Level Up

Chapter 75: Level Up

The Mark was lying in ambush in a small forest. The forest was not very tall or big, just a bushy area with tall grass that provided good cover for them to hide their figures.

The Mark was a specialized group of soldiers trained by the Purcell Family. Their training methods were different from regular warriors. They focused on skills such as body-lightening techniques, disguises, stealth, and assassination. They were specially trained by various great clans to be alternative warriors who did not fear death.

The Mark's mission was simple: to monitor Stony Mountain and keep an eye on Dark Magician Zhao Hai, who had gained fame by purchasing the mountain. The family wanted to know what Zhao Hai was planning to do there.

The Mark's position was close to Stony Mountain, positioned halfway up the massive mountain. From there, they could observe the situation on the rocky terrain. Although they couldn't see what was happening inside the manor, they had a clear view of the area surrounding it.

The Mark wanted to see what was happening inside the manor, but to their disappointment, the area was covered in a layer of dark mist. They knew that the mist was not a natural occurrence of Stony Mountain but rather a magic spell used by a Dark Magician.

In addition to the mist, there were huge undead creatures wandering around the mountain. These creatures were large, had a dark green color, and flickering ghostly flames in their eyes. The Mark, who had undergone rigorous training, felt a sense of fear when they encountered these creatures.

Because of this, the Mark didn't dare to approach Stony Mountain for a closer look. They were skilled in stealth, but they were most likely afraid of these undead creatures. The undead creatures relied on senses rather than sight to detect living beings. No matter how well they hid, they couldn't escape the creatures' detection.

The Mark desperately wanted to know what was happening on the mountain, but they were unable to see. They could only wait and lie in ambush.

Meanwhile, Zhao Hai's newly established Cyan Stone Villa was a hive of activity. The slaves he had released from the space were busy cleaning the villa, arranging furniture, and manufacturing various tools.

Unlike Iron Mountain, which lacked resources, Stony Mountain had an abundance of stone. The slaves could freely mine stone and cut down trees from the surrounding mountains. Zhao Hai instructed them to focus on making grinding stones and millstones, as their current supply was insufficient.

Although they had only recently arrived at Stony Mountain with a little over a hundred people, Zhao Hai knew that they would be purchasing more slaves soon. With the additional workforce, they would need more tools, so it made sense to start manufacturing them now.

Zhao Hai was aware that they were being watched, but he didn't mind. It was something they had become accustomed to. Coating the villa with a layer of dark mist was Merine's idea. They wanted to maintain the mysterious image of a Dark Magician. If they didn't add an element of mystery, people might start questioning their true identities.

The manor itself wasn't very large, but with more than a hundred people working together, they were able to tidy up in half a day. With the remaining time, Zhao Hai had the undead creatures mine useful stones, which he then stored in the space.

Rather than immediately cutting down trees from the surrounding mountains, Zhao Hai decided to let the undead creatures do some mining first. They needed more stone materials, and the trees could wait. The trees wouldn't disappear, so there was no rush.

Zhao Hai had chosen a room in the manor for himself. The previous owner of the manor had designed it with a hot spring in mind, including a hot spring pond in one of the rooms. Zhao Hai decided to make that room his bedroom.

Stony Mountain had only one water source, which was a hot spring. The previous owner had wisely planned the manor to have multiple hot springs, including one for bathing, one for drinking water, and one for fish farming.

While sitting in the hot spring, Zhao Hai relaxed and enjoyed the comfort. He hadn't had a proper bath like this in a long time. In the Black Wasteland, the conditions were limited, and he had to settle for a quick wash. Now he finally had the opportunity to take a bath comfortably.

As he ran his fingers through the water, Zhao Hai gazed at the stone ceiling and mused, "It would be great to soak in a hot spring every day. Maybe I should test the water quality and see if it can be used in the space."

With a wave of his hand, a space rift appeared, and the hot spring water flowed into the space. Zhao Hai quickly closed the rift. Fortunately, the slaves were resting outside, or they would have been shocked by his actions.

As soon as the hot spring water entered the space, a prompt sounded, "High-level hot spring water detected. It contains beneficial minerals for the human body and can be consumed. Extracting beneficial minerals. Level Up of Spatial Water initiated. Space will advance to Level 6. Reward: one bag of cauliflower seeds and an additional planting area of two mu."

Zhao Hai was taken aback. He expected a response from the space when he put the hot spring water inside, but he didn't anticipate such a significant outcome. He had only gained one level, and it wasn't enough to unlock new land, but he was still pleased. The space's level-up process wasn't something he needed to rush.

However, the prompt mentioned the addition of another hot spring. Zhao Hai was curious about this development. Unable to contain his excitement, he left the water without bothering to put on clothes and entered the space.

Inside the space, Zhao Hai noticed a change. Besides the original hot spring, there were now several more hot springs. Steam rose from the water's surface, indicating that the temperature was quite high, possibly around 80 degrees Celsius.

Realizing the high temperature, Zhao Hai didn't dare to touch the water with his hand. However, he realized that with proper processing, this water could be used for bathing. It seemed that the hot springs on Stony Mountain were of similar quality.

Glancing around the space, Zhao Hai saw that everything was in order. The Oil Fruit trees were growing well and could be harvested soon. The corn harvest was also going well, and there were other crops waiting to be collected. For now, there was nothing else that required immediate attention.

Satisfied with the situation, Zhao Hai returned to the hot spring pond in his room and lay there quietly, pondering his current resources. He had a surplus of three seasons' worth of radishes, totaling eighty thousand jin (0.5 kg) each. The Oil Fruit had reached its second cycle, with a total of eleven seasons and approximately 415,000 jin (0.5 kg). The corn harvest was at twenty-six seasons, including two mu (1 mu ≈ 666.67 sq m) of land, yielding a total of about 300,000 jin (0.5 kg). He had also recently planted wheat, cabbage, and eggplants, which had yielded 3,200 jin (0.5 kg) of wheat, 20,000 jin (0.5 kg) of eggplants, and 20,000 jin (0.5 kg) of cabbage. In addition, he had 600 gold coins, a bag of cauliflower seeds, and some remaining forage grass seeds. This comprised Zhao Hai's current inventory.