Ethan stood on the newly built castle tower, looking down at the domain that had risen anew from the ruins.
The city walls were constructed from massive blocks of bluish-gray granite, each stone measuring three meters square.
There was no trace of mortar on the walls; they were made of stalagmites summoned directly from deep underground, interlocking precisely in a geometric structure.
The walls rose over forty meters high, and the top was wide enough for six warhorses to gallop abreast.
Inside the walls, thirty-six arrow towers were distributed in a ring.
The base of each arrow tower was rooted deep within the underground bedrock, their bodies constructed from a composite of ironwood and stone.
On the watchtowers atop the arrow towers, guards were changing shifts.
The main keep stood at the center of the castle, its five-story tower pointing straight into the sky.
The outer walls of the main keep were covered in thorny vines with dark green leaves that glinted with a metallic luster under the sunlight.
Every thorn on the vines was as long as an adult's palm, their tips slightly curved, secreting a dark green, toxic sap.
The plaza surrounding the main keep was paved with large stone slabs, and the fountain gushed with clear water once more.
Stables, warehouses, servants' quarters, and kitchens—all the supporting facilities were fully equipped.
Outside the castle, the commoners were sowing seeds in the newly cultivated fields.
Just thirteen days ago, this place had been a ruin destroyed by battle, but now the furrows were as neat as if measured with a ruler.
These were all Ethan's masterpieces.
For an Official Wizard, mobilizing earth elements to level the foundation, stimulating wood elements to construct beams and pillars, and using cantrips to cut stone did not even require advanced wizardry.
It had taken him only three days to erect the entire main structure, and the remaining ten days were merely spent on fine-tuning and perfecting the defense system.
Standing on the tower, Ethan withdrew his gaze and turned to walk down the stone steps.
Lunch was held in the banquet hall on the first floor of the castle.
The long oak dining table could seat thirty people, but currently, only four were seated.
Ethan sat near the window. In front of him was a plate of golden-brown roasted lamb chops, with half a cup of ale resting beside it. The Duchess had roasted them herself, marinating them with rosemary and black pepper, the fat sizzling on the surface of the meat.
Colin sat opposite him, his fork poking at the potato chunks on his plate as he spoke indistinctly about helping the carpenters carry lumber this morning.
Duke Leo sat at the head of the table, holding a cup of ale. He listened to his younger son ramble, a rare smile gracing the corner of his lips.
The Duchess brought the last bowl of thick soup to the table, sat down next to Ethan, and wiped her hands with her apron.
The midday sun leaked through the gaps between the arrow towers, casting several bands of light onto the flagstone floor.
From afar came the shouts of the commoners finishing their work and the clinking sounds of hammering from the blacksmith shop.
Ethan drank the last sip of ale from his cup and set the cup on the table.
“Father, Mother, I must go.”
Colin's hand poking the potato froze.
The fork remained stuck in the potato chunk, unpulled.
The Duchess was ladling soup for Ethan. The ladle hovered above the bowl, the thick soup dripping from the rim and splashing into the bowl, kicking up a few white droplets.
She placed the ladle back into the soup pot, her movements very slow.
“Can't you stay for a few more days?”
“The academy has already asked for me several times.”
The Duchess let go of her apron, reached out, and pushed the soup bowl in front of Ethan a bit closer to him.
“Then finish this bowl of soup before you leave. I simmered it all afternoon.”
Ethan picked up the soup bowl and drank it sip by sip.
The thick soup was made from a beef bone broth base, with carrots, onions, celery, and a few chunks of tender, slow-cooked beef. The seasoning was just right, though she had added a bit more pepper than usual.
Colin pulled the fork out of the potato chunk and set it on the edge of the plate.
“Brother, then...”
“I will put in a good word with Gal. You can go when you are of age.”
“But...”
“There are no buts.”
Colin closed his mouth.
He lowered his head, looking at the potato chunk that had been mashed to pieces on his plate.
Duke Leo set his cup on the table. “When will you be back next?”
“It's hard to say. Maybe in a year or two, maybe ten years, maybe...”
Ethan did not finish the last half of the sentence.
But everyone present already understood the meaning behind his words.
Duke Leo stood up from his chair, walked over to Ethan, and patted him on the shoulder. “Good. Don't worry about things at home.”
The Duchess walked over to Ethan and reached out to smooth the creases on his collar. Her movements were very slow, as if she were counting every single fiber of the fabric.
Colin kept his head lowered, lost in thought.
After a long moment, Ethan raised his hand and gently held his mother's wrist.
“Mother, let's leave it at this. I have something to give you.”
He turned and walked toward the wall behind him. A Boston ivy climbed across it, its leaves dark green and its vines winding along the crevices of the stone bricks, planted intentionally when building the castle. At the time, he had only said it was to add some life to the walls, and the Duchess had teased him for caring about flowers and plants since childhood.
Now, he walked up to the ivy and brushed his hand over a leaf. The vine trembled slightly, as if responding to his touch.
“You only need to feed this thing three magic stones every year.” Ethan let go of the leaf and turned to look at his family. “In the future, when there are new members in the family, bring them here; one drop of blood a month, and after a year, it will recognize them. If you ever encounter an unbeatable enemy, just call out to it, and it will protect everyone in the castle.”
The apron in the Duchess's hand slipped to the floor.
Colin snapped his head up, staring at the ivy. His lips parted, but no sound came out.
Duke Leo's gaze shifted from the ivy to Ethan's face, then back again. “Good. I will remember.”
“I have placed the control method for the main vine in your study, Father.”
“Alright.”
...
The plaza in front of the Wizard Tower was paved with large bluish-gray flagstones, the midday sun beating straight down from above.
Ethan walked to the tower gates, where Gal, dressed in his dark green robe, was already waiting.
“Lord Ethan,” Gal bowed slightly.
Ethan retrieved a thumb-sized, deep blue crystal from his ring and casually tossed it over.
The magic crystal traced an arc in midair, and one of Gal's tentacles instinctively shot out to catch it.
The moment the tentacle wrapped around the crystal, his entire body froze. His cloudy eyes widened in the deep shadow of his hood, and the tip of his tentacle began to tremble violently.
A magic crystal—this was 1 magic crystal, which was worth a whopping 100,000 magic stones.
From the moment he had embarked on the path of a wizard, his entire net worth combined did not even amount to a fraction of this figure.
And now, this very object was in his hands.
“Take good care of my family.”
Gal's tentacle trembled even more violently.
He clenched the magic crystal tightly in the deepest part of his tentacle. His other tentacle snapped back his hood, revealing a heavily wrinkled face flushed deep red. “L-Lord! I, Gal, swear on my soul that as long as I live, House Leo will never—”
“That's enough,” Ethan raised his hand to interrupt him. “I'm leaving. Go activate the teleportation array.”
The moment the teleportation array was activated, a familiar weightless sensation rose from beneath his feet.
The surrounding scenery stretched into countless blurry, colored threads of light. The flagstones, the tower gates, and Gal's old, excited face all twisted, spun, and compressed into an infinitely small point of light before bursting.
Rate on N.U.
