Darius Supreme

The five looked at each other in silence, the four DnD players raising their heads from their game, their formerly focused and happy expressions warping into shock, horror, and shame.

Darius himself was surprised, then amused. He walked over and released a bit of sand from his Inventory that he warped into a chair using the Material element. This act surprised the four who were already seated, as this was their first time seeing the new element at work.

Darius sat down and crossed his legs. "How did you fellows learn about this game?"

Nicholas smiled. "We heard about your plans to take over Fallon during our last meeting and knew that there was little we could do to aid you. However, the idea to emulate your actions came to mind, so I asked Martin if he had a way for us to mimic your actions."

Elijah shook his head. "He then recommended this so-called 'Dungeons and Dragons' game, though the lad had a weird smile on his face the entire time. Anyway, he offered to be the one to simulate everything, and we've discovered that it's quite similar to the rules here, which is pretty interesting."

Darius did not know what to say. Like Martin, he was terribly amused by this situation. Fallon was a continent largely styled around augmented DnD, yet the natives of it were playing the archetype that spawned them.

It was akin to seeing someone from a sci-fi world playing a Star Wars game. There was just something incongruent with the thought that made it peculiar.

"What brings you here, Darius?" Shanks asked with a smile, relaxing in his seat.

"I was just taking a stroll around Safemoon, so I thought to take a look at our beloved academy and how it functioned." Darius revealed calmly.

Elijah grinned and asked. "So? What's your verdict?"

Darius laughed. "I certainly like what you've done with it. I only gave you a limited set of commands, and you've expanded it this far. I knew I was right to rely on Andrato's former Royal Seneschal who was notorious for his great management skills."

Elijah's expression fell as he looked defeated. "Please don't remind me of that time, Lord Darius."

The entire room burst into laughter at that, the now Principal rubbing his head with defeat. Eventually, Elijah asked.

"Right, today should be the day for admissions, no? I should probably go and take a look at the new students to engrave my aura and majesty onto them!"

As he got up, Nicholas grabbed his shoulder and pushed him right back down. He then snorted.

"Old coot, you're such a villain. Earlier you've boasted how good a seedling Jolickson was, yet now you just want to go and bully those younglings with your power."

Elijah harrumphed angrily. "Of course! What's wrong with that? As Principal, I must put the fear of the Lord in them!"

Nicholas sneered. "And which Lord is that? Yourself or Darius?"

Elijah froze as he had been caught red-handed. However, he still smiled and acted nonchalant. "Haha, of course, Lord Darius. I'm not like some city lord who was unable to show off his might because half his populace was stronger than him, hahaha!"

Nicholas immediately became furious at the other revealing his shameful past. "You…!!"

Shanks quickly calmed the two down before they began their usual battle of magic. "Alright, alright. Today, Darius is here, so let's not devolve into craziness."

Elijah and Nicholas turned their faces away from each other and harrumphed loudly, folding their arms as well.

Darius enjoyed the sight of his people being so close-knit. It was usually a good recipe for a stable organization if your workers were both treated well and liked each other.

"Don't worry about it. Rather, let's discuss the state of the city, the inner section especially. I see that you've done a good job getting rid of most of the unstable elements, Nicholas." Darius spoke neutrally.

Nicholas nodded. "It wasn't easy. Some of them had powerful backings outside, and we did not know if we were committed to offending them fully. We had to take subtle methods to make them leave Safemoon, and most were dangerously close to ruining our reputation and income flow."

Darius sympathized. It was imperative that those fellows be displaced, but it had to be done in a way that Safemoon could not easily be blamed. It was as tough as a man breaking up his relationship without him getting labeled as the asshole.

However, they had managed to succeed so far, which was good enough. Now, the City Mayor could rest, like how he was playing DnD currently, because Darius would handle the next stage.

So far, both Rulers, Nicholas and Elijah, had done splendidly in his opinion, and he made it known. While pleased, Elijah asked a very astute question that plagued the other leaders of Safemoon.

"Lord Darius, since you're now able to create your own people, what do we do about our previously established mechanisms? Safemoon Academy, for example, granted Citizenship to graduating students and their families, on the requirement that they become part of our forces. Should we scratch that?"

Darius chuckled. "There's no need. You see, raising warriors and mages is very different from letting established powers move here after paying us a premium. Those who paid to become Citizens often did so, with another agenda in mind, still loyal to their own state."

"Not to mention, I had to tolerate them mucking up our city with their own beliefs, customs, and values. Safemoon's inner section is not cosmopolitan, it is supposed to be Safemoon. Only our laws, culture, and customs are allowed to function."

"On the other hand, the students are brought in during their teenage years or earlier and if they're smart, they'll spend the maximum of those five years with us training. By all means, they will adapt to our society and our culture, taking it as their own since they plan to live here. As for spies and the like, I'm sure you have dealt with them before." Darius concluded with a smile.

Elijah snickered evilly. "Oh yeah, in our first and second batch, there were a few. Martin still admitted them and let them in, but I can assure you, they will never get out. We've erased their consciousness and trained them to become Shadow Corps, the third and hidden regiment of the Academy."