“Perfect.”
No matter where I looked, there were only training halls.
I had built massive platforms and carved numerous magic circles next to them. Most were protective spells to prevent the training grounds from being damaged.
There were also a few spells cast for training purposes.
A lightly applied gravity magic was the foundation. A spell that slowly drained stamina was also active.
‘You must be able to train even as you grow weary.’
The environment was designed to push people to their absolute limits the longer they trained.
However, it wouldn’t cause physical injury.
‘It was hard work carving it all in.’
I had inscribed one Jinbeop. I had also installed a Suryeon-jin on each platform, similar to ones I had set up before.
Whoooooosh—
Thanks to this, the mana around the training grounds continuously swirled, centered on the halls.
As the mana swirled, it stimulated the Aura of those inside the training grounds.
It might seem absurd to stimulate Aura while simultaneously draining stamina, but…
‘There’s no other method as effective as this.’
In Murim, there were quite a few places that operated training in this manner.
You would push your body to the point where your stamina dropped drastically, and then fill your exhausted body with what this world calls Aura, and Murim calls Qi. This would make the physique that much more robust.
If you made that method more specialized, that was External Martial Arts.
‘There’s no need to teach External Arts in depth here.’
Anyway, this training facility was constructed to a standard not inferior to that of most noble families’ training halls.
There were over twenty training halls, each large enough to easily accommodate a hundred people if packed. That alone was a considerable size.
But even at this very moment…
“Apply it more meticulously. Otherwise, you’ll have to redo it.”
“Understood!”
At the far end, new training halls were being built endlessly. Combat engineers would lay the foundation, and then mages would step in to finish the work.
‘We need to fill at least a hundred. This place is going to become quite significant in the future.’
On one side of the training grounds, a building was being constructed to a height similar to the Enchant Magic Tower branch. This place, which would be completed last, would later be…
‘The place to recruit remarkable talents.’
It was being prepared to recruit the people I wanted.
While large-scale training halls were being built one after another…
“I wonder if Arne did well.”
“You mean the request, sir?”
“Yes.”
“Hasn’t she done well so far?”
“That’s true. Well, the merchants we planted have also moved, so it will definitely spread.”
Rumors began to spread throughout the Royal Capital.
It was through the Information Guild that received the request via Arne and the merchants who moved after purchasing goods from the Merchant Fortress.
The merchants who had left the Royal Capital had returned.
Without saying a word, many were watching the returned merchants. They knew these were merchants who had visited the territory of House Ofern.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Then let’s go together next time.”
Originally, merchants moved together on long-distance trade journeys even while competing.
Because a larger group was safer than a small one. The longer the journey, the less safety was guaranteed, so they had no choice but to move together even with competitors.
As a result, they ultimately arrived at the same place. Securing a better deal at the same location was a merchant’s duty and ability.
That was what made a true merchant.
However, among the merchants who came and went from the Merchant Fortress, not all were true merchants.
“How was it?”
“The goods are all top quality. If we’d only had more funds, we would have purchased more. Unfortunately, a few sets were the limit.”
“That’s still something. Hmm. Let me see.”
There were those pretending to be merchants.
They were people sent by nobles. They pretended to be merchants to spy on House Ofern while simultaneously trying to acquire precious goods.
“Ooh. Good.”
“They are indeed excellent.”
The goods were truly outstanding. The Ofern-made armaments were items you couldn’t even get in the Royal Capital because they weren’t available.
Who knows, the real merchants were probably rushing headlong to the Royal Capital’s auction house scheduled for tomorrow. To sell the goods obtained from House Ofern.
With the capital gained there, they would prepare for the next trade journey. The destination was obvious even without asking. They would head back to the Merchant Fortress.
Additionally, the nobles were desperate to obtain information as well.
“Yes. That aside, what was the inside like?”
“It was secure. More than you’d think for a place in the Northern Mountain Range. And……”
“And?”
“They were building something. They were constructing a considerable number of training halls. They resembled the training halls knights use.”
“Hmm… A place suitable for knights. Is there a need to build such a place there?”
“I heard they are establishing an academy.”
“What?”
“An academy, they say. But it’s not a knight academy, apparently. From what I heard, it was a place hard to understand.”
“Tell me in detail!”
And that precious information struck the Royal Capital once again.
-An academy has opened at the Machina Fortress.
The rumor spread instantly, as if prepared in advance. The interesting part was that it wasn’t the academy of their common understanding.
“What academy in a fortress?”
“Are they building academies in such places nowadays? What are scholars going to do there?”
Typically, there aren’t many types of academies.
For nobles, administrative officers, and knights. For mages, the Magic Tower exists, so that’s an exception.
Only the Royal Academy is sanctioned for nobles, so that’s an exception. Ultimately, only two remained.
However.
“The rumor says it’s neither for knights nor for administrative officers?”
“What does that mean? Then who are they teaching for?”
“Exactly as the name implies, they say. Mercenaries.”
“What?”
“A place for mercenaries, they say. Well, even if not strictly mercenaries, they say they teach ways to become stronger.”
“Preposterous!”
An academy for mercenaries. It was something unimaginable. No, its very existence was strange.
When the rumor first circulated, everyone could only be half-convinced.
Then, not long after…
“They say it’s effective? Among those who learned the basics at the academy, several have become quite strong.”
“……Was it real after all?”
Rumors about the Mercenary Academy spread once more.
The protagonists were some of the mercenaries who had first contracted with Rayrn.
The mercenaries, who began moving outside with Rayrn’s permission, demonstrated skills beyond the rumors.
“Aura Practitioner, they say?”
“That’s what I heard.”
None other than an Aura Practitioner. A skill level commonly known as knight-tier. It wasn’t that there were no Practitioners among mercenaries, but there weren’t many.
They displayed such skill.
Mercenaries who had become strong.
They were living proof. Flaunting their greatly enhanced skills, they, as if by prior agreement…
“We’re going back.”
Returned to the Machina Fortress where Rayrn was.
Many watched their movements. The rumors couldn’t help but grow larger.
-The Mercenary Academy is real.
-It doesn’t just raise skill levels; it makes you a true powerhouse.
More concrete rumors struck the Royal Capital.
“Isn’t it a scam?”
“There are too many witnesses to say that.”
“Ha… I’d like to go learn if I only had the money.”
“I heard it’s not strictly about money?”
Here, Rayrn added a new method.
‘Money, I have plenty. Being able to employ talented individuals is the benefit.’
He, who cherished(?) talent, provided a new means for those who came seeking to become strong.
“They say you can make a contract. If you serve House Ofern for several years, it can cover the tuition.”
“……Huh.”
The tuition was ultimately a contract.
‘I’ll give you power, so use that power for House Ofern!’
“It’s similar to a knight’s contract, isn’t it?”
“Same yet different. You don’t receive a fiefdom. Still, it’s not bad.”
“I intend to go.”
“Let’s join the next trade journey and go see.”
There was no shortage of people who, lacking money for now, were willing to do anything to become stronger.
For mercenaries who keenly felt that weakness meant losing their lives, the Machina Fortress Academy was attractive.
“In that case, I’ll join too.”
“As you wish.”
Countless mercenaries chose the journey to the Machina Fortress.
Among them…
“Let’s stop by the Merchant Fortress first on the way.”
There were also mercenaries who took on escort missions for merchants.
Jobs were plentiful. It was an unexpected boom.
Because the merchants who had come to the Royal Capital and disposed of all their goods were organizing trade journeys back to the fortress. Everyone’s destination was the same.
The Merchant Fortress.
Many who were hiring mercenaries were heading for that place, right next to Machina.
“I’ll join the escort request.”
“How much will it be?”
“Two gold per day.”
“That’s too low… But what can I do. I’ll join.”
Many mercenaries joined the merchants. Mercenaries to Machina, merchants to Merchant. Even though their destinations differed, the fact they were close was important.
The mercenaries willingly joined even at prices lower than usual.
As the mercenaries’ escort prices dropped, some merchants who had been hesitating about going to the Merchant Fortress also began organizing escorts and moving.
More people set out on the second wave than the first wave of Merchant Fortress merchants.
Dozens of merchants and workers, accompanied by hundreds of mercenaries.
***
The procession seemed endless, and there were those watching the spectacle.
“…It’s as if an army is on the move.”
“With that many, they might easily sweep away a viscount’s house.”
“Hmm… A viscount’s house.”
To nobles, mercenaries were weak when considered separately. But there’s strength in numbers.
Mercenaries used for monster subjugation and territory wars often became useful military assets for noble houses.
And such mercenaries were now moving toward House Ofern. They were mercenaries from the Royal Capital, no less. All were individuals with some skill.
‘This is serious.’
For the nobles watching that procession, it was inevitable to feel a sense of alarm.
Originally, mercenaries tended to move toward the next request after one ended.
But not the mercenaries who went to House Ofern. Previously, Rayrn had absorbed three mercenary groups that were in the Royal Capital.
Because of that, there had been a significant period without mercenaries in the Royal Capital. For those who used mercenaries here and there, that gap was quite painful.
But now, once again, a considerable number were moving.
In the past, they would have returned, but with the existence of the Machina Academy, it was unknown how many of them would come back.
The majority would not return.
If that power was absorbed by House Ofern, it was clear House Ofern would become stronger than before.
A situation where alarm was inevitable.
“This is a headache. What in the world are the Royalist Faction doing?”
“I hear they have headaches too. They’re looking for a solution but have none, they say.”
“Hmm… Send a message.”
Beyond the Royalist Faction, many nobles in the Royal Capital began to move to guard against Ofern.
The rumors Rayrn had orchestrated led to the movement of mercenaries.
That movement aroused the nobles’ vigilance and created another movement.
With each step Rayrn took, many things in the Kingdom of Malexia were changing. His influence was beginning to reach the Royal Capital as well.
He was becoming a giant.
Meanwhile, Rayrn, who had created this phenomenon…
“Hehe. Good.”
Was leisurely waiting within the fortress for the results of the rumors he had sown.