Chương 112: B2 Chapter 54: Settling In

Carlos woke up slowly at first. Then he noticed the unfamiliar softness of the bed he was lying on and jolted awake in an instant. He jerked up and looked around frantically, then stopped as realization and relief flooded through him. All the tension in his body released, and he collapsed back onto the bed with a rueful chuckle. Right, we're actually at the wellspring now, so Purple's building a proper house for us instead of Stelras's tent. And he started with personal rooms and beds for me and Amber.

He looked over to the window, where sunlight was streaming in through the gap in the stone walls, and was surprised to find almost modern-looking blinds already on it. The control mechanism was different—the strings and pulleys he was used to were missing—but the layered stack of identical curved slats hanging at the top of the window was unmistakable. [Uh, Purple?] The dungeon core's attention focused on him and digested the wordless focus of his confusion. [Hmm? Oh, those were in your mental image of a "smart home," but I didn't know how to make the strings work right. The strings also seemed weirdly inconsistent with all the things that are supposed to be controlled by movement, voice commands, and other things. I ended up just putting mana control switches on everything. They're at the top, on the crossbeam where the slats stack up.] Carlos glanced at the indicated spot and brushed his mana sense across it, and sure enough, some intangible buttons and switches announced their presence and purposes to him, just like the royal guard gauntlets' enchantments did. He nodded, then stretched and tossed the blanket off toward the foot of the bed. As he swung his legs over the side of the bed, the room brightened on its own. The light had no apparent source, and it was somewhat dim. Everything just got a bit more clearly visible.

Carlos raised an eyebrow and commented aloud, "That's, what, a stylish nightlight? Activated by enough movement in the room?" A feeling of pride came with Purple's response. [Movement beyond the bounds of the bed, actually. You move in your sleep sometimes, and responding to that with light might wake you up.]"Ah. Sensible." Carlos wiped some sand from his eyes, yawned, and shook himself. He looked around again, found a chest of drawers he now remembered from last night, and quickly dressed.

He cast a quick spell to clean himself and checked out the view through the window. The first thing visible from anywhere in the room was the scorched ground of the dragon's clearing, which was also the opening in the jungle that allowed sunlight to reach the window. When he got directly in front of the window, however, the enormous tree of the wellspring's center faced him squarely. He found himself simultaneously awed and unsurprised by the sight.

He'd seen it before, and he was constantly sensing its aether flow regardless of any wall in the way, but it was still the largest and most magnificent tree he had ever seen, on top of being the tip of an incredible fountain of Level 54 aether. Though, on second thought, it was less incredible than he might have hoped for. He cocked his head and did a quick estimate of its output, compared to his absorption rate.

Then he noticed that he was absorbing a lot less than he was used to, only about a quarter of the rate his soul could handle.

"I see you're already rationing our aether intake. Lorvan was right about the need to be cautious about that. It will take, hmm… A few months to get us through the last few levels to match this wellspring, with us absorbing at only the rate it produces. There's enough accumulation built up in the area to get us one more level, to 50, but then we'll really have to slow down." Purple pulsed confirmation and agreement over their bond.

[Counting from the moment we advance to Level 50, if you, Amber, and I match our combined absorption rate to the wellspring's production, I calculated it will take 151 days for us to finish raising our levels to match the wellspring. More than half of that will be for the final level. If we also allow Kindar to advance at the same time, that will lengthen it further. For Level 50 itself, we can do it quickly if we deplete much of the zone's stockpile, but I held off on that to consult with you two first.] Carlos nodded.

"Alright. Well, let me get up properly and talk with people before making that decision. Have you set up a kitchen for Sconter yet, or is he still using his camping gear to make breakfast?" Purple responded with an image of the large man cracking eggs over a sizzling cooktop, set in an enclosed room with a few cabinets in the wall beside it. [Some of the equipment he's using is still camp gear, though. I'm going to need more details about how they're made before I can create properly functional versions of everything.]"Ah." Carlos stretched once more, then walked to the door, turned the knob, and pulled. Then he pulled harder.

"Uh, Purple? Solid stone is not generally a good material for doors. Too much mass to move easily when someone wants to open them, even with good hinges—and these hinges aren't very good." Sheepish embarrassment came over the bond. [Sorry. I tried to imitate what I saw in places you took me to, but I didn't inspect all of the details thoroughly enough at the time. And for what I did inspect, I didn't know what was important, like the mass of a door.] Carlos chuckled and shook his head.

"That's okay. We'll have plenty of time to tweak things, and we can explain what needs to change and why. For the moment, here…" Carlos cast Telekinesis on the door and easily opened it with the spell's strength. He paused for a moment.

"Wait… Amber is usually up first, but you didn't mention her commenting on this." [She said she was curious about the "hot shower" concept you've mentioned a few times and asked me to make one for her. She's been in it for half an hour.] An imagined vision of Amber standing in a shower, hot water streaming down her body, appeared in Carlos's mind. He blushed and firmly dismissed the mental image.

"Ah. I'll leave her to enjoy it, then." He navigated the short trip to the kitchen by sensing Sconter's essence and walking in that direction.

"You know, with our plans for building a school, we're going to need maps of the building—or buildings. With security locks on some of the more sensitive sections of the maps, such as our private rooms and vaults and such." [Easy enough.] Carlos nodded in acknowledgement of Purple's reply, then nodded again in greeting as he entered the kitchen. Sconter nodded back, but immediately returned his attention to the sizzling mix of eggs, vegetables, and pieces of meat on the slab of hot metal in front of him.

"Breakfast is almost ready, Lord Carlos. Just a couple minutes." The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Thanks, Sconter. It smells delicious, as always." Carlos glanced over the other occupants of the room, and his gaze settled on the most surprising presence.

"Lorvan? I kind of expected to find you waiting right outside my bedroom door, like you've done every night that I've known you." Lorvan shrugged, a gesture that seemed decidedly out of place on his shoulders.

"You have demonstrated that you can defeat foes who I could barely even hinder. My duty to guard you is no longer needed. My duty now is only to advise and observe, until you are fully ready for your house to be announced."

"I see." Carlos sat down at the granite table and waited for the food, which Sconter served on plates of shaped and unnaturally smooth light gray stone. Carlos took a deep sniff of the delectable smell of the omelets, then dug in. Amber joined them after a few minutes, already completely dry, even her hair. Carlos chalked up the quick drying to a spell without comment. As they all sat back with satisfied stomachs, Amber eyed the plates critically.

"These work, but we should get some proper ceramics. Or whatever's normal for nobles, I guess. I'm used to wooden plates, honestly. And yeah, as Carlos said, replace the doors with something lighter and fix the hinges. In fact, we should get some professional construction workers out here, even if only to advise the dungeon on proper building design." Carlos nodded.

"Well, we can teleport long distances on our own now, so that shouldn't be hard. A quick trip to Dramos and back should do it." Lorvan cleared his throat.

"If I may suggest, Kalor City would be a better venue to seek crafters knowledgeable about the construction of manors and castles suitable for nobles and the wealthy. The Crown would also appreciate bringing me there to report in detail on your progress, if you are willing." Carlos looked at Amber, and they both nodded.

"Sounds good. And while we're at it, we can bring Kindar along to make his nobility official, and see about picking up the rest of Darmelkon's payment." Soon enough, they had a small group assembled for a quick trip to the capital; Carlos and Amber themselves, of course, plus Lorvan, Kindar, and Haftel for any business assistance they might need.

They set a teleport beacon to precisely guide their later return, cast the Teleport, and found themselves being unceremoniously rushed out of one of several ritual circles inlaid in a row in a large room.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you're important. Everyone here is some degree of important, and you're in the way. Make room for the next arrival." Kindar puffed up his chest and seemed about to object, but Carlos gave him a stern look and quickly led the way out. The lot of them went together to a government office a few blocks away from the palace walls, with Lorvan leading the way.

Lorvan led them to a moderately-sized lobby, pointed them to the desk where a functionary sat, uniformed in the Crown's adamantium-and-orichalcum color scheme, and left the group without further ado.

"Lords, I will meet you at this building's entrance, outside, when we are both done. This may take a few hours. My apology in advance for any delay." He walked up to the door at the back of the lobby, flashed his badge at the guard, and walked out of sight. The man at the desk waved them forward.

"Name and business here?" Carlos took the lead.

"High Lord Carlos Founder, here to officially verify the status of soon-to-be Lord Kindar Founder." The man blinked and looked around.

"A high lord with so little entourage? Well, I suppose you might not have had time to gather much yet, if you're a founder. Oh, pardon me, m'lord. I intend no disrespect." Carlos shrugged.

"I have other business to attend to, so please get on with it."

"Oh, of course, Lord Carlos." The man gave a quick bow, then looked intently at Kindar.

"So, you need a full soul scan, then? That will take some time to arrange, especially with the trouble all those 'rebels' are kicking up. Nice to see a couple nobles who aren't buying into that nonsense. His Majesty will resolve it all tomorrow, as if there could ever have been any other outcome. Anyway, if you could check back in a couple days? I should at least have a scheduled date to tell you by then." Carlos pre-empted any objection Kindar might have raised.

"That will be fine. We should return here, to this office?" The man nodded.

"Yes, of course. Oh, and you're a founder as well? And so fresh! Have you had your fully completed soul plan scanned and registered yet? I can arrange that for you at the same time, it's no trouble." Carlos blinked, exchanged a look with Amber, then hastily shook his head.

"No need for that. We're here just for Kindar. We've had all the scanning of our own that we need." The man shrugged and bowed for a moment.

"Very well. If that's all, m'lord can attend to your other business now. Farewell." From there, Kindar led Carlos and Amber to an agent of his father, the Lord Merchant Darmelkon. It turned out that Darmelkon had anticipated them coming to his agent in the capital, and the agent accepted Kindar's word as sufficient proof of his new mythril-rank soul plan.

He also offered to arrange for them all the construction experts they might need, though again it might take a couple days—people with the expertise they need aren't usually ready to go off to a remote spot in the deep Wilds at a moment's notice. Carlos quickly consulted with Amber about the offer. [What do you think? It would certainly be convenient.] Amber hesitated. [I don't know. Darmelkon is greedy. His agent will definitely charge a premium for the service.] Carlos shrugged.

[Yeah, but we'd be getting an assurance of quality backed by Darmelkon's reputation. More importantly, we're rich now and our personal time and effort is valuable. Whatever premium he charges us, the time it'll save for us will probably be worth it.] After another second or two, Amber nodded, and Carlos verbally accepted the offer.

"Sounds good, and we'll be back in two days for that. We can go ahead and buy some basic plates and furnishings right now, though, right?" They returned to Purple's house at the wellspring that evening with a cargo of plates, bowls, utensils, tables, sheets, blankets, and even a couch. They kept the beds Purple had made for them, though—he'd gotten the softness and comfort of those just right, even if he had used magic to cheat a little.

The next day, King Elston Kalor, the Crown himself, slowly descended under the noonday sun. A circlet of pure orichalcum metal rested on his brow, shining with both reflected sunlight and dark orange light of its own making. The circlet's front curved up into a pointed peak, unadorned, but flanked by two smaller peaks on each side. His eyes glared with resolve and contempt at the people massed below, and his mouth curved down in an angry frown. His shoulders were broad and strong, and his arms rippled with muscles.

The orichalcum-colored cloth of his shirt clung to every curve of his biceps and chest, highlighting his impressive musculature. He clenched his fists and flexed, and his shirt almost seemed to gleam. His thighs and calves were broad and equally packed with muscle, and shorts did nothing to hide them, ending at mid-thigh and clinging as tightly as his shirt. Short boots of the same orichalcum color completed his outfit, with glimmers of light hinting at orichalcum metal ringing the bottoms.

Two rings of orichalcum adorned his fingers, one on each hand. To the king's right flew the heir, Princess Brenelle Kalor, flanked by Prince Patrimmon Kalor. On the king's left flew Princess Lornera Kalor, and finally Prince Hinren Kalor. The five of them descended to the barren ground below, where an army awaited. For a long moment, no one spoke, and no one moved, as the royal family hovered a dozen yards in front of the foremost ranks of their opposition.

Then King Elston called out to the man at the army's head, "I'm impressed, Recindril." He paused for a good ten seconds before continuing.

"That you convinced this many to follow you into such doomed folly."