Chapter 298: Need To Level
The Princess’ speech was enough to settle everyone’s questions, and the Nobles moved to the sitting room with the Generals, while the rest of the group began to disperse.
The maids were already preparing rooms for the Noble guests, as nobody would expect them to head home in the dark. But the primary purpose of chatting late into the evening was not to give time to clean, but to strategize.
"Will you have any extra weapons? I’ve got my gear, as the Natural Sons’ Regiment lets us leave with it. But I don’t have anything to equip my people with. Even a few armed farmers can make a big difference against a Goblin attack until the guard shows up." Baron William asked.
Dominic smiled. "Well, I’ve got some extra Uncommon Grade spears left, and I will make more to send over. One or two in every farm house should be a good start."
Baron Keith frowned. "Are you sure that it’s wise to arm the commons? Common logic dictates that they should have as few weapons as possible so that they don’t get ideas of insurrection.
Not that I think any of us are likely to mistreat our people to that point. But it still holds as a general policy, with only the vetted members of the Adventurer’s Guilds carrying weapons in public."
Dominic shrugged. "Even a hundred at a time, farmers with spears and pitchforks couldn’t stage an insurrection against someone with as much power as myself or the Princess.
And we will live for a long time.
But you give me a good idea. We should alert the Adventurer’s Guild. We could put out some bounties for the monsters between us and the Mitfield border. It’s a huge open area, easy for them to hide, but we can claim that it’s for the safety of the farmers and travellers.
It makes us look like the good guys, and it brings in groups of trained people to assist until we can get the army to arrive."
Alexis frowned, then nodded. "That’s not a terrible idea. Even if they clear a few days around us, it will help everyone relax. We might also get a few to settle here when they realize that Wistover isn’t a bad place to be.
Adventurers tend to be migratory by nature, living out of hotels and going from job to job.
But we’ve got plenty of jobs for them, and even the Merchant Guild will have work for them, providing extra guards for the convoys full of Magitech. When they arrive here with low-value goods, they will only have a few guards, and they will need more for monster infested areas, or high-value cargo."
Baron Keith smiled. "I will tell my people the good news tomorrow. I also have some connections from my days in the Cygnia Army, and I can get at least a few of my old comrades to post notices on our behalf.
It doesn’t cost them anything to inform the Guild that we’re looking for Adventurers."
The retired General held up a communication token, the simple magitech devices that were used to relay information between Nobles and higher ranking officers. Similar to the gems that the Royal Guard used, but the spell would transmit a voice message.
Less secure, as anyone nearby when the receiver activated his side would be able to hear the message. But much more effective for passing detailed messages.
"What are your plans for the next few days? Will you be out looking for more threats?" Baron William asked.
Alexis nodded. "It is good training for myself and the guards. We will get soft and lazy if we’re not fighting real targets."
Dominic shrugged. "I have a few projects to complete, including those extra spears. But I will join some of the outings as well. My primary magic is finally getting to the proficient level, but that also means that it will take much more work to keep it advancing.
So, I will be spending time on that as well as designing new Magitech items for the factory. We have the initial designs fully simplified, to make manufacturing as cheap and efficient as possible. But once those are widely embraced, we will need to expand to more domestic goods, and I want to maintain our place in the market."
"What level is your combat magic at now?" Baron Keith asked.
"Level twelve. I would like to get it to level fifteen soon. Twenty would be much better, but for now, fifteen is the goal. That’s where the next big milestone will be." Dominic explained.
The Baron nodded. "Twenty is everyone’s goal, so they can be recognized as a true expert. But at level fifteen, there aren’t many who will be able to overpower you anymore. It’s a good standard for a core magical attack."
Dominic wasn’t going to tell them that all his spells were at the same level because he was only levelling the Sorcerer’s Spellbook. The result was the same either way. He would be at level fifteen, and it was improving the magic in his body as well.
Like what the Second Prince could do, Dominic’s basic magical aptitude was increasing. When he made a new magitech orb, he would have to see what level he could forcibly advance it to without using resources.
That would give him a much better idea of where he was.
If he could get them to level two or three without using any sort of resource, he would be happy. That was enough that he could claim to be a proficient mage, despite having no formal training.
It would also let him fake being a low-level mage if he had to infiltrate somewhere again. Making a magitech Orb to put on display and forcing it to level two or three would give the impression that it was the best spell he had.
Which was exactly what he had done when the only spell he had was Minor Illusion. It was level one, but he still wore it visible, so that others would know that he had some magic.
Appearances were everything when making a first impression.