Over the next couple of days, the mortals became acquainted with the outside world.
To them, it was literally like a new world had been made available to them.
There were rivers, trees, wild beasts, and many other things they had never seen before.
The grand openness of the outside world even intimidated them severely, but they also realized the great potential.
The water in the huge river was incredibly clean and plentiful. They would no longer need to purchase water from the people that owned big barrels!
Additionally, the abundance of space also made it possible to build more farms.
Would the scarcity of food finally end?
Yet, the mortals had no idea what they should actually do with all of this space.
Additionally, which plot of land belonged to whom?
Also, there were no walls, and it felt dangerous out here.
The guards watched the mortals, and over the next couple of days, the mortals became less fearful of the guards. Additionally, the guards also didn't kick every mortal that passed their way. After all, the mortals weren't breaking any laws right now.
Then, the guards were basically assaulted with second-hand embarrassment. The way the mortals handled the outside world was pathetic. They were just randomly claiming things and building things.
And the very things they were building definitely didn't look good.
Of course, Shang also noticed these things, and he was already working on a solution.
He hadn't expected the mortals to be that terrible at creating new homes.
But after a while, Shang realized why they were so incredibly bad at this.
The gangs, or more precisely, the lack of gangs.
The three High Mages had watched the gangs over the last couple of days with their Spirit Senses, and it hadn't been very difficult to make a list of all the gang members.
All the gang members had been executed already.
Yet, even though the gangs were a parasite on the mortals, they had also been their leaders.
While Shang was dealing with the problem, he was contacted by someone.
"Sir, the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild wants to talk to you," the town planner told Shang.
"Thanks," Shang said absentmindedly as his mind stretched to a beautiful woman with fiery red hair.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Shang asked.
The woman with fiery red hair was the Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild, a very powerful person.
She was a Peak High Mage, and nearly all of the True Mages and High Mages that made their living by killing beasts were under her employ.
Although, it would be more fitting to say that they frequented the Adventurer's Guild and accepted the missions posted there. The Adventurers weren't exactly employees.
"Good evening, Town Lord," the Guild Master transmitted with a polite bow. "I wanted to talk with you about the town's expansions towards the north."
'Just as I've thought,' Shang thought.
"Yes?" Shang said.
"You see, I know that a flourishing mortal district is important for a town's long-term success, and I can understand why you decided to give the mortals more space."
Shang didn't answer yet.
"But," she said before waiting for a second, "I believe the expansion has been conducted too hastily."
"Okay," Shang said, "and how would you have done it?"
"The town must stand as one entity," the Guild Master transmitted. "It is important that everything must stay within the confines of the wall so that the traveling merchants won't think poorly of our town."
"Sir, I believe it would be in everyone's best interest to put a temporary halt on constructions outside the town walls and expand the wall itself. I believe moving the walls one or two kilometers further out wouldn't harm the mortals while also keeping the town's image. Of course, I understand that this will consume quite a substantial number of resources, but these are investments, not losses," the Guild Master explained.
'All of this sounds fancy and reasonable,' Shang thought.
'At least if you want to keep the current status quo and don't want to change anything.'
"No and no," Shang said. "Things will proceed as planned. Thank you for your feedback."
The Guild Master was taken aback by quite a bit and didn't answer for a while.
After some time, a cold gleam appeared in the Guild Master's eyes. "I'm sorry for disturbing you," she said.
And then, she walked away.
Of course, Shang knew that she wouldn't give up this easily.
The next time she returned, she would talk in a very different tone.
But Shang didn't care particularly much.
Instead, Shang talked some more with the town planner.
Eventually, after asking around for a bit outside the town, the town planner found a solution to the problems.
The solution was as simple as it was smart.
'Sure enough, where there's a need, there's money to be made.'
There was a company that focused on developing and improving mortal districts of towns and cities.
'There's really a company for everything, huh?'
"How expensive are they?" Shang asked.
"Their prices depend on the size of the town," the town planner said. "Since we are a small-to-average town and since we essentially need an entirely new mortal district, I would assume that they would ask for a couple of Grade Six Mana Crystals."
Shang nodded.
That was definitely far more expensive than necessary. After all, even True Mages could design and build something like this.
However, the customers of these kinds of companies were all cities and towns. They knew what they could ask for.
Additionally, their services were probably also top-notch since angering even one Town Lord or City Lord would put them under enormous pressure.
"Call them," Shang said. "I think it's worth the investment."
The town planner did just that, and a couple of hours later, a Mid Archmage arrived near the town.
Shang welcomed him in and talked with him about everything he had planned and what he wanted his mortal district to accomplish.
The agent nodded along, taking note of several things.
Surprisingly, he didn't seem surprised or shocked by anything.
"So essentially, you want a natural progression mortal district, right?" the agent said.
Shang was a bit surprised that what he wanted already had a name.
The agent explained to Shang what a natural progression mortal district was, and Shang nodded several times.
A natural progression mortal district was a mortal district that was either created outside the city, partially outside the city, or inside the city but with a simulated wilderness surrounding it.
The mortals would mostly be left to their own devices. They would only be defended by threats they couldn't possibly deal with on their own, but they had to defend themselves from everything else.
These kinds of mortal districts promoted natural talent and true strength above book smarts and theoretical power.
"Usually," the agent said, "Town Lords and City Lords wish for natural progression mortal districts to be completely separate from the main town or city."
"Most of the time, they simply create it about ten kilometers away from the town. This not only improves the appearance of the town, but it also increases the perceived feeling of danger for the mortals."
Shang told the agent that this wasn't what he wanted.
Shang had specific things in mind, and for that, he needed the mortals close to the town.
The agent listened and created a plan according to Shang's wishes.
He showed the plan to Shang, and Shang nodded.
But it was expensive.
Ten Grade Six Mana Crystals.
"Start the construction as soon as possible," Shang said. "I can pay you at the end of the month."
"No problem," the agent said with a smile.
