Leo was surprised by Xia's statement that he had gotten the same blueprint designs that Xia had personally designed all that time ago, however he was more interested in the time frame. Xia had said 300 cycles, not years, which was a weird way of telling time, at least in Leo's mind.
Slightly confused, Leo asked Xia,"300 Cycles? You mean 300 years?"
Xia shook his head and hurriedly answered,"No, Lord Leo. Orange grade units and above have knowledge of past lives, and past Lords that they have served. They don't have knowledge of the technologies or advancements, but they do have vague memories of the different things they made and the things they contributed to their individual lords."
Leo was flabbergasted at this new information, because that would mean that the troops and workers were basically recycled throughout the different lords that were summoned to this world. Leo questioned,"That still doesn't tell me what 300 cycles mean? Explain that please, Xia."
Xia, still sweating slightly, said,"Well, Lord Leo, I am a special unit, which means even though I am a Blue grade, I can retain my knowledge so I can assist the lords that summon me to their cities and kingdoms. Cycles just refer to how many lords have passed, and is a common phrase meant to simplify that commonality between us higher tiered units."
Leo understood what he meant, however that didn't mean he wasn't surprised by what he had heard from Xia. He asked,"So that means you have served over 300 lords before me? How many have you served?"
Xia paused his thinking on the blueprint and after a few seconds, hesitantly replied,"I believe it will be about 500 Lords. However that may be more or less, because I believe that some of those memories are fake or put there to make me think that I have more experience than I actually do."
Leo nodded his head, saying,"I guess that makes sense."
Xia had a puzzled look and asked,"Now that I think about it, how am I here right now my lord? I don't think I have ever been summoned outside of Asia or by people not of asian descent. The farthest I think was by someone from up north in the winter mountains. But with how you look, I can tell you are neither Asian, nor anything close. Did something happen to the people of your world that they were displaced so far from where they should have naturally ended up?"
Leo shook his head and said,"No, your recruitment scroll was simply part of a trade deal between myself and my new alliance member, who is actually Asian."
Xia nodded his head, and kept looking at the blueprints. Leo instructed him to go and work with Bu and the other weaponsmiths whilst he stayed here and finish up his business in the recruitment center.
After Xia had left Leo opened the 2 Iron Chests he had gained from the repeatable quests.
[Iron Chest opened - Gained 1 Orange grade recruitment scroll (Cultural)]
[Iron Chest opened - Gained 1 Blue grade recruitment scroll (Special)]
Leo nearly jumped for joy when read that his two rewards were this heavy! He gained an Orange grade unit and another special unit!
This got Leo thinking though, as he had never gained a special unit before, even with his insane luck and his innate skill. This got Leo thinking that maybe his skill wouldn't help him with everything and he had to do certain 'hidden quests' to unlock some of the rarer units. Xia was certainly a rare unit, and perhaps Lin Yue had accidentally unlocked some hidden achievement to be able to summon him or gain his summoning scroll.
Leo summoned the cultural worker first, watching with excitement as the recruitment center went to work once more. Leo saw a majestic and tall woman standing in the recruitment area, wearing a long and flowing dress, made of silk and patterned with a golden snake along its side.
Leo greeted her and asked,"What is your name, and what can you do for our culture?" Leo was genuinely asking this question, as he still didn't know what cultural workers really did for the territory.
The newly summoned beauty smiled and replied,"My name is Gloria, my lord, and I am a singer and songwriter that works to unite the lords people through the culture of music. This can be through songs of war, love, loss, really anything that exemplifies the beauty of the territory or kingdom."
Leo nodded his head and told her,"Ok, that makes sense. We are a new territory, so there may not be that much for you to write about just yet, but I look forward to hearing your singing when you are ready. For now, go and talk to the cultural advisor Phina for information on where to start for now."
After Leo said that Gloria bowed deeply and went to find Phina while Leo continued with the last summoning. Leo put the Special scroll into the cubby hole and waited while another person was summoned into the recruitment center.
The man that was summoned in front of Leo was thin with tanned skin and an overgrown beard. He resembled a coal miner from Leo's home in America on earth, complete with the baggy overalls and the deep eye sockets and wrinkles under his eyes. Leo noticed that he didn't seem to be that old, maybe his early 30's, it just seemed like he had lived in a coal mine all his life.
Wondering what kind of unit it was, Leo asked the man as he stepped down,"Hello! What is your name?"
The man, responding in a crackly voice that sounded like it was being pulled through ash, replied,"Rudolf, ma' lord"
Leo slightly chuckled when he heard the lax attitude on this new unit named 'Rudolf'. Leo had gotten so used to being treated with respect that Rudolf's and Xia's attitudes had thrown him in a bit of a loop, which Leo realized may be just a thing that happened with special units. Leo surmised that perhaps all or most Special units were like this.
Leo asked Rudolf,"That's great, tell me Rudolf, what is it that you do exactly?"
Right as he finished Leo swore he saw Rudolfs eyes light up like fireworks as he cracked a toothy grin and said,"I am a mine finder! I go around the lords' territory, survey the land and find any mines that may exist within the lords' borders or just out of reach of them!"
Leo smiled and secretly thanked whatever god was watching over him, because in this moment, Leo had gained an unprecedented advantage! Other lords could always stumble upon mines in and around their territory but Leo now had someone who could actively search for them and knew how to find them! This was another huge boon to his territory, and would gain him many, many benefits in the future!
Leo, clearing his mind and that train of thought, quickly said,"That's perfect! I have been wondering how we would find another mine besides the luck we already had with the first one!"
Rudolf cocked his head to the side and asked,"First one? You have already found a mine within your territory?"
Leo smirked and proudly said,"We, my team of soldiers and I, defeated a swarm of Crystal Hoarders and gained control of a crystal mine they were trying to colonize! We lost quite a few soldiers in that battle, so having someone like you, who can pick up trails to other mines-"
Just Leo was explaining about the Crystal Hoarders cave and new mine Rudolf rudely interrupted, abruptly asking,"What size mine is it?!"
Leo, a little taken by surprise, said,"Ah.. That… My general Ash said it's most likely a Medium size crystal mine."
Rudolf started to pace back and forth, muttering different non-sensicals to himself for a few minutes. Leo was curious and surprised at the man's attitude, wondering why he would suddenly cut him off in the middle of his explanation.
Leo waited for Rudolf to finish his ramblings and finally Rudolf stopped and said to Leo,"My lord, I will need to go and inspect that mine."
Leo, now sitting on the ground, waiting for Rudolf to finish his pacing, replied,"Why? Its just a simple medium sized-"
As Leo was getting back up and dusting himself off, explaining the crystal mine, Rudolf had interrupted him again! Rudolf quickly corrected Leo with,"No, you think it is simple! Listen here Lord Leo, Mines are never 1 and done things. All things in this world are connected and where there is 1 there is bound to be another!"
Leo, now a little annoyed to be cut off twice, irritatedly asked,"So what are you suggesting?"
Rudolf, not even recognizing, or perhaps purposefully ignoring the look of annoyance on Leo's face said,"We will need to go back to the crystal cave and check it for alternative paths! There is a high likelihood that there will be more mines connected to it. More mines mean more ores and more treasures, this is what 'searchers' like myself are born to do!"
Leo sighed and said."Fine.. Tomorrow Me, You, Ash, and a few of our soldiers will set out and go back to the Crystal Hoarders cave to find out if your words truly do have some weight to them."
Rudolf, now grinning in excitement, said,"Thank you my lord!"
Leo replied,"Yeah, whatever. Until then, I need you to go to the small mountain range behind the territory and look at it to see if there's anything worth a go at."
Rudolf nodded his head in appreciation and said,"Hmm.. A small mountain range you say.. That could be fun.."
Rudolf left in a hurry after Leo chased him out, not wanting to deal with his attitude or weirdness with mines anymore. There was only so much Leo could take when it came to dealing with weird people after all!
Just as Leo exited the recruitment center he saw the future deacon and Ash, who seemed to have returned from the scouting mission, frantically conversing near the barracks. Leo was 150 units away though, so he decided to steadily walk towards them to see what was wrong while taking in the view once more of his people hard at work.
Leo was really starting to appreciate this world more and more as time went by. He saw his miners and new summoned loggers all tirelessly working to collect resources. He saw the new houses being built next to the to-be-demolished buildings. He saw the finishing touches on the first well being put into place and he saw many people milling about and transporting wood and stone to and fro.
Leo looked back to the pair he was walking towards as he got closer and saw that they both had a look of dread on their faces. Leo noticed that Ash seemed to be carrying a great burden as he seemed incredibly tense. Leo picked up his pace until he got to them, calling out,"Guys! What's wrong? Why do you look so distraught?"
The deacon looked at Ash and asked,"Do you wish to tell him or shall I?"
Ash shook his head and said,"I will do it, this is part of the duty of a commander after all."
Leo was slightly worried and asked,"Ash.. What's wrong?"
Ash, looking like he was about to cry, turned to Leo and said,"The two White grade soldiers have contracted a heavy disease after the battle with the crystal hoarders. They are lying on their deathbeds at this moment, and their only wish is to speak to you before they pass."
Leo was instantly stunned and turned to the deacon to ask him about his blessings, but before he could the deacon shook his head. The deacon said,"No, I cannot do anything for them my lord. At this point, the only thing we can do is listen to their last words and pray for a good afterlife. After that we must come to a decision, to let them suffer to their last breath, or mercy kill them so that they no longer suffer."