Chapter 23: The Sensible Goblin

The moment the goblin felt that dense wave of killing intent, it frantically shook its head. "N-never mind, Lord Xia Er. I think the Undead Territory is actually pretty great — I'd rather stay here and hone my craft for a while."

"So sensible, aren't you?"

"Fine. Since that's what you've decided, I won't stop you. As for the domain's lodging fee, though..."

Xia Er paused and turned his gaze toward the goblin blacksmith.

Their eyes met for less than a second before the goblin immediately handed back the cloth pouch it had just received. "Is this enough?"

"It'll do. Work hard on your craft — our domain has plenty of forging needs."

With that, his figure vanished from the smithy, leaving the goblin standing alone, furiously stomping the ground in resentment.

It had genuinely thought the Domain Lord had given it its pay — only for the money to come right back after going in a full circle!

And on top of that, from the way he'd spoken, it sounded like he intended to keep it here as a laborer indefinitely!

What a beast!

How could any creature be this much of a beast!!

Now the goblin finally understood, completely and clearly, why those adventurers all obeyed Xia Er without question, bowing and scraping before him.

Every last one of them had probably been talked into a stupor.

If it could go back in time, it would slap itself hard across the face twice and tell itself to drop the smithy and run.

This Domain Lord was even more terrifying than any adventurer!

* * *

Even from a great distance, Xia Er could still sense the goblin blacksmith's fury.

But that didn't matter.

It was new here — a little emotional turbulence was perfectly normal.

After spending more time in the domain, it would naturally settle down.

After arriving at an open area, Xia Er quietly opened his specialization panel.

[Unlocked Specialization: Way of Balance]

The second specialization had been successfully unlocked.

Looking further up the panel, the original two branch lines had now become three — though all of them were grayed out.

A tooltip appeared beside them.

[Your level is insufficient to inspect this.]

So there's a level restriction too...

But that made sense. Given the power boost the specializations provided, it would be unreasonable not to have some kind of limit.

Before his level was high enough, he could use the time to unlock the specializations for his other two skills as well.

He closed the skill panel. Next came the testing phase.

Aside from those two skills, the staff he had just forged also carried a special bonus for undead techniques.

"Elite-grade — the level requirement must be around 20 or so."

"Let me see what it can do."

Taking a deep breath, Xia Er channeled his magic power into the staff and activated his Undead Summoning skill.

This time, they didn't burst up from the ground. Instead, a black miasma radiating from the staff gradually constructed their bodies.

Ten... twenty...

As Xia Er's own strength had grown, these undead had changed compared to the beginning — their bodies were no longer tattered, and the blades in their hands gleamed like new.

[Specialization — Way of Balance: Activated!]

After triggering the specialization, the undead summoned next were no longer all Warriors.

Shield soldiers gripping shields fashioned from bones...

Undead Mages cradling glowing skulls...

What had once been a monotonous single unit type had visibly expanded into three.

Combined with the other specialization, [Undead Control], these seemingly ordinary three unit types would be far more of a nightmare in actual combat than anyone might imagine.

Next came the special bonus built into the equipment [Uriel's Grudge].

Sensing the intense resentment emanating from the tip of the staff, Xia Er abruptly channeled a surge of magic power into it, guiding that resentment slowly into the body of an ordinary Undead Soldier.

The next instant.

Flesh began to sprout from the previously hollow frame, wrapping around every bone until the body suddenly grew tall and imposing.

[Undead Soldier (Elite)!]

Xia Er submerged his consciousness into the soldier's body, taking control of its every movement, and drove its foot hard into the ground.

Under the tremendous force, cracks spread like a shattered window, causing the earth beneath to cave in slightly.

"Higher than level 20."

"This raw physical strength — it's almost on par with Tienu from before. At least around level 25."

The sheer power of the residual resentment within the equipment left Xia Er genuinely surprised.

Clearly, whoever this thing had belonged to had died a truly miserable death.

He cancelled the skill, and the undead bodies dispersed with a soft puff, dissolving into black mist that scattered through the air.

It had to be said — with both specializations enhanced, Xia Er's strength had undergone a qualitative transformation.

Even if ten job-advanced players like Dao Shan came at him all at once, he was confident he could handle them with ease.

"Finally feeling at least a tiny bit of security."

After quietly musing on that, Xia Er was just about to head back to the castle to refine his protocols for meeting players, when a voice suddenly rang out from far away.

"Lord Xia Er!"

"Lord Xia Er!!!"

He turned and looked in the direction of the voice.

A familiar face appeared before him.

[Player Nickname: Li Shen]

[Level: 33]

[Job Advancement: Berserker]

Seeing the basic information from a distance, Xia Er was momentarily stunned.

"Holy shit?"

Why is it you again?

How did your level go up so fast?

Li Shen hadn't noticed the astonishment in Xia Er's eyes. He came bounding over, calling out as he ran. "Lord Xia Er!"

"Take me to the basement! I've collected five souls from level-30 monsters!"

As he spoke, Li Shen produced a magic pouch, which visibly contained five vivid crimson souls.

After sensing the quality of the souls, Xia Er was even more taken aback.

That fast?

Since the magic array quest had been assigned, roughly five or six days had passed — and this was the first time any player had reached this level of progress.

Haji Li...

For a side quest, you've actually pushed yourself this far...

The last time they'd met, Li Shen had only been level twenty-six.

Now, appearing before him again, Li Shen had completed his job advancement and pushed his level all the way to 33.

His equipment had also gone through a major overhaul since their last meeting.

With this kind of strength, he would rank among the top even within a tier-2 player group.

After composing himself, Xia Er gave him a nod. "Follow me."

"You will be the first adventurer to receive an answer."

"Yes, sir!"

Hearing those words, Li Shen was so excited he nearly burst into tears.

Heaven rewards the diligent!

Only he knew what this past week had been like!

Due to a lack of funds, he'd had to farm all the quest items himself — but level-30 souls were fiercely contested, and if you joined another party as a freeloader, no one would ever share them with you.

In order to catch up as quickly as possible, he'd spent at least twenty hours a day in-game, either grinding experience or farming gear.

Only after completing his job advancement quest did Li Shen finally earn the right to receive soul drops.

Even so, he'd still had to clear countless dungeons before finally obtaining these hard-won five souls.