Several days passed since the goblins were defeated. Lark returned to the eastern part of the Endless Forest, where the mine was located.

“Good morning, Young Master,” Silver Claw greeted Lark the moment he climbed down from the carriage.

Lark looked around. Contrary to several days earlier, this part of the forest was bustling with life. Numerous workers came in and out of the cavern, some carrying wood, and others carrying shovels and pickaxes.

“You’ve been really busy lately,” said Lark.

Since Silver Claw was the only mason in town, all of the construction jobs were given to him. It was no exaggeration to say that he was the busiest person in Blackstone Town. From the farmlands, the poultry farm, the irrigation system, to the construction of the residences—all were handled by him. And now, he had also been tasked to oversee the construction of the railways and the fortification of the walls of the mine.

“I’ve been enjoying myself these past few days.” Although he had become thinner since the last time they met, Silver Claw’s eyes glimmered with vitality and passion. His crooked grin was proud.

“How’s the exploration going?” said Lark. He felt someone staring at him. Looking around, he noticed a teenage girl, around the same age as him, hiding behind the logs near the entrance. It took a while before he remembered who she was.

“About that…” Silver Claw scratched his chin. “We’re unable to go beyond the fifth tunnel.”

Two days before, they’d learned that the mine was incredibly vast. The cavern was filled with countless tunnels and forks. It was so large that even after exploring it for several hours, they were unable to find its end.

Silver Claw continued. “A worker almost died yesterday while exploring the fifth tunnel. He suddenly lost consciousness. We’ve investigated the cause and found that–”

“Air is unable to flow through that area,” completed Lark.

Silver Claw’s eyes widened as he nodded. “Exactly. Yes.”

“As expected.”

Lark had already seen the tunnels within the mine. They were small and narrow, just enough for a single person to pass through. After seeing the twists and turns that formed the forks, he’d expected these issues to come up sooner or later. He repeatedly told Silver Claw to explore the tunnels very slowly; accidents were bound to happen within such a complex maze.

“It’ll take several months, but I want you to slowly widen the tunnels leading to the fifth area.”

Silver Claw nodded. “Understood. I assume we’re also going to place wooden rails in that area after widening the tunnels?”

“That’s correct,” said Lark. The girl hiding behind the log finally revealed herself. She slowly walked toward Lark and Silver Claw. “Since the mine is so vast, it’s highly possible that there’ll be other stones aside from kalrane. Who knows, maybe if we’re lucky, we’ll find arcolnium,” he finished with a chuckle.

Hearing this, Silver Claw almost shivered with the realization. Indeed, just like the young master said, this mine was a treasure trove filled with untapped possibilities. When he was young, he had heard that Emerald City started from a small village. After discovering a mine in the area, the merchants built more settlements there, forming a town, and eventually a large city was built. Just thinking that this could also happen to Blackstone Town with the appearance of a large kalrane mine made his heart pound.

“She’s fully healed, huh?”

Silver Claw looked in the direction the young master was looking. Upon seeing the timid girl tottering toward them, he said, “Ah! There she is. I’ve been looking all over for you!” He gestured for the girl to walk faster. He grabbed her hand and whispered to her. “You begged me to bring you here, right? Go on. Say it.”

Seeing the flustered look of the young girl, Lark smiled. “Your name is Anisette, right? How are you healing?”

The girl looked at the smiling young master in wonder. When she locked eyes with him, she quickly averted her gaze and said, “The young master knows my name?”

Lark chuckled. “Of course.”

Anisette’s face flushed red. “About before… for healing me from the curse.” She tried her best to look the young master in the eyes. “Thank you.”

Lark smiled.

Silver Claw laughed and ruffled her hair. “My daughter really wanted to see you, Young Master. You see, last night she begged me to bring her here.”

“Father!” The girl glared at him.

Seeing this exchange between father and daughter, Lark felt warmth in his heart. He was reminded of the time he had spent with his disciples back in his previous life, when he was Evander. For him, who never had a wife or a child, those disciples were family.

“Young miss.” The young girl froze once again. “Your father’s been a great help to me—to this town. I should be the one thanking you and your father.”

Lark meant it. Without the mason, the development of the town would have proceeded at a much slower pace.

Silver Claw scratched his cheeks in embarrassment.

Lark watched the workers coming in and out of the mine. “We’ll be able to start tomorrow, huh?”

Silver Claw also looked at the workers. “Yes. It should be safe to mine kalrane stones after we put the wooden pillars in the first area. The workers can start mining tomorrow.”

It was great news.

Lark said, “Good. Gather the workers. I have something to tell them.”

Soon, dozens of workers had gathered in front of the young master. They put down all they were doing to hear the announcement. Since word about the generosity of the young master to his workers had spread through the town, the contempt in the people’s expressions had lessened.

Lark was glad the residents were starting to accept him little by little. He hoped that in a few more months, or maybe years, they would forget the impression left by the previous owner of his body.

“Since time is of the essence, I will get straight to the point,” said Lark. The eyes of everyone were on him. “I will be implementing a yield-based profit system for this mine. To put in simpler terms, the number of kalrane stones you mine will dictate the number of silvers you’ll earn in a month. The more kalrane stones, the more silvers. Clear enough, yes?”

Lark gestured for a woman to come to him, a blonde woman wearing a plain dress.

“This is Melody.” Lark noticed that most of the workers were aware of her identity. As the one teaching the soldiers how to read and write, some of the residents had started calling her the scholar. “Every day, before dusk, she will inspect each harvest and record it. At the end of each month, all of you will be appropriately compensated based on the amount of kalrane stones you’ve mined.”

Lark’s voice rose. “You want your own house? Work hard for it! Want delicious food? Work hard for it! Those that do not work do not eat! But I promise you this in the name of the Marcus family! As long as you work hard, you will never go hungry. As long as you work hard, you will experience prosperity.”

The crowd was silent. The words of the young master carried vehement strength that they could feel surging through their chests. At first, they thought that they would be given a monthly wage like the rest of the other workers. But with this system, as long as they worked harder than their peers, they would earn plenty to satisfy their needs.

The workers clenched their fists.

***

After visiting the mine, Lark went to the area north of town. The plowing of the land was almost done, and since the snow had melted, they had begun planting the seeds.

The farmers bowed upon seeing Lark. “Don’t mind me. Continue.”

With a few servants, Lark strolled through the reclaimed lands. Unlike other places, the soil in this area had a stench to it, from the large amounts of night soil spread across the ground.

He pressed a foot firmly into the ground, and without much effort, it sunk several inches deep.

They did a good job plowing this land. The amount of compost is good too. Now, even those seeds won’t pose a problem.

After buying several barrels of wheat seeds from Lion City, Lark had cast magic on them. It took him several days, but he had magically enhanced the seeds so they would yield three times the amount of a normal one. They would also, however, consume a larger amount of nutrients. But now with this compost, that would not pose a problem for the land.

Once harvest season arrived, the amount of wheat they would gather would be so large that it could feed a major city or two. He planned to store the excess in the basement in case of emergencies and would export the remaining to other places. The timing could not be more perfect since the kingdom had just experienced the black famine. It would take a year or two before the farmlands in the kingdom fully recover. Lark planned on exploiting this to profit his domain.

Lark inspected the water canal. It was not connected to the Rile River yet. But with the help of cement, it would only be a matter of time before the irrigation system was opened.

Lark noticed that the foundations were lacking. The water from the Rile River alone would not be enough to destroy the canals, but if heavy rain came, the water would overflow and destroy the surrounding farm.

Lark called over one of the men working on the canals. “Young Master?” The man was covered in dirt.

“This area.” Lark pointed at the canal. “It isn’t deep enough. Dig half a meter more. Also, tell everyone not to remove the weeds growing at the sides. Just pour cement on them. The roots will help keep the ground in place and further strengthen the walls of the canals.”

The man bowed. “Understood! I will tell everyone the young master’s orders.”

***

After inspecting the northern farmlands, Lark went back to the mansion. He went to the basement, where he had strictly forbidden the servants to enter.

He unlocked the metal door and pushed it open, with a loud creak. The door shut behind him. It was dark and a nauseating stench filled the air.

Lark flicked a finger and two orbs of light formed in front of him. They slowly hovered up, illuminating everything. In the corner of the room was a pile of green corpses. Their bodies were rotting, and the blood that covered the ground had long coagulated. They were the goblins killed by the soldiers and brought from the Endless Forest.

Lark took a large pouch from a nearby table. He opened it and slowly poured the powder on the floor as he walked around the room, drawing a hexagram filled with symbols. He repeated the process again, but this time, using a different powder.

By the time the magic formation was complete, there was a large magic circle, with twenty smaller circles around it.

“It took me two days to finish you,” said Lark as he approached a suit of armor. It was made entirely of iron, an expensive item that had cost several gold coins. If Lark was a bit richer, he would have bought steel, but that was impossible with his treasury almost dried up.

He amplified his physical strength using magic, grabbed the suit of armor, and placed it on the biggest magic circle. “Next, the goblins.”

Lark took the corpses of the goblins and placed them on the small circles surrounding the suit of armor. A total of twenty corpses.

Lark took a deep breath. “Let’s begin.”

Once he had channeled mana into the magic formation, the hexagram and the symbols inside it glowed violently. He heard a soft whizzing sound, and slowly, the corpses of the goblins started turning into particles of light. Black smoke manifested briefly before vanishing into nothingness.

After the magic formation lost its light, the suit of armor started shaking. Clanking sounds filled the room as iron pieces shook against each other. A pair of yellow eyes peered through the gaps of the helmet.

“I am your master,” declared Lark. “If you acknowledge, kneel and bow your head.”

There had been some instances when the Soul Morphosis spell failed and the creation attacked the caster. Lark wanted to make sure and not risk his safety.

The suit of armor groaned, knelt on one knee, and bowed its head. Lark grinned. His first attempt at alchemy in this world was a success. “Stand over there and await further orders.”

As instructed, the suit of armor moved and stood next to the wall. It stared at Lark as he repeated the ritual.

After several hours, all of the goblin corpses had been consumed, and Lark had created three living suits of armor.

Since their cores were from goblins, their strength was mediocre, only as strong as ten human soldiers combined. But with a body covered in iron, their enemies would be hard-pressed to kill them.

Lark summoned the three of them and they all knelt in unison.

“Four days from now, I will be leaving for Lion City. During my absence, you are to protect this place if danger arises.”

Lark planned on selling the kalrane stones personally. That way, he would be able to examine one of the major cities of the kingdom himself and see with his own eyes the extent of the technology this civilization currently had.

I’ll also need to check the library there. The records in this town aren’t enough to answer my questions. Is this kingdom a different world? A different timeline?

“Wear this.” Lark tossed black cloaks to the suits of armor. “Do not show yourselves unless necessary. From now on, the three of you will be this town’s Guardians.”