The next morning, Renia woke up to see Arlan sound asleep. She was still naked but felt the room felt oddly warm. She remembered she fell asleep when he refused her advances. As she slowly moved her head off his lap and was about to walk back to the master bedroom.

Arlan woke up to her footsteps and remembered she was naked still but covered in his overcoat. Renia smiled and waved good morning as she turned the door open. Outside in the hall, everyone was already awake and moving about. Marie and Chrysta happen to be right outside the door. The two girls looked over to see Renia naked but covered in Arlan’s overcoat and Arlan in light amounts of clothing under his quilted armor.

Shit, this is going to take some explaining.

Marie let out a sly grin but Chrysta flustered and pretended not to see. Marie asked, “Arlan, since when did you start sneaking off with girls like that?”

“It’s not what you think,” answered Arlan as he came out of the small storage room, “Well, I was trying to sleep and Renia got the wrong idea. So I just let her sleep next to me but I turned her down.”

Renia bolted for the master bedroom after realizing what Marie had meant.

Marie winked at Arlan, “If that’s all it takes, then I think it’s my turn tonight.”

Chrysta still refused to look over and Arlan smiled back at Marie. She was always the flirty type.

“It was just a one-time thing,” stated Arlan.

The Lord’s Manor was lively that morning as everyone started their long and arduous tasks of building Galmora up slowly. Arlan thought of the night before as he changed into a winter outfit for a nobleman. The young lion used his magic to warm up the small storage room.

Is there a way to inscribe runes that last a while?

During his time at Lancel High Academy, the Headmistress was able to help Arlan improve his mana lanes to cast fourth-tier magic spells. He still wasn’t well adept and lacked the same vast spell array as the Headmistress.

Arlan decided to revisit this thought later in the day as he ventured out to see the building operations. The Banner of the Claw soldiers patrolled the streets, and assisted Jovann in some logistical efforts.

Villagers were a bit more lively now that it was safe to venture out from their homes. Snow hadn’t dropped that day and it didn’t stick from the night before. The cloudy sky let a small bit of the sun through. Almost like a perfect analogy to the new chapter for Galmora.

Arlan met with Knight Jocko as he rounded up thirty recruits for the new garrison. They were beginning their first steps toward becoming the village’s protectors. The recruits ranged from young to middle-aged. They all looked at their new Lord with respect despite being awfully young.

After inspecting the recruits, he let Knight Jocko continue without his interference. Arlan made his way around the village to familiarize himself. Residents greeted him as he made his way through. All of them were wearing the winter clothing he brought for them.

Everyone was starting out smooth, Wren and his craftsmen were assisting in the construction efforts as they laid out the foundations for the buildings. Arlan continued on and met with Jovann in the village square in front of the Lord’s Manor. Ulrich’s body and blood had already been moved and cleaned up by a few soldiers.

“Arlan, the specialists have returned,” said Jovann, “they found a deep cave rich with ore. The only issue is that it’s guarded by a colony of horned boars.”

“I’ll take care of that. How far is it from here?” asked Arlan.

“It’s only about forty minutes north of here. Notify me when it’s ready and I can hire some of the villagers to set up a mining operation. I can handle the logistics here but you’ll have to figure out how to move the product to Galdo City.”

This is good, with the mine alone, we can definitely use that to help develop this village into a town.

“Did they find anything else?” asked Arlan.

“Yes, they found an abundance of lavender flowers growing in a field to the east. Meaning we’re in the right climate to grow our own tea export. Finally, an unmarked river runs parallel to the village north about ten minutes out. It may serve to help us later.”

“Great job, Jovann. Tea export will help along with the mineshaft. Herschel is an idiot for not capitalizing on this. The river could be used for something called Irrigation.”

“Ear-a-what?” asked Jovann who was baffled.

That’s right, no one's heard of irrigation farming here. I’ll have to explain this concept better.

“Irrigation farming is the act of creating water paths to help water farmlands so they don’t have to carry water back and forth from somewhere far.” explained Arlan.

Jovann nodded and began to understand the idea.

“We can’t grow anything until after the final snowstorm has passed halfway through the third month. I’ll return with more farmers and some farm animals then.”

“Great, is there anything else?”

“One more thing, the specialists said they couldn’t venture too far as they kept spotting goblins and different monsters to the northeast.”

“I’m going to meet with Trent right now and I’ll notify him.”

“Arlan.”

“Yes?”

“I truly believe we can build a great home here. I was born in a village like this but we didn’t have anyone like you. So it died out, Onas and I are the last ones from that village. So I’ll do everything I can to help you make this happen.” stated Jovann with courage.

“Thanks, it’s going to take more than four months though.”

Arlan arrived to see Trent and his original first platoon. Arlan didn’t bother equipping his armor as his quilted armor with his overcoat was enough. Before leaving Galdo City, Arlan requested winter equipment and more armor coverage for his three platoons. While it cost a whopping thirty gold from Arlan at the time, it was worth the purchase. Winter equipment was very important for harsh conditions.

“Trent, give me a report,” ordered Arlan as he approached the first platoon’s formation.

“Yes, Captain. Erin is leading the second platoon in assisting with construction efforts. While Dimitri is leading the third platoon providing overall security and assisting Knight Jocko with training the new recruit garrison. I got your word about the goblins. Villagers told me they’ll even get cocky and raid the village. Herschel would retreat his men back to the Manor and wouldn’t confront the goblins. As for the first platoon, we’re ready for your orders.” answered Trent as he saluted.

“At ease,” ordered Arlan as he returned the salute, “How’s the wound?”

“It’s just a scar now. A small sacrifice for Midland, Captain.”

Arlan smiled and realized he missed his soldiers while he had been gone in Auron City. During their time apart, they had trained rigorously with the Heracul Knights and Arlan’s own training schedule and manual.

Arlan used his [Battle Trance] and saw that every single one of his soldiers was now a third-tier red core. They weren’t nearly as strong as Heracul Knights due to the lack of mana control but they could definitely put up a fight against the most veteran soldiers.

“First platoon, I’ve received word of a colony of horned boars guarding a mine and a camp of goblins nearby. We will dispatch to destroy these threats for the interest and safety of Galmora!” yelled Arlan as his voice boomed throughout the front of the square. Nearby villagers going about their day watched in awe. Such an impressive group of soldiers who were all still quite young.

The young lion lit a fire in each of his soldier’s hearts as they were finally reunited with their believed commander. They’ve been waiting months for this moment, to be able to follow Arlan again into battle. They wanted nothing else in life.

Arlan and the first platoon departed from Galmora. The villagers sent them off with warm smiles and cheers. They had never seen such military action being taken for their welfare. New squad leaders had been appointed throughout the three squads due to Trent, Erin, and Dimitri being promoted. But this time, Arlan only had to communicate to Trent who could easily direct his three squads. Arlan didn’t need to micro-manage.

The third squad was in the rear wheeling five wagons. Two soldiers would use their essence to easily pull the wagons along. Arlan led the band as the lead scout using the map provided by Jovann. The mineshaft location was already marked. The goblin camp wasn’t.

The area was a mixture of open fields and mountainous meadows around. It was a boreal area due to being more north of the central equator. There was quite an abundance of wildlife all over. Arlan made a note that he should train some villagers to be hunters to amplify their food source and access to fur skins and pelts.

After passing into the boreal forest that was the northern frontier, they arrived at the cave in forty minutes as Jovann predicted. Even pulling the wagons, was due to the strength and endurance each soldier held.

The young lion used [Battle Trance] to detect at least thirty-five horned boars. These creatures weren’t exactly regular wildlife but nor were they considered monsters. Mana infused them to evolve into more intelligent animals with dangerous capabilities. Much like the great bears.

The horned boars inside the cave all averaged at first-tier white cores or second-tier red cores. They weren’t going to be a match but they could overrun a party of adventurers or a lone traveler quite easily.

They weren’t overly aggressive either but they were quite territorial. Even as Arlan and the first platoon arrived to set up their combat formations, the horned boars could sniff the human presence on their territory.

Arlan picked up a massive mana signature inside, it was likely the horned patriarch boar that led the colony. It was a fourth-tier red core. All horned boar colonies had at least one but they weren’t typically this strong. It likely grew due to being unopposed for so many years.

That horned patriarch boar could be an issue and may injure someone if I don’t fight it myself. I was hoping to only observe. I guess I’ll leave it to them and see if I need to intervene.

Trent readied himself and gave a small speech, “First platoon! Our Captain is here and we’ve been training for months to be able to show him how much we’ve grown. Do not hold back and honor your commander. For we will live forever!”

The entirety of the first platoon let out a battle cry in response, “We are worthy!”

The loud rally was enough to taunt the boars into charging out from the cave. Each soldier was armed with a steel spear and shield allowing them to lock together and form a phalanx.

Arlan had his mithril longsword at the ready but was off to the side. He knew that the first platoon could easily handle the runt horned boars but he wanted to observe.

The first wave of horned boars crashed into the spears, they were easily at least double the size of a regular boar with a brown horn protruding from their stout. While most of the soldiers were still small in stature and no younger than fifteen and no older than eighteen, none of them were pushed back.

“Now!” ordered Trent. All the spears glowed yellow and everyone activated [Rampage], a Mar-Tech that sends its user forward with amplified force and creates an extra essence barrier around the user. If the ability was used near another ally, the user generates extra barriers.

The wave of the first platoon rushed forward with [Rampage] striking horned boar after horned boar while brushing off any attack easily. The shields, armor, and essence barrier made them almost impenetrable to the horned boars.

Half the enemy combatants had already fallen and the ones that were gravely injured were easily finished off with an off strike from a nearby soldier. The battle barely reached its first thirty seconds before the remaining horned boars in reserve charged out. Behind them was the horned patriarch boar. It towered at four times the size of a regular horned boar.

Trent ordered his squads to break phalanx and form three circle formations allowing them to deal with separate targets easily. The first squad was assigned to fight the horned patriarch boar while the other two squads finished off the remaining horned boars.

The horned patriarch boar was infusing its legs in mana and its horn was glowing blue. The first squad identified that this threat could kill them if one wrong move was made. The soldiers who were in front of the boar held their shields up while sidestepping out of the way. The ones who were able to flank the gargantuan creature would thrust their spears into its sides.

While attacks did penetrate the tough skin, they weren’t deep enough to get through the extra layer of fat below. They would have to strike the head which was risky. One particular soldier was knocked down by the horned patriarch boar’s stout. The horned patriarch boar was about to stomp the soldier from the first squad with the right hoof. But the hoof only made it halfway.

The soldier from the first squad thought he was going to die but opened his eyes to see he was unharmed. He looked up to see Arlan using only his left arm to stop the hoof from coming down.

“Have the first squad fall back and kill the rest of the horned boars. I’ll take care of this one,” ordered Arlan to Trent.

“You heard the Captain!” yelled Trent as the first squad obeyed.

The other two squads were still dealing with pockets of horned boars moving in and out of combat range. The horned patriarch boar was struggling to put its foot down as Arlan wouldn’t let go. As soon as there was enough room, the young lion pulled the gargantuan boar down on its side.

Arlan enhanced his strength and speed to the max. Then the young lion murmured a quick chant as runes started to appear on his mithril longsword. The runes enhanced the sharpness and absorbed any vibrations into the rune allowing for easier recovery. The horned patriarch boar struggled to stand but Arlan just held it down by its leg.

The young lion let go and jumped over the horned patriarch boar that was on its side. Arlan dove straight down into its blue eye. The last thing it saw was Arlan’s teal blade. The side of the boar’s head caved in from the sheer force and the sword penetrated deeply into its brain. It died instantly.

All three squads finished their assignments in time to see Arlan in the air diving down. They knew Arlan had gotten stronger as well. Arlan’s right arm was covered in blood; his sword was too far deep to grab. He activated a retrieval rune and the sword flew back into his hand. Then used his left arm to chant a basic water spell into a wind spell to clear the blood off his right arm and sword.

“Captain, you can use magic?” Trent asked, surprised. So was everyone else.

“Yes, I gained the ability to manipulate mana. I’ve been taught and trained by Lady Dafni, the Headmistress of Lancel High Academy. She’s also one of four Archmages across Midland.”

“You never cease to amaze me. What are your orders now?” asked Trent.

“I want one squad to search the cave with torches to make sure there aren’t any remaining threats inside. Have another squad police these bodies with me, then have the last squad patrol the surrounding area to make sure it’s safe and there are no goblins,” answered Arlan as he sheathed his blade.

“First squad! Light torches and search the cave. If you reach no end for five minutes, return to the surface. The second squad, police the bodies with the Captain. Third squad, recon the area with a three hundred meter radius.” ordered Trent. Arlan brought over procedures and terminology from his time in the military back on Terra. This made the Banner of the Claw quite unique.

Only ten minutes passed and the first squad secured the cave quite easily. The second squad assisted their commander in piling as many boars onto the wagons as they could, they also collected every horn for later use. Arlan cut off the massive great horn from his kill as a trophy. He left the great horn trophy on one of the wagons with the many boars.

The wagons could only fit half the boars including the horned patriarch boar. The rest were dragged into a pile and let on fire. A massive pork feast was planned for that night. The third squad returned after twenty minutes and found no traces of goblins. The first platoon all smiled at a good day's work.

Arlan decided the goblins would have to be dealt with a larger force to cover more ground. So the young lion returned to Galmora with wagons of horned boar in tow. The first platoon proudly marched toward the village square in front of the Lord’s Manor.

With the extremely cold temperatures, the horned boar carcasses remained somewhat fresh. The entire village arrived in the town square after hearing of their lord’s return. Arlan sent Noah to make a deal with three hunters and the only butcher in the village to assist with processing the boars into proper cuts of meat.

The young lion took center stage and announced to the villagers, “My people of Galmora, you are all invited to a feast. For tonight, we will celebrate a fair and bright new beginning in your honor. Each household will receive one whole horned boar for the winter!”

Everyone present in the village square cheered. From the villagers to the soldiers alike. Even the Eastvale merchants and Auron City craftsmen joined in. It was only noon and the butcher and four hunters directed the first platoon on how to properly clean and butcher the meat. This was all done behind the Lord’s Manor as pools of blood seeped into the ground.

Arlan’s maids and some of the villagers started setting tables and fire pits around the village center. The young lion bought wine and ale from the only Tavern in town. The multiple barrels only cost four gold coins. A small price to pay to lift the spirits of his people.

Chrysta and Marie were still making their rounds with the healers to any sick and elderly who couldn’t leave their homes while Wren was still busy directing the construction of the first three buildings. Jovann had finished sorting out materials and storing them in different areas of the Lord’s Manor temporarily until a warehouse could be built.

Something was in the air in Galmora that was never there before. It was the spark of unity and happiness that was in the atmosphere. Villagers began speaking highly of their new lord, Arlan Reeve.

Arlan retired to his room for a few hours after. He needed to figure out if he could inscribe runes onto a specific object that wasn’t hard to obtain.

When the Headmistress gave a lecture on what mana was, she described it as “Tiny fragments of energy crossing over from another plane, similar to the Dark Void. On that plane exist vast amounts of mana constantly bursting. Every detonation would accelerate minuscule chunks of mana at light speeds, shattering the barrier between the two planes. This meant that mana is considered a foreign power source that bent the rules of this world.

While essence can be amplified by mana, the two are considered vastly different on a principle level. Essence is the lifeforce of your soul while mana is a pure energy catalyst from another plane.

Many different elements reacted inconsistently with mana. Some elements like mithril or adamantium were evolved from mana infusing itself with natural objects of this world. Mithril’s origins are theorized to have evolved from silver-infused mana over thousands of years. While other naturally made elements like steel don’t absorb mana well. Even the most renowned mages are still researching the influence of mana on this world and its odd properties.”

Arlan was appreciative of this explanation as it allowed him to better theorize as well. If the young lion could inscribe runes and chants into certain objects that were widely available and lasted long, he could potentially recreate technologies from his world. The young lion didn’t know how to recreate most technologies from his world as his education was only limited to the military academy and officer candidate school.

So in turn, he could use mana to advance the technology in that direction to improve the quality of life of his people. The young lion was in his room and had a few different metals on his desk that he originally stockpiled from Auron City. Each metal had an unrefined rock and refined ingot on his desk. He knew there was something he could figure out.

Outside the Lord’s Manor, Reina and Alya were assisting with setting up the celebration. It was only about three past noon when they heard Arlan scream loudly from inside the manor. Knight Jocko was the first to arrive at the office door while a few others like Marie and Chrysta lined up behind the old Knight.

“Master Arlan,” said Knight Jocko, “are you alright in there?”

The door to his office immediately swung open revealing Arlan breathing heavily with a fat grin. “I’ve figured out something that even the Headmistress doesn’t know,” answered Arlan.

In his hand was a plate-sized flat rock with an inscription on it and a very small twig size bronze bar lay embedded in the center. Everyone looked at him with confusion. “Follow me. I’ll show you.”

The group followed Arlan to the front of the Lord’s Manor as he laid the inscribed stone on the ground. The young lion channeled a bit of mana into the bronze bar. The result was the cold air around them turned into a much warmer temperature. While this wasn’t exactly new to the group, Arlan had to explain one big difference.

“I know heatwave spells aren’t out of the ordinary but what makes this special and groundbreaking is that I was able to switch out the catalyst for the bronze bar instead of actively channeling my mana lanes.”

Chrysta, Marie, and Knight Jocko were the only ones whose eyes widened at what Arlan had just discovered. This meant that certain inscription spells could continue to operate without the caster.

“Chrysta and Marie, join me in my office. Everyone else, we’ll show you something tonight at the feast.”

Arlan led the two apprentice mages into his office and he explained to them that first, the rune inscription should remain a secret until Arlan felt it wise to publish it. They are to not tell a single soul unless authorized by him

Then Arlan demonstrated that he was able to channel small amounts of mana into the bronze bar as long as it was a refined ingot. “That’s not enough mana for any spell or rune inscription though,” stated Marie.

“You used to be correct. Until I discovered that altering the size of the inscription allows you to place a larger object as a catalyst. Then if you activate the inscription by casting the rune symbol back onto the inscription, it would amplify the intensity and duration of the spell much more efficiently. It isn’t that it’s a tiny amount of mana, it’s that this entire time, we’ve been using mana very inefficiently.” stated Arlan.

Marie and Chrysta began helping Arlan experiment on different metals that he had Wren bring them. The experimentation went on until an hour before the feast would start.

Arlan, Marie, and Chrysta brought out twenty different stone plates with small bronze bars that were just like the first one that Arlan demonstrated. The trio began setting the plates down all over the village square as onlookers watched them. They were intrigued at what was happening.

When they had finished, Arlan activated all of the inscriptions by casting runes on each of the stones. Arlan only required a medium distance of at least a hundred meters and also a line of sight for the small activation signal.

The entire area immediately went up to twenty-five degrees. Everyone in the village square who was helping set up noticed how much warmer it was. Many different villagers made comments or ran to grab others.

“This is amazing!”

“What is this magic?”

“It’s as warm as a spring evening!”

“Is this for the feast? How is this possible?”

The trio smiled as the outside feast tonight wouldn’t require as many bonfires to keep the area warm. Arlan dismissed the two other mages so he could make one final round through the village.

In his quilted armor and brown overcoat, Arlan started his stroll through the more residential area and saw the repairmen still renovating each house. Villagers would greet Arlan as he walked by. Even the elderly men and women happily bowed before Arlan but the young lion immediately lifted them to their feet. “If you’re over sixty years of age, you don’t have to go through that formality with me,” stated Arlan as the elderly thanked him.

Arlan continued his walk by visiting the construction site of the three new buildings. He saw both Jovann and Wren who looked like teenagers directing the craftsmen. The young lion stopped by to see Dimitri and Erin reporting to Trent about their daily routine.

The young lion finally arrived on the west end of the village that led toward Galdera. Knight Jocko was still training the garrison recruits in basic formation and military etiquette. Arlan exchanged a quick nod with Knight Jocko as he continued on.

Returning to the village square revealed lit lanterns to prepare for the feast. The sun was nearly setting and people started showing up. Arlan appointed Helga to direct the setup for the feast. The other three maids assisted Helga as well with preparations. But by now, they were mostly finished.

The Tavern staff had set up their tiny bar with barrels of wine and ale. Roasted horned boar meat and the pork bone stew were set up all over the square. After fifteen minutes, everyone in the village had gathered to celebrate.

The young lion stood on a crate set forth by Knight Jocko. Arlan held a mug in hand as he looked into the crowd who had now awaited his word. “As promised, tonight is a feast held in your honor, people of Galmora! Let us celebrate by drinking and eating!”

A loud cheer rang through the village. Arlan had easily won the hearts of the villagers on the second day. Although this trust and love could easily be shattered if Arlan did not keep to his words. The young lion just had to keep up his momentum.

The villagers met with different members of Arlan’s retinue and the Banner of the Claw soldiers took shifts on watch duty and the feast. So everyone had a chance to enjoy the night.

The heatwave plates kept the area warm and everyone noticed it. It worked incredibly well. Arlan appointed Chrysta and Marie to create heatwave plates for each household. The young lion smiled and enjoyed the atmosphere at his table but one person kept crossing his mind.

I wish you were here.

His thoughts were interrupted when Trent, Erin, Dimitri, and Noah appeared before Arlan. They saluted and requested permission to have a seat with their Captain. The young lion allowed it since it was their first night hanging out together.

“Captain, we heard rumors about your time at Lancel High. Is it true that you’re the only student to score perfectly across five different trials?” Noah asked with a mug of wine in his hand. Arlan entertained his four friends by telling stories of his time at Lancel High Academy. The story about Godbert’s duel was what made all five of them laugh.

Arlan looked around the square to see Wren and Renia talking excitedly. Alya was asking Jovann questions as she had never seen an elf before. Chrysta and Marie were asking Knight Jocko about his past.

The villagers all over were enjoying themselves with the visitors that joined Arlan on his mission. The young lion glanced down at his mug and felt solemn about one more thing.

I miss my brothers on Terra. We would celebrate like this when we weren’t on missions. Should I even go home if I’ve met all these amazing people? I would have to choose between going home and staying here on Althea.

If the same amount of time has passed on Terra, then I’m likely considered dead there. What if Althea has become my new home?

A small tear fell from his left eye. Arlan’s conflicting emotions were at it again. No regulators or drugs to stop the pain of missing his brothers on Terra. He accepted the fact that he may never go home.