One month later.
Three figures wearing hooded cloaks stood in the shade of a tree outside the National Fighter Academy of Lanthanor.
Built as a mirror to the National Magic Academy of Lanthanor, the Fighter Academy was equipped with the best facilities a Kingdom could offer to train top-tier Fighters who would defend the nation.
Yet, for many years, both the academies had been running on an occupancy that was far from 100 percent.
In fact, as Daneel perused the statistics in the trinket in his hand, he was shocked to see that the Fighter academy was only 22% occupied at this point in time.
As for the Mage Academy, although it was a bit better off, the number was still very low: 34%.
Shaking his head, Daneel wondered just what was the reason behind the lower birth rate of those with talent as a Fighter or a Mage.
Apparently, this was a problem that plagued the entirety of Central Angaria. Over time, the probability of a child being born with high or medium grade potential or comprehension level had gone down so drastically that some wondered whether high-talent individuals would become a legend in the future.
Right now, Daneel wasn"t very worried about that possibility due to the existence of the Development Techniques.
Yet, this reality also made him realize just how important the development technique was to a faction. If any force in Central Angaria could obtain a technique and spread it to its citizens, it would be able to eventually build an army with the capability to floor all the others.
"Not strong enough!"
If he had enough strength to ensure that he would be able to hold off an attack from the other forces who would come if he spread the development technique, Daneel wouldn"t hesitate to do so.
Alas, that was not the case.
Shaking his head to get back on track, Daneel realized that Robert had asked something and was waiting for an answer.
Noticing that the King was a little absent minded, Robert chuckled a bit before repeating his question.
"Have you made the decision? Can we go ahead with the plan?"
Indeed, the reason the trio had gathered here was that they had proposed the plan to merge the Fighter Academy with the Magic Academy, making it so that the Figher Academy could be chosen for the place to begin the National School as Daneel had ordered.
This option was chosen instead of the other way round as the Magic Academy had too many facilities that couldn"t be moved. It was much more economical to do it this way, and it was now up to Daneel whether to proceed with the plan.
"Go ahead. Just make sure that those moving are well accommodated."
Even if the two academies were merged, the combined occupancy would reach barely 80% due to the Fighters being in much higher number than Mages.
Over the past two months, Robert and Luther had been hard at work to procure instructors for the various courses that would be offered in the school. From offering retired military personnel excellent wages to poaching instructors from private training halls, the duo had done everything to finally ensure that the school would be ready to be opened.
Now, with all the preparations done, the only thing left was the unveiling.
Yet, before deciding this issue, the trio moved to a familiar location in the city of which Daneel had many "fond" memories.
It was the Fists of Justice Training Hall.
In one corner, multiple tents had been set up where the sound of laughter could be heard.
Outside, Faxul could be seen waiting for them.
Indeed, this was the responsibility given to Faxul: to tackle the healthcare problem in Lanthanor.
Healers were an important strategic resource for any Kingdom.
In times of peace, they ensured that the population could be hale and hearty.
In times of war, they were the factor which decided the endurance of an army.
As such, all healers in a Kingdom were carefully kept track of.
Faxul"s order of business had been to bring all the scattered healers in the city together.
Although this had been attempted multiple times, the problem had been that the healers demanded too much. After beginning the endeavor, the government had realized that negotiating a standardized fee would result in an enormous expenditure from the Kingdom.
Also, the government couldn"t be hard-handed with healers either because they could just leave the Kingdom knowing that they would be valued no matter where they went. Thus, eventually, the decision had been taken to allow them to set up their own clinics which were exempt to tax.
Of course, this had only happened in recent times when mages had become scarce in general. Before the segregation of the inner and outer cities, it was written in the memoirs that the Kingdom used to have a special medical wing in the Palace which could be availed by the people for a low cost.
Daneel and Faxul"s plan was to reimplement that scheme. For that purpose, they had gathered the healers at this location.
Faxul had already begun the negotiations, but they were currently at a standstill because of the same issue as before: the healers demanded too much.
In fact, Daneel had been tempted to acquiesce. After all, it was imperative to increase the satisfaction level of the Kingdom to obtain EXP.
Yet, these thoughts had been halted when he saw the bag which held Ker Gems was almost half empty.
Indeed, his training was simply an activity that burned money. Hence, he either needed to minimize the spending of the Kingdom, or he had to find a way to spend it better.
Daneel had hit on an idea to do the latter. With the particulars clear in his mind, he marched forward with a determined stride while imagining the bag of Ker Gems filling up again.
....
The next month, spies all over Central Angaria sent alarming news to their factions about the Kingdom which had quieted down recently after its change in leaders.h.i.+p.
Many had thought that there would be a period of settling down during which the new King would just learn how to govern before attempting to bring changes using his power.
Yet, it seemed that they had been sorely mistaken.
Just months after taking the throne, the King of Lanthanor unveiled two new initiatives to benefit his people: The National School and the Healer Academy of Lanthanor.
Of the two, the former was the one which surprised the other factions the most.
A school for those younger than the age at which their comprehension or potential would be known? Why? What could be the use of that?
Some scoffed that it was simply a wild fancy of someone who just wanted to do something with his newfound power, while others tried to figure out the motive behind it.
As for the latter, although it wasn"t unique, what puzzled the other factions was that they couldn"t figure out whether the King of Lanthanor was dumb, or if he had an additional source of income which they weren"t aware of.
This was because the information about the general economic status of each faction was something which was cla.s.sified as being highly important. Thus, with the state of Lanthanor, the others knew that such initiatives would definitely drain the treasury and result in financial problems in the future.
All in all, the eyes of Central Angaria started to turn towards Lanthanor to see just what would come out of these strange actions of its King. After all, these were things which could easily be copied if major success was seen.
In this way, Daneel became the center of attention while putting his all into training to reach the Exalted Human level as soon as possible. After unveiling both initiatives, he looked forward to seeing the impact they would have on the satisfaction level.
Meanwhile, in an isolated room inside the valley that was perpetually shrouded in mist and cla.s.sified as a no=trespa.s.sing zone that took the lives of all those that dared to enter without thought.
A man opened his eyes and blinked groggily, as if he had been asleep for months.
His consciousness fading in an out of focus, he recalled the one name that had made him grit his teeth and endure no matter how much pain and suffering came his way.
Daneel Anivron.