Second World
chapter-1018-30041322

While studying the basic units, Jack noticed some of them had upgrade options.

The light infantry was pikeman units. The information said that this unit was effective against cavalry units. When Jack clicked the upgrade option, it said that the pikeman could be upgraded to halberdier. Halberdier boasted stronger offense and higher defense-piercing property. It cost 5,000 coins to upgrade and ten days to rearm the current soldier.

Jack proceeded with this upgrade, along with the other basic units that could be upgraded. Spending another round of massive gold coins.

"Why are there units that can be upgraded and some that can't?" Jack asked.

"The ones that can are because this kingdom had completed the research on the higher grades of those units," Peniel answered. "The ones that have no upgrade option either have reached their best form or the research to the upgraded form is not yet done."

"Sometimes it is also because the upgraded unit requires a specific building which is not yet built," Thaergood added.

"Research?" Jack asked.

"I believe that will be the next screen. Let's finish this one first," Peniel said.

Jack nodded. After upgrading all the basic units that could be upgraded, Jack checked the special units. Special units were more varied, similar to the guild's special units. Peniel informed Jack that while every country has similar basic units, special units differed from country to country.

Peniel gave the Republic of Palgrost as an example. That country had cannoneers, armored busters, and bike riders. Cannoneers were ranged heavy infantry that dealt AOE damage from a very long range. Armored busters were heavily armored melee infantry. Bike riders were cavalries on metallic steeds that had faster movement speed than normal cavalries but lesser maneuverability.

"I see," Jack said as he looked at Themisphere's special units. There were three of them, but Peniel said that it would not always be limited to three. The research function in the next screen could unlock more special units.

Themisphere's special units were Gunners, Arcaners, and Holy Knights. Gunners were similar to the player's class, they were ranged units using guns. Arcaners were magic users that used support magic to buff allies and debuff opponents. Holy knights were heavy infantries that could heal allies.

All these three units had upgrade options. Jack proceeded to upgrade them without delay, even if the costs were much more expensive than upgrading the basic units.

Gunners cost 20,000 gold coins to upgrade. They became musketeers after being upgraded, which possessed a longer range than the gunner units.

Arcaners were upgraded to Illusionists. They gained spells that created illusions to confuse the enemies. The cost of the upgrade was 40,000 gold coins.

Holy knights became Paladins after Jack paid 30,000 gold coins. Paladins gained offensive and defensive magic that helped them better survive in a battle.

"Um... I understand that it's the barracks' superiors who decided what type of units the recruits would become. What about these special units? How does one become them?" Jack asked.

"That will depend on the soldiers themselves," Thaergood answered. "Every soldier had the chance to become these special units, but first they had to already be a basic unit. They can register to become the special unit of their preference. They will undergo a test after registering. If they pass, they will transform into that special unit."

"The slots for special units are limited though," Isabelle added. "Only 10% of the army can be allocated for special unit types. So, the tests will be closed once special unit types reach that percentage. The arrangement was done by the head minister from the army ministry."

'Army ministry? Was the head minister good?' Jack thought as he switched back to the Officers screen and looked for the head minister in question.

The name of the head minister was Helena. She had 77 for leadership, 91 for discipline, 95 for wit, and 71 for politics. Her politic was rather lacking for a court officer, but her discipline and wit made up for it. Jack thought it should be okay considering she dealt with the army.

"She is a good minister," Isabelle said.

Jack nodded. Helena also had a trait called Organized, which helped her keep everything in order.

After the special units were the siege units. The ones listed here were the total quantity that existed all over the country. There were five types. 5 Trebuchets, 11 catapults, 21 ballistae, 4 arrow towers, and 9 battering rams.

These numbers did not include the ones Jack commissioned the cities to currently construct. They also didn't include the ones that came with a fort when the fort was constructed. Those were the fort's defensive weapons. They were fixed and couldn't be moved away from the fort.

These siege machines on the list were also unlike the guild's version. These machines could be transported and moved around. They were permanent siege units that only disappeared if they were destroyed.

That was it for the Military Overview. He went to the next screen, Research Overview. This Research Overview was divided into three research trees. There was also an indication of the research level.

The research level stated on the screen was level 9. There was a progression bar underneath the level indication which was half-filled.

Peniel explained that the bar was filled with research points. Research points were generated by specific buildings inside settlements. Like schools, academies, laboratories, and other buildings that contributed to study. Each building contributed research points weekly.

If the bar was filled, then the research level would increase. The higher the research level, the faster the techs inside the research trees were learned.

The first research tree was Civil Path. It contained technologies that helped improve the stats of a settlement. Jack browsed through this tree. Some of the learned techs were irrigation, mining, ironworking, and such. There were too many. These must all be the ones that had been researched since Themisphere Kingdom came into existence.

Jack just scrolled up to the current tech that could be researched. There were four of them. Industrialization, Philosophy, Engineering, and University.

Industrialization allowed the building of factories inside a settlement, which increased the city's productivity. Philosophy increased happiness. Engineering increased productivity. University, if built in a city, would generate research points.

There was no ongoing research at the moment because neither Themos nor Mason bothered to pick a tech for research. Starting research required coins and mana, and only one tech could be researched within one tree.