Territory Activation

Old Jack really did have a mission on his hands; he didn’t linger long with Karen. After staying for about half an hour and handing Karen a copy of “Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen,” Old Jack hurried off. Before leaving, he warned Karen not to enter Goblin Forest these next few days unless absolutely necessary.

After Old Jack’s departure, Karen’s brow furrowed tightly. The old man’s sudden revelation had completely disrupted his plans. Though Karen had accepted the olive branch Old Jack extended, becoming an auxiliary member of the Bourbon Dynasty’s Foresters—which, on the surface, seemed like securing a golden opportunity—he felt no joy. He detested being passive, detested being under someone’s control.

Yet, throughout all his dealings with Old Jack, he had remained the one being manipulated; when Old Jack offered him the olive branch, he couldn’t even refuse. Now, half-forced into the ranks of the Foresters, it was clear that this state of being controlled would persist for a long time—a fate Karen found intolerable.

But resistance was impossible, for he had no power to oppose them. To rebel without strength would be not only fruitless but foolish in the extreme.

“It seems there’s nothing left for me to hesitate about. I have no choice but to activate this graveyard.”

At this point, Karen could only choose to activate his domain, for only by doing so could his strength continue to grow, granting him the means to truly establish himself in this world.

Thus, on the day after Old Jack’s departure, Karen once more entered Goblin Forest with his hatchet. This time, his sole purpose was to activate his domain; he went directly to the graveyard and set about awakening it.

[Ding! You have successfully activated the Graveyard. Your Domain System is now officially online.]

With the chime of the system notification, Karen’s Domain System finally came to life. Instead of immediately opening his domain’s attribute panel, he first examined the graveyard to see if any changes had occurred upon activation.

He had to be sure there were no noticeable differences, as this would greatly affect his future plans.

To his relief, the graveyard had not changed much after the system's activation—it was still the same as before, perhaps a bit colder and gloomier, but nothing more.

“Not bad; no change is good news. This means the graveyard is well concealed. Even if that ‘murder and corpse-hiding’ incident is exposed and the goblins find this place, they shouldn’t notice anything amiss.”

After confirming the graveyard’s safety, Karen finally opened his domain attributes and began to study them.

…

Domain Name: Unnamed
Domain Level: Level 1
Domain Energy: 100
Domain Buildings: Small Graveyard (Level 1)
Constructible Buildings: Small Burial Chamber
…

Small Graveyard

Building Level: 1
Description: Core domain building; the key to domain upgrades and operation.
Effects: Undead Conversion, Energy Absorption
Undead Conversion: Can convert corpses within the graveyard into undead; each conversion consumes a certain amount of energy.
Convertible Material: Goblin Corpses (conversion requires 20 energy per corpse)
Energy Absorption: Passive graveyard ability that automatically absorbs energy for the domain. A Level 1 Small Graveyard provides 20 domain energy per day.
Upgrade Condition: Convert 100 undead

…

“Undead conversion? Energy absorption?”

Karen frowned as he read the properties of the Small Graveyard. To be honest, he had always vaguely guessed what his domain would be like, but reality always deviates somewhat from imagination.

He’d known there would certainly be undead in his domain, but he hadn’t expected that the undead would not be recruited, but instead converted from corpses—and that conversion would require energy. It felt like quite a disadvantage.

This meant that if Karen wanted to upgrade the graveyard, he would need large amounts of both energy and corpses.

“This system is clearly pushing me toward trouble! Never mind that for now. I’ll try converting an undead first to see how it works.”

With that, Karen opened the operational interface for the Small Graveyard and began to familiarize himself with the process of converting his first undead minion.

[Ding! You have spent 20 domain energy and used the Small Graveyard’s Undead Conversion function. You have successfully converted one Level 1 Undead (Rotting Goblin)!]

With this notification, the “Undead Roster” in Karen’s domain panel gained a new entry: Rotting Goblin. Karen opened its attribute panel at once.

…

Rotting Goblin

Type: Corpse-type Undead
Strength: Tier 1 (Trash) (0/100)
Abilities: Minor Corpse Poison (Anyone wounded by it will contract minor corpse poison. This poison cannot cause secondary infection.)
Note: As a low-level undead, it cannot remain active in the daytime for long. For its healthy development, please provide it with a small burial chamber or infuse it with domain energy to enable daytime activity.
Otherwise, its strength will drop to zero in three days and it will perish naturally in ten.

…

Reading the final note, Karen felt exasperated. “System, it’s already an undead and you’re talking to me about its health?”

Grumbling aside, Karen could understand—if not appreciate—the rule that low-level undead would be weakened by daylight. As for the power of the undead he’d just created, Karen was fairly satisfied.

He didn’t even need to compare himself to this undead; its rank alone told him it was certainly stronger than he was.

He was, however, annoyed by the way the system forced certain purchases. After all, his energy reserves were meager.

But there was no choice; energy had to be spent where it was needed.

Karen noted that keeping this undead active during the day would cost 5 domain energy per day—a huge sum for him at present. Clearly, this method could only be used in emergencies. Therefore, constructing a small burial chamber was essential.

…

Small Burial Chamber: Not yet built
Description: Basic domain building; a daytime refuge for low-level undead. Each chamber can house five undead.
Construction Cost: 50 domain energy each
…

“Fifty domain energy per chamber—expensive, but necessary!”

Karen gritted his teeth and spent 50 energy to build a burial chamber, placing it in the most concealed spot within the construction range. He ensured that, unless someone already knew where it was, even in broad daylight it would be hard to find.

Once the energy was paid, the burial chamber was swiftly built. A broken tombstone now stood on the graveyard, marking the entrance to the chamber below.

“Not bad. With this hidden, even if that murderer comes back, he probably won’t notice anything.”

Satisfied with the location, Karen opened the chamber’s property panel.

…

Small Burial Chamber

Building Level: 1
Effect: Undead Slumber (Can accommodate five Level 1 undead and provides one to three experience points per day.)
Maintenance: 50 energy per month
Upgrade: Not available

…

Other than the need for 50 domain energy per month for maintenance, the burial chamber’s properties were much as expected. After a glance, Karen closed the panel, preparing to convert another goblin.

But as he closed the burial chamber’s panel, he suddenly noticed something he’d overlooked before—another tab in his domain attribute interface: the Domain Shop…