Graveyard Demon

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[Welcome, No. 629SHD2S0FXC30, to Novice World 5QPRPZ222FT. World Difficulty: Tier 1. World Background: Unknown.]

[Main Quest: Within ten days, find suitable materials, complete the first upgrade of the graveyard, and activate talent (Gravekeeper).

Failure Penalty: Demonic Possession (Kill/Devour), Talent Level Weakening, Permanent Inability to Level Up.]

"Liar!"

The light-gold system text slowly dissipated before his eyes. Before the afterglow had completely faded, Gu Su gritted his teeth and squeezed out these two words. The rage in his chest almost threatened to burst from his throat.

He suppressed the urge to kick something and quickly scanned his surroundings, trying to get a clear picture of his environment.

Normally, it should be noon with the sun blazing in the sky, but before Gu Su, there was only oppressive gloom. The air was filled with the stench of soil and decay, a sense of desolation washing over him.

He stood on a clearing about the size of a basketball court. In the center of the clearing stood a dead giant tree, its dark branches bare and reaching towards the sky like twisted ghost claws.

Next to the giant tree was a dilapidated tent. The canvas was riddled with holes, and unknown dried vines hung from its edges. Outside the tent, a circle of stones enclosed a simple campfire, which now contained only black ashes, not even a spark of fire.

Gu Su's gaze swept outwards from the center. Around the giant tree, six or seven newly dug empty graves were scattered. The soil around the edges of the graves still had a moist sheen.

Three of the graves contained wooden coffins with their lids off. The coffins were mottled, and worm-eaten holes were faintly visible; the remaining graves were completely empty, without even a straw mat to lay a body on, only cold earth exposed.

Further out, the edge of the clearing was surrounded by a decaying wooden fence. Most of the wooden planks were broken and stood crookedly, as if a strong gust of wind could topple them.

Beyond the fence was churning, greyish-white mist. The mist was as thick as undissolved pus, slowly swirling in the wind.

Faintly, blurred black shadows could be seen flashing within the mist, like an invisible giant mouth lurking in the darkness, ready to devour him and this graveyard at any moment.

"This is insane!" Gu Su couldn't help but roar, his fists clenching with a creak.

"What happened to the promised acre of land? How small is this place? Liars! A bunch of damned liars!"

This was a game, a bizarre world where reality and another realm intertwined.

All humans in the world were born players. Everyone could activate a basic game system, but to step into another realm and conquer it, to gain greater power, one had to activate at least one of the four core cheat systems: "Land, Magic, Companions, Wealth."

Those without a cheat system could only remain trapped in the basic game their entire lives, doing repetitive and tedious tasks like mining and hauling, forever stuck at Level 1, becoming "game laborers" who could barely make a living.

Because of this, the items needed to activate the four cheat systems were priced astronomically. Any slightly rare item would be snatched up the moment it was released, leaving no chance for ordinary people to get their hands on them.

Gu Su was a transmigrator, having arrived in this damn world.

At first, he was happy that he could play games with his physical body.

But reality hit him hard after a few days. Without money or parents, he simply couldn't compete with those who were born with cheat systems.

He could only manage to get into a vocational college, studying and working part-time, and finally taking a job as the most cost-effective undead mage.

He couldn't even participate in normal games, only commanding zombies to mine for others, acting as cheap labor.

To escape the fate of being a "game laborer," he saved diligently for three full years, pouring all his savings into a cheat system that was advertised as "integrating mobile, construction, corpse raising, and troop training functions" – the Gravekeeper.

The merchant had boasted, patting their chest, that the Gravekeeper started with an acre of land, came with core buildings and mobile functions, and was the optimal choice for undead mages.

But who would have thought that after entering the official game with great anticipation, he would find it completely misrepresented?

The promised acre of land had shrunk by half, becoming this palm-sized area before him.

The building and mobile functions advertised were nowhere to be seen, leaving only a dilapidated graveyard and a few useless decorations.

If it weren't for the mandatory retention period for the first entry into the official game, which prevented him from exiting midway, Gu Su would have taken this broken graveyard and found that swindler right now, smashing this broken talent in his face and letting his blood stain this false graveyard red!

After his anger simmered for a while, Gu Su finally calmed down, remembering the immediate priority.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the hostility in his heart, and softly uttered, "Panel."

As soon as he spoke, a semi-transparent light blue screen appeared out of thin air before him, its soft glow dispelling some of the surrounding gloom.

Gu Su quickly scanned the information on the screen, and his suspended heart settled by half.

Although it was a shrunken "lite" version, at least the product wasn't completely wrong; the Gravekeeper talent was indeed obtained.

As long as he could complete the activation quest, he would truly possess a cheat system, which was better than being a "game laborer" for life.

"Forget it, I'll deal with the quest first," Gu Su gritted his teeth, comforting himself, "Even if it's bad, it's still a cheat system. If I work hard, I can slowly grow it."

[Name: Gu Su]
[Profession: Undead Mage]
[Level: 1]
[Title: None]
[Talent: Gravekeeper (Earth Attribute, Unactivated)]
[Attributes: Strength 1.1, Agility 1.0, Constitution 1.3, Spirit 2.9]
[Active Skills: Summon Undead (Level 1)]
[Passive Skills: Basic Science (Level 3 + Level 2), Basic Language (Level 2), Basic Survival (Level 2)]
[Experience: 0/100]

Putting away his personal panel, Gu Su quickly walked towards the dilapidated tent in the center of the graveyard. The moment his fingertip touched the rough canvas, a line of system messages popped up, causing his expression to darken again.

[Name: Barren Graveyard (Grey Quality)]
[Level: 0]
[Traits: Graveyard Demon (Grey), Area Reduced by 50%, Movement Function Disabled, Yin Gathering Function Disabled, Death Devour Function Disabled]
[Attached Buildings:
1. Ghastly Tree (Level 1): Graveyard Defense Core, Current Status: Weakly Operational
2. Dilapidated Tent (Level 1): Graveyard Building Core and Residence, Current Status: Intact
3. Yin Fire Pit (Level 0): Can gather Yin energy, Current Status: Disabled (Requires special fuel to activate)
4. Empty Graves (1x Level 3, 2x Level 2, 3x Level 1): Placing corpses can automatically convert them into undead population for the holder to control.
5. Decaying Fence (Level 1): Basic defense facility, can block low-level foreign enemy invasion, Current Status: Ruined
6. Earthbound Vein (Level 0): Can enable graveyard movement, Current Status: Disabled (Requires completion of corresponding task to repair)
7. Corrupted Mycelium (Level 0): Can absorb death, Yin energy, undead and other attribute items/anomalies/props/buildings to expand graveyard area, Current Status: Disabled (Requires completion of corresponding task to repair)]
[Description: This is a deteriorated Graveyard Demon core that has changed hands multiple times. Most of its core functions are permanently damaged, leaving only basic undead attributes. To ordinary people, it is still a special cemetery with extraordinary potential, but to necromancers, its value is greatly diminished.]

"Damn profiteers!" Gu Su couldn't hold back any longer and cursed loudly, his voice filled with gnashing hatred. "Next time I see you in the game, I'll grind you into dust and make your soul suffer in this graveyard forever!"

He never expected those profiteers to be so black-hearted, not only shrinking the area but also disabling several of the Graveyard Demon's most crucial functions. What was even more outrageous was that they had even cleared out the initial undead that should have come with it, leaving only a few empty graves. Everyone knew that a Level 1 necromancer could only use the Raise Undead spell, and that spell required existing corpses or souls. Before he could kill a target and obtain a corpse, he couldn't even summon a single undead minion. With his Level 1 combat power and generally low stats, going out to hunt was no different from delivering himself as food. He'd likely be torn apart by whatever was in the mist outside the fence the moment he stepped out.

Gu Su stood there in despair, contemplating how to complete the task within ten days. Suddenly, a "Heh heh heh" cackling sound echoed from the mist outside the decaying fence. The laughter was sharp and thin, carrying an indescribable lewdness and greed that made one's scalp tingle. But the next second, Gu Su's eyes suddenly lit up. That was the sound of goblins! Without thinking, he immediately ran madly in the direction of the sound. This graveyard was only about the size of a basketball court, and in a few steps, he reached the edge of the decaying fence. As he approached, the mist outside the fence seemed to disperse slightly, allowing him to see about ten meters ahead. In the mist, six or seven green monsters, less than a meter tall, were stooping and stumbling towards them. They had skinny bodies like withered branches, their skin a nauseating grayish-green, like rotten moss. Their flat noses protruded like a pig's snout, and two yellowish tusks jutted out from mouths split to their ears, still dripping with unknown slime. They held a motley assortment of "weapons." Some were sharpened stones, others were gnawed animal bones, and a few were thick branches. These goblins huddled together in twos and threes, seemingly covering each other, but their faces were full of a craving for flesh. As they ran, they occasionally let out "heh heh" cackles, their ugliness on full display. Goblins, the lowest-tier monsters in all games, weak, greedy, and cowardly. Even an ordinary dog could chase a group of goblins. But at this moment, these ugly little creatures were more enticing to Gu Su than any treasure. They were his hope of completing the task! Gu Su's gaze sharpened, and he quickly glanced down, picked up a sharp-edged stone about the size of his head, and hurled it fiercely at the decaying fence. With a dull thud, the stone hit the wood, making a grating sound. "Mongrels! Look over here!" Gu Su roared, his voice laced with deliberate provocation. The loud noise and angry shout instantly alerted the goblins. They stopped, their small green eyes fixed on Gu Su, scanning him back and forth. Confirming he was alone, their eyes flashed with excited red light, and they charged towards the fence, brandishing their "weapons" and shouting. "Meat! Big chunks of meat!" "Catch them! Roast them and eat them!" Hoarse and greedy shouts rose one after another as the goblins waved their "weapons" and charged frantically towards the barren graveyard with their disordered footsteps.