_ _ _ _ _ _ _
The People who could manipulate mana, could use it to strengthen their bodies, and cast spells, which were the manifestations of imagination and knowledge. Spells were incantations written in ancient runic languages, which were mostly words spoken to give form to magic. Some common examples were [Fireball] which formed a ball of fire, [Heal] which could cure wounds etc. Almost anything could be done with magic, people could fight, fly, make water, light a fire, protect themselves and much more. As a result the need for science had become basically nonexistent and the society had stagnated in a feudal-middle age era.
Not all people could use magic. Generally only one in ten thousand humans had enough mana in them to be able to use it to cast spells and become a Mage. Being a mage or wizard, was heavily dependent on ones innate talent, rather than hard work. All Mages had a very high innate capacity for mana, when compared to normal people. They could cast powerful spells and were a very strong force. As a result, Mages were highly sought after by the kingdoms and empires and they enjoyed tremendous status and power. The ones who had mana, but not enough to become a mage, or those who lacked talent in learning sorcery, were much more common, around 1 in a hundred.
They could still train and use it to strengthen their bodies and become strong warriors. In fact, the armies of the various empires were composed entirely of such people. Both mages and warriors could increase their strengths, by training themselves which included meditation, physical and magical training. There were also various medicinal items like rare plants, monster parts, precious ores etc, which could help increase a Mage or a Warrior's strength significantly in short time, and these were very very costly. As one continued using the mana in their body, the capacity to hold mana would increase as well, but the limit of how much mana could be stored was determined by the person's innate talent. That is why that although every person had mana in their bodies, not everyone could become a warrior. Only those who had the talent for it, could become one.
Being a mage though, was thousands of times more difficult than becoming a warrior. Mages had special constitutions which enabled them to use mana to cast magic. Their bodies had special vessels called [Mana Channels] through which mana flowed just like blood flows through regular vessels. This type of constitution was rare and generally inherited from the parents, though very rare cases of mages born from non-mage parents were also observed. Still, the vast majority of mages came from noble families which had mages born in almost every generation. The nobles married their children with other nobles to maximize the chance of producing mages in the future generation. As such, over thousands of years, the mages had been concentrated to noble bloodlines, and while once in a while mages did appear among the commoners, those chances were extremely low. The mages had established many powerful noble houses and clans, and many royal families were also families of mages. Being a Mage was a blessing, as they could harness the power of "Magic". Powerful spells written in ancient languages, helped the mages to use their mana and visualise their ideas, be it of creation or destruction.
A well trained mage was a devastating presence in the battlefield, with their spells, they could kill hundreds from kilometres away, without taking any damage themselves. Not surprisingly, the kingdoms were always trying to nurture as many powerful warriors and mages as they could and they formed the base of a kingdom's military strength. Mages were highly revered and respected in every country. They were given preferential treatment by the royals and nobles, and were usually employed by them with high salaries.
The mages and warriors were divided into ranks from 1 to 10 depending on their strength and power. There also existed people with powers beyond rank 10, and such people were called Archmages and Saint Warriors. It was said that a single Saint Warrior had the strength of a small army while a single Archmage could turn the tide of a war. Such people however were few in number, as one had to had heavenly talents to get to such heights. In general, when comparing a warrior and a mage of the same rank, the warrior was physically stronger than the mage by many times, however the mage with his spells had a much higher damage output and unless the warrior could get close to the mage, he basically had no chance of winning. Mages were best suited for ranged combat while Warriors usually fought in melee with the exception of archers. Though there were always a few exceptions, mages who fought equally well in melee and warriors who could defeat stronger mages despite all odds.
Sadly, Martha did not know anything about the details of magic as only a mage could explain those things in detail. And since there were no mages in Rigel, as far as he could recall, Add had to keep aside his desire to know more for the near future.
Martha finally came to the Monsters and Magical beasts. The monsters were animal like creatures which were generally large in size and possessed tremendous strength. There were a huge variety of them, from large versions of animals like wolves and tigers to fantastical creatures like goblins, orcs, kobolds, werewolves etc. These were grouped into ranks : F, E, D, C, B, A, and S. The F ranked monsters were the weakest while the S rank were the strongest. Occasionally however, there appeared monsters whose strength was greater than even S ranked monsters and these were designated with SS and even SSS ranks.
Magical beasts on the other hand were monsters which had the innate ability to utilize mana and could use it to cast some form of magic. They were much more dangerous than normal monsters, since they could use magic and were lot more intelligent than them. Some high ranked monsters even gained sentience. Some mighty Magical beasts could even take humanoid form. They were grouped in classes starting from the lowest Knight class, General class, King class, Emperor class, Calamity class, Mythical class, and the highest Deity class. Having learnt all this, Add was awed at the grand scheme of things in this world which was completely new to him.
Next Martha told him about the kingdom of Reingleif, in detail. The country's capital was called Alefast where the Ensworth royal family resided. They were the rulers of the country and the family had been ruling the nation for hundreds of years. The royal family were supported by the nobles. The nobility of this world was divided into many ranks, starting from the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess, Duke and Duchess, Marquis and Marchioness, Count and Countess, Viscount and Viscountess and the Baron and Baroness at the lowest. People beyond that were treated as common folk. Rudolf Weismann, his grandfather had been bestowed the hereditary title of Marquis, and that title had been passed on to his son Henry and subsequently his son Adolf, that is now Add.
After noting down all points of interest, he asked Martha to give him a briefing of the financial situation of the house. Martha was shocked, as this was the first time ever, that the young master had taken interest in these matters. He would usually only ask for spending money and not care about anything else. Still, surprised that she was, she did her job very well. It should be noted that Martha managed the finances of the household, everything from the payment of salaries to the servants and guards to the maintenance costs and all, other expenses, while her husband Walter, was the official treasurer who managed the tax collection and official expenditures such salaries of the few officials of the town, the 2000 man strong militia that served as the Weismann family's private troops, maintenance of roads etc.
When called, Walter was also surprised after knowing that the young master wanted to know about the financial situation of the territory. But the old couple which has served two generations of the Weismann family, were more than happy if the young master decided to act like a proper lord from now on. He could no longer be the carefree wastrel he had been all this time, the fate of the Weismann family rested on his shoulders now. Luckily, it seemed that his father's passing had affected him deeply. Martha who had seen him grow up, felt that the young boy had become a completely different person recently. He had become much more clam and composed and his appearance befitted a proper noble now.
Add had little impression of Walter from Adolf's memories as the old man rarely visited the mansion, and even when he did it was Martha or the other people that he had work with. Still he was a serious looking man whose stern face and strict aura, resembled that of a teacher. In the study room, the old couple patiently explained to Add the exact situation of the territory, and the discussion stretched long into the night, with Add trying to eke out as many details as he could. It was a good thing that Adolf knew how to read and write in this country's language, so Add who inherited those memories, could make running notes with ease. It was only when Add felt that he had enough for now, that he let the two off. After they had left he went to the window and looked up at the cloudy sky. Iseria also had a moon which appeared to be over twice as big as compared to earth's moon and glowed blue, most of which was hidden by the clouds.
"For me to have reincarnated in this world, is it good or bad ? Is there even a reason for me to live again ?"
Add, from as long as he could remember, was a soldier. He was trained from when he just began to walk, at the age of 10 he was inducted into the army, under a secret program. His life had only been mission after mission, killing people and watching his comrades die. Add didn't have much emotions and the little he had were always under his control, yet he was but human. Years of bloodshed, the screams of his dying enemies, the faces of his dying comrades still remained fresh in his mind. He remembered the tens of children who were blown to bits by a bomb. He remembered the mothers who died protecting their children, and the children weeping on the corpses of their dead parents. He saw the couples who died in each other's arms, and others wandering on the streets, half dead or dying, yet still looking for their missing relatives. Those scenes had become nightmares, dreaded dreams. Haunting him every day. As such Add had long wanted to die. He was just too tired of all this. And when he finally thought he would have his rest, he found himself in a new body, and in a new world.
"Well….I guess I will find out due time…"
Shaking his head, he continued arranging his plans. The situation of his territory was not good at all. Stagnated development, poverty, lack of trade and commerce, attacks from monsters and bandits were all plaguing this land, and the treasury which never came close to full was almost empty. Thankfully the king had spared the Weismann family from paying taxes considering the lands they owned, not that they could pay anything significant anyway. There was also the threat of the war between Reinglief and the bordering country of Solia in the south, which had raised tensions in the recent years. To top it all, the fact that the country was going through period of instability as the current king was on his last breaths and his various sons and daughters were struggling for the throne, was just fantastic. The way they were now, if Reinglief fell, Add knew, his life as a noble of Reinglief will come into jeopardy as well. Not that he cared about being a noble, as long as he could live in peace.
This was a very bad situation and a situation which had to change. Add was a man from 21st century Earth, and having lived a life as a soldier, he faced a challenge being a lord of a territory. He needed to make sure his territory survived. This place was the closest thing to a home he ever had, as in his previous life, he had no place to call home other than the battlefield itself. But now he did. Fate had given him a chance to start a new, and he could not afford to lose it. That however didn't change the fact that he had little idea about how to manage such a task. How to raise his territory to become strong and prosperous in these dangerously turbulent times. As he was wrecking his brain on this matter, a sudden idea came to him. An idea which would forever change the course of history of this world.
"That's it…the answer was with me all along….how did it take me so long…..if this world is ruled by the strongest fist…then all we have to do, is to become that fist itself!...if I cannot go home, I will just have to make it home itself…."
He remembered the one state whose might forced much of the world to unite in fear. A state whose power crushed one of the most efficient armies of Earth in world war 2. The state which rose from the ashes of defeat, poverty and underdevelopment to become an world power on its own…a state which if not for the greed and failures of men, would have become the one true superpower and dominated all. It was the state of which he as a Russian was technically always a member of.
"Heh…..so what if they lost at the end ? If not for those selfish and corrupt bastards of the communist party…would they ever have fallen ? I want to see… let's see if I can't prove those pigs were wrong!….after all…from the taiga to the British seas…..the red army is the strongest of them all…"
Nobody knew it, but the gears of fate had begun to move, and the dawn of tomorrow would mark the beginning of a new era. An era none of the residents of Iseria had even imagined in their wildest dreams before.
_ _ _ _ _
Add spent most of the night trying to formulate plans to manage the situation he was in. his biggest asset was his Territory, but it was also his biggest problem. The main crop produce of the kingdom was wheat, which served as the staple food, almost over the entire Northern Subcontinent. But due to the climate of his territory, it was not very suitable for growing wheat, and the yields were usually low, no matter how hard the farmers tried. His grandfather had thought of cultivating the grasslands further south, but the many tribes living in the region made it impossible to set a permanent foot hold without large scale battles, something which the Weismann family was unable to afford. Added to that the remoteness of the region and the threat of monsters and bandits, the productivity of this place was low to say the least. Overall, due to these various reasons, the Weismann family were only able to bring 1/8th of their official territory in their control, even after 30 years of hard work.
The only saving grace was that there were many mines in the hills nearby, and the sale of the ores mined from them constituted the bulk of the territory's trade. Aside from that the people here also collected wild herbs, wood resins etc from the forests which added a little to their income. Every once in a while monster corpses hunted by local would also appear which fetched moderate prices. The closest city from Rigel, was over 200 kilometres away and the only way the local produce could be trade was through travelling merchants who visited the territory a few times in a year. The merchants had to pay certain taxes when buying these items which formed most of the income for the Weismann Family.
Walter had given him a detailed account of the family's financial situation. All in all, the treasury had a sum total of a little over 20,000 gold coins. Now across the subcontinent the various countries used a single currency. It had been so from long back, as a measure to simplify trade and commerce. The currency used here was divided into four types of different coins. It went as follows :
100 copper coins = 1 silver coin
100 silver coins = 1 gold coin
100 gold coins = 1 White gold coin
To put some perspective, a regular loaf of bread cost around 5 copper coins. That would seem to make 20,000 gold coins a lot, but in all honesty it was barely enough to run the expenses of the town at best, not to mention that of the entire territory. It should be mentioned that even most well to do Baron ranked nobles, had tens of thousands of gold, while higher nobles had it in over hundreds of thousands. In simple comparison, Add was dirt poor in terms of nobility. His family had tried their best to develop the territory and make it more prosperous, but alas, some things were just beyond their control. However, now that Add had appeared in this place, things could not continue like this; he would not allow this.
He made a simple plan to improve the situation. First he had to boost the agriculture of the region, as that formed the backbone of any economy. This meant increasing food production and also diversifying the types of crops grown. Growing only one type of crop was not enough, since if somehow that one crop failed, it would doom the entire system. Next he also had to develop the mining sector. Currently the mining methods used by the people here were very crude and inefficient. They could not even smelt the raw ore and had to sell it for very cheap prices. After all this was done he would have to focus on the trade sector as well. The people had long been complaining that the traders were paying them too low prices for their goods, and making large profits at the expense of the hard work of these people. Add would have to ensure that such practices ceased for good. And lastly, he also had to grow and strengthen the military.
All nobles were allowed to have their own private army, whose size depended on their rank. The Weismann house being a Marquis household was sanctioned to have a strength of 50,000 troops, but actually had, laughably, only 2000 troops and 50 guards who guarded the Weismann mansion. And even calling them a militia was stretching the term, much less an army. The reason was that they were poorly trained and equipped. It was not that Adolf's father and grandfather didn't want a proper army under them, they simply could not afford to maintain a larger force, due to the expenditure. Both Rudolf an Henry had been excellent generals, but they had commanded the armies directly under the king, and had no personal followers of their own. Add would have to solve this a well. For now he kept his focus on these four main areas. After he had stabilised these, he could delve into other sectors.
"In the end it's all about money. To develop these lands, I would need a lot of money…the question is how can I get that much money…."
He thought for a long time and finally his thoughts went to the system which was his greatest strength in this life. He knew that the system shop had everything he would need from massive weapons of mass destruction to even a toothpick. However to get that he needed CP, lots of CP. The problem was if he wanted to obtain all that CP by himself, then it would take him years of continuous hunting and killing monsters, which was very impractical. He realised that rather than completely depending on the system, he would have to do most of the work himself. He already had some ideas, but first he had to gather a lot of CP, he only had a little over 6000, which was leftover from the system's gift pack.
For the next few days, he stayed at home, and familiarised himself with the servants and guards that worked in the mansion, while spending most of his time in the study which had a sizeable collection of books. In that time, some people came to visit him, since he was now the de facto lord, but he declined to meet anyone giving his wounds and weakness as a reason and Martha and Walter had to manage those people. He was also pretending to be injured, and had not allowed any servant to change his bandages, insisting on doing it himself. The servants were worried, but he remained adamant on his decision, and they had no choice but to concede. Add could not let others know that his body had already healed completely, to prevent unnecessary troubles and explanation. Only after a week, since he transmigrated into this world, did he begin his actions.
One morning, he woke with the first rays of dawn and did a series of light morning exercises. This body was not able to handle too much, so he could only do some jogging and stretching in the mansion's garden before getting tired. Martha was worried that those exercises would harm his body, but he assured her that his body was fine. Still he wore a bandage on his head just to pretend, as such an injury took time to heal. As his body got stronger, he would gradually return to the strenuous exercises he used to do as a soldier. For the next few days, he followed a new routine. After having his breakfast, the young lord would leave the mansion followed by a few of his guards, and tour around the town. The common folk who had seldom seen him like this felt surprised. Add went to every corner of the town and even some nearby villages. He was not at all impressed with what he saw.
The houses in the town were mostly huts built by wood, with a few ones made of brick. The infrastructure was really poor with dirt roads and no proper drainage systems. Waste and garbage piled on the street sides, while the poor and homeless lied around in cramped alleys. The overall appearance of the town was more like a refugee camp than a proper settlement. Only some parts where the wealthier people lived had better conditions, but not by far. The villages were worse off, with shacks to call as homes, and the people in the villages were malnourished and sickly. The farmers had no land of their own, and worked as serfs on lands, which belonged to the Weismann family and some other rich families, and barely earned enough for two meals a day. If the town was in such a condition, it was not difficult to imagine the condition of the rest of the territory. Wherever he passed through, people would lower their heads and dare not complain, fear and helplessness was clearly visible on their faces. In this society, the lord was above all and the poor didn't dare voice their protest directly. Add did not say anything, but took notes of everything that he observed. After he had gathered enough data to formulate estimates for his plans, he was ready to move on to the next stage.
_ _ _ _ _
"What did you say again young master ?"
Asked Martha with a frown. Add who was calmly sipping tea, repeated his words. A few maids and servants curiously looked at him, thinking what this carefree young master wanted now.
"As I said, I want to go to the hills to gather some experience…I realized I have been doing nothing but idling all my life…I want to become a proper lord now, and in order to do that I must hone myself…"
Martha almost had her jaw drop hearing him say such things. Ws this really the same good for nothing waste of a man, who would always try to make merry and care nothing about his life? When did he begin speaking such serious words. Still more than that she was worried about the injury he had suffered.
"Young Master it's good that you want together some life experience, but you were seriously wounded and just woke up today after two days…I think you should have rest for a few more days at least…"
"I know you are worried, but I insist that I have to go. Of course I am not going right now as it is. I plan on leaving tomorrow morning. I would have to trouble you to prepare a horse for me…and don't worry….this time I won't fall off."
Martha still wanted to object. Although she was disappointed in this boy, he was the last surviving member of the Weismann family. She had watched him grow from a newborn baby and he was like a grandson to her. The hills Add talked of, were the forested foothills of the Great Dividing Ranges, near which the town was built. There were many dangers like monsters, bandits etc. in those hills. She knew of his strength and so naturally she would be opposed to him going there. But when she was about to further try and persuade him, something strange happened.
"Martha, I know what I am doing…. Don't worry I won't repeat my foolish actions anymore. Also I am not going to anyplace dangerous, so it won't be too risky. "
"But Young Master…"
"Enough. I was not asking your permission, I was only informing you of my decision. There is nothing else to discuss."
Add finished his tea and then left the hall. The old lady was rooted at her spot. Just now when she looked into the boy's eyes she felt coldness, which made her shiver unconsciously. As if she was looking at a fierce hunter rather than the carefree boy she knew. She was completely puzzled and by the time she recovered, the Young Master had already left and all she could do was arrange his wishes.
The next day, after completing his exercise Add left for the hills. Having spent most of his life in the army had once served in the ceremonial cavalry brigade, and knew a decent bit of horse riding, so it was not much trouble for him. He was accompanied by four guards who were forced onto him by Martha, or else the old lady won't let him leave. Add reluctantly brought them along, he really felt weak against this grandma. Probably because she was the closest living person to a family his predecessor had, so the lingering emotions in the body were affecting him. Or perhaps e could see the genuine worry on her face that he surrendered, needless to say old lady Martha was a serious force in herself.
He had spent the previous night studying in the study room of his late father. There were not many books as paper was rare and all books were hand written, making them difficult to obtain and very costly. He got little information from them, but it was better than nothing. He chose to go to the hills as they were close to the town, some 20 kilometres away and there were many monsters roaming around which he could kill to obtain Credit Points. However, he had to be careful from the creatures inhabiting in the mountains. There were many things in there that could kill him like swatting a bug, and one had already did. He was basically defenceless if not for the guns he had bought. But they were no guarantee that he would be safe, so he had to be very cautious.
And this was the beginning of his story. A story which would later go on to become a legend. This was the story fate had picked for him, yet how it would be written and how it would progress would be solely up to his actions and his actions only. Fate had only given him a goal, how he would reach it, was completely up to himself.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
