"Sigh."

Leaning back in his chair, Isaac closed his eyes.

He needed to think clearly, not emotionally.

Professor Catherine had sealed his memories.

She had used a mind skill strong enough to go unnoticed until now.

That wasn't something small.

"I don't like what Professor Catherine did," he said quietly to himself, "but…"

He exhaled and leaned forward again.

"I trust her. She must have had an important reason."

Trust didn't erase anger.

It didn't erase the fact that she had crossed a line.

But she had saved him more than once, and deep down, he knew she wasn't an enemy.

Still, he couldn't just let it go.

He folded the sheet of paper he'd written on — the list of things he remembered forgetting — and stored it inside his spatial ring.

If Catherine tried anything again, at least he'd have proof of what was tampered with.

Even if his mind forgot, the paper wouldn't.

"I want to ask Leora about this. But I doubt she'll tell me anything."

He was sure Leora already knew about the memory seal.

If she hadn't said anything, then it meant she agreed with Catherine's reasons. That made it harder, not easier.

He sighed, pressing his fingers against his temple.

"I'll ask Professor Catherine when she wakes up. Until then, I need to focus on the city's survival."

The sigh faded as he reached for another document.

This one had written details of system's construction menu.

He spread the sheet across the table and began writing, his handwriting steady but fast.

"This dungeon gave me Aether Glass, Binding Crystals, Titan Metal Shards, Arcane Bricks, Administrative Core, and Coins," he muttered as he noted them down.

He opened his system interface and flipped through the city's construction data.

The translucent blue screens appeared before his eyes, displaying material requirements and upgrade progress for each major structure.

"Let's start with the Sky Dome," he murmured, scanning the list.

Sky Dome (Lv 1 → Lv 2 Upgrade)

Materials Needed: Aether Glass (x1,500 units), Storm-Forged Alloy (x800 bars), Condensed Mana Core (x200 cores)

"Given the awakeners we have, we can get all the Aether Glass with one day of farming. The problem is Storm-Forged Alloy and Condensed Mana Core… we don't have either."

He recalled what he had been taught by Professor Catherine.

Storm-Forged Alloy were crafter from Tempest Ore.

Tempest Ore were rare, volatile metal dropped by Thunder Beasts in storm zones at two-day distance at city—two day was the time needed for reaching the destination. They would need two additional days to return with materials.

Condensed Mana Cores came from Lesser Elementals or dungeon bosses, but they weren't easy to find in the current region.

After checking the Sky Dome, he shifted to the next tab.

City Wall (Lv 1 → Lv 2 Upgrade)

Required Materials: Obsidian Brick (x3,000 blocks), Reinforced Steel Frame (x500 bars), Beast Hide Resin (x400 liters)

"Titan Metal Shards from the tutorial dungeon can be used by blacksmiths to craft Reinforced Steel Frames.

"Five shards make one frame. That means one day of farming should be enough."

He paused, tapping his pen against the table.

"But we don't have any Obsidian Bricks or Beast Hide Resin."

That was a bigger issue.

The Obsidian Bricks came from volcanic areas, and Beast Hide Resin was only found in monsters like Mutated Rhinos and Iron-Hide Crocodiles.

Both species were dangerous, and worse, they were in a swamp forest at one day distance.

Then he looked at the next building's blueprint.

Warehouse (Lv 1 Construction)

Required Materials: Reinforced Timber (x600 planks), Iron Nails (x5,000 units), Binding Crystal (x150 shards)

"Warehouse is important," Isaac said quietly. "It has spatial runes on the inside, so it can store a lot despite the small size."

His gaze lingered on the word timber.

Reinforced Timber was precious.

In this world, even flowers didn't grow outside the cities anymore.

The wilderness was a wasteland of mana contamination and scorched ground.

Trees barely existed.

The only forests left were protected zones or artificial groves maintained by large powers.

While some people grew trees inside fortified walls, no one wasted that kind of space for lumber.

Even if they did, they would not want to sell it.

"Luckily for me," Isaac said, his expression easing a little, "I can get Reinforced Timber from the forest inside the Soulbind Pendant."

He checked the rest of the list.

"Iron Nails… I can buy or forge those locally. Binding Crystals, we already get from the tutorial dungeon."

That meant the Warehouse would be the easiest to build.

It didn't even require expeditions. Most of the materials needed for it were either inside his pendant or dungeon accessible.

He leaned back again, taking a slow breath before lifting his hand.

A faint light pulsed from his ring as he deactivated the sound barrier covering the tent.

The relic had been a gift from Leora. It created a silent, invisible dome that kept noise and energy signatures from leaking out.

When the barrier faded, Isaac spoke in a calm voice, "Priscilla, Vale, come here."

The tent flap shifted as the dragon maid entered first, her eyes calm as always.

Vale followed behind.

His expression was steady but curious.

Isaac looked at Priscilla first. "I need timber from the Cradle. Can you and the others handle it?"

"We can, Master," she said, bowing lightly.

"Good," Isaac nodded. "I need six hundred planks, mana-treated, cut to the dimensions I'll send to your terminal."

He operated his terminal, and transferred the blueprint details to the terminal he gave her earlier that day.

"We'll use them for the Warehouse foundation."

Priscilla took the data with a small nod. "Understood. I'll have the others start immediately."

She turned gracefully and stepped into the Soulbind Pendant, her form vanishing in a flicker of green light.

When she was gone, Isaac turned to Vale.

"Come on," Isaac said, standing up and brushing the dust off his coat. "We're going back to the city. There's work to do."

Vale blinked, confused.

"How are we going back? Celia already left, and we haven't brought a hovercraft."

"Just follow me."

Isaac used the Planar Crossing skill.

A dark mist began to spread in front of them, swirling like smoke before condensing into a circular formation.

The air around it vibrated faintly, mana lines flickering across the ground.

Vale's eyes widened, his hand moving automatically toward the sword at his waist.

"What the—?"

"Relax," Isaac said with a small smile. "It's a teleportation skill. Like the one Celia has."

Vale watched as the cloud thickened into a large black cloud, humming softly with unstable mana.

He stepped closer and muttered, "…You can actually use teleport?"

Isaac didn't answer.

He simply walked into the dark mist.

Vale hesitated for a second, then followed.

The world around them twisted, the sensation similar to diving through cold water.

When they emerged, they were standing inside Professor Catherine's — temporarily Isaac's — office in Fortified City 50.

The familiar hum of the city's mana reactors buzzed faintly in the distance.

Sunlight filtered through the window, catching on the polished steel of the office furniture.

Vale looked around, eyes sharp but clearly impressed. "So it really is teleportation…"

"Hm," Isaac nodded, walking to the desk.

He sat down, took out a pen and paper, and started writing a list.

Vale crossed his arms, waiting. "What's that?"

"A list of things you'll need to buy. Materials, mainly." Isaac didn't look up as he wrote. "Some of it might be available in the city shop. If it is, buy everything on the list."

He slid the paper across the desk.

"After that, talk to Paul and get some blacksmiths ready. I'll be sending them materials soon to craft something specific."

Vale took the list, scanning it briefly. "Got it. What about the money?"

Isaac looked up. "Take Selene with you. She'll decide the prices. As for the money, take it from the Super Guild's treasury."

That reminded Isaac he needed to hand someone the key to treasury. This person would be responsible for nothing down all truncations, and keeping the record.

'Selene would be the best for the job, but she is the heir of the Calloway Conglomerate,' he sighed.

"No, I mean…" Vale hesitated. "We're paying for all this? You're building everything for the city. Shouldn't we be getting the materials for free or at least cheaper? We're helping everyone survive here."

Isaac leaned back in his chair and stared at Vale for a moment.

There was no hostility in his gaze, just curiosity.

He realized Vale wasn't being greedy.

He was just used to the way things worked now.

Strength dictated worth, and strong people often took what they wanted.

"We're not going to ask for free materials. We'll recover the money through city taxes later. Free materials will make people think we owe them," Isaac said calmly.

Vale frowned slightly, then nodded. "Fair point."

He left the office.

When the door closed, Isaac leaned forward again and opened his system panel.

Several holographic windows appeared in front of him, showing the blueprints for the remaining buildings.

First was the City Hall (Lv 1 Construction).

Required Materials: Arcane Brick (x3,000 blocks), Mana-Infused Glass (x500 sheets), Administrative Core (x1 core)

"City Hall is required if I want to construct anything beyond Level 2 walls, Sky Dome, and Warehouse," Isaac murmured, scanning through the data.

"Luckily, all of these materials can be obtained from the tutorial dungeon."

Arcane Bricks were solid drops from the Crimson Reflection Dungeon's monsters.

The Administrative Core was a rare drop from the final boss, the Arcane Overseer.

Mana-Infused Glass, on the other hand, had to be crafted from Aether Glass shards after refinement.

He made a quick note to prioritize crafting them once the blacksmiths finished the reinforced steel frames.

Next, he opened the blueprint for another structure: the Summoning Altar (Lv 1 Construction).

Required Materials: Administrative Core (x1 core), Runic Obsidian Slab (x200 slabs), Binding Crystal (x300 shards), Soul-Conductive Alloy (x50 bars)

Isaac stared at the list for a while.

"This one's a problem," he said under his breath. "We can get some of the materials from the dungeon, but not all. The Runic Obsidian and Soul-Conductive Alloy aren't available anywhere nearby."

The Sky Dome and City Wall had the same issue.

Collecting materials for them within the time limit was hard.

He tapped the desk lightly with his pen, thinking.

"The people in the Lord Chat said the Quest's difficulty would depend upon the Lord's Talent.

"The tutorial dungeon was easy, so I thought they were bluffing, but…"

He looked at the materials.

"The real difficulty is collecting materials within the time limit."

Isaac was not much worried.

He had a plan already.

He turned toward Ruby, who had been standing silently near the corner of the office.

"Contact Chairman Lucius," Isaac said.

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