All of them got up from their pushup position to the position of attention as fast as possible.
“Now get in your groups of four. Two up front, two behind, staggered. Let’s see just what your little brains can remember!” Erik yelled.
He looked over to Rugrat.
They moved between the groups. Before they worked on more complex tactics, they all needed to understand the basics. Hearing about it and seeing it on a board were all well and good, but doing it could firm it up in their minds, drill it into them till they couldn’t forget in their best dream.
Chapter: Training Begins
Qin was on her way home. She looked at the healing house. For the last couple of months, it had people coming and going from it every day. Now there was just the casual passerby.
The dungeon seemed to be quieter. More people had joined, but thirty of the now fifty adventurers were off on some kind of mission; traders had headed off across the First and the Second Realm to search out new opportunities.
Everyone in Alva Dungeon’s military had reported in a week ago to the barracks. Their gates were locked and the sounds of people grunting could be heard across the walls.
Qin opened the door to her house. Domonos had joined the military; Yui had never left it since coming to Alva Dungeon.
She went up to the second floor, where she could see through one of the windows at the barracks.
The sun of Alva Dungeon was just starting to rise. She had spent all night in the formation workshop again, unable to put down her work.
She had been about to go to dinner when she found Julilah working on her running theory that had started because of Rugrat’s thoughts.
Breaking down formations into components. A smile bloomed on her face just thinking about it.
She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. The gates of the barracks were opening.
The soldiers of Alva Dungeon appeared. Erik, Rugrat, and the top leadership yelled out as people were out of rhythm and were forced to march properly. They snaked around the barracks. The gates closed behind them as they headed through the fortified checkpoints that led out into the Beast Mountain Range.
Qin pulled her jacket closer, thinking of just how cold it would be out there. Snow had already started to fall in the Beast Mountain Range. The hunters and mercenary groups had retreated into the trading outposts or headed for warmer climates.
The beasts had gone into hibernation, leaving it largely unpopulated.
Qin watched them as they left. I hope you stay warm and don’t get any frostbite! She thought about her brothers.
She stood when the last of the soldiers passed through the checkpoint and then headed off to shower and sleep. She had more work to do once she woke up.
***
“Halt!” Erik called out.
The formation of soldiers mistimed their steps, stepping out long or short.
Erik let them off the hook as the sergeants shot looks at the people who had messed up.
“Gather round!” Erik stood next to a series of shelters. “When you’re out in the field, Mother Nature is one of the hardest taskmasters and biggest life takers! You need to know how to survive in any condition! In winter, the cold winds will strip the heat from your body, causing your temperature to drop. There is a reason that we say it is better to be a little cold than warm! If you’re a little cold when you’re standing around, you’ll warm up when marching. If you warm up too much, you’ll start sweating, which will get into your clothes and drop your temperature quickly! So, a little cold means you can march, get warm, not sweat and then stay a little cold but bearable the rest of the time! When you are sleeping in the field, you’re going to need somewhere to stay!”
Erik turned to the shelters. There were lean-tos of varying complexity: from one that was hastily put together, to others that were made to last for the long term.
They all listened and asked questions as he talked about the types and builds of the shelters.
“Take out your tarp!” Erik pulled out his own tarp. It was a waterproof material that the tailor workshop had come up with and had been produced in massive quantities for the military.
“Tie this between two trees!” Erik and Rugrat worked together, doing so. “Then peg into the ground. It will give you some cover from the wind. Now, what was it I said about setting up your place to sleep?” Erik pointed to one of the recruits.
“Don’t set it up downhill.”
“Make sure there are no trees in your way so when you get up in the middle of the night, you don’t run into them,” another said.
“Don’t put them on the trail to walk around camp as others will trip on it in the night.”
“Good. You’ve got the basics. Sergeants, get them set up. I want all-around defense!”
Glosil held up his hand.
“Lieutenant?”
“Cigar, diamond, or triangle, sir?”
“Figure it out!” Erik said.
They moved out, setting up their camp as the sergeants talked together. Glosil came up with a plan and they executed it.
“Bit of suffering—builds character,” Rugrat said, next to Erik as the wind continued to howl and snow fall.
“Sucks all the same,” Erik replied, watching the leadership. This was a test for them to see how much they had gotten in the last two months and put it to use. They stepped to it. Being in close quarters and suffering together had made them closer than ever, making it easier for them to work together, break down priorities, and get to work.
Erik and Rugrat would be going through general courses over the next three months. As they were doing it, the leadership were meant to inject information where they forgot, add in details they didn’t think about, and raise the combat ability of each and every soldier.
They had been taught tactics, strategy, pure information overload; they had gone out into the field and the barracks parade square constantly to ingrain the strict lessons into their minds.
For the next ten and a half weeks, they would live in the shitty weather of the Beast Mountain Range, moving from position to position, being broken down into sections then built back up into platoons and companies. Erik and Rugrat had moved around what had been their parties, picking names out of a hat for who were in which sections. They wouldn’t always be fighting together so they had to adapt and clean out bad habits. And it also served to test the leadership as they couldn’t rely on just their troops being able to cover for their mistakes.
Some people had been pissed, threatening to leave the military. They didn’t have to. Rugrat dealt with them. Either they had returned to their units, cowed but determined, or they had left for another path in life.
It was Erik’s idea to treat it as if they were on a military campaign: moving from one position to the next, setting up a camp, doing operations and lessons out of the camp, then packing up at random intervals and moving on. Or just spending days walking through the shitty weather.
It would not be easy, but Erik and Rugrat were determined to train them to the best of their ability. The more sweat and blood in training, the more people would come home after the operation. Both of them had ingrained this thought process into their bones and believed in it as firm as any religious believer.
Chapter: Looking to the Future
Blaze and the rest of the caravan were working their way through the Beast Mountain Range, relaxed but wary. They had been in the Beast Mountain for so long they viewed it as their own backyard. They had curbed their efforts in killing beasts in the mountain range. If they were to kill them all off, then it would be possible to kill off species, turning the Beast Mountain Range into a wasteland.
With their high levels, they only needed to let out their killing intent and most of the beasts would run away or act subservient in front of their power.
“Hello, Mister Blaze.” A man appeared out of the snow.
Blaze needed a moment to collect himself, nearly jumping out of his saddle. “I’m guessing tha
t the military is training nearby.” Blaze moved off to the side as he waved the others on.
“Yes, sir. They are doing training in the area. I have an updated map on the latest situation in the area if you’re interested,” the man offered.
“Please,” Blaze said.
They held out maps, transferring information. It was populated with all kinds of symbols and markings that the military had added with further scouting in the region. With it, Blaze and the caravan’s journey would be easy until they left the Beast Mountain Range.
“Have a good trip. I will pass word to make sure that your tracks are covered.” The scout moved back under the snow-covered bush he had been hiding in, covering it back over in snow. With just a few movements, all signs of him disappeared, even though he was just two meters away.
Blaze turned his beast and headed to meet up with the rest of the caravan.
They continued on their way.
They passed a few groups of soldiers who were practicing in the falling snow. All of them didn’t seem to care about the harsh conditions, accustomed to it. Their breaths left vapors as they listened to their sergeants and corporals or carried out their training.
As Blaze watched them, he could see their total obedience toward their sergeants and corporals. As they were ordered, they reacted. They acted as a whole; it was hard to tell them apart. Gone were the different kinds of armors and weapons. It made them look more dominating, with their cold expressions as they all appeared identical.
It had just been a month since the general training had begun but the changes were vast.
All of them looked over and then back to their training, not wanting to miss anything from their leaders.
Blaze nodded in approval as they continued on their way toward the hidden carriages that the traders used.
“Looking forward to being warm again?” The leader of the trading company, Julieus, one of the new members of Alva, smiled as he rode beside Blaze.
“I’ve had enough winters for any man. A bit of sun in a new place doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” Blaze smiled. He was not only here to escort the trading caravan, but to establish the branch location for the Adventurer’s Guild in a number of the Second Realm cities.
It would solidify their position, bringing in new blood and strength, creating a better cover for the guild, and not relying on just Alva Dungeon’s limited numbers.
It would also create a hub for the traders, a place where they could stay, get protection and give out missions, allowing them to reach further without worrying for their safety.
It was a large move, so Blaze didn’t want to leave it up to anyone else. While he was gone, Jasper was in charge of Alva Dungeon’s Adventurer’s Guild. Jasper would run the Alva Dungeon location and later the other branch locations; it would be the position of the manager to open up new locations, to look for deals and partnerships to increase the strength of the Adventurer’s Guild.
It was a massive undertaking and this was but the first step. Blaze didn’t know where it might lead, but he was looking forward to the trip.
His position would also be the longest lasting, going for a full four-year term before he maintained his position or he was replaced.
Erik and Rugrat didn’t lie when they said that each member of the council would get a great number of benefits. Blaze was given custom gear, from his boots to his helmet, his spare clothes to his weapons and concoctions. He had eight of his Mana gates opened and had gone through all of the temperings, reaching the stage of Body Like Stone. Erik had passed onto him his knowledge and ideas to reach higher in cultivating his body. Erik had forged the path once and with his help and the trained medics, repeating the process was much simpler and pain-free. Blaze was also allowed to go into the dungeon battlefield four times a month without having to pay anything, with a team of up to ten people, including himself.
Now Blaze just needed to maintain his lead over the other adventurers to make sure his Strength was the strongest. While he was building these relationships, he would search out any way to become stronger, fighting against powerful opponents and beasts. He might even come to a case where he recruited someone who was stronger than him into the Adventurer’s Guild, only to give his position over to them later on.
Although he enjoyed the position, it was the role of the council members to not push others down, but to try to bring them up to replace them. They wanted the strongest among them to lead, if that be in actual strength, their ability to lead, their ability to trade, or their knowledge in specialized areas.
One good term did not mean that a person would come back a second time to hold it again.
Blaze was excited by the challenge that was set before him.
***
“Council Leader Ryan?” Egbert said.
Delilah looked up from the books she was looking over, her pen poised over a notepad. “What is it?”
“The tailor workshop and the smithy have completed their upgrades to the third tier. It finished just a few hours ago. The people from the academy are already swarming, with the department heads and the teachers looking over the upgrades to assess their capabilities and costs. We should have a report from them tomorrow. I have also brought along the head of the treasury department, Miss Rose Ling.”
Delilah had been so wrapped up in study that she hadn’t realized the time. With her position, she could take out any book from the library as she desired and had the right to reserve whatever she needed and get items for her craft at cost. All of which had helped her to increase her knowledge in Alchemy in leaps and bounds. Hearing about the Path of Alchemy trial from Erik, she had realized how she was lacking in book knowledge on Alchemy and the theory behind it.
Still, all good things come to an end. She put down her pen and pulled the books into her storage ring, leaving just the reports and papers on her desk.
“Bring her in. It’s time we started to figure out when and where our money will be going for the next year,” Delilah said.
Egbert nodded and opened the door again.
A short woman with blue hair entered the room. She had a soft smile on her face as she cupped her hands to Delilah and bowed. “It is an honor to meet and serve you, Council Leader.”
“Please, in these walls it’s just Delilah. And I need your help to clear up just what is happening with Alva Dungeon’s finances.” Delilah waved her forward to the chair.
Rose quickly stood and moved to the chair.
“I’ll leave you to it,” Egbert said. “Call if you need me.”
“Thank you, Egbert,” Delilah said with feeling. She didn’t know how she would have gotten through the last couple of months without the help of the other council leaders and Egbert.
She even had a sound transmission device added to the room so that she could converse with Egbert at any time. The dungeon was his domain and he knew everything that happened in it, making him an invaluable aid in tracking down people and passing messages. His own knowledge and antics had kept her sane and stable.
“I’m happy to do so.” Egbert bowed slightly before he headed out of the room and closed the door behind him.
“All right, so, finances. What is coming in, what is going out, projections for the next year?” Delilah said, trying to structure their meeting some.
“Resources, taxes, the academy and loans are our methods of income,” Rose said confidently.
“Could you explain them all?” Delilah wanted to know how the system worked from the bottom up so she didn’t need to ask more questions later.
“The iron mine, the Alchemy gardens, and the farming plots are all owned by Alva Dungeon. The workers are paid a wage. Once the goods are harvested, they are then sold at the discretion of Alva Dungeon. It’s our most stable income due to the gardens and fields.”
“Why?”
“The farmers and the alchemists, as you know, have improved their skills, equipment, and knowledge rapidly. They have also gotten access to better plants to increase their y
ields and their value, and decrease the time it requires to grow them. The farmers have gone from needing three months to have a full crop to needing just two weeks and their yield has increased by one hundred and fifty percent. They are not only growing simple grains but other items from across the First and Second Realm, specialties of different regions that can be grown with the aid of the growing houses. Each month, the fields create enough food for Alva Dungeon for a year; that is only increasing. A certain amount is put aside to fill Alva Dungeon’s needs. The rest of it heads to market with the traders.
“Our market prices in Alva Dungeon are lower to make it easier for people to buy food. Sold to the traders at auction, there is usually at least an eighty percent increase in price, as well as taxation on top. For an acre of farmland in the First Realm, it costs around three hundred and twenty gold to seed, plant, and care for. If everything goes well and only fifteen percent of the crop is lost, frost doesn’t kill it, or hail or drought, then that acre of corn can be sold for four hundred and twenty-three silver, making them around one hundred silver. Now, that is if they own the land and aren’t working for a landowner and they have a market that is interested in their crop. They could grow corn but if everyone in the area grew corn, they’d have to sell at a loss so they have enough money for the winter and for the next year’s crop.
“We don’t have to worry about hail, frost, or natural problems. We don’t need as many people to work on the land. We own the land; we can grow it without expensive taxes and operating costs. It is roughly about fifty silver for us to plant a field and operate it, every two weeks. Our traders can tell us what is needed on the market. Say there is a shortage of oats—we can have the farmers grow oats, increasing the selling price due to the high demand. So instead of us going for corn that will give us three hundred, we go for soybeans that are going for five hundred. We have twenty acres of farmland. With the producing every two weeks, we make an average of five hundred twenty-four gold pieces and eighty-two silver pieces a month. With taxes and prices, we will earn an average of five Mortal Mana stones and eight hundred and eighteen gold per year, with basic foodstuffs.
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