Zhisse cried excitedly, and Noan found this spider quite amusing.

    "Alright, keep watching them, but don''t get too close. If you sense any danger, come back, understand?"

    Krit! Krit!

    Zhisse raised one leg to its forehead like a military salute. Then, it climbed up the wall and blended into the shadows.

    Although Zhisse was only a rank F+ hero, its tracking abilities were so exceptional that even a rank D or D+ hero would have difficulty detecting it. After all, Zhisse was a spider—it could move without making a sound.

    Naturally, it could also traverse any terrain, even hanging its large body upside down from the ceiling without falling. Additionally, its silk carried a special magical energy that allowed it to mark its prey.

    For this reason, Noan utilized this unique ability to let Zhisse track Hawke''s group. He needed to determine how many people were in their party, how many heroes they had, and the ranks of those heroes. Only with that information could he devise a proper battle strategy.

    After Zhisse departed, Noan opened his system panel. Upon leveling up, based on what he had learned at the Academy, he had unlocked a new function: construction.

    However, at the moment, he couldn''t collect any resources—not even food supplies. Moreover, the construction function was locked and temporarily unavailable.

    That was right—the system indicated that this function was only temporarily locked, not permanently disabled. This meant that he could use it in the future, or perhaps specific conditions needed to be met to activate it.

    Noan wasn''t in a rush, as he still had many resources. Aside from drinking water and medicinal food, he also had a significant stock of energy crystals.

    For the time being, resource management wasn''t something he had to worry about.

    Noan stroked his chin, thinking to himself: Materials like stone, wood, and similar resources might have to wait until I leave this area.

    Earlier that morning, Noan had sent Zhisse into the forest to scout.

    The good news was that there didn''t seem to be any particularly strong zombies in the forest. Most of the zombies there were animal-type, though there were also human zombies—likely former lords who had perished while exploring the area.

    The bad news was that among those zombies were heroes who had once belonged to the fallen lords but had now turned undead.

    Although their strength wasn''t overwhelming, they still posed a significant threat.

    Another bad news was that the forest lacked edible plants or resource collection points.

    It was just a place full of zombies.

    Noan shook his head, deciding not to dwell on it any further. He planned to wait until tomorrow—by then, once he had enough monsters and heroes, he could act more freely.

    He pulled out a sleeping bag and drifted into slumber. Around him, Skeleton Shielder and the other skeletons remained on guard.

    After all, skeletons didn''t tire or require sleep, which allowed Noan to rest with peace of mind.

    ...

    Somewhere else.

    Inside a small wooden house by the river, small torches dimly illuminated the room.

    At that moment, Hawke sat on a chair, one leg crossed over the other, arms folded across his chest, leaning slightly back. His face was filled with frustration.

    "Did Big Bro just scold you?" A burly man entered the room, followed closely by an equally massive Orc.

    Hawke frowned and said, "If you think that mouth of yours is useless, I can help stitch it shut."

    "Hahaha..." The man laughed heartily. "Come on, don''t be so grumpy."

    "Huh!" Hawke snorted in disdain and gritted his teeth. "That bastard is pissing me off, but Big Bro won''t let me make a move on him."

    After confirming that no one was within a 100-meter radius, she conjured a veil of darkness and led the group into the depths of the Darkwood Forest.

    Now, only Noan and Zhisse remained in the room.

    Zhisse climbed onto Noan''s shoulder, using one of its small, sharp legs to lightly touch his lips, which were still flushed red from Vylyss''s relentless teasing.

    Noan gave a wry smile. "Don''t worry, I''m fine."

    He gently patted Zhisse''s head, asking, "Have you pinpointed their location?"

    Zhisse nodded and let out a few sounds.

    Noan listened closely, instantly understanding the situation.

    After all, Zhisse was a hero summoned by him, and as such, they shared a special connection. Even though the spider couldn''t speak human language, Noan could still grasp the meaning behind its signals.

    Zhisse''s message was simple: it had tracked Hawke''s location, and he had met someone else.

    However, Zhisse couldn''t relay the details of their conversation—only the fact that the person Hawke had spoken to was not Caleb.

    Noan frowned, a sense of unease creeping into his thoughts. But he quickly pushed the matter aside and smiled. "Yesterday, I promised you a reward. Do you want to claim it?"

    Krit! Krit!

    Zhisse raised its two front legs and waved them excitedly, clearly delighted.

    "Good!"

    Without delay, Noan initiated his daily monster summoning.

    Ever since he had leveled up to Lord Rank 1, his summoning capacity had increased—he could now summon up to 20 Skeletons per day.

    Additionally, there was a 5% chance of summoning a Skeleton of a higher rank than F.

    He could summon up to 40 Skeletons, with two daily summoning sessions.

    Unfortunately, neither the duplication effect nor the high-rank summons triggered this time, leaving him slightly disappointed.

    Just like yesterday, he ended up with 40 F-rank Skeletons.

    After using 39 of them for fusion, he successfully created 13 F+ rank Skeletons.

    He then decided to use six of them as materials to help Zhisse evolve.

    "Zhisse, are you ready?"

    Krit! Krit!

    Zhisse cried, placing one leg on its forehead in a military-like salute, its gaze full of seriousness and determination.

    Noan found it amusing. Zhisse''s expressions and gestures were incredibly lively—almost human-like despite being just a spider.

    He chuckled and then gave the command. "Begin fusion for Zhisse."

    [Ding! Do you wish to use six F+ rank Skeletons as evolution materials for Zhisse?]

    "Accept!"

    [Ding! Evolution process initiating...]