V2: Chapter 1:

…

The Academy sat at the center of the continent, encircled by mountains, and inside a fertile valley. That fertile valley was worked by several walled cities with standing armies, which focused on mercantilism, agriculture, and production of everything from nails and hammers all the way to magical arms and armor. Those cities each held a gate at a mountain pass, and they looked to the lands connected to those gates as their customers for all that they plied… and places to exploit.

The merchant cities of the Academy represented the "market" of the game, at the start. If you wanted mercenary Champions, access to strategic or luxury resources you didn't have, or whole divisions of mercenaries, the player had to fight their way there, connect their capital via road, and then have the money and funds to do what they needed.

It prevented people getting lucky with a random event, selling the strategics or luxuries they stumbled upon for cash, and grabbing some elite units early. A lot of people cried about the "MarketMercRush" dying, but we got over it as a community, and moved on. That is to say, the forums were radioactive for a few weeks, and I only came back when people found something else more palatable to complain over.

But I'm digressing.

When I was a player, I questioned why so many leaders looked at the destruction of the Academy and the need to research and rebuild the market system as a good thing.

As someone who actually lives in the setting now, I knew the truth.

It wasn't some barb at higher education being shit, like most of the mouthbreathers thought.

It was because the Academia were just massive shitters across the board in-universe.

The Academy and the merchant cities were taking advantage of the crisis at hand. Sure, it would have been a difficult affair, and it would've risked the only functional civilization base on the continent, but they could've tried to unite everyone under one banner. They had enough food to be the main exporters, they could field armies, and they were sending out spare nobility to lead mercenary companies. They had the means to produce masses of soldiers and they just basically threw spare officers with them into the continent for hire.

A continent where most people were lucky to reach fifty, where a lot of kids were living as battleground scrappers, where most women considered themselves lucky to get into some warlord's good graces, and where most men lived and died by the sword. It's an overgeneralization, and I'm ignoring loads of peoples, but the general gist is that everyone could've been living better lives if the people with existing infrastructure, food, and military decided to step in. They weren't. Instead they were selling bodies, food, and weapons at a massive markup, while purchasing whatever they fancied from the conflict-ravaged regions.

That's right.

The Academy were operating off multiple variations of the European colonialism structures. They weren't as exploitative as the Belgians, but they did their fair share of resource extraction. They poured in weapons, armor, and luxuries to have warlords kill each other and buy from the winners like the British, but didn't establish colonies that would end up independent. They took in the upper class and talented like the Spanish, elevating them into a lesser nobility through Champions and officers through the Academy… but didn't go as far as to send armies to hold territory.

If I looked closer, I'd definitely find more, but that was the gist of things.

Basically, they were working off of some sort of demented system where mercantilism and colonialism intertwined.

They took no risks, stayed on the sidelines, and made massive profits selling and buying anything of value.

Yeah, these guys deserved what was coming to them.

…

The carriage trundled forward, thankfully with suspension, so I didn't bite my tongue off while we journeyed towards the Academy. Now, a carriage didn't sound like much for an up-and-coming King with two Citadels at his command, but that wasn't all that was involved with my transfer.

My entourage numbered in the hundreds. Mounted heavy and light cavalry trundled along the sides. Mages on horseback were concealed amongst them, while they kept protections against magical attacks up. We had a vanguard clearing the way and preparing the path a day ahead, and they patrolled the roads between us and them steadfastly, while wagons packed with regular foot soldiers ready to dismount and fight off anyone created a caravan train, especially with the supplies and treasure we had on hand.

That's right, there's no such thing as traveling light as a dignitary in this day and age.

I didn't recall his name, but there was an African king back in my world that destabilized whole countries by just being generous with his payments during his travel. Some part of me just laughed at ancient people making mistakes we learned from, but now I understood how that happened. My procession towards my place of learning had a small army as guards, and supporting them were officers, cooks, and other logistical staff.

The caravan train had a treasurer aboard, and several wagons of treasure to both pay for my education and board, but also to pay the soldiers that were going to be housed in the outer series of villages that surrounded that academy. Many of these soldiers were going to go back and forth from home to the Academy, ferrying treasure and replacements each time, and they were going to be spending their wages along that route, along all the towns we stopped by, and where they were going to be garrisoned.

This was less of a simple trip and more an outright establishment of a trade-route, but I could see how this could easily change the economy and society of the route we were traveling.

Because having two Citadels at our disposal meant that we were effectively twice as rich as our nearest rival, and we received more from the Citadels, because we had more of their systems online than others. Our hydroponics could produce mountains of spices, since we had plenty of food. All our soldiers had better arms and armor, which kept their life expectancy up, and got rid of the bandits in our territory. More of our soldiers could be healed from grievous wounds, too. Not only that, but we received a lot of prestige from our victory, leading to more people coming our way, which meant we could produce more, make more money, and gain more prestige.

It was a snowball effect, but not big enough for everyone else to band together and kill us.

Money, influence, and power in such amounts that just making sure I was guarded during my education had a chance of destabilizing the local economy where I went.

"Man, being rich has issues, but it's better than being poor." A lot better than being poor. Even though there were a lot of costs involved, eye-watering expenses most of all, it was a lot better than ripping leather belts and boots off of corpses. I could still smell those rotten hunks of meat to this day. If anything, it was getting worse, since my new life of luxury made for a terrifying contrast. "And… I'm talking to myself again."

No one was in my wagon with me. It was a matter of security. I was traveling in a nondescript one from the outside, while all my guards were dressed plainly. The fancy one was up ahead and a decoy. There were two other carriages in the caravan that I regularly moved into, as well. Overall, safety was the highest priority, even in Academy lands, because I happened to be the rising power on the continent.

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Or, rather, Khanrow and Riegert were, because the two of them were the ones really pulling the strings.

At the very least, though, I managed to get some fame and clout in the acquisition of the latest Citadel and now I had a chance to learn more and get more allies at the Academy.

Hopefully, I won't have to ever talk to myself again.

Hopefully, I can get enough clout and useful people that I can do what I want instead of having my life dictated to me.

And, finally, I hoped that no Academy events will pop up, because they're all bullshit and dangerous, no matter how good their rewards are.

Ah, who am I kidding?

All the events are going to pop and I'm going to have to confront each and every single one of them.

…

There was no great procession heading up a massive set of stairs into a massive castle with far too many health-and-safety violations.

There was no great hall meant for everyone to eat at and converse in four separate houses.

Finally, there was no shared dormitory for everyone else.

The Academy is a place where the absolute cream of the crop of the continent came to learn how to be even better. Those blessed with magic went forth to become more than mages that shot fireballs or put up shields, they went to be able to control the weather to alleviate droughts over whole swathes of land, or shatter armies with thunderstorms. Peerless warriors on the battlefield came to understand how to put their talents to better use, and what to acquire, so that they became tyrants on the battlefield. Heirs to small cities or alliances of small towns came to the Academy to become conquerors of whole regions, or create alliances or federations that dominated those same regions.

It's not a place for coming of age stories.

It's a damn university, and I'm four years early for it.

"Greetings, King of Wisdom." My caravan took up the whole of the entrance. The troops rapidly made formations while the wagons were arranged to provide protection from the sides. More than a few of the students of the Academy were peering over wall of the massive gate structure. Most people wouldn't be able to see from the height they were at, since the wall was almost ten stories tall, but they were able to manage with magic. Anyway, I was talking to a formal envoy of the Academy, who himself was guarded by at least a hundred men in two blocks of fifty. We outnumbered them substantially… and had better equipment, so I was sure whoever was really in charge was sweating bullets. "The tales do your legend no justice. The might of your escort alone has quelled any doubt of the might of your lands."

It took no effort whatsoever to act my part as a very cheerful, but smart kid.

"Thank you, I'm happy to hear that, but can we please go in already? My soldiers have worked very hard to get me here quickly." King of Wisdom wasn't an appropriate name. King of Having-Way-Too-Many-Hours-In-The-Game was more accurate. I got the name from knowing the right actions to commit to during events, and knowing which Artifact was which. Anyway, my whole act was being a fantastic figurehead for my nation and doing my part in getting us the big W over anyone else, while Khanrow and Riegert dealt with the military and espionage parts of the campaign. I was stuck with politics, while they did the fun stuff. The bastards. "Let's do all the traditional things after my soldiers have gotten some rest, okay?"

I said it all as nicely as I possibly could.

Now, good food and constant exercise go a long way, but developing for my initial ten years as a starving, scavenging orphan made my growth less than ideal. I'd like to say that it wasn't the case, but I definitely wasn't reaching my old height in my previous life. Well, once we get three Citadels under our control, I was going to get access to some incredible rejuvenation systems and health buffs to all my troops, but that was going to be years from now.

Anyway, despite hitting puberty, my voice didn't deepen that much and I wasn't growing that much either. No sudden jump from five feet to nearly six, which was disappointing, but less body hair was welcome and no sudden appearance of a beard was great too. Some would say that I should go out of my way to look older, but being underestimated helped make whatever I did look more impressive at minimal cost.

But back to the situation.

"Then, it shall be done as you say, King of Wisdom." The envoy did his best to not look relieved, but the captain of his guarding force actually relaxed at my words. That was a good enough message for me to realize that I recognized the situation properly and acted in my best interest. The Academy saved face in front of all my firepower, and I would be greeted by an 'overwhelming' force to ensure compliance with their rules. "Now, I would like to ask you to follow me, so that I can escort you to your abode—

There was a sudden shift in the air, and in an instant both Ilych and Rita were ready for battle at my side.

I barely managed to keep smiling as the Rivalry Event triggered via one of the opposing factions landing from atop the massive gate with a great plume of dust erupting from the ground.

Everyone was covered by the deluge, but I made a small barrier of wind to protect myself.

Looks are everything.

In fact, when you boiled everything else away, my looks were all I had, so I made sure to keep myself looking good.

Besides, it was pretty important for this event.

A loud booming noise like a thunderclap echoed around us, and the dust was blown aside in every direction. Rita and Ilych were both ready for battle, but they were unprepared for what was to come.

Most people tended to be.

"King of Wisdom, I am Celia of House Adil. I declare you my rival." Necromancer faction leader. Straight hair, pure white, and skin the color of bone with stark red eyes. Unnatural beauty born from a combination of magic and what once was. This was a Vampire Heir, one of the best ones for the faction, and it was bad that she and all her stupid stats were what I had to contend with in all the Events. But… this was also an opportunity. "Whomsever reigns supreme in the Academy shall lord over the other! Accept this challenge and you have the chance of bringing my people under your command forevermore without grievance—

An opportunity, because I could get an alliance with my rival's faction if I win, and only a minor loss in reputation if I discard my loss as some silly game.

One Citadel allied to us, if I win.

A minor hit in reputation if I lose.

Yeah, I cut her off and agreed with a smile.

"Oh, that sounds fun! Let's do that… but my men still need to rest, so let's talk about it later! Bye!"

And, with that said, I walked past the Vampire Heir that hero-landed in front of me and brushed the dust off the Academy Envoy to get him to move things along.

Overall, not a bad start.