The Rise of the Black Plain

A week had passed, and in this period, Minos and Abby had met several professionals in Wilburg, willing to sign contracts with them.

Many had the same misgivings as that array master from before. Still, when they heard about the possibility of signing a Soul Contract, they all changed their minds. After all, such a thing assured them that the promises would be fulfilled, and thus, none of them had any reason to refuse such a chance!

That's because the reality of these professionals was not easy as it may seem!

The growth of these professionals was not simple, and most of them had to face challenging times at the beginning of their journey.

In general, things would only become more comfortable for these people when they reached the 6th stage of cultivation and became genuine experts in the region. But that wasn't easy to achieve and took a long time.

Consequently, for those still at low levels and who didn't have much room to develop in places with so much competition, going to an area with opportunities like the Dry City case was like a breakthrough for them!

That took them out of the initial difficult situation that usually existed among younger professionals and placed them in positions of specialists, influential and respected.

And that was just what every reasonable person would want for himself.

So, with the assurance that Minos' territory did hold opportunities for them, these people he had spoken to soon accepted his offer and signed contracts.

And by the end of his and Abby's first five days in this city, they had convinced 80 people to sign contracts to work in the Dry City.

Of these people, six individuals were already at level 48, on the threshold of becoming medium-level grade-2 professionals. And among them, there were two alchemists, one array master, two blacksmiths, and one designer.

Precisely the most needed professionals in the Dry City!

It goes without saying how valuable professionals in the three main areas of expertise are for any city. But for designers, these individuals could build all sorts of buildings to be appropriately resistant.

Such as the Cultivation Tower and the city wall. Such constructions needed to be developed by designers to be useful for their purposes. And naturally, the Black Plain would continue to create buildings for such purposes, and for that, they would need professionals of that specialization!

As for the others, there were people from the essential spiritual professions, but more than half of them were blacksmiths, array masters, and alchemists.

The rest were doctors, designers, cooks, spiritual judges, seers, and poison masters. All of them were near the end of the 4th stage of cultivation, close to becoming low-level grade-2 professionals.

But there was no beast tamer, as Minos would not yet develop this profession in his territory.

He did not have enough resources for all of this, and there was no significant demand for the services of such professionals either.

With that, he hadn't tried to contact any beast tamers!

Anyway, all these deals he had made had cost him a total of 850,000 low-grade crystals. But Minos didn't have that amount, as he had just over 400,000 left after so many negotiations.

And he couldn't spend those crystals, as there were still alchemy-focused techniques for him to buy... So, with that, he had bought low-grade crystals with his medium-grade crystals, spending a total of less than 7,100 medium-grade crystals.

That was a high value, but the benefits brought by such expenditure were not small.

For example, what happened to Minos when he had tried to do the same thing as now, in the city of Portland, on Stone Island.

At that time, he didn't have crystals to make this kind of deal, so only one person had decided to accompany him to the Dry City.

But not only that, even after all the time that had passed, less than 30 professionals from that seaside town had moved to Minos' territory!

That was a tiny number for the Dry City's demand and much smaller than what Minos had achieved this time.

And precisely because of this difference, the young ruler of the Black Plain felt that these crystals were worth spending on these Soul Contracts.

With such an act, he was not only bringing more services to his city. No, he was somehow slowing the evasion of spiritual crystals from the Black Plain!

After all, by importing high value-added resources from abroad, the Dry City was 'losing' millions of crystals a year. However, with more local professionals, such a thing would be avoided since professionals who earned these crystals would spend in the city itself.

And such a thing created a virtuous cycle of growth!

Because of decisions like those taken this week in the city of Wilberg, the day would come when the Dry City would no longer need to depend on such agreements. Instead, the town would stimulate itself to develop, reducing the need for intervention!

That was the autonomy Minos talked about so much.

Anyway, all these agreements had taken two days to be validated by the spiritual judge that young Stuart had managed to hire in Wilberg.

Because of this, Minos and Abby had decided to spend one more day than they had planned to stay in this town.

And when they left this place, the pair of lovers would have to travel through a forest region with a significant presence of spiritual beasts in the mountainous region of the Kingdom of the Waves. And for this, it was better for the two to spend a few nights as possible traveling through that location.

That way, they could still enjoy one last night in Wilberg before they started back to the Black Plain!

...

It was night in Wilberg, and Minos and Abby were at this moment in a square in this town, sitting around one of the many tables that were in that place.

Several kiosks were scattered around, with lots of trees, flowers, and even a small artificial lake near that place. And in the middle of this area, there was a part where many tables were strategically divided, around a small wooden stage.

This large area was festive at the moment, with lots of people eating and chatting at each of those tables, while waiters came and went from those kiosks.

The smell of food in the air was intoxicating to the point that anyone passing by would feel their mouth-watering at the same time that the urge to eat would be aroused.

And that would be especially true for those roast beef lovers, which seemed to be the specialty of this place...

In this inviting place, some children ran from one side to the other, playing, sometimes carrying large skewers in their hands, while they felt the night breeze lessen the 30 degrees Celsius (86ºF) heat it was now.

And through it all, Minos and Abby were talking to each other, sitting side by side, as couples would on occasions like these.

He had one of his arms around her waist as she pressed her left shoulder against his right chest.

But in addition to looking quite intimate with each other right now, they were also enjoying the music played by a pair of musicians who were on that stage.

In that place, two men were playing different instruments, both the kind that use strings to make sounds.

And every time these two musicians played on those strings, a beautiful symphony resonated through that square, creating a pleasant, warm feeling that stimulated the energy of the weaker cultivators in that place.

As for the stronger individuals there, as in the couple's case, in addition to feeling relaxed by the music, they felt almost no effect on their cultivation.

But there was no problem. After all, the two of them were here to relax, having a peaceful night with each other, before finally returning to the road....