951 Incentives And Punishments

The Kingdom of Hortian was undergoing a fundamental shift.

For millennia, they were bothered by the beasts at the border and had to keep their armed forces ready for any possible incursions.

But the hostile beasts at the border retreated to their nests and even the beasts that were fighting them stepped back and expressed their desire for peace.

Similarly, the diseases that were declared incurable were cured overnight. Every hour, the birds would sing a melodious song as if cheering for something or someone.

The weather remained more perfect than ever. Just taking a short walk on the street made one wonder if they were living in a utopia.

The world changed drastically in a few hours. And it all happened because of one man now in the capital.

Standing in a secret basement, he was now listening to the best craftsmen of this world that explained themselves in a quivering voice.

"L-Lord, this space gate is too old. The last usage was more than 5,000 years ago. With the lack of maintenance, it's on the verge of breaking down at any moment. The fact that L…Lord was able to come here safely only shows your immense strength. I-I am in awe."

"Indeed, Sir, Devas stopped coming thousands of years ago. This space gate is left unused. We even forgot about its existence."

"S-Sir, what would you like us to do with it?"

The most accomplished craftsmen in the kingdom inspected the giant circular gate and gave their reports.

Varian wasn't too keen on what the Devas did, he just had one demand, "Get this running as soon as possible. And this is the coordinates now."

The coordinates of the solar system glowed even in the brightly lit basement.

"B-But to repair it after so long…"

"I-It's too difficult,"

"E-Even if we're the best here, it's not—"

Varian shook his head and said calmly, "You're getting the space gates running. That's the end of the matter. How you do it is your business. I only look at the results."

The faces of the three craftsmen and the teams behind them paled.

"Of course," Varian smiled generously, "If you finish the job, the reward will be immense. Precious herbs, treasures, even life-prolonging elixirs, you name them."

Hortus was created by the primordial gods. Even though they limited everything in the world to 'Mortal Boundary' and avoided anything 'Celestial' because of 'experimental reasons', the treasures in this world were enough to make even a beginner Celestial civilization wage a desperate war. Not individuals but an entire civilization! For instance, a race equivalent to abyssals!

So, the moment Varian became the owner of this world, he also gained the ownership of treasures that were enough to make any Sovereign go crazy.

Indeed, hearing Varian's promise, the craftsmen in the basement straightened their backs and looked at the space gate in anticipation.

The silvery circular gate had numerous cracks and shook from time to time as space currents leaked out of it from time to time.

They didn't lie earlier. It's hard, borderline impossible to get it running. But after hearing the reward, they thought of how to make it work rather than why it was hard.

Even the three grandmasters, heads of the three largest craftsmen guilds, were staring at the space gate with thoughtful eyes.

'It's good, but not enough to make them go crazy,' Varian pursed his lips and said one more thing, "The ones that contribute the most will gain the privilege to leave this world first."

"W-What?!"

"L-Lord, is it true?"

"C-Can we really see what the outside is like?"

The eyes of the hundred-odd craftsmen who were best of the best in the kingdom locked onto Varian and they all held the same emotions.

As the natives, Hortians were trapped here since their inception. No matter how good this world might be, they felt like trapped creatures.

But no matter how much they tried, they couldn't leave this world. Only when someone clears the trial could they get out of the cage.

Millions of years passed and it long became a norm that they'd remain in this world forever.

To such a society, Varian's words were nothing short of a boon. It's so outrageous that they wouldn't even dare to dream of it.

"Exactly what I said," Varian nodded calmly, "It'll take a year at most, but from then, you can travel outside. But only those with enough merits. This is your chance to make those merits."

According to the legends, the natives could travel outside after the trial was cleared, but there was another prerequisite they didn't know about. The lord of the world must be at least a Celestial Ranker to allow anyone outside.

Varian gave himself a year deadline for that and promised them 'freedom'.

And as expected—

"I-If I die by then, can my son go?" The oldest grandmaster asked in a trembling voice.

Varian nodded lightly, "As long as it's your wish."

"C-Can I come back if I go out?" The second grandmaster raised his hand like a school child and questioned.

"You're still a member of this world. But now, you can go out as well. Just like the residents of the capital city can go to other cities and settle there. If they don't like it there, they can always come back," Varian explained with a kind smile.

"L-Lord, is the outside world s…scary? Is it filled with monsters?" The third grandmaster bit his lip, "W-Will you guide us there too or will you abandon us if we leave?"

"Don't worry. I'll help you settle in the outside world. But don't put the cart before the horse and focus on the gate," Varian laughed.

The grandmasters stiffened and bowed in apology. Then, they called the maids nearby and ordered a long list of materials.

A lot of them were expensive materials that even the Matriarch didn't want to touch. But Varian casually gave them away for the construction of a space gate that was long abandoned.

With the addition of precious materials, the difficulty of the task decreased considerably.

The craftsmen were even more motivated and decided to live in the nearby rooms. They even declared they wouldn't leave until they finished the job.

"Leave it to us, a week, no, we'll finish this in less than a week!"

"I'll hold onto your word," Varian smiled and disappeared from the basement. Only his calm but heavy words lingered in the air, "If you fail, you don't have to come out. There's a prison below."

The craftsmen shivered at the punishment but weren't particularly bothered. The previous rulers would've directly killed them. Even the Matriarch, who was considered a relatively benevolent leader, would only kill them painlessly.

What's more, compared to these self-appointed rulers, this man was Lord of the world itself!

If they failed in this task even after being promised such precious rewards, especially the freedom to leave, then they'd swallow their hammers and kill themselves!

The three old men, living legends, lifelong rivals, and the only grandmasters looked at each other and nodded together.

This was the first project all the three of them were going to work together on.

"Let's start!"

It's not enough to be just a success. It must be a resounding success!