CHAPTER 38: CHANGE

Tyler didn’t say much. He just chuckled and asked.

"Have you been holding back for so long?"

Rose placed her head on his shoulder and mumbled.

"Sir, why do you not punish me? A subordinate shouldn’t contradict his leader."

"And a good leader should be able to take criticism." Tyler replied with a smile chuckle.

He rubbed her head and said.

"But I’m glad you said that. It means one thing. My methods, my work, my belief to change this world aren’t wrong."

"Just look at John and others. They follow my orders without even a second thought."

"This kind of loyalty is amazing, but when it is used by evil and tyrants, that kind of loyalty becomes suffering."

"That’s what I want to change, Rose. For you, this might look like common sense."

"But for me, this is a broken system. The funny thing is, people of this world are scientifically outstanding."

"It is true. Science doesn’t change mortality."

After taking his words to her heart, Rose felt embarrassed by his embrace and quickly apologized.

"I’m sorry, Sir."

But she quickly raised her head, with a strong opinion as she spoke.

"But I am not wrong, Sir. Even if you want to change the world, you need to start by adapting to the methods of the world."

"Otherwise, you will be spending years to achieve something you can achieve in just days."

"Forgive me for being blunt, but we can easily take over these villages without alerting anyone."

"In their eyes, these villages are garbage dumps. At best, it would provide fine-looking slaves."

"Other than that, these villages hold no importance in the eyes of hunters and nobles."

"So, why go through such length? Lord, please follow my plan! We can use illusion or control-type ability to brainwash the villager leaders."

"We can use these villagers to build walls. Then, we can reinforce it with other formations."

"When we start earning money, we can improve their lifestyles. These people will forget about hardship and will only become more loyal to you."

Hearing her words, Tyler was truly speechless.

But her words did make him realize something.

He was living in a world that was corrupted to the point that morality wasn’t a question.

In fact, the ones who ran from the country were the ones whose business and wealth were swallowed by nobles.

That’s how nobles kept getting richer. People with different minds would come out with different business ideas and products.

But these nobles would take over these ideas and products. Unfortunately, those who came up with those ideas couldn’t do anything.

Because those nobles had bigger fists.

So, they often take all their wealth and run away from the country. If they stayed in the country, they would have to pay taxes.

And, since their businesses were swallowed by nobles, they couldn’t earn anything.

But these people were a rarity. Just like his family.

Most of the villagers were those who couldn’t make their basic needs, still having to pay taxes, forcing them to leave the country.

The rulers of the country wouldn’t say anything since they were corrupted by those nobles.

This had managed to maintain the rules of nobles for hundreds of years.

If he wanted to change this world, he had to start with its economy.

This made him realize his idea wasn’t wrong, but there was one problem.

The mindset of the people.

There was a limit to how many people he could change.

Evil and good weren’t something for him to decide.

He just wanted to give the people of this world a better life they deserved.

Whether it was monsters, spirits, or nobles, the ones suffering were the ordinary and poor people.

So, if he wanted to change all of this, he had to start with ordinary people and their children.

People like Rose, John, and others already had a fixed mindset. He could change it, but that would take a lot of time and effort.

But children were fresh. Their minds weren’t corrupted by those ideas.

Ideas like ’paying tax is being noble’s slave’, ’ideas like dying in an outbreak was just normal’.

These needed to change.

And, he could bring this change. Rose’s words impact his mindset. Conquering these villages was important, but creating a new system was even more important.

Even if it started with a few hundred people, a new system could affect the world faster than his rule over those villages.

"Thanks, Rose, I know what to do."

Tyler smiled at the girl and thanked her.

But seeing that smile, Rose realized her words hadn’t shaken him. He hadn’t changed.

At this moment, a doubt arose in her mind.

’Maybe my Lord is right. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he live the way he should?’

’Doesn’t that mean everyone in the world is wrong, and only my Lord is right?’

’Yeah! That makes sense. Only my Lord can be right. No, if my Lord is right, I shouldn’t think like this.’

The more she thought, the more frustrated she became.

Seeing this, Tyler chuckled and said.

"Anyway, let’s return to the previous village!"

They ran back to the village full of people. This was the same village that rejected his help.

So, they didn’t visit it. Instead, they crossed it and went to the village where Liam and John were stationed.

"Lord, how was it? Do we need to go there?"

When he returned, John worriedly asked.

Tyler shook his head as he walked up to a chair and sat down.

"No, there hasn’t been any attack beyond two villages."

Liam was stunned, and so was John, but he spoke quickly.

"What does that mean? Aren’t those monsters and spirits retaliating against humans because of their recent attacks?"

Rose replied.

"It seems like they aren’t interested in attacking humans all at once. After fighting these monsters and spirits, it feels like they can think like a normal human."

Tyler nodded.

"Yes, child, teenager, and middle-aged. We can divide them into these three categories based on their levels."

John’s eyes widened.

"Lord, you mean monsters and spirits between Building Level and City Level are just children."

"Not their age but their thoughts. Maybe even their age, since within ten or fifteen years, spirits and monsters can evolve into Mountain Level with ease."

Tyler replied.

Hearing that, three of them stared at each other, and John spoke.

"Lord, you believe this is a coordinated attack?"

Tyler nodded his head.

"I have that feeling. I know it seems far-fetched, but when I ran away before, I encountered several Mountain Level Monsters and Spirits."

"But for some reason, they didn’t attack me. At that time, I was confused. Then, I thought about it."

"When this batch of monsters attacked these villages, there were only two Mountain Level Monsters."

"This doesn’t seem to match their numbers."

Rose nodded her head.

"And, you encountered them at the outskirts of the Eternal Forest. If so many Mountain Level monsters and spirits have come to the edge, why wouldn’t they attack together?"

"As if something is holding them back."

When she said that, Tyler suddenly stood up in surprise.

"How can I forget them? Hunter Associations! They wouldn’t just let these monsters and spirits attack humans in such a large number."

"They must have sent a large number of Rank Fourth and Fifth Hunters to block those monsters and spirits."

Hearing his words, others nodded.

They also found that it was possible. After all, the job of the Hunter Association was to keep monsters and spirits from attacking humans in large numbers.

If it were just one or even two outbreaks within a month, it wouldn’t be a problem for them.

It’s just like how humans enter the Eternal Forest to hunt monsters and spirits once a month.

But now, many hunters were attacking monsters and spirits, so whether that was a retaliation or just protection, Tyler didn’t know.

But he knew one thing. Those hunters had kept those monsters and spirits busy.

"Well, there is no need to think too much about this. Have they chosen the Village Chief?" Tyler turned towards John and asked.

John nodded and left the tent. Soon, he returned with a middle-aged man. Unlike before, this man had become more radiant and powerful.

Even his body has grown from six feet to six feet six inches.

He bowed his head towards Tyler and said.

"Lord, my name is Adam."

"Hello, Adam! Raise your head!"

Tyler nodded as he motioned his hand.

Adam raised his head and stood there.

Tyler took out a Natural Fruit from his inventory and threw it at him.

When Adam caught this fruit, he visibly felt pressure. Even his hand started shaking.

This fruit would not only change his destiny but also the destiny of his village.

And the leader who could give them a Natural Fruit was someone worth following.

"Adam, I plan to transform your village into a city within just a year. For this, I need your full cooperation."

"Do you understand?"