Free Web NovelChapter 31: Dismantle and Reconstruct
Edgar rubbed his eyes and looked at the text in front of him once again.
’...What the hell?’
It took him some time before he could get a hold of his emotions.
’Why would someone leave such a precious thing?’
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Edgar was stunned for a second.
’Wait, do Nightmares even have any use for Nightmare Stones and Shards?’
Edgar wasn’t sure about the answer. He hadn’t lived long enough in this world yet.
Putting his thoughts aside, he read the ritual and the new prompt at the end... the warning.
’To stalk someone for a total of three days without them noticing...’
Even though it sounded easy, Edgar knew how hard that would be.
’Still, that isn’t the main problem. The degradation of mental health is...’
The warning was far too vague for him to make a concrete theory about how bad it would be.
Playing with the Nightmare Shard in his hand, Edgar looked up at the two of them.
’I have another Yellow Grade Shard, the Three-Legged Raven one....’
He was wondering whether he should take this himself or give it to one of his subordinates.
’...I will think about it later.’
Taking in a deep breath, Edgar put aside the thought and walked towards the Tower of Souls.
Andrew walked with him as Edgar collected the items, which weren’t anything new.
’Well, this was bound to happen.’
Edgar wasn’t disappointed by it. He looked at Andrew with a smile.
"Get to work."
"As you wish." The young boy grinned and immediately ran off toward the pile of corpses.
Watching him leave, Edgar couldn’t help but shake his head.
Andrew seemed to possess an endless amount of energy.
Meanwhile, Edgar felt exhausted just looking at the amount of work waiting for him.
’Hmm...’
His gaze drifted toward the black shard resting in his palm.
For some reason, he disliked it a lot. Not because of the ritual or the warning, but because of the anxious feeling he got just by holding it.
’Anything that affects the mind is dangerous.’
Edgar stored the shard inside his pocket.
His life wasn’t currently in enough danger to justify gambling with his sanity.
Collecting the items from the tower, he walked towards the warehouse and put them inside.
After that, Edgar began thinking about his next course of action.
With a total of four hundred-plus Nightmare Stones, Edgar could finally do some real work around the fortress.
’My current options are to expand the fortress, upgrade the walls, or upgrade the entire fortress...’
Rubbing his chin, Edgar looked at how much it would cost to upgrade the fortress.
’A total of fifty Nightmare Stones to upgrade to Level 3...’
Then Edgar looked at the fortress wall as a thought crossed his mind.
’Can I dismantle them and expand them?’
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a system message appeared in front of his eyes. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
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⟨Builder Authority Detected⟩
⟨Structure: Fortress Wall⟩
⟨Current Grade: White⟩
⟨Available Functions:⟩
1⟩ Repair
2⟩ Upgrade
3⟩ Dismantle & Reconstruct
---
Edgar’s eyes widened slightly.
"Dismantle and Reconstruct?"
He immediately selected the option, and new lines of text appeared beneath it.
---
⟨Dismantle & Reconstruct⟩
Dismantle current structures and reset the fortress perimeter.
Current Territory: 15m × 15m (225m²)
Target Territory: 20m × 20m (400m²)
Dismantle Cost:
1 White Nightmare Stone per original square meter.
Reconstruction Cost:
1 White Nightmare Stone per new square meter.
---
’Hmm, so to expand, I would need to spend two Nightmare Stones per meter. One stone to dismantle and one to create a new one.’
The materials from the original walls were being recycled into the new perimeter, offsetting the bulk of the reconstruction cost.
Edgar smacked his lips and began to calculate the price he would need to pay.
’If I increase the area from 15 metres to 20, then I would need to spend... 125 Nightmare Stones and 125 more for the reconstruction.’
A total of 250 Stones.
Edgar looked at the four hundred Nightmare Stones piled near the warehouse.
His mind quickly began calculating all the things he could do right now.
’I can upgrade the fire and expand my territory for 300 Nightmare Stones.’
Edgar needed both: visibility at night and more area.
If he wanted more Watch Towers, defensive structures, and residents in the future, he needed room first.
After making up his mind, Edgar looked at the status screen as the words changed on it.
---
⟨Dismantle & Reconstruct⟩
Current Territory: 15m × 15m
Target Territory: 20m × 20m
Additional Area Required: 175m²
Total Cost: 250 Nightmare Stones
⟨Confirm?⟩
---
With an aching heart, Edgar whispered,
"...Confirm."
The moment the words left his mouth, two hundred and fifty Nightmare Stones floated into the air.
Cracks spread across their surfaces, and a torrent of milky-white liquid poured out.
The entire fortress trembled.
Andrew, who was dragging a corpse toward the Tower of Souls, nearly fell on his face.
"Y-Young Master?!"
Even old man Oswald stood up in alarm.
The white liquid surged toward the fortress wall.
The moment it touched the stone, the wall began dissolving.
Large sections of the structure collapsed into streams of white light.
The glowing liquid spread beyond the original perimeter.
Stone burst from the ground farther and farther away as new foundations formed beneath the soil.
A larger wall slowly emerged around the fortress.
It rose section by section until an entirely new perimeter surrounded the settlement.
The process took several minutes.
When the light finally faded, silence descended over the fortress.
The empty space between the structures and the walls had nearly doubled.
The warehouse no longer looked squeezed into a corner.
The Tower of Souls stood alone in its own section.
For the first time, the fortress felt less like an outpost and more like an actual settlement.
"Holy Mother..."
Andrew stood frozen while staring at the expanded fortress.
Even Oswald couldn’t hide his amazement.
"Young master..." he whispered. "I have never heard of a Builder expanding a fortress like this."
Edgar chuckled and shook his head.
’I am glad I was thrown out of the Atreus Clan, otherwise they would have made me a fucking slave.’
Edgar turned to look at the remaining Nightmare Stones.
’One hundred and eighty-eight.’
His heart bled looking at them, but he had to do one more thing.
Taking in a deep breath, Edgar willed the fortress to upgrade.
A prompt appeared in front of his face.
---
Choose a Path:
1⟩ Increase the size of the fortress to 100 metres.
2⟩ Create a semi-dome over the fortress, blocking any attacks from above.
3⟩ Decrease the consumption of Nightmare Stones.
