The Supreme Level Up System

"You are willing to let us live outside the town and without being guarded? Are you that insane or naive?" Rarth asked.

"Do you want me to give you a reason not to escape?" Aion asked.

"If you want to…" Rarth said.

Aion turned around and then left the prison. Rarth and the others frowned when they saw that. It looked like he was going to bring something to scare them… Regardless, they relaxed after a while, but Rarth kept looking at the stairs. However, when he suddenly blinked, Aion suddenly appeared in front of the bars of his cell.

"Now you know that I can approach you all without alerting any of you," Aion said. "I want you to remember…in all the years to come…in your most private moments…I want you to remember…my hand…close to your throat…I want…you to remember…the one man who can approach you like this… pretty creepy, right? That being said, it is pretty cool to say it to scare others."

"Just… what are you… you aren't a normal kid," Rarth said.

"That is what you get when you mix two famous bloodlines," Aion said. "Anyway, now you know that I might be watching you guys whenever I want, and I might find you guys without you realizing if you try to escape. What are you going to do?"

"Between that and being executed, I prefer to work for you…" Rarth said. "What do we have to do?"

"Your main task will be to build a channel that will connect the nearest lake to this town," Aion said. "You don't have to hurry if you don't want to. You can also use the river to sell me some fish."

The offer seemed too good to be true, but the other prisoners decided to accept as well. In the end, Aion unlocked them right at that moment and guided them to the abandoned huts. Fortunately, he had stored the things that they had left in the hideouts, so they could start living as soon as they wanted there. A lot of people frowned when they saw the prisoners accompanying Aion, but no one questioned him.

After two hours, they reached their destination, and the river had a lot of fish since it hadn't been used for many years. The weird thing was that following the upstream path would lead to the Rosberg kingdom… Regardless, the houses were big enough for everyone. Some repairs will be necessary on the huts, though.

"For today, you guys should get used to this place. Tomorrow I will send someone with some wood to fix the huts and the tools you guys will need," Aion said. "I will send that person at sunset as well to take all the fish that you guys manage to catch."

Just like that, Aion left… Even when he disappeared in the distance, the former prisoners didn't know how to react. The whole situation was just too weird. They looked at each other and just shrugged before entering the houses.

In the next few days, news began to spread about the prisoners that moved to the huts near the river to build a channel that eventually would get close to the town. The people were also expecting to hear the news of them running away. That was a tough job, after all. Even if people in that world were a lot physically stronger than humans from Earth, it would take years for them to build a seven kilometers long channel…

However, nothing happened, even after one month. In fact, they began to show up in the town to buy all sorts of things. Since Aion was splitting the money he got from the fishing commerce with them.

"It seems that the former prisoners are working really hard… how did you convince them, Aion?" Artemisia asked.

"Violence is the best tool when it comes to diplomacy," Aion replied while smirking. "Just kidding, I promised to help them with a problem if they work for me for five years."

"I see… the reports are showing some progress," Artemisia said while reading some papers. "Things have finally stabilized here since you began to rule. However… The garrison here is a problem."

"Yeah… the people here are used to be saved by reinforcements when invasions started," Aion crossed his arms and then said. "To make things worse, it isn't like the garrison is that big, to begin with."

"Considering the guards here and in the other villages, there are less than five hundred splits into diurnal and nocturnal turns," Artemisia said while reading other papers. "They are loyal to the Kresnik family, but it seems they would only show their valor if your father or Henri were to come. I am sorry, Aion."

"That is fine. I was expecting something like that…" Aion said. "I have an idea on how to solve that problem if the necessity arises."

"I won't pry since you look confident," Artemisia said. "Regardless, it seems that you got around five percent more in taxes if compared to the previous month."

"We did it, mom," Aion said. "Now we just need to keep this pace."

He was considering all the expenses such as paying guards, improving some establishments, and sending a part of the gold to the capital. Aion and his mother managed to earn five extra gold coins in a month. He already could imagine how he should invest it… Regardless, things got more stable in the territory, so Aion decided to take the next step and head to the nearest dungeon to do some grinding.