AK - The Alchemy Kingdom

Chapter 132: Wages

Year 3, Winter, First Month, Fourth Week.

We should start with the pricing of basic things, like a meal. Then, we could work out the minimum wage needed to have access to basic services and food, and think of higher wages in terms of access too

The discussion was heading nowhere, so Omero decided to offer a suggestion based on how he knew about the Democracy market. Actually, the dynamic of wages and pricing was much more complex and would change a lot through time, but right now, they needed a starting pointing. The Councilors pondered over his suggestion and decided it was reasonable.

Although a few Councilors werent present, they couldnt avoid making decisions and discussing important things. Because they often had other tasks to complete, it was common to conduct meetings with missing members, as long as the majority was present, they would make the meeting. Of course, serious decisions would have to be voted by everyone and any non-present Councilor could object to a decision and call for a vote. Later, better rules would need to be defined, but this arrangement was working for now.

If were talking about basic, shouldnt we start with wheat? Its the easiest resource to produce and the most basic

As the Head of Farming, Kanins first thought was their staple food. However, Marlen had a different idea.

We should take it into account, but if we use it as a base our scale would go too high. Imagine the price of a coat compared to a portion of wheat? Why not use a meal as the base? We could establish the base price for the simplest meal was one crystal and go upwards For example, the minimum wage should cover at least two meals a day, so 60 LQ crystals a month. Of course, we would need to include other basic services

But what about buying wheat? Everybody is used to having flour stored

The cheaper resources could be sold in larger quantities The wheat could be sold by the sack, the same for vegetables

The idea was reasonable since nobody would want just a small portion of wheat or other ingredients for that matter. Next, they would have to decide what basic services would include. For now, they didnt have many options, so they decided to include renting and clothing. Renting would be calculated according to the smallest house and clothing to pay for at least two meters of fabric.

After discussing for more than an hour, they finally decide on a specif amount. Considering the cost to build and the value of the land with all of its benefits, the most basic renting would be 40 crystals a month. As for the fabric, they decided to go with Kellers price, since it was an imported good, so four crystals a month. Adding everything up would make it 104 crystals.

However, they still needed to add taxes to this amount, after all, the Council would have its own costs. The Council decided that the taxes would be used to maintain the public services and the departments, while the additional revenue would be used to invest in new projects, inside and outside their city. Although the taxes would be a constant and more stable source of income, the additional revenue shouldnt be underestimated. Renting and selling land could bring a large number of crystals monthly, the same for farming and hunting. However, not all departments added together could compare to the potential income of the Alchemy Department.

In the end, the Council decided on a tax of ten percent of everyones wage. For citizens who decide to open their own business, they would pay ten percent over their profits. So, the minimum wage was set to 114 crystals. Going by the standard 50 conversion rate between MQ and LQ crystals, they would need to have at least, six thousand MQ crystals and 30 thousand LQ crystals.

Even if they started mining the crystal cave immediately, they wouldnt be able to get the amount. The same was true for the LQ crystals, which would be mostly gathered by hunters. The Councilors started to consider if they could really use crystals as their currency. The idea of giving practical value to their money was tempting, but it brought up another problem, they would have to provide a continuous supply of crystals not only to account for their growth but to keep it up with the energy demand.

Fortunately, they had Alchemy. Something that might appear impossible or problematic was only another challenge for the eager Alchemists to solve. So, once they realized the situation wouldnt be easily solved, they all turned to Reiner. The Councilwoman finally understood what kind of pressure her son endured daily, but instead of coward under the high expectations, she welcomed it.

Hmm In one of our Alchemy studying groups, we have been discussing a possible solution for registration and access. Since our Alchemists have to swear an oath to keep practicing, we have to limit the access to the pavilion and other areas, but is difficult to keep track of whos allowed to go by. So, were discussing a few ideas to grant and limit access. Most solutions are pointing to spiritual energy

The confused expressions told her they werent understanding it.

Eh Everyone has a unique soul, so their spiritual energy is also unique. Were discussing the possibility of using spiritual energy to distinguish between people, like verifying their access through their spiritual energy. A badge would also solve this problem, but the Alchemists have the habit of pointing the flaws in everything. Many objected that a badge can easily be forged or stolen, but spiritual energy cant So, I thought about using it to somehow keep count of how much a person has...

Hehe The original idea wasnt mine. An Alchemist proposed to use it to record their credits in the department Credits are just an account of their activities. We realized that using successful tutoring as a requirement for advancement was unfair because some Alchemists arent very good with it, so we started to use credits instead. Tutoring gives credit but accomplishments and hard work also give it The money just remembered me of the credits

As the Councilors started to consider the option, a lot of questions emerged.

We would have to wait for Karl to formulate a more specific design Fortunately, he was very interested in the discussion, so I know a few of his ideas. Using the spiritual energy to record a number would be ideal, but it raises the problem of where this information would be recorded. Currently, the best option would be issuing a personal tool for recording, like an Alchemy badge

The Councilors discussed the option for quite some time until their most serious concerns were addressed. Now, they could only wait for Karl to make the Alchemy badge, so they moved forward to the other topics. Strangely, nobody considered the possibility of the Alchemist deeming the solution unfeasible.

Next, it was time to decide on the amount of the wages. First, they decided on a few standards to judge the occupations. Besides contribution, they would also evaluate requirements, like study, training or a specif trait, and danger of the job.

Extremes were a good place to start to draw a scale. The lower extreme would be occupied by the helpers, which didnt need any preparation, wouldnt face danger, and had a lower contribution to the community. The helpers tasks couldnt have requirements and had to be executed inside the city, so it excluded any job that needed strength, agility, or other specific traits, in other words, a task anyone could do.

The higher extreme would be occupied by special agents, which would need special training in several areas, would be assigned missions outside and would be directly responsible for their Kingdoms safety. In the end, the Council decided to make a list of general occupations and evaluate them based on the three criteria, with double weight for contribution. The wages would then be defined by proportion according to their scale, from 114 to 570 crystals, the former was their minimum wage and the latter their biggest wage.