Sanjay reached the South Asian Tower, and today he planned to enter the tower's second floor. He showed his association-issued ID to the door security. After a brief verification, he was allowed to enter.
The moment he stepped through the door, everything went dark.
A system message appeared.
[Assigning a character at random]
After a brief few seconds, he opened his eyes. He was lying in a bed—this bed was harder than the soft ones he was used to. He looked around and saw a huge study table with an oil lamp on it. The architecture of the walls looked like it was from medieval times.
He looked down at his body and hands. The potions he had created outside hadn't come with him. He tried to test if he could bring the mana potions he had replicated outside, but he failed—the tower didn't allow it.
He then tried to replicate a mana potion inside the tower, and yes, it worked. The mana cost to create the potion remained almost negligible, just like after creating it thousands of times outside. Still, he drank it to make sure, and it worked fine.
A system message appeared:
[Mission:
1. Accomplish military achievements.
2. Survive for a minimum of one year.]
The information about the second floor was correct. The mission would take place in a medieval world, and the time difference between the second floor of the tower and the outside world was that one year inside the tower equaled one day outside.
So, after one year, only one day would pass in the real world. Based on what he already knew, he would likely become a soldier in the kingdom's army. His position would be random, based on luck—he could be a common soldier, or he could be a general, anything.
The story went that there were four princes, and each one wanted to rule the kingdom. The king had passed away a few days ago in his sleep. Last year, the king had given each of the four princes their own territory to rule over, with the goal of determining who was the best at governing. The king had planned to make the most capable one the crown prince. But before the competition was over, the king died, and with his death, a civil war broke out between the four princes, each supported by different nobles. Sanjay would be in one of the prince's armies, and his achievements in the war would determine his rank.
First, he needed to figure out who he was in this world. He would have to act according to his assigned position. If anyone found out he was an imposter, he might be killed, as similar cases had happened before.
He went to the washroom to check his identity. He had blond hair and appeared to be around twenty years of age. He looked quite handsome. Perhaps he was a noble or someone important. He then put on an elegant robe found in the wardrobe and walked outside. As he stepped out, a maid came running toward him and kneeled before him.
"Prince, I'm sorry I couldn't serve you tea before you woke up. Please forgive me," the maid said.
He was shocked by what she said. Prince? He was the prince? The one with the highest authority in the war? He looked at the maid to make sure she wasn't playing with him. Looking around, he realized he was in a massive palace with a huge staircase, and many maids were moving from one place to another, cleaning and working.
Was he really the prince? Seeing the maid kneeling before him, it seemed likely. Perhaps, after adding points to his luck, his fortune had turned out to be extraordinary. Even with the random assignment, he had landed one of the best roles. He was absolutely stunned. In this war, those at the top earned the highest merit. You either worked your way up or kept pushing forward, but he had somehow been thrust straight to the top of the ladder.
He kept himself calm and didn't show any emotion. Looking at the maid, who was kneeling and begging, it seemed like the prince was quite strict. But he couldn't punish her, as he wasn't the original prince.
"Go and prepare breakfast. Serve it as soon as possible. I'll take a walk around," he said.
"Certainly, Your Majesty. Thank you for your benevolence," the maid said, almost with tears in her eyes.
Last time, a maid had made a similar mistake. She was punished with one hundred lashes and thrown out, severely injured. Wild dogs outside had eaten her alive. Her screams were heard by the entire palace that night.
Among the four princes, he was notorious for his cruelty. The maid had even heard rumors that he had molested multiple noblewomen, and as a result, the king had sent him to this remote place. If she had a choice, she wouldn't want to serve this infamous prince, but she had no choice. Her family had already sold her to the royal palace for a hefty sum due to her beauty.
She had been selected to serve the fourth prince, the youngest one, along with the others. Back in the royal palace, they weren't afraid, the queen would be there to protect them. But here, there was no one. She was on her own.
Unaware of what was going on in the young maid's mind, Sanjay walked towards the lawn. He saw a person running towards him in a hurry.
He thought of creating a gun but instinctively stopped himself. A few soldiers had already moved in front of the man and caught him.
The person kneeled and shouted, "Majesty, I have important information from the capital!"
Sanjay signaled for the man to be released, and the soldiers complied. The man got up and approached the prince.
"What news do you have?" Sanjay asked.
"Sir, this came from the capital. Please take a look," he handed over a scroll to Sanjay and waited for instructions.
Sanjay opened the scroll, made of animal skin. On the scroll was information about the king's sudden death in his bed a few days ago, the reactions of his siblings, and how the nobles were responding.
From the scroll, he gathered crucial information, particularly about who he was. He was one of the youngest princes, Prince Ayush. Sanjay read about this prince—he was known as one of the weakest but also the most notorious. He had molested several noble women, and while his father, the king, had sent his brothers to places where they could gain governance experience, Ayush was sent to the kingdom's outskirts, where food was scarce.
It was clear that his father didn't want him to achieve anything, so he couldn't hold any important positions in the kingdom. His mother, a maid in the palace, had died shortly after giving birth to him. Neither the king nor the queen had much love for him. He was even the most likely prince to lose the inheritance war.
Seeing that the prince showed no expression, the messenger grew worried about what was going on in his mind.
"Okay, I got it. You can go and rest," Sanjay said.
Sanjay looked at one of the soldiers and said, "Tell the commander to come and meet me as soon as possible." The soldier nodded.
Sanjay then went to the large dining table for breakfast. He noticed the previous maid who had kneeled and begged him not to punish her. She came near him and began serving him. With shaking hands, she placed a loaf of bread, a bowl of meat soup, and a cup of tea before him.
"What was your name?" Sanjay asked the maid.
The maid, startled, wondered why the prince suddenly wanted to know her name. Had she done something wrong? The prince was infamous for his indifference, and now he was asking a maid for her name. Her mind went into full defensive mode.
But she didn't forget to reply. Stumbling, she said, "Lisa, your majesty."
Hearing her name, he looked at her more carefully this time. She was a young woman, around eighteen years old, not much younger than the prince. She had blonde hair and pale skin, and she was quite beautiful. If she weren't in a medieval world, she would certainly be a model with her looks alone.
Before he could ask any more questions, the commander entered the room. He was a broad-shouldered man, with huge muscles. He was around six and a half feet tall and wore a sheathed sword at his waist.
"Majesty, you called for me?" the commander kneeled on one knee.
"Have you heard the news?" Sanjay asked.
"Yes, your majesty," the commander replied. No wonder—the news of the king's death had already spread far and wide, even to the merchants.
Sanjay then signaled for the maid to leave. Once she left and closed the door, he turned back to the commander.
"Please sit, commander. Have breakfast with me."
Seeing the prince inviting him to sit and share a meal, the commander hesitated. Nobles never treated anyone as equals, let alone invited them to sit at the same table.
The commander hesitated but didn't sit down. When Sanjay noticed this, he didn't immediately understand what was happening. But then he realized things were completely different in this world.
He didn't insist the commander sit but instead went straight to the important topic.
"Give me information about our forces," Sanjay said.
Hearing this, the commander was relieved that the prince hadn't insisted he sit. Long-held habits are not easy to change. Understanding what the prince wanted to do, he quickly provided the information.
"Currently, we have about fifty thousand troops. Out of these, around one thousand are cavalry, two thousand are archers, and the rest are infantry," the commander reported. Hearing this, Sanjay became very tense. It was far from what he had expected.
"And what about my brothers' troops?" he asked, hoping their numbers were less than his.
"Each of the first and second princes has about two hundred thousand troops, and the third prince has around one hundred fifty thousand troops. I cannot confirm the exact numbers in real-time, but with support from other nobles, their forces may increase," the commander replied. Sanjay felt disappointed hearing this.
"Do we have any support from any of the nobles?" Sanjay asked, still hopeful.
"No, Majesty. After you were sent to the outskirts, the few nobles who had supported us withdrew their support."
"Shit," Sanjay muttered, massaging his temple. Now that he was a prince, if he wanted to achieve the best rating, he would need to win this war. Winning as the top leader would guarantee the best rating, but how could he do that? He couldn't rely on the same strategies listed on the web, as only the character's name and mission were the same. Everything else, from the character's behavior to the geography, was different.
"Okay, what is the financial situation? How much money do we have?" he asked.
"Majesty, we have around one million gold coins in savings," the commander replied.
"Alright, start hiring people for the war. In the beginning, everyone will be given three gold coins, and after a victory, they will receive seven gold coins each. Food and weapons will be provided by us. Use ninety percent of the money to purchase weapons and resources. We cannot afford to lack anything," Sanjay instructed. The commander was astonished.
"But, Majesty, if we do that, we won't have many gold coins left. In an emergency, we may face problems," the commander warned. He knew that as the war progressed, costs would rise. Broken armor, swords, horses, and food all required gold coins to repair and replace. During the war, the cost of materials would skyrocket, and they didn't even have iron mines to rely on. Surely, the prince knew this.
"Don't worry about the money," Sanjay said. "I'll think of something. Give me a list of the equipment and weapons you need for the war, and send me the highest quality of each. Also, from the fifty thousand troops we currently have, send ten thousand of the best infantry—those who will follow my command without question. I'll train them myself."
The commander was angry this time. What did the young prince think? That war was a game? He hadn't fought a single battle, so how could he train the best soldiers? Perhaps this would be the end for both the prince and his men.
But the commander didn't consider betraying him. His family had served the royal family for generations. They were a large family of soldiers. If one of them were killed, no one would care. But if they thought of betraying their master, the consequences would be far worse than death.
Without question, the commander agreed to Sanjay's command and went out to make preparations. They would march toward the nearest city within a month.
War takes time to prepare for; the more soldiers, the longer it takes. It was the same for the other three princes. They might have received information earlier, and with support from the nobles, they could move much sooner. But the ultimate winner isn't the one who moves first; it's the one who moves last.
After the preparations were complete, they would stop very little. Sanjay noticed hesitation on the commander's face, but he didn't say anything. His commands might seem absurd at this time, but he was playing to the rules of the medieval world. He planned to introduce modern weapons to these people and show them their power.