"I see. Thank you for the explanation. In that case, do you happen to know where Martel and Hoduin are? The following conversation would be better served if it were also in their presence."

Acquiescing to the Necromancer's request out of pure curiosity, the mayor sent a servant to the Training Grounds Dungeon.

It appears that the high-level duo started their training of Kyovashad's younger Wanderers, as per their previous promise.

Thanks to them, Michael expected to hear about fewer deaths and more Dungeon clears shortly.

"While we wait, do you mind corroborating some of my insights on this world and the Dungeons in general, Mr. Collin? Thanks to your high position, you should have more details than the normal Wanderers on certain topics."

[I can't promise I know everything, but I'll answer what I can, as long as it doesn't involve secrets I am not allowed to divulge, of course. I ask for your understanding in that case.](Colling)

"Don't worry, sir. I wouldn't want to put you on the spot, either. Can you help me confirm if the idea behind the Dungeons and the Sanctuary being a 'commercial' battlefield between our world and the Burning Hells is correct?"

[Do you mean in terms of souls being used as currency?](Collin)

"Yes."

[The short answer is yes. A more detailed one would include the agreement made by the High Heavens with the Burning Hells not to use the Sanctuary as a battlefield since they felt pity for the humans. The devils disagreed but were 'convinced' after a war that decimated their forces occurred. On top of that, their strongest generals, the Prime Evils and the Lesser Evils, were all sealed away. So, with a lack of commanding figures, the invasion of the Sanctuary turned passive. It was the Sanctuary itself that proposed the idea of Dungeons, stunning both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells.](Collin)

Pausing to think about the meaning behind the words, Michael nodded and continued the mayor's words.

"Because the devils wouldn't give up. So, rather than passively waiting to be destroyed, it created an avenue for the fight. Therefore, the Dungeons. What about the souls being used as currency?"

[I don't know much about that, but more than them being a currency, it's more like a bet between our world and theirs. We don't understand what souls are. That's the domain of the higher beings. But once the Sanctuary proposed the idea of a bet, the Burning Hells happily agreed. Unlike our small world, they have countless useless demons lying around with nothing to do, consuming the few resources they have left. That's why the idea of winning souls of high purity, such as those of the children between a high-level demoness and a high-level angel, appealed to them.](Collin)

The conversation didn't continue further due to a lack of more details, but Michael confirmed his theory somewhat. The souls of different worlds were a delicacy to the powerful beings of Burning Hells.

It was probably a similar case for the Sanctuary, gaining the souls of demons and devils. So, leaving the people of the world to fight for their survival, the Sanctuary could strengthen itself and better resist invasion.

After all, humans were prolific creatures. Even if half of them died during this protracted war, in less than ten to twenty years of peace, they would gain after the battle, and their numbers would replenish or maybe even surpass the previous population entirely.

That stands to prove that the Sanctuary only had humans as a weapon to resist the invasion of other forces. The reason for the 'divine punishment' he suffered when he considered introducing an industrial revolution was that in doing so, he would decrease the number of Wanderers capable of resisting the demon forces.

'However, the Sanctuary isn't against improving the living conditions of the people. It understands that between a family that lives in poverty and cannot afford to feed themselves and a wealthy family living in excellent condition, it was clear which one would have more children. And since the only resource it can use in the war against the invaders is humans, having more resources isn't something it would say 'no' to. In that case, it makes more sense to implement some of the ideas it allows me to as soon as possible.'

The trio continued with casual conversations while waiting for Hoduin and Martel to join them.

Half an hour later, the Druid was guided to the mayor's study by one of the servants. Seeing him alone, Michael threw a curious glance his way.

[Good day, everyone. Martel stayed behind to train the children. Hearing that it was Michael's idea to come here, we figured it might be business-related, so only one of us was enough to participate in the talks.](Hoduin)

"I see. It's good that it was you, sir. I want to confirm something first before moving forward. Can you help us plant Clear-Hearted Oaks on a large scale if needed?"

[Clear-Hearted Oaks? It shouldn't be a problem, but their nurturing is costly. They are so expensive that I usually don't bother keeping their seeds in my inventory. Do you have something in mind that requires them?](Hoduin)

Stolen novel; please report.

Explaining to him the plan to create proper roads between cities to facilitate better and safer trade, Michael also explained the possibility of adding the oaks impacting the local fauna.

Especially when it comes to the monsters residing in the Sanctuary, which needed to hunt animals and humans to survive. If they would add these trees, it would inevitably create a barrier that would segregate the monsters in specific areas.

[By doing that, we could restrict and possibly even hunt them down completely! Father!](Connie)

[*Sigh* Child... do you think nobody else ever considered this before? But such mass planting wouldn't go unnoticed by the demons and the monsters. Would they patiently wait for us to finish our plans like fish on the chopping board? Furthermore, buying the seeds, planting, and nurturing them into young adult trees would require excessive amounts of gold coins.](Collin)

"Can you give me a breakdown of how much that would be, please?"

[Hmm? Well, the seeds are not expensive. About 100 gold coins a piece. Planting and nurturing them is the problem. Let's say that having Sir Hoduin can help us plant all of them, though it would run him ragged. The nurturing process requires life energy that only Druids can infuse into plants, which must be done daily over the course of at least two weeks, depending on the level of the Druids. Even if some of them volunteer, we still have to pay others to help fill in the numbers. And if we pay some, we can't not pay the others, as it would create discontent. I'd say we'll need to pay them at least 1,500-2,000 gold coins per day per person if we want to succeed.](Collin)

Opening and scrutinizing the MAP, Michael pondered in silence as the mayor kept complaining to his daughter about the high cost of nurturing such unrewarding trees.

He already had a plan, and the gold coins wouldn't be a problem. Nor would the workforce, for that matter. Initiative was the most important thing right now.

"Theoretically speaking, if you were to pick a city we would connect to first as an experiment, which one would it be, Mr. Collin?"

[A city? Hmm...](Collin)

[Definitely not Nevesk or Nostrava. Not with the damage they incurred recently.](Connie)

[Nostrava might be a no, but Nevesk is not out of the question. We would build it for trade, and Nevesk has access to the Hawezar region. But it's true that we first need to rebuild and repopulate the city before considering that.](Collin)

"I assume Margrave is too small for such a road, while Yelesna is too far and would be too expensive."

[Correct. The Bear Tribe Refuge... I'm afraid we have nothing to gain except pelts and maybe farming products from Malnok in the summer. I'm not sure I can justify creating a road there.](Collin)

'There's also the fact that Malnok is in the process of enduring a Stronghold Event.'

[That leaves Menestad.](Hoduin)

[Mhm... With its connection to the Scosglen region, it's the best choice. Furthermore, Donan's Firebreak Mannor would be our first point of contact between us and Cerrigar. Most of the monsters between Cerrigar and Menestad are being cleared daily, so trade has been blooming recently. That's more or less the reason for the Merchant's Alliance jumping around.](Collin)

Checking the MAP and following the road from Menestad north, he could see all the way up to Mercy's Reach Dungeon, where he retrieved the Child's Caul for his... exorcism.

"Hmm... it's on a different subject, but can we close Dungeons? Like... permanently?"

[It's not that unheard of, but it's dangerous. There is a Dungeon called Luban's Rest near Corbach in Scosglen. Since it was very close to the city, it was cleared so often that the devil in charge didn't have enough resources to keep it open.](Connie)

"Isn't that a good thing?"

[No. Because the devil convinced his 'friends' in charge of the Dommhaine Tunnels and Garan Hold Dungeons to invest enough resources in their domains to create an overflow. As a result, not only did Corbach lose tens of Wanderers, but once the Dungeons were filled to the brim with demons, the surplus invaded our world due to the thinning of the barrier covering the entrances. It resulted in hordes of enemies sieging the city, and many lives were lost. Luckily, we have the Waypoints; otherwise, the town would've undoubtedly fallen.](Connie)

Obviously, the devil responsible for this mess reopened his own 'business' again, but nobody dared to clear it excessively because they feared a similar occurrence.

A plan was already forming in Michael's head to take care of that, but it would depend on Helen's network of friends worldwide. Maybe even Connie and her party could join since they were elites also.

[Back to the topic at hand, Sir Hoduin. If we were to do as Michael said and plant the oaks needed for the road to Menestad, how many would we need?](Collin)

[Hmm... First of all, we would need them on both sides of the road for them to act as a barrier. Secondly, given how big they grow, they need to be planted at least fifty meters apart from each other. Otherwise, they would compete for nutrients in the soil.](Hoduin)

Remembering the distance between Menestad and Kyovashad when he walked there before, as well as the approximation that a carriage would take about two hours to get from one point to the other on a decent road with no potholes, Michael calculated a distance of around 60-70 kilometers.

Something you would travel in an hour or less back on Earth.

Hoduin also mentioned that the oaks needed to be distanced and planted on both sides of the road and alternate every fifty meters, with one on the left and one on the right side.

"One every fifty meters means two in a hundred meters and twenty in a kilometer. That means we'd need somewhere between 1,200 to 1,400 seeds to cover the entire road. Does it sound about right, Mr. Hoduin?"

The Druid pondered for a while and then nodded slightly, much to Collin's dismay.

Michael realized that the problem wasn't in the seeds, which would only cost about 15,000 gold coins or less, but in nurturing the saplings to maturity.

The workforce needed would require lots of Druids.

"*Sigh* It seems Mr. Collin isn't very pleased with the idea. Just for reference, how many Druids would we need for the project?"

[Urgh... if there are Druids that underwent at least one Class Awakening... at least 1,400...](Collin)

Speechless, Michael looked at Hoduin, who smiled helplessly in return.

[We'll need at least four more Nature's Guardians to help germinate the seeds and nurture them into saplings before other Druids can help with their growth.](Hoduin)

"How much would it cost to convince four more such people to help?"

[Hmm... Nature's Guardians are usually secluded in the forests, watching over their respective domains and imparting their teaching to newbie Druids. That isn't to say they are entirely reclusive. They still have things they must spend gold coins on, and their Dungeon clearing doesn't cover the costs. I would say... A million a piece...](Hoduin)

[That's not as bad as I expected.](Collin)

[Per day...](Hoduin)

[...](Collin)

"How long would the process last? For both germination and sapling nurturing?"

[If split between five people, that means somewhere between 250-300 seeds, so maybe four to five days.](Hoduin)

"So, including you, it would be five people for a maximum of five days, resulting in 25 million gold coins. Is that right?"

[Mhm. Sounds correct.](Hoduin)

Nodding somewhat happily while Collin and Connie sighed exasperatedly, Michael chuckled loudly at their despondence.

Seeing the three pairs of eyes turn on him, he nodded calmly.

"That's not as bad as I expected."