Chapter 416: Construction

Sage returned his attention to the Kingdom Map. Evergreen’s Guild network looked almost like a completed section waiting for connectionsto spread outward from it.

The rest of the Kingdom remained largely untouched. He could already imagine what the map might look like years from now: Regional Headquarters established across those dim territories, branches spreading through cities, mission networks connecting them, adventurers moving between Regions under the same rules and carrying the same licenses.

But that was for later.

Right now, Sage owned seventy-two million gold coins’ worth of ruins.

He closed the Kingdom Map and opened another interface.

[Kingdom Construction]

The change was immediate. The construction options available under the old System had always centered on individual Guild facilities and regional infrastructure.

This menu began at a completely different scale. Sage caught glimpses of categories for Regional Headquarters, Kingdom infrastructure, advanced commercial facilities, production facilities and administrative complexes before a notification appeared over everything else .

[Guild Rank Advancement Reward Detected.]

[B-Rank Kingdom Headquarters Construction Package Available.]

Sage selected it.

A three-dimensional projection appeared above the interface, initially showing the boundaries of the Old Western Garrison exactly as they currently existed.

The ruined barracks, warehouses, training grounds and military workshops were represented in miniature. Even the damaged northern section from the old magical accident appeared within the model.

Then those structures faded.

What replaced them made Sage forget about Boren’s complaints entirely.

He couldn’t see every detail yet. Much of the projected complex remained deliberately simplified, but its scale was obvious.

A massive central structure dominated the heart of the property. Roads spread outward through organized sections rather than following the decaying military layout.

A tower rose so high above everything else that Sage had to rotate the projection to confirm what he was seeing. Large facilities occupied entire blocks.

There were commercial sections, administrative areas, training grounds, production facilities, accommodation and enough remaining land deliberately left undeveloped for future expansion.

This wasn’t a Guild Hall.

It was a district designed around the Guild.

Before Sage could inspect anything further, another notification covered the projection.

[Eligible Kingdom Headquarters Territory Detected.]

[Property: Old Western Garrison]

[Ownership Status: Adventurer Guild — Permanent Title Confirmed]

[Territorial requirements satisfied.]

[Would Host like to designate this property as the Kingdom Headquarters Territory of the Adventurer Guild?]

[YES / NO]

Sage didn’t hesitate and selected [ YES.]

A pulse spread across the projected property. The designation above it changed.

[Old Western Garrison successfully designated.]

[Adventurer Guild — Kingdom Headquarters Territory established.]

[Preparing B-Rank Kingdom Headquarters Construction Package...]

Sage waited but nothing happened. He looked around, the ruined barracks remained ruined, the warehouse missing half its roof was still missing half its roof.

The weeds did not disappear. The road did not repair itself. No enormous Guild Hall descended from the sky. Considering what the System had done with previous facilities, Sage had half expected at least the first stage of construction to begin immediately.

Then the next notification appeared.

[Construction Plan Generated.]

[Preliminary demolition required.]

[Site restoration required.]

[Infrastructure installation required.]

[Construction labor allocation in progress.]

[Material supply routes being established.]

[Estimated Construction Period: 30 Days.]

Sage blinked. "Thirty days?"

This time Boren heard him clearly. "What takes thirty days?"

Sage looked over.

Boren’s eyes narrowed. "No. Don’t give me that look. You’ve been standing there staring at nothing for ten minutes. What takes thirty days?"

"The Headquarters." Sage said."The Headquarters takes thirty days to build?"

For the first time since the seventy-two-million-gold purchase, genuine happiness appeared on Boren’s face.

He spread his arms toward the ruined district as though the answer had finally proven the world remained rational. "Good! Excellent. Finally. Do you know how comforting that is? Buildings are supposed to take time. Workers come, materials arrive, people buildthings, people complain about deadlines, somebody inevitably orders the wrong amount of timber. That’s civilization. That’s normal."

Mina looked doubtful. "One month doesn’t sound normal."

"Don’t ruin this for me."

Pax had been watching the conversation quietly. "What exactly is being built in one month?"

Sage glanced toward the enormous property surrounding them. "All of it."

Boren’s smile disappeared slightly.

Before he could ask what all of it meant, Sage heard wheels.

At first he assumed the sound came from Western Crownway beyond the garrison wall. Traffic had been moving along the major road throughout their visit.

But this was getting louder. Multiple wagons. Heavy ones.

Pax heard it too and turned toward the entrance.

A moment later, one of the Crown guards who had remained temporarily stationed at the property came walking quickly throughthe old gate. "Guildmaster!"

Sage turned and looked at him with raised eyebrow.

The guard stopped several paces away, looking confused. "There are people outside asking for whoever is responsible for the Adventurer Guild construction project."

Boren’s expression changed.

Sage looked toward the gate. "How many?"

"Quite a few." The guard answered with confused expression.

They walked back through the ruined district together. By the time the old entrance came into view, Sage could already hear voices beyond the wall.

The moment he stepped through the gate, he stopped.

Western Crownway had changed.

A line of heavy wagons stretched along one side of the road. Some carried timber. Others were loaded with dressed stone, metal beams, tools and sealed crates marked with construction symbols.

Behind them stood carts filled with equipment Sage didn’t recognize. Workers were gathering beside the road in organized groups, masons, carpenters, laborers and men carrying surveying equipment.

Several people in cleaner work clothes were studying documents beside the first wagon, while another group appeared to be discussing the ruined wall with an engineer.

More wagons were approaching in the distance.

A broad-shouldered man carrying a rolled set of plans noticed Sage emerging from the gate and approached immediately. "Guildmaster Sage Alistair?"

"Yes."

The man extended a document bearing the Adventurer Guild’s name.

"Construction supervisor. We’re scheduled to begin site clearance today. Demolition teams are behind us, survey crews are ready, and the first material deliveries have already arrived. If you can confirm the designated access routes, we’ll start bringing everyone inside."

Sage accepted the document. Behind the supervisor, another wagon turnedfrom Western Crownway and joined the growing line.

Boren slowly turned toward Sage. "I take back what I said about this being normal."

Sage didn’t answer. He stepped back through the ruined entrance and looked across the Old Western Garrison once more.

For decades, the district had sat abandoned because restoring it would have required years of planning, enormous labor and a fortune in reconstruction costs. Yesterday, nobody had wanted it.

Today, workers were already entering through its gates.

Sage looked down at the construction schedule in his hands, then at the seemingly endless line of materials arriving behind them.

The System had already begun.