Raze stood there staring at the mountain for a few seconds, gathering more information. He found things other than the ores as well; this mountain was filled with coal, which was a good thing.
His eyes were beginning to hurt, so he quickly turned off God's Eye. It was enough for now. He walked up to the mountain, and using his photographic memory, he picked up a few rocks and climbed.
Ella and Elaine just watched him as he did. He placed the rocks strategically all over the mountain surface. Those were the weak spots where, if they used even a small amount of force, it would bring it down.
After that, he got down. "Alright, time to start. I've marked up all the spots that we'll dig into, and now it's time to start," he said.
"We are starting it, young master? What about the townspeople, will you not be using them?" Elaine asked.
"We will, but much like last time, I love to plan to start—firstly, to make things a whole lot easier, and second, to make them work more.
A leader that gets his hands dirty is the respected type," he said, then stretched his hands and took off his shirt.
Elaine and Ella looked at his body, and they could barely believe what they saw. His slim, toned body shined under the sun. He looked like someone who had trained his body into becoming an artwork.
Raze was ignorant of their gaze. He was now focused on the work that he had to do. He walked up the mountain to the first point.
"Young master, you don't have the tools," Elaine yelled.
"I know, I plan to use something else," he muttered. Over the past few days, he had managed to craft his next spell, and it was one specifically for this occasion.
He needed something very explosive and could penetrate. And that created the exploding arrow. Raze stood, looking at the exact spot where he had marked. He stretched out his hands, and a flame arrow formed.
"He is going to use a flame arrow? How's that going to work?" Ella asked.
Raze shot the arrow. It carried more force than the ones he had used before, penetrating into the mountain's weak spot and then exploding.
The blast scattered rocks all around. Debris and dust flew in every direction. As it cleared, they looked at the hole, and it was pretty massive, far bigger than what any of them expected.
Raze couldn't help but smile. He looked at them, gave them a thumbs up, and began working. Explosion after explosion, he broke into the mountain until a massive collection of rocks was gathered.
He finally stopped. He looked at what they had, a smile on his face, despite the fact he was nearly out of energy.
He came down with a proud smile. "That's enough from my side, we can head back now," he said.
"Young master, how does this help at all? You gathered it when no one could see," Elaine said.
"They'll see it when they come, and they'll know I was the only one who could. And in a petty desire to not be outdone by a noble, they'll work even harder," he said, letting out a mischievous smile.
They headed back to the town, and when they arrived, he dug his hands in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.
"I believe you know what a contract is, Elaine," he asked.
"Yes, young master," she replied.
"Good." He handed it to her. "This is a contract, the one I'll be using here. Now unlike for the bathhouse that was done using word of mouth, this time, we'll be signing a contract, everyone will.
I spent a few hours preparing a lot of them. They are in my room on the table, a stack. Bring them to me, because we are about to get serious," he said.
She nodded and rushed off, leaving Ella and Raze. Raze looked at Ella. "Let's head to the town square," he said and started walking.
As they passed through the town and were greeted, he used that opportunity to tell them to head to the town square, and so they told others, and more people were informed and heading there.
When he arrived, he walked to the statue that was at the center. It was a man standing with a sword lifted into the sky.
Raze had no idea what this statue was for, as they never provided context for it in the story. He stood on the base of the statue and waited until a lot of people gathered.
He looked at the crowd standing around. A smile formed on his face. Ella saw it, and she could tell that it was a genuine smile and not something else.
"Hello everyone, thank you for taking the time out of your incredibly busy schedules to come here," he said, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Last time, I came to you to ask that you all stand with me to build the bathhouse, the structure that has now become the most visited building in the entire town.
And that's because we all worked hard to make it come to pass. So now, another thing has come up, and I need your help to make it happen.
The town needs better roads, and I'm making sure that happens, and that's why I've come here. Last time, I gave you food, water, and a good warm bath at the end.
This time, you'll be working for real. This deal extends to everyone above the age of eighteen and below the age of fifty. You will be paid one silver coin per day, as long as you work properly." He said. Everyone was immediately stunned by what he said, a silver coin per day was many times higher than what should be paid.
"Now, that will only last for the first week of work. After that, I'll pay ten copper coins, which will be the standard rate until all the roads are done."