Chapter 18: New Summons and New Arrangements!
The delicious breakfast was over quickly, and before everyone dispersed to their duties, Kaiden held back his combat forces for a moment and issued some instructions.
He then called upon three villagers who were currently at the midpoint of Level Four — just a few steps away from a class upgrade — and told them to come to him the moment they reached Level Five.
The blacksmith Hook, the carpenter Masmar, and militia soldier Rob were also at Level Four. But unfortunately, he didn't have an abundance of Origin Points yet, so completing the quest was his top priority for the time being.
After everyone had left for their duties, one person alone remained in place.
Seeing that the right moment had finally come, Luther stepped forward a few paces until he reached Kaiden, then said with a slight bow: "My lord, the Stamina Potions — along with the Snake Venom Potions and the Antidote Potions — are all ready."
Kaiden's smile widened immediately. He recalled the first quest that had appeared to him just a short while ago, and the fact that Luther had been working nonstop for nearly half a day yesterday, and said with appreciation: "Excellent! Well done, Luther. Head to your workshop ahead of me — I'll be there shortly."
"As you command, my lord," Luther replied respectfully, placing his hand on his chest, then departed toward his workshop.
Kaiden didn't linger any further. He stepped outside immediately to the nearby open space, then activated the daily summon opportunity.
When the flash faded, twenty new residents appeared before him — men and women of various ages and builds, standing in neat rows. The majority were ordinary villagers. The full breakdown was:
- 12 villagers
- 6 militia soldiers
- 2 elite soldiers
After everyone greeted him with collective bows, Kaiden immediately began dividing the day's group. First, he formed two new combat teams led by the two elite soldiers. Incidentally, one of these soldiers was an assassin carrying twin daggers, and the other was a long spear-carrier like Golan.
After dispatching the combat forces to their positions, Kaiden turned toward the twelve villagers — and did not send a single one of them to the resource-gathering teams.
He was not short on basic resources like stone and wood. Instead, he assigned one villager as an assistant to each of the territory's workshops: the blacksmith, the carpenter, and the butcher.
He also, of course, sent a villager woman to the tavern to assist Sidra. And he selected a young villager who appeared sharp-minded and sent him specifically to the Alchemist's Workshop.
Kaiden did this because the workload on all his craftsmen had grown far too heavy, and assistants would relieve much of the burden. Beyond that, he had noticed that villagers were like blank pages — whatever profession they entered would become their future class. With his territory's growing needs, training new craftsmen had become essential to keep the wheel of development turning.
He now had six villagers remaining. Kaiden asked them to follow him, then chose a relatively distant, flat area of land and stood at its center. He took the Land Improvement Voucher from his inventory and pressed the "Activate" option.
What happened next was a magical sight.
Across a 200-square-meter area, the dry barren soil didn't simply disappear — it transformed. It shifted into rich red earth overflowing with nutrients. Kaiden felt the difference immediately — not only through his eyes, but through his affinity with the earth. He felt life stirring in soil that had been dead.
The earth was loosened, soft, and ready for immediate planting. Kaiden handed the six villagers the seed pouches and told them to plant in organized square plots, keeping any surplus seeds aside in case of excess.
He then took the Large Water Tank Blueprint from his inventory and chose to build it in a spot close to the planted land, and a large tank the height of two floors appeared.
He then opened the World Market and began buying river water, which was available in abundance. He bought and bought without stopping, nearly draining the World Market of river water entirely, until at last the full ten-ton capacity was filled.
The water market began to stir and tremble with agitation — but Kaiden paid it no mind. He quietly took what he needed and left, leaving the World Chat and Territory Chat boiling with arguments and questions about who had suddenly bought up all that water.
Kaiden asked the villagers to tend to the irrigation, and since completing the farming quest would take some time, he headed off toward Luther's Alchemist's Workshop — where the alchemist had been waiting for him for a while.
On his way, he built the Leatherworker's Workshop and the Tailor's Workshop. He then handed all the monster hides he had collected to the leatherworker to process and prepare, with instructions to pass them along to the tailor once finished, to be crafted into basic clothing and leather armor.
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Kaiden finally arrived at Luther's workshop. He pushed open the wooden door and entered to find Luther standing beside a long metal table.
On the table, three types of glass potions were arranged with meticulous care.
The first: Stamina Potions, bearing a sky-blue color.
The second: Venom Potions, containing a dark green liquid.
The third: Antidote Potions, with a pale grey hue.
Kaiden picked up one of the vials and studied it for a moment. He asked Luther about the preparation method, and the alchemist explained the process: the ingredients were placed in a special pot and cooked, followed by a purification and distillation process. He added that the number of potions extracted per batch varied depending on the quantity of ingredients and the type of potion itself. Each vial held roughly 100ml — making it closer to a serum than a potion.
Kaiden quickly counted the vials, and the tally was:
- Stamina Potion ×12
- Snake Venom Potion ×8
- Antidote Potion ×9
Naturally, since the ingredients and monster blood used were Common-tier, the potions' tier was Common as well.
He opened their information interfaces to read the details. As its name suggested, the Stamina Potion eliminated fatigue and granted temporary energy. On a battlefield where opposing forces were closely matched in level, the side possessing Stamina Potions would naturally tip toward victory. As for the Venom Potions, their uses were numerous — including applying them to weapons to increase damage output. The Antidote Potion, meanwhile, had an additional feature that caught his attention: drinking the first dose not only removed poison but granted a small permanent immunity to certain Common-tier toxins.
While Kaiden was studying the vials, he suddenly remembered something. He turned to Luther and asked directly: "What about the Twin-Headed warrior's carcass? Did you and Joel the Butcher find anything useful?"
Upon hearing the Lord's question, Luther shook his head in denial and replied with a touch of embarrassment: "No, my lord. After the dissection, I was unable to extract anything useful."
Luther sighed, then continued in more detail: "I do have some preliminary findings suggesting that its blood may be compatible for crafting potions related to the Intelligence trait… but my current level is far too low, and I would need more samples to reach a conclusion. Additionally, its vital weak points are largely similar to those of humans."
"That's all right," said Kaiden, patting Luther on the shoulder consolingly. "I was only experimenting. I'll send you more samples later."
As Kaiden spoke the last word, a sly smile played at the corner of his lips.
It seemed that the noble Lord of Ashbel's Clan Territory would soon be contributing to his territory's research. After all — everything in the name of science, was it not?
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— End of Chapter Eighteen —