EDIT: This chapter has undergone some minor changes, but major ones may be made in the near future.

Well, this is a bit of a dump instead of what I imagine you all were looking for, but I felt it was needed. Oh, and by the by, there's a secret reference hidden in this chapter. Not too well, in my eyes, but I can't honestly think of a better way to hide it.

Still, if any of you gets it, then guess what?

I'll post a new, special chapter that'll reveal just a bit more about the main villain. While yes, I had plans to do so anyway, if one or more of you gets the reference, I'll hasten my efforts on making the villain's background a little less shadowy, so to speak.

Sound good? Good! Hope you all enjoy this one!

Here's a hint to the reference; it's a quote from a funny little guy.

The next month was a long one, filled with preparations, research, experiments, and their results. One of those experiments was how we could use the Glimmer I had in my inventory to either make Engrams or make Perks, including Exotic ones. This experiment had been helped greatly by mine and Ventus' study of the Light Runes we'd made so long ago and the process by which the few weapons and gear I had left in my inventory were made.

The result? We had finally learned how to not only encode matter, but decode it, thus how to make Engrams, as well as how to make Exotic Perks. This also meant we knew how to program matter, to an extent, and thus Glimmer wasn't a problem so long as we made a few mines for it. The only thing we needed to know was the code found in the material's essence, and we could make it.

Sadly, power supply for the mining equipment was an issue. While, yes, some cities had factories, and thus generators to power them, the equipment me and Ventus had for the Glimmer mining needed more power than what our generators could make. Thus, I'd sent out more miners to either find more Stormwill, or, find a special, glowing green ore.

Regardless, this was still a massive boon in multiple ways, because it meant that we had a potential sustainable source of material to make high-end weapons and armor. It also meant that we no longer had to waste a bunch of metals, woods, or other materials to make regular old guns or even special ammunition, like explosive rounds, as we could now simply add a Perk to the gun that made each round explosive.

And, it meant that I now had the option to start selling guns to everyone else, as they had been wanting. The whole reason I'd refused so many times before was because I didn't have a reliable way of beating anyone who had guns themselves, but now I did.

And I had a perfect plan for it.

I would start by selling guns to other nations, but in calibers that would do shit-for-dick against my troops and their armor. Not only that, I would make sure they were all slow to reload, so bolt action rifles or single action revolvers, or even just give them frikkin' flintlocks or eokas and the like if I could sell them on the idea. I figured I would give the Ponies and Changelings the smallest calibers, and the Griffons slightly larger ones. The other races I was still puzzling out.

Of course, with all this influx of new tech, new jobs were made, like my version of Cryptarchs, whom I called Antiquates. They were the ones who made gear for anyone with the coin and rights. Another was those who made and maintained the equipment the Antiquates used, the technicians, if you will.

Both of them were jobs not allowed to be taken by anyone who was not a born and bred civilian of the Storm Kingdom, nor were the Antiquates allowed to even show their works to tourists. Of course, since it had only been a month, all of them were still VERY new to working with this level of tech. Hell, everyone in the Storm Kingdom was, with everything I'd been introducing. We'd advanced so much and so quickly it was staggering, not just to my people but even me.

Black Mountain, Steelhome, Thunderhill, and Petre City were currently the most modern cities in the kingdom, with Petre City and Black Mountain being chiefest among them. Black Mountain was understandable, as the artisans and craftsmen and engineers there were among the best in the whole world. They took to it all with enthusiasm, and that was saying something.

Petre City, the capital of which I resided, also made sense. It was kind of needed for all the advanced shit in the castle, as well as the stadium.

And it'd been absolute hell trying to keep the flow of information as constricted as possible about all this new tech. The absolute last thing I wanted or needed was the other nations finding out. Even more so them getting their hands...claws, hooves, whatever, on the tech itself.

This new influx of jobs, though, while normally considered good for any nation, did not sit too well with those working in the factories or as usual smiths. So, to combat this, I made a public speech, declaring that those who worked in the gun factories would be allowed to make guns for a wider range of customers, namely, the world at large. The same went for the regular smiths. Naturally, this blew a helluva lot of my cover, but still, keeping the information restricted anyway never hurt. Plus, a public speech was the only way I could think of to combat the discontent efficiently.

I made sure, however, in a speech within the castle, away from prying eyes, that they followed new rules when making products for other races; namely, the sheer obsolescence of guns sold to other nations. I had to spend almost a whole week talking to them all after that, letting them know that this was for the good of the nation.

Some of them were obviously a little upset that they had to make such inferior weaponry, but I couldn't really do anything about that. So, I simply did my best to assure them that they would still get business from the usual customers. I even tried to sell them on how fun it could be to make outdated weaponry like that, that there was a certain charm to it. Those who remained upset, I kept a close eye on.

Naturally, with all this change, the press was on my ass like a pervert with wandering hands. I had to go through so many conferences it wasn't even funny, and it didn't help that I was trying to keep most of the changes a secret.

Like, for instance, the revamping of the gear for my troops, especially the infantry, as well the new Legion I was making. Sure, the new tech itself I was trying to keep as secret as possible, but I especially wanted to keep everything about my new Legion a secret.

This new Legion was one I had taken to calling the Amaranthine Guard. They were given not only the best gear of all the Vanguard Legions, but the best training. While the Betwixt had been trained in Systema and given high-grade gear, the Amaranthine Guard was to be given training in Systema, Sambo like the Darkstriders, Boxing like the Lightbearers, and Kendo, Bojustu, Kyudo, and Arnis, along with the most top-tier gear I could provide. Not only that, but I would be teaching them Soul Arts.

Considering how Tempest didn't know most of the martial arts I did, and considering the changes needed thanks to how Skili bodies were as well the sheer number of martial arts and Soul Arts to teach them, the process was slow and costly. But I was damned if I was gonna stop now.

Besides, I had a few plans to increase my wealth to help pay for it all. The sale of guns was one such plan, but I had others. What were they, you ask? None o' ya fuckin' business. So fuck right along.

I let out a deep sigh as I glanced from the many papers at my desk to the storm outside. It was just starting to become spring here, though one could hardly tell thanks to the storm. Looking back to the many papers stacked on either side of my desk, I sighed again, slumping a little in my chair. 'I'm glad I don't have to do paperwork for the Steel Axe fiasco, but sadly I do still have to do paperwork, the bane of any existence.' Reluctantly, I set to writing with my pen again, thankful that I'd invented these early on.

After Steel Axe tried to assassinate me like I knew he would, the Council meeting came around, and suffice to say none of the other members were happy with him. His response was as simple as I'd expected; he accused me and blamed me for everything, even tried to kill me. My response was just as simple, and doubly fun. As soon as he rushed me, I grabbed his horns and ripped them right off.

You can imagine how the other Council members responded.

At the time, I didn't care though, as it simply meant I could capitalize on it. So, while the big guy was on the ground, bleeding from the head, I told them all my demands.

I wanted to exile Steel Axe to the Frozen North, and wanted control of the Minotian lands. To my delight, they didn't object, though they all certainly looked uneasy about it.

Then there was the situation with Dimondia, the Kingdom of the Diamond Dogs. According to the Regime Lieutenant, the fight with the Tribals had reached a stalemate. Apparently the Tribals had found a new collection of metals that made them a near match for my troops, and if the reports were right, then they were metals found both in Destiny, and Dark Souls, like Titanite and Relic Iron.

Needless to say, I was planning on visiting Dimondia very soon.

And that brings us to the now. Currently, I was drafting up a few new laws pertaining to the new technology and jobs. Naturally, it was a complex affair, especially since I had to make certain there were as few loopholes as possible. The last thing I wanted was someone misusing Glimmer to make counterfeit guns or drugs, or some other bullshit. And I never was very well versed in laws to begin with, much less lawmaking. Being a ruler for only a year didn't help.

It was times like these that I prayed the Skili ways of discipline stayed strong.

...And that I could double check with my inner council so that I knew for sure these laws would be airtight. Hopefully I can get that scheduled in.

As I wrote word after word on the page before me, my mind wandered. A while back, I'd tried to reach Magic-Eyes, but, to my dismay, it didn't work. In fact, after I tried using his Token, it disintegrated. I only learned a week after the fact from Trader that that meant his universe was gone.

I won't deny that I was unhappy about that. He was the first guy I'd been interested in since coming here. Didn't help that I forgot more and more about him as the days went on. Hell, I only remembered his name now, nothing else.

I shook my head again. Thinking about it wouldn't help things now. With a frown and another sigh, I got back to work.

After finishing about two dozen more sheets of paper, I leaned back in my chair, then stretched, sighing happily at the satisfying pops that resulted from the action. I looked to the side of my desk, where a picture frame of me and Suki lay, and smiled. Gently, I picked it up, softly placing a hand on it's surface and keeping my smile as I looked into the bright eyes of my daughter in the picture.

I chuckled. "I'm willing to bet you'll be a great Queen, muffin top." I said softly. "After all, when you're old enough, you'll be the one ruling the Minotian lands, not Kilgra." I shook my head, and placed the frame back where it belonged. "Back to work, then..."

As I did so, I idly wondered what bounties the Minotian Empire would provide. Based on what my spies had told me, they had a few flora and fauna that no other nation had. I grinned.

Well, they were mine now. I'd see in time.