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One month passed like a year. Since Christmas night, many things had happened. The once-empty land of Everland had grown from a small plot to a modest town. Buildings had risen into a village. The military camp had expanded, equipped with new facilities.

Stella had adapted well to life in Everland. Waking up to see rats nearly human-sized taking hoes and shovels to work in the fields, or wolves standing upright hammering nails, no longer seemed strange. The petite girl walked from the castle to the military camp, where a Lycaon in military uniform, cigarette in mouth, rigorously inspected drills. Since receiving his name, he'd changed a bit—more composed, and now aware enough to put on clothes after being nude for so long.

Stella searched until she found the only young woman here repeatedly swinging a wooden sword. It must have been hundreds or even thousands of times, yet each slash remained beautiful and precise. The woman stopped when she noticed the small head entering her field of view.

"Hey there, pretty girl. I smell curry from the castle—it smells amazing."

"I added a bit of chocolate. Not sure if it’ll be to your taste."

"It’s gotta be delicious! I always wanted to try that in curry, but my family never let me near the kitchen. My mom even made a house rule: Luminus is banned from the kitchen. Stella, don’t you think that’s harsh?!" Lumi turned to the girl with puppy-dog eyes. Stella just smiled and said nothing, instead turning to look toward the center of the camp.

There stood a shirtless young man, swinging a steel sword straight down. His form wasn’t as sharp as Lumi’s, but technically correct. Beads of sweat glistened on his forming muscles, now clearly defined. His face had become more chiseled compared to the previous month.

“Wow.” Stella gazed, mesmerized.

“Since you went to bed, Fethan’s been training non-stop. Hasn’t returned to the castle once. Isn’t he amazing?”

“Huh?” The girl quickly raised a finger and calculated her routine. “I slept for eight hours, cooked and did laundry for another hour... That means he’s been training for nine hours straight! Lumi, please tell him to take a break. Overworking like this isn’t good.”

“No way! The stronger your big bro gets, the more benefits you get!” Lumi gave a thumbs-up and flashed a mischievous grin—one Stella didn’t quite understand yet. Fethan, mid-swing, suddenly felt a twinge in his lower back and gut. Noticing Lumi’s sparkling gaze glued to his defined muscles with a suspicious gleam, he suddenly wanted to find a shirt.

[Fethan Bloodstar] [Level: 40] [Class: Lord of Dark Arts] [Titles: Lord of Everland, King of Curses, Cursed Son, Heir of the Dark Arts, Magus Without Mana, Grand Scholar, Whisper-Proof] [HP: 100/100] [Stamina: 100/100] [Divine Power: 3.1/3.1] [Mana: 31.1/31.1] [Soul Power: 311/311] [Divine Authority: 0] [Arcane Authority: 25] [Dark Arts Authority: 100] [Magic Resistance: 20] [Curse Resistance: 50] [Strength: 38] [Endurance: 32] [Agility: 31] [Perception: 32] [Intelligence: 100]

Skills: Lord of Everland: [Reaper's Eye (C) LV.1] [Gate to Everland (B) LV.MAX] [Soul Harvest (A) LV.MAX] [Soul Fusion (S) LV.1] [Emperor of Spirit Magic (SS) LV.1] [God of Death’s Call (SSS) LV.1] General: [Basic Mana Control (E) LV.6] [Basic Spirit Control (E) LV.8] [Basic Curse Control (D) LV.2] [Basic Soul Cultivation (D) LV.8] Techniques: [Eastern Guardian Swordplay Basic (D) LV.4] Spells: [Basic Arcane Arrow (F) LV.6] [Arcane Shield (E) LV.4] [Arcane Bullet (F) LV.6] [Basic Body Empowerment (E) LV.2] [Enhanced Arcane Bullet (E+) LV.4] [Disruptive Curse (B-) LV.2] [Devastating Flame Curse (A) LV.2] [Demonic Soul-Flame Curse (A+) LV.1]

"Eastern Guardian Swordplay is stuck at level 4. I’m not working hard enough," Fethan thought. He knew his weakness—outside curses, he lacked any combat specialization. So he focused on refining swordsmanship and arcane arts.

Thanks to the blessing from the Dark Dimensional God, all his stats had crossed into the 30s, but pushing them from 30 to 31 required nearly double the effort. From past battles, he’d estimated that the difference between stats in the 21–25 range was minor—but the jump from 29 to 31 was huge. Not just level-wise, but even gaining stats became exponentially harder past that point. Imagining what it would take to push anything to 40 made his muscles ache.

His Intelligence at 100, then, was something historic—very few mages in history had reached that without system assistance or special bonuses. Stat-wise, he surpassed even the fourth-tier Arcane King class.

Fethan laid down his sword and walked toward the two girls who had been watching him closely—but with polar opposite expressions.

“Don’t overdo it, big brother. It’s not good for your body,” Stella said, stepping forward to take his calloused, wounded hand in her small ones, her voice soft.

“I promise I won’t overdo it.”

“Really?”

“Really. If I lie, may lightning strike me down.”

“No! If you die, I’ll be a widow! I object to that oath!” Lumi crossed her arms in an X as laughter erupted from sewer rats and hellhounds around the camp. Everyone seemed to agree—Fethan would break that promise. He scratched his faintly blushing cheek, while Stella’s chipmunk cheeks puffed as she looked up at him.

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Fethan returned to the castle for a bath and then joined Stella and Lumi at the dining hall for breakfast. One of his house rules was that no matter how they spent their personal time, breakfast had to be eaten together.

Stella wore a white uniform with black trim and a red lotus emblem, slinging a bright red bag made of a material lighter than plastic. Fethan used magic to open a dimensional portal, took her hand, and seated her on a motorcycle.

It took ten minutes to reach a local elementary school, where a school bus had just dropped off other children.

“Stella, don’t leave school grounds until I pick you up,” Fethan said, lifting the visor of his helmet.

“I’ll stay in school and won’t go anywhere. If I do leave, I’ll call you.” She smiled brightly and waved before walking into school with her classmates. After a few days of attending, her liveliness had clearly returned.

Fethan used Reaper’s Eye to scan the school. Schools were hotspots of negative energy. Before Stella enrolled, he’d sent his undead army to purge all low-level cursed spirits. Still, he wasn’t completely reassured—so he had the shaman erect a ward around the school to block any further cursed incursions.

Then he returned to Everland and appeared in the lord’s office. Today was important—his first service fee payment was due.

Fethan opened a golden window:

[Everland] [Glory Level: 2] [Territory: 25,000 square meters] [Population: 905 (Orange 1, Purple 7, Blue 45, Green 398, White 454)] [Soul Coins: 118.2] [Tax Revenue: 113.8 Soul Coins/month] [Structures: 3 General, 5 Special, 0 Legendary] (Castle LV1) (Military Camp LV2) (Everland Shop LV1) (Cursed Prison LV1) (Darkforge LV1) (Dog Village LV1) (Sewer Rat Village LV1)

[Service fee due: 100 Soul Coins]

“Pay.”

He confirmed the payment. The system deducted coins, then updated:

[Thanks for your payment. Monthly progress review begins.] [Success! Everland upgraded to Level 2.] [Success! Promoted to Rank S Class: Lord of Dark Arts.] [Success! Defeated higher-level dark mage.] [Success! Contacted the Dark Dimensional God.] [Success! Killed creatures from the dark dimension.]

[Congratulations! You’ve achieved S+ tier progress. Incredible success! Monthly rewards will now scale with progress level.]

[Calculating development direction... Please set your goal.]

“My goal... is to resurrect Luminus and kill as many dark mages as possible.”

The system acknowledged, scanned his soul, and began processing:

[You have gained: Dark Dimensional Eye (S)] [Effect: View all stats of any creature, including dark-dimension beings. See their skills, powers, and secrets. Also visually perceive fragments of dark gods.]

[New Stat Unlocked: Sanity – mental strength for resisting dark gods and curse effects.]

[New Stat Unlocked: Spirit – control and empowerment of dominated souls. Affects command authority and enhancement.]

[10 Everland Skill Points granted.]

[All castle facilities upgraded by 1 level.]

[Cards Granted: 3x Structure Upgrade (General), 10x XL Soul EXP Card]

[New Special Structure: Everland Bank (S)]

[Mission Assigned: Main Quest 2 – Resurrect Luminus Sterling.]

(Use ritual sorcery to summon a fragment of the Dark God—Black Sheep of the Wilds, mother of thousands—and offer tribute.)

Tribute:

Core of 6 dark-dimension creatures
Heads of 66 sinners
666 cursed souls
Kill 6666 monsters above level 40

[Next service fee: 500 Soul Coins! Work hard.]

[Glory Level 3 Requirements: Everland Level 40 (Not Met), Territory 50,000 sqm (Not Met), Monthly Tax 1,000 Coins (Not Met), 2,500 Pop (Not Met), 10 Structures (Not Met), 3 Orange Souls (Not Met), 13 Purple Souls (Not Met), 130 Blue Souls (Not Met)]

[Level 3 Glory Unlocks: Legendary Buildings, Everland Temple, Bloodline Tower, +50 Skill Points, Divine Authority +10, +100 Undead Army Capacity, +3 Levels, +150 Soul Power, +3 All Stats, Structure Upgrade Card (Unconditional), Max Pop 5,000, Max Territory 150,000 sqm, Spirit Density x3, +10% Tax Revenue]

Fethan’s expression shifted as the rewards rolled in. He was thrilled to know the conditions for Level 3 Glory—but something else caught his eye more.

“Azrael, bring the shaman to my office.”

Within moments, black mist formed, and a cloaked figure entered, dragging a chained man covered in tattoos. The shaman’s breath was ragged.

“I bring this defiled prisoner, my exalted Lord. May Everland flourish forever!” Azrael knelt in reverence—his attitude a stark contrast from before. He now behaved like a loyal hound.

“Red-grade soul fragments made you eloquent, huh, Azrael?”

“It is your mercy, my Lord! I’ve grown thanks to it!” Azrael beamed. Fethan activated the Dark Dimensional Eye. His eyes became void-like.

[A low-tier dark-dimension entity from the Land of Dreams, harbinger of unavoidable misfortune. Collector of souls. Incapable of engaging with living beings—yet a nightmare to the dead.]

Skills:

[Incorporeal Dread (B)]
[Soul Harvest (B)]
[Reaper’s Scythe Style (B+)]
[Nightmare of the Dead (A)]
[Funeral Hymn (A)]
[Reaper’s Curse (A)]

“P-Please spare me, exalted Lord...” Azrael groveled, hiding under his cloak. Even the shaman trembled.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” Fethan disabled the Eye. It drained as much spirit power as casting a major curse. But it was worth it—the details revealed were staggering.

We can use this to find enemy weaknesses. It’s powerful.

“I’ve learned the resurrection ritual from the system. I think you two can answer some questions.”

He explained the details. Neither Azrael nor the shaman reacted as strongly as he expected.

“In theory,” Azrael said gravely, “a high-tier Dark God could resurrect the dead. But we don’t know which gods count, nor their temperament. Even if we summon the Black Sheep of the Wilds, there’s no guarantee it will help us.”

“Azrael is right,” said the shaman. “Dark Gods are deceitful and capricious. I worship them, but I don’t respect them. Even if the Black Sheep appears, it may ignore you.”

“In the dark mage world, the Black Sheep is rumored to be one of the most powerful Dark Gods. But no record confirms she has ever fully restored a human.”

Historically, human resurrection stories existed—like Egyptian mummification and tombs. But almost all ended in failure. Over 10,000 years of dark magic history recorded only a few fully revived humans by Dark Gods—blurring into myth. Only Gamo was said to have succeeded definitively.

“So in theory, the Black Sheep could do it, but no one's succeeded... Could it be the sacrifices weren’t good enough?” Fethan asked.

Silence. No one had an answer—it had simply never happened before.

We have to trust the system. Maybe this insane ritual really can bring Lumi back... But I can’t pin all my hopes on it.

He didn’t trust the Black Sheep. At best, he’d pursue Gamo’s second book as a fallback—even if no clues existed yet.

Luminus Sterling – 335 days remaining.

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