CHAPTER 66: THE CREATOR'S SPECTACLE

The crisp afternoon sun descended slowly behind the black, impenetrable, and deeply imposing wall of the ancient forest, casting long, predatory shadows across our massive, newly purchased plot of land. The air in this part of the Upper City smelled entirely different from the foul gutters below—it carried a delicate, remarkably pleasant aroma of fresh lavender, waxed timber, and pine resin, providing a welcome contrast to the perpetual, suffocating stench of burnt grease in the crowded alleys of the Lower City. Our black, armored wagon stood parked along the edge of the road, and right beside it towered monumental, geometric stacks of raw materials

Our heavy armored wagon from the Oakhaven blacksmiths sat parked along the shoulder, the horses lazily grazing on lush grass under the shelter of tall spruces. The shadow of the ancient forest gradually lengthened across the plot, bringing with it a thickening, cool mist. From the direction of the city came the muffled sounds of the metropolis—the clatter of hooves on cobblestones, the distant hum of Upper City craftsmen, and the hollow, bass roar of smoking forges. Here, however, at the edge of the wilderness, a sacred tranquility reigned, disturbed only by the quiet sizzling of fat in Mina's iron pot. that the suppliers from the western guild had hauled over throughout the entire morning. One hundred massive, solid oak logs, three hundred heavy blocks of chiseled black basalt, and rows of iron-bound barrels filled with crystalline masonry binder formed impressive, sculpted formations. That entire monumental tonnage, worth a small fortune on the local market, had been secured for next to nothing, strictly on my own unyielding terms.

Sitting on a soft, woolen blanket under the spreading branches of an ancient oak, the girls were finishing a late lunch prepared by Mina. The aroma of a thick, nutrient-dense beef broth infused with forest herbs still lingered in the cool air, recharging our Vessels' energy reserves following our morning procurement run. Elena, with stoic composure, gathered the cutlery and empty bowls into a wicker basket, while Luthia held a leather-bound accounting ledger on her lap, meticulously tallying every copper spent and estimating remaining supplies.

"Does Dave truly claim he requires no master builder or apprentices?" Karys muttered, narrowing her amethyst eyes and crunching a roasted bone with a loud, predatory snap. Her dark, bushy shadow-tail twitched anxiously against the grass. "I saw those wagons coming in. Each of those black stone blocks weighs at least half a ton. Laying the foundations for a manor like this usually demands a army of stonemasons and weeks spent assembling gear-driven cranes. According to plain logic, a single man simply cannot lift that tonnage without breaking his spine."

"For an ordinary mortal, it is impossible," Luthia replied, adjusting her glasses with a refined gesture as she surveyed the accumulated materials with analytical skepticism. "In the architectural ledgers of Halgard, erecting a two-story monolithic manor demands the labor of fifty masons for six months. Even the highest archmages of earth from the capital's academy would require multi-day rituals, massive runic circles, and the assistance of twenty acolytes sustaining the weaves to accomplish such a feat."

"That's why there is no one else in this world like Dave," Shnee interjected. She sat cross-legged on the grass, slowly chewing on a crisp red apple. Her crystalline rapier forged from Celestial Silver rested against her thigh, glinting in the sunlight. She offered the dark elf a quiet, immensely warm, and amused smile of acceptance. "Get used to it, Luthia. To him, the strict rules of this realm are merely casual suggestions."

I took a deep breath, slipping my hands deep into the pockets of my long black coat, and stepped with measured, deliberate strides into the very center of the empty plot. I assumed a firm stance, stabilizing my center of gravity on the packed soil. My mind, previously operating at a calm baseline, switched entirely into full three-dimensional architectural rendering mode. In my imagination, I began drafting the entire structure of the future manor with millimeter precision—every steel bracket, the thick outer basalt walls, the subterranean vault with its two-meter-thick ceiling for Silas, quiet corridors, and the individual chambers designed the previous night by the girls, including Karys's austere, tactical quarters on the western flank featuring a hidden exit toward the forest shadows and a dedicated post for sharpening her claws.

I lowered my hand from my chin. I opened my eyes wide, and they gleamed with a raw, deep sapphire light, attesting to the supreme stability of my Vessel. I casually raised my right hand toward the sky and released my raw will without a sound, seizing absolute control over the gravity and matter of the entire clearing.

And then began a spectacle that would permanently shatter the worldview of every mortal present.

A THUNDEROUS RUMBLE!

The earth beneath our feet suddenly cracked open with a deep, monstrously bass vibration that shook the entire forest passage. The invisible, titanic force of my will effortlessly plunged into the ground. Utilizing the sheer power of telekinesis, I began carving the terrain directly beneath the foundations. Tons of rich soil, clay, and tangled roots were torn from the earth in a single, powerful surge, lifted into the air, and cast aside into perfect, geometric embankments, exposing an impeccably even, deep excavation for the cellars and sterile dungeons of our base. I dug a trench three meters deep, precisely matched to the reactor chamber and Silas's armored vault, ensuring that the sides of the pit were as smooth and straight as if shaped by a master sculptor's chisel.

Before the first cloud of dust could settle, I executed a fluid, calm gesture with my right hand, like a conductor commencing the final movement of a grand symphony.

The stacks of materials at the edge of the property suddenly sprang to life. One hundred massive oak logs, three hundred heavy blocks of chiseled black basalt, and rows of barrels containing binder soared into the air simultaneously with a loud, cutting whistle. The materials began orbiting the excavation pit in three gigantic, mesmerizing rings, creating a massive, swirling asteroid belt directly above our plot. The sight was utterly surreal—thousands of tons of raw material hovered noiselessly in the crimson light of the setting sun, casting gigantic, spinning shadows across the forest and our crew. Sunlight glinted off the black facets of the stone, creating a spectacular dance of light.

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A loud, screeching hum echoed through the air. Under the focused, surgical pressure of my mind, the basalt blocks began self-trimming in mid-air with dry, immensely satisfying cracks, raining down clouds of gray stone dust. The building blocks aligned themselves into flawless, uniform segments, interlocking with tongue-and-groove precision without the use of chisels or hammers.

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!

One after another, the heavy, perfectly trimmed black basalt blocks began descending at terrifying speed, slotting into the excavation pit and interlocking with loud, titanic clicks. The walls rose before our very eyes, ascending from the earth with geometric precision. I constructed double-thick walls of black basalt designed, according to pure logic, to form an indestructible barrier. The barrels of binder burst open in mid-air under the command of my intellect, and the crystalline mortar flawlessly coated every crevice, instantaneously fusing the stone into a solid, impenetrable monolith.

Under the intense kinetic friction in mid-air, each block of black basalt throbbed with a faint reddish glow, releasing a subtle, sulfurous scent of heated stone. The crystalline mortar, spewed from the bursting barrels, coated the rocks in a thin, flawless layer, forming a seamless, airtight bond. According to pure logic, a meter-thick wall made of solid basalt and bound kinetically could withstand the direct impact of a heavy battering ram or a barrage of high-tier fire magic without sustaining a single scratch. In the cellar, I shaped an armored vault for Silas—two meters of solid, reinforced granite wall with a recessed niche designed for double concealment runes, ensuring no guild inquisitor or spy could detect the accumulated treasures from the dungeon's deep floors. The oak logs slid into the stone joints with a heavy groan, forming the structural framework for the ceilings and supporting the upper floor. This monumental structure grew continuously, resembling a three-dimensional geometric model accelerated at hyper-speed in some high-end graphic engine.

The reaction of our crew on the blanket was simply priceless. It was a spectacle that completely blew out the fuses in their minds.

Luthia, our brilliant analyst, literally dropped her leather-bound ledger directly onto the grass, completely ignoring the ink blots spreading across the parchment. As an analyst with two hundred and twenty-two years under her belt, she instinctively attempted to estimate in her head the force, tonnage, and precision required to lift, shape, and assemble such immense masses simultaneously without deploying a single thread of magical weaves... Her internal processor simply exploded when confronted with this reality. She sat with her mouth agape, trembling with reverent awe and feeling cold shivers run down her spine. She could not reconcile this display with any known law of physics or magic.

Little Ria watched the display with tears of reverent wonder in her eyes. She herself could use light telekinesis to clear dirty dishes or move a broom and considered herself useful, but seeing her Sovereign effortlessly manipulate entire mountains of black basalt and oak made her realize the mythical, near-divine scale of my power.

Karys, our Second Pillar, stared with absolute, monstrous shock. Her sharp, analytical mind as a strategist and predator once again collided with an unyielding anomaly. Her wolf shadow-tail twitched nervously in the grass, betraying her deep turmoil and reverent respect. She watched with wide eyes as her austere, tactical room on the western flank—complete with a direct emergency exit and a dedicated post for her claws—materialized from solid stone in a matter of minutes without a single laborer or crane. She realized once and for all that our family belonged to an unstoppable monolith. Her practical, rugged blueprint was becoming a physical, indestructible reality, with windows offering an unobstructed line of sight across the property's blind spot and a rapid escape route directly into the forest shadows.

In that exact fraction of a second, I executed a final, decisive downward motion with both hands.

CLICK!

The massive oak roof slammed down with a loud, incredibly satisfying click, seating itself flawlessly atop the basalt fortress. The last motes of dust settled softly to the ground, revealing before our crew a monumental, impeccably finished, and spotless manor standing proudly at the edge of the ancient forest. The black basalt facade glinted beautifully in the final rays of the setting sun, and the heavy oak roof beams smelled richly of fresh resin.

When the guild officials arrived on the scene accompanied by a detachment of town guards, intending to issue a hefty fine for building without permits and violating their monopoly, they reined in their horses mid-stride. Every single one of them froze as if turned to stone, their jaws dropping all the way to the cobblestones. The sight of a two-story, monolithic manor made of black basalt and oak standing where an empty clearing had been just two hours prior triggered a wave of visceral panic among them.

Little Kaede slowly poked her head out from my left ear. The spider climbed onto my epaulet, eyeing the purple-clad guild manager with overt, gleeful amusement before squeaking softly in our tactical Polish cipher:

"Man, look at that fat guy in purple, his vein is about to pop from sheer terror! Pure Lego bricks, and these blockheads are standing here completely petrified!"

I smirked subtly in Polish, which immediately induced another minor cognitive lag in Karys.

The purple-clad manager yanked hard on his horse's reins. His face turned corpse-pale, and his lips trembled uncontrollably. He looked at me, then at the monumental fortress, and without uttering a single word of protest, he wheeled his mount around and galloped back toward the Upper City with a loud cry of panic. The town guards submissively lowered their halberds, offered deep bows, and fled in absolute terror after their boss, tripping over their own feet and debris along the path. All their bureaucratic threats had shattered against the unyielding monolith of my will.

I lowered my hands with a heavy, deep exhale. My combat weaves remained completely untouched, but the processors in my head throbbed with intense mental fatigue. Rendering thousands of details simultaneously in real-time—every oak peg, basalt block, and room layout—had thoroughly drained my spatial focus. I momentarily lost my balance, my knees buckling slightly beneath the weight of mental exhaustion.

Shnee was immediately by my side, supporting my arm with her warm, slender body and gazing at me with boundless affection and fanatical pride. Our new fortress stood tall and proud, ready to embrace our family.