"You got 50 million valis."
I took the valis and threw it straight into my shadow. My shadow swallowed it all.
"Eina, do you know any shops that sell high-quality construction materials?"
"I do know some. Did you ever see a shop named Pink Ogre?" Eina asked.
"No."
"Then you can't go there. How about Margo and Felicia?" Eina said.
I thought for a moment and remembered seeing shops with those names. There is one in each district.
"I did see those two."
"Great, those shops sell high-quality materials. You'll find everything there. I highly recommend them," Eina said.
"Normal ones."
"If you want normal ones, just go to Ser Ta Construction Supplies."
An hour later.
Shopping District, in one of the streets.
Ser Ta Construction Supplies is a large hundred-square-meters building with 2 floors.
Outside it looks made of wood but inside is all concrete and bricks, the walls and ceiling are white and the floor is covered in marble.
All products are on display.
As soon as I entered, I was greeted by a beautiful sales lady.
Inside was full of customers browsing the collections of materials while sales ladies were beside them giving sales talks.
"Welcome to Ser Ta Construction Supplies. What are you looking for, sir?"
I didn't say much and handed her a piece of paper. She took it and began reading its contents.
She nodded, murmuring occasionally.
"That will be 30 million valis."
She led me to the cashier and I paid with
cash.
"It will be delivered to your address tomorrow."
Transaction completed.
I left the store and went home.
Abandoned Sector.
I took a different road for a change, and there I found an abandoned church. As soon as I reached its vicinity, I felt the atmosphere change—an overwhelming sacred aura filled the area, making me feel the urge to kneel in reverence like I was in the presence of a higher being than myself. I turned toward the origin of the presence there in the church's basement.
With my magic sense, I saw a goddess. She was gorgeous—more beautiful than Demeter. She was tall, around seven feet; her figure slim and voluptuous. She had even bigger assets than Demeter's—Demeter was an H while this goddess was a K. Her rear was big, her hips narrow like an hourglass similar to Demeter and the girls I met so far.
Fair skin, long black hair reaching her ankles, and she wore a short and backless one-piece dress.
The goddess was sleeping soundly. I felt no presence from her. I wouldn't have noticed her if her divinity hadn't leaked out. If her divinity was this overwhelming, what would happen if she released it? And this wasn't her true strength—she was being limited by the world itself, sealing her power and leaving only a fraction of it.
The gods are only allowed to use their innate abilities and a technique called Arcanum Burst, also known as Divine Pressure.
This technique is performed by releasing their Arcanum, not using it.
It is similar to Magic Pressure, but instead of magic, it uses Arcanum.
I paused for a moment, admiring her visage. I snapped out of it when the sound of an owl echoed.
I sighed and turned around to leave.
When John left the area—
The otherworldly beauty, the sleeping goddess, slowly opened her eyes, revealing her mesmerizing aqua eyes. They glistened under the candlelight.
A smile formed on her cold and emotionless face.
Afterward she closed her eyes again and fell asleep while whispering—
"Welcome back." Her voice made the world tremble, the laws of the world shook, unable to bear the enchanting voice. Everything bent to its knees; the world froze for a moment under a paused state and then continued moving when her voice ended.
Wheat Manor, in the smallest room.
Demeter, who was sipping her tea, suddenly paused mid-drink.
She lowered the teacup and smiled. "So you met him."
Abandoned Sector.
John returned to the open field he cleared a couple days ago. With a thud he laid on the ground and fell asleep right there, on the cold earth out in the open.
Early in the morning, the materials he bought arrived.
Construction started.
Without using any measuring tools, John dug out the layout and foundation of the house he planned to make.
Mixture of volcanic ashes and rocks, limestone and seawater made concrete—a normal one, but it could last for a long time.
Walls were built, then the ceiling and floor.
Logs were cut into 2x8 woods; he used them for the roof trusses, a common one. John cut wooden planks for the decking, laid a couple of layers to prevent leaks, and started nailing the shingles.
John spent a couple of days before finishing his house.
The house wasn't that big or small either. It had four rooms, one kitchen, living room and bathroom, two floors, a large basement, storage room, and a workshop.
Next he built a fence around the cleared field.
His construction was near completion; there was only one thing left—to install security. Not a barrier. He planned to get a guard dog. A Barrier was too overkill, and besides, a being at his level in the Old World can't fool around here or risk angering the world, the planet itself; their eventual erasure from existence was sealed at that point.
Beings at the apex before the great change were now like fish—easy to slaughter. No, that's even an insult to fish. We're like ants—easy to crush and not cared for.
"I'll summon that dog for now."
John's shadow suddenly expanded and a large dog leapt from it and landed gracefully on the ground.
An overwhelming pressure was unconsciously being released by the dog, enough to scare off or even accidentally kill someone.
Luckily each time he summoned them, he suppressed their natural aura.
"Hide that aura and guard my house."
"Woof." The dog barked happily, wagging its tail.
Shadow Dog, a being created from John's magic—one of his greatest magic, Lord of Shadows.
This magic brings death to all things and forces them under its rules, turning them into loyal soldiers of the caster. They are known as shadow creatures, half shadow, half flesh.
The Shadow Dog had black hair made of shadow, a black mist constantly released from its body, red eyes and black eyeballs. The dog was 2 meters tall and 2 and a half meters long.
Fangs that could pierce anything, and pointy ears standing. Long bushy tail.
The dog sat obediently beside the house and guarded.
After that John went into his house and slept soundly.
It's the middle of the night, the moon shines brightly illuminating the darkness. The purple planet loomed, dominating the sky, stars twinkling.