Good things happened in pairs. After acquiring trolls and earth gnomes, Rino was introduced to more creatures in the rocky mountain terrain. It was much easier to locate them with insider information. Rino even found the nanny goat he wanted so that the spectres could finally breed the goat couple.

Of all the creatures he thought he would find, Rino never thought that he would meet elves so soon. To be more accurate, the cousins of elves - the drows.

Dark-skinned, red-eyed, snow-haired mysterious beauties but very lethal. This small population of drows submitted themselves to the monarch on sight and did not refuse a sol contract.

"We've been waiting for the lord that would appear to conquer this land," the leader of drows bowed on the ground, kneeling on one knee.

Her name was Sheila, and the lady warrior appeared to be very strong even without a soul contract. Drows were said to be evil, but these earth gnome neighbours weren't. They looked menacing, but Bink assured him that they were friendly.

"Hello Sheila," Deezer grinned, and the drow swatted at him. 

It did not take long for Rino to learn a little more about the earth gnomes after Bink successfully convinced all his siblings that it was safe to follow Rino. He had no idea what exactly was said, but all the earth gnomes looked at him with sparkles in their eyes when they returned. Getting Mutt to bring them back to Town Zera and asking Rina to prepare some purple roasted potatoes was a good move because it increased the trust between him and his foster children tremendously.

Deezer turned out to be that one black sheep in the earth gnome's gang. He was lazy, mischievous and uninterested in anything but magic. He hated working hard on menial tasks and was slacking while he was on guard the day Rino entered the mines. Despite that, he was very much welcomed and loved as part of Bink's family. The obnoxious earth gnome had a knack for music and arts, which surprised Rino. He did not think that such a thing existed here.

From Deezer and Sheila's interactions, Rino could tell that the earth gnome was flirting with her. Sheila might act harshly towards him outwardly, but Rino saw something else that resembled fondness in her eyes. Why was this world so full of mismatched couples? Rino wasn't close-minded. Love could exist between species, races, religions and gender. However, he had no idea how a huge drow warrior and a tiny earth gnome could possibly do the birds and the bees.

Scratch that. As Deezer's new father, he did not want to know.

"Have the drows always lived in caves?" he asked.

Sheila turned her attention back to her new master and lowered her head.

"No. Long ago, we were living in the woods, but the threat of Harvesters forced us to adapt underground, and over many generations, we grew accustomed to life in caves. This used to be a living cave. Many of our ancestors' blood was spilt to create this small piece of safe haven for us."

Harvesters… again. Rino found it annoying that everyone seemed to know about them except him. Why was everyone so afraid of Harvesters?

"What are Harvesters? Why is everyone so afraid of them?" he asked.

Deezer, Sheila and the rest of the drows looked at Rino with fear and admiration in their eyes.

"Harvesters are the bringer of death for all living creatures, my lord. Nobody is spared when they appear. Harvesters only kill the best so that the weak will die without the strongest creatures protecting them. It's a curse to be strong and quick-witted."

Again this! Zerg mentioned something about the adults not wanting to know more than what they have to. Was that truly possible? Sheila also mentioned how it was a curse to be strong and quick-witted. However, she did not look like someone who skipped a single day of training. That body was a warrior's ideal form.

Rino looked over to all the drows and back to Deezer. "None of you seem to be afraid of Harvesters. The drows trained to be strong, and the earth gnomes trained to be quick-witted."

His observation put a grave expression on their faces. In the face of danger, there were two kinds of people. Rino knew that the drows and earth gnomes must be the king who would laugh at danger and fight because he was the same.

"My lord. If we do not fight, we die. If we fight, we still die. I think it is better to die with meaning than without, and my clan thinks the same. Our ancestors once said that one person might not be able to do anything. However, together if many strong warriors come together, we might see a miracle of letting even just one survivor escape the clutches of Harvesters. The drows train not to die but to let our future carry on."

Deezer sighed. Indeed, the woman he loved was admirable. However, the earth gnomes were different. They were constantly thinking of ways to avoid Harvesters and hide from them. The better they were at hiding, the higher their chance of survival. It was the only reason why he remained here. He couldn't let these brave but foolish drows march towards their deaths the same way dwarves did.

"Forge a soul bond with me. The harvesters only eat the living. It's different if you become an undead. However, by doing so, you would forfeit the mortal lifespan and die with me when I return to darkness. I have use of the strength you've built so far."

Needless to consider, Sheila was the first to forge a soul bond with Rino. The power of drows and the darkness in their nature boosted Rino's power, and he could feel his affinity with shadow magic getting better. These drows were the elite that he wanted in his undead empire. Every single drow was capable of taking out a wyvern single-handedly. Maybe not a multi-elemental wyvern, but it was still an impressive feat.

Deezer watched the lady he loved turn into a creature of darkness as she accepted the soul contract. Her beautiful snowy hair turned as dark as night, and her ruby red eyes became amethyst. She was still beautiful, but the mortality in her died, putting her far out of his reach once more.

Aggrieved, Deezer put on foot forward and begged Rino to accept his soul as a contracted creature to share the same death date as Sheila.

The drow leader looked panicked when Deezer requested a soul contract. The lich wasn't a fool. He knew lovestruck fools when he saw them, and Deezer was making a decision hastily. There was a difference between minions and foster children. Unlike the gnomes that he promised to treat with fairness and sincerity, he had no affections for his subordinates. They only existed to do his biddings like extensions of his arms and legs.

"No," Rino denied. "For that, you need to talk to your brothers first. I will only offer you a soul contract only after you have gained all their approval."

Dismayed, Deezer tried to convince Rino, but the lich wasn't listening. He gave Sheila her first order to bring Deezer back to the gnome hideout to pack. He would meet everyone back in Town Zera tomorrow and assign them their tasks.

Returning to Town Zera, Rino discovered just how populated it was now. He found several species capable of labour, and even without the Zerg's village working here, he finally had enough hands for labour, research, magic development and patrolling.

The trolls were working hard, and he could see the outline of the barn at last. There were only a few more hours before his daily quest was updated. Rino looked forward to moving all the animals into the barn eventually. However, he still had to find a place for the apiary that he was still working on. The design did not seem right. Maybe he should ask Bink and his earth gnomes for ideas tomorrow. It would mean staying up in the day for it, but anything was worth trying for the breakthrough he needed.

Rino only hoped that the new addition of drows to his village would not create tension between the different races. There was a stigma surrounding drows that they were evil and nothing good came out of associating with them. Sheila and her clan were different, but not everyone would be very accepting of it.

The earth gnomes and trolls already did not get along, according to Rina's report. The trolls were unhappy that the earth gnomes were eating food they grew even when they did not contribute to it. Rino felt a headache coming up. Food was so scarce in this area that it became a trigger for conflict. Rino wondered what the trolls would think of him if they saw him sacrificing food to the gods back in Spudville.

Honestly, it was better to resolve this conflict sooner than later. Food should never be a concern under his care. Even back in the magician tower, Rino ensured that none of the magician apprentices or orphaned children errand-runners starved. He might not pay them in gold, but he promised them warm lodging, clothes, food and education if they worked hard.

He would do the same here for anyone willing to contribute to this empire, and it started with a fundamental first lesson called communication.