"Okay Allia, you can begin with your report." I sat down and nodded to Allia.
"Right away, my lord. We're doing pretty good with construction, and it's going pretty fast. We also began trading with the fishing village."
"That's it?" I looked at her. She looked flustered.
sigh "Did the iron trade go well? Did you make the weapons? Do we have enough food? We traded food in the end."
"Oh, those things. Everything was fine, my lord. I handled everything."
"Yeah right, you're amazing. So, how long did it take to make all those weapons?"
"It's already done, my lord. After we bought iron and equipment from the beastkin, everything was finished in three days."
"So you're already using the spears?"
"No, we put them in storage. We thought it'd be better if you decided."
"Okay. You did good. You can take your leave—and make a proper report next time, or at least try."
"Okay." She walked out sulking.
"Hey system, show me how much stats I earned."
[Right here, your status.]
StatusName: EvanderAge: 20 (Body)Race: UnnamedBody: 20 + 3Magicka: 21 + 4Skills: Spartan Fighting Style – Level 2Weapon Mastery – Level 2Magic Mastery – Level 1Status Points: 10
Let's add those 10 points too—it'll make me even stronger. Five to Body and five to Magicka.
[Added.]
That's good too, but getting stronger is still so hard. I've been here for almost two and a half months, and I've only gotten a bit more than twice as strong—even with the added points.
"Hey system, why is the progress so slow?"
[It's not slow. I'd say it's pretty fast.]
sigh "Whatever. Show me my storage."
[Here is the storage window.]
Gold Coins: 400,000
Books: 125
Pile of Gold Junk
"What... Fuck, that's a shit ton of gold." It didn't look like that much when it was just a pile on the ground.
"And what do you mean by 'junk'? At least say 'scrap.'"
[I changed it.]
I became rich overnight. I can fund myself with this much—at least in the beginning. It'll make it easier to conquer.
But now that I think about it, it's not actually that great. Even just for a hundred soldiers' wages—without counting food or equipment—it'll cost 40 gold per month. That's way too pricey.
"Well, it's still a great amount anyway."
At that moment, I looked back at the books.
"Give me one of the books."
A book appeared in my hand. It felt cool and emitted a faint magical aura.
"Did he enchant it to prevent decay or something? I can't really tell."Let's see what it says.
I opened it and found out it was written in the same language the beastkin use. I guess it's some kind of common tongue. But I've seen some writing—like at the tomb door—that wasn't in this language or alphabet.
Let's just start reading.It's a book about the basics of magic. It's fascinating how much information is in this one book.
I read for a while.
[Ding. Your Magic Mastery has become Level 2.]
"Wait, does reading help with leveling?"
[No. Information helps. You gained knowledge, so you leveled up.]
At that moment, someone knocked and came in.
It was Allia and Orec. He looked more like a leader now.
"Orec, welcome back. How are you? How are things going in the village?" I asked while setting the book aside.
"I'm good, my lord. Thank you. There was a small incident, but it's not too bad." He bowed.
"You can get up. Explain how things are going in detail."
He got up and started speaking."My lord, everything is as you'd expect. The villagers fish, farm, and sell salt. They're not exactly poor, but they can't get rich either. The council takes almost everything extra."
"I mean, they only have enough to eat."
"Hmm. Okay. Trade them food for salt like you do, Orec. And Allia—make sure the food is enough until the next harvest, at least."
"And collect 50% tax."
"Yes, my lord. I also recruited 20 militia per your orders."
"I'm guessing they're not the best. Do they even have weapons?"
"They have axes and pitchforks, maybe. I also ordered them to make wooden shields. They can barely fight."
sigh "That's fine. Just train them so they don't die immediately or run away. But you said 'incident'—was it something with the fishermen?" I tried to guess.
"No, my lord. Everything's fine with them. Last night, six villagers tried to sneak into my house and kill me. But as you know, I can handle a few villagers."
"Did you kill them?" We might as well make them slaves or something—we need more population to work.
"Yes. Only one is alive. The other five are dead."
"That's fine. Hang their heads for others to see. As for the one who survived... just take him and his family—they're yours as slaves."
"Both the husband and wife work for me. I'm sure they can't even farm, so take them. They should be useful."
"Thank you, my lord." He looked pleased.
I don't know if I made the right decision, but we'll see. Anyway, no need to worry.
"Okay, Orec, you can take your leave if there's nothing important. Allia, you stay for a second."
"Yes, my lord." After Orec left, I turned back to Allia.
"Allia, can you tell the carpenter to make me a bookshelf? The same as the others will do."
"I can do that, my lord. It should be ready in a couple of days."
I looked at Allia from head to toe, then sent her away.
I opened my book and started talking to the system while flipping pages.
"Hey system, are you sure I can have children? It doesn't seem like it."
[You can. It might be harder than for normal people, but the chances are nearly the same.]
"If you say so. I hope it happens soon."I went back to my room and started reading again.
Right after I sat down, a maid came and said:
"My lord, a man has arrived. He says you called for him. His name is Tonsen—the bald guy."
"Hmm. Do you know him? You sound like you do."
"Uhh yes, my lord. I'm sure everyone knows him. He's a good guy and helps everyone. Plus, once you see someone that shiny, you can't forget it."
Well, I suppose this town only has a couple hundred people. It's normal to know everyone.
"Okay, tell him to come here. Get him a chair so we can talk."
"Right away."After that, the maid left in a hurry.