Alaster returned to Azemar’s home and was currently sitting in the library. It was a cozy room, but quite large, filled with bookshelves from floor to ceiling. He would need the ladder on wheels in order to reach the top shelf.

Azemar had told him the night before that the lessons would usually be in the library so there Alaster waited while he read one of the many books about Minions within the library.

In other cities, Minion users, typically called Summoners despite many Minions not actually being summoned, were rare. Perhaps only one in two hundred Mages, and the Minions typically weren’t that strong.

The most common method of using Minions was either manual labor or simply delaying the enemy until the caster could get off their Magic.

While anyone could potentially learn how to create Minions, one way or another, they were limited to a small number of fairly weak Minions. However, for those that had Classes pertaining to Minions, they could raise a large number or a few strong Minions.

Sedall had said on numerous occasions that the System adapts to suit the person’s situation in order to best keep them alive. In that case, Alaster was not surprised that a City completely isolated from the rest of Humanity would have a lot of Summoner Types. If they did not, the number of people in the city would slowly dwindle, ground down by the hordes of Monsters.

Minions allowed the people of Galmore to defend themselves while limiting the number of deaths. The Minions were killed often, but they were much easier to resummon or recreate.

Alaster even spotted a few Golems among the defenders, pretty much the Enchanters’ version of a Minion. They were typically large and bulky, as that was the cheapest version. But if the Enchanter was willing to use precious materials paired with extensive and delicate Runes, they could make a Golem the same size as a person, while remaining as durable as metal and being able to crush stone between their fingers.

As he expected, due to the increased number of Summoners, they also had an increased number of books pertaining to Minions. The book Alaster was currently reading was specifically about how the Caster’s Mana infused the Minion. It was a very broad topic with countless explanations as it was different for each type of Minion, but Alaster still wanted to know.

Of course, he didn’t have the time to finish the entire book. Before he could even read half of it, Lunaria burst through the door.

“Good morning Alaster! Have you already eaten breakfast?”

Alaster set the book down with a sigh, knowing she would not stop talking either way, “Yes.” He lied.

With [Death Embrace], Alaster did not need to eat or sleep nearly as often as most.

Much to Alaster relief, Lunaria was not able to say something else as her father walked into the room.

“Good, you are both here. Let’s begin.”

Lunaria sat down in the chair to Alaster right and smiled wide.

“Today, we will talk about the source of power behind Nobility. Any guesses as to what that is?”

Lunaria threw her hand up, bouncing in her chair.

“Luna, it is just us three, you don’t need to raise your hand.”

Ignoring what her father said, Lunaria answered the question, “High Levels and powerful Classes?”

“No. Anyone can raise in levels and have a powerful Class. That is not limited to Nobility. Just look at Alaster. The boy has one of the strongest Classes you will likely find, and he became a High Expert in under a decade. And at the moment, he is as far from a Noble as one could get.”

Alaster looked down at himself. He was currently wearing his armor over his clothes as they were still riddled with cuts and holes, and he had not bothered to comb or trim his hair, but he wasn’t that bad, was he?

“The answer is very simple, money. With enough money, it is possible for the Nobility to hire those with strong Classes or high Levels. It is possible for them to exert that power and claim land and businesses, as well as create their own. Luna, how did the Jula Family rise as one of the wealthiest families in Galmore?”

“Oh! They were able to conjure more Iron than any other, allowing them to outbid other companies and flood the market. Other companies couldn’t keep up until eventually the Jula Family bought them, adding them to their own business and expanding it.” Lunaria quickly recited, proud of her knowledge.

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Azemar continued, “Correct, and what made the Jula Family special? What allowed them to create so much Iron when other, larger, more established businesses could not?”

Lunaria opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated, realizing she did not know.

“Manpower. They managed to convince almost every single independent Mage capable of conjuring Iron to sell their material to the Jula Company. But how did the Jula pay for that? Credit. They told the Mages that for each pound of Iron above ninety percent purity, they would receive credit for two silver.

It was a gamble for them because if the Mages decided to call in their credit all at the same time, the Jula Family would be forced to pay for it and would go bankrupt. But it was a gamble that paid off. By the time that the Mages began to actually call in their credit, the Jula Company had already begun earning enough money to not only pay off all the credit, but also continue to expand.

The Jula Company rose from some minor company struggling to pay their bills to one of the most influential and wealthy companies in the entire city. And they did it in just over a year. Now, roughly sixty eight percent of the Metal supplied to the city comes from Jula Conjurors.

Now, this happened before either of you were born. The City Lord granted the head of the Jula Family the Noble Rank of Baron, and they have since advanced into Viscounts.

They became Nobles through good business and wealth management.”

Alaster leaned back and folded his arms, “That’s it? Just having enough money is enough to become Nobility?”

“I already told you; Nobility is just a title. It has no true meaning in the real world. Away from civilization, or around people who simply don’t care, being a Noble means nothing. Anyone can go around calling themselves a Noble, they just don’t because the Noble Families have long since established how violently jealous they are of the word.

But in this case, it was not their wealth that prompted the City Lord to grant them Nobility. It was the expectation they would use it to aid the city. And they have. While they have continued to grow richer, they have also spent mass fortunes to ensure the Wall remains as in good condition and our Soldiers are both well trained and well equipped.

They are one of the Noble Families that actually care about the well-being of those they rein over. Though they can be quite irritating about roses.”

“Roses? What does that have to do with anything?” Alaster could not help but mutter.

“Exactly!” Azemar exclaimed with more emotion than Alaster had previously seen from the man.

“Anyway, their wealth allows them to hire powerful people, both to protect their interests, and to exert their will on those around them, both for good and for bad, if they desired. With their funds, they can pay an extensive retinue to train and protect their young, eventually turning them all into potent fighters.”

“So they used some of their fragile image of power, money, into actual power, by training themselves?”

Azemar looked up for a moment, “…Yeah let’s go with that. However, there are two other Noble Families that became Noble through their own power. The Illifairs and the Naotas. The Illifairs started out as two Experts who got married and had a kid who eventually also became an Expert, and so on and so forth, until eventually their Experts were in the dozens.

The previous City Lord granted them Nobility in hopes that they would not attempt to use their impressive Military strength to stage a coup. Personally, I don’t think they ever had the ambition for that. They enjoy power and the gaining of it, they don’t really care for ruling, but they continue to train some of the most Elite Soldiers Galmore has to offer.”

“And the Naotas?”

“The Naotas took a different route. They did not have much natural talent. Their family struggled to even reach High Adept, though now they have a few Experts. They came to power through the use of strategy. They convinced others to follow them in battle, creating a sort of pseudo-Mercenary Company.

They trained their members to fight together seamlessly. Using their conventionally meager strength to produce powerful results. They are also fiercely loyal to Galmore and see no issue eradicating anything or anyone that threatens it.

Their roots can be clearly traced back to the first generation of Galmore and became Nobles through necessity. The city back then was not nearly as established as it is now, requiring a much more active and established army, which the Naotas provided.

To this day, roughly fifty three percent of all active Soldiers are under the Naota Banner, with the remaining forty seven percent divided among all the rest, and independents.

What I am trying to say, is that there are plenty of ways to come to power and be a Noble, but they all originate from money. Without money, the Illifairs would not be able to train their elites. Without money, the Naotas would be unable to supply or hire as many as they do.

Everyone has needs, food, water, shelter, safety. They will do just about anything to sate these needs, but no one will work without something in return. It first began as bartering goods. Someone would work for a day in exchange for a bag of cotton, which they could then exchange for food or housing.

Blah blah blah, but in order for bartering to work, both parties have to want something the other party had to offer. What if the farmer no longer wanted to trade food for cotton? Money was then created as an middle man. Suddenly, that man could work for a day and get a silver coin, which he would be certain that he could exchange for food.

Money has since become integral to Civilization. Everyone wants it, everyone needs it. And so, those with it are able to exploit those that want it. They claimed themselves to be better than everyone else, and very few objected because, well, they had all the money.

Alaster, you recently paid a young inventor to sign an exclusive contract with you regarding one of her, still in progress, inventions. Using your Money, you convinced her to sign away her ability to sell her invention anywhere else, despite it being her work.

That in itself is not horrible, as without your funds, she would likely never accomplish anything with her inventions. But in the end, you still used your excess of money to exert your will on others.

That, is power. The ability to control. To control yourself. To control your surroundings. To control others. Power is domination.”