Marcus urged his horse forward, the wind biting against his face as the river came into view.
That was where the carpenters were asked to build the irrigation pump by the river near his mansion.
It would help supply the farm fields with water, making the job of watering the crops easier for the farmers.
By the time Marcus arrived, he was surprised to see two structures from a distance.
Both were hybrids of iron and wood.
One that had his original design of an irrigation chain pump powered by the wind, and then, another that was devoid of the windmill.
[+20 Achievement Points]
[+50 Achievement Points]
Marcus almost got knocked off his horse by these notifications.
Why were the rewards so different?
Was one better than the other?
He reasoned.
A total of fifty points from one production, which covered what he needed.
The fact that he still didn't know how this reward system worked was beginning to irk him.
But he pushed this thought to the back of his mind.
The carpenters were celebrating the success of their work as both pumps were working perfectly fine.
The windmill-powered pump moved faster compared to the other due to the strong wind that was blowing.
Now all that's left is to dig pathways for the water to flow through.
This endeavor was of no difficulty compared to everything else.
"Lord Governor!" some of the carpenters called out with excited voices.
They had taken their time and enjoyed the work that they participated in bringing to life.
Which craftsman wouldn't be pleased to see his craft work successfully?
Marcus asked them why he was seeing two pumps, and the men explained.
One of them was powered by the wind, while the other was powered by the river's flow.
While making the first pump, they noticed that the river's flow was already pushing the pump to work, so they made a few adjustments and left it as it was.
Then they made the one Marcus wanted.
Could it be that their innovation was the cause of the high reward?
If the workers can make variations of the machines on their own… then I can reap a lot of achievement points!
That was the only thing Marcus could pick out that could be the reason.
After thanking the carpenters, Marcus went to check on Surfan and the other farmers.
He asked them if they needed anything in particular and listened to some complaints they had about the workers under them.
Marcus managed to temporarily solve their problems before going back to his mansion.
By the time Marcus arrived at his mansion, the sun was already high in the sky and mid-afternoon was closely approaching.
"Have Brown report to me later in the day. The remaining two boxes are for Mercidin and Floki. The bigger one is for the latter."
After saying that, he went into his office. Marcus was excited at the moment.
[Name: Marcus Sirdi.]
[Age: 24.]
[Level: 1 (Mage)]
[Race: Human.]
[Mana: 200.]
[Achievement Points: 98]
[Arcane Knowledge Learned (Lv1). Advance Technological Knowledge Learned (Lv1). Body Modification Knowledge Locked. Futuristic technological Knowledge Locked.]
[Redo: 1.]
[Days Left: 6 months (180 days)]
…
His achievement points had hit ninety-eight.
With this many points, Marcus's options had grown.
He had used the fifty points needed for the cement formula, leaving him with forty-eight points.
Before he began browsing through blueprints to purchase, he went through a section of his plans for Agard.
Currently, his plans only have to do with his immediate surroundings, the southern part of Agard.
As for the rest, he couldn't willfully and carelessly stretch his hands there for now.
Winter is coming.
This natural occurrence is his first major problem. People get sick during the winter.
Many die of cold and hunger.
And it was quite easy to face a flu epidemic.
To counter this, he made sure to invest heavily in reviving the Agricultural status of the South.
Currently, its results were unknown, but he was hopeful.
And even if it didn't come out as expected, he still had enough food to last till the end of winter.
So he wasn't too worried about their feeding aspect.
What he needed to tackle apart from adequate shelter, was their clothing issue.
Almost everyone who had come to receive food from his mansion was dressed in rags. Clothes that could barely protect them from the cold winds of winter.
If this is not tackled, the death toll in winter would surpass what Marcus was willing to accept.
So he quickly began to search for ideas and blueprints that had to do with clothing.
However, most of them cost over 100 points per blueprint.
In other words, they were above his current level. Even if he could afford them, without upgrading to a level 2, he might not be able to make them.
Marcus later settled on a different Loom blueprint. One that was powered by counterweight, or gravity.
Even this cost him thirty points, leaving him with eighteen left.
Seeing his points, Marcus realized that his previous excitement over gaining points was of no use.
It had been spent so easily.
Hard to get but easy to squander. Even money wasn't this promiscuous.
Unfortunately, there's no one I can extort points from. Tsk!
He then spent the remaining points purchasing simple designs for clothes and a single, simple home blueprint. Though he hadn't gone through the print yet, he had purchased it because it was cheap and available.
Marcus pulled a paper from the corner of his table and began writing down a few things that had to do with the process of acquiring clothes.
"First, we'll have to get some animal hides…" Marcus paused.
To clothe everyone, this would cost more than he could afford. Unless they proactively hunt from the wild.
But the only place they could do such, was in Daze. That was a very dangerous place to wander into.
Nonetheless, Marcus wasn't too worried as he had a few stronger knights with him. They would just have to be extra careful.
With the Loom design at hand, all he would need for that is thread.
"Each person in the south will have to have at least two sets of winter clothes… it is also possible that more people from the north and south would come to Agard around that time."
His mind brought possible variations of problems and solutions.
Marcus continued to write, unaware of how much time had passed.
By the time Bradley came to his office, Marcus was almost done.
"Come in." He said lightly. This should be enough to create quite a job for the women. He thought as he read the things he wrote on this paper.
There were several others with details pushed to the corner of his table.
Bradley entered.
"Sir, the Avanti butler came with the silver coins almost an hour ago. After dropping it, he asked if he could see the farm lands again. While we were there, he overheard the slaves talking about the irrigation pump." Bradley paused, waiting to see Marcus's reaction.
"Oh, and?"
"I took him to the riverside and upon seeing the pumps, he asked if the blueprints for them are also for sale."
Marcus smirked. "What did you tell him?"
"I said that it would cost them double what they paid to get the blueprint for them."
"Hahaha! Good one Bradley!"
Bradley also chuckled. "The old man is also crafty, he didn't say anything about it and left, saying that he would report back to the Avanti house master first."
"They won't be getting this one so easily." Marcus placed his elbow on the armrest of his chair before leaning his chin on top of his palm.
"I'm already in need of more money. Bradley, we have a lot of work to do."
"I am aware of that, Milord."
"Call the stonemasons, I finally have some work for them to start."
"On it, sir."
Just as Bradley was leaving, he heard Marcus exclaim.
"Huh!"
The young man was surprised by what he was seeing.
[+1 Redo].