014 The Lottery

Just now, Kellen's attention had been completely absorbed by the construction interface. With his hands busy converting undead and building burial chambers, he hadn't noticed that there was a "Territory Shop" on the territory interface as well.

The moment he discovered this, Kellen's eyes lit up instantly.

He understood perfectly well that the addition of a "Territory Shop" meant a wealth of new features.

However, when Kellen opened the "Territory Shop" interface, he was immediately disappointed, for under the products section, there was only a single line of bold text.

"The Territory Shop currently offers no items for sale. Consume 500 points of Territory Energy to randomly unlock one item!"

Upon seeing this, Kellen felt a pang in his teeth.

"Five hundred points of Territory Energy? How cheap! All I need is to go without food or water for twenty-five days to scrape that together."

Such a cold splash of reality nearly extinguished Kellen's excitement, but fortunately, the system wasn't intent on crushing his enthusiasm completely.

Just as he was feeling thoroughly chilled, Kellen noticed that at the bottom of the "Territory Shop" interface, there was a prize wheel—apparently a small lottery feature.

Kellen examined the lottery function. It seemed to be divided into several levels.

Currently, he could only try the Level 1 lottery, and a single draw required only fifty points of Territory Energy—a far more reasonable price than five hundred, and at least within his immediate reach.

What delighted Kellen even more was that the prize wheel offered a free first draw, likely a benefit for activating the territory.

With such a generous offer before him, Kellen naturally wasn't about to let it go to waste. He immediately used it.

"Ding! You have used your free first-draw privilege. Level 1 lottery initiated!"

"Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained one 'Language Mastery Scroll'!"

...

Language Mastery Scroll

Item Category: Magical Tool / Consumable

Item Level: 1

Item Effect: Upon use, instantly master a specified language.

(Limited to ordinary languages without magical effects, and only for spoken communication, not writing! A casting medium is required, and the caster must place their hand on the recipient's head!)

...

Reading the description of the "Language Mastery Scroll," Kellen's eyes shone with such intensity they could have been mistaken for lightbulbs.

In that instant, his first thought was of the murderous, body-hiding goblin. If he could capture that goblin, not only would the threat to his graveyard be eliminated, but he could also use the scroll to learn the goblin language and extract valuable information about the Goblin Forest from the creature.

This was an enticing prospect for Kellen. After all, both the security of his territory and intelligence on the Goblin Forest were his most pressing needs.

Now that his territory had been activated here, barring any unforeseen events, he would have to survive in the Goblin Forest for the foreseeable future. He needed to understand his surroundings.

Yet, after some thought, Kellen reluctantly set aside this tempting idea. "Better not. I may not know exactly how strong that killer goblin is, but I am certain my current abilities are nowhere near enough to deal with him.

If I truly want to take him on, I’ll need to wait until all the goblins in the graveyard are converted to undead, and I’ve improved my own strength—at least to the first tier, if not higher. Reality isn’t a game; I only have one chance to risk my life or seize that goblin. If I make a move, I must be absolutely certain of success."

Speaking of improving his abilities, Kellen suddenly remembered that now his territory was activated, his own strength should be able to increase further. He quickly opened his status screen to check.

The result was thoroughly satisfying. The previously locked status panel was now open, and even better, the energy required for the next upgrade was only fifty points.

"Excellent. Now that the territory is active, the seal on my strength has been lifted as well. Old Jack is away for a few days—everything is perfectly aligned. I’ll use this time to improve my abilities.

The stronger I am, the more confident I’ll be in facing Old Jack."

These days, Kellen regarded Old Jack with a great deal of wariness, largely due to the circumstances of his environment. With the exception of Neve, Kellen did not trust anyone in this world.

He was especially cautious regarding Old Jack, since the man had recruited him into the Rangers far too hastily.

They'd known each other for just three days, and after meeting only three times, Old Jack had already brought him into the Imperial army.

If Old Jack truly was a Ranger and a soldier of the Empire, wasn't this organization's recruitment process a bit too lax?

Of course, Kellen didn't genuinely doubt Old Jack's identity; he merely questioned Old Jack's motives for inviting him into the Rangers.

Kellen was convinced that Old Jack's decision was, more than eighty percent, an opportunistic attempt to bolster his ranks. Whether Kellen would actually be accepted remained to be seen.

Considering that, on their first meeting, Old Jack had immediately asked Kellen to take over as village chief, and had bluntly stated he needed Kellen's help with something, Kellen couldn't help but feel uneasy.

What exactly did Old Jack want assistance with? Was it dangerous?

More importantly, Kellen’s personal power was now tied to his graveyard, meaning he could never abandon it.

Yet he had no idea how Old Jack felt about the undead, nor did he dare to probe—one false move could cost him his life. That was why Kellen was so tense.

Had he known Old Jack’s true identity from the start, he never would have approached so carelessly.

But now, no amount of anxiety or regret would help. The only thing he could do was strengthen himself, stockpile more trump cards. That way, if danger did arrive, he’d have at least some means of self-preservation.

At present, his undead territory was his greatest asset. With thirty points of Territory Energy on hand, he needed just five more days to convert all the goblins in the territory into first-tier undead.

Given how easily he, at zero tier, had subdued the villagers, seven first-tier undead should be a considerable force.

Of course, right now, his personal strength was even more critical. The undead could only be used as a hidden trump card; they couldn't stay by his side at all times, so Kellen would have to rely on himself for day-to-day protection.

Realizing this, Kellen took care to erase any traces of his activity in the graveyard, then slipped out into the Goblin Forest to find a suitable spot to train diligently.

This time, the skill he chose to practice had changed—not the "Heavy Strike" of before, but instead the "Basic Swordsman Technique" Old Jack had taught him before leaving…