have to spend all of his Energy Stones just to upgrade his Shelter by one star.

“I can't do that. I still need Energy Stones to survive the monster attacks.”

He didn't have enough Elemental Stones. He didn't have anything else, either.

“Then what can I do now?”

At that moment, Adrian's eyes suddenly widened.

“Idiot! Don't I have that Legendary Ability?”

Adrian extended his hand.

[Legendary Touch successful. The Shelter is undergoing a mysterious transformation.]

A notification panel appeared before him the instant his hand touched the door.

At the same time, the wind began blowing harder from every direction, converging around the Greenhouse.

Adrian raised his arm in front of his face to shield himself from the clouds of dust being blown toward him.

Then, not long after …

The ground began to shake violently.

A deep rumbling sound echoed across the plain.

Something seemed to be rising from beneath the earth.

Kreeek!

Kreeek!

Kreeek!

The Greenhouse's foundation, which was nothing more than a mound of earth raised slightly above the surrounding ground, began expanding in every direction.

Adrian was pushed toward the edge and nearly lost his balance.

The structure that had originally measured only three by four meters rapidly expanded until it reached twelve by twelve meters.

Then, something began moving beneath the foundation.

A golden light emerged and enveloped the entire structure.

As the golden light passed over it, the earthen foundation underwent a miraculous transformation. The mound of dirt became a solid concrete foundation two meters high.

But it didn't stop there.

The golden light continued upward, enveloping the supporting pillars and plastic walls, performing the same miracle as before.

The thin pillars transformed into thick, sturdy silver steel. The plastic walls that had been on the verge of tearing apart became thick glass walls that could be clearly seen even from a considerable distance.

With the addition of the reinforced foundation, the worst Shelter in existence had now transformed into a Silver-level, One-Star Shelter, standing a total of ten meters tall.

“T-This...”

Adrian was speechless.

He could only stare wide-eyed at the magnificent structure before an overwhelming sense of joy nearly burst through his chest.

“Yes! This really isn't bad!”

Loud laughter erupted from his mouth.

With a shelter this good, securing a source of food should no longer be a problem.

So what did he have to worry about now?

“It seems the heavens are finally showing me some mercy! I'm much safer from monster attacks now! Let's see what's inside!”

Adrian didn't waste any time opening the glass door.

But the moment he looked inside, his brow furrowed once again.

Something was wrong.