Chapter 258: Count
[NT: Since some people were asking for it in the previous Chapter, I generated and added an image of the Goldenveil wall in the comments for this paragraph.
It was generated using ChatGPT, so it has plenty of errors (like the part of the wall in the water) and doesn’t do justice to Goldenveil’s true glory, but it’s the best I can do, hahaha.
Maybe someday I’ll pay an artist to create an image depicting the real Goldenveil. (I have to check the price first.)]
Ethan took a step back.
With a slight push from his powerful legs, he launched himself into the air, leaping over one of the towers in a fluid motion and landing softly on its top.
The wind brushed against his face as his gaze drifted across the vastness of the horizon.
His eyes carried a genuine sense of satisfaction, even after his fortune had been reduced to just under four hundred thousand gold coins.
The density of mana and aura around him grew rapidly, and he could feel each of the structures erected with magical arrays connecting directly to the magic vein—including, to his surprise, even the road.
Unfortunately, the gigantic magic vein couldn’t extend all the way to another city, but Ethan still felt fully satisfied with the result.
His gaze shifted slowly, settling on Doran, who had just emerged from the Goldenveil barracks with a heavy expression etched on his face.
With a slight smile, Ethan dropped down from the tower toward the captain of the guard, landing on the stone floor with barely a sound before walking over to him.
"My lord..." Doran bowed respectfully, his voice tinged with slight hesitation. "About this wall..."
"Don’t worry too much about that." Ethan shook his head, offering a gentle smile.
"For now, focus on recruiting another five hundred soldiers and arrange their basic training. Next month, we’ll begin our expansion campaigns."
Honestly, in the past, he had been reluctant to commit such a large portion of his workforce to the army, especially because of food gathering.
But with all the farming bonuses he now possessed, he felt much more at ease with the matter, even though he had no intention of dedicating more than twenty percent of his population to military service.
"It shall be done, my lord." Doran didn’t hesitate for even a moment, bowing once more in respect.
Ethan gave the captain a light pat on the shoulder before moving on, his eyes shining as they fixed on a specific system notification.
That wall earned him five hundred prestige points per month, and to his surprise, that was more than enough to elevate him to the rank of count!
[Your noble title has been upgraded: Junior Viscount -> Junior Count
+ 10 premium gacha tickets
+ 25 common gacha tickets]
[Your "Instant Construction" golden ring ability has been upgraded!
New constructions per month: 1 → 2
Improvements per month: 3 → 4
This month’s limits have been reset!]
[Your Golden Ring ability "Resource Vision" has been upgraded!
You can now see resources over a much larger area and display a rough estimate of the amount of resources in a given region.
Land fertility will also be displayed with greater accuracy.]
[The Goldenveil barony can be elevated to the level of a county! Requirements:
- 1x small city or higher
- 5x vassal intermediate villages or higher
- 50,000 gold coins]
Ethan’s lips curved into a satisfied smile, and since it was still only noon, he decided not to rush.
First, he took a look at the new resource view.
A map of a vast region surrounding Goldenveil unfolded before his eyes, displaying various resources in far greater detail than before.
Now he could see an estimate of the amount of resources contained in the magic vein and the accompanying magic mine: just over seven hundred million tons in total.
Magic veins tended to replenish themselves over time, growing practically indefinitely, so Ethan didn’t even consider the possibility that those resources would ever run out.
What surprised him most, however, was the presence of cold iron, Adamantite, Mithril, and even Orichalcum.
In total, about one hundred million metric tons of these rare metals existed in that region alone.
Shortly after confirming everything, Ethan made his way to the shores of Goldenveil.
After assessing the terrain for a few moments, he spent fifteen thousand gold coins on a gigantic port complex capable of accommodating more than one hundred ships simultaneously.
With the port’s construction, a vast stretch of Goldenveil’s shallow beaches was dredged deeper.
Wide concrete structures sank into the water before expanding outward, engulfing a vast coastal area and housing every conceivable type of facility.
From repair docks to hotels, restaurants, warehouses, and goods processing centers, the port had it all.
Before long, that port alone would become the source of hundreds of direct jobs for the people of Goldenveil.
Once the work on the port was completed, Ethan headed to Windemere, where he built a refinery capable of transforming raw iron into pure iron and converting that iron into steel—a massive industrial complex he intended to bring into operation as early as next month.
That would provide hundreds more jobs for his people.
After all that, having used his four construction upgrade slots on various buildings around Goldenveil, Ethan returned to his office.
Sitting down in his comfortable armchair, his eyes fell on his own status screen.
[Name: Ethan GoldenVeil
Level: 82/120 (XP: 62%)
Available Rebirths: 2
Stage: 3 (Advancement quest available at level 120.)
Talent: Rank S
Noble Title: Junior Count. (Increase your prestige to upgrade your title)
Heroic Title: The incomparable degenerate of Darkwall! (-3 prestige), Goblin Slayer! (+2 prestige, +30% fear among goblins.) +2
Prestige: 0/500
Aura: 15,000/15,000
Attributes.
Strength: 906
Agility: 828
Vitality: 799
Intelligence: 781
Charm: 1046
Available attribute points: 21
Wives: 4
Concubines: 5
Monthly prestige gained from wives and concubines: 25]
After observing it for a brief moment, he sighed.
He really needed to build a mansion with proper facilities to train his body.
But for now, he needed to finally recruit his elf mommy first.
