n

n

nApate watched Vritri leave.

nNow that the initial shock of being awoken had faded, the big shots were hiding their auras. It even seemed that the Mana was pressing against her senses, dulling them with every passing hour.

n'It isn't surprising. There isn't enough Mana here for so many Tier 8, 9, and 10 existences to inhabit this place at once.'

nIt wouldn't be as bad once the seal broke further, but for now, she would have to deal with functioning as a Tier 6 existence at most.

n'At least the others will be hindered to the same extent.'

nIt was impossible to know how the others would act. She also wasn't aware of what the Humans had going on.

n'It's evident that Earth was at the center of this change. The Humans could be planning something.'

nThe Formations that locked these so-called Dungeons in place were strange. They seemed like the same powerful slave seals that the Gods had once used.

nThe Races that were caught trying to steal the Gods' Mana would be thrown into camps with similar Formations. Inside the Formation, one would lose their mind and aimlessly walk around doing what the Runes demanded.

nIn the Gods' case, they forced the prisoners to extract crystalized Mana and stockpiled it. These crystals were used to fuel the Formation that separated the planets.

nShe remembered watching as they created planetary systems. These crystals were the stars that sat at the center and would fuel the Formation until their energy was depleted.

nAs the crystals lost their power, they would typically explode before absorbing the energy around them, eventually forming a new crystal.

nIt was still too soon for the Formation to have broken down.

nApate had watched for many years as the lights in the sky went out. Each one signifying a loss in the seal's power.

n'Did... the Humans destroy the crystals in order to speed up the merging process..? If so, to what end? And how did they know which crystals were connected to which Race?'

nThere were just too many things that she didn't understand. On top of that... Humans?!?!? Since when were they capable of such magnificent feats!?!

nThe more she thought about it, the more interested she became. Apate continued to stare into the dome-like barrier for many minutes after the man she was following had entered.

nFinally, she came to a decision.

n

"I want to learn more about them,

" She muttered.

n*****

nA blanket of mist burst from the double doors as they slowly creaked open. Geth was the first to step into the room.

nHe contorted the Mana around him into a small vacuum that swiftly pulled the smoke and dust from the room.

n

"Huh?

"

nGeth cocked his head slightly to the side. He was surprised by what he saw.

nHe had been expecting winding staircases and beautiful architecture, but this was... dispiriting.

nThe Tower absolutely fell short of his expectations. In fact, it fell short by a long shot.

nThe place was completely empty!

nThere were only two things present: A small obelisk and Larz, who was standing beside it.

n

"I have to say. I'm not impressed... yet

"

nZolis stepped in beside Geth and looked up into the empty tower. She could clearly see to the very top with no hindrances.

nStill, the place was immense. It could easily house ten high-ceiling floors in the upper direction.

nAs far as diameter, it was easily one hundred yards across. Many rooms could be built in the place, if necessary.

nGeth walked toward Larz, with Zolis and Sindri beside him. His youngest son, who had decided to go by Parker, ran along in front of them.

nApparently, he'd become quite infatuated with Larz. The elf would teach him things in return for curing his boredom.

n

"How does this place work, Larz?

" Geth asked as he crossed the distance to the center of the space.

nLarz patted the stone pillar beside him. It was in the shape of a pentagon and stood close to eight feet tall.

n

"Think of this Obelisk as the brains of the city. Almost everything will be done from here... for now,

" Larz began.

nThe Obelisk lit up once he pressed his palm against it. Thousands of words, numbers, and Runes were projected lightly from its surface.

n

"Eventually, this will turn into more of a quest board for the townspeople. For now, it's how you begin building the city.

nYou may be very familiar with the system. As with almost every aspect of this world, this system was created based on *cough* games *cough* from your Earth.

nFor this particular system to work, you must gather different resources and bring them into the city walls. Once the resources are available, knowledge will be bestowed unto those you choose to construct the facility.

"

nGeth looked at Larz, then back to the Obelisk. He shook his head. There was no way that was it.

n

"That sounds too easy, Larz.

"

n*Sigh*

n

"You are correct. It is only that simple for Level 1 structures.

"

nLarz waved his hand, altering the screen that Geth was seeing and spreading out the projections around the entire base of the Obelisk.

nThe projection became an exact scale replica of the city outside of the Tower, with the Obelisk acting as the Tower itself. Geth's eyes widened in shock.

nAs he suspected, this place wasn't as simple as he thought. He could see a small dot for each and every person who had been granted citizenship.

n

"The initial structures can be built by anyone,

" Larz waved his hand again. A list appeared before Geth. Every item on the list was very familiar.

n

"Are these all of the facilities that each Dungeon contained?

"

nLarz nodded,

"That is correct, young master. The Tower has saved all blueprints from your previous ventures.

nAny facility, along with its Level that you had in the caves, were integrated into the Towers list of currently buildable facilities.

"

nGeth scrolled down the list. There wasn't a single thing missing.

n

"And what happens when we've built everything on this list?

"

n

"Well....

"

n