"This is good to know, but it's definitely not enough is it?" Draco asked with a knowing smile.
Vitae nodded. "Far from it, Palace Master. They have only consumed 3% of the warehouse space of resources in the past year. If we are to compare the growth rate of resources vs consumption, it's a ratio of 3:25."
"Hmm… has Sublime taken any other actions?" Draco further inquired.
"Yes, she attempted to sell materials to the various Tradeskill agencies and organizations like the Diad Family, the Tradeskill Association itself, and several notable Grandmasters. They promised to either make items in exchange or grant favors for the hefty resource donation, but that only removed 5% of our stock." Vitae explained calmly.
Draco sighed. "It's not possible unless we literally give it out, but why should we do that? Send my word to Sublime, she is to do two things. Establish a Tradeskill organization owned by Umbra that only recruits NPCs. Our criteria is that as long as you have two hands, two legs, and a functioning brain you can join our training program where all resources for training are subsidized by us."
When saying this, Draco was casual, but Vitae and Mortem shook deeply. This action could change the fates of many people in the world and usher a great new era of productivity!
One of the biggest pieces of bullshit that was peddled like it was a universal truth was that talent was the criteria for anyone to learn a trade/vocation. Talent was only a gift that enabled one to learn faster, not have the ability to learn something.
Talent was basically like griding in an RPG, but with an exp booster of varying qualities. EVERYONE can grind exp, but you just grinded it faster for doing the same thing.
It was the same with any vocation. ANYONE could learn and become a master, it just required time, effort, repeated practice, and resources. This was exactly the problem though.
Putting aside personal reasons like time, effort which could be affected by the person, resources were affected by the world. As such, the whole idea was that in order to save cost, training those with talents was better because they used less resources to reach the goal than those without.
This eventually shifted over time to become 'untalented people are wasting resources learning and only talented people deserve to learn'.
Now this wasn't exactly wrong in a world where resources were limited. It was objectively wise and logical to select the few talented ones who could consume less and reach the target so you could use the surplus to train others.
But in this case, where Umbra had so much that it was hard to curb and even more would be coming, this path was like releasing a bomb that would change the direction of an era. Even if these layman with no talent wasted all these resources, they could still become masters through trail and error, how humanity progressed to its current stage.
Look, the scale of this might seem meager in your mind, but once you thought of billions and trillions of men and women diligently practicing until they became masters maybe 5 -10 years later, you could expect that with an inflow of resources, Epic Ranked and such items would go from 'Epic' to Uncommon or Common.
Oh yes, it was very possible for that to happen. After all, the ranks of things were decided by their quality and rarity. If the rarity of something drops to become commonplace, then it becomes and the new standard for common, so the standards of everything else rises up.
What was Legendary becomes Uncommon, what was divine becomes Rare, what was Origin becomes Epic and a new level of quality would be unlocked as long as people discover a new frontier after the new Epic to become the new Legendary.
This was just an issue of classification, but imagine the great change it would bringing to the economic and military power of the world?
What Draco had always dreamed of, increasing the base standard/power level of the world would be achieved. Forget the Great War. Forget the Unmapped Zones. Forget the seas filled with monsters.
The entire main plane would be filled with progress and development, and the sky would be the limit!
Of course, this was in the future. It was now an inevitability since Draco had made this decision, but this would take time. 10 years minimum for the masters to become 20% more common place, 40 years for the standard of items to change, and 100 years for the boom in development to occur.
By that time, Draco might already be in the Gerdo Galaxy banging heads and becoming the God of the Universe.
"The second thing is to organize a monthly tournament for the playerbase to participate in. We'll subsidize all resources used and even give them great rewards in the form of resources they need to start their own career or adopt them into the guild if they are good enough. You can also organize combat tournaments so that the items that are made by our Tradeskill talents and have nowhere to go can be given out."
After all, Happy Saint and co must have made hundreds of items to get to their level, some of good quality, some of bad, and some scrap, but they did make them. No one in Umbra needed them and selling them was a waste since the guild was drowning in cash that they didn't even need to worry.
Giving them to the players increased the base power of the playerbase for sure, and they would work for it, so it would go into the hands of the skilled. Once again, Draco could give all these things out and achieve something similar to the same objective, but faster.
However, everyone with two braincells knew what problems would arise from giving the public good things for free. It was exactly because of these problems that we couldn't have nice things in this world.
"It shall be done, Palace Master." Vitae acknowledged.
"Good. Also, summon all the core members, then all the members of the guild." Draco commanded.
Vitae and Mortem acknowledged the order and left.
As for Draco, he immediately went up the stairs and stood casually outside the room where Sublime usually worked. He pushed open the door to reveal a super large office with a lounge before the workdesk. In this lounge area stood 8 people who were watching him with various expressions on their faces.
Draco stood there calmly as he casually assessed the 8 before him, while they also silently assessed him. While they might have interacted with his Avatar and had been recognized by him, that was just an avatar.
It was nothing like the real deal.
The God Serpents had already manifested themselves, so Draco could tell who had who. All the present God Serpents bowed deeply to him, something which startled the human counterparts. They shared a look and decided to bow as well.
"Jormangandr, The Ragnarok Bringer."
"Nuwa the Celestial Dragon."
"Tiamat the Chaos Goddess."
"Orochi, the Invincible Serpent."
"Eden, the Lord of Deception."
"Leviathan, the Terror of the Deep."
"Nidhogg, the Heaven's Devourer."
"Ouroboros, the Symbol of Eternity."
Draco called out to each one of them, and the God Serpents trembled. It was like his voice acknowledged their existence and allowed them to exist in this world. The human counterparts were shocked to feel that their bond with the God Serpents solidified significantly just because of this!
Draco then looked around with confusion. "Where is Quetzalcoatl, the Bloody Lightning?"
Jormungandr answered. "We have yet to find him, but I suspect he might have been born in one of the other Lineages. After all… you know how he is."
Draco nodded. He had access to Quetzacoatl within and knew what kind of God Serpent he was. With that in mind, he was no longer bothered, as he would eventually find his last God Serpent.
Draco then focused on the humans. "Tell me about yourselves. Who you are, why you are and why you are here instead of enjoying your power."
The group shared a look and then decided to answer in the order that Draco called the God Serpents.
"Name's Henry Jasek, and my IGN is Nightwalker. Born to Frederick Jasek and Gwenfiere Lucci. I was the first to awaken my God Serpent according to the progenitor's plans and have been searching for the rest fruitlessly until this year when most of them either awoke or came out of hiding."
Nightwalker introduced himself with folded arms, looking unconvinced. "Technically, I am your cousin since Aunt Fyre's my Mother's cousin too. I was an adult during the era of your birth and know all that happened. I also participated in the battle against the Pangu Lineage but who expected those dogs could so so despicable?"
Nightwalker was about to continue when Draco raised a hand. "Don't worry, I'll find out what happened back then myself. What about why you are and why you're here?"
"I have taken on the task to find the rest and bring them to you, as well as to meet you and gauge whether you are worthy of my loyalty. I'm aware that you can take away our God Serpents, but I don't really care. I'd rather be powerless than serve someone incapable." Nightwalker stated casually.
"No offense." He apologized to Jormungandr who had been his partner for years.
Jormungandr rolled his eyes. "I've known you since you were a brat, and you haven't changed. Whatever, knowing the boss, he isn't offended at all but rather amused."
Truly, Draco was. You'd think he'd look down on Henry, but there was no need. If Henry didn't have any quirks or any bite to him, how would he be an interesting general to have then? Draco didn't want sycophants.
Besides, nothing he said was wrong or rude. Before serving someone else fully, they should be suitable for the subordinate's taste just as they are suitable for the commander's taste, otherwise, the collaboration would never be perfect.
Draco nodded and turned to Xela with a gentle smile. "And you?"
Xela hesitated. "Well… I am Xela Stone. I am currently an orphan living in the Central State's Home for Lost Children. I don't know my parents, but Aunt Fyre promised to help me track my Lineage. Erm, I only awoke Nuwa thanks to your avatar and I think I rather like her."
Nuwa gazed at Xela gently. The Celestial Dragoness was already a loving soul, but she was especially fond of Xela. Such a lovely young lass was like a daughter to her, and Nuwa hoped to never part with her.
"Erm, I am here because I am a member of Umbra and also a God Serpent Inheritor. Since you're my guild leader, boss, friend, and Big Sis Eva's soulmate, I will support you!" Xela declared bravely.
Draco sighed. "Eva knows how to pick them. How can anyone reject you?"
Draco then gazed at the elfin Elle. "Hello."
Elle responded calmly. "Erm, hello there. My name is Lily Losrato. My Dad is Davin Losrato and my mum is Heidi Bluner. I awoke my God Serpent when I was 16 and have regretted it since."
Tiamat glared at Elle and Elle glared back before continuing. "I'm hanging around because this place is dope and fun, not to mention that I can learn more about MY power and how chaos can be properly used."
Tiamat sneered. 'Your power? Brat, how dare you steal something belonging to This Goddess?"
Draco frowned. "Tia."
That word made Tiamat freeze as she lowered her head. Of all the God Serpents, Tiamat was most reverent to the Black Dragon because he was the most powerful. Seeing Tiamat suppressed, Elle felt surprised, then a bit uncomfortable.
Even though they bickered often, her relationship with Tiamat was no less than sisters.
Draco saw this and raised an eyebrow, but he wasn't bothered. He nodded for Elle to continue.
