027 Promoting the Cultivation of "Whispers of the Departed"

After Karen visited the Necromancer’s Market for the third time, the first thing he did was have the Soul Explorer use a memory illusion on the three-year-old boy, altering his memories to restore him.

Then Karen made an announcement: he would take Bailey’s son as his apprentice and, upon the boy’s coming of age at twenty, gift him ownership of the market.

Karen’s crisis management was fairly well executed. Once the announcement was made, regardless of its truth, it caused an uproar throughout the market. Those who had previously criticized Karen for only saving Bailey’s insane wife and the mentally impaired son were left speechless.

However, to be honest, while the market’s denizens were shocked, they could not understand Karen’s actions. Even Ogorun felt Karen had gone too far. Karen had already avenged Bailey, reunited him with his wife and son, returned Bailey’s assets to them in full, and even cured the son. To many, Karen had done more than enough—there was no need to take the boy as an apprentice or make such a promise. They had no idea of Karen’s true intentions.

People’s thoughts change with circumstances. At first, Karen built the market purely to gain profit and strengthen his own power through trade between two nations. But as his domain expanded, he realized the resources he needed might be far greater than he had imagined.

Moreover, due to the unique nature of these resources, he might have to compel his two neighboring realms to change their ways in the future—such as cultivating the Whisper of the Dead or trading corpses.

To achieve this, Karen not only needed capital but also had to build a vast interest group.

Though Karen appeared to be merely opening trade routes and attracting merchants, these traders were profit-driven and could easily switch allegiance if the Silver Hand or Bourbon Kingdom opened other channels.

Thus, following Cliff’s advice, Karen began preparing for the future—planning to develop the market into a city, one inhabited and governed by the elites of both the Silver Hand and Bourbon Kingdom.

Once the residents of this city controlled half or even just a third of the commercial channels of both countries, Karen would become an uncrowned king, wielding influence over both realms.

To create a city with cohesion, the most crucial factor was to instill a sense of identity and security among its inhabitants.

Karen was now working to cultivate exactly that sense of belonging and safety.

Though many failed to understand his approach, it was undeniably effective.

The clearest evidence was that, following the launch of the market’s second phase of the commercial street—carefully planned and featuring diversified shops unlike the first phase’s gold-digging establishments—the stalls were quickly leased by merchants.

Simultaneously, Ogorun received a new task: to promote the cultivation of the Whisper of the Dead.

After lengthy discussions between Karen and Cliff, the responsibility fell to Ogorun, adding more weight to his shoulders.

Fortunately, Ogorun did not have to work too hard. Merchants were already keenly interested in cultivating the Whisper of the Dead, with some attempting bulk planting even before Karen’s official promotion.

Though less valuable than corpses, it offered the advantage of sustainability without the complications corpses entailed.

Ogorun launched the project by distributing over a thousand free pamphlets on large-scale cultivation at the market square.

The initiative proceeded smoothly; within days, small fields of Whisper of the Dead began appearing in cities near Karen’s territory in both the Silver Hand and Bourbon Kingdom.

Following the promotion of the Whisper of the Dead, Karen and Cliff convened again.

Karen aspired to transform the market into a city with strong cohesion, where residents would genuinely regard it as home and take pride in its development—a formidable challenge.

Such a vision required more than Karen merely assuring merchant safety; it demanded something that could deeply unite them.

While the current trade between the two nations served as a bond, it was insufficient.

Karen and Cliff brainstormed extensively, but due to practical constraints, many ideas were unfeasible.

Eventually, they devised a special points system.

Karen conceived the idea, while Cliff refined its structure.

This system was based on the commercialization of Whisper of the Dead and corpses: the more one sold, the more points earned.

Currently, points could be exchanged for two main rewards: tax reductions and rights to shops or housing. The most common reward was the “Dead” identity card, which exempted holders from market entry fees.

Though rudimentary and seemingly uninspiring, this system at least provided some incentive.

To Ogorun, it was nothing more than extra work with little benefit—a typical flashy scheme he disapproved of. Yet, as Karen was the boss, Ogorun had no choice but to comply.

While Karen orchestrated various plans within the market, exhausting Ogorun, he also kept his undead forces active in his own domain…