Swiss Arms-Chapter 147

Swiss Arms-Chapter 147

Swiss Arms
Chapter 147
-VB-
Hans von Fluelaberg
[Character Status]
Name: Hans von Fluelaberg
Age: 23
Title: Count of Fluelaberg-Rheintal
LvL: 51
HP: 1150
MP: 750
ST: 545
STR: 140
END: 115
AGI: 140
DEX: 69
INT: 75
CHA: 31
Intelligence.
Of all of the stats I had, it seemed to be the one that had the
least
impact on me.
Sure, I remembered more things, made more connections, and even made a few innovations here and there based on a few scraps of memories I had of YouTube videos from my past life. Two such innovations were the double bookkeeping system and the circular step farm - or the cauldron terrace. Both of those, of course, took work on my part, too, so I couldn't even say that the Intelligence stat gave me full blueprints… despite the fact that full blueprints were part of my power.
[Circular Step Farm/Cauldron Terrace]
Cost: 500 man hours, 10 tons of stone per 0.5 acre-step
Like many things, once I finished construction of it once, I got a blueprint that could let me skip the manual steps, which I didn't do because I was trying to keep myself from being noticed as inhuman. Because I would be labeled as such the moment I can pull out magic like that, even if it wasn't "strictly" magic as far as my power was concerned. I was also putting off doing magic because… well, the Bible was very clear about how God felt about magic.
And I understood why God would, in both the Old and New Testament, say that to seek magic was to turn away from God. The entire book was about God's relationship with us, or rather, how he wanted to establish it. There wasn't a lot of flexibility about it, but ultimately, the purpose of the Bible and Christianity was the salvation of the soul.
And, look, if the Gamer I was working with was real, something even more fictional than God in my past life, then even if he didn't speak to me, God was also very likely to be real.
Which meant what?
It depended on how magic worked and how I could prove it could work, if I could use magic in the future and want it to be accepted by the people. Any kind of magic that involved possession or inviting something into me to work? That would never be accepted because that would run directly along the lines of what God forbid. Leviticus 19:31. "Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God."
So what did that leave me with?
…
…
Fire.
Light magic.
Water magic.
Elemental shit, essentially, because working with the very nature of the world wasn't against the world. What was magic if not just another pair of hands doing the same work that men and women did with their natural hands gifted to us by God? As long as I didn't use it to do some heinous shit like necromancy?
At least, that would be part of my defense if anyone ever found out about the
few
magic spells I did have.
But now, I wanted to see if I could develop this Intelligence of mine to the occult and magic.
I finally had time to myself! To experiment and play!
When I wasn't with Isabella and Lou-Lou, of course.
And yes, I'm calling my son Lou-Lou because of course I very much intended to use that as a nickname to embarrass him in the future. I'm planning
decades
ahead!
Once again, I sat alone inside my experimental chamber deep underground, and have been meditating on the nature of magic, nature, and Gamer for hours at this point.
No luck. Nada. Zilch.
I mean, I had mana. The Gamer told me that.
But how did I manipulate mana?
I sighed, feeling that meditation was a bust, and opened my eyes. I stood up, stretched, and tried… Avatar bending. Because why the fuck not?
I took a martial stance that I was most familiar with.
The horse stance.
While thinking about mana and attempting to feel it, I punched with intent and willed mana, even if I couldn't sense it, to flow with my punch.
Nothing.
I didn't stop. I punched again.
And again.
And again.
And again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Again…
If nothing else, then I was polishing my martial foundation.
-VB-
Mayor Daniel of Klosters
His grandfather had been a merchant, his father had been a merchant, and he had been a merchant.
Except now, he was also the "mayor" of Klosters, despite the fact that Klosters was not big enough of a village to warrant the village chief warranting such a title, which was usually reserved for the chiefs of bigger towns and imperial cities.
Yet he was called mayor because that was what the "constitution" of the Compact demanded that the elected leader of each member "state" be called.
A lot of Kloster's people had been wary about joining such a defense pact at first until they realized just how powerful but then nobody Hans. The said nobody then became a baron by the decree of the emperor. Then he crushed the Duke of Bavaria in a battle. And finally, he became a count after straight-up
buying
land. Because not only was Hans
von Fluelaberg
a crazy warrior and strategist, he was also business-savvy and filthy rich.
It was why he aligned Kloster to the interests of Davos-Fluelaberg and why he played
third
fiddle to them. Why? Because Klosters depended too much on Fluelaberg to survive.
He
needed Fluelaberg to maintain his newfound wealth and power.
The new migrants, the cash flow, and the expectations of the people to continue this era of prosperity also weighed heavily on him.
It was also why he was now seriously considering Count von Fluelaberg's offer.
For Klosters to renounce its membership of the Compact and come under Fluelaberg as one of its fiefs. Not only would this allow Klosters to enjoy continued protection of the Compact, it would relieve the village of the burden of having to supply its own men with expensive weapons and armor, because Fluelaberg and Count von Fluelaberg would take over all military matters, including setting up outposts of Fluelaberg's professional soldiers, both the rangers and the lesser known
soldat
s.
It was why he had chosen to follow in the count's footstep and called a meeting of the village to discuss this.
"You want us to become the whelp's serfs?" one of the village elders asked with a frown.
"We wouldn't be becoming serfs," he countered. "The count laid out in clear terms that very little would change. He is willing to go so far as to write up a contract between us, one overseen by the Mayor of Lindau."
That brought some murmurs up from among the now more populous and better educated villagers. Well, not everyone was, and the murmurs were more from lesser educated villagers asking their kids or the more educated villagers, both of whom have been getting education offered through "school" sessions and books in Fluelaberg.
(Being part of the Compact also meant that any member villager could come and learn from the "school" built in Fluelaberg, free of charge and also use the library.)
As the knowledge of who the Mayor of Lindau spread among the villagers, they began to grow more pensive and introspective.
Because even if the Compact didn't tax the village, the village needed to tax its members to ensure they maintained the minimum force necessary for their defense as outlined by the Compact's constitution. It was a light enough burden at first… but it was a burden that had been growing as their village continued to grow. People have been complaining, lightly at first but more seriously as of late.
But if they left the Compact to stop paying those taxes they imposed on themselves, then they would be left defenseless again.
And after what the region had suffered through the Unruly Year, none of the original residents were willing to go defenseless.
"And what exactly is he offering?" one of the youngsters asked. Daniel recognized him as one of the kids who grew up during the Unruly Year and was a young man, owning a small plot for farming and ranching that he carved out of the mountain side himself from what he learned in the "school."
"He's offering to take over the defense of Kloster. He would build a permanent
soldat
garrison and a ranger outpost. There will be around two dozen
soldat
s here. In exchange, we would pay a flat one-fifth of our income as tax."
Everyone looked at him in surprise.
One-fifth only? That was half of what they were paying now to keep their own defenders happy and occupied as soldiers. Two dozen was also two more than how many soldiers they employed.
"... And you don't think it's a trick?" someone else asked.
Someone else in the crowd laughed in response, and Daniel agreed with the laughter.
Count Hans von Fluelaberg was not a man prone to trickery, though he could pull it off if he wants to.
The village discussion continued in this regard for some time, but by the end of the day, the consensus was clear: they would renounce their membership and bend the knee to the count.

Chapter 147