Alaric stared at the digital flickering of the world before him—Version 1.174. He wasn’t a king, not yet. He was just a man with a chipped arming sword, a stolen horse, and exactly zero denars to his name. Behind him, the snowy peaks of the Vaegir Kingdom loomed like frozen giants; ahead, the sun-scorched deserts of the Sarranid Sultanate promised only thirst and bandits.

He gripped his sword hilt and smiled. The conquest had just begun.

By sunset, he had five denars and a bag of moldy bread. It was a start.