001 Three Months

In the blink of an eye, it had already been over three months since Karen took control of the Goblin Forest.

During these three months, the Goblin Forest under Karen’s command underwent a seismic transformation. Even the name “Goblin Forest” was changed—to the “Land of the Dead.”

Beyond the renaming, the most significant change lay in the forest’s environment. Due to Karen’s domain presence, the once lush and verdant forest began to shift toward darkness.

Though the trees did not wither, an eerie aura settled upon them. A faint black mist permeated the forest at dawn, casting a sinister and chilling atmosphere.

Yet, this grim aura of the Goblin Forest—now the Land of the Dead—did not deter merchants chasing profit.

Over the past three months, especially recently, as the road connecting the Land of the Dead with the Silver Hand and the Bourbon Kingdom was opened, the market Karen named “The Dead” began to take shape, breathing life into the area.

Merchants from both the Silver Hand and Bourbon Kingdom started to converge.

Within less than half a month of the market’s opening, dozens of trade guilds, both large and small, gathered there.

At its peak, Karen’s Dead Market saw daily transactions exceeding 100 gold coins, a record that continued to be broken. Following this momentum, Karen’s domain was poised to become a supermarket and even a trade city between the two nations in the near future.

It was clear that Karen’s border trade was off to a remarkably smooth start.

This success owed not only to the covert efforts of Flor and Cliff but also crucially to the fact that Karen stood on the shoulders of a giant.

That giant was the former marshal of the Bourbon Kingdom, as Old Jack had mentioned.

He had been the first to initiate trade between the two nations, allowing the Silver Hand and Bourbon Kingdom to savor the sweet fruit of bilateral commerce.

That sweetness remained vivid in their memories even ten years later.

Though official channels between the two countries had closed, some trade continued secretly.

Thus, the smooth and booming launch of Karen’s trade market fundamentally stemmed from the pent-up demand for commerce between the two nations.

Regardless, Karen’s border trade plan had succeeded.

This success brought Karen immense benefits. Although time constraints meant these benefits were not yet fully visible, it was certain that soon Karen would leverage the market’s profits to grow at an astonishing pace.

Though Karen had yet to enjoy the market’s direct benefits, his own strength had significantly increased over the past three months.

…

Karen
Age: 16
Race: Human
Power Level: Tier 3 (Outstanding) (100,000/100,000)
Skills:
- Basic Swordsman Technique (Lv. 3) (Max Level) (Battle Qi Seed: Activated)
- Heavy Strike Lv. 15 (Max Level) (Amplifies slashing power by 800%, capable of delivering eight consecutive heavy strikes)
- Eye of Insight Lv. 4 (1,201/50,000) (Can pierce information of beings up to Tier 4 and below)
- Corpse Manipulation Lv. 5 (Max Level) (No practical combat use beyond controlling corpses)
- Phantom Burst Lv. 4 (12/20,000) (Active skill; upon activation, increases attack speed and movement speed by 300% each)
Talent: Mark of the Dead Lv. 1
Talent Type: Domain Talent
Effect One: Mark of the Dead allows marking opponents up to two tiers below Karen’s power, controlling their life and death, and upon the marked target’s death, bestowing power to transform them into undead.
Note: Marking requires the target’s consent or that they be defeated and unable to resist.
Additional Note: Up to three units can be marked simultaneously; once a marked unit dies or becomes undead, the marking slot refreshes after half a month.

…

Karen (Lord)
Domain: Land of the Dead
Domain Level: 3
Domain Energy: 880,000
Domain Buildings: Large Graveyard (1, Lv. 3), Small Tombs (300, Lv. 1), Tower of Bones (1, Lv. 2)
Corpses Available for Transformation: 9,912 (Tier 0), 2,763 (Tier 1), 1,041 (Tier 2), 221 (Tier 3), 5 (Unknown Grade)
Undead Army:
- Tier 0 Undead: 1,856
- Tier 1 Undead: 11,513
- Tier 2 Undead: 1,500
- Tier 3 Undead: 100
Special Undead: Alice (Tier 3 Outstanding), Little Green (Tier 3 Outstanding), Garen (Tier 3 Outstanding), Shadow (Tier 3 Outstanding), Kira (Tier 3 Elite), Singer (Tier 3 Outstanding), Song One (Tier 3 Normal), Deathwing (Tier 3 Outstanding), Iron Bone (Tier 3 Elite)

…

This was Karen’s personal and domain status three months later.

In terms of personal power, aided by the domain’s support and the auxiliary training function of the Tower of Bones, Karen’s strength had risen to Tier 3 Outstanding. Only the domain level upgrade remained before he could advance to Tier 4—a terrifyingly rapid progression.

Yet the most astonishing aspect was the domain energy. In just three months, Karen’s domain energy had skyrocketed to a staggering 880,000.

Flor and Cliff had been instrumental in this, with some credit also due to Old Jack.

In truth, 880,000 domain energy was not Karen’s peak. It wouldn’t be long before his energy surpassed one million, thanks largely to his Flower Field.

Over the three months, with the assistance of Alice and the Elven Gardener’s Hoe, Karen had cultivated a batch of 100,000 “Whispers of the Dead,” a dark plant species.

If all went well, this batch would mature in a couple of days, bringing Karen close to a million domain energy income.

This was Karen’s first substantial gain in domain energy, so he was somewhat anxious in recent days, focusing his power on his domain to prevent any mishaps at this critical juncture.

Karen possessed the “Manual for Cultivating Dark Attribute Plants,” from which he learned that the Whispers of the Dead emitted a strong dark aura upon maturity.

Generally, a few hundred or even a couple thousand blooming simultaneously was manageable, but Karen had a hundred thousand—he feared what might happen in case of an accident.

Indeed, recently some dark attribute beasts and Tier 1 and 2 undead had been attracted to the area.

When the Whispers of the Dead fully matured en masse, the consequences could be unpredictable.

Of course, if anything did appear, Karen was not overly worried. After all, he commanded 1,500 Tier 2 undead, 100 Tier 3 undead, vast corpses within the domain, and 880,000 domain energy. He was confident in his ability to suppress any threat.

Having prepared thoroughly, Karen had little to fear and instead looked forward to the maturity of the Whispers of the Dead.

If this harvest went smoothly, he might meet the conditions to upgrade his domain level, further elevating his domain’s power.