Rallying the Villagers

Alaric got to work immediately after waking up. He planned to instate rules, secure authority, and grab the loyalty of the new villagers. With the help of Clarus, it wouldn't be hard at all.

Alaric was currently on the announcement platform in the center of the village. He spoke into the megaphone, sending his mana into it in order to activate the sound amplification formation, "Ahem. All residents please meet in the center of the village. All residents please meet in the center of the village."

Although they called it a megaphone, it was much louder, as if a line of loudspeakers were turned on, and connected to it. The power of formations, even the most simple ones, was indeed impressive.

'Maybe this megaphone can be used to amplify the effects of Clarus's ability...'

Soon, everyone had gathered. Mike and his family were at the front of the fray, and while Clarus had taken it upon himself to stand to the side of the stage, he knew he was up next.

Alaric gestured for Clarus to come atop the stage, and whispered something into his ear, before standing by his side.

Clarus began to speak, and due to the fact that all 21 of the people listening had not awakened their abilities, their mana sensitivity was far too weak for them to realize his ability had been activated.

"The village chief, Alaric, has designated me as his envoy and representative. As such, I will be speaking for him as of right now."

He had actually modified his appearance to be a bit less sloppy since Alaric commanded it, so Clarus's display couldn't be considered to be ugly, at the very least.

The small crowd, except for Mike and his family, began to speak.

"An envoy? For a minor village chief? Like the Ryders, he dares to pretend to be a noble!"

"Forget it, for now, let's see what he has to say, we've already remained here for too long anyways... there is no going back."

"He has a point."

Clarus cleared his throat, his now tied-up hair and energetic eyes beamed as he spoke, "Please quiet down. Chief Alaric, of the Ooze Village, has decided to insure everyone's safety. He shall be personally going to attack the Ryder family within 3 days so that their family can no longer target you all. With his powerful lord-type talent, victory is assured!"

The old man deliberately didn't activate his ability until the final sentence, and even put more mana into the words "victory is assured." With this, the thought had thoroughly been ingrained into the heads of the viewers.

"Lord-type? But... he's still young, right? Even a lord-type cannot defeat the Ryders at so young."

"Maybe, but what if the servants he controls are at rank 2?"

"Then victory may very well be assured..."

Alaric directed himself towards the megaphone, thinking that Clarus put great use into his ability, but also needed a little practice when it came to talking. Still, the effect was good enough.

"To put it bluntly, you may be able to guess that my talent is related to slimes. Actually, the foundation of our entire village relies on slimes! The one guarding the village gate, Gunnar, is a slime at rank 2. He is faster than a war horse, more acidic than 10 slimes combined, and large enough to evade most attacks to his core with ease.

I know you all are anxious, the Ryders have controlled you for too long. I shall not continue talking, let my actions do so for me! In the next few days, I will be relying on villagers to transform this village into something new. My plans have all been laid out, and if you want to contribute, just stay in the town center!"

The villagers seemed a bit distraught about the news that slimes, the weakest of monsters would be the village's foundation, but also astonished that the giant slime guarding the front gate, was rank 2!

Of course, they weren't as smart as Mike or as knowledgeable as Clarus, so their doubts were quickly washed away by their stubborn hopes. Rationalization could be said to be one weakness of clever people, such as Mike.

Soon, a few villagers spread out, but not a lot. Most stayed here in order to find out how they could contribute. Alaric had set up a table, and a line of chairs.

"Get in an orderly line, I'll be asking you all some questions to figure out how you can contribute!"

None were excluded, there were 18 people in line, in total. The 3 that had left were housewives, who probably wanted to focus on their children. Of course, those children had mostly chosen to help out too.

Alaric had started the first interview, with none other than Mike himself. He started with general questions but had plans for more revealing ones soon. An interview system was something completely foreign to people in the Arcana continent, so most were rather nervous.

"Name?"

"Mike."

"Age?"

"40."

Mike could be said to be the only one who wasn't nervous. After all, a warrior such as himself had encountered much more dangerous situations than Alaric's simple interview.

'Well, where I come from, job chasers are a type of warrior too.' Alaric thought.

He continued on to ask about Mike's hobbies, hopes, and dreams. All of which was rather bland, his worldview was probably restricted due to the small village environment he was raised in.

Of course, Alaric was scouting potential and delegating duties in a small village. Although it would develop further in the future, these 18 people could not be counted as crucial just yet. The interviews needed to be a bit quicker. The current duties that need to be delegated were rather easy to fulfill.

"Okay, last question."

Mike nodded his head, seemingly unprepared for the simple question that Alaric decided upon.

"You've come all this way to my village, risking your very own life. Why?"

Alaric decided on this question simply because he wanted to judge their characters. He could create a talent if need be, just that their talent had to be in line with his expectations.

'Of course, they could lie.'

Mike thought for a moment but answered simply.

"Penne Ryder can oppress, degrade, defame, slander, hit, torture, or even kill me. I would tolerate it. However, his vile actions affected even my family. My wife is lusted after by his disgusting children, my children being forced to work in the fields by the detestable farm manager."

Mike paused, probably to cool down. His anger towards Penne Ryder seemed to be extremely potent.

"I saw an opportunity to save my wife and children. If I didn't take it, could I be worthy of being called their husband and father?"

Alaric looked at him dully, thinking, 'A father who would betray powerful authority for his family is a good man. But... even more so, a dangerous one.'

After sending Mike to wait at a specific table he had set aside, Alaric continued with the interviews.