040 Gathering [Whispers of the Dead]

In truth, Karen had always been quite concerned that the arrival of the masked woman would hinder his subsequent actions. He certainly did not want to be watched over by her right after Old Jack had left. However, when the masked woman finally arrived, he realized his worries had been unnecessary.

Once she appeared, all her attention shifted to little Nymph. As for Karen, the masked woman had only one requirement: complete his lessons. Whether it was the ‘Forest Guardian’ training or literary studies, as long as Karen finished his courses, she would not interfere. Whatever Karen wished to do, she paid no mind.

In stark contrast, the masked woman showed great interest in Nymph. From the day she arrived, she took it upon herself to prepare a comprehensive curriculum for the girl—from literacy to martial skills, reconnaissance, counter-surveillance, intelligence gathering. Her manner suggested she was eager to impart everything she knew to Nymph.

Karen glanced at the schedule the masked woman had prepared for Nymph and felt a tingling in his scalp; it was utterly ruthless, devoid of mercy. In his heart, he mourned for Nymph. Yet, despite his sympathy, Karen had no intention of rescuing her from this ordeal. He was even pleased to see the masked woman devote most of her energy to Nymph.

It was all for the girl’s own good. In this world where the strong preyed upon the weak, mastering more skills was invaluable. Whether Nymph was willing to learn from the masked woman or not, Karen simply ignored that concern.

He justified his actions with ease, pushing Nymph into the ‘fire pit,’ while he himself began a fulfilling life. After the masked woman’s arrival, Karen rarely involved himself in the affairs of Doray Village, spending most of his days with her.

Within about a week, he had mastered all the ‘Forest Guardian’ skills the masked woman needed him to learn—skills Old Jack had estimated would take him several months. With that, Karen had graduated. His astonishing learning speed even surprised the masked woman.

Yet, despite her surprise, she did not treat Karen differently for his exceptional talent, nor did she offer him any special guidance. In fact, she seemed relieved, as if she had shed a troublesome duty, and joyfully devoted even more time to instructing little Nymph.

Karen was, naturally, delighted with this arrangement. On the eighth day after the masked woman’s arrival, he steeled himself, ignored Nymph’s pleading gaze, and left home with the longsword Old Jack had given him. It was the first time in over two months since his arrival in this world that Karen had stepped out of Doray Village to explore somewhere other than Goblin Forest.

“From today, I am truly free!” He spread his arms wide, embracing the world. At that moment, Karen felt as if the vast sea awaited the leaping fish, and the boundless sky beckoned the soaring birds.

Ever since his arrival, his spirit had been weighed down, initially by the harsh living conditions. Just as he had begun to adapt, Old Jack revealed his true identity and recruited Karen into the ‘Forest Guardian’ team, placing a Damocles sword above his head—he lived in constant fear that his domain of the undead might be exposed.

But today, with Old Jack gone and the masked woman’s lessons completed, her focus entirely on Nymph, Karen could finally relax. Though Doray Village was still under construction, at least now there was no one around he needed to fear or guard against.

“Now I can act without restraint. As long as I collect enough [Whispers of the Dead], my domain will grow rapidly. Once my territory’s power reaches a certain point, I won’t have to be so cautious anymore!”

With a brief vision of a brighter future, Karen hefted his sword and set out. His purpose was clear: he was after [Whispers of the Dead]. Finding this plant was not particularly difficult; graveyards almost always harbored it.

A week ago, locating cemeteries might have been challenging, but today it was much easier. Over the past week, besides learning reconnaissance and counter-surveillance from the masked woman, and skills like intelligence exchange among ‘Forest Guardians,’ Karen had also received a map of the region between Goblin Forest and Moon Worship City.

The masked woman’s intention in giving him this map was to familiarize him with the area, since Old Jack’s departure had left the ‘Forest Guardian’ post vacant. Under the current circumstances, no one could be assigned to take over, so the responsibility temporarily fell to Karen as a kind of internship. There was little work to be done aside from keeping an eye on the movements of goblin tribes within Goblin Forest.

With this map, Karen’s task to collect [Whispers of the Dead] became much easier. He simply needed to visit places marked as past or present settlements—former outlaw villages or bandit camps—where graveyards were sure to be found.

Upon unfolding the map, Karen saw that there were few villages near Doray. There had been two, but both had been relocated to Doray Village after being overrun by ‘bandits’ under the machinations of Moon Worship City.

This, however, did not hinder his search for [Whispers of the Dead]. As long as those places had graveyards, his purpose would be served. So Karen first headed to those two villages.

His luck was excellent. Though those settlements hadn’t been established as long as Doray Village, they had existed for several years. Karen easily found cemeteries nearby, and obtained what he sought.

He spent the entire day working in these graveyards. After scavenging them thoroughly, he had collected a total of thirty-four [junk-quality] [Whispers of the Dead], a promising start!

Over the next three days, Karen visited every cemetery within fifteen miles of Doray Village, digging up a total of one hundred eighty-one [junk-quality] [Whispers of the Dead].

Although the energy produced by the cemeteries was mostly used to maintain the nine [Small Mausoleums] Karen had built, these one hundred eighty-one [Whispers of the Dead] brought his domain’s energy to an unprecedented peak.

“Not counting the energy produced by the small graveyards, I now possess 1,810 points of domain energy. With such a windfall, it’s time I prepare to raise the level of my territory!”