Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 27: Perfect quality

Upon returning to her castle, Alex surveyed the spoils of her first military expedition. One Goblin tribe utterly crushed by two Skeleton Dragons and 60 Elite Skeletal Warriors. Over 520 Goblins slain. A resounding victory! And Alex? She'd leveled up to 7! King-rank experience bars were long, but 500+ Goblin souls provided a substantial boost.

[Lord: Alex]

[Race: Human (Lich King Inheritance)]

[Life Hierarchy Rank: King]

[Level: Lv7]

[HP: ∞ (Undead characteristic: Soul fire inextinguishable, therefore immortal)]

[MP: 140 (Regenerates 1 point per minute)]

[Strength: 35]

[Endurance: 35]

[Spirit: 35]

[Castle Level: Lv6]

[Necromantic Altar: Lv2]

[Equipment Forge: Lv1]

[Initial Units: Undead (Including but not limited to Skeletal Warriors, Undead Zombies, Death Knights, Liches...)]

[Skills: Necromantic Summoning, Parasitism, Contamination, Enslavement]

...(Click to expand)

[Equipment: None]

The stat boost was nice, but the real prize was the experience gained from the Goblin massacre. Interestingly, Arthur and John hadn't received any experience. "So only *I* get EXP for kills, but I get a share when *they* kill something," Alex mused. Eldoria, the game created by the gods, was designed to cultivate leaders, not fighters. Generals, not grunts. Finders of fire, not flippers of burgers.

Alex's path forward became clear: focus on development, amass resources, and bide her time. One day, her million-strong undead army would conquer Eldoria.

"From now on, Arthur and John handle the monster slaying. I'll get a cut of the EXP, and they'll level up. Win-win. I'll focus on... strategic castle management." *...and maximizing relaxation time.*

Besides EXP, the expedition had yielded other rewards:

[Wood: +6028 units]

[Stone: +9012 units]

[Magic Crystals: +189]

[Red Crystals: +7]

[Refined Iron: +1032 units]

[...]

Plus a bunch of miscellaneous junk, which Alex promptly deposited in her castle's warehouse. Combined with her previous earnings, her resource stockpile looked like this:

[Wood: 89347 units]

[Stone: 76248 units]

[Refined Iron: 1032 units]

[Magic Crystals: 694]

[Red Crystals: 15]

She ignored the less useful items like chicken crests, boar bristles, spider legs, and Goblin loincloths.

"Wow, I'm richer than I thought!" Castle upgrade, altar upgrade, Dragon Sparrow Saber crafting... so many possibilities! And after delivering the 200,000 units of cooked meat, she'd have another four million units of resources! Seven figures! She was taking off! And with the Goblin Skeletons mining iron ore, her ascent would only accelerate. By the end of the newbie period, she'd be leaving the other billions of lords in the dust. Eating her dust. Dust was all they'd get.

First things first: the Necromantic Altar. Her undead army was her greatest asset. The altar was her top priority.

[Upgrade Necromantic Altar? Cost: 500 Magic Crystals, 10 Red Crystals.]

[Yes] or [No]

"Yes."

[Congratulations! Necromantic Altar upgraded!]

[Necromantic Altar (Unique Building)]

[Level: Lv3]

[Allows one summoning per day]

[Current summonable unit options (choose three): 1. 10 Skeletal Warriors; 2. 10 Undead Zombies; 3. 2 Liches; 4. 2 Death Knights; 5. 1 Skeleton Dragon; 6. 1 Zombie Titan]

[Upgrade Requirements: 3000 Magic Crystals, 50 Red Crystals]

Still one summon per day, same six options, but now she could choose *three*! Skeleton Dragon and Zombie Titan were must-haves. And then... a Lich or a Death Knight? Spooky magic or badass cavalry? Her undead army was shaping up nicely. But that was for tomorrow. She couldn't summon again today.

Next up: the Equipment Forge. Time to make some weapons! The castle upgrade could wait.

She assigned two Level 1 Skeletal Warriors to the forge. Someone had to work the bellows. Skeletons would do. Anyone with hands would do.

With staff in place, the Dragon Sparrow Saber unlocked, and Refined Iron in hand, she was ready to go.

[Craft Dragon Sparrow Saber?]

[Yes] or [No]

"Yes."

[Cost: 20 units of Refined Iron, 2 Magic Crystals.]

One of the skeletons started working, expertly melting and hammering the iron. The forge imbued them with the necessary skills. Anyone could be a blacksmith! Even Alex!

[Ding!]

[Congratulations! You have crafted a Dragon Sparrow Saber!]

The skeleton presented Alex with a broad, heavy blade. The back of the blade was thick, with a row of circular holes and rings. Images of sparrows in flight adorned the rings. A coiled green dragon wrapped around the hilt. The Dragon Sparrow Saber.

[Dragon Sparrow Saber]

[Type: Weapon]

[Rank: 1]

[Quality: Fine]

[Attribute: +10 Strength]

"Fine quality?!" Equipment quality ranged from Normal to Fine to Perfect to Legendary. And she'd gotten a Fine quality item on her first try! "Clearly, being awesome comes with perks," she thought smugly.

+10 Strength. That was a significant boost! It was the difference between her Level 10 Strength and Arthur's Level 10 Strength, despite the difference in their Life Hierarchy Ranks. This saber could bridge the gap between King-rank and God-rank! Incredible! Life Hierarchy Ranks were notoriously difficult to advance. This weapon could bypass that limitation. Priceless.

And this was just a Rank 1 Fine quality item. Imagine the power of a high-rank Legendary item! The potential profits were mind-boggling.

Alex crafted as many sabers as her resources allowed.

[Congratulations! You have crafted a Dragon Sparrow Saber!]

[Congratulations! You have crafted a Dragon Sparrow Saber!]

[Congratulations! You have crafted a Dragon Sparrow Saber!]

[...]

51 sabers in total. 1020 units of Refined Iron and 102 Magic Crystals.

* 1 Perfect quality.

* 7 Fine quality.

* 43 Normal quality.

The Perfect quality saber granted +23 Strength! That was the Strength of a Level 23 Normal unit! Insane!

"This will sell for a fortune!" The other lords would go crazy for this.