Standardization

Vivian gazed at the daughter in her arms, who was gradually falling asleep.

After a moment, she looked at the several core subordinates gathered around her.

Each of them wore a faint smile of warmth and joy on their faces.

“However, as heartwarming as this is, work must continue.”

“Alright, report your matters one by one.”

Vivian let out a breath and spoke slowly to the group.

“The next phase is still work time.”

Luna stepped forward first, placing the documents in her hand before Vivian.

“Demon Lord, this is the summary of this month’s ‘night school’ assessments and the teaching plan for the next phase. Please review it.”

Vivian picked up the files and quickly scanned through them.

They recorded the progress of the literacy education in Evernight City using clear Demon Clan script and simple charts.

“The literacy rate has increased by twenty percent faster than expected?”

Vivian raised an eyebrow slightly, her tone carrying a hint of satisfaction.

“It seems the incentives of ‘work points exchange’ and ‘full attendance’ are quite effective.”

“Yes.” Luna nodded, her voice also tinged with joy.

“The commoners, especially the former serfs, have high enthusiasm for learning. Currently, basic character recognition covers more than forty percent of the population aged sixteen to forty, and the universal rate for basic arithmetic—addition and subtraction within one hundred—has reached fifty percent.”

“Very good.”

Vivian tapped her finger on the stone table and pondered for a moment.

“It’s time to introduce deeper content. In the next phase, while consolidating literacy and basic arithmetic, I will additionally compile some advanced courses, including practical geometry and basic logic.”

She picked up a pen and quickly added in the blank space of the document: “Practical geometry will mainly teach the measurement and calculation of length, area, and volume, with a focus on applications in land surveying, building material estimation, and container fabrication. Basic logic will emphasize cultivating clear thinking processes, teaching how to follow instructions, troubleshoot simple errors, and perform basic induction—these are crucial for improving workshop efficiency and administrative management.”

Lucia and Luna both carefully examined the content Vivian added, a glint of contemplation flashing in their eyes.

“Demon Lord, this knowledge… in the past, only a few noble craftsmen and scholars would access it. Popularizing it directly to the commoners—might it shake the privileges of certain people?”

Vivian finished the latter half of her sentence for her, the corner of her mouth curving into a faint arc. “What we are building is an efficient and powerful Evernight Territory, not a stagnant noble paradise.”

“Knowledge is a tool. The more people who master it, the stronger the territory as a whole becomes. As for those clinging to outdated notions…”

She paused, her tone turning cold. “Either keep up with the times or be eliminated by them—prepare the teaching materials and instructors as I said, starting with pilots from the backbone of the construction teams and workshops.”

“Understood.” Lucia said no more, and Luna respectfully took the revised document.

Everyone understood that this Demon Lord’s gaze always looked beyond the present, focused on a far more distant future—but they only needed to execute her will faithfully.

At this moment, Aria stepped forward and handed over another document.

“Demon Lord, this is the summary of the apprentice workers you previously instructed to monitor. Currently, the young people learning under master craftsmen in various workshops are performing very actively, but… the masters generally report that many skills and experiences can only be intuitively understood and are hard to articulate, making teaching highly inefficient.”

Vivian took the document and fell into thought for a moment.

This was exactly the situation she had anticipated—the traditional master-apprentice system had its advantages, but it relied on individual comprehension and the master’s mood, making it difficult to cultivate talent on a large, standardized scale.

“This problem needs to be solved at its root.” Vivian lifted her head and looked at Aria and Lucia. “We need to transform those precious experiences into ‘knowledge’ that can be recorded and disseminated.”

She tapped the tabletop with her finger. “Next, we need to do two things.”

She tapped the tabletop with her finger. “The two things we need to do next—”

“First, led by Lucia, organize literate and clear-minded individuals to form a ‘technical compilation team.’ They will go deep into every workshop—”

“Blacksmithing, brewing, pottery firing, house building—to observe, inquire, and record. Capture the masters’ operation steps, heat control,”

“Material ratios, keys to success or failure—all in text and simple diagrams, forming the 《Standard Operating Procedures》.”

“Second,” she turned to Aria, “Aria, you will assist Lucia and select a group of”

“Highly motivated young people from the refugees and territory residents. They don’t need to apprentice under a specific master from the start but will enter the newly established ‘technical academy’ to centrally study”

“These compiled 《Standard Operating Procedures》 along with related ‘practical mathematics’ and ‘basic materials science’ knowledge.”

A gleam of planning shone in Vivian’s eyes. “What we are building is a standardized, replicable technical training system: theory learning first,”

“Then practical assessment in the workshops.”

“Those who pass will be granted corresponding ‘craftsman level certifications’ and enjoy matching benefits—this way, we can more quickly train large numbers of craftsmen with basic skills, rather than relying solely on the whims of a few masters and exceptionally gifted apprentices.”

Aria and Lucia were both stunned by this grand vision.

It completely overturned the artisan inheritance model that the Demon Clan—and indeed the entire world—had followed for thousands of years. It sounded so… systematic, efficient, filled with a cold rationality, yet brimming with immense potential.

“This… Demon Lord, this is truly an unprecedented innovation.”

Aria murmured, her eyes full of admiration.

“It will be very difficult and will encounter resistance.” Vivian said calmly. “But this is the path we must take—go ahead, start with a small-scale pilot”

“And gather experience.”

“Remember, our goal is to make knowledge the fuel propelling the Evernight Territory forward, not private artifacts locked in the minds of a few.”

“Yes! We’ll handle it immediately!”

Aria and Lucia responded in unison.

As for the west, they also sensed it was a major matter and listened seriously to the key points.

The tent was once again filled with a busy yet orderly atmosphere.

Vivian buried herself in designing and approving various plans, occasionally”

“Engaging in brief discussions with her subordinates. Lucia quietly guarded the cradle”

“Watching over the sleeping Luna while listening to Vivian’s far-sighted plans, her azure eyes occasionally flashing with deep thought and amazement.

And when no one noticed, the corners of Vivian’s mouth”

“Imperceptibly curved into a slight arc.

Literacy is the first step: enabling the territory’s people to read, write, calculate, and think.

Technical standardization is the second step: transforming experience into transmissible knowledge, breaking the barriers of artisan inheritance.

Next… perhaps it should be basic scientific enlightenment.

Vivian let out a soft breath—

Not the Rhine Holy Church’s creationism, nor the obscure theories of the mage towers, but based on observation, experimentation, and logical reasoning,”

“Truly belonging to this world: physics, chemistry, biology.”

“…Of course, it must be packaged in a way the Demon Clan can understand—as mana applications, material properties, and other practical disciplines.”

Her gaze pierced through the tent, looking toward the gradually prospering Evernight City, as if seeing academies rising from the ground in the future, magical lights flickering in laboratories, and a truly powerful new generation of Demon Clan armed with knowledge and reason.

And all of this would begin with the web of education she wove for Luna and for all the children of the Evernight Territory.