The clearing had been buzzing with activity since early morning. Elyria, hovering in the air, cleared and expanded the space with light sweeps of her hands. The trees neatly parted, making room for the settlement's new borders.
A full-fledged, level street now stretched through the clearing. Three wooden houses stood on either side.
Iron chose the location for the Main Building at the very end of this street—right at the edge of the dense forest. The massive facade of the future complex was meant to rise right up beneath the giant tree canopies, yet without damaging them in the slightest or touching their branches.
"Alright, Elyria, we start with the foundation," Iron said, laying out the schematics before the spirit. "First, we form the foundation. We need a flat, perfect surface without the slightest drop in elevation."
He explained in thorough detail and pointed out on the blueprint exactly where the load-bearing boundaries and outer pathways should go.
Elyria nodded, soared a little higher, and squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating her mana. At that very moment, the ground beneath her hummed softly. A smooth, white material began to emerge from the soil.
A few minutes later, a massive, perfectly level foundation of white stone stood before Iron. Neat, evenly laid walkways and platforms extended from it in every direction.
"Now for the most important stage—the frame of the Central section itself," Iron flipped the blueprint sheet and traced his finger along the main diagram. "Don't use regular wood. We need iron oak."
"Got it!" Elyria replied cheerfully and remained suspended above the white stone, completely focused.
As the spirit focused her mana, Iron mentally activated the Lumon interface. Instantly, a translucent holographic 3D grid unfolded over the white foundation. Iron carefully checked every load-bearing beam and the curve of the dome. He was completely satisfied with the result, and with a quick mental impulse, he turned off the projection.
Meanwhile, under Elyria's control, the wood intertwined, forming a monolithic frame.
The base of the Central sector was circular and very wide. Rising higher and higher, the wooden vaults gradually curved inward, meeting at the very top in a solid dome with a slightly elongated, streamlined peak.
At the same time, Elyria, strictly following Iron's instructions, neatly left evenly spaced openings in the massive iron oak walls for the future windows.
As soon as the final piece of iron oak fell into place, sealing the top of the dome, the magic around them subsided.
Elyria let out a heavy sigh, and in that same second, she veered sharply to the side. She tried to level herself in the air but only wobbled sluggishly from side to side.
"Go rest," Iron said immediately, noticing her condition.
The spirit somehow managed to focus her tired gaze on Iron and, slowly and with effort, raised a tiny hand with a thumbs-up to let him know she was "fine" before zigzagging away toward the residential houses.
Iron walked over to his crates of materials. He took out the prepared tools, stacked sheets of regular transparent glass, and several special containers holding a thick, iridescent substance—adaptive glass of his own invention.
While Iron was busy with the frame of the central building, a little further downstream, Clerk, Lera, Helda, and the rest of the people in their group refreshed themselves in the cool water and washed their clothes in special vats.
Clerk, wringing out his shirt, accidentally glanced at Peron and immediately froze. He was standing in absolutely dry, perfectly pressed, and clean clothes.
"Wait a minute, Peron..." Clerk said in surprise, stepping closer. "Why are your clothes dry? How did you do that?"
"Oh, Lady Elyria helped me with that," Peron replied with pride in his voice.
"Ah, that makes sense..." Clerk drawled, shaking his head. "Could you tell me where she is now?"
"She's busy right now, helping Iron with the construction of the main building," came the calm voice of Eliza, who had approached them from behind.
"I see," Clerk sighed.
No one had spare clothes, so the only option was to dry what they had. The settlers began separating among the bushes and trees, awkwardly covering themselves with their hands. With nowhere else to go, they began figuring out how to hang their wet clothes.
Noticing their confusion, Eliza decided to step in. She walked over to the spreading branches of a nearby tree.
She gauged the tension of sturdy plant fibers, chose branches at the perfect angle to the sun, and took the wind direction into account so that the airflow would pass through every inch of fabric.
The settlers watched with surprise and gratitude as, under her guidance, the mess turned into a functioning drying zone.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, away from the noise of the construction and the loud splashes of the river, Noah stood in the middle of a small, shady clearing.
His eyes were closed, and his breathing had settled into a deep, barely audible rhythm.
His muscles tensed.
Impulse!
Noah snapped his eyes open.
Nothing happened. He was still standing in the exact same clearing, under the exact same spreading spruce, with only the grass quietly rustling around him.
"Damn it..." he hissed through gritted teeth.
He squeezed his eyes shut again, putting even more effort into his focus. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and veins bulged at his temples.
One. Two. Three...
Still, nothing happened.
Suddenly, the strain of prolonged concentration sent a throbbing pain through his head, forcing Noah to exhale and grab his forehead with his hand.
"Why isn't it working?" he muttered quietly to himself, rubbing his temples.
Realizing it was pointless to force his mind any further, Noah steadied his breathing, moved his hand away from his face, and drew his sword from its scabbard. He fell into his familiar strikes and fencing combinations.
At the same time, Iron began installing the glass for the Central sector. He carefully began installing transparent window frames into the openings Elyria had previously left in the iron oak.
When he took out the containers with the special adaptive compound and applied it to the dark brown surface of the iron oak, the glass flowed smoothly over the curved frame, solidifying instantly and taking on the exact shape of the dome's curved contours.
Under normal conditions, such a glass building under the direct rays of the sun would have turned into a giant mirror. Anyone looking at it from afar on a clear day would be instantly blinded by the glare. But Iron had manufactured the glass with a special internal crystalline structure.
When the sun's rays struck the surface, they didn't reflect back but were instead softly refracted and dispersed by a special magical micronetwork. As a result, the building didn't blind the eyes or cause any pain when looked at; it merely gave off a pleasant gleam.
The work progressed steadily. Over the remainder of the day, Iron managed to completely finish the window openings and apply the protective adaptive glass to the upper part of the dome.
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