Ace was on the edge of his seat when he lost sight of Rino. The reflecting pond could only reflect what happened in the material world. As Rino accepted the shadows, he was brought into the shadow realm with his magic. The farmhouse was empty, and nobody knew how Rino was faring in the shadow realm.

Three minutes passed, and yet, Rino was nowhere to be found. The God of Prayers considered going down in person to examine the farmhouse for traces of Rino to pull the lich out. The bond between Gods and their chosen apostles wasn't weak. However, Ace was a worrywart, and Rino was a reckless person.

In the shadow realm, Rino felt as if he was walking upside down on the frozen surface of a lake. Yet, he understood what he was looking at. Compared to the process of getting engulfed by darkness, the shadow realm was devoid of sensation. Rino moved around but felt no gravity or friction as he moved. It felt almost as if he was floating in outer space, watching a replicate of the world on the other side of this glass.

There was no noise, no pain, no hunger, no feeling. If anything, Rino noticed how eerie this was. His eyes looked at how slowly the grass blades swayed with the breeze outside his house. He could feel his mana depleting at a steady rate but more rapidly than he could replenish. He had no shadow in this realm and could not sense any of his slaves. If he had to describe this, it was like exploring the ocean with limited air. Rino knew he had to get out of here quickly. The more he travelled in this strange place, the more dangerous it was for him.

However, Rino also knew just how much would be too much for him. He wanted to find a safe spot to surface from, and while he had no idea how to do it yet, the lich was not in a rush. Thankfully, he knew this area well enough. Rino did not want to go too far from the farmhouse, but there was one place he needed to be in a jiffy.

Ace waited for five minutes and wondered if he should intervene. Sadly, he did not have enough divinity to meddle with Rino's activity. The lich's soul was still strongly connected to the small world, and Ace hoped that Rino wouldn't do anything so reckless while he was in the shadow realm.

As if Rino heard his plea, the lich reappeared in the small world, and the reflecting pond blurred to update itself to the target's most recent location.

"Why the graveyard?" Ace wondered as he watched Rino pull his hood up a little more to avoid getting burned by the sun.

Then, it made sense. Rino returned to the graveyard he first awoke at because it was the only other place he knew corpses were. Was the lich here to do what he failed to accomplish initially?

It took a lot of mana to teleport him from the farmhouse all the way to this graveyard. Yet, almost no time had passed since he entered the shadow realm. His connection with his summons was back, and Rino pressured them to work harder while reaping their generated mana. It should not be long until Rino could break a new barrier with so much mana.

There was only one thing Rino wanted to do now that he was back at this graveyard. Most of these coffins have been opened and robbed but the one thing that lingered other than half intact corpses. He wanted the souls and scent of death resting in this grave to come with him. He needed them to join his army of shadows so that he could become stronger.

When the summoning ritual started, Ace did not know to be impressed by Rino's savageness or resourcefulness. Who would have thought that the first place Rino wanted to teleport to was to a graveyard for the sake of mass recruitment? Even Gods were less shameless than him. The dead deserved their peace.

Rino rejoiced when he found the jackpot. The souls here were more resentful than the sabre-tooth wolf monster or the goblins. It could be because their graves had been dug up and ransacked multiple times or the poor state of their resting grounds that made these souls unhappy.

Whatever. They can take their complaints to the Gods after Rino dies. However, before that, he would make them work a little longer. If he wasn't allowed to rest in peace after death, these souls shouldn't complain. It was only fair that they suffered the same fate.

Hearing Rino's thoughts and complaints about the working conditions, Ace decided that he would stay a little longer as Noir for the next visit as some form of reward. They couldn't have him boycotting the kingdom building project now that things were starting to get interesting.

Human souls were more hideous when compared to the goblins and the wolf monster. Rino had to say they made excellent mana producers even if they were difficult to tame and negotiate. Ultimately, he could only use intimidation to pressure these weakened souls into servitude.

The shadow beneath him constantly clashed, and Rino could feel their resentment for him despite having their souls bound. He wasn't sorry for them. If anything, he was glad that they hated him this much. It was better to have workers with initiative than workers without initiative when it came to mana production.

Rino scouted around on foot after enslaving all the souls in this graveyard. There really wasn't much in the area apart from some animals that Rino mercilessly killed. He did not enslave their souls, for they were too weak to be of any use. However, he did carry them with him because they had meat that he could cure for Noir's next visit, as well as lovely fur that was soft and would make excellent quilts. These rabbits might not be very big, but if Rino hunted enough of them, he would have a coat by the time winter rolls by.

Up above, Ace tried not to turn pink, but the knowing look from Phil beside him made the God of Prayers look away. Seriously, that lich would be a lady charmer if he turned his infatuation with cats into one for women. The world cannot repopulate itself with just Rino's love for cats.