Seeing the three "country bumpkins" so surprised, a few others nearby couldn't help but boast.
"It's not just this, there's also the castration technique taught by the lord. It's said that in two years, we can slaughter these wild boars! They'll grow much faster than those in the wild."
"What!"
"Doesn't that mean we can sell pork every two years?" The three attendants felt as though they were hearing some kind of absurd tale.
Although they thought life would be better following Lord Sivis, the level of improvement was simply too exaggerated.
"Have we stepped from hell into heaven??"
The elderly attendant's face was full of astonishment.
The original villagers nearby shook their heads with a smile. "It's not exactly heaven, you know. Since we've officially become the lord's subjects, Lord Sivis will be collecting taxes."
"Let's hope the taxes aren't too high."
The two young attendants chimed in.
"Given Lord Sivis's great kindness, he definitely won't impose heavy taxes!"
"It should be around a fifty percent tax rate."
"Maybe after slaughtering the wild boars, we'll still have some meat left!"
The remarks of the two young attendants were met with much approval.
It wasn't just the three attendants.
The other villagers were also filled with hopeful expressions.
In this territory, they could survive and continuously accumulate wealth.
It wasn't quite heaven, but it was probably the closest thing to heaven.
…
On the other side, Sivis arrived at a secluded spot, opened up his Soul Shop system page, and prepared to make some serious purchases.
Before that, though, he had one more task—selecting a new talent.
A system prompt popped up in front of him.
[You have successfully leveled up to Monster Lord Level 3. Please choose a talent to acquire from this upgrade.]
The luck he had in drawing talents during his second level up was so good that Sivis didn't have particularly high expectations this time.
As the screen flickered before him, two talents appeared. Both were decent. One was "Command Strategy," which granted a 20% power boost to monsters and villagers when Sivis personally commanded them in battle. It was a highly versatile ability.
The other talent was [Extraordinary Dark Power].
Seeing the name of the talent, Sivis froze for a moment. "This... this wasn't in the Monster Lord talent pool from my previous life."
He quickly selected to view the details of the talent.
Soon, Sivis's expression returned to calm.
"Extraordinary Dark Power" didn't come from his past life's talent pool; it originated from his position as an Evil God.
The talent's effect allowed him to extract a portion of the potential from all his subjects.
However, to activate it, he needed the consent of all the villagers.
The reason it was called "Dark Power" was because the talent description recorded that the Evil God had forced countless enslaved beings to give up their potential through horrific bloody suppression.
Every bit of potential extracted by Extraordinary Dark Power was tainted with the aura of slaughter.
Sivis didn't hesitate much and chose the "Extraordinary Dark Power" talent.
In the game, the strength of the Monster Lord itself isn't very important. As long as the development pace keeps up with the creation of guardians, it's fine. In reality, while a strong territory is important, personal strength is equally essential.
After making his choice, Sivis felt a surge of power.
"Extraordinary Dark Power" transformed into a beam of light and surged into Sivis's body.
He felt a special switch appear in his mind; with just a thought, he could now extract potential.
"Shall I give it a try?" Sivis snapped his fingers.
At the same time, a strange wave of intent entered the minds of the monsters, and they sensed the request to offer up their potential.
"What? We have to give a portion of our potential to Lord Sivis? Really? We're willing!"
"We are willing to offer our strength to make Lord Sivis stronger!"
The Goblins and Stone Demons eagerly agreed, one after the other.
These two types of monsters were eager to pledge their loyalty to the Lord. They wouldn't hesitate to offer up not just one portion of their potential, but even ten, if needed.
Before Sivis contracted with them, the Goblins and Stone Demons had no opportunity for advancement. It was his agreement with them that gave them a chance to grow stronger.
Having received so much, they were more than willing to give back even a small portion.
Lord Sivis... truly is magnificent!
Meanwhile, countless villagers also sensed Sivis's request and similarly agreed without hesitation in their minds.
To them, as commoners, their lives were insignificant. If Lord Sivis wanted their lives, they would have to obediently offer them. Let alone this so-called potential.
"My goodness, after joining the territory, the potential was only taken once! And you know, now all the nobles collect at least fifty percent in taxes."
"Lord Sivis is so kind!"
As they agreed, the people couldn't help but feel moved.
Sivis had no idea of the gratitude echoing outside.
He only felt that, with each surge of potential power entering his body, a certain restriction within him was broken.
For the monsters and villagers, a portion of potential wasn't much. But for Sivis, even a tiny amount of power accumulated over time could lead to a dramatic transformation in his body.
His ability to sense external magic significantly increased, and he could even see vibrant, colorful elemental sparks flashing before his eyes.
"My potential has broken through!" Sivis couldn't contain his excitement.
In this world, potential ranged from A to F, with six levels in total.
Sivis only had E-level magical talent, which meant his training speed was slow. So far, he had only reached the Fourth Stage of Bronze.
As far as he knew, once potential was set, it was nearly impossible to improve.
Sivis never expected that, with the help of his Evil God status, he would break through the shackles of his potential.
"Good, good, good!" He trembled with excitement. Advancing a level in his potential would have an immeasurable impact on his abilities.
Previously, Sivis would have needed to spend 100 soul points to buy resources just to break through to the Fifth Stage of Bronze.
Now, with his new talent, just one potion could help him break through even further.
Sivis's eyes shone brightly, and the magic within him surged like a roaring wave.
In an instant, his aura skyrocketed, smoothly reaching the Fifth Stage of Bronze.
He had been stuck at this point for a long time, but after breaking through his potential, his strength also surged smoothly!
Sivis could feel the surging energy within him, and a smile unconsciously spread across his face.
He thought about how, with only a hundred villagers at present, he could already use the potential they offered to break through to D-level potential.
If the number of villagers increased drastically in the future… wouldn't he skyrocket?
After all, it was normal for a Monster Lord in the later stages to control hundreds of thousands of villagers.
Even though the difficulty would increase with each level of potential.
As his territory grew, the speed at which his villagers increased would also accelerate.
"This talent is incredible!" Sivis was overjoyed.
Previously, he had often complained that the Evil God position was useless.
But now, it seemed…
Sorry! I was wrong!
With his heart racing, Sivis quickly opened the Soul Shop, preparing to exchange for potions that would enhance his strength.
"Next, I need to return to my family. It's the perfect time to digest these potions on the way."
He felt a bit anxious.
Although his family members might only try to take his property, they wouldn't go as far as trying to kill Reina.
But still...
Just the thought that his little maid, who had been relying on him, might be bullied made Sivis feel restless!
He just wanted to get back home as soon as possible!
It would take about a day to travel from Hanseter to Minet City, which was just enough time for him to digest the potions and enhance his strength.
As Sivis opened the Soul Shop, a series of prompt options appeared—
[You have successfully performed Corpse Resurrection, sacrificing the adventurer Johnny, and gained 200 soul points.]
[You sacrificed the adventurer Zemur, gaining 100 soul points and a Holy Light Crystal.]
[You sacrificed... ]
This wave of gains was quite substantial.
Corpse Resurrection allowed Sivis to gain an additional 50-60% in soul points. This time, he had earned 510 soul points in total.
"So many additional rewards from this one!" Sivis was extremely pleased.
He thought about it and found it quite reasonable—
Johnny was strong, so his soul points were worth a lot, especially with the bonus from Corpse Resurrection.
This was a huge windfall!
With 500 soul points in hand, Sivis knew that after he exchanged the potions to enhance his own strength, he could use the remaining resources to enhance both the Goblins and Stone Demons.
Without hesitation, he purchased a Source of Mana, a bronze-level enhancement item worth 100 points, from the personal enhancement page of the store.
In an instant, a beam of light flashed, and a small, metallic-looking spherical object appeared in his hand.
As soon as he touched it, Sivis could feel the powerful force contained within. Without a second thought, he swallowed it whole.
The Source of Mana, when consumed, could either be actively refined or passively enhance magical power. Sivis didn't hesitate; he consumed it right away. As for the enhancement items for the Goblins and Stone Demons, he hadn't bought them yet. He planned to return to his family, retrieve the resources, and exchange them before proceeding.
"Reina, wait for me, I'll be back soon." Sivis appeared calm on the surface, but inside, he was incredibly anxious!
He could hardly wait to return to his little maid's side.
But with the territory facing a life-threatening disaster earlier, Sivis had been unable to leave.
Just as he was deep in thought,
Sivis's expression suddenly changed— a blinding beam of holy light erupted within the territory!