Skeletal Dragon

"Arthur!" Alex declared, naming her first minion. "From now on, you shall be called Arthur!"

Skeletal Dragon Arthur. One word—powerful! [Life Tier: God] Alex now understood what that meant. Life Tier represented a creature's potential. It was divided into Normal, Elite, Commander, Lord, King, and God. Arthur's God Tier potential meant he could eventually reach the level of a god. A dragon god! Plus, Arthur's starting stats were 6, while Normal creatures only started with 1! Their growth potential was even more incomparable. Arthur gained 6 points per level, while Normal creatures only gained 1. The higher the level, the wider the gap!

In short, Alex's Skeletal Dragon was incredibly strong, with immense potential. Of course, creatures that started at Normal Tier could theoretically increase their Life Tier through hard work, climbing from Elite to Commander, Lord, King, and finally God. Theoretically. In practice, it was harder than a snowball's chance in hell, especially the jump from King to God. That was a fundamental transformation of life essence, way more difficult than a man giving birth!

But these weren't concerns for Alex right now. "Growth!" she thought. "Time to go grind!" The castle's beginner's protection only lasted seven days, after which the first beast horde would arrive. Alex had only seven days to power up. No time to waste!

…

[Castle Level: Lv1]

[HP: 10k (Invincible State)]

[Territory Range: 500-meter radius]

[Functions: Within the territory, the Lord has omniscience; can collect spoils of war; can decompose monster corpses to obtain materials.]

[Upgrade Requirements: 1000 units of wood, 500 units of stone]

Thanks to her castle's abilities, a mini-map appeared before Alex, centered on her castle and covering a 500-meter radius. Every rustle of leaves, every movement, was crystal clear.

"Northwest, 380 meters out, deep in the jungle… a pack of gray wolves," she observed. "Lowest level 7, highest level 43. Yikes, not messing with those… yet." A level 43 gray wolf, even with Normal Tier growth, would have at least 43 points in each stat. Arthur, at level 1, only had 6. No match.

"But once Arthur reaches level 10, his stats will be at 60! Then I can wipe out that wolf pack. No dangerous elements allowed in my territory!" Adding the gray wolves to her hit list, Alex scanned for closer, lower-level prey.

She quickly found a suitable target. "Southeast, 50 meters, a huge flock of roosters! Mostly level 1, a few level 2, and only five level 3."

[Rooster]

[Race: Native Monster]

[Life Tier: Normal]

[Level: Lv1]

[HP: 20]

[MP: None]

[Strength: 1]

[Endurance: 1]

[Spirit: None]

Normal Tier roosters. Weak growth potential. Even a level 3 rooster only had 3 points in Strength and Endurance. No match for Arthur, or even Alex herself, with her 5 points in each stat. Clearly, roosters were the perfect monster for a power-leveling grind.

Alex immediately marched towards the flock with Arthur in tow. First step to conquering Eldoria: chicken slaying!

"Arthur, kill them all!"

"Yes, master!"

With a command from Alex, Arthur spread his bony wings, swooped down, and lunged at the unsuspecting roosters.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

"Dragon Flame!" Arthur unleashed his ultimate attack. A wave of scorching fire swept across the flock. The roosters that couldn't dodge in time were instantly engulfed in flames, roasted alive in seconds. It was a poultry massacre.

"Damn," Alex muttered, wiping away a tear… or was it drool? "That smells amazing…" She gazed at the rampaging Arthur and the piles of roasted chicken, swallowing hard. With an effort of will, she suppressed the urge to dive in and feast. Instead, she focused on a rooster corpse and extended her hand. "Time to test out my skills."

Alex had gained four initial skills from the Lich King inheritance: [Undead Summoning], [Parasite], [Contamination], and [Enslave]. [Undead Summoning] allowed her to summon an Undead Skeleton from a corpse. This was the secret to the Undying Legion's resilience, their ability to not only survive attrition but actually grow stronger from it. They couldn't be killed, and they could turn enemy corpses into more undead.

Locking onto the target corpse, Alex used [Undead Summoning]. No chanting, no incantations. As simple as snapping her fingers, the skill activated instantly. A black magic circle appeared on the corpse.

"Clack—!" A pale, bony hand emerged from the circle, followed by an arm, a head, a torso… An Undead Skeleton crawled out. Strangely, despite being summoned from a chicken, it was humanoid. Alex stared at it, puzzled.

[Undead Skeleton]

[Race: Undead]

[Loyalty: 100 (Will never betray)]

[Life Tier: Normal]

[Level: Lv1]

[HP: ∞ (Undying Legion trait: Soul fire inextinguishable, thus immortal)]

[MP: None]

[Strength: 1]

[Endurance: 1]

[Spirit: 1]

[Skills: None]

[Equipment: None]

The Undead Skeleton, upon emerging, immediately prostrated itself before Alex. "I greet you, master!"

Holy crap, it talks! This [Undead Summoning] skill was ridiculously good. And it got even better. Alex noticed that the rooster corpse she'd used was still there! One corpse, infinite skeletons? She could have a million-strong undead army in no time!

"Holy moly," she thought. "I'm gonna conquer Eldoria before the beginner's protection even ends!"