Prerequisites for Magic Paper

At noon, the census of the territory was completed. Loren looked at the crooked handwriting on the paper before him, his expression somewhat subtle.

Although he knew his territory was in a sorry state, seeing the results still gave him a headache.

Apart from a few high-ranking individuals, there were only seven literate people in the entire territory. Yes, seven.

Including the bearded Deen and Ariel, that made nine people.

The remaining 160-plus people were all illiterate, a literacy rate so low it was outrageous.

And that was without counting the Barbarians and Kobolds. If they were included...

However, it wasn't all bad news. Although the vast majority couldn't read or write, most people possessed one or two skills.

Tailors, blacksmiths, carpenters, farmers, and so on – these were all talents useful for the territory's development, even if the term "talent" was a bit of a stretch.

Loren looked at the few people before him, dressed in ragged clothes, his gaze still subtle.

These seven were the literate talents selected.

He felt that he, as the lord, might not even be as capable as a neighborhood manager in Decker City.

"I appoint the three of you as temporary supervisors for the reconstruction of the Arrow Tower, fully responsible for this repair mission.

Responsibility will be assigned to individuals. If any problems arise, I will hold you accountable."

The three slaves who had experience building walls and Arrow Towers shivered, both excited and apprehensive. They quickly responded, "Lord Loren, we will give our all!"

Loren nodded.

He then looked at a middle-aged man in his early forties standing beside him and said solemnly, "Sicoli, I am now appointing you as the Household Administrator of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, responsible for household registration management."

Without waiting for a response, he continued to appoint the next person.

"Mar, I appoint you as the Sanitation Administrator of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, responsible for the hygiene of the City of Brilliant Moon. I will assign ten people to assist you.

From today onwards, no one is allowed to defecate or urinate randomly in residential areas. Simultaneously, construct toilets and septic tanks. Within ten days, I expect to see a qualitative change in the territory's appearance."

"All slaves hired by the City Hall will automatically be granted third-class resident status. From today, you are true residents of the City of Brilliant Moon."

"The remaining individuals will be assigned work by Speaker Ariel."

"Meeting adjourned."

Loren's appointments were made public under the watchful eyes of all the slave residents.

Under everyone's gaze, those who were named were filled with excitement and elation.

They had actually been appointed as officials by Lord Loren.

From today onwards, they would no longer be lowly slaves, but employees of the City Hall, noble third-class residents!!

Instantly, their heads held a little higher, and amidst the envious gazes of the surrounding crowd, they felt an overwhelming sense of pride at this moment.

Praise Lord Loren, praise the City of Brilliant Moon!!

A thousand gold pieces to buy a horse's bones.

Seeing this scene, the minds that were already stirring became even more fervent.

They also wanted to become employees of the City Hall, they also wanted to shed their slave status!!

The previous residents were like stagnant water, seeing no hope, no future.

But now, their companions, who were the focus of everyone's attention, had reignited the extinguished flames in their hearts.

After finishing the appointments, Loren approached Ariel, who was standing nearby.

He looked at the shy girl, his words filled with encouragement.

"Although the City of Brilliant Moon is still very weak, it requires even more effort.

Ariel, you have infinite potential. I need your help, and your talents should truly shine.

Do whatever you want to do. I have absolute trust in you."

It would be too wasteful not to utilize this genius.

In a situation of talent scarcity, Ariel's importance was even more pronounced.

"Lord Loren."

Ariel looked at the extremely handsome young man before her, her face flushing like a cooked shrimp, even her neck turning crimson.

The heavily bearded Deen had already turned his head away, seemingly accepting of all this.

His treasure was ultimately leaving him. He didn't know why, but he felt like having a drink.

Sob sob sob. I'll never have daughters again.

"Ding~ Quest: Establish City Hall, Completed.

Reward: Papermaking Technique, issued, please check."

At this moment, the system's notification sound rang out again.

A hint of joy appeared in Loren's eyes, but before he could be happy for long, he frowned again.

"Check it carefully? Can Papermaking Technique be sent via express delivery?"

After several quests, Loren had figured out the principle behind the system's rewards. Everything was based on existing facts.

For example, the allegiance of Sim, the Kobold Bloodline Mage.

The prerequisite for this quest was that there had to be a Kobold Bloodline Mage to trigger it.

If there hadn't been a Bloodline Mage, the quest might have been different, and a Kobold Bloodline Mage wouldn't have appeared out of thin air to pledge allegiance to him.

If his quest had failed, Loren guessed that perhaps the cowardly Kobold would have suddenly possessed the courage to die heroically, preferring death to surrender, or perhaps he would have simply committed suicide.

The same applied to the quest to conquer the Barbarian in the slave market. If the quest had failed, the Barbarian would have ruthlessly refused to pledge allegiance to him.

Regarding the Papermaking Technique rewarded this time, Loren speculated that it likely already existed in his territory.

If the quest failed, no one would have discovered it, but with the quest's success, perhaps someone found the secret manual for Papermaking Technique within the territory.

Just as Loren was pondering, a white-haired old man suddenly walked over from not far away.

The soldiers maintaining order naturally wouldn't easily allow the old man to approach Loren without reason and immediately stopped him.

But the old man's attitude was exceptionally firm; he insisted on seeing Loren.

The two sides immediately started pushing and shoving, quickly attracting the attention of the surrounding crowd.

"What is Tommy doing? Why is he arguing with those adults?"

"Is he tired of living? Those are the Lord's soldiers!"

"What happened??"

The murmurs of the crowd interrupted Loren's thoughts. He turned his head slightly, saw the scene not far away, and his heart stirred. He waved his hand at the soldiers.

"Bring him over."

Only then did the soldiers obey Loren's command and let the old man pass, though they were somewhat displeased. How could this old man be so strong?

If they alerted Lord Loren, they would be scolded to death by Lord Kool when they returned.

The white-haired old man approached Loren with pleading eyes and then, without any preamble, knelt on the ground.

"My Lord, you are the most benevolent Noble I have ever met.

I beg you to pardon my granddaughter's slave status and allow her to become a free resident."

Loren raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when the next sentence made his eyes burst with brilliant light.

"Benevolent and great Lord, as long as you pardon my granddaughter, I am willing to offer our family's Papermaking Technique.

My Lord, with your noble status, you should have heard of Magic Paper.

Our ancestor was once a great Spellcaster, and the Papermaking Technique I learned was passed down from that Spellcaster.

Our ancestor left a will stating that the family's Papermaking Technique could produce the legendary Magic Paper.

Although I have not mastered these techniques, if research continues, perhaps it can be achieved."

Magic Paper?!!

Loren's breathing quickened.

If ordinary white paper was exclusive to Nobles, then Magic Paper was a rare item thousands of times more expensive than white paper.

This was because Magic Paper was an essential item for creating Magic Scrolls.

Spellcasters could engrave their spells onto Magic Scrolls, imbuing them with powerful effects.

Every Magic Scroll was worth a fortune, an item more precious than Gold Grade.

However, the method of manufacturing Magic Paper had long been monopolized by Spellcasters. Not only was it impossible to learn, but ordinary people couldn't even see Magic Paper.

Yet now, this extremely precious item had appeared before him.

Although the old man before him said that the techniques he mastered could not currently produce Magic Paper.

Even if the system didn't trigger the follow-up to this quest, he could still try to have the old man research it.

There might be a chance to develop true Magic Paper in the future.

The implications of this were undeniably significant.

Loren felt as if he saw an inexhaustible gold mine placed before his eyes.