Building a Modern Nation in a Fantasy World

Klein quietly stepped into the royal library, where Arthur sat beneath the tall arched windows, a thick volume spread open before him. The soft glow illuminated the polished stone floor, casting a warm radiance on rows of towering bookshelves filled with scrolls, legal documents, and engineering treatises.

Klein approached with respectful poise.

"Your Majesty," he announced softly, "the recruits have all settled into their dormitories. Everything proceeded as planned."

Arthur lifted his gaze from the book, closing it gently. "Good," he said with a small nod of approval. "The dormitory layout should accommodate them well enough, even with their numbers increasing."

Klein offered a faint smile. "More than well enough, Your Majesty. In fact, even the knights and mages who reside within the castle have expressed their satisfaction with the design. Compared to what most lords provide for their army or servants, this facility is… luxury."

Arthur allowed himself a faint chuckle. "As it should be. They will endure grueling training in the weeks to come—at the very least, they deserve proper living conditions."

The dormitory complex itself was still relatively new—constructed only months prior. Originally, Arthur hadn't built it specifically for the officer recruitment program. It had been part of his broader military reforms—anticipating the eventual need to expand housing for knights, mages, and a growing standing force.

In this world, military housing was often crude and wasteful. Noble lords traditionally favored small, private chambers for mages and larger, chaotic barracks crammed with rows of cheaply-built wooden cots for foot soldiers. Those designs consumed enormous amounts of space while providing little comfort, often forcing garrisons to expand endlessly as numbers grew.

Arthur, however, had introduced something foreign to this medieval world—a more efficient, modular dormitory system inspired by the barrack designs of his previous life.

Instead of sprawling rows of single beds, he had overseen the construction of multi-occupant rooms. Each unit contained two sturdy bunk beds, housing four recruits per room. The layout dramatically reduced the total floor space needed while still allowing privacy, organization, and order. Separate common areas, kitchens, and sanitation facilities ensured cleanliness and daily routines ran smoothly.

The design had stunned the builders at first. Many craftsmen were bewildered by the compact layout, yet they couldn't help but admire its logic.

"Such an efficient way to house so many people in so little space… and yet it does not feel cramped."

"Truly ingenious, Your Majesty."

Even the master builders—men who had built castles for nobles their entire lives—were left speechless at the innovation.

Arthur leaned back slightly in his chair. His eyes drifted toward the towering bookshelves, but his mind wandered elsewhere—back to the subtle influence of the world he once belonged to.

On Earth, this would've been nothing more than a simple apartment complex layout. Basic. Functional. Standard.

But here… it's regarded as ingenious.

A faint smile tugged at his lips, a mix of amusement and silent reflection. Even the smallest fragments of modern knowledge, when applied in this medieval world, were enough to reshape entire institutions.

His musings were interrupted by Klein, who stood dutifully nearby.

"Now that accommodation is settled," Arthur spoke, his voice calm and composed, "it's up to the instructors now. They will teach the recruits how to read, write, train their bodies, and understand the laws they'll be enforcing. More importantly, they'll learn how to act with sound judgment in unpredictable situations."

Klein gave a respectful nod. "Yes, Your Majesty. Their training rests in capable hands now. However…" Klein paused for a moment, a note of genuine admiration in his voice, "what continues to surprise me is how swiftly you were able to prepare everything—especially the legal guidelines, the instructional materials, and the training procedures. You wrote detailed curricula within barely a week and even outlined how the instructors should approach the lessons."

Arthur let out a soft chuckle, shaking his head slightly.

"Well… I had to give it my best."

But inwardly, Arthur's thoughts carried a different weight.

Back on Earth, Arthur could have never done something like this in such a short time. Not because he lacked the knowledge, but because of distractions—the constant pull of social media, the comfort of procrastination, the overwhelming flood of information that always found a way to steal hours without notice.

Even without electronics, he would have found a way to zone out, to delay.

Yet here, in this world—without those distractions—he found himself able to focus. Entirely. Completely.

His mind was clearer. His thoughts sharper. His goals are singular.

Arthur never fully understood why his focus had become so sharp since coming to this world. It wasn't a gift of genius nor some unnatural ability. But here—free from the overwhelming distractions of his old world, unburdened by the constant stream of trivial information—he found clarity. And since it was a good thing, he simply accepted it and pressed forward.

"Your Majesty, you're too humble," Klein replied with a faint smile, interpreting Arthur's modest chuckle as nothing more than humility.

Arthur smile and shifted the conversation, refocusing on the next pressing matter. "How is the Firearms Corps progressing? Have they begun training with the new weapons?"

Klein's expression grew a touch more serious. "Yes, Your Majesty. After Master Blackwell completed the initial batches of flintlocks, muskets, and the early models of cannons, the first stage of training officially began last week."

"Good." Arthur nodded. "Now, let's go observe their training firsthand. I want to see how both the men and the weapons are performing."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Klein bowed slightly, then gestured forward. "I shall guide you there and follow along."

With that, the two departed from the royal library, making their way through the stone corridors of the castle.

The creation of the Firearms Corps was one of Arthur's new experiments—a military revolution only conceived mere weeks ago. And now, it was slowly taking shape.

Originally, Arthur had considered recruiting common citizens directly—training ordinary men from the ground up to wield these new weapons. After all, that was the very strength of firearms: they allowed even a peasant to wield deadly force without years of sword training or magical aptitude.

But there was a practical limitation.

There simply weren't enough weapons yet.

Manufacturing flintlocks, muskets, and cannons required precision craftsmanship—especially in a world where such technology was completely alien. Blackwell and his forge had made great progress, but they were still in the early stages of production. Every musket, every flintlock, every cannon demanded attention, adjustments, and refinement.

Arthur couldn't afford to arm large numbers of untrained civilians with prototypes. Not yet.

Instead, as a temporary measure, he had requested that Klein transfer a portion of his existing military personnel—specifically, lower-ranking knights and mages who had not performed well in their current assignments.

These were soldiers who struggled to meet the expectations of traditional melee or magical combat, but who still possessed discipline, experience, and basic military training.

If they can't master the sword or the spell, perhaps they can master powder and lead.

Arthur reasoned that these soldiers would serve as the first generation of firearms users, giving him valuable insight into the weapons' practical performance on the field while the new recruitment drive continued.

In parallel, Arthur had already authorized a larger-scale recruitment campaign to bring in common citizens who would eventually form the backbone of the Firearms Corps once production ramped up. But that stage was still weeks—if not months—away.

For now, this hybrid force of reassigned knights, underperforming mages, and select military personnel served as the Firearms Corps' first trainees.

As Arthur and Klein approached the firing grounds, the sharp cracks of musket fire rang out, sharp and unnatural amidst the otherwise calm afternoon. Each shot was followed by faint echoes that bounced off the surrounding stone walls, while thin columns of smoke curled upward into the sky like ghostly ribbons.

The Firearms Corps' training area was deliberately separated from the regular training grounds where knights drilled with swords and mages practiced their spells. This wasn't by accident.

Arthur had intentionally kept the firearm training isolated for two reasons. First, to avoid drawing too much attention from the more traditional military factions—especially the knights and mages who still represented the old guard of Keldoria's power structure. And second, because the sheer noise and thick smoke produced during drills could easily disrupt other forms of training nearby.

The musket fire didn't carry the sharp ring of sword clashes or the deep hum of magical incantations. It was a deep, thunderous crack—unnerving even to seasoned veterans. The continuous rhythm of these alien weapons made it feel like the very air trembled under their discipline.

Arthur and Klein came to a stop on a small observation platform slightly elevated above the field, giving them a clear view of the drills unfolding below.

Roughly fifty men stood in rows, divided into squads. Each wore newly designed uniforms that, while simple for now, still set them apart from the rest of Keldoria's army. The squads moved as one, following the sharp orders of the instructors.

"Ready—!"

"Present—!"

"Fire!"