Back at home, I continued my meditation and training. With the free time I had, I started a new project: making myself armor that would hopefully last longer. I consumed quite a lot of unique materials so I could boost my armor as much as possible, but even then, I wasn’t able to bring it to rank two, which was a bit disappointing but also understandable. Still, this should be good enough with my defensive abilities to make this armor truly effective.

My apprentices also helped me out, so we were able to complete it in about a week. I once again felt better having my signature armor around me. Still, the problem of my weaponry remained as I was feeling quite naked without having weapons that could currently match my strength. But there was nothing I could do about it at this moment.

With a lot more free time now and my body feeling almost back to normal, I started to teach my apprentices more. The first thing I did was get them back into smithing so they could learn metalworking more.

The biggest project that I currently gave them was to make three hand-drawn plows. They were going to be necessary for the lesson I was going to give them in about a week, as we were fast approaching the correct planting time for some of the crops.

When the plows were ready, I instructed all of my apprentices to gather in front of the inn. Soon, Val and his family also joined so I could begin. "Welcome everyone, today we start a new project. While some parts of it will take a short time, some will take a lot longer. Val here has been concerned about the materials required for his inn. Of course, what I’m talking about is something that you have all enjoyed during your own night at this inn: alcohol, beer, ciders, and so on. Every proper inn owner should have his own brew, which would make his place more special.”

"For that, we will need to build him a place where he could do that, but not just that, we also need to make him some small fields where he could grow different kinds of plants for his experimentations. Of course, this place should be big enough that I could also give it a try, and anyone else who wants to give it a go as well. Val also likes fresh vegetables, so we will also be making a small garden where his family could grow their own food.”

"Currently, Francis is busy making new fields for the nation, and I also thought it would be a good lesson for you all. You don't need a dedicated animal to grow enough food for yourself or a few other people, all you need is a friend or a life partner. That is why I instructed you to make those plows. You will all be making new fields and starting to plan out the buildings needed for this project."

When I finished my speech, people seemed excited yet a bit worried, which was to be expected. Not wanting the excitement to die down, I quickly started to give instructions on how to begin. Val's family also joined in and helped with everything.

It was a fun time, but it didn't take too long to make the fields, and when we were done, I gave Val the seeds that he would need so they could continue from this point on. The building itself will take a while longer to get started as the planting season was starting.

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I went to visit Francis, who seemed really happy about the work that he was doing. Making new fields, especially in the amount that he was making, was hard work which he enjoyed. I explained to him that he would not be needed back home as I would be doing the job he would be doing. He was a bit sad at that, so I kept him company for a while longer while he was working, which made him feel better.

When I made it back home, doing field work was not hard work for me. It was quite fun and didn’t even strain my body. I could have done this job even back at the first rank. When the fields were prepared, I finally felt that I was completely in control of my body once again and slowly I could feel that I needed to do less and less to keep my energy circulating. If I had to guess, I would say in about another month, I would be back to where I started before I reached the second rank.

During this time, I heard that our merchants entered the portal and should return in less than a week. I kind of wish that I went with them, but there was too much to be done at the homestead.

POV Roger

Since Rich came to visit me, every moment has been hectic, but this is bringing back so many good memories that I couldn’t help but keep smiling all the time. The last few years have been especially tough, but I finally feel like I have recovered from losing my merchant company. While it was basically just me and a few other workers, it was still something that I built from nothing. But now, I was a trader for an entire nation, and I felt up for the challenge.

Everything went smoothly, especially hiring guards as everyone here was so professional. The council even gave me four first-rank Vikings, which made me feel incredibly safe, but I also hired some more guards through the job building.

While at first, I felt like the job building was taking some of my job, I can’t argue with its effectiveness at rebuilding an economy. I am still not sure that the nation should pay so much for its labor, but I am willing to see what happens.

Time flew by, and soon I found myself ready with everyone working for me gathered in front of the portal station. To get the resources required for a portal station, we had to pay quite a lot, but everyone agrees that it was worth it. Anyone who had access to mana had been charging the portal as soon as I announced the trading mission. While we have stored crystals for emergency use, they were currently not needed.

When one of the mages finally asked us if we were ready, I gave an affirmative, and only a few seconds later, a blue portal appeared before us. I gave the signal, and everyone moved forward. The best way I could describe portal travel is that you don't feel anything during the travel. It’s like walking through a doorway, but you end up in a completely different location.

The first thing I noticed when I went through the portal was that the sun was higher up than it was back in GreenWave. It was a bit disorientating, but with the help of the portal attendant who got my attention, I was able to get out of the way so that others would not run into me when they followed. This was just the first portal we had to go through, but we were already on a different continent.

Jumping here took a bit more mana, but it was a better option than going to the former capital of the fallen kingdom. Who knows what restrictions the queen might impose on us. The safer option was to jump to this trade city that was closest to us. Looking around, I could already see seven other portal stations, some of which had a different design, meaning that they connected to a different portal network.

Seven is quite a low number, but it’s normal for such a northern location. I was given a drink that would help with the disorientation, and I noticed that the same was given to the others. It was good that they decided to accept my request when I sent the mage letter with our information and travel plan. None of us had made such a big portal jump, and we would need to do one again quite soon, and I couldn’t have my personnel sick.

My mind started to relax, and I started to look around even more. We were situated on a small cliff that overlooked the shallow sea. This city was famous for its seafood and many other important resources that can be gained from the sea. We were near a large bay, the size of our entire nation, and it had thousands of small islands where resources were farmed from. The thousands of small islands, the beautiful water and what seemed like an endless amount of sailboats was a breathtaking view.