《ORTUM DOMINUS》 Chapter 1 : The new world Brian slowly opened his eyes and then sat down on his bed. The bed felt more comfortable than usual. He was still half asleep and his head was feeling somewhat heavy. He casually looked around the room and noticed that the room was quite unusual. The room was completely different from his room. It was more like a medieval Europe royalty room. The bed was quite large and more than enough for four people to sleep comfortably. The blanket was warm and sleek to touch. On his right, decorated silverware was systematically placed on the table. Walls were decorated with gold and silver coloured unique designs. Everything in the room felt so royal and extremely expensive. No way in the world, I could ever afford to live in such an expensive room. Brian could not make sense of anything. It was definitely not his room for sure. He had no ideas of where he was. He had never been to such a place before. He pinched himself and the pain confirmed that this was not a dream. "How the hell did I even got here " He murmured to himself. And then the realization dawned on him. He left his home around 5 am in the morning for a jog. While he was jogging, out of nowhere he got struck by a Vehicle from behind. The impact threw him over the bridge and down into the river. -Even if somebody saved me, I should be in a hospital. Not in a fancy royalty room. Now that I think about it there is no injury to my body. I felt no pain whatsoever. How is that even possible. My body... As he was checking on his body, he felt like something was off about it. He knew his body upside down after all. He Searched the room for something that could reflect his image but found nothing. -Dammit, there is not even a mirror in here. As he was cursing the room, his eyes fell upon the shiny silver plate lying on the table near his bed. He stretched his hand and grabbed the plate. -This should work... The moment he saw his face, His heartbeat rose and his body tensed up. And, The very next moment his brain started flooding with memories. Shockingly, those were not his memories, but somebody else''s. After the memories settled down, everything started making sense to him. Whohewas? Wherehe was? Whyhe washere? He got All the answers in an instant. -I guess it is a reincarnation or something like that. The owner of this body was a man named Evan Shelton. Evan was 23 same as Brian. Evan was the lord of the city ofTastur. The city was the part of the kingdom ofCosvania.Tasturcity was located at the southernmost point of the kingdom sharing border with theOrthaxempire. His father Bernolt was assassinated one year ago, soEvaninherited the position of the lord of the citysince Evan had no siblings. His mother died when he was very young. Brian did not get much information about the city from his new memories. After getting the memories the brain''s impression ofEvanwas not good. He found the previous owner of the body to be a pampered good for nothing womanizer. By now Brian had come to terms with his situation. He had no qualms about itsince it was better than being dead. -Well, I think being a lord will not be so bad. I can do whatever I want, wherever I want, whenever I want. I am gonna enjoy this new life to the fullest. A weird smirk could be seen on his face. As he was daydreaming he heard a voice coming from outside. ¡°My lord, Breakfast is ready¡± a soft and silvery voice of a woman came from behind the door. ¡°Bring it in,¡± A beautiful young lady walked through the door in a maid¡¯s uniform. The moment Brian laid eyes on her, he could not take his eyes off her. Not that he had not seen a girl before, but the young lady standing in the front of him was a top-notch beauty. Her long raven-black hair tied in a ponytail was resting over her right shoulder. She had a stunning face with those thin arched eyebrows, soft pink lips, those bright, emerald-green eyes. After arranging the food on the table, she looked towards Brian and spoke in a honey-sweet voice. "My lord anything else you need" When Brian''s eyes met with lovely yet poisonous eyes off her, he froze in his place. He was not able to utter a single word. He kept on staring into her eyes as if he had been hypnotized by her. Seeing that Brian was staring at her awkwardly, the young maiden became nervous. Realizing his rudeness Brian ended the staring contest. "No.. Nothing else, that''s all " Brian replied instantly. She gave a slight bow and left the room. -Well, there goes my first impression, I should not have stared at her like an idiot. Come to think of it, I have never seen her if Evan''s memories are not wrong. A middle-aged lady serves me breakfast every morning. Maybe she is new here.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Oneday before Eliza was sitting on the bed in her room engrossed in reading an old and worn out book. She was lost in her own world. Eliza was at home on her break from the academy. She had been studying at the Academy of magical arts for the past two years. Her mana awakened when she had turned 18, which give her the ability to use magic. The People who had the ability to manipulate the mana in their body to control magic were quite less compared to the overall population. Mostly nobles had the ability to manipulate magic due to their bloodlines. Nobles were nobles for a reason, due to their ability to manipulate mana. The manipulation of mana not only provided the ability to use magic but also increased the Lifeforce making the body strong in turn increases the life expectancy. Eliza was not a nobility, but a commoner. Neither her mother nor her father had the ability to manipulate mana So she had no bloodline for magic either. It was rare, but not unique for commoners have the ability to manipulate magic. Unless one had a powerful magic attribute like fire or thunder, the probability of becoming a noble was close to zero. Eliza, unfortunately, had the runic magic attribute. The runic magic was considered to be the lowest rank in the hierarchy due to its non-combative nature. Most commoners who could manipulate magic had the runic attribute. Her reading was disrupted by a loud voice outside. ¡°Eliza... Eliiiizaaaa¡± A middle-aged, wearing a guard uniform shouted while standing outside the house. ¡°Your mother has got injured, ¡± he said in a loud tone. When Eliza heard the second sentence. She jumped out of her bed and ran towards the door. ¡°Uncle Cale, what happened to the mother? Please tell me, ¡± she asked in a panicking voice. ¡°Shyla slipped and fell down while working in the lord¡¯s palace but..¡±-beforeCalecould finish his sentence Eliza had sprinted towards the lord¡¯s palace. She ran all the way to the palace. Cale shouted at her to slow down, but she did not listen. Ever since her father had abandoned them, her mother was the only family she had left. When she reached the gates, the Guards stopped her. ¡°Stop right there young lady, where are you going? This is the lord¡¯s castle you know that don¡¯t you¡± one of the guards came forward. ¡°Please... Let me enter my mother works here as a maid, her name is Shyla, ¡± Eliza said with all of it in a single breath. But the guards refused to listen. ¡°Stand down, you two, ¡± an old man shouted at the guards from inside the castle. All the guards stopped at once and gave a bow of respect. The man was Cornell. His position was only second to the lord. ¡°Young lady, are youshalya''sdaughter? ¡± The old men asked her. ¡°Yes, please let me enter my mother...¡± ¡°She is resting in the maid''s quarters, ¡± Cornell knew her mother injury. ¡°One of you guide her to the maid¡¯s quarters, ¡± he ordered. One of the guards stepped out and lead the way. When Eliza reached the quarters. She rushed to her mother¡¯s side and held her hand as if to never let it go. She was on the verge of crying. ¡°I am fine dear,¡± Shalya said in a weak voice yet assuring voice conveying that she was fine. ¡°What happened to mother, aunt Sophie ¡± she looked at the maid standing beside her. ¡°Nothing..¡± Before Shayla could say anything, the Sophie started speaking. ¡°Listen, Eliza, ¡± ¡°Your mother had told me not to tell you anything about her left leg¡± ¡°What about it?¡± Eliza spoke in a surprised tone. ¡°About ten ago, she got bitten by a snake near the river shore. Before the poison could be expelled by the healer, Some damage had already had been done. She was advised not to do any heavy work from then on. She disregarded all warnings and Continued to work in the palace. I even tried to tell you when You came back yesterday, but she stopped me." -Sophie continued. "Mother, how could you do that to yourself... why didn''t you tell me " -Eliza spoke while tears were flowing down her cheeks. Eliza knew why her mother did not stop working in the palace even though her leg was in pain. Her father abandoned them when Eliza was just 10. He took most of the money with him and ran to another city. She never shed a tear in front of Eliza. Her mother never showed any weakness in front of her. She worked very hard as a maid in order to give her a decent life. Even though Eliza was given a scholarship for studying in the academy, she still had to pay for her own lodging and food. Eliza knew all this but still was powerless to do anything. She did not have any means to earn in the academy. She did what she could i.e. she studied hard, harder than the most hardworking student in the academy. She had realized that now it was now her time to take care of her mother. She looked at her mother and said:- "I will work in your place in the palace until you get well " Before Shayla could say anything thing. ¡°And I will not take no for an answer" "But..." Shayla stopped after seeing her daughter''s resolute expression. She realized that her daughter had grown up. ¡°Now let''s go home¡± Eliza stood up with a smile and supported her mother. Eliza came back home with her mother. She prepared the dinner. Eliza sat near her mother until she had fallen asleep. She then went to her room and lay down on her bed. After two years of hardship, She had realized that the path ahead of her would be even harder. There were two reasons for that One, even though she had extraordinary mana reserves, her magic attribute was not very powerful. Had she had the ability to control powerful magic attribute like fire, she would have been able to gain a place in the military academy as a combat game. Unlike other magic attributes, runic magic involved lots of research and resources. Doing regular experiments to test the theory meant lots and lots of coins, Which she did not have. Second, she was a commoner so She had no influence whatsoever. Being a commoner, She could not join any magic guild of a noble family. Unless she was recommended by a known mage. All she could rely on was her own strength. She had remained unfazed by the hardships so far. She knew lamenting about her situation would not make it any better. Chapter 2 : The city of Tastur City of Tastur Brain''s mood was much better now after his previous encounter with that beautiful maid. -Now, this is something I will be looking forward to¡­ .¡± A self-satisfied smirk was present on his face. At the breakfast, he had some soup and a sweet bread. Surprisingly, Brian liked it quite a lot. After satiating his hunger Brian sat down on the bed and started planning his future course of action. He knew that he needed to have some kind of action-plan otherwise he would not be able to last much longer in this world. Through his memories, he had concluded that this world is not a place for weak. Here power meant everything. Those with powerful magical attributes had the life of utmost peace and prosperity. The social ladder was pretty much based on one''s ability to use magic. There was no democracy, no fundamental rights and no equality in this world or at least in his kingdom. He Had numerous memories yet very little concerning the outside world. Evan had almost no idea what used to happen in his city when he was alive. So Brian could not get much from the new memories. Brian had the habit of putting quite a lot of emphasis on information. This habit of his had come in handy numerous times in his past life. He needed to have a clear picture of his city and its surroundings to formulate his action plan. -Damn that brainless bastard. -What kind of lord doesn''t even know about the situation of his own territory? After cursing Evan for a while Brian calmed down. He lay down on the bed and relaxed a little. The softness of the bed was really something. He had never slept on a bed this comfortable. He had become quite fond of it. -ahhhhhhhhhh...Now that I think about it, this world has magic. The existence of magic was a pleasant surprise to Brian. Some People in the world could use mana within in their body to manipulate magical elements like fire, wind, thunder, water and Runes. Mana was present everywhere in the world, although the concentration of mana varied from place to place. A place with high concentration had always attracted people with the ability to control it. The mana starts flowing into the body the moment one is born in this world. The mana would enter the body and circulate through the veins the same way as blood. Around the age of 18, If the body had got the ability to manipulate mana in one''s body. He /she would reach their first breakthrough and become a magic user. In other words, the awakening of magic will take place in the body. The awakening was dependent upon many factors, but the most significant one was the bloodline. The affinity of the body would become inclined to control one or two particular magic attributes like fire, thunder etc. One thing that piqued his interest the most was Runic magic. He was quite fascinated by the power of runic circuits. Probably because it had applications similar to science had in his previous world. One could conjure fire, water, light, earth using the runic magic circuits. The applications of runes in everyday life were phenomenal. It had applications in alchemy, farming, cooking and whatnot. People could even talk over a distance using the runic magic. Brian knew that there were many other uses, he just did not know about them. In Evan''s room, there was a number of runic magic circuits present. One for lighting, one for heating the room and, one for cooling. There were others that he did not have knowledge of. Even after all this, runic magic was considered the lowest attribute of all because it had no significant use in combat. It was not an offensive magic attribute. Evan was not very happy about his magic though. The reason was his inefficiency to use magic, even after having the ability to control mana. His body did not have sufficient mana reserves to use magic. This fact was really heartbreaking for him. Evan wanted to try his hands on runic magic so badly. His body had the affinity to runic attribute, but not much mana to evoke it. Brian cursed his bad luck, of all the nobles in this world he had to be stuck in this useless body. Since Evan had low mana reserves, He did not get a chance to learn magic properly as he could not get into the academy. So even his knowledge of magic was limited. His father even arranged private tutors for him to learn magic, but in the end, all was for nothing. After exhausting all his ideas, his father lost all his hope and ceased his futile attempts. Brian did not lose hope though. He had the ability to use magic just that his mana reserve was low in capacity. He just had to find a way to improve it. He so much wanted to use magic. He remembered that in the castle there was a library filled with books related to magic which gave him some hope. What was better than having a whole library for himself. He could at least try reading those books to improve his mana reserves. Whether or not he would be successful was another matter. Books were the most subtle way of gathering information. He was going to make great use of the library. Brian was sorting out details in his mind. There were thousands of questions that he wanted to ask, but there was nobody to answer them. One thing that concerned, Brian the most was his safety, The concern turned into fear when the thought of his father''s assassination crossed his mind. He had no idea who assassinated his father. His father was killed during his sleep in his room. The maid found his lifeless body the next morning. When he thought about the incident, he felt a sudden chill down his spine. -I do not want the same fate as the father. Somehow He overcame his trepidation. He knew he was not going to achieve anything by doing nothing but cowering in fear of death like a coward. He had to ensure his own safety and there were two ways for him to do that First, make himself stronger, which was very time-consuming considering his lack of affinity for Mana. The second was to make the city and the people around him stronger. The stronger, the people protecting him, the better protection he would get. Also, this option was much more Practical. Also, Brian believed more in collective strength than the individual. He had to get a detailed report about the security and functioning of his city. For that, he had one person in his mind, The advisor to the Lord, old Cornell. The one man who he could trust blindly.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Cornell had been serving the Shelton family since the time of his grandfather. He was like family to him. So Brian decided to have a talk with Cornell. But Before that, he wanted to go check out the library and get some books. -Alright, time to move... He got up from his bed and left his room. The guards stationed outside his room bowed their heads as he went past them. The library was not far from his room. He walked down the hall and then turned left, The library was there a few steps away. As he as going to enter the library. He noticed Cornell walking towards him.
Cornell was agitatedly walking to and fro in his room. He was holding a letter in his right hand and looking at it with a frowning face. A few minutes ago, he received a letter from the bandit group black death. The content of the letter even made the calm Cornell lose his cool. -Oh god! This is what I have been worried about for the last one year. Ever since lord Bernolt died. I knew those damned bandits are going to make a move and now here we are. Now only God can save this city. After sometime Cornell reverted to his usual calm temperament. He knew that the situation was as bad as it could get. So there was no use fretting over it. Honestly, he had no faith in the new lord. He knew that Evan was not worthy of being a lord. Now after one year serving under Evan, he at least knew this much. Nevertheless, he had to have a talk with the lord. The matter was something that concerned the future of the city. After making his decision he left his room and went straight to Evan''s room for a talk.
"My lord, " said Cornell with a slight bow. Brian nodded. "My lord, I need to talk to you about something very important, I was heading towards your room just now " "This is something that concerns the safety of the city, so I had to bother you" -Something that concerns the city. The Cornell''s expression was giving a bad feeling to Brian. "Alright, Since we are already here, uncle Cornell let''s talk in the library, " said Brian with a grave expression. Cornell had never seen such an expression on his lord''s face before, It somewhat surprised him.¡± ¡°Was I seeing things or did Evan just got serious? ¡± Pondered Cornell. He shook his head to discard all other thoughts. He had to focus on the task at hand. "Yes my lord " Cornell followed Brian in the library. The library was around four times the size of his room. All the bookshelves were lined neatly in rows. There was nobody there since very few people were allowed to enter the library. The library was quite neat and tidy despite nobody taking care of it. -Must be some kind of runic magic? There were two chairs orderly placed near a table. Brain went ahead and occupied one. Cornell followed and sat on the other. Brian leaned back in the chair and silently waited for Cornell to start. "We have received a letter from black death bandit group" The name black death did not ring a bell for him, but he did not ask Cornell. He remained silent, indicating Cornell to continue. "They plan to attack the city after the annual harvest before the start of winter and.." Cornell hesitated before continuing. "And if we want them not to attack us, we have to fulfil their demands. "And their demands are " asked, Brian. " Half of the coming harvest, 200 armour sets, 200 barrels of liquor, free entry for the bandits in the city and women¡­" Cornell did not complete the last sentence Brian''s face darkened the instant Cornell told him the demands. He clenched his fist in anger .Especially the last word hit his nerve. -They are asking for women, huh...Those pieces of trash acting as if they own this city. I swear by name, you all filthy bastards will regret you ever crossed my path. Brian calmed himself. "What''s the strength of this bandit group," asked Brian. "Around 2000 thousand my lord" answered Cornell. "And what about our strength" Cornell was not surprised that Brian did not know about the military situation. He knew Brian never bothered to care about it. "Around 300, my lord, " answered Cornell without any delay in response. Brian closed his eyes for a few minutes and said nothing. He did not expect the problems to come to him so soon, But he was not to the one to back down. "Cornell...Tell them we will be fulfilling their demands, but till then they are not allowed to cause any problems for us" said Brian. Cornell was shell-shocked by how easily Brian had agreed to agree with the demands. He did not know that Brian was spineless to this extent. This time the surprise was evident on his face. And there was also a hint of disgust present. Brian noticed Cornell''s expression but did not say anything. Caring about what others were thinking of him was the last thing on his mind right now. He had already started thinking about his action plan. But before that, he had to know everything about the city. Previously, he was thinking of collecting the information subtly himself, but now the situation was different. Desperate situations call for desperate measures. His questions might make Cornell suspicious of but he did not care at this point in time. Also, Cornell was still a trustworthy person so he was not much worried about it. " Cornell... I want you to tell me, everything that is concerning Military, trade, political affairs of the city " "Leave nothing " Said Brian looking into Cornell''s eyes. There were a surprise and slight confusion on Cornell''s face. He could not comprehend the reason behind all this. But He did not ask the reasons and simply started speaking. The session with Cornell lasted for around four hours. Cornell gave Brian a very detailed report on the city. His way of explaining things was commendable. Cornell answered most of Brian''s questions. Now he had got a clear picture of the city and the things concerning it. The city of tastur had been ruled by his family for generations. The Shelton family was considered to be one of the strongest in the kingdom. During the war between the Cosvania kingdom and the Orthax empire, City of Tastur had to face most of the attacks of the Orthaxian army. The reason was its proximity with Orthax empire. Tastur was located in the south of the kingdom surrounded by mountains on one side and forests on the other. The city of Tastur shared the border with the Orthax empire. Whenever the army attacked, the city of Tastur was the first one to engage them in battle. Roads from the capital to Tastur were not wide and their condition not good enough to allow swift movement of the soldiers to the army. So, reinforcement from the capital always took some time on arrival. Despite these odds, the city held its own against the Orthaxian army, which clearly indicated the military prowess of the city. The reason behind the city''s strength was his grandfather Arnold Shelton, The legendary fire mage. His power and authority was evident from the fact that even the king could not dare to offend him. Even though the kingdom of cosvania won the war. Years of fighting had taken a big toll on the city and also on his grandfather. A few years after the war, his grandfather died. Soon after his death, the Shelton household started declining. Their power and status plummeted. The once powerful Shelton household was now a mere shell of its former self. After Charles death, the king'' army provided aid to the city. But everything changed years when the king died and the crown prince was crowned as the next king. The aid of the kingdom started drying up. The new king aligned himself with the Ophidian kingdom which was located east of the kingdom. The alliance deterred the Orthaxian army from invading the kingdom. The Orthax empire was very eager to attack because the Tastur city was no longer the same as it used to be. Although Orthaxian army could not directly attack the city as it still belonged to the cosvania kingdom and attacking the city directly would be the same as declaring war against the kingdom. Orthax empire vented its anger on the Tastur city. They blamed the city for their losses earlier. The empire Sponsored the bandits and mercenaries to harass the city. This hampered the growth of the city which in turn affected the military. This vicious cycle went on for years, resulting in the current situation of the city. No matter how many times his father asked for assistance from the royal capital but nothing came. The new king treated the city like it did not belong to the kingdom. All the sacrifices made by the city and the Shelton family for the kingdom were forgotten. Those who saved the city from its imminent downfall were the elves. The elves who lived in the Elven forest bordering the western side of the city and the Orthaxian kingdom supported the city in times of difficulty. The elves never provided any military support, but helped whenever the city faced a shortage of food during winter since the kingdom never responded to the city''s request for food supply. The reason for their assistance was unknown even to Cornell. After Cornell left the library, Brian sat back in his chair. -I guess it''s time to show this self-conceited world the power of black powder. He smiled with malicious glee. Chapter 3 : Blackpowder After the long chat with Cornell, Evan was feeling tired and sleepy. He was tired more mentally than physically. He fought his urge to sleep right where he was sitting. He was not going to leave the library without getting some books. He searched through the books and luckily found the ones he wanted. There were many books on the rune magic. It was a large collection. He took them and returned to his room. He placed the books on the table and then hit the sack immediately. Next morning he got up early since he had gone to bed quite early last night. He opened the window to let the fresh air in. The sun had yet to rise. When he got up the runic magic lights immediately lit up. Seeing the practical application of the rune magic in front of him was quite the motivation for him to study the runic magic. He sat down on the large sofa placed beside his bed. He started studying the book . In the beginning, there were basic mana theories which he had already studied. He did not want to waste time on the basics again. He searched the index and jumped straight to the runic magic techniques. -Yes, that''s the stuff I want. Now let''s see. After one hour -Oh man, why is this so hard, where is the explanation. There are these runic circuits pictures on every page He was having difficulty understanding the construction of runic circuits. He studied for one and half hour, but still could not understand much about creating runic circuits. Seeing that he was getting nowhere he did not continue to waste his time. Rather he decided to have someone teach him. While He was still lost in his thoughts the same beautiful maid came to his room. "My lord here is the breakfast, " she said in her enchanting voice. After seeing her, his mood got better. She was gorgeous no matter how many times he looked at her. Just like the last time, he was staring at her but realized it quicker this time. -I can''t help it, it''s not my fault that she is so beautiful. He tried finding an excuse. "Should I say something?" "Ahem," he cleared his thought. "Thank you for the meal, " said Evan. She had a puzzled expression on her face. She did not expect Evan to say thank you to her. She had never heard a nobility expressing thanks to a commoner before. She placed the breakfast in its usual place. As she was going to leave the room, "Listen" "Tell Cornell to come and meet me in my room," said Evan. She acknowledged with a slight bow and left the room. After she left, Evan brought his attention to the bandit situation. It was the very reason why he called for Cornell. Although he told Cornell to accept the demands, it was just to buy some time. There was no way he would fulfil the demands of the bandits. If he did that his people would starve to death during the upcoming winter. So, the war was the only option left to him. He had already decided. He was going to kill them. To do that he needed a strong army. So, he had to strengthen and expand his army. Time was the biggest constraint here. The harvest was about a month away So he had only that much time left to execute whatever plan he had in mind. He wanted his soldiers to fight, but not with those useless swords and spears. He wanted them to fight with guns. He wanted to change the very definition of war in this world. He wanted to show this world what a real war was? And he had the skills to back it up. In his past life, he served two years in the army before started working work as a Weapon engineer in a Defense Research and Development Organization. So basically he was a weapons expert. He knew the ins and outs of all the handheld weapons like the back of his hand. Even after all this, he knew that it was easier said than done. He had to start from scratch, from the very basics. He needed to work out the way to acquire the necessary materials required to build the weapons. So he decides to move step by step. The first step was black powder. Without it, he knew he would not be able to move forward. He had the memory that in this world an Alchemist was the one who dealt with chemicals and medicines. And a blacksmith was the one who dealt with the forging of weapons. He needed alchemists to make gunpowder and blacksmiths to build the gun. So he called Cornell to get some insights on these two professions. Cornell entered the room and spoke in his usual manner. "Good morning my lord, you called for me " "Uncle Cornell good morning, please have a seat," said Evan with a smile. Cornell sat down on the sofa. "Uncle Cornell, are there any alchemists in our city?" Evan surprised Cornell yet again. Cornell had yet to come in terms with the decision made by Evan regarding the bandits. He was expecting the discussion would be about the bandits'' demands, but it was not. Still, Cornell decided to wait until the end of the meeting to ask Evan. "My lord, there is one." " There is the Alchemist guild affiliated to your family." -Said, Cornell. "Ah, there is" "That''s great, " Said Evan excitedly. "How many Alchemists are there in the guild" "Around 15" - said, Cornell. "Why so less?" -asked Evan. "There used to be over 100 alchemists at one point in the guild, but now they are down to 15, " said Cornell. "Where did the rest go, " said Evan. "Due to the war and insufficient opportunities in the city, the alchemists left the guild and migrated to other cities to join the guilds there." -said, Cornell. "Hmm" "Is there also a blacksmith guild?" -Asked Evan. "Yes, my lord, there is" " What¡¯s their number?" said Evan. "Their situation is different from the alchemist guild''s" "Oh how is that" Evan was curious. "In blacksmith guild almost all the blacksmith are dwarves. Late Lord Charles offered the dwarves a place to live in the city half a century ago. Since then they had been living in the city. The dwarves swore their allegiance to the Shelton family and decided not to leave the city even during the war. The dwarves assisted the army during the war and providing them with the highest quality weapons." There are about 50 blacksmiths in the guild¡± Cornell explained. "Is that so? That''s wonderful, " Evan said with a smile. Evan was happy since more blacksmith meant more guns. First, he needed to meet the head of the alchemist to determine whether they had the required material to make black powder or not. Without it, the guns would be just empty shells. "Cornell I need to have a meeting with the head of the alchemist guild?" said Evan. "My lord, do you need medicine, I will get it for you if..." said Cornell with a worried face.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "I am absolutely fine Cornell you need not worry " "My purpose for meeting with the guild master is something else" Said Evan with a soft smile. "As you wish, my lord, I will straight away send for the guild master" Cornell said promptly. "No need to call him here, I will go visit myself" "But my, lord..." Cornell tried to say something, but Evan cut in. "And we are going right now, prepare the carriage, I will go after finishing the breakfast " Cornell did not speak further. He decided to wait for the right time. After finishing his breakfast even left the room and headed to the palace gate where the carriage was ready to go. Along with Cornell, he headed towards the alchemist guild. This also gave Evan the opportunity to have a look around the city. As the carriage paced towards the guild, the view of the city started unfolding in front of Evan. In the beginning, it was the usual hustle bustle of the city, but as his carriage passed by the western part of the city Evan saw the gruesome condition. There were cracks all over the roads with weed growing through them. The houses were also in no better condition. People could be seen begging on the roadsides and their number was significant. Evan did not know that people were starving in his city. Evan felt something was missing Since the last harvest was not so bad that these many people had to starve. "Was the last harvest, so bad that these people have to beg on the road for food?" Evan asked Cornell. Cornell answered with a helpless face. "My lord, The harvest was not bad rather it was good. The problem is there are some money-minded people who do not sell their crops in the market after the harvest" Evan narrowed his eyes. "Then what do they do with those hoarded crops " Evan was curious to know the reason. "They sell the crops after the prices rise" "There are some who sell the grains in the black market for large profits." Evan did not know what to say anymore. It was obvious that these malpractices were there due to his incompetence. He was the sole decision-maker in the city. Cornell could do nothing but made him aware of the situation. -Well, better late than never. "Cornell, we have wheat stock for the palace, don¡¯t we?¡± said Evan. "Yes my lord we have" "Keep the required amount and distribute the rest to the starving people,¡± said Evan. "As you wish, my lord" Cornell said with a smile. Cornell saw the concern on Evan''s face for these people. He was touched by Evan''s decision. He did not know what had changed Evan so much. "Also, uncle please do not use the honorifics when there are just two of us " Cornell hesitated initially but then nodded. Soon the carriage reached the alchemist guild. The guild building was bigger than what Evan expected. Evan headed towards the entrance of the guild with his knights escorting him. When people on the street saw the emblem of the Shelton family on the knight''s chest armour in no time they realized that the young man was the lord of the city. Some people stopped whatever they were doing and started gawking. The guards stationed outside the guild silently made the way. Evan gave a quick look at his surroundings and then gestured all except one to stand guard at the entrance. He did not want to make a scene inside the guild. As he entered, he was greeted by a pretty young lady.
Shelda had just recently joined the guild as a registrar. She was quite a charming young lady. Although she was not a mage, she was very good at finance. As she was looking over some papers on her desk, she heard a commotion outside. She immediately went to see what it was all about. On the way to the entrance, she encountered a young man accompanied by two people. At first, she got confused but then shocked to see the emblem of the noble family. The young man was none other than the lord of the city. She quickly got herself together and welcomed the lord with a beautiful smile. "Welcome to the Alchemist guild, my lord" "My name is Shelda " "How may I help you"
Evan noticed the beautiful girl. -Beautiful but still a far cry from my maid. And Evan was somehow proud of it. Cornell, who was standing beside Evan spoke "Lord Evan wants to meet the Guild master Hendrik" Guildmaster is not in the guild right now, but he will be returning soon" "Would you mind waiting in the guest room, my lord"? Shelda responded. Evan did not have time to waste. So he just got straight to the point. "Does the Guildmaster have a laboratory of some kind?" Even asked Shelda. "I am sorry my lord, I do not understand what a laboratory is. " Shelda had never heard of it. "Ah... I mean the place the where the Guild master usually works "Evan clarified. "Oh¡­ you mean master''s workshop " side said with a smile. "Yes, yes the workshop, " said Evan. " I want to have a look. So, will you lead the way? " Evan did not even ask whether he was allowed to go to the workshop or not. Before meeting the guild master, he wanted to see the workshop to get a better idea of this world''s advancement in alchemy. Shelda was dumbfounded after hearing Evan''s request. "My lord... No one except the mages is allowed to enter the workshop" She said with an apologetic expression. "Well then, have an apprentice accompany me to the workshop, problem solved?" Evan said with a wicked smile. He knew it solved nothing. Shelda was unable to understand Evan''s stubbornness. And she was not the only one, Cornell was thinking the same. When she looked into Evan''s eyes, she realized that there was no other way around it. She had to do what Evan wanted. "My lord, please excuse me for a moment," she said. After a few moments, she came back with a man. "My lord, this is wizard Carl, he will accompany you to the workshop " "My lord " Carl bowed respectfully "Please follow me" Evan and Cornell followed Carl to the workshop. The workshop was in the guild. Soon they reached the workshop ''s door. It was closed. Carl opened it by activating the runes on the door using his mana. As they entered the runic lights activated and then evan finally saw the workshop. The workshop did not look like a modern laboratory at all. There were a number of containers with runic circuits printed on them. It was kind of weird. He did not waste any more time gawking. He turned to the carl and said "Carl, is there something like yellow powder in the workshop" "Something in powdered form and yellow in colour" Evan did not say sulphur since here it may be known by a different name. So, he just gave its physical description. Carl was hesitant to tell Evan anything. He was against this idea of bringing Evan to the laboratory in the absence of Guild master in the first place, but he had no choice since Evan was the lord of the city. Seeing Carl hesitating Evan repeated in a stern voice. "Carl, I asked you something.." "My lord, there is but it is light yellow " Carl replied hesitantly. "Just show me whatever it is " Evan was very impatient to find whether it was sulphur or not. Carl brought a container with runic circuits printed on it. Carl channelled some mana into the runes and the container and opened it. The moment Evan saw the yellow powder he knew it was sulphur. Sulphur was not poisonous by itself, but only when it reacted with oxygen to make SO2 (Sulphur Dioxide). SO2 was highly toxic to humans. That''s why Evan thought his chances of finding sulphur were very low in this world. Evan was very excited since now he needed just one component and that was Saltpetre (Potassium Nitrate) and Finding it was not hard. He had a fuzzy memory of a white substance that was used by the farmers in this world to increase the fertility of the soil. Coincidently Saltpetre was good for the fertility of the soil. So he just hoped that it would be Saltpetre. "Carl...tell me one more thing, the white colour, substance that farmers use for their crops." "You would not have here in the workshop, would you?" -Please say yes. " Yes, my lord... We do have it...We are the ones who create it in our workshops " Yes yes yes... "Show me that one too, " Evan said excitedly. Carl complied. With shaky hands, Evan touched the powdered substance. No doubt It was Saltpetre. Now black powder was within his reach. To make black powder he needed three things. Powdered Sulphur Powdered Saltpetre (Potassium Nitrate) Powdered Charcoal He had two of them and making the third one was a cakewalk for him. He just needed to burn some wood and collect the residue as charcoal. -Black powder¡­ you are mine now Evan laughed with a weird smirk. He quickly explained the way to make charcoal to Carl and then started breaking down the powdered sugar and saltpetre into very very fine powder. He did it because the particle size of the powder determines the quality of the black powder. The finer the better. This whole time Cornell was standing beside Evan dumbfounded. He had no idea what was going on. He had never seen Evan doing something so single-mindedly. When Carl brought the charcoal Evan was also ready with the Sulphur and Saltpetre. Evan carefully mixed the three components in a specific amount. 75% potassium nitrate 15% charcoal 10% sulfur The mixing process was sped up by the runic circuits which Carl created. With the help of the runes, the process became much faster and simpler. After doing all that the end result was a black and powdery substance. Evan carefully placed the black powder in a container. Cornell and Carl were very curious to know what this thing was. Evan could see the impatience on both of their faces. Evan had no desire to hide the processing of powder from the Carl or any other alchemist of the guild. These mages had already proved their loyalty by sticking with the guild despite the bad condition of the city. He too wanted to show them that he trusted the guild. He was going to teach them the process since These alchemists would be making the black powder in future. So with the presence of Carl there now he had one less work to do. He took a paper and put some black powder on it. Carl lighted the paper and then they all took a few steps back. As the fire reached the black powder, it ignited in a flash with blinding light. It was over in the blink of an eye. Both of them were shell-shocked. It was something they had never seen before even in that magical world. With gleaming eyes, Evan was enjoying their expressions. -Ha-ha, this is just the start wait till you see the other things. None of them noticed that a bald old man in white make robes skin was standing in the doorway with his mouth wide open. Evan noticed the dazing Guild master and greeted him. Well, actually it was not his first time meeting the guild-master. The guild master Hendrik used to be his teacher. "Evan what Sorcery was that and how can you use magic I thought you¡­" Hendrik asked with a shocked expression. "Master Hendrik, this is no magic, this is just simple alchemy" He used the word alchemy instead of chemistry. When Evan explained the process, the old man was completely speechless. He did not know what to say. "How in the world was one supposed to know that mixing those three substances in a defined amount would create something so different" Cornell pondered. Hendrik always used the method of hit and trial and there was no way for him to predict resultant substance. "How in the world did you predict the final substance¡¯s properties, " asked Hendrik and then looked towards Cornell for answers. But Cornell had no idea either, he was just as clueless as Hendrik. "Well, why don''t we sit and comfortably talk about this Master Hendrik" s "I will surely explain this to you" Evan said with a smile. Evan and Hendrik went to Hendrik''s office. Evan explained some about chemistry and as expected Hendrik was not convinced by his claims. So Evan jotted down a few simple reactions and gave it to Hendrik for the practical test in the workshop. Evan told the Guild master to come and meet him after testing the reactions. When Hendrik asked where did he get all this, Evan cleverly answered "I have got my hands on ancient books of alchemy" Of course, Hendrik did not buy it. But he did not press for answers either. Hendrik was happy since Evan had agreed to lend him those books. Before leaving the guild Evan said with a grave tone "Master Hendrik, except you and the other 14 mages nobody else is allowed to know about Substance" ¡°And I mean it ¡° Hendrik nodded sincerely.
Evan and Cornell returned to the palace. Evan had brought the black powder with him. As they were going upstairs, Evan saw the maid from the corner of his eye. He could not help but take a look. -Come to think of it, I do not even know her name. "Cornell. Who is that maid?" "I mean... she has been bringing me breakfast for the past few days. I never saw her before that " "I do not even know her name" Evan said hesitantly. Cornell noticed Evan''s hesitation and chuckled. He found it funny that Evan did not even flinch while talking to the Archmage Hendrik but Now he hesitated while asking a girl''s name. Evan was trying so hard to justify why he wanted to know her name. "Her name is Eliza Austin" Cornell said with a smile.