Chapter 28: New Members and Land Reclamation

Entering the house, Donald glanced around at the furnishings, which were similar to those in ordinary commoners’ homes—far inferior to his estate in Red Maple Town. Although the Merlinas had once fallen on hard times, they still had some noble items to maintain appearances, a far cry from what ordinary commoners could afford.
William felt extremely embarrassed upon seeing that there were only two round wooden stools in his house, with nothing else to sit on.
At that moment, Donald sat down on one of the stools without any hesitation. Noticing William’s expression, he said, “William, don’t feel inferior. One’s birth is not something they can choose, but they can strive to change their status. Magi believe that despite differences in status, everyone’s soul is noble—as long as it isn’t corrupted by evil thoughts like greed or jealousy! Even slaves should have their pride!”
Hearing these words, William felt even more ashamed of his earlier behavior.
Seeing that the time was right, Donald revealed his purpose.
“I am partly responsible for your dismissal from the guild, William. If it weren’t for you reminding me of the temper of Mage Naron and the others, I would have suffered at their hands and dragged you along into their hatred—a result I certainly didn’t want!”
Hearing Donald’s explanation, William was deeply grateful, but what followed left him in disbelief.
“My estate is newly built, and with the busy household affairs, I need a head of servants. If you’re interested, you can manage all the male servants and staff for me. Your wife can also serve as the kitchen supervisor temporarily. With that, your wages should be enough to support your family!”
William, as if in a dream, murmured, “Is this… really true?”
Donald gave him an affirmative answer.
“Of course. If you decide to join the Merlina family, your two eldest sons likely have some basic warrior skills. They can serve as my knightly attendants and receive training in etiquette and literature. Although I haven’t yet earned formal knighthood due to my age, as an heir to the knightly legacy of the Merlina family, I am still qualified to recruit knightly attendants.”

“And I heard that you hope your youngest son can become a mage. Then he can temporarily serve as my apprentice to learn some basic mage knowledge. If he shows talent, I might take him on as a full apprentice. If he lacks the talent for magecraft, you could consider having him become a scholar.”
“Are you satisfied with this arrangement?”
Faced with Donald’s proposal, William was so excited he couldn’t speak, only nodding repeatedly.
Then Donald changed tone and spoke authoritatively, “Since you’re satisfied, let me make things clear from the start.”
“The benefits I offer you require loyalty in return from your family. The Merlin family needs loyal servants and subordinates, not guests who come and go at will! If you can’t meet this requirement, you may choose not to accept this opportunity. In that case, I’ll still give you one hundred gold sols as compensation for your help before, which should be enough for your family to live comfortably for a few years! It’s up to you to decide.”
Without further hesitation, William gritted his teeth and formally bowed to Donald, acknowledging his new master.
Such an opportunity was incredibly rare for a commoner like him. Most ordinary people didn’t realize that even ordinary folks had their own plans—preferring to become adventurers or lowly servants working for nobles.
Some people regarded serving wealthy nobles as shameful, but he knew how wrong such pride among commoners was. Pride was good, but without the means to support it, that pride seemed laughable in the eyes of those in power. And as a commoner, where could one find the means to cultivate pride?
Unlike those ignorant commoners due to lack of education, William, through his experiences at the mage guild, understood that beneath the gods, everything in this world was in the hands of the nobles and the powerful. How difficult it was for commoners to rise in status!
Whether it was knowledge from books on literature and etiquette or the secrets of martial arts and professional skills, all were in the hands of the nobility. Commoners simply couldn’t receive such education. This had been the case since the beginning of human history—over the years, the nobles remained nobles, while the commoners remained ignorant.
Even if there were a few exceptions, they were merely the luck of a very small number of people.

Take joining the army to seek military achievements as an example! Commoners can only serve as the lowest-ranking soldiers, while nobles and professionals can mostly become officers. Even when some achievements are made, it’s the officers who take credit for the command, with ordinary soldiers usually only receiving a small reward. Soldiers fight to the death, yet the rewards go to the officers. Thus, the path of joining the army to find a way out actually offers no real prospects. At best, one retires injured, receives a small sum of gold, and spends the rest of their life that way.

In history, only a very few lucky ones have risen from commoners to officers and achieved further promotions. But these promotions were achieved at the cost of the heroic sacrifices of countless common soldiers. Understanding this, William had long lost hope.

He only hoped that his sons could become professionals—though not necessarily become high-ranking powerhouses, at least they could live better than ordinary commoners.

Now, a huge opportunity lay before him. To someone as perceptive as him, becoming a servant of a noble was not as despicable as it was for commoners. Especially becoming a servant of a noble like the young mage before him, who had a kind temperament and great potential for growth.

Generally, higher-ranking servants of nobles not only have access to extensive education but may also rise to become lower nobles after several generations if their loyalty is recognized by their master. With noble status, there are countless opportunities to gain more knowledge and climb to higher positions—something ordinary commoners, no matter how wealthy, cannot achieve.

Moreover, if his two eldest sons became knightly servants, they would have a chance to become knights. Perhaps, within a few generations, their family could produce two knightly lords and enter the noble class.

Thus, the Williams officially became servants of Donald. Once their two children returned from their martial training, the whole family would move to the Darknight Manor newly established by the Merlin family.

Donald was very pleased to accept the Williams. With the Merlin family rising again, everything had to start over. With the Book of Truth in his hands, what he lacked most were not resources but loyal talents for the family.

“This William is reliable, his insight far exceeds that of ordinary commoners, and he’s also familiar with matters related to magic. If properly trained, he will surely be a valuable helper in the future,” Donald said to his butler on the way back.

“Cord, though you’re capable, there are more and more tasks now. Even the most skilled person might feel overwhelmed. So, it’s more efficient to gradually delegate these minor tasks to subordinates, and it will also relieve some of your burden.”

After returning to the manor, Donald took some time in the afternoon to inspect Dark Night Manor. Aside from the villa under construction, everything else was on track. Even the last farm, converted into a vineyard, had been fully transformed, with trellises set up and several of the best wine grape varieties from the North County planted. The villa should be completed by the end of summer, and by autumn, most of the crops and some livestock in the manor should be ready for harvest.

With such promising developments, Donald’s mood was naturally uplifted. That same night, he built two more farms on the remaining barren land between Dark Night Manor and the Tree of Life. One was converted into a pasture for grazing, while the other became a medicinal herb garden to cultivate rare herbs and magical plants.

“Young master, sowing is complete in the farms. Should we invite a priest from the town to bless them so that the crops can grow better?” asked Cord, the butler, after reporting on the day’s work before going to bed.

Hearing this, Donald thought of the role of the priests of the Agricultural Goddess, but he shook his head and rejected the idea. “No need. What priests can do, I, as a mage, should be able to figure out as well. As a mage, it’s better not to rely on the servants of the gods unless necessary!”

The priests of the Agricultural Goddess Church generally had lower combat capabilities compared to the clergy of other god churches, but they were very strong in support roles. Their unique natural magic could promote plant growth, similar to the spells of the elves. A farm tended by a junior priest could yield at least 30% more produce than normal. This was one of the reasons why the Celt Kingdom, descendants of an ancient magic empire, resisted other god churches but accepted the Agricultural Goddess Church to spread its teachings in the North.

The Celt Kingdom had a large territory but few people. Despite fertile land, poor farming practices led to a chronic shortage of population. This situation improved only three hundred years ago when the great and wise King Celt V built a temple to the Agricultural Goddess in the capital and allowed the church to settle in the kingdom. In just a few decades, the kingdom’s population grew from less than 30,000 to over 100,000, allowing its strength to rival that of the established kingdoms on the continent.

Donald didn’t have any miraculous alchemical formula; he planned to find a way using the Tree of Life. The moon essence gathered in the Moon Pits was a substance formed from pure moonlight energy and natural forces, with mild properties. It could not only restore life and magic but also had the amazing effect of promoting plant growth. If it weren’t for the Truth Book possessing powerful laws akin to those of high-tier artifacts, it would have been impossible to create such a substance with almost artifact-level effects at such a low cost. Theoretically, this transformation between matter and energy surpassed even the capabilities of ordinary humans; not even those legendary beings could achieve it easily. With this in mind, the output from the three Moon Pits increased over time, leaving plenty of excess aside from what was used to make moonlight wine. Donald began experimenting that very night, using moon essence of varying concentrations to water the crops on his farm. Initially, since the crops had been planted nearly a month later than usual, the farmers assumed this year’s harvest would be 10–20% lower than in other areas. However, under the influence of the natural forces within the protective barrier, the crops grew vigorously, leaving the farmers in awe and praising the employer’s land as exceptionally fertile. A few days later, when the crops in the small experimental plot watered with 20% concentration grew far taller and stronger than normal, the farmers were speechless with surprise. Only then did they realize the employer’s status as a magical master wasn’t an exaggeration. Truly, he was a mysterious and powerful mage who could accelerate crop growth just like the farmlands blessed by the priests of the Goddess of Agriculture. Farmers across the continent, regardless of their devotion, were mostly followers of the Goddess of Agriculture, as people relied on the land for their livelihood. This was why the Goddess of Agriculture, though not deified for a thousand years, became one of the most powerful true gods among humanity. Ten days later, Donald’s experiments yielded basic conclusions. “2‰ of moon essence gave the best results, accelerating crop growth by about three times. 1‰ reduced the growth rate to just 1.5 times, while 0.5‰ only shortened the growth period by 10%. If 100% moon essence were used, the crops might mature in just a few days!”

Of course, this is just something we can only imagine. At present, the amount of Moon Essence gathered is limited, and a portion of it must be used to blend the two types of Moonlight Wine. Therefore, it has to be diluted tens of thousands of times to water all the crops in the manor once a month. Even so, thanks to the effect of the natural barrier, the crops watered with diluted Moon Essence grow very vigorously, cutting their growth cycle by at least 30% compared to normal crops. In other words, crops that would normally take three months to mature can now be harvested in just over two months, even earlier than those planted in ordinary fields outside. This greatly accelerates the development and construction of the manor. Relying on this cheat device, the Moon Well, Donald can foresee that this manor will soon become his biggest source of income.