Chapter Seventeen

Several days passed since the Goblins were subjugated. Lark went towards the eastern part of the Endless Forest, the area where the Mine was located.

"Good morning, Young Master." Silver Claw greeted Lark the moment he went down the carriage.

Lark looked around. Contrary to before, this part of the forest was bustling with life. Numerous workers came in and out of the cavern. Some carried wood, while some carried shovels and pickaxes.

"You've been really busy lately," said Lark.

Since Silver Claw was the only Mason in town, all of the construction works were given to him. It was no exaggeration to say that he was the busiest person in Blackstone Town right now. From the farmlands, the poultry farm, the irrigation system, until the construction of the residences – all were handled by him. And now, he was also 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 his body had become thinner since the last time they've met, Silver Claw's eyes glimmered with vitality and passion. His crooked grin held unmasked pride within.

"How's the exploration?" said Lark. He felt someone staring at him. Upon looking, he saw a teenage girl, around the same age as him, hiding behind the logs near the entrance. It took him 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 ago, they found out that the Mine was absurdly vast. The cavern was filled with numerous tunnels and forks that even after exploring it for several hours, they were unable to see 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 we've found out that–"

"—Air is unable to flow through that area," completed Lark.

Silver Claw's eyes widened a bit as he nodded. "Exactly. Yes."

"As expected." Lark had seen the tunnels within the Mine before. They were small and narrow, just enough for a single person to pass through. After seeing the twists and turns that formed numerous forks, he expected these things to happen sooner or later. That was why he repeatedly told Silver Claw to explore the tunnels very slowly, as 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 that we're also going to place wooden rails in that area after widening those tunnels?"

"That's correct," said Lark. The girl hiding behind the log finally revealed herself. She slowly walked towards Lark and Silver Claw. "Since the Mine is 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 there."

The last part was said with a chuckle.

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

"She's fully healed, huh?"

Silver Claw looked at the direction where the Young Master was looking at. Upon seeing the timid girl tottering towards them, he said, "Ah! There she is! I've looking all over for you!" He gestured for the girl to walk faster. He grabbed her hand and whispered to her ear, "You begged me to bring you here, right? Go on. Say it."

Seeing the flustered look of the young girl, Lark smiled. "Your name's Anisette, right? How's your body?"

The young girl looked at the smiling Young Master. Upon locking 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 at 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, she begged me to take her to this place last night."

"Father!" The young girl glared at him.

Seeing this exchange between father and daughter, Lark could not help but feel warmth within his heart. He was reminded of the time he had spent with his disciples back in his previous life. To 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 in a slower pace.

Silver Claw scratched his cheeks in embarrassment.

Lark looked at 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've put the wooden pillars in the First Area. The workers can start mining tomorrow."

It was a piece of good news. Lark said to Silver Claw, "Good. Gather the workers. I have something to tell them."

Soon, dozens of workers gathered in front of the Young Master. They put down all they were doing just to hear the announcement. Since the news about the generosity of the Young Master to his workers have spread throughout the town, the look of contempt within the eyes of the people have lessened somewhat.

Lark was glad that the residents were starting to accept him little by little. He hoped that in a few more months, or maybe years, the former image left behind by the previous owner of his body would be forgotten by those living in his domain.

"Since time is of the essence, I will get straight to the point," said Lark. The eyes of everyone was on him. "I will be implementing a yield-based profit system for this Mine. To put in simpler terms, the amount 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 here 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 started calling her The Scholar. "Everyday, 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 within that they could feel heat surging through their chests. At first, they thought that they would be given a monthly wage just like the rest of the other workers. But with this system, as long as they worked harder than their peers, they would earn more to satisfy their needs.

The workers clenched their fists.

***

After visiting the Mine, Lark went towards the northern area. The plowing of the land was almost done, and since the snow have melted, they began planting the seeds.

The farmers bowed upon seeing Lark.

"Don't mind me. Continue."

Along with some servants, Lark strolled through the reclaimed lands. Unlike other places, the soil in this area had some stench to it, definitely due to the large amounts of night soil spread through the ground.

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

They did a good job plowing these. The amount of compost is good too. With this, even those 'seeds' wouldn't pose a problem.

After buying several barrels of wheat seeds from the Lion's City, Lark immediately cast magic on them. It took him several days, but he had successfully made the seeds into a more superior version that would yield three times the amount of a normal one. Since those seeds yield more than the normal ones, they also consume a far larger amount of nutrients. But with this amount of composts, that should not pose a problem for the land.

Lark knew that once harvest season came, the amount of wheat they would harvest was so large that it could feed a Major City or two. He planned on storing the excess in the basement in cases of emergencies and export the remaining towards other places. The timing could not be more perfect since the Kingdom had just experienced the Black Famine back in the previous harvest. It would take a year or two before the farmlands in the Kingdom fully recover. Lark planned on exploiting this to gain more profit for his domain.

Lark inspected the water canals. 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.

After looking at it, Lark noticed that the foundations were a bit lacking. Just 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. "The depth is not 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 the inspecting the northern farmlands, Lark went back towards the Mansion. He went towards the underground basement, the place he strictly forbade the servants to enter.

He unlocked the metallic door and pushed it open, creating a loud creaking sound. Upon entering, the door shut. 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. At 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.

Lark took the large pouch on a nearby table. He opened it and slowly poured down the powder inside while walking, drawing a hexagram with numerous symbols inside. He repeated the process again, but this time, using a different powder.

By the time the magic formation was completed, 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 costed him several gold coins. If Lark was a bit richer, he would have bought steel, but that was impossible with an almost dried up treasury.

He amplified his physical strength using magic, grabbed the suit of armor, and placed it on the largest 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 breathed in. "Let's start."

After channeling mana into the magic formation, the hexagram and the symbols inside it glowed violently. A soft whizzing sound was heard, and slowly, the corpses of the Goblins started turning into particles of light. Black smoke manifested themselves for a moment, cursing at Lark who initiated the ritual, before vanishing into nothingness.

After the magic formation lost its light, the suit of armor started quivering. Clanking sound was heard as iron rubbed 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."

Since there were some instances wherein the Soul Morphosis spell fails and the creation attacks the caster, Lark wanted to make sure.

The suit of armor groaned and knelt on one knee then bowed its head.

Lark grinned upon seeing it. It seemed that 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 simply stared at Lark as he once again repeated the ritual.

After several hours, all of the Goblin corpses had been consumed, and Lark was able to create three living suits of armor.

Since their cores were from Goblins, their strength was mediocre, probably only as strong as ten soldiers combined. But with a body covered in iron, their enemies would be hard pressed in killing them.

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

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

Along with some servants and soldiers, Lark planned on personally selling the Kalrane Stones. That way, he would be able to examine one of the major cities of the Kingdom and also see the extent of technology this civilization currently had.

I'll also need to check the library of that city. The records in this town aren't enough to answer my questions regarding this Kingdom. Is this 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."