After settling the werewolves, Mike called Dorian over.
“Pick up the pig.”
Mike pointed to the ground where a small pig stood. Following Mike’s instructions, Dorian picked it up.
In Dorian’s arms, Pig Vladimir struggled violently, trying to resist.
But alas, he was just a pig.
Dorian pinched his nose in disgust, saying, “It smells like a bat, Master. This guy might be Vladimir’s pet!”
“Sort of. Follow me.”
Mike led the way, inspecting his castle.
The castle had four floors, all now fully restored. The lightning damage had been completely repaired.
From bottom to top, the lowest level was the dungeon.
“There are eight cells, capable of holding Battle General-level beings. With resource upgrades, it can be even stronger.”
Mike looked around, satisfied with the dungeon’s environment. “We can keep some farmed vampires here to provide essence blood.”
Dorian felt the pig in his arms twitch.
Maybe it was scared.
Next to the dungeon were two rooms.
One was a wine cellar.
The other room had a circular pool with a coffin lying quietly in it.
“A blood pool?”
[Place essence blood or regular blood here, and injured vampires can recover.]
Mike nodded. This Mistveil Castle was designed by vampires, so it wasn’t surprising to have such a feature.
After touring the lowest level, Mike returned to the first-floor hall.
The first floor of the castle was more functional, with a reception hall, stables, and so on.
Nothing particularly special.
The second floor had various rooms and a banquet hall, which Mike quickly glanced over.
With the Eye of Truth, Mike didn’t miss any information. No secrets could be hidden from him.
“The third floor…”
They reached the top floor and stopped.
[Enchantment Room, Forging Room, and a damaged Teleportation Array]
[Teleportation Array (Damaged): Can connect to the tenth floor of the Tower of Truth]
“Interesting.”
Mike himself didn’t need to return to the tenth floor.
His time was precious, meant for enhancing his strength and achieving SSSS ratings.
If he could repair the teleportation array, he could send Vladimir and other vampires back to gather resources and intelligence.
Understanding the tenth floor’s background story would be crucial for exploring the 20th, 30th, and other levels.
[Repair Materials: 0.3 tons of SS-grade ore, 0.2 tons of S-grade ore….]
The Eye of Truth provided a repair list, which Mike memorized.
Ores could be produced by the Storm Forge, and other materials could be purchased from the Mystic Market.
As for craftsmen to repair the array, dwarves were excellent candidates.
After touring the entire castle, Mike had a rough idea.
“Dorian, take note.”
Mike began, speaking slowly,
“Have the resting miners spare some manpower to convert the first and second floors of the castle into dormitories. Prioritize housing miners and dwarves, then werewolves, and lastly vampires.”
Here, Mike provided food and lodging but also made distinctions. He couldn’t treat everyone equally.
Those who worked hard deserved better treatment.
Moreover, the miners were the first to follow Mike, and their mining efforts had brought him immense wealth.
The pig in Dorian’s arms let out a weak grunt.
His meticulously crafted castle was to become a residence for a bunch of short-lived species!
Mike seemed to guess his thoughts and tapped the pig’s head with Force of Nature.
“If you’re not satisfied, I’ll have roast suckling pig tonight.”
Vladimir: …
“Also, have them create a work and production points system. High points can be exchanged for daily necessities and other desired items….”
Mike mentioned a few more details, which Dorian noted down.
With more people, management became more complex.
Fortunately, Mike preferred to focus on the big picture, delegating to trusted individuals and investing enough resources to ensure good results.
If Mike had to handle everything personally, managing these hundreds of people would have exhausted him long ago.
“Master, what about those stinky bats?”
After noting everything, Dorian asked, puzzled.
Mike had assigned tasks to everyone except the vampires.
“Let them rest for a couple of days. I’m fair and never force anyone to work.”
Mike knew that, unlike the werewolves, the young vampires hadn’t adjusted their attitudes yet.
Among the vampires, only Vladimir had the emotional intelligence to recognize their situation.
Mike said calmly,
“Provide them with only basic water and food. If they want more, they must work for it. I bet it won’t be long before they voluntarily ask to work, shedding their high-and-mighty noble airs.”
Voluntary work was always better than forced labor.
After speaking, Mike’s gaze fell on the pig.
Vladimir’s ears perked up, indicating he was listening.
“If any vampire can’t control their bloodlust and tries to harm anyone or the lizard.”
Mike’s voice remained calm, without any malice,
“There’s a medical procedure on Earth that can neuter animals. Trust me, you’ll be very popular in the boar pen. Do you understand?”
Vladimir nodded frantically, even letting out pig squeals.
[I… I understand]
He believed his new master would indeed do such a crazy thing.
Being killed wasn’t scary; death was just the beginning of a new life.
What was terrifying was that Mike had a hundred, a thousand ways to torture Vladimir.
Death was the least of his worries!
After inspecting the entire castle, Mike found it to be a decent reward.
An exclusive space, werewolf and vampire servants, with endless potential.
However… as an SSSSS-level reward, it still felt a bit lacking.
Mike’s gaze naturally fell on Vladimir.
This ‘pig’ was the biggest reward.
Vladimir, once a vampire prince and a Battle Lord-level powerhouse, was on par with the White Wolf King.
Setting aside Vladimir’s potential, he was also a key to uncovering the Tower of Truth’s background story!
The problem was, Mike had to pry open Vladimir’s mouth step by step.
This matter required patience.
Seeing the time approaching six o’clock, Mike stretched,
“Alright, that’s it for today.”
“Get to work. I need to go back to school.”
Dorian, Vladimir: ???
School?!
Their new master, the immensely powerful and ruthless Thor, was a student?
They were all shocked.
Mike turned into a white light and disappeared, leaving Dorian and Vladimir dumbfounded.
…
Summer camp, Area C.
When Mike returned to his dorm, a shadow was already waiting.
The air had a faint smell of blood.
Mike tentatively asked,
“Shadow Nine, are you there?”
“Get lost.”
As expected, it was the Irritable version of Shadow Nine.
This secret technique greatly boosted strength but had significant side effects. Mike decided he needed to find a way to persuade Shadow Nine to use it less.
“Shadow Nine, I conquered the tenth floor with an SSSSS rating!”
“Shadow Nine, I now have not only two mines but also a castle!”
“Shadow Nine, I have a prince-level pet…”
“…”
No matter what Mike said, Shadow Nine remained unmoved, ignoring him.
“Shadow Nine, I met Werewolf Dorian. He said he saw Morpheus back in the day….”
Swish—
Black mist instantly enveloped the entire dorm, isolating the space.
Shadow Nine’s raspy voice came from the mist,
“Dorian… he’s still alive?”