Progress

Leo didn't speak, nor did anyone else as they escorted the workers that Bert had captured from his territory to Leo's. Leo was thinking about how angry he had been and how he foolishly ran into another lord's territory without a second thought. That was a very dangerous thing to do, even with his mana pool and his soldiers and he was now reflecting on his very stupid actions. The system rang out many notifications in his ears.

[Lord Leo's subordinate Rus has captured a subordinate Lord from another Lord]

[Lord Lora is now the subordinate of Lord Leo thank to subordinate Lord Rus]

[Lord Leo has gained 10% of the active skill 'Vias' Embrace' innate skill]

['Vias' Embrace' innate skill: Speed up growth of crops and plants within 0.2 units of land]

[Innate skill midas touch activated]

['Vias' Embrace' innate skill: Speed up growth of crops and plants within 20 units of land]

[Lord Leo's subordinate Rus has killed another Lord, gaining his active skill]

[Since Lord Leo's subordinate has gained another innate skill, Lord Leo will gain 10% of the newly acquired skill]

[Lord Leo has gained 10% of the active skill 'Dark Tamer' innate skill]

['Dark Tamer' innate skill: Tame up to (1) beast of the same grade as the users highest affinity or 1 grade higher]

[Innate skill midas touch activated]

['Dark Tamer' innate skill: Tame up to (100) beasts of the same grade as the users highest affinity or 1 grade higher]

Leo was very happy with these new skills, especially the tamer skill, though Leo did wonder why it was a "dark" tamer. Leo asked the system,"System, why does the tamer skill have the 'Dark' part on it?"

[Dark Tamer incorporates the demonic element, as it controls the beast's mind so the user can control the beast. Demonic element is rare, but all elements marked with demonic elements is considered dark magic]

Leo nodded his head as he thought about it, it did make sense. Though to be fair, he was simply taking the systems word on this one, as he knew nothing on how demonic energy worked. Leo decided not to worry about that for now as he neared the new borders of Fallen star city. Leo had gotten 50 units of land from Rus' territory, and since Bert had taken over Lora's territory and absorbed her 50 units, when Leo took over he had gained another 100 units.

Leo's territory was now 350 units of available build space. Leo and his people that he had picked up through his recent conquests walked into the city where the people who were working all called out to him and congratulated him on his successful journey.

Suddenly all of Leo's advisors came walking up to Leo, smiling and greeting him and the two new subordinate lords warmly.

"Welcome to Fallen Star City, Sir Rus and Mrs. Lora, we are glad that you have both made it here safely." Sally said cheerfully

Magario was the first to notice the condition of Lora and the other workers, saying,"Oh my, it seems that you have been through quite the ordeal, come and we shall visit the church to get you and the others fed and bathed."

Magario then escorted the malnourished workers as well as Lora to the church. Rus looked to Leo with a slightly pleading expression and Leo smiled, nodded his head and said,"Go, she needs you right now."

Rus shouted out,"Thank you!" and quickly followed the escorted people being taken to the church.

Sally spoke up when they all left as she said to Leo,"Lord Leo, we have reached the number of citizens and soldiers required to upgrade the territory to a grade 2 village, I was just wondering what your plans to raise the remaining requirements were?"

Leo, with a baffled expression, replied,"Sally, I hate to sound like a broken record, but I have no idea what you're talking about! What requirements are you talking about, as well as the grade 2 village thing, what is that?"

Sally, surprised that Leo didn't know, said,"Oh! I'm sorry my lord, I didn't realize you didn't know of it.."

Leo put his hand up and waved it slightly saying,"It's perfectly fine, just tell me what you are talking about."

Sally cleared her throat and said,"Ahem.. Ok, so, Right now we are a grade 1 village, every grade gets harder to progress from that point on. In order to become a grade 2 village, we must have 150 population, be it workers or soldiers, and we must also hit certain milestones within certain sectors of the city. This is the same for every city we are going to own, from Fallen Star city, to future cities that Lord Leo will own in the future."

Leo asked,"What are these milestones we must hit and where are we sitting currently with them?"

Sally nodded her head and after a minute or so said,"First, there is the Military, and currently, we have 9 points out of the required 5. Then there is Production, which is 8.1 out of the require 5, as well as Economic, which has swelled to a staggering 7.3 out of the required 5 because of the recent deals and findings Lord Leo has made and ordered. Next is Faith which is currently sitting at 5.6 out of 5 and finally, the only one that we are missing, culture, which is sitting at a measly 0.5 out of 5."

Leo looked to Phina and asked,"So? Any Ideas on why only your sector is falling behind and not progressing?"

Phina sighed and said,"Yes, and you will probably not like it.."

Leo quickly replied,"Just tell me, I have just returned from a long journey and I need to rest."

Phina nodded in confirmation and said,"Lord Leo, I have several projects that need time to be completed, and unfortunately culture is extremely hard to forcefully grow. It is one of those challenges that will take a while to grow naturally. However, once you have a little culture grow naturally, it will soon take on a mind of its own and we will not have to do much as the citizens will help it grow without much of our input."

Leo sighed and said,"Ok, what is the first project that will be completed and when will it be done?"

Phina replied,"I have several of my cultural workers painting things they have seen across the territory, things like romance between workers, the soldiers training, the building of new buildings, and Lord Leo fighting. This is the initial test to see what your workers and citizens will naturally want to learn and experience more of."

Leo sighed and said,"Ok, that's fine, let's just wait and see what will happen, we'll be able to grow naturally in this area soon, and we are already miles ahead of anyone else in the world, so there is no need to rush at this time."

Sally and Phina nodded and Leo went with them to the tables that they ate at in the mornings and evenings, sat down and started to eat with everyone at the table. The faith workers didn't show up this time since for the next day or two they would be assisting the new workers with getting healthy again, as well as helping them with their mental trauma after Bert did all those terrible things to them.

Leo was really tired after all that had happened today and he really needed to get to sleep. Right as he laid down, a world notification went off in his ear, alerting him out of his exhausted state.

[World Announcement: Lord Luca is the third Lord in the world to officially establish their city. Their name shall be etched into the wall of fame and their territory shall gain a 8% refugee spawn rate buff]

Leo and Lin Yue quickly started talking in the alliance chat when they had heard this notification go off in their heads.

[Lin Yue: You think he'll want to join the alliance?]

[Leo: I don't see any reason why he wouldn't want to join..]

Leo and Lin Yue both kept an eye out for the notification and on cue, a few minutes after the notification rang out, a new one rang out in Leo's head only.

[Lord Leo, Lord Luca is requesting to join your alliance, do you accept?]

Leo quickly said,"I accept!"

[Lord Luca has joined the (unnamed) alliance]

[World Announcement: Lord Luca has joined the (unnamed) alliance, being the 3rd in the world to join an alliance, however, because the alliance already has a battlefield buff, Lord Luca will gain the 10% battlefield buff also given to Lord Leo and Lord Lin Yue]

Instantly the global chat was set on fire as the various lords already aiming to gain an alliance with Leo and Lin Yue had a figurative fire lit under their butts as they realized they would gain the 10% buff on top of it! Once again, the market was picked clean as people frantically bought all the chests they could.

[Luca has joined Alliance chat]

[Leo: Welcome new lord, to this alliance, I hope you find the situation to your liking]

[Lin Yue: Heya Luca! How are you doing this evening?]

[Luca: Tired, very tired haha. I had to battle a very formidable beast to gain the economic scroll to establish my city.]

[Leo: I'm tired too, so tomorrow we'll formally talk about what each of us need from each other at the moment. So start thinking about what you need the most at the current moment.]

[Luca: Ok, that works, see you guys tomorrow!]

[Lin Yue: +1]

Leo closed the alliance chat and ended the day with a smile on his face, as today was still only the sixth day he had been in this world and he was making so much progress even as time went by. Leo was now not as tired as before and decided to open the 2 bronze chests and 1 iron chest.

Before he did that he said out loud to the system,"System, Please give me a mage or a mana teacher! I am having a lot of trouble keeping my insane mana pool in check and I don't have many talents for learning on my own. Please bless me with someone who can teach me those things!"

[The system cannot grant wishes and it cannot be biased towards any lord, please discover such things on your own]

Leo frowned and sighed, clearly not happy with they response of the system. Leo was just saying it out loud like a prayer, just hoping he could will it into existence, but now Leo had a feeling that no matter what he would have gotten, he now definitely won't get his mage teachers now!

[Bronze Chest opened - Gained 1 Blue grade Blueprint (Crystal Bow}]

[Bronze Chest opened - Gained 1 Blue grade Blueprint (Special)]

[Iron Chest opened - Gained 5 Mass teleport scrolls

Leo noticed his rewards and smiled, happy to have gained another few important pieces of equipment. He was curious about the Blue grade blueprint that said it was a special one as it may have something to do with his wish for a mage but decided not to think about it for now as he was starting to get tired again.

Leo did have the mass teleport scrolls in the back of his head though as he thought about how he could use them. As the moon came up and everyone went into their homes or the barracks, Leo fell asleep, reviewing what he had learned from today and thinking about what he could do to become better.