Shortly after arriving in Goldenveil, Ethan took the new arrivals to the barracks, dividing them by gender between the many dormitories available.

The children stayed with their mothers in the women’s dormitory, naturally.

That would be their home for quite some time, at least until more houses were built.

Fortunately, construction work wouldn’t stop during the winter. Quite the contrary.

Working in the cold was difficult, of course, but as long as a blizzard wasn’t raging, the men could still manage.

Hunters, guards off duty and even fishermen...

All the Awakened of Goldenveil capable of using aura to keep warm would now focus entirely on building new homes.

With that mobilization, Ethan was certain he could secure shelter for Goldenveil’s entire massive population by the start of summer.

At that very moment, the young Lord walked alongside Doran, Garrick, and the other five dwarves, leaving Aerick and the rest of the guard to handle the integration of the new citizens.

At first, Aerick had shown interest in separating elves and dwarves into their own dormitories, but Ethan rejected the idea immediately.

He wanted to avoid that kind of separation as much as possible. As someone from Earth, he knew all too well where that path led.

He would kill racial segregation in his society while it was still in its infancy.

His intention was to create a nation whose identity was tied to his image as divine ruler and to Goldenveil itself, not to the races that inhabited it.

Whether elves, dwarves, humans, or any other race that might join Goldenveil in the future, everyone should see themselves as parts of the same whole.

Easier said than done, of course. But Ethan had seen enough failed plans on Earth, and with his almost divine standing in the hearts of the people of Goldenveil, he was certain that his word alone would suffice.

"Are you going to tell me where you’re taking me, human?" Garrick grunted, his brown beard swaying with every hurried step.

Ethan didn’t respond. After a few more moments of walking, the group arrived at the Goldenveil guard’s armory, set right in the heart of the barracks.

It was a large structure, much bigger than Roderik’s, with space for more than twenty blacksmiths working at the same time, and it contained basically everything needed for the creation of weapons and armor.

Two separate storage areas flanked the smithy, one for finished items and another for raw materials.

The whole forge surrounded a courtyard that wasn’t very large, but more than enough to test the durability and practicality of the weapons made there.

"You will take charge of this smithy and serve directly under Doran," Ethan said, watching as Garrick walked toward one of the forges, using the magical arrays connected to the heart of the barracks to activate it.

Infernal heat immediately surged from the mouth of the forge, blue flames engulfing the stone chamber with a muffled roar. The air shimmered with the sudden surge of heat.

Garrick wasn’t even bothered by the heat. He plunged his hand directly into the fire, feeling the flames dance across his calloused skin.

Not even the hairs on his arm were singed.

"Where’s the steel? Come on, I’m getting to work right now!"

Ethan smiled at the old blacksmith’s excitement.

Well, "old" in quotes. Garrick was quite young for a third-stage dwarf.

Unlike third-stage human warriors, who rarely lived past two hundred years, dwarves could easily reach six hundred, while elves surpassed a thousand.

From the system’s inventory, Ethan withdrew one hundred kilograms of cold steel, letting the metal fall to the floor in one-kilogram ingots.

The metallic clang echoed off the stone walls of the smithy.

"Oh!..." Garrick’s eyes sparkled.

Cold steel was highly prized throughout Estria, valued even by fourth-stage warriors.

Its high capacity to withstand the flow of aura, combined with its resistance to both heat and impact, made it an extremely reliable metal for weapons and armor.

"Start with some high-level swords. If you need more materials, talk to Doran. He’ll also decide your pay and that of your apprentices," Ethan said, patting the guard captain on his broad back.

Garrick said nothing, but his loyalty increased by a single point, reaching sixty.

Knowing the dwarves’ personalities well, Ethan didn’t force a conversation, simply letting Garrick work in peace.

"Gather those responsible for scouting the orc and goblin camps and wait for me in your office."

Receiving a nod of confirmation from Doran, Ethan left.

His eyes were already scanning the status screen in search of Goldenveil’s next major construction project.

A school.

With the teachers he’d summoned already organizing the first school calendar—albeit in a hurry—he had to make the most of that winter.

Goldenveil had over a thousand children, and they needed to start their education as soon as possible.

With a soft sigh, Ethan arrived at an empty plot of land, where he finally found a good option.

[Name: Medium-sized General Education School

Description: A school focused on general education, with a total of thirty classrooms and a capacity of up to seven hundred students per shift. Includes heating systems for winter and cooling systems for summer.

Includes a library and a sports court.

Monthly maintenance cost: 1x lower-tier magic core

Price: 3500] 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Ethan didn’t hesitate to pay that amount, taking a step back as the empty lot in front of him began to transform.

Tall, latticed walls rose from the ground, accompanied by grassy fields, covered walkways, and spacious study and administrative rooms.

Watching it all rise before him, Ethan smiled.

It had been worth every coin spent.

Without hesitation, he went to find the teachers, introducing them to the new school.

For the moment, it was a rather rudimentary institution, with no administrative staff, not even a principal, but that would change soon.

What Ethan had built was merely the framework of what would one day grow into the foundation of Goldenveil’s entire educational system.

With that done, it was time to screw over some damn greenskins!