Planning

Erwin spent the rest of the day resting and reviewing what he had aquired from the game. He pulled items out of the inventory and appraised them. It was a weird and novel experience, to suddenly be quite knowledgable and skilled in a field he had never practiced before.

When he edited his game stats, he gave himself superior attributes to the basic starting ones. It had transfered as well to his body. He was stronger and faster than his predecessor, and most importantly, he had a lot of room to grow. After all, he had raised the attributes cap to the maximum. In a corner of his mind, he wondered if his high potential would be inherited by his children.

He also tested the effects of certain items, namely the furnitures. In the game, they gave bonuses depending on which kind of room they were used in. Erwin only tested the bedroom furnitures, such as the bookshelves, wardrobes and potted plants. They were supposed to increase the wisdom of the character.

He was quite surprised to actually feel more inspired with several of them placed in the room. However, that only applied to his crafting skills. He got insights on new ideas for both known items and new ones. For anything aside from crafting, he was still the same. It wouldn't help him be a better landlord, trader or military commander.

'No matter how good I am as a Meister, I'll still need specialists to make this territory prosper...' he thought at the end of his tests.

It was the evening, after dinner, and Erwin was in his room. Thanks to magic, having some light at night wasn't expensive, and even the poorest peasant could afford a basic magic lantern. He was siting at his desk, reviewing the papers that William and lord Collins had given him.

"Damn. Things are a bit more complicated than expected" he said with a grimace. "Manpower, equipment, and food. Those are the 3 main problems of Darkmoor's population... And while the later 2 could be helped with money, the question of the source of the funds would bring more trouble.."

The Heizenbourg kingdom was one of the 9 countries of Agimoz continent. It shared a border with 5 other countries, including 3 non-humans ones , and had a sea side facing toward Dan Mukir continent and the Xilawax archipelago. Thus, it was a country where all races could be found. However, due to ancient religious beliefs, history and pride, non-humans were treated as second-class citizens, just above slaves. Thankfully, slavery was outlawed in the country.

Because of the difficult living conditions, the population of non-humans was barely 10% of the total population. Yet, in Darkmoor, the non-human made 30% of the population. The humans settling in Darkmoor usually weren't the best the country had to offer. Then, the non-humans who couldn't live in the rest of the kingdom, gathered there as well.

"Even thought they are hardworking (not like they have a choice on the matter), most of the people here have little to no talent at all. It takes time for them to reach a level of skill acceptable for the rest of the country. At that point, many of them prefer to leave for a better place" he said in frustration.

'I know I can make wonderful items and potions with my synthesis skill, but with low quality manpower, the efficiency would be reduced' he thought with a grumble. 'The only thing that could improve their basic abilities is some kind of elixir that would permanently raise their stats. Something based on the attribute boosting salves and growth stones, and that can be distributed on a large scale without anyone noticing.'

After the problem of manpower came the problem of military equipment. While he could produce quality goods, he was still only one person. It was reality, where he had to do everything by hand. Not a game where all he had to do was make sure he had the recipes and materials, then click on the craft icon to instantly make the product. Here, making a single item would take time, making hundreds of them would take months.

'I need to either develop some kind of automated production system, or make a few key items that would be tip the scales of any battles in our favour. Tactical grade trump cards. Maybe both.'

He stood up and started pacing around.

'Then again, before that, I need to equip my workshop with basic tools before using the content of my inventory... I should build these basic tools and equipment using the castle smithy and workshop. Then give the impression that I upgraded them over time. That process should take around a month or so. 1 week for installation, 3 weeks for upgrades.'

Erwin nodded to himself, satisfied with the idea, before stiffening.

'However, that leaves the problem of where my crafting skills came from... I'll just say I kept them secrets while learning from books, and looking for inspiration in stories? I could also add that being a blacksmith and woodcrafter wasn't exactly a proper occupation for a noble of royal blood!'

And it wouldn't be a lie. Aside from territory management, trading and serving the country as a knight or mage, others occupations were deemed unfit for people of noble rank. Arts were accepted for a noble daughter, or as a hobby for a son.

'... Starting with the smithing and woodcrafting part of my synthesis skill is a good excuse. I can use the death of my mother and my own near death experience to explain my talent in enchanting and alchemy: Hidding my skills to avoid the attention of enemies.'

Then, came the problem of food. The harvest season was starting. From his previous life, Erwin remembered that it took vegetables between 1 and 3 months to grow. It could be possible to have another harvest of vegetables before winter.

'However, I doubt the farming lands were prepared for that, and I would need to produce and use a large amount of fertilizer anyway. I also know that differents crops need differents soils, so I can't just introduce crops rotations without knowing more about this world's crops. I won't be able to do anything about it until after winter. At least it gives me some time to prepare a solution.'

"Any way I see it, for the next 4 weeks or so, my focus should be entirely on my workshop. Now that I think about it, it will be part of the castle, with the entrance easily accessible to anyone. I'll have to properly secure it, wouldn't want any spies able to sneak in and steal some items or documents."