Chapter 21: New City

Paul looked at them with curiosity. “What do you want to talk about?”

“We’d like to help you with the city. We’re all experienced in different areas and want to make this city the best it can be.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we figured that you don’t have much experience ruling a city… am I right?”

“Well… yes.”

“We can help. All of us have been leaders or involved in leadership in our villages. We’ve talked among ourselves, and each of us has expertise in different areas. For example, I have the most knowledge about improving city defenses.”

“Really? And then what do I need to do?”

“You can ask us for advice or tell us what you wish to do, and we will implement it.”

This work is hosted on mananovel.com

“I like this…”

“Also, after assigning a position to someone, you can allocate city funds to that person’s budget.”

“How would that work exactly?”

The man’s enthusiasm grew with each question. The others around him just smiled and listened, familiar with his eagerness.

“Let’s say you give a budget to someone in a particular area. That person will use the money to improve their area as best as they can. If you have specific tasks you want done with that money, you can either ask or let the responsible person make decisions.”

“That sounds reasonable…”

“You can also check the city’s stats to see how it’s doing.”

Paul immediately said, “Show city stats,” and a window popped up. It was as straightforward as his own stats.

**City Stats**

Name: Doln

Title: ???

Fame: 0

Funds: 0

Military Offense: 0

Military Defense: 0

Sanitation & Beauty: 0

Security: 0

Culture: 0

Technology: 0

Mood: 0

Trading: 0

Peace Treaties: -

All the stats were 0. After discussing each of the stats with his advisors, Paul understood their meanings. They were quite straightforward.

Over the following week, after speaking with each advisor individually, Paul appointed them to their respective areas.

- **Dodiloast** was appointed as the person responsible for offense. He and his twin brother, Gordian, were both generals. Dodiloast had scars all over his arms and face and had lost an ear, while Gordian was more of a strategist and had led a few battles without engaging in direct combat.

- **Faber** was assigned to sanitation and beauty. He was known for his obsession with cleanliness, making him a suitable choice since his village was the cleanest and prettiest.

- **Otho** was made responsible for security. A former mercenary, he was skilled in creating distractions and knew all the tricks. He was also responsible for taxes and agreed that there would be no taxes for the first three months.

- **Teirdin** was appointed to Culture and Technology. A librarian who had read extensively, Teirdin knew a great deal but struggled with social interactions and often ignored others.

- **Glaice** was in charge of Mood. As the heart of the party, he enjoyed having fun and helping others, and was responsible for ensuring the citizens were happy and organizing events.

The advisors were given rooms in the castle if they wished to use them and were grateful for the opportunity to influence the city directly. Paul, though not knowing them for long, trusted them. He transferred 1 million golden coins into the city’s funds and allocated budgets to each area based on priority:

- Offense: 50,000 gold

- Defense: 100,000 gold

- Sanitation and Beauty: 20,000 gold

- Security: 50,000 gold

- Culture: 300,000 gold

- Technology: 300,000 gold

- Mood: 10,000 gold

- Trading: 50,000 gold

He kept the remaining funds as a reserve for emergencies. The advisors were astonished by their budgets and excitedly began reworking their plans. They realized that with this much funding, the city could become renowned.

The city began to come alive as people continued arriving from nearby villages. Children played, and shops opened for business. However, the lack of traders from other cities posed a threat to the city’s economy and overall stability, as the city was largely unknown and only known for its ruins.

“I need to do something about this. But what… Oh, I know,” Paul said.

He contacted Nori through his bracelet. “Hey, Nori. How are you?”

“Paul! Good, good. Busy with work. Nothing new.”

“Really? Well, I could use your help—and your guild’s, if possible.”

“Of course, but if you want my guild to help, you need gold. That’s how it works.”

“No problem. Where are you?”

“In a city called Zrares.”

“I thought you were in the capital. Where is this city exactly?”

“Well, I was sent out again as soon as I arrived. The city is… have you heard of the mountains with the rainbow clouds?”

“Yes.”

“North of those mountains, if you ride for a week on horseback, you arrive at a lake. Next to the lake is the city.”

“I’m pretty close. We’ll talk when I arrive.”

“Really? When will you arrive?”

“Not sure. I’ll find you when I do.”

“Okay… See you soon.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Paul looked at the tiger and asked if it wanted to join him on a journey. The small tiger jumped onto Paul’s shoulders. It was small and light, so it didn’t bother him much. Paul informed his advisors that he would be leaving for a while, then headed to the city edge.

He decided to test his speed and see how fast he really was. Holding the tiger with one hand to ensure it wouldn’t fall, Paul jumped as high as he could. He reached the clouds in an instant and saw three cities in the distance: two to the north and one to the west. As he began to fall, he felt a bit of panic due to the height. When he landed, he created a small crater but was unharmed. Feeling an adrenaline rush, he headed towards the city in the west.

A few minutes later, he arrived at the city. He didn’t go straight to the center. Instead, he ran from a distance, still moving quickly. Once in the city, he bypassed the city’s name and went straight to the shops. He bought the best armor available from a tailor. Though it didn’t offer much protection, it was durable and visually striking, with white, blue, and black streaks.

Next, Paul visited all the traders and informed them about the trading opportunities in Doln. The traders were surprised they hadn’t heard of the city before and were initially skeptical. Some didn’t believe him at all and thought he was lying. After spreading rumors about the city, Paul left the city.

He then traveled to the other two cities, spreading rumors of treasure and other enticing stories, ensuring they pointed toward Doln. Paul was careful not to incite an army to march toward his city.

After three days, Paul arrived at the lake Nori had mentioned. The city looked peculiar from a distance, with all buildings having a boxy design and everyone wearing similar clothes in varying colors—brown, green, and white. At the gates, he was stopped by guards, searched, and handed brown clothing.

He wasn’t allowed into the city until he was dressed in the provided clothes. He noticed that others at the gates were in a similar situation. Once dressed, he was allowed inside. The city was eerily silent, with people talking quietly, walking with their heads down, and showing no expression.

As Paul explored, he realized that the clothing color indicated rank, with brown being the lowest. He tried to explore the entire city but was restricted from some areas due to his brown rank.