Chapter 588: Arrival of New Residents, Total Number of Apprentices

"Sigh, can one truly obtain Holy Power simply by believing in a certain philosophy?"

In the quiet study, Xia Duo simply put down his pen and thought about this question seriously, but after thinking for a while, he felt that mere daydreaming was meaningless; he would still need to conduct concrete experiments to know.

Next, Xia Duo met with several key figures in the Territory one after another, such as the death priest Mote, the Territory Guard's Ximeng and Meili, the person in charge of the brick kiln, Jiake, and others, to understand the recent situation of the Territory through them.

Yesterday's inspection was somewhat hasty after all; today was the formal debriefing report for the relevant personnel. Xia Duo listened carefully to their statements and summaries, conducted targeted Q&A sessions regarding various issues, and finally gave instructions one by one.

After finishing these, it was already afternoon, and by this time, Xia Duo had a very detailed understanding of the recent situation in the Territory, as if he had been staying in the Territory the whole time.

However, he also realized a problem: as the Territory gradually expanded, the affairs of the Territory would become increasingly complex. The current approach of the Lord grabbing all affairs into his own hands was somewhat inappropriate.

Therefore, Xia Duo felt it was time to appoint an official Territory Administrator!

……

With an administrator, or more accurately, with a Secretary Group to assist him, Xia Duo could manage the Territory more easily, focusing his gaze mainly on leading the overall situation, while using the extra time for magic research or other private affairs.

"Once this upcoming batch of new residents is properly settled, I will make the appointment immediately!" Xia Duo made the decision silently.

The next batch after that would be the people sent by Beilaila's fleet. Her fleet had just left Seventon not long ago. This trip carried over 700 people in total, and they would arrive in about a month or so. With a Territory Administrator, he could handle it calmly when the time came.

And it wasn't just these; Beilaila had also helped Xia Duo contact other fleets, but due to the scheduling issues of other fleets and factors such as the time the Seven Cities Council gathered new residents, they hadn't been able to set off yet.

However, their potential for the future was very strong.

By then, there might be thousands of people in one batch, and it would be more frequent than now. Coupled with other affairs of the Territory, if other administrators were not appointed, Laidun alone would not be able to handle it.

Likewise, in order to cope with the upcoming mass production of Communication Magic Tools, the Tower of Time also needed to make corresponding adjustments in advance.

Thoughts swirled in Xia Duo's mind, and his pen kept writing and drawing. Before long, a rough appointment list for the Territory and the Tower of Time appeared on the paper.

……

The next morning, five cargo ships fully loaded with new residents docked at the Linshui Village pier. Due to the narrow river channel and the tiny pier, the five ships could only dock one by one.

Although this extended the time for receiving new residents, it also made the scene much more orderly. Plus, since the new residents had already received some admonitions and preaching while on the ships, the reception was considered orderly.

On the riverbank, Xia Duo watched calmly as each new resident walked off the cargo ship, received steamed buns and clothes from the receiving personnel, then went to the Clerk to register their identity information, and afterwards, under the guidance of the receiving personnel, headed to the Fourth Residential District to be assigned houses according to their families.

"Laidun."

"My Lord?"

"In about another month and a half, another batch of new residents will arrive. During this time, the leveling of land can be slowed down a bit; let the Woodworking Workshop train a batch of usable carpenters as soon as possible," Xia Duo instructed.

With the current reserve of standard wooden house components in the Territory, housing for the new residents in a month and a half should be manageable, but not after that; preparations must be made in advance.

With limited time, if one wants to significantly increase production, for the time being, one can only increase the number of carpenters.

……

Soon, all the new residents had disembarked. Seeing this, Xia Duo said to Laidun: "I am going back to the Tower of Time. The rest is up to you. Contact me if there is an emergency. You should still have a Communication Scroll on your side, right?"

"I do!"

"That's good."

Xia Duo patted Laidun's arm as a form of encouragement, then summoned the Tower Spirit, guided the teleportation, and returned to the Tower of Time.

He had previously agreed with Dien and the others to inspect the Tilake Research Lab in two days, and Xia Duo naturally would not break his promise. However, his return this time was not just to inspect their research progress and assign research tasks for Communication Magic Tools, but also to make some slightly radical adjustments.

……

Tower of Time, Xia Duo's residence and Private Research Lab.

Just back, Xia Duo did not go to the Tilake Research Lab immediately, but returned to his residence. "Tower Spirit, how many Apprentices are currently in the Tower of Time?"

"Agent Xia Duo, there are currently 392 Apprentices in the Tower of Time."

Hearing this number, Xia Duo couldn't help but sigh. With so many Apprentices, the number of people promoted to Official Mage in the Tower of Time each year in the past was only in the single digits. Because of Xia Duo's presence in the last two years, the number of newly added Official Mages each year had increased slightly, but it still hadn't exceeded the single digits.

Xia Duo continued to ask: "Tower Spirit, among the 392 Apprentices, how many are Official Apprentices? How many Apprentices have the ability to cast spells?"

The so-called "Official Apprentice" was just a one-sided statement from the Tower of Time, referring to Apprentices who had mastered 【Mending】 and could provide maintenance services for the Tower of Time. Only when an Apprentice reached this stage could they have the qualification to ask questions.

And below the level of Official Apprentice, they were basically no different from handymen, not even having the qualification to ask questions in class.

"Agent Xia Duo, there are currently 67 Official Apprentices in the Tower of Time, and 152 Apprentices with spellcasting ability."

Xia Duo knew this was the latest data from the Tower of Time. Any Apprentice, as long as they were active within the Tower of Time, could not avoid having their information recorded by the Tower Spirit. Xia Duo accepted this data.

Of course, what he accepted was only the authenticity of the data; as for whether he was satisfied with this data, that was another matter.

Xia Duo was certainly not satisfied with this data. In his view, Official Mages could be trained quickly; even if cultivated by the standards of an Arcanist, it shouldn't be the case that less than half of the people had spellcasting ability.

From this, it could be seen that the Tower of Time's cultivation of Apprentices in the past was basically in a state of laissez-faire. Even if courses were arranged for the Apprentices, in Xia Duo's view, that was more like finding something for the Mages to do.

There was no systematic teaching plan, so much so that the number of people becoming Official Mages each year was only in the single digits.

But now, Xia Duo was going to change this situation, not just to increase the number of Mage technicians who manufactured Magic Items; this was actually an idea he had always had.

Magic, in concept, is consistent with science, only the names are different; both refer to a verifiable system of Knowledge.

Undoubtedly, the more Mages there are, the faster magic can develop.

To see civilization climb as a whole is something Xia Duo is happy to see.

As for the problems that might be encountered during development, Xia Duo does not shy away from discussing them, such as disputes and private fights caused by too many Mages, malice from the surroundings caused by developing too fast, the impact of super magic on the living environment, etc.

But one cannot give up development just because problems might arise; the problems of development can only be solved by development!

……

Afterwards, Xia Duo inquired in detail about the history of Apprentice promotions and Mage promotions in the Tower of Time, and having a rough idea in his mind, he ordered the Tower Spirit:

"Notify all Official Mages of the Tower of Time to hold a meeting in the Public Level 1 Conference Room the day after tomorrow morning!"

The reason for leaving a day empty was mainly considering that some people might already have arrangements for these few days, so notifying them two days in advance would allow them to adjust their arrangements.

After receiving the reply that the Tower Spirit's notification had been conveyed, Xia Duo then set off to the Tilake Research Lab, which was on the same floor as his residence.