Chapter 62: Ch 62: Further Development

After resting, Aiden called for a meeting where he selected a small force to send to Kinsek Village to start its redevelopment.

Once that territory was developed, they could start developing the road between those two villages to connect them, and it would allow his goddess’s influence to spread there and bring it under her protected territory.

Moreover, people could use the fertile Kinsek Village to grow crops and trade...and for other stuff as well.

But there was a new concern growing within the village that was brought up during this meeting.

"Sir priest, we are afraid that we are at a standstill right now. We have more than enough people to start projects, but their lack of knowledge is not ideal. Even if we give them written instructions, most cannot read. They mostly rely on their innate knowledge to get things done."

The ones to bring this up were the capable dwarfs, and then the humans joined as well.

"We are having the same issue as well. Most of us are getting by because of our experience, but with increasing profits, it is hard for us to be able to keep up with our spending and buying. Basic knowledge is no longer cutting it."

Since the issue was similar, the solution should be similar as well. And luckily, Aiden knew exactly what needed to be done.

"First, tell me how much of the main temple is left?"

Aiden wanted to complete the ongoing mission first, so he asked the dwarfs about this.

"We shall be done tomorrow. We are done with everything, so we just need to check up on some leftover faults we found during our last checkup."

Well, since the mission would be over tomorrow, Aiden could finally give his attention to the next topic—the lack of literacy.

"Alright, since we will be finished with all major events tomorrow, we can focus on empowering our territory with knowledge. We are going to set up a school for those who want to learn and employ people with sufficient knowledge to teach. Can someone prepare a list of essential subjects that are needed to work?"

Everyone quickly started to talk over each other and discuss the suggestions.

This was going to be a hard process to streamline because there were so many different skills that were required for different jobs. But it was something that needed to be done anyway.

However, unlike modern schools, Aiden had no intention of teaching skills people were never going to use. Instead, he was going to make his institute more along the lines of universities, where real essential skills before practice were developed.

In the end, 10 major subjects were chosen, including crafting, maths, and vocational skills among the rest.

But the one Aiden personally added was Religious Studies. If he wanted to spread Goddess Apophis’s name, he needed people to be aware of her and what she stood for.

And this was a class he was going to teach himself until he found someone else who was equally devoted and capable of doing this.

As for the material for this class? The system had plenty to give him.

...

[Updating Current Objective: Rebuilding the Goddess’s temple (100% completion).]

[Reward: +0.5% Divinity]

[Additional Reward: Gaining the first temple.]

[Current Divinity: 2.15%]

Finally, the main temple was finished, and this mission ended as well. And now it was time to start another one.

The system did not disappoint Aiden, and it created another mission for him outright.

[Current Mission update: Educating the followers.]

[A good territory requires well-learned people who can spread their name. Henceforth, make sure you educate the followers well.]

[Mission Criteria: Opening a School and educating 1,000 people]

[Reward: 1% Divinity]

[Additional reward: 0.1% Divinity for educated exceeding 10,000 people]

The system mission was not hard, but it was time-consuming. Mainly because they did not even have 1,000 people under their goddess’s influence who needed education.

However, that would slowly change as the name and fame of their territory grew.

But first, they needed to select a good place to start the school’s construction, and there were a few conditions that needed to be respected.

First, the school could not be too far away from the village center and the temple. And also, it needed to be near the bazaar and other facilities in case they were needed. But it also needed open space to perform some learning activities...

"Ideally, I don’t want people to empty out their houses because of this project, and I also don’t want any reconstruction...which would be nice?"

Aiden looked at the map provided to him by the dwarf leader about the town’s redevelopment, and there was one area that matched his preference.

It was the north side of the territory across the river, which meant that it was a little hard to access. But considering that it was the way the town should be expanded for additional water resources...

"I guess it should be fine. We were about to have a barge or two in this village anyway, so let’s expand that way."

The only issue that Aiden could see was if the river ever flooded. But what were the odds of that happening? After all, his Goddess’s presence was stabilizing this territory, and Aiden trusted her enough to start this project.

He quickly called for the dwarfs and the others to start reconstructing the plans on the other side of the river, and they drafted a plan as well as a few emergency plans in case the river ever flooded.

The construction began the next morning, with the bridge the first thing they built. The river was not large or deep enough to become a problem for adults, but it was a concern for children. So the bridge was built with high sides.

But despite taking every precaution, the bridge was destroyed the next morning when they came to visit. The way it was smashed made it obvious that it was not a normal accident, but someone had deliberately done it.