章節 2: Meditation Methods
In the castle study, Maximus was looking over the documents of the Moonshadow City.
He noticed the food reserve in the granary was quickly running short.
This food was not only for the people in the castle and soldiers but more importantly, it was used to plug the food shortage in the city.
Otherwise, if he only relied on those greedy merchants, the Moonshadow City would be in chaos.
"Call Doran…" Maximus orders the guards at the door.
After a while, a somewhat fat old man came in.
"What do you need, Count Maximus?" Doran, the Governor of the Moonshadow City, bowed without much respect.
Based on his previous impression, Maximus was too mediocre, incomparable to his father.
"I'm here to talk to you about the food shortage in the city," Maximus said, not minding his tone.
After all, he had only succeeded for a few days and didn't have time to show his ability.
"Oh?" Doran looked at Maximus in puzzlement.
"You should know that the food in the granary is running out,"
"Yes," Doran nodded.
Distributing food to calm the chaos and feed the hungry, how could he not know the food in the granary was running out?
"So, have you thought of a solution?"
"Or at least inquired about buying food from another city to continue the supply?" Maximus said, squinting his eyes.
"I have already inquired about it. These merchants were greedy; knowing the city was in shortage of food, they hiked their prices."
The Moonshadow City had long been in perpetual lack of food.
Without much farmland, they could only rely on imports from the imperial capital.
Previously, with the Count's strength, those merchants didn't dare to raise prices and honestly did business.
Now, without the deterrent of Maximus' father, those wolves began to let their fang out.
"Even if we use the city's treasury, it can only last for a month or two, not enough for the day of harvest," Doran articulately explained.
"Is that so?" Maximus frowned, thinking of a solution.
"What if we had enough supply for a month without relying on these merchants?"
"Will the price of food return to normal?"
"Yes, without the urgent need for food, we can sit and negotiate calmly with these greedy merchants."
"But how do we do that? The supply in the granary can only last for a few days," Doran asks in helplessness.
"You should know about the underground granary in the castle," Maximus said after thinking.
"Yes, it's the emergency food for the lord."
"Could it be that the young count wants to use it to tide the difficulty?"
"Yes, it should be enough to last for a month,"
"Are you sure, Count Maximus?" Doran asks in a respectful tone.
Having the people over his interest, Doran felt more respect.
"However, I think it's only enough for the lord's family to consume,"
Although he didn't know the exact details of the castle, this emergency food should not be much.
"It should be enough for the city to last a month," Maximus lied with a straight face.
According to his memory, the emergency supply in the castle was only enough to last the family a few months, much less supplying a city of tens of thousands.
However, it could still be used as an excuse to buy food from the system mall without arousing suspicion.
After all, the only ones who can access the food are his father and the servants who store the food.
Now that the city is in chaos, who still has the time to mind these things?
---
In the hidden underground granary in the castle:
Maximus led Doran to see the food supplies.
"Wait here!" Maximus said as he went inside first.
"Yes," Doran nodded.
Inside was a vast storage space with only a few supplies, consisting of a small number of gold coins and emergency provisions.
This was to be used as a last resort in case something happened in the territory.
Looking at the small pile of gold coins, Maximus quickly converted them to gold points.
[+1221 Gold Points]
Browsing through the system mall, Maximus began buying staple food for the Moonshadow City to last for a few months.
From barley, millet, cured meat, cured fish, vegetable roots, salt, oil, dried fruit, etc.
If not for being too high profile, Maximus would want to buy a few more.
Seeing he only spent a few hundred gold points, Maximus also thought of buying new armor and weapons for the guards.
"It's too cheap~" Maximus smiled
The products on the system mall were too cheap to compare.
Much less the prices compared in this world; just comparing it to the prices in his previous life was enough to leave him speechless.
"Come in," Maximus said after arranging the items inside.
"This..." Doran was dumbfounded as he looked at the stacks upon stacks of supplies.
"I'm sure you know what to do,"
"I know, my lord," Doran said, bowing respectfully.
---
After completing his work, Maximus headed to the system mall to browse through the list of Meditation Manuals.
Although his talent was still trash rank, buying a suitable meditation manual could still help.
Browsing through the panel, he saw various available filters.
"It even has affinity?"
From quality, ranks, types, even the affinity he had with the meditation manual could be filtered.
Taking his time, he filtered the highest quality and the most compatible manual with his physique.
Browsing through the system mall, he couldn't help but scream internally.
"10 Quintillion Gold Points?! 9 Quintillion Gold Points?!"
Seeing the price, much less the kingdom he was in, even this continent might not have this much.
Fortunately, it was only the whole price of the manual from tier 0 to tier 9.
Filtering the meditation manual to tier 0, his current tier, the price was more manageable.
[Arcane Attunement (Tier 0): A technique that focuses on harnessing magical energy and using it to strengthen one's mental abilities. Chapter 1 Price 60
[Dream weaving (Tier 0): Involves using lucid dreaming and visualization to access the subconscious mind and promote personal growth. Chapter 1 Price 50]
[Elemental Embodiment (Tier 0): A method that involves connecting with the elements of nature to cultivate inner harmony and balance. Chapter 1 Price 30]
[Mindfire Meditation (Tier 0): A technique that focuses on harnessing the power of one's inner fire to cultivate mental focus and clarity. Chapter 1 Price 20]
[Shadow Self-Integration (Tier 0): Involves exploring and integrating one's shadow self to achieve greater self-awareness and emotional balance. Chapter 1 Price 30]
[Divine Consciousness (Tier 0): A method that involves transforming your consciousness to gain insight and wisdom of a god. Chapter 1 Price 100]
[Dragon's Breath (Tier 0): A technique that involves harnessing the power of the mythical dragon to cultivate strength and resilience. Chapter 1 Price 90]
[Thunderous Transcendence (Tier 0): Focuses on harnessing the power of thunder to cultivate mental focus and clarity. Chapter 1 Price 70]
"I want it all!" Maximus screamed internally.
Seeing these awesome meditation manuals that seemed out of this world, Maximus was a little greedy.
From the dream weaving, where he could train in his sleep, the dragon's breath that could transform him into a legendary dragon, even elemental embodiment that could attune him to elements befitting mages.
Unfortunately, he could only choose one.
With his current talent, one was more than enough to occupy him.
Finally, after a long deliberation, Maximus chose the Divine Consciousness.
Although it was not the most endearing, it was the highest rank among them.
Browsing the System Mall, although there was a higher quality manual, it was not attuned to his body.
"I can only pick this…"
---
More than a week had passed since Maximus had dealt with the Moonshadow City's issues.
"Let's take a break…"
Wanting to relax, Maximus thought of strolling through the city.
"Going out, Young Master?" Gerald asks in concern.
"Care to join?" Knowing his concern, Maximus invited with a smile.
Getting out of the castle, the two strolled around under the protection of a group of guards.
Seeing the City turn to peace, it seemed his hard work had not been in vain.
"The food Young Master donated was heaven help." Gerald praised.
With food in hand, the people had no worries, and the merchants could not swindle them for money.
Even because of the thriving vitality of the city, most forgot the death of the previous lord.
As long as they were not hungry, most wouldn't care if the ruler had changed.
As Maximus strolled around, he suddenly remembered the criteria of the system for choosing a partner.
The System is quite demanding, requiring a fit value of more than 90 points to activate the system ability to produce gold coins.
Using the system function to scan the woman around, he was quite disappointed.
[Lucy: Fit – 55]
[Cat: Fit – 34]
[Moore: Fit – 44]
Most of the people had an average fit of 30-40.
This fit value seemed to have no connection to physical appearance.
Even when trying to a pretty woman, it only read 49, much less than others.
If he could only settle for less, Maximus would pick one every day, giving birth to children hundreds of times a year.
As for affection, it could be cultivated; if not, he could still give them a life worthy of living.
With his status and system, he didn't have to worry about anything.
After walking for a few hours and not finding any target, Maximus came back dejected.
The highest fit value he had found was only 83; unfortunately, what he needed was at least a 90.
Meanwhile, seeing Maximus' expression, Gerald seemed to be enlightened.
It seemed his Young Master had come to an age.
"Don't worry, Young Master, leave it to me!"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Not hearing Maximus, Gerald quickly ran out of the castle as if partaking his lifelong mission.
---
"What brought you here, Gerald? Did something happen in the castle?" Doran asked in puzzlement, seeing Gerald bared into his manor.
"I'm here to tell you about the Young Master!'
"What about it?"
"Do you think it's time to pick up a concubine?"
"Huh? Indeed, It's apparent that we quickly produce an heir!" Doran said in enlightenment.
The Shadowcrest Family only had Maximus to continue the line.
Being the remaining blood of the family, it was a matter of urgency much greater than anything.
"What do you think we should do? A marriage alliance or…"
"No, a marriage alliance at this juncture was dangerous!"
Although the Shadowcrest family had the protection of loyal knights and the seal of the royal family, it was not enough.
Once another noble interfered with the territory, it would be over.
Although he didn't think much of Maximus, seeing his recent performance, Doran felt hope.
"Then what do we do?"
"Just pick a concubine in our territory!" Doran decided.
Among the thousands of unmarried women in Moonshadow City, finding someone to match should be easy.
"This-"
"What do you think?"
"Just do it, I'll tell Young Master."
Although unconventional, Doran's plan seemed feasible.
"Do you have any requirements?"
"Just ensure they were unmarried… and beautiful." Gerald paused and continued.
Although they were in a rush to produce an heir, appearance should still be a priority.
As for attitude, education, and etiquette, they could all be cultivated.
"I'll get right on it."
---
A week passed, and a list of candidates was unknowingly presented on his desk.
"What is this?"
"It's women in marriable age, Young Master," Gerald explained.
Too busy picking his Young Master's future concubine, he forgot to inform him.
"Huh?"
Looking at Gerald, Maximus felt speechless.
Initially, he planned to solve the city's problem before finding a wife to marry.
However, looking at the list, he couldn't put it down.
Among the beauties on the list, no one was worse than the first-rate stars in his previous world.
Some even gave him a faint affection, like looking at a destined partner.
"How is it, Young Master? Shall I call the ladies?" Gerald teased, seeing his Young Master was a little stunned.
"Go call the people on the list," After a pause, Maximus 'reluctantly' agreed.
"Right away, Young Master," Gerald bowed.
---
In the afternoon, in the castle throne chamber:
"Come in," Maximus said to the first candidate outside the door.
Walking like a model, the woman introduced herself seductively.
"I'm Becky, my lord," She bowed, showing a glimpse of her cleavage.
Just a look and Maximus quickly crossed out her name.
Although she met his physical preference, her behavior was discouraging.
Still not wanting to pass out the chance; he still scanned her with the system.
Who knew if the system had a weird taste?
[Becky: Fit - 80]
As expected, the system's "Fit" criteria were still reliable.
"Hmm... you should go," Maximus said without interviewing her further.
After all, he had already crossed her out, and the system also gave her a low fit value.
"But... I-" Becky didn't know what she did wrong; she was evicted just a few seconds after entering.
"Don't worry; you can still get the gold coin promised for your time," Maximus said coldly.
"Great!" Becky didn't dwell further and quickly exited.
Becky had come here without much hope, so she was not too disappointed.
---
After interviewing several more candidates, Maximus quickly grew disheartened.
Although each had merits, with a few even passing his taste, they still didn't meet the system's criteria.
After a while, another one came in.
"I'm Hazel, my lord," Hazel said as she bowed.
"Oh?" Maximus couldn't help but nod at her beauty.
She passed his criteria, but he didn't know if his system would agree.
[Hazel: Fit 91]
"Great," Maximus murmured in excitement.
"What do you do, Hazel?" Maximus asked with interest.
"My family is a group of farmers in a village not far away from the city," Hazel said slowly, not thinking she could catch a noble's attention.
Hazel had only come here for the promised money, as even though there was relief food, she didn't know when the food would last.
"I heard that you like teaching kids in the village?" Maximus asked as he looked at her profile.
"Yes, my lord, except for food, this little girl is very fond of children," Hazel said with a shine in her eyes.
"Interesting~"
"Why don't we make one for you to teach?" Maximus smirk.
"This... My lord, I-" Too stunned to speak, Hazel began to stutter, not having time to react.
"I'm sure we would get along well." Maximus didn't give her a chance.
Although he didn't know why, just a look at Hazel, he felt they were destined.
Not wanting to pass such a chance, Maximus didn't want to drag it further.
"I-I..."
"Come, Gerald, bring Miss Hazel the dowry," Maximus waved for Gerald, who was standing beside him.
"Right away, my lord," Gerald said excitedly.
"I'll come to your village in a few days," Maximus winked at the dumbfounded Hazel.
"This way, Young Mistress,"
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