Rome was not built in a day. Although Louie knew that it was impossible to raise an army of mages overnight, the discovery of the magic origin element gave him a bit of hope.
Frankly, he was not too interested in completely upheaving San Soliel’s culture and structure. Not only would that be very difficult and expensive to implement, but it would likely cause all the Gods to become his enemies as well. Although none of them could descend at the moment for mysterious reasons, he had little doubt that if their interests were threatened enough, they’d come knocking on his door. He hadn’t any plans to play the hero.
No, that wouldn’t be a hero, but a martyr!
In any case, he hadn’t any personal interest in helping the people of San Soliel. He wasn’t the kind of revolutionary figure determined to help the people awaken their class consciousness and charge against the elite. No no no no. In Marxist thought, rather than be a helper of the proletariat, he was the blood-sucking and greedy capitalist.
So, Louie only planned to change Dragon City. Mages and spells were the best tools for this job. With the use of spells, many things could be done in a similar manner to technological cities. The development of magic would not be contrary to the world’s overall civilization.
Not only was the difficulty in raising mages high, but the resource consumption was also extreme. Even the strongest human empire would not be able to raise a team of mages. And creating a team of them was like creating a complete institution. Powerful mages would gather to form a group, and then they would integrate their resources and accept apprentices to create a new generation of magic users.
It could be said that raising mages was similar to the ancient Chinese style of raising disciples.
But Louie now had these wasabi… or, ‘Louie’s Essences’. With them, he could easily raise a large batch of law-ranked mages. Although they meant nothing to high-ranked mages, they could still be put to good use.
Because they were raised by him, he could control the resources that they used. Louie could even make high-ranked mages work for him. He could turn Dragon City into a city of magic.
If he succeeded and Dragon City became a far better place to live than the next best competitor, then he could have the inhabitants place their faith in him as a God. With that, he would have a base he could work from to gradually ascend to godhood. He would cover entire realms with his wings and have every dragon kneel in reverence to him.
The city would also provide the resources he could devote to his own protection. With an army, he’d be in a far better position than before.
Louie now had a clear goal he could work towards. Prior to this he had more or less been coasting about. But with the establishment of a long-term path, he could now clearly envision where his journey would take him.
“Not bad, Marches!”
Louie raised his wings and joyfully spoke.
Marches finding the wasabi as a magic origin element would become one of Louie’s cornerstones.
“No, this is all because of master’s greatness! If you had not brought these mysterious plants, I would not have been able to do anything. All glory belongs to you. Your wisdom and farsightedness shall change the world of magic!”
Marches had clearly seen his chance to bootlick and had followed up.
Louie laughed out loud. Being flattered was indeed a pleasant affair. He could somewhat understand the ancient leaders who surrounded themselves with sycophants now.
“I am a dragon who rewards and punishes. I want to reward you, Marches!”
“As long as I can get your praise, I’ll be satisfied!”
Marches once again humbled himself.
He was not excited by the dragon’s reward at all, because he knew dragons all too well. Complete and utter misers, they were. Every last one of them.
“Don’t compare me with those stupid dragons. Remember, I am a primordial dragon, not one of those idiotic lizards!”
At Louie’s words, Marches held his breath and smiled ingratiatingly. He did not dare speak back.
Slightly pensive, Louie asked, “How long will it take to separate the magic origin element from Louie’s Essence?”
“Replying back to master. Although I have not seen this mystical plant before, I should be able to perfectly separate them after a few experiments!”
Marches replied respectfully.
“Very good. Then I will give you another task. After doing the separation experiment, take a piece of land as a test field, try to see if you can cultivate this plant.”
Louie said in a deep voice with a fixed gaze.
If wasabi could grow in this world, it would bode ill for his plans. He would have to use more effort in protecting it from spreading unchecked.
Although wasabi was hard to plant, it should be a lot easier to cultivate compared to the Heart of Mismisalla. If it spread unchecked, then his greatest asset would disappear. He would absolutely not allow this.
This time, Marches opened his mouth wide and looked at Louie incredulously.
‘Was this really a dragon? This logic and meticulous thinking were not something a dragon should have. He would even go as far as to prevent leakage of the material so that he could have a monopoly on it.’
“As long as you can complete my task, I can promise you tons of Louie’s Essence. You will turn them into magic potions, some of which I could reward you with. Since it is also the currency for mages, I’m sure you can also use them to exchange for materials.”
Marches froze. What did he just hear? He actually heard a dragon, a supposedly hamfisted creature, offer him tons of Louie’s Essence!
As long as he had it, he could definitely exchange them for materials and herbs. He could then refine a potion that he needed to increase his lifespan and advance towards the legendary rank!
“I admire you, my great master! You are the star of enlightenment in the sky, the sun king who illuminates the darkness in this world. Please be assured! Your loyal servant, Marches, will accomplish this task!”
Marches kneeled on the ground and bowed five times, crying and praising with all his heart.
He suddenly felt that becoming a slave of a dragon was not something to be sad about, but an opportunity for himself!!
That said, he wondered if all dragons used tons as a unit of measurement. It was simply incomprehensible for him for a dragon to say that he would take out tons of the incredible plant!!