Checking the system panel, she noted the time, 8:30 p.

m.

I slept for nearly 4 hours.

Her inbox contained several unread messages from Orphan Xiao.

Orphan Xiao, are you there, boss? 6:00.

Orphan Xiao, when can we trade? 6:30.

Orphan Xiao, please reply when you see this.

7:30.

His urgency was palpable.

Messages spaced precisely 30 minutes apart.

A twinge of guilt pricked her.

She couldn't very well admit she'd been napping.

A boss persona demanded an air of perpetual busyness.

Hastily, she typed a response, unwilling to let this lucrative deal slip away.

Huang Castle, apologies.

I was occupied earlier.

Give me a moment and we'll proceed with the trade.

Bayou had just sent the message when she received an almost instantaneous reply.

Xiao<unk>'s orphan.

Good.

Thank you, esteemed one.

Bayou surmised that the other party likely had some leftover food.

If she continued to delay, she would probably go hungry for a couple of meals.

She glanced at the mountain of animal corpses piled beside her, then at the dark water altar, and fell into a deep silence.

Never mind.

Let's first check my attributes.

Lord Bayou.

Having absorbed the primordial power, the left eye of the undead queen awakens, permanently increasing all attributes by 15 points and enhancing both health and mana by 10 points.

Bayou.

Chapter 21.

The left eye Bayou had absorbed the entirety of the Blackwater altar, yet it had only granted her a mere 15 points, devoid of any accompanying skills.

Was it possible that the scythe had stolen half of the energy, resulting in an incomplete evolution? She gazed below, her large eyes blinking inquisitively.

What exactly was the queen's left eye? Rushing back to her chamber in the castle, Bayou peered into the mirror, still confronted by her pair of bright blue eyes, she tug at her left eyelid, flipping it up and down, but discerned no difference from her right eye.

Subsequently, she accessed her personal attributes interface and noticed a small question mark beside her name.

Why you clicked on it? Hint.

The left eye of the undead queen masters all summoning and transformation spells requiring neither incantation nor chant.

The magical level will progressively unlock with the lord's level.

Further details are left for the lord to explore.

How unthoughtful.

At the very least, it should inform me of the spells available in my current stage and their corresponding mana costs.

Bayou felt exasperated, realizing that her left I had siphoned away most of the energy.

She hoped it would prove powerful enough.

Otherwise, she would be utterly exhausted during the recovery period of the Blackwater altar.

Wait a moment.

Didn't te the hint mention that I could master all summoning magic.

Bayou exited her chamber and stepped outside the castle where a cluster of corpses awaited her to test her newfound abilities.

The instant she beheld the mass of bodies, she suddenly comprehended the magic in her mind, even knowing how to wield it.

Remarkably, Bayou discovered she could transform these corpses into bone beasts rather than merely summoning them as humanoid skeletons.

However, when it came to these wild boores, she decided to refrain.

Indeed, it seemed she would not perpetually summon ordinary undead from the carcasses of wild creatures.

If she were to slay a wild boar and summon a skeleton, it would feel trivial as the skeleton would undoubtedly possess greater strength.

However, if she were to vanquish a dragon and the resultant summon was still a skeleton, she could only imagine the ensuing frustration.

A gray symbol manifested within the pupils of her left eye, and soon her entire left eye radiated a ghostly blue glow.

A massive gray formation materialized at the foot of the castle with undead beings emerging from within.

Before long, the formation ceased, producing any more undead.

It seemed all the corpses have been summoned.

Bayou halted the magic, the symbol in her eye vanished, the glow subsiding as her eye returned to its normal state.

However, she felt a slight dizziness and quickly checked her mana levels.

Mana 50.

No mana had been consumed.

Then would have been expended.

mental energy, physical strength, or perhaps her very soul.

Regardless, this was astonishing.

She was utterly enamored.

One could say that by us left, I had transformed into a living Blackwater altar, albeit lacking the altar's enhancements.

She surveyed her newly summoned soldiers, a total of 40 level one undead of various types, 25 level two skeleton soldiers, wraiths, and zombies, but no undead knights.

Finally, there were 10 level three advanced classes, five skeletal warriors, two death knights, two king souls, and one death warrior.

A total of 75 corpses have been summoned, and they can now be decomposed.

Congratulations, Lord, on successfully decomposing.

A total of 1 400 portions of food have been acquired, of which the Xiao orphans require 500 portions.

The remaining food can continue to be listed on the marketplace.

As for reserving some for the Xiao orphans, Bayou is far too astute to do so.

Leaving food for others would only result in an influx of stones and without wood that is untenable.

Bayou initiated a private chat Hong fort.

The food has been collected.

Shall we trade now? The Xiao orphans.

Sure, great leader.

I have no objections.

Just as by you intended to respond, the trading interface popped up.

The Xiao orphans has initiated a trade with you.

Trade content 10 0000 units of stone for 500 portions of food.

Do you agree? Agreed.

By you clicked on agree, probably anticipating the eagerness of the other party.

The 500 portions of food in the warehouse vanished in an instant, replaced by 10 000 units of stone.

The Xiao orphans.

Can you trade regularly? Great leader Huang Fort.

Do you only have stones? That poses quite a challenge.

The Xiao orphans.

I can trade stones with other lord for wood.

How does a two one ratio of wood to stone sound? If I cannot consume all your food, how about you list it on the marketplace? Huang fort.

A pleasant collaboration indeed.

There must be lords born in mountainous regions abundant with stone, just as there are those unfortunate ones born amidst dense forests, resulting in a perfect contrast.

One with only stone, the other with only wood.

Fortunately, the marketplace functionality allows lords to supplement their lacking resources.

H Why does it feel like something is a miss? Ah, will I acquire the magic crystals? Buy you previously traded in wood, stone, and magic crystals.

And selling all the food still yielded a portion of magic crystals.

This is far more efficient than farming monsters for magic crystals.

Never mind.

Since a collaboration has been agreed upon, it would be prudent to reserve this food for now.

limiting the sales and setting all to magic crystal trades instead.