The Right Way to Use Soul Power

After taking a few deep breaths, Loren finally came back to his senses and turned his gaze to the old man before him.

Eye of Truth.

Tommy

Level: Bronze Grade, Beginner

Bloodline: Human (Unawakened)

Loyalty: 67 (Ordinary Loyalty)

Introduction: An ordinary human, but he had memorized knowledge about papermaking. Though he had never put it into practice, he might have the potential to become a papermaker.

Loren's eyes narrowed.

He was certain the final part hadn't been there when he'd checked the residents' attributes earlier. Otherwise, he would have remembered it.

It seemed the system's introductions updated in real time.

"Tommy, is what you said true?"

Loren's sharp gaze made the white-haired Tommy tremble. He hurriedly replied,

"I swear on my soul, great lord, every word I said is true! If I'm lying, may demons devour my soul!"

Looking at the wrinkled old man, Loren was at a loss for words. I'm not interested in your soul.

"I'll give you ten people to work under you. Can you develop it within a week?!"

Tommy nodded vigorously.

"My ancestors' knowledge won't deceive me, my lord. I only need five days!"

"Good. You have five days. If you need anything that City of Brilliant Moon has, you can draw on it first.

"If you can make paper, I'll free you and your granddaughter from slavery.

"I'll also make you first-class residents of City of Brilliant Moon, entitled to all the rights enjoyed by free citizens."

The white-haired Tommy was ecstatic. He cried out,

"Thank you for your mercy! May the Goddess's light shine upon you forever!!"

After two guards led Tommy away to choose his subordinates, the slaves and residents who hadn't yet dispersed erupted in excitement.

Tommy had actually pulled it off!

It was unbelievable.

The lord had really granted his request!!

The crowd surged.

"Goddess above, why is my heart trembling?"

"I've never seen such a merciful lord. Goddess above, I praise you!"

"I—I can raise pigs!! My lord, I can raise pigs for you!!"

"Pah, raising pigs is nothing! I can slaughter them. My lord, I can butcher livestock for you!"

Hearing the crowd's chatter, Loren's heart stirred.

If there was one resident with a hidden skill, there might be a second or even a third.

And some residents might not think much of their skills, or might not even consider them worth mentioning. But those skills could prove immensely useful to the territory.

He immediately turned to Deen, the bearded man, and gave him an order.

Deen listened, nodded respectfully, then led a few soldiers to the crowd and called out,

"Do you see Tommy and those others who've become employees of City Hall?

"Our great lord has just announced an unprecedentedly generous policy: he'll recruit residents with special abilities.

"If you can earn the lord's approval, you'll be granted third-class resident status and employed by City Hall."

"Some of you may be wondering: what does it mean to be a third-class resident?

"I'll tell you. As third-class residents, you'll be freed from slavery and gain the right to receive payment.

"As second-class residents, you'll gain the right to marry and have children.

"As first-class residents, you'll enjoy the rights of free citizens.

"And as the highest class, Brilliant Moon residents, you'll enjoy every right available to the residents of City of Brilliant Moon and be eligible for nomination as honorary nobles!

"If you serve City of Brilliant Moon in the future, you'll be rewarded with these precious privileges!

"Rejoice! Rejoice for your future! The future of City of Brilliant Moon will be filled with light!!"

Deen really was a talent. His words were so rousing that he immediately stirred up the crowd.

The people grew even more excited.

"Long live the lord!!"

"We praise you!!"

"Goddess above, I can't believe I've met such a merciful lord!!"

They immediately hurried to the place where the population survey had been conducted, shouting out skills they hadn't reported earlier.

A middle-aged woman in her forties said excitedly,

"My lord, I can embroider with one hand!!"

The recruiter: "..."

"Next."

The woman left disappointed. A man missing a front tooth eagerly stepped forward.

"My lord, I can deliver puppies! I've delivered all the puppies our family's dog has had!!"

The recruiter: "..."

"Next."

"My lord, I can tell whether a cow has mated recently by smelling its manure."

"Next."

"My lord, I know how to make a drug that can knock beasts unconscious."

"..."

What followed was a parade of bizarre skills. The soldiers listening nearby could barely keep from laughing.

There were people who could raise pigs, deliver puppies, hatch chicks, and specialize in breeding cattle. Every kind of skill imaginable turned up.

One man even demonstrated his secret talent on the spot: he could make a blade bleed by sucking on it. He took the iron edge into his mouth, and the next moment, blood appeared along the blade's spine.

The demonstration stunned the crowd. But the soldiers later discovered that the fellow had severe gum disease. The little bloodsucker was disqualified on the spot.

The farce went on for two whole hours before finally winding down.

But hard work paid off. After sifting through the muck, Loren really did find a few promising talents.

Apprentice healers.

They were a family of three. Their ancestors had been skilled physicians, accomplished enough to make simple magical potions.

Though they had lost most of their precious recipes by this generation, they could still treat colds and fevers, as well as ordinary injuries.

For City of Brilliant Moon, where almost every resource was in short supply, they were rare talents.

Loren immediately hired them to work for City Hall and allocated several vacant houses to establish City of Brilliant Moon's first potion shop.

But with such a small population, they'd only managed to uncover those few people. The rest had skills that were mostly useless.

The population survey finally came to an end, and they'd managed to find a few talented people.

After the crowd dispersed, Loren immediately had Ariel arrange for the construction department to inspect the Arrow Tower and draw up a reconstruction plan.

The reward for papermaking had come as a pleasant surprise. The blueprint for the Elemental Tower was likely to be even more valuable.

City of Brilliant Moon had two Arrow Towers, but one had completely collapsed, leaving nothing but a pile of rubble. Repairing it would be no different from rebuilding it.

The other Arrow Tower was drafty, and its wooden exterior panels had rotted away, but its foundation remained intact. It could still be considered an Arrow Tower.

That was why the system showed one Arrow Tower. The other no longer qualified.

Built by the previous lord, this Arrow Tower stood about six meters tall, with a foundation made of bluestone.

The main structure above was made of hardwood and had three floors. The top two were lined with arrow slits for attacking enemies.

The bottom floor was used to store arrows, crossbows, and other supplies.

Thick wooden planks had been nailed to the exterior walls to protect against enemy attacks.

But most of the Arrow Tower had rotted away. The planks were covered in moss, and if you looked closely, you could even see insects crawling over them.

If not for its solid foundation, it might have suffered the same fate as the other Arrow Tower.

After inspecting it for a while, Loren seemed to remember something and opened the status panel.

Gray Eagle Territory

City of Brilliant Moon (Main City)

Level: Village-Town

Lord: Loren Grant (View Detailed Attributes)

Special Attributes: Upgrade, Brilliant Moon Eternal

Defensive Structures: 1 Black Iron Grade Arrow Tower (Can be upgraded to a Bronze Grade Arrow Tower)

1 Wooden Wall (Can be upgraded to a Grey Soil Wall)

Soul Power: 1157

Other (omitted)

After glancing over the territory panel, he focused on the defensive structures section.

The words "Can be upgraded to a Bronze Grade Arrow Tower" caught his attention. He concentrated and silently thought, Upgrade.

The system's prompt sounded the next moment.

"Ding~ Would you like to spend 1000 Soul Power to upgrade the Arrow Tower?"

"Ding~ Upgrade failed. The Arrow Tower has not yet been rebuilt. Please rebuild it before upgrading."

Loren's eyes lit up.

So that was what Soul Power was for?!

Upgrading a Black Iron Grade Arrow Tower to Bronze Grade would cost 1000 Soul Power. With such a steep cost, would the upgrade come with any special effects??

His demands weren't high. A few Dragon-Hunting Crossbows would be enough. If not, a few powerful Transcendent-level guards would do.