Heroes of Might and Magic: Grand Consul

Chapter 1 The Consul

The year 206 of the new calendar, the month of burning curses (the curse power burns during this month, increasing the chance of heroes awakening).

Evening clouds, the muddy path beside the Brilliant Tavern in the Kuraki Forest Farm.

The middle-aged guard tucked in his cloak and gazed at the fiery clouds in the distance.

Unlike the tranquility of the horizon, a jumble of shouts and filthy language, along with strange cries, emanated from the wooden door.

The guards, however, remained as still as a rock, faithfully fulfilling their duties.

If you ask him what his duty is, it's to prevent unqualified people from entering. As for the men and women who live a life of drunken revelry, that's their right.

This is the territory of the Longlett family. Kuraki Town possesses a forest, an indispensable resource for the castle. To be a guard here is a respectable and secure profession, something many people dream of.

After all, the duchy is currently in turmoil, and timber shipments are frequently lost. Even a child knows that the shadow of war is looming.

But glancing at the engrossed sergeant inside, the guard silently lowered his head, unable to question his superior's judgment.

He was just about to bury the disrespectful thought deep in his mind when the gray-robed youth suddenly came into view, interrupting his thoughts.

"Stop! You can go in and have some fun, but as for other things, don't make things difficult for me."

"I'm not going in, I'm just looking around from here!"

The guard quickly recalled the other person: Su Mu, a minor manager at the forest farm. He had heard that Su Mu had lost his backer, offended his superior, and was about to be dismissed.

In this situation, how could someone still have the leisure to come here?
These past few days, the guards have seen each other every day, but Su Mu hasn't gone in. He just sits in the corner, watching the nobles and soldiers come and go.

The town is small, and the Brilliant Tavern is its most famous entertainment venue.

The guards initially thought the other party wanted to find a new backer, but when the town mayor came and went, Su Mu just watched quietly without making a move.

Over time, they just let him stay in the corner, since his role was insignificant and the important people didn't remember him anyway.

Su Mu didn't care about what the other person thought; he just kept a close eye on the guests coming and going.

[Close observation of the forest farm owner: Basic governance skills proficiency +0.1]

[Close observation of the guard captain, Basic Governance Skills Proficiency +1]

[Close observation of the town mayor, basic governance skills proficiency +5]

……

The virtual panel in front of me is recording the progress of the Governance Technique. Although these characters are as insignificant as ants in the vast river of the Hero World, they are not easy to see every day in the Kuraki Forest Farm.

One of the early conditions for promotion in governance was to observe all kinds of people in order to identify useful talents.

Now, only one last step is needed to fulfill the requirements.

Su Mu straightened up and slowly walked towards the tavern.

The guard immediately gripped his spear and became alert, but inwardly he thought smugly, "I knew you wouldn't sit still. You'll have to ask for help."

The guard, with a stern face, was about to utter a warning when a silver coin was slipped into his hand.

“Brother Zack, don’t be nervous, I mean no harm. I’ve been wandering around these past few days just waiting for someone, Forrest. I saw him go in once, but he hasn’t come out since. Could there be another exit to the Brilliant Tavern?”

Zach paused for a moment, then squeezed the silver coin in his hand and put it into his pocket.

"The exiled Forrest? He did go in, but he never came out."

He brought a bag of silver coins with him, but he's probably spent most of them in the last few days. If you're looking for him, you'll have to wait a little longer.

The guard's words were pointed, but he never expected them to come true so quickly.

The tavern door opened from the inside, and a disheveled drunkard was carried out and left on the street.

"If you don't have money, don't come here to join the fun. Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Do you think you can lay a finger on such a precious pearl?"

After saying that, the guards thoughtfully brought over a bucket of ice water, poured it over Forrest's head, and laughed heartily as they pointed at the drenched Forrest.

Once he regained consciousness, Forrest shook his head, not daring to resist, and dragged himself into the alleyway, cursing under his breath.

Su Mu followed closely without saying a word.

"A person who is an alcoholic, a womanizer, lacks self-control, and has no integrity."

Listening to the people around him criticizing Forrest, Su Mu became certain that this was the person he was looking for.

Before Su Mu could make a decision, Forrest was already sitting in a small pub on the street.

"Boss, one Flaming Red Serpent, please."

"Forrest, you're broke. Don't try to cheat me, or I'll beat you up!"

It seems Forrest has run up his liquor debts here more than once, but this time is a little different.

"Boss, give him a large cup of Ice Snow Elf." Su Mu slammed a silver coin on the table. Forrest raised his hazy, drunken eyes, glanced at Su Mu, and then lowered his head again.

The owner took the money, and naturally, the drink arrived—a cheap, blue-tinted liquor with some ice, giving it a refreshing taste. It was the complete opposite of the Fiery Red Serpent; Su Mu wanted to sober the other person up.

But Forrest clearly didn't grasp the meaning, picked up the glass and downed it in one gulp, then patted the glass to continue.

Su Mu gestured to the owner to continue serving drinks, still the Ice and Snow Elf brand.

After three cups, the boss finally couldn't help but whisper, "My lord, I know you have something to ask of Forrest. Many people have come looking for him, but he is no longer the Forrest of the past."

"All that money you spent on drinks is like water spilled on the ground; you'll never get your money back."

Su Mu didn't take it seriously and continued to serve wine. After five cups, Forrest finally spoke up: "Speak, young man, what do you want me to do? Identify rare wood species, or do some woodworking? These things are difficult, but people in the forest farm have learned them now, so there's no shortage of work."

Su Mu didn't speak directly. He first asked the boss to arrange a quiet room before saying, "Now that we've found you, the exiled forester, it's not about such trivial matters. I want you to come out of the mountains and improve ebony production."

Forrest ignored him and continued drinking: "There are so many capable people in the forest, producing 400 ebony logs a day for years. Why don't you go and ask them why, but instead come to me? How ridiculous!"

Forrest, who initially thought it was a con artist but turned out to be a complete fool, instantly lost interest and continued drinking.

"Ding Dong!"

A large bag of silver coins sat on the table, beautiful and charming.

"Here are 278 silver coins, enough for 28 people to work in wood gathering for a month, and enough for your monthly expenses at the Brilliant Tavern."

Forrest stared intently at the money pouch as he gulped down the ice cubes in his drink.

This is definitely not a small amount of money. If it were an ordinary person, Forrest would have accepted it without hesitation, but Su Mu...

"Su Mu, the newly appointed production manager of Cangmu Forest Farm, offended the guard captain a few days ago and was forced to take on the post."

"You'd have to work your ass off for this job. Besides, hiring someone like me probably wouldn't be very well-received, would it?"

It was obvious that Forrest recognized Su Mu. Many people in the forestry station knew Su Mu, but few had actually seen him. It seemed Forrest had some connections in the forestry station, and wasn't as bad as he claimed.

"Bang!"

"Add another 398 silver coins. If asked, just say you're just doing a job for money. You'll get double the reward after it's done."

Without a word, Forrest pocketed the two bags of silver coins.

“I’ll do the work for you. I don’t need a position, but I need to be able to control the situation.”

"Everything I can command is under your control."

"See you at the forest farm's dirt road early tomorrow morning."

After saying this, Forrest hurriedly left with the two large bags of silver coins, fearing that they might disappear.

A total of 676 silver coins. Even if he were still in exile, it would have taken him several years to earn that much. It's worth the risk.

Su Mu calmly poured himself a glass of Ice and Snow Elf, and Forrest's silhouette gradually became more real.

[Appointed a talent with exclusive specialization; Governance skill proficiency maxed; Learned basic Governance skill; Progress 1/9999; Congratulations on your promotion to Hero]

Sumu (Governor): Attack 1, Defense 1, Spell Power 2, Knowledge 3.

Charm 65, no elements.

Characteristics: Management, rationality.

Basic Governance Skill: The special abilities of your appointed personnel are enhanced by 100%, and they occupy half of the seats. There is a chance they will learn the basic magic, Aura Observation.

[Basic Aura Observation (Aura Magic): By concentrating your mind to observe the aura of a person/army, you can identify the loyalty and characteristics of a person, as well as the approximate size of an army.]

Note: If the enemy possesses disguise magic, there is a chance of being deceived.

Transmigrating into a world of heroes, devoid of ancient ruins, the gates of heaven, or an endless abyss, Su Mu finds only a quiet, ordinary human town. Facing a demanding superior and the awkward situation of losing his backer, he chooses the path of the Archon, currently the only hero class he can quickly master.

Kuraki Forest Farm is just an ordinary lumber mill town, whose main contributions are logging and hunting, as well as providing farmers for the upper lords.

Su Mu surveyed the entire town and found that there were only a handful of talented people with potential. Most of them had already shown their abilities and could not be used by him, nor could they help him in his current predicament.

Forrest was a man he had carefully selected. He had previously worked as a manager in the forest and was quite talented, but he had been exiled for committing a crime, and there were people secretly targeting him. Without his help, Forrest would never be able to show his skills again.

Most importantly, the art of governance has a hidden feature: if you can use people with obvious flaws for your own purposes and achieve great success, you will gain a lot of proficiency and have a chance to gain additional attributes.

Two people in dire straits become inseparable through the help of a silver coin.

Loyalty gained in this way is questionable.

But this is precisely the advantage of the ruling party.

New author, new book! I hope all readers will support me!

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(End of this chapter)