After that, Leo wandered around the town a bit more, then found the conspicuous steward at the Merchant Guild.
The steward suggested he could just spend a day or two enjoying the town.
Leo thought that sounded good and decided to do just that, treating it as a little relaxation before the hard work ahead.
When he returned to Blackwood Town, he almost thought he had taken a wrong turn.
This once lifeless little town seemed to have been injected with a brand-new vitality.
The townsfolk no longer cowered inside their dilapidated houses.
They were working in pairs or threes along the ridges of the fields, their faces wearing a kind of genuine, heartfelt smile Leo had never seen before.
The land, once roughly reclaimed by him and the earth elementals, was now neatly organized into tidy furrows.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth, mixed faintly with the subtle aroma of roasting meat.
“Master! You’re back!”
Sharp-eyed Tom was the first to spot him.
He immediately dropped his hoe and ran over excitedly.
His voice was a signal.
Everyone in the fields stopped what they were doing and gathered around Leo, their eyes a complicated mix of reverence and gratitude.
“My lord!”
“Master, look! We’ve finished organizing the fields!”
Leo smiled and waved at them.
Somewhere deep inside, a soft spot was gently touched.
Being sincerely supported by everyone felt much better than chopping monsters alone in the forest.
The steward Alfred also came running over upon hearing the news.
This usually composed old steward’s face couldn’t hide his excitement now; his cheeks were flushed red.
He quickly approached Leo, respectfully bowed, then lowered his voice to nearly trembling.
“Young master, I have not failed you.”
Leo raised an eyebrow.
“Oh? It seems that pig sold for a good price?”
Alfred took a deep breath, trying to steady his wildly beating chest, but the four fingers he extended still trembled slightly.
“More than just a good price! It was… an astronomical price!”
He paused as if searching for the perfect words.
“That Iron-Spined Boar King was spotted by a chief steward from the Golden Lion Trading Company.”
“He said it was an extremely rare elite monster, with treasures all over its body. Just its tusks alone could craft two enchanted weapons.”
“And its bristles are top-grade materials for making magical scrolls!”
“Cut to the point.”
Leo interrupted directly.
He knew the pig was valuable, but he only cared about the exact amount.
Alfred’s breathing grew even heavier.
“The Boar King itself sold for thirty gold coins! Adding the monster materials stored in your warehouse, we earned a total of… forty-five gold coins! A full forty-five!”
Forty-five gold coins.
The number quickly converted in Leo’s mind into a more familiar unit.
One gold coin equals one thousand copper coins, and one copper coin’s buying power is roughly equivalent to one dollar.
Forty-five thousand dollars.
For a territory on the brink of bankruptcy, this money was nothing less than a lifeline.
Looking at Alfred’s flushed face and hearing the gasps of the townsfolk around, a surge of pride welled up inside him.
“Excellent.”
Leo nodded, his voice low but clearly audible to all.
“This is only the beginning.”
He scanned the crowd, his gaze resting on every hopeful face.
“This money will be entirely invested in rebuilding our home.”
“I will make sure everyone lives in sturdy new houses, children wear soft clothes, and our granaries overflow with food.”
“I will build Blackwood Town a wall no monster can ever breach!”
The crowd fell silent for a moment after he spoke.
Then, a roaring cheer erupted like a tidal wave.
“Long live the lord!”
“Praise be to the merciful Lord Leo!”
Seeing his suddenly zealous “fans,” Leo smiled with satisfaction.
He was well practiced at painting grand visions.
Besides, this particular vision was something he could truly make real.
“Let us work together to make Blackwood Town great once again!”
***
After calming the excited townsfolk, Leo returned to his modest manor.
The only two-story stone building in town.
He had to prepare for the monster-hunting tasks ahead.
The Adventurer’s Guild had several extermination requests targeting goblin tribes, goblins, and berserk grizzly bears.
These were just appetizers for him, perfect experience farms and mobile cash machines.
Returning to the Black Forest, Leo was now well acquainted with the path.
He first summoned two shadow wolves, sending them scouting in different directions.
The real-time images transmitted through the mental link gave him a god’s-eye view, like having a map overlay.
Soon, the location of a goblin camp was locked down.
“All units, advance.”
Mounted on his wyvern circling in the sky, Leo gave the command.
The summoned army on the ground immediately began moving forward.
Now his troops included not only the veterans but also spiders with crowd control and damage-over-time abilities, healing water elementals, and skeleton mages that inflicted debuffs.
A truly hexagonal battle formation.
The whole process wasn’t even a fight—it was more like an efficient demolition.
In less than ten minutes, the goblin tribe that had troubled many low-level adventurers vanished completely from the map.
[You have killed Goblin Warrior, gained 500 experience.]
[You have killed Goblin Shaman, gained 550 experience.]
***
A string of system notifications appeared, and Leo’s experience bar visibly jumped.
“Awesome! This is way more fun than clocking in at a job!”
He hummed a tune while directing his skeletons to collect loot, mainly the goblin ears required for the quest.
At that moment, the system’s notification sounded again.
[Congratulations, you have reached Lv23.]
[You have gained 5 free attribute points.]
Without hesitation, Leo put all five points into Spirit.
For a summoner like him, the mana bar was his lifeline and fighting strength.
[Spirit: 80 -> 85]
[Mana: 1050/1050]
With the level-up, a new skill icon lit up in his list.
Leo clicked it open—it was an undead unit.
[Bone Puppet: 80 mana cost, 20 minutes duration, 270 HP, 15 attack (comes with one self-resurrection, attacks with area damage, extra damage to buildings)]
“Oh? A heavily armored undead unit?”
Leo’s eyes lit up.
This was fantastic.
High HP, strong attack, AOE damage—basically the undead version of an earth elemental, and it even had a built-in second life.
Most importantly, it dealt extra damage to buildings?
A mental image immediately formed in Leo’s mind.
When building his territory and needing to demolish old houses, he could just summon a Bone Puppet.
One punch, and the old house becomes rubble—efficient and eco-friendly demolition.
“A talent—this is exactly the top-tier member our engineering crew needs.”
He decided then and there to add this new unit to his regular army.
Over the next few days, Leo became a highly efficient cleaner of the Black Forest.
With his growing summoned legion, he stormed through the mid-forest region.
Goblin camps.
Berserk bear dens.
Venom spider nests.
Every target on the quest list or anything that annoyed him was leveled.
His level rocketed like a rocket.
Lv24… Lv25… Lv26…
By the time he finished all the accepted commission tasks and returned to Silverbrook City with a space ring full of loot and quest items, his level had reached Lv26.
Stepping into the Adventurer’s Guild again, the familiar smell of alcohol mixed with sweat greeted him.
He walked straight to the front desk and dumped a huge pile of goblin ears, intact bear pelts and gallbladders, and various monster certificates on the counter.
The receptionist was still the cat-eared young lady.
She stared at the mountain of quest items and then back at Leo’s calm, indifferent face, her cat ears stiff with surprise.
“Mr. Leo… you… you completed all these commissions?”
Her voice was full of disbelief.
Just a few days?
Even a well-experienced four-person team would need half a month to clear all of these.
And this boy did it alone in just days?
“Yes, all completed.”
Leo nodded as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
The cat-eared receptionist began to awkwardly check and verify the items.
With each confirmation, her eyes held a bit more respect for Leo.
Finally, the total reward was calculated—twenty-three gold coins.
“Mr. Leo, your efficiency… is truly astonishing.”
She sincerely praised.
“Your adventurer rank now meets the requirements for promotion to Silver rank. Would you like to take the test now?”
“Not for now.”
Leo waved her off.
He wasn’t interested in empty titles.
Making money, leveling up, and building his territory were his three core pursuits.
After leaving the guild, he headed straight to the Golden Lion Trading Company and sold off the large batch of newly acquired monster materials.
This time, he earned another thirty-something gold coins.
Now, his liquid capital combined with what remained from the newbie package had surpassed one hundred gold coins.
Carrying this huge sum, Leo walked through the bustling streets of Silverbrook City, but his heart remained unusually calm.
He didn’t go to the tavern to blow money, nor did he buy any luxury goods.
Only one thought occupied his mind.
It was time to go home and start my world—territory building chapter.
“Residents of Blackwood Town, your chief construction officer has returned!”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.