Chapter 2 – A City Awakens

Mark stood in the town square, facing humans, elves, beastkin, even dwarves. All were hungry, all were broken. He raised his voice:

“We’ve suffered under injustice long enough. Here, we will be different! I won’t rule alone—together we will build! No one will go unpaid. Work hard, and you will be rewarded fairly!”

The crowd roared. Even elves and beastkin cheered.

Mark introduced cooperation: teams farming, teams building houses, shops, even a supermarket. He invented pumps for clean water, taught how to use tractors, and showed beastkin how to plow fields with oxen.

Two weeks later, the barren land turned green. Rice, wheat, fruits, and vegetables filled the fields. Markets thrived.

Adventurers arriving were stunned.
“This was a slum! Now there are tractors, concrete mixers, bulldozers?!”

Meanwhile, Mark carried bricks for a school. A child asked, “Why don’t you build a castle?”

Mark smiled. “A castle can wait. Your happiness comes first.”

And so, hope returned.