Chapter 44: ’I’ Am Rich
’Unique evolution?’
Edgar narrowed his eyes at the suspiciously good words in the description.
’What does a Unique Evolution entail?’
Is it for sentient beings or only buildings? Would this increase the strength of a Soul Structure? If so, then by how much?
But most importantly, what new power would it awaken?
’There are so many questions in my mind with no answers.’
Edgar smacked his lips and looked around.
The only thing that fit the criteria of being ’compatible’ and was a Soul Structure was the ⟨Tower of Souls⟩.
’But how would a building as unique and mysterious as it evolve?’
Edgar felt temptation clogging his rational thoughts. He really wanted to try it out.
’...No.’
He quickly suppressed the impulse.
Anything with the words ’Unique Evolution’ attached to it wasn’t something he could afford to waste through blind experimentation.
He carefully stored the Soul Seed inside his pocket.
’I need more information first.’
The system had given him a direction but not an answer.
’Maybe Hera would have some answers about how many Soul Structures there are...’
Edgar brought a small container from his broken house and carefully placed the Soul Seed inside it.
Yawning, he put the matter aside for now.
Oswald and Viera were helping Andrew collect the stones, so there was nothing else to do.
’Maybe I should take a quick nap.’
After dealing with the Commander’s remains, Edgar shifted his gaze to his broken house.
Putting his hand on his waist, he sighed.
"Ah, for fuck’s sake, where should I sleep?"
There were only three houses in the entire Fortress, one occupied by Oswald and the other by the mother-son pair.
Rubbing his face, Edgar walked over the rubble of his house and found the wooden parchment.
’I planned to upgrade my house anyway.’ Edgar thought, staring at the blank page. ’Thanks for doing half my work, fucking Shin-Lizard.’
Sitting beneath the ’Unbroken Fire’, Edgar began creating a blueprint for a much more modern house.
’I can’t create cement right now... let’s use stone as a replacement.’
As his hand moved over the parchment, Edgar thought about cement.
He was, in fact, aware of the method to make cement from raw materials.
If given enough time, he could even design a building that would allow him to produce cement with only one or two workers.
’Speaking of workers, I need them as well...’
The amount of work ahead of him made Edgar feel rather low-spirited.
Though as his new house took shape, he began to ease up his worries.
Edgar started adding things to the house that were unheard of--or at least rare--in this world.
He created a kitchen connected to the main hall, a rainwater harvesting system, and a chimney.
But most importantly, he created a proper bathroom with its own sewage system built into the house.
’Hm, maybe I should add a sewage system to the other houses as well.’
Edgar thought before adding to himself.
’Why just their houses? I could create a sewage system for the whole Fortress.’
Back on Earth, one of Edgar’s interests had been studying ancient civilizations.
He was far more knowledgeable about using the technology of this era to create miracles.
Finally, Edgar added a basement reinforced with stone.
It was a contingency plan in case his house got destroyed again and he needed a place to hide.
The whole blueprint took him almost two hours to complete.
Once he was done, Edgar stretched his sore body and looked at the blueprint with a smile.
’This is definitely the best one yet.’
Standing up, Edgar willed the system to register the blueprint, and after a few minutes, a system prompt appeared before his eyes.
---
⟨Builder Blueprint: Stone House⟩
⟨Level: 3⟩
⟨Completion Rate: 39%⟩
⟨Description: A durable stone residence designed for long-term habitation.⟩
⟨Special Effect: Comfortable Living I⟩
⟨Residents recover physical fatigue and mental exhaustion 10% faster while resting inside.⟩
⟨Nightmare Stones Required: 60⟩
---
Edgar blinked and mumbled, "It has a special effect?"
’No, more importantly, I created a Level 3 house on my own.’
Edgar raised his hand to celebrate the achievement, but he was too tired to shout.
’Sixty stones, huh?’ He thought. ’And this one doesn’t have the materials listed, perhaps because of the large number?’
Still, if this had been Edgar from a few days ago, he would have cursed the system for overpricing it.
’It’s insane how quickly my situation has changed.’ Edgar chuckled softly, shaking his head.
Having completed the blueprint, Edgar walked toward the stone slab that served as the entrance through the Fortress Wall.
The second he stepped outside, he found the other three residents of the Fortress returning.
Behind them were two horses dragging a carriage filled with Nightmare Stones.
"Young Master!"
Andrew shouted in his usual cheerful tone.
"We are rich!"
Edgar raised an eyebrow and replie. "You mean ’I’ am rich."
"We are rich!" Andrew replied without missing a beat. "I have never seen this many stones in my life!"
Edgar walked toward them and asked, "How many?"
Andrew puffed out his chest proudly.
"We counted them three times!"
He pointed toward the carriage with a broad smile.
"Two thousand, eight hundred and ninety-six White Nightmare Stones."
Edgar’s footsteps came to a halt. "...How many?"
"Two thousand, eight hundred and ninety-six!"
The look on Andrew’s face was a sight to behold.
"There are still some corpses left outside, but they’re either buried beneath the others."
Even Edgar couldn’t hide his surprise.
’Almost three thousand...’
His original estimate had barely crossed two thousand.
It seemed the sheer number of Nightmares that had participated in the assault had exceeded even his expectations.
Oswald walked over while wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"The monsters came in waves, Young Master. Many died before they even reached the wall."
Edgar nodded, and an excited look appeared on his face.
"Good work."
The simple praise instantly made Andrew grin from ear to ear.
"Right?"
He proudly pointed toward the carriage.
"I even sorted the Nightmare Stones by grade."
Edgar climbed onto the carriage and lifted the cloth covering it.
A mountain of milky-white Nightmare Stones greeted him.
Mixed among them were several dozen Green-grade Nightmare Stones and a handful of Yellow-grade ones.
’Hmm?’ Edgar stared at the Yellow-grade stones. ’It looks like there is a hierarchy among Nightmares of the same level as well...’
Still, the sheer number of stones quickly made him forget about it.
Edgar looked down at the folded blueprint in his hand.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"It looks like... we can afford to dream a little bigger."
His plan to renovate the entire Fortress might finally be possible.