The Tarnished Gold Mine was the best option Kain could think of at the current time. It would get him a flat increase in the amount of mana he could access per month, which meant that he would be able to acquire other buildings far sooner than what would otherwise be the case. He was certain it wasn’t going to be a popular decision but he was willing to bend the promise of being better and not break it outright. If he had invested in one of the two more Militaristic buildings then he would have certainly gone back on his promise, at least from the view of the current citizens.

While the Gold Mine was not something that could put food in their bellies, it would be a long-term investment. Kain was willing to go out into the Gallows Woods and find food for these people with his own two hands if that was what was needed to prove he was not a despot, so he queued up the Tarnished Gold Mine for production. With a slight rippling feeling which emanated from the deepest depths of the castle, Kain could feel from his comfy chair that the amount of mana that was passing through the barrier was a bit more than what had previously been coming through. Via a console that manifested while he sat, Kain entered the pocket dimension that contained the Tarnished Gold Mine.

Kain was expecting that he would need to staff the mine myself, either with undead workers or living people, but instead, there was already a crew of undead miners picking away at the walls and floor of the mine. They didn’t seem to be making any progress with their swings, despite the sparks that appeared every time they swung their pickaxes, but somehow, Kain could tell that this entire mine and the zombie miners within were just for show. It was not the miners and their mining that provided the steady stream of mana, rather the entire mine and all within were just one big entity that gave him a greater stream of new city-use mana.

The zombie miners were nothing more than props, and the mine tunnels themselves were nothing more than a façade. The truth was that the mine was not an actual mine, but instead was just another part of the city, like a wall or the floor, except with a purpose that exceeded what normal buildings could do. Kain knew that after the barrier was down and he didn’t need the extra mana income he could instead switch this mana-generating fake mine to actually produce real gold. The best part about that eventuality was that the gold supply would be infinite, allheI needed at that point was a Mint and he could have the ability to cripple the economy of every nation on the planet (including his own) by drowning the world in gold coins and thus making gold as valuable as talc.

Kain exited the Tarnished Gold Mine and called a council of the leaders of the people who stayed behind. They were irritated that Kain had made a mine rather than give them a way to feed themselves without risking the madness of the Gallows Woods, but Kain placated their worries as much as possible and made it clear that he had promised to be better than his legends had said he was and that this was a long-term investment that would allow the acquisition of the Bleak Pastures and Corrupted Fields sooner than if he had made a military building first.

Kain also promised that he would go out beyond the city and hunt for game and gather edibles within the Gallows Woods, so they would not have to. They weren’t going to starve for the next few weeks anyway, as the vampire who ruled them previously had made sure to get a surplus of foodstuffs, so his cattle wouldn’t need to risk themselves as often. There was clean water, a sizeable stockpile of food, and rooves over their heads; having to wait another month for one of the agricultural buildings wasn’t going to kill them.

…

The best way to hunt in the Gallows Woods was to be the bait and catch your hunter before it could catch you. Seeing as Kain was powerful enough to kill a man in a single punch, he figured he was strong enough to take on most foes. Besides, he had curb stomped that vampire, too, and he managed to get through the Gallows Woods without taking a scratch, so how hard could hunting in the fog-enshrouded forest be?

It was harder than he thought. By far.

While the undead that made that place their home would not bother him for one reason or another, the living beings there certainly did. His trek through the forest had been uneventful the first time he had entered it, but the second time and afterward was like a near-endless arena fight against animals that all wanted to make Kain their dinner. If it wasn’t the wolves with no fur or lips, it was either the massive spiders or swarms of carnivorous bats the size of bald eagles. Kain could certainly gather veggies, nuts, and berries from the razor-thorned bushes, twisted trees, and other weird plants, but almost every two hours after he had dealt with the wave of animals that came at him there would be a rush from all the animals listed above once again.

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Unlike the first time Kain had entered the forest he was taking his time and walking rather than sprinting, so the beasts always could catch him. You might think that such a rush happening every two hours would be deadly and force him to retreat from the forest or hang out only on its outskirts, but Kain was made of sterner stuff than most people and used these rushes as breaks from the monotony and tedium of looking for edible plants. The fact that the attacks came at me like clockwork was useful as it let Kain set traps ahead of time. Making burning spike pits and other chokepoints using various different Magic spells and combinations of them was quite an interesting diversion, but all good things had to eventually end, and Kain finally left the Gallows Woods just before the sun had set.

His triumphant return with the bodies of over seven thousand bats, wolves, and spiders along with the massive amount of edible plants was met with both shock and joy. Kain was not carrying them on his person, rather in a pocket dimension using Space-Time Magic. As for why the people were shocked, that was because they thought no living being could last as long as Kain did in the madness-inducing, monster-filled hell that was the infamous Gallows Woods, let alone navigate the place and emerge unscathed. The fact that he was indeed Kain Anathemas Nekronus von Darksol was slowly being made more and more clear and when he dumped the bodies of his kills in the square for everyone to see; the evidence to support Kain's identity only grew more massive.

While the meat from the monsters was tough and gamey and the ‘edible’ plants were also quite unsatisfactory to his pseudo-Earthling taste buds, the fact that it kept people from thinking he would let them starve (despite the fact they already had a stockpile of food that would last them until he could make an agricultural building next month) and made them far more trusting of me was a plus. Kain had proven, at least for the moment, that he was not as cruel and heartless to the Human Race as the legends had said he was.

To further increase their respect for him, Kain created a walk-in freezer using Earth Magic to craft the exterior and filled the massive box of stone with literal tons of magically-made ice that he would re-freeze every day. With this and the walk-in refrigerator that Kain had made for everyone to use, the mood in the small town that occupied the massive and vacant city increased another notch. Kain was also more than willing to use his magic to grill and broil meat as well as use Death or Disease Magic to remove any pathogens, parasites, mold, and rot from the food that was available. The biggest surprise to the people who saw that was the fact that the nefarious and evil Death Magic could be used to do something so good and positive for people.

Kain reminded them that magic, like everything else, is just a tool. Tools can be used for many purposes other than what most people would use them for. A hammer can help build a house but can also sash a man’s face in. A Fire Spell could light a life-saving bonfire in the middle of a blizzard but could also turn a man into a living torch. Death Magic and Disease Magic were just tools. They were tools more commonly used to harm others, but that did not mean they could not be used to help them. Treating the diseased people in the town with Death or Disease Magic was an eye-opener for those who chose to stay. With their illnesses practically disappearing overnight due to the usage of a heretical form of magic was something they would have to reconcile themselves with, especially since using Light Magic to do the same took multiple treatments over the course of just as many days.

Kain was earning their trust rather quickly; in fact, he was earning it far faster than he had anticipated. But the next month would be a game-changer, as once either the Corrupted Fields or the Bleak Pastures were made, he would be able to spend more time exploring what he could do and what secrets his old castle held. Although there was enough food now to last two to three months due to his jaunt through the forest, Kain still had another thirty days until he could make either of the agricultural buildings. He was intent on stockpiling as much of a reserve of food as he could, just in case there was a need for it, so Kain decided that until the month was over, he would make at least three trips to the Gallows Woods per week and see how long it would take and how much was needed to fill his Inventory.