This Was Also a Closed Loop

Everything suddenly seemed to fall into place, moving along its predetermined track.

The same was true of all Sagiyama Castle—

Recently, the people in the city had learned that a new lord had been suddenly appointed. Then, for some reason, their lives seemed to become completely different overnight... regular, efficient, orderly, and well-organized. In just a few days, the entire city had quietly been unified into a seamless whole.

The scattered parts had been gathered into one whole!

Thus, it followed only one will, one voice!

Of course, this did not mean iron-fisted measures, harsh crackdowns, or tyrannical rule fiercer than tigers. There were no coercive measures at all. Most of the time, an order would simply be issued from the lord's residence, and then it would naturally be carried out. The process went so smoothly it was almost unimaginable.

And over the course of a single day, more than a dozen such orders could be issued in succession. They were often specific directives concerning certain matters, including regulating the market, controlling prices, recruiting manpower, and so on—a whole series of baffling policies.

How should one put it? The first impression was that it was child's play. After all, this made people suspect that the new lord was just a child who knew nothing whatsoever about governing a city or territory, merely doing whatever came to mind because it seemed fun, without considering the consequences.

Yet although many commoners were deeply worried, and the local court nobles, aristocrats, and landowners were furious, they strangely displayed a state of "saying no while their bodies were honest."

At the beginning, everyone had seemed rather disgruntled and resistant. They felt this was utter nonsense and absolutely could not continue, or else the perfectly fine Sagiyama Castle would surely be ruined.

But then—

Perhaps everyone wanted someone else to take the lead. Perhaps they had doubts but did not dare voice them. Perhaps they wanted others to make trouble first, while they waited to see how things turned out rather than rashly sticking their necks out... What if the new lord really had a child's temperament and flew into a rage whenever anyone opposed him?

Some nobles and landowners were also eager to watch the show. Their attitude was probably one of delight at the spectacle. They believed public resentment was already so great that they did not need to step forward at all. They could simply let the people cause a stir themselves—the bigger the commotion, the better. Once the right moment came, they could make their move.

How should one put it? They were all making very careful calculations.

Whether some mysterious force had given them such astonishingly identical thoughts, or merely amplified thoughts they already had, an extremely unlikely coincidence thus occurred.

Everyone thought there was something wrong with the new lord, and that this style of governance was utter nonsense. Everyone had grievances, yet no one acted, because they all thought they could wait for someone else to act... And so, everything was carried out smoothly.

As the days passed, more than half a month went by. By the time they gradually came to their senses...

Everything had become standardized. Under the combined guidance of those strange yet efficient policies, the efficiency of the entire city had improved by far more than one or two levels. The unbelievably smooth implementation integrated what had once been scattered parts, turning them into a highly efficient machine running at nearly full capacity.

Prices, which had remained high due to years of war, began showing signs of stabilizing. Small municipal projects began to be launched one after another, while refugees fleeing wars from every region gradually vanished from the streets.

However, they had not disappeared as they had in the past—dying unnoticed in some corner, or being driven to desperation and taking to the mountains to become bandits. Instead, they had been transformed into laborers... Some of the work might have been grueling, but as long as they had something to eat, these unfortunate people could survive rather than fall into complete despair.

Not everyone thought things were gradually improving. There would always be people whose interests were harmed, especially by measures stabilizing prices and cracking down on hoarding and profiteering. But this was only the beginning, and their losses were not substantial enough for them to stubbornly confront the new lord head-on.

After all, no one knew how powerful his backing was, or what relationship he had with the Viper of Mino. No one believed that this suddenly appointed acting lord was merely Saito Dosan's whim, with no deeper meaning behind it. For all they knew, the whole matter had been ordered by that viper.

That was how it was.

Perhaps Saito Dosan's title as the Viper was simply too intimidating, and no one doubted the old man's ruthlessness or venomous methods. Perhaps some unknown mysterious force was still at work. Or perhaps it was both, with the latter exploiting the former's conditions to exert its influence.

In short, no one stepped forward to oppose someone's three fires upon taking office.

"Wood +4..."

"Metal +2..."

"Farmers -1..."

That day, Gu Mo faced the reflection in a basin of water, carefully dragging across the bird's-eye view of Sagiyama Castle, as well as the forests and farmland in the surrounding areas that formed extensions of the castle's industries. He examined it again and again, while the densely packed figures on the left side of his vision continuously fluctuated and changed.

At intervals, a bonus or penalty would briefly appear after some of the values.

This indicated that, at that instant, the quantity of whatever that value represented had changed. Perhaps the reserves of timber and grain directly under his control in the city had fluctuated, with some increasing and others being depleted. After all, when people worked, output naturally increased. But people also needed to eat, so other resources were naturally consumed.

Most of the figures were green, indicating steady growth. From the fluctuations in those values, one could see that Sagiyama Castle was becoming increasingly prosperous.

In gaming terms, perhaps it meant that after his wise management during this period, the city's commerce rating had increased, its agricultural rating had increased, and its prosperity had risen by one level?

Of course, all of that had been bought with real money and resources. Without the initial investment, results would not have come so easily. Fortunately, he currently held great power, and Saito Dosan was not here. Otherwise, he probably would not have been able to accomplish all this so smoothly.

After all, if it had been another lord or Daimyo, they probably would not have been willing to take the grain and tools from their warehouses, much less spend silver by the handful.

The main issue was perspective. They also would not know whether their "bold gamble" would work. They had no way to directly see returns or feedback, while grain and money were being spent in tangible amounts every day, flowing away like water. Naturally, they could not bear it.

But Gu Mo was different. The Idiot System could provide him with immediate feedback.

Even if he merely drafted changes in the detailed lists regarding population and work assignments, simply simulating clicks on a few "+" or "-" signs without actually pressing the confirmation button, the Idiot System would still use numbers to tell him what changes would occur.

—For example, increasing the number of farmers would show how much output was expected to rise, how many resources would be consumed, and how long promotion or demotion resulting from occupational changes would take...

—Or, for example, choosing a certain policy would show what price had to be paid, how much basic stability would increase, what changes would occur to total resource production, how much demand for consumer goods would rise, and whether relations with certain factions or camps would decrease by 5 or 10 points...

"A cheat-enabled life is just this dull and boring..."

Gu Mo rubbed his slightly sore eyes and sighed, then glanced at the two values displayed in the lower-left corner.

—Unemployed population: 0.

—Basic stability: 78.

These were the two values he cared about most. They also provided a fairly direct grasp of the city's basic condition. After all, too many unemployed people would naturally cause especially troublesome problems. As for basic stability, it could also be viewed as the overall satisfaction of the residents.

If it was high, there might not necessarily be any reward. But if it was low, then trouble would definitely be enormous... He had plenty of experience with that, even if it was gaming experience.

For now, though, everything was steadily improving. The people of Sagiyama Castle were not the sort of unruly rabble who made his blood pressure soar and left him half-dead with anger...

Everyone should still be able to get along peacefully. At the very least, they would not force him into resorting to cruel final measures and flooding the entire city with shit.

An unpleasant memory flashed through his mind. Gu Mo shook his head, stood up, and stretched hard. After all his devoted effort during this period, everything was now on track. From here on, he no longer needed to spend huge amounts of time studying this management panel every day. He only needed to check it occasionally to make sure there were no problems.

After all, constantly adjusting tiny values all day and trying every possible way to optimize production ratios was truly... toxic.

Without realizing it, all his time would be gone.

Next, he headed for the dojo—although Sagiyama Castle could not compare to Inabayama Castle, it was still easy enough to clear out a place for training. Abe no Seimei and Minamoto no Raikou were currently in charge there, serving as master instructors—in other words, skills trainers.

During this period, Gu Mo's schedule had actually been extremely regular. He spent most of each day managing the city. Vast amounts of calculation and record-keeping, optimization and adjustment took up the bulk of his time. As for the remainder, he spent it in the dojo.

Knowing full well how rare this opportunity was, he trained his own abilities with great dedication.

He mainly studied talisman Mystic Arts under Abe no Seimei, occasionally learning close-combat techniques from Minamoto no Raikou as well. Though his progress in the latter was relatively slow because he invested too little time and energy into it, and although Minamoto no Raikou constantly mocked him mercilessly, he had still grasped some basic techniques for swords, blades, and bows. That was not bad.

"Lord Gu Mo, you've arrived."

Under the corridor of the dojo courtyard, Abe no Seimei, dressed in a deep blue Onmyoji hunting robe, set down the fan in his hand. He looked toward the approaching footsteps and revealed a gentle smile.

In the spacious courtyard, Minamoto no Raikou and Hidechiyo, two valiant female warriors, were sparring to hone their skills. Their blades and swords crossed and collided, accompanied by ringing clangs as fierce sparks burst through the air.

Although neither of them used excessive strength, making it more a contest of skill and awareness, it still possessed a breathtaking beauty.

Hidechiyo did not know the true identities of the two women, nor did she know where the mysterious Gu Mo had found such experts. Still, she quite liked this arrangement. And unlike Gu Mo, she focused more on training in Hundred Weapons Mastery, while talisman Mystic Arts were only a secondary choice.

"Mm. There were more matters to deal with today, and handling them delayed me, so I came a little late... Kuzunoha, let's begin."

Gu Mo withdrew his gaze and nodded at Abe no Seimei.

"Very well, then let's begin." The renowned great Onmyoji of the Heian Period rose with a genial smile and nodded readily. "By the way, I prepared some new incense for you. You should be running out of the previous batch soon, shouldn't you?"

"Yes, thank you for the trouble..."

Gu Mo revealed an immensely grateful expression and thanked him. His sleep quality had improved enormously during this period because of the incense prepared by this person. So long as he burned a little before sleeping, he could easily fall asleep. It had helped him greatly.

"No need to be so polite..."

The great Onmyoji walked ahead. Only after leaving the courtyard behind did he casually say, "Lord Gu Mo, your eyes are blessed by heaven. Yet such exceptional gifts seem to come with a price. Still, when Raiko and I met you, you were no longer troubled by this issue."

"That really is good news." Gu Mo nodded. In that case, he would eventually succeed in completing real-name verification.

"So, shall we review yesterday's material again today?" Abe no Seimei asked.

"Mm, the same as before. Right now, I'm still mainly focused on practice. I haven't mastered any of the three things I learned during this period yet."

"Actually, Lord Gu Mo, you need not be so impatient. Your progress is already very fast..." Abe no Seimei sighed. Talisman Mystic Arts were not so simple, yet the person before him always seemed able to understand quickly, then rely on extensive practice to forcibly master the basic methods.

No wonder he would become that powerful in the future.

"Not at all, not at all. You don't need to comfort me. I know I'm still far too slow..." Gu Mo said modestly.

His current skill slots were no longer dominated by a single one while all the rest remained empty. He had additionally equipped two Skill Badges: Fire Summoning Talisman and Purification Binding Talisman. The former could summon the power of fire, while the latter could imbue something with spiritual power capable of purifying filth.

Their uses were rather similar. They could be used directly, but a better method was to use them as enchantments, adding corresponding elemental power to weapons and items such as swords, blades, arrows, and ammunition to achieve an effect greater than the sum of its parts.

The reason he had chosen to study these two skills first was, firstly, because his Guardian Spirit granted him greater boosts to fire attributes. Secondly, he felt that most of the enemies he would face in the future would be demons and ghosts from Tokoyo, so the Purification Binding Talisman offered good value.

Below his skill page, new progress bars had also appeared.

Currently learning—

Fire Bullet Talisman, proficiency: 76/100.

Barrier Talisman, proficiency: 19/100.

Body Nourishing Talisman, proficiency: 28/100.

These were the new talisman skills he was currently studying, basic Mystic Arts selected as suitable for beginners. The Skill Badges recognized by the system could be obtained through more than just monster drops; players were also allowed to master new skills by accumulating proficiency through their own learning.

Once proficiency reached the maximum of 100 points, it would condense into a corresponding Skill Badge...

It sounded simple, but it was not that easy in practice. Sometimes he could not even gain more than two digits of proficiency in a day. He had no idea how it was calculated, so he could only increase the amount of practice and use quantitative change to force qualitative change.

Drawing upon his many years of gaming experience, Gu Mo felt that his speed was honestly far too slow. Even these beginner skills required months to master. When would he finally be able to stand tall?

"Sigh." Abe no Seimei shook his head, but said no more.

After nearly two hours of Onmyoji Magic practice, Hidechiyo happened to leave the dojo as well.

So, following his usual routine, Gu Mo picked up a blade and sword again, stood in the courtyard, and faced the valiant, imposing Minamoto no Raikou.

"Your grip is wrong. Put strength into your wrist. I only told you that yesterday..."

The valiant female warrior stared coldly at the man across from her, her tone dripping with mockery.

"Oh, oh, sorry, sorry. I just practiced for half the day, and now my head is spinning. I'm not very clear-headed..." Gu Mo hurriedly corrected himself and adjusted his stance. He still respected the master instructor who taught him so conscientiously. The only pity was that he could not repeatedly farm her for rewards like in a game.

"Hmph. You're far worse than that brat..." Minamoto no Raikou snorted coldly.

"Isn't that perfectly normal? How could I compare to Axiu?" Gu Mo shrugged.

"Then give up. You should know your own limits. A half-baked fool like you, who could you possibly defeat on a battlefield? If you went up there, you'd only be sending yourself to your death. You're simply not suited to using a blade..." Minamoto no Raikou still looked thoroughly displeased as she continued to sneer at him.

"...Master Raiko, can we begin training now?" Gu Mo asked helplessly.

Minamoto no Raikou was excellent in every way. She never held anything back while teaching him, and said whatever needed to be said. But there was one bad point... her mouth was rather vicious. For some reason, she seemed to have an enormous grievance against him.

"What? You can't take a few remarks?" The valiant female warrior sneered. "You used to mock and tear me down like this too..."

"I normally wouldn't do that..."

Gu Mo twitched the corner of his mouth.

"But is it possible that you keep insulting me for no reason now, I get angry and hold a grudge, and then when I return to the Heian Period, I end up mocking you in return?"

"..."

"..."