James watched as though he was playing a game of S-pore, watching the kingdom's gradually increase their population, while also diverging on their paths.
All kingdoms had gained knowledge on how to awaken Mana. The German Reich, however, had every single individual citizen of its kingdom have access to Mana and become Magi instantly. It had caused a bit of panic in the beginning, but the lack of instigators, coupled with the military who had stepped up to ensure public safety for the first few days allowed the kingdom to shift from a medieval style kingdom to a kingdom of swards and magic.
The progression of an individual was no longer limited to political or financial ability, but now had another option; Mana. Within a few years, a proper system of filtering out those who had potential for Mana was created. It tested the patience of children, and their mental acuity and fortitude. This was the 5 yearly Mana talent survey that was conducted by the kingdom for all children between 10 and 15.
Those who were selected as having potential to become powerful Magi, were then sent to nationalised institutions that taught then the different ways to increase their mana capacity. The course would last 5 years, and by the end of it, the students would be split into three routes; either they would join the military and rapidly increase their combat abilities, potentially reaching higher Ranks.
The second route involved joining the various institutions that researched various things, including improvements to Mana capacity methods, uses of Mana, and breakthrough methods for higher Ranks. Finally, they could split off and either join an existing company, or form one on their own. This route involved them paying back the investments the kingdom had made on them over time, but it was the one with the most freedom and least guarantee.
Overall, this streamlined method of gathering talent in Mana had allowed the German Reich to become the kingdom with the highest number of Rank 2 Magi; nearing 500.
Armin II, unfortunately, had his hands full with setting up this system and constantly putting out the fires that resulted from various new issues due to the Mana trait. This had caused the kingdom as a whole to stagnate in everything other than Mana.
Technology had not progressed one bit, and whatever did, now involved Mana to an extent, which was not something James wanted to see.
Thankfully, the other kingdoms were doing much better. The other 4 kingdoms had access to both technological knowledge, as well as how to make Magi. 1 of the kingdoms decided to focus solely in technology, while letting anyone wanting to become a Mage do so in their free time. This kingdom had rapidly militarised their nation, before pursuing a path of industrial and economic development in tandem with military research.
Industrial plants were set up in efficient pockets to improve efficiency and productivity, while factories pulled workers from handling livestock in farms to working on wages, with rather poor working conditions, but higher pay.
This kingdom also had its monarchy being forced to become a constitutional monarchy, with a Prime Minister holding equal power to the king, whose powers were now limited by the constitution. This had happened when the king had foolishly tried to improve the working and living conditions of the workers, clashing directly with the seated powers of financial and industrial capital. These powers, took matters into their own hands, and slandered the king among the public, until he was forced to convert the absolute monarchy into a constitutional monarchy, with the government run by 'elected' officials.
Naturally, they allowed commoners to vote, but the final verdict was securely in the hands of the oligarch of the industry and financial sectors, allowing them to pass any laws they wished for, and elect whomever suited their current needs.
This nation was called Hohenzollern, and it was a nation to the south of the German Reich. While the German Reich had its population stagnate due to the increased lifespan of all living beings, Hohenzollern had its population skyrocket.
Due to the increased pollution and reduced sunlight the citizens were receiving, the lifespan of the average citizen reduced greatly, and since James allowed it to be considered natural causes, most of the Collective Energy gained from the Early deaths of the beings went back into the kingdom.
Despite having been reduced to only 20% of its population during Armin I's conquest, Hohenzollern had rapidly increased its population such that it already rivalled that of the German Reich by the time Armin II's reign was nearing its end, and showed no signs of slowing down.
For those in power of this nation, they had quickly understood that keeping things the way they were was not suitable for their entire nation, as the hatred fuelled natures of most individual Jerries would force them into some sort of conflict.
As such, they sought to find an outlet of some kind, and quickly found one; War. With their increased birth rate, they were now rivalling the German Reich in population, and also had gained access to gunpowder and a few other important militaristic discoveries.
With such technological prowess, they decided it was best to go to war against their neighbour. And of course, these oligarchs; controlling the nation from the shadows did not want the war to be attached to their names, so they simply pressured the current king to take things into his own hands and declare the war.
"My soldiers, our nation has been trampled on by the German Reich, as they now call themselves. But it is not only them. Our neighbour to the west; the Tsardom of Moscow, also took the opportunity when we were unilaterally attacked by the forces of the evil German Reich. The wicked Tsar took over half of our wester territories while we were battling it out with the German Reich, finally resulting in my grandfather being forced to surrender."
"After that battle, the German Reich also went on the conquer the Tsardom, but the assault on us, on our dignity, on our land, on our people did not vanish. And today, this day… I declare we shall have our revenge!"
"My soldiers, prepare yourselves for a battle of dignity, honour, and justice. My people, prepare yourselves for supporting those brave soldiers. My nation; Hohenzollern, prepare for victory!"
The young king gave a heated speech to his kingdom, igniting the fire that always burned within the souls of the Jerries. He was not entirely forced into making this decision. The young king knew, that his powers were too limited. However, if they were able to win the war, then his prestige in the hearts and minds of his people would be greatly increased, and possibly… eventually in the future… he might just be able to bring back an absolute Monarchy to Hohenzollern.
Words Count: 1151 words
{AN: The Goal now is to slowly introduce that different nations as they go to war, and give mc a massive amount of Collective Energy that he would use to further boost the populations. These nations will be somewhat important as the story progresses through the ages. Some might die out, others would fuse, but overall cultures and the major directions f progression for each nation would remain somewhat constant, just like it has remained in real life.}
{AN: I hope I have introduced the German Reich, and Hohenzollern properly. Next chapter would be Tsardom of Moscow, and the war beginning. Please do remember, the race itself and James are the main characters, while each of the kingdoms/nations are essentially side characters. Normal people are essentially just ants from the perspective of the story. Perhaps the kings/queens of the nations are important, and those who are, I am naming them. For those who are not, I find that there is not need to name them as I often find it difficult to remember names of characters from other works. Plus, it becomes a lot more difficult to manage with more and more characters in terms of myself remembering names. As such, I am sticking to using titles and other modifiers for unimportant individuals. If you want me to change it, do say so in comments or reviews.}
{AN: The Author's Notes are not included in the word count. Sorry for writing so much.}