My Kingdom Building Done Right!

The sound of swords and claws clashing against each other reverberated deep inside the cavern.

Jason was currently in a sparring match against Brann, and both were going all out.

The young man was currently in his White Wolf Sovereign form, his stats boosted by the passive bonuses that came with it.

Yet, even in his current form, Brann was still stronger than him.

This wasn’t too surprising. So far, among Leone’s vassals, Brann was the second strongest after Maximus, who had evolved into a Sacred Dragonkin.

Since Jason was going to fight in the tournament, Leone had given him a Martial Skill that complemented his White Wolf Sovereign form.

However, he needed to try it out in real combat first and integrate them to his new fighting style.

"Grrr..."

A growl escaped Jason’s lips as he was pushed back by his opponent for the umpteenth time.

His frustration was inevitable. He’d been trying and trying, but Brann seemed like an invincible fortress that couldn’t be breached no matter how hard he tried.

"Jason, you are strong," Brann said as he broke off his fighting stance. "If anything, all you lack is battle experience. I know you’re frustrated, but gaining experience is a gradual process. There is no shortcut."

"I understand." Jason nodded. "But that doesn’t really make it any less frustrating."

There was less than two weeks before they needed to head to the Tribal Gathering.

And right now, he couldn’t even bring out a tenth of the potential of the new Martial Skill Leone had bestowed upon him in training.

As days passed by, he feared more and more that he wouldn’t be able to master it before the tournament started.

Leone had told him that the representatives of the Warclaw Tribe and the Grimhowl Tribe would ask Godwin for Tianna’s hand in marriage if they won the tournament.

The victor could wish for something as his prize for winning the tournament, which the chieftains must honor as long as it didn’t go past their bottom lines.

Tianna was now of marriageable age, and many young warriors would fight for the right to become her husband.

Of course, Jason had fallen in love with her at first sight when they first met during his first Tribal Gathering.

This was why he was working very hard right now.

"Okay, let’s take a break," Brann said, vaguely sensing the weight of thoughts weighing inside Jason’s mind.

At that state, the young man wouldn’t be able to train efficiently, so it was better that they took a breather.

"Thank you for the training," Jason replied before returning to his human form.

Leone, who had watched this sparring match from the side, knew of one method that could make Jason stronger in a short period.

However, he was hesitant to do it. Daedalus had instilled into him the potential side effects of using this method.

And that method was none other than letting Jason experience a war in his dreams.

A very realistic dream where life and death hung in the balance. Of course, even if he died in that dream, Jason wouldn’t really die.

However, the pain would be so overwhelming that he would rather die than experience it over and over again.

Daedalus also added that staying in that world might make Jason jaded.

His personality might become cold and numb to pain, death, and suffering.

There was even the chance of him losing his compassion and his warmth, as well as the very essence that made him the person whom Tianna fell for.

Though that was the price that must be paid for gaining battle experience in a brutal war that would make him many times stronger.

’Is there a way to fix the side effects of using this method, Daedalus?’ Leone asked.

’Of course, there are ways to deal with this problem,’ Daedalus replied. ’What we need to do is preserve Jason’s heart. If we can do that, even if he dies repeatedly, he will have a safe haven to return to.’

’And how do you propose that we do that?’ Leone inquired.

’This is the plan I have in mind,’ Daedalus replied.

The grimoire then told its Master about the plan. Once it was done, Leone thought that it was worth doing. However, they would first need to ask the permission of two people in order to execute the plan.

The first one was Jason.

Leone would ask his vassal if he wished to gain experience through the process of dreaming by fighting in a war.

If Jason agreed, then Leone would talk to Tianna.

He would then ask her if she was willing to enter Jason’s dream to ensure that he kept his humanity after experiencing repeated suffering, heartbreak, and death.

Since Tianna’s spiritual power was stronger than most people, she would be able to enter the dream world of people more easily with Daedalus’ help.

Now that they had a definite plan, it was time to put it into action.

"Jason, do you want to gain more battle experience?" Leone asked. "But know this. There is a chance that this method will have side effects."

Jason looked back at Leone with a puzzled expression. "A method that has side effects? What kind of method are we talking about, Great Chieftain?"

Leone gestured for Daedalus to continue the explanation since the grimoire knew more about the details of this simulated dream.

"I will let you experience a war in your dreams," Daedalus stated.

Jason frowned at those words. "A war inside my dreams?"

"Yes." Daedalus nodded. "You will experience everything as if it were real. You will fight against enemies, make decisions on the battlefield, and witness people die around you. You will experience victory, defeat, fear, pain, and perhaps even death."

"But if it’s only a dream, then I won’t actually die, right?" Jason asked for confirmation.

"You won’t die in reality," Daedalus answered. "But your mind wouldn’t know the difference. You will carry the trauma when you wake up."

Silence descended inside the cavern. Jason understood that this was indeed a good way to gain battle experience. However, it also carried great risks.

"What you are going to experience is very real," Daedalus added. "If you are stabbed in the dream, you will feel the pain of being stabbed. If your bones are broken, you will experience that pain as well. And if you die... then you will truly experience death."

Jason subconsciously clenched his fists. "But after I die, will I wake up?"

"Yes and no," Daedalus replied. "If you die for the first time, then the chances of you waking up are pretty much guaranteed.

"But repeated deaths will lower this possibility. There will come a point when your mind, body, and heart will be so in sync with your dream world that death there would become death in reality as well."

The grimoire then said that the settings of the dream could be tweaked as well. For example, it could raise Jason’s sensitivity to pain, doubling or even tripling it.

This meant that any attack he received would feel twice or even three times more painful.

Why was this setting important?

To force Jason to learn how not to get hit.

Since getting hit was painful, he would instead prioritize blocking or dodging any attacks that came his way.

The grimoire also told him the risks involved, making the young man truly understand the downsides of using this method.

"I will give you some time to think this through," Daedalus said.

"No need." Jason shook his head. "I agree to training in my dreams."

"Are you sure about this?" Leone asked.

"Yes, Great Chieftain," Jason replied. "Please let me take this opportunity to get stronger."

Truth be told, Jason was very angry at himself for failing to live up to his Great Chieftain’s expectations during the war against the Monster King.

After all, he had been easily defeated by the Ogre Warlord. If not for a miracle, he might have already died in that battle.

That battle taught him that he still had much to learn.

With that, what he needed were battles where his life hung in the balance.

"Very well." Leone nodded. "Your training starts tonight."

"Thank you, Great Chieftain!" Jason bowed deeply to show just how much he appreciated his Great Chieftain’s concern for him.

"Mmm." Leone nodded before walking away to look for Tianna.

He had a feeling that the upcoming Tribal Gathering and its tournament would not be simple events.

With the threat of war on the horizon, he believed that the chieftains of the high-ranking tribes understood that they couldn’t remain divided anymore.

Hagen wished for the tribes to fight under one banner and declare a King among them.

Godwin might not have been outspoken, but he, too, dreamed of becoming the Barbarian King of the Borderlands.

As for Troy?

He had always worked with this agenda in mind.

Even now, he still believed that he had a good chance of becoming the Barbarian King.

In fact, his chances were greater than ever.

Daedalus even predicted that the tournament might play a role in swaying the hearts of people to move in that direction.

By marrying Tianna, any tribe would have a strong connection with the Warclaw Tribe.

In fact, marrying the jewel of the Warclaw Tribe was akin to forming an alliance with them.

So, when that happened, a unification among the tribes of the Borderlands was no longer a shot in the dark.

Leone didn’t really want to become the Barbarian King.

However, that didn’t mean that he would allow someone like Hagen to become one.

For some reason, the Chieftain of the Grimhowl Tribe just rubbed him the wrong way.

In fact, he would prefer Godwin or Troy over Hagen to become the Barbarian King.

After all, whatever their flaws might be, they were still far better choices than a man who was willing to cast his allies aside when they no longer served his interests.

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