It was definitely great that Igra would undergo its mana awakening soon, but this also meant that they had to accelerate the plan that involved the Hidden Paradise and Astral Artisan hall!

In the end, it had even something to do with the fact that Shane wanted to awaken Hidden Paradise's mana heart as soon as possible too!

"We have stockpiled enough resources to provide the basics for 100 Craftsmen, five blacksmiths and five runemasters…but neither do we have any rare blueprints nor can we provide anything special to the blacksmiths and runemasters...Nurturing great blacksmiths and runemasters in a short time is expensive and most won't be able to do that by themselves...if we could only provide them with exhaustive resources and not just basics we wouldn't have to worry about paying the horrendous prices for expensive tools anymore…"

Shane and Talia wanted to solve one of their biggest problems as soon as possible, which was to create all kinds of necessary tools that the Artisans might need!

Nurturing blacksmiths and runemasters might be expensive, but it was much cheaper in the long run than purchasing tools.

However, neither did they have a huge fortune to spend on tools, to nurture blacksmiths and runemasters nor to purchase rare blueprints, needed by craftsmen, weavers and other occupations without the need to comprehend everything by themselves!

Once Igra's mana heart would awaken, the government would start establishing their own Artisan organization, and it was obvious that their connection and the amount of funds they had was much higher than anyone could possess, including Shane!

"What do you think is required to stay one step ahead of the government, or to at least attract other young students to join the Astral Artisans instead of the government?"

Shane already had a rough number of Artisans, resources to nurture them and certain forms of advertisement they would most likely need in order to prevent being overwhelmed by the government's Artisan hall, in mind.

However, he felt that it was important to discuss and receive Talia's opinion as well.

In the end, he might fail to consider some factors because his background had always helped him receive certain advantages.

Yet, on the other hand, he could also tell how much of an obstacle the government could become!

As such, his train of thoughts was different compared to others!

Talia was not sure what Shane had expected from her, as such, she could only say what was on her mind!

"If you want to know how much funds we need...that, I don't know...But with our current progress and the fact that crudely produced [Tier-2 (Uncommon)] Ballistae are worth 4,000 gold coins, we can assume that we will get thrice that amount from [Rare] quality and better 'aesthetic' looking Tier-2 Unique Ballistae… At the same time, we've already started to produce magic bolts, and the only occupation we are missing out on are runemasters, otherwise, those magic bolts are almost useless…

As such, we would have covered the craftsmen' side as long as we are unable to increase the number of rare blueprints, which would bring them a huge fortune. Every race had common blueprints and the profits one would receive out of such goods is negligible…."

Shane noticed that Talia was just speaking whatever came to her mind, and it was obvious that this wouldn't help them right now.

Thus, he intervened before he began to explain what he meant.

"You're right, our craftsmen are already occupied with constructing the ballistae and we have to supply them with the raw materials, however, I wanted to know what we need to acquire right now, before it might be already too late.

It wouldn't be a surprise if the government has already started to purchase all kinds of rare blueprints and the only advantage is that their funds shouldn't be too high right now. At least, not if they were unable to lay aside some diamond coins after purchasing Igra's mana heart awakening.

To put it simply, to be eligible for other non-combat occupations, we need to nurture them well. Our payment rate is already fine as it is, but we need rare blueprints, more funds to nurture everyone, more skills, high grade and quality tools and a suitable working environment!"

The latter point was something Shane was somewhat proud of because the whole Hidden Paradise had changed a lot since it had bloomed.

There were still no trees or anything special, but the several houses and workshops that had already been constructed made everything look better.

Nobody cared about the barren land because there was no time to look at it. Either those students were not within the Hidden Paradise that was easy to leave and enter through the Space Door right in front of the house, or they were working.

As such, the Hidden Paradise had been divided into the barren lands and the other section that looked much better because there were different types of structures built, while the soil had been exchanged with a more nutritious one.

The working environment and the payment rate were the only factors with which Shane was confident to beat the government!

At least, this was his plan in the beginning until the government's advantages became widely public and they had gathered many high quality artisans around them before they were able to increase their capabilities to nurture new talents.

Both Shane and Talia were thinking of a way to calculate how much funds they would need to acquire to stay relevant to a certain extent while competing with the mighty government.

"Why do we have to be the underdog?" Shane grumbled for a moment when Talia answered.

"I think...If we can procure one, or, at least, very rare large shelter defensive weapon blueprints, we might be able to create a similar group around those blueprints similar to the craftsmen we have already hired.

At the same time, we can provide shelter repairs with the other, slightly more common blueprints and recipes for certain mixture, which we have already acquired...As for funds….I think 1,000,000 gold coins is the bare minimum we need in order to be at par with the government....At the best, before the mana awakening occurs to have a few days to properly use the provided funds.

However, we would have to expand the Nightshade flower field too! This means we have to initiate the high quantity, lower quality Nightshade flower root plan sooner than expected!

When did you say is the mana awakening event you were invited to?"

Shane did only notice now that he had yet to look at the date of the mana awakening event, but when he figured out the answer, he involuntarily stiffened.

Gnashing his teeth, Shane couldn't help but be thankful for the passive skill [Hunter's mind] that calmed him down. 'Why does it have to be that day??'

Clearing his throat he replied,

"It's in 34 days, so on the 18th of July...what kind of bullsh*t is dad planning??"

Talia didn't understand what Shane meant with the latter part of his sentence as she said,

"A little bit more than a month….Do you have any idea, how to acquire 1,000,000 gold coins in that time? You wouldn't be able to hunt enough beasts to earn that much in such a short time, right?"

Shane didn't answer her questions and Talia had yet to hear him saying anything after he mumbled about his dad doing something weird.

'Wait? Didn't Aisha say that his father is John Stella? Is there something special about the date- 18th July?'

Talia was confused and she couldn't remember that there was a special occasion on that date.

However, from the way Shane acted, it had to be something bad and she didn't want to ask. At the same time, she couldn't help but be curious as to what had distracted Shane so much that he was dragged out of their serious conversation.

"Shane, what's wrong with the 18th of July and what should John Stella plan?" Talia asked him when she couldn't hold herself back anymore.

Shane heard her question, but he was not sure what exactly he should answer.

He sighed deeply as he answered,

"I'm also not sure what my father plans to do, but the 18th of July is the day my mother died….and my birthday!"

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