When Minos stepped out of the carriage, he noticed a group of guards stationed in a line outside the mansion's entrance gate. This estate was not as expensive as his previous residence in the kingdom's capital, but it was still situated in a good surrounding.
The building itself had two stories in addition to the ground floor, its white color made it rather easy to blend in with the surroundings not attracting much of an attention. And apart from that, the mansion was very similar to the city it was in, arid and modest.
There was not a single plant in sight to adorn the mansion, just a vacant area before the building surrounded by a tall fence and a big gate.
And soon after Minos stepped out, a slightly overweight, middle-aged man with disheveled white hair, unshaven and dressed in a white robe, approached the gate where the guards stood observing the situation.
In fact, during these past two days, most of the officers on duty in Dry City had been preparing for the arrival of their sovereign. After all, after six years, they were going to finally meet their sovereign!
However, many didn't really care about the change of leadership, since there was not a lot to do in this region, given all the various problems. For them, the new commander was just a person with another name who would be issuing orders.
But there were a few who were concerned. After all, even if they couldn't improve, these people, at least, wanted to maintain their current status. But the thought of regressing...it was rather unsettling.
Consequently, a few were also concerned whether this sovereign could handle the local matters, as he didn't have any prior experience, and to make matters worse, as far as they had heard, he had not even started cultivating yet. So, he might as well be good for nothing!
Meanwhile, the slightly overweight man introduced himself to Minos, "Welcome to Dry City, my name is Nelson Skinner, and I've been overseeing the Black Plain region for the past six years, by King Brown's orders. I was instructed to wait for the sovereign's arrival and then hand over the control of the region to him."
Giving a polite look, he then continued.
"Please accompany me to my old office. I'll show you the most important things there." After hearing this, Minos and Dillian followed the regent Skinner into the mansion.
Walking into his office, the regent asked the two to sit.
"Young master Stuart, after I received the news of your recovery, I have made all the necessary arrangements to facilitate the change of command and also made sure that all-important information is passed on to you today."
...
After a few hours of conversation, Nelson Skinner finally left the mansion with a wide smile on his face.
He could finally get out of this place!
He just couldn't even wait another minute to leave. In fact, since dawn, all his belongings were already adequately packed, and his carriage was ready to go at any given moment. So, as soon as he left the mansion, he departed without even taking a look back at the place he had been working for these years, hoping that he would never have to return.
...
Meanwhile, inside the mansion, Minos met with Mia, 27 years old, level 23, with a Blue talent. She was the secretary who had been working for the regent during the previous period and the leader of Dry City guard.
Mia had a beauty that can be considered standard. Even so, she was pleasing to the eyes, especially with her well-pronounced curves.
The guard commander, Pyke, was 53 years old, level 35, and had Blue talent. He was over 1.9 meters tall, with sharp eyes and a medium scar on the right side of his face.
Both of them were born and raised in the Black Plain region. Mia started working for the local government five years ago, while Pyke had already worked as the guard under the three regents sent by the king in the past 25 years, making him a person who knew this region the most and also someone who could surely help the young Stuart a lot.
After meeting them and other members of the local administration, Minos stayed in his new office discussing the information they had received with Dillian.
During that time, they obtained some relevant data regarding the reality of the Black Plain region.
For example, the current Dry City had about 30,000 inhabitants, and with an annual tax of 1 low-level spiritual crystal, there was an income of about 30,000 crystals per year.
In addition, the crystal mines in this region produced an amount of about 24,000 low-grade crystals, but the government was left with only 25% of the total, as workers and other costs demanded the rest of the amount.
Thus, the region yielded about 36,000 low-grade crystals per year.
However, it also costs 12,000 crystals a year to maintain the 30 guards and city management officials, generating a profit of just 24,000 crystals.
Moreover, in the city's current safe box, there were only 1,000 crystals!
Undoubtedly, the former regent had taken everything else, as the tax collection had taken place a few days ago. Because of this, the safe box should be complete at the moment of Minos' arrival...
With this amount, the government could only function for one month!
Minos also discovered that the region of the Black Plain had about 200,000 km² of area, and despite being a plain that could almost entirely be prepared for planting, it was completely sterile and was not suitable for agriculture.
There was also a lake at the eastern end of the region that supplied water to the area. Although There were some rivers as well, they did not draw much attention until now. They were only used in conjunction with the coast to obtain fish, which was traded within Dry City, but this did not constitute a large volume of business. It was an activity done solely to ensure the survival of the fishermen's families.
Mining was also practiced in the territory, but only a small amount of crystals were involved and was not worth worrying about.
Finally, Minos asked Dillian a question with a serious face. "Grandpa Dillian, how many crystals have we left off from what my father left behind?"
"Young master, after spending some in the past six years and the recent move, there are about 30,000 low-grade and 500 medium-grade crystals left."
Minos sighed and then said, "Although it's not much, it's enough to get started... I want to survey the land around the city and also create a group of people to help me with agriculture. I think I have a way to improve the soil, but before that, I need to confirm if I'm sure.
I also want the crystals to collect information about array masters. I want to buy a large array and place it around the city to increase the concentration of spiritual energy. However, for now, I only need the information since we won't be able to afford such a service right now.
Along with that, I also want information about spiritual blacksmiths. I want to know exactly who and where to look when we have enough crystals."
The arrays in question were special formations that could convert the natural spiritual energy into other forms of energy and then concentrate the spiritual energy in some areas, also create protected regions, etc.
Although this world did not develop technologies, the people here could still have a comfortable lifestyle if they had enough crystals. For example, there were simpler arrays that emitted light, while there were others that were used to release heat and many other forms that could facilitate daily life in this place.
Regarding the array masters, they were individuals who focused on cultivating specific techniques mainly related to the arrays.
Generally, array masters were not warriors, as they did not cultivate attack, defense, and any movement techniques. Instead, they focused most of their maximum ten techniques on supporting the arrays.
Nonetheless, they were still very influential throughout the Spiritual World.
As for blacksmiths, they were almost the same as array masters, with the only difference being that they specialized in techniques that aided them in the production of spiritual equipment.
However, Dillian was extremely shocked by what he had just heard from his young master. "Way to improve? Young master, I want to trust you, but I don't think this land could be improved."
Suddenly understanding that his words could be considered rude he quickly added further.
"Young master, in fact, there is a reason why this place is called the Black Plain. This is related to the fact that in this environment, for a long time, any plant that would be planted here will slowly die and turn completely black before finally turning to dust.
Many experts have tried to solve this problem as well, but they all ended up failing miserably," Dillian added.
Minos knew that unless he stated his reason and how he was going to do as he had planned, Dillian would have a hard time believing him and thus decided that it was time to tell Dillian about his inheritance. "Grandpa Dillian, actually there is a reason for me to say that.
Six years ago after I lost my father and almost died, I was also given a great opportunity. I was recognized by the God Henricus Longus and received his inheritance.
With that, I acquired a lot of knowledge and also a special place left by him with many items that can help us now and even in the future. In fact, my unconsciousness these six years was also related to receiving this inheritance." After saying this with an honest expression, Minos threw a golden scroll in Dillian's direction.
Dillian then glanced at the golden scroll thrown in at him when he suddenly thought. "This is... uhh... it…it can't be!!!"