Sword God in a World of Magic

The agent left to prepare everything, and he returned with several more people after a couple of hours.

As soon as they arrived, they immediately started, and when Shang saw what they did, he became impressed.

Sure enough, he had made the right call by getting a professional.

First, they distributed enchanted pieces of paper that entranced the mortals and beckoned them to look at them.

What did these papers do?

Well, within just one day, every mortal that wasn't a small child or younger learned to read.

After that, they built several huge stone tablets with rules on them.

The general confusion was reduced by a lot. With an encompassing set of rules, people stopped doing some things while doing other things more often.

Next, books with basic introductions to different jobs were distributed, and the people were encouraged to think about what kinds of jobs they would be most interested in.

While all of this was going on, other Mages were already building several important buildings.

Several big warehouses.

Several bars.

Designated farmland.

But the majority were residential houses.

However, there was one interesting thing about the residential houses.

They were very different from each other.

There were very big mansions, but there were also horrible shacks.

The Mages made it specifically like this to create a clear image of status and power.

More powerful people had to also look more powerful and live in a grander style.

This would motivate the weak ones to work harder on themselves.

As soon as most of the houses were finished, every mortal that still remained inside the town was essentially thrown out of the town.

The northern part of the town was no longer meant for mortals to live in but for mortals to learn and work in.

Marketplaces, smithies, and academies were created in this place after essentially burning everything to the ground that was already there.

All the mortals received prepared food from the Mages that would easily last them for the next couple of days.

Several Mages conducted interviews with the mortals to see what they would be good at and what they wanted to do.

Eventually, the mortals were separated into different groups, and each group got a basic introduction to their future jobs.

All of this took over two weeks, but that was already terrifyingly fast and efficient.

Eventually, all the classes stopped, and the mortals were required to purchase further lessons by showing results.

Hunters were required to hunt some weak beasts and hand them over to the Mages.

Smiths were required to create some basic weapons and armor.

And so on.

Of course, since everyone had only received the bare minimum, they were all essentially still blindly going forward.

The smiths only knew how to smelt ore, hammer it, and cool it.

That was it.

They had no idea how to create specific things.

But that was the very thing that the Mages wanted to encourage, a natural progression.

Of course, just like animals, the mortals were enticed to learn and grow by the potential payment and increase in status.

Also, it felt great to be better than a peer.

Shang watched the mortal district take shape with nearly no issues.

It was like everyone knew exactly what they should do.

Initially, Shang had been skeptical about the price, but now, he knew that the money was worth it.

While Shang was watching the mortal district take form, he was contacted by someone.

It was the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild, and this time, she wasn't alone.

Several more people accompanied her.

The Guild Master of the Merchant's Guild.

The Guild Master of the Crafter's Guild.

These three people represented the economy of the town.

The procurement of resources, refinement of resources, and selling of resources.

"Town Lord, we would like to talk to you," the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild said.

Shang made it clear with his Spirit Sense that he was paying attention to them, but he didn't say anything.

"We have talked amongst ourselves, and we all agree that an external mortal district will bring nothing but bad things to the town," the Guild Master explained. "We would ask you to reconsider."

"No," Shang answered. "I didn't purchase this town to keep making money but to transform it into something new."

"Sir," the Guild Master of the Merchant's Guild said, "with all due respect, we have been in this town for much longer than you, and we know how things work around here. Everything has been going well up to now, and it isn't very difficult to uphold the current status quo. You just don't need to change anything, and things will remain great."

"No," Shang said again. "As I've said, I'm not interested in how things are. This is my town, and I have purchased it with a specific goal in mind."

"And what, pray tell, is that goal?" the third Guild Master asked.

"Not your concern," Shang answered.

The three Guild Masters were shocked.

Not their concern?

They were the de-facto leaders of this town!

Everything inside this town was their concern!

The three Guild Masters looked at each other and nodded.

"Then we have no other choice but to stop operations in protest of your policies until they change," the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild said.

"Okay," Shang answered.

Silence.

Several seconds of silence.

The Guild Masters looked with annoyance and frustration at their Town Lord. "Do you not realize what consequences this will have for the town!?"

"I understand the consequences," Shang answered.

"I just don't care."

The eyes of the Guild Masters' widened in shock.

"The revenue of your three Guilds combined isn't even a quarter of what the Pathfinder Magic Circle pulls in. The entire town can stay in stasis indefinitely, and the town will still earn far more than it spends."

"You don't have the power you think you have, Guild Masters."

Of course, the Guild Masters immediately exploded and stopped being polite at that point.

But Shang didn't care.

They were just barking dogs.

Eventually, Shang started completely ignoring them.

But, very soon, the Guild Masters' showed their hand.

Shang was contacted by the Temple of Blood.

Someone had put up a mission for his assassination.

Apparently, he was worth three Grade Six Mana Crystals.