Chapter 290: A Spirit’s Ambition

Iron sat in the chair behind the desk in his office, lost in thought. A complex array of blueprints, diagrams, and calculations they had discussed in detail earlier unfolded across his retinal display.

Iron thoughtfully ran his gaze over the shimmering holographic lines and murmured under his breath:

"Iron Oak... runes, raw aether."

He let out a short breath and blinked, deactivating the interface. All the projections vanished instantly. He took his feet off the desk and leaned forward, clenching and unclenching his fingers.

After taking a moment to collect himself, Iron called out quietly:

"Elyria."

In the very next second, Elyria answered his call and instantly materialized right in front of his face. She swayed slightly in the air and asked:

"What do you want?"

Iron looked at her and said calmly:

"Make me some Iron Oak."

Elyria made a small gesture with her hand, and a block of Iron Oak materialized out of thin air right in front of him. Lowering her hands, she looked at him:

"And now what?"

"That's all. You can go," Iron replied.

Elyria vanished in an instant, leaving only the newly created block of material on the desk.

Iron blinked his right eye, bringing up a translucent holographic blueprint in front of him. The projection hovered directly above the block of Iron Oak on the desk, allowing him to precisely align the structure he was about to create.

Focusing his concentration, he directed streams of mana into his fingertips and formed an incredibly fine magical beam, just one atom thick.

"Help me," he said quietly.

A deep, barely perceptible rumble echoed within the depths of his soul. Lumon responded, signaling its complete agreement.

The razor-thin beam swept across the block, etching an intricate pattern of quantum runes, control elements, and hidden channels directly into the dense fibers of the Iron Oak.

Meanwhile, Elyria was at the new buildings. The fifth half-timbered house was already standing, its light walls and dark timber frame in place, though it still lacked a roof and windows. Nearby, Clerk and the other men were hard at work finishing the roofs and installing the windows in the earlier buildings.

Elyria wiped imaginary sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, planted her hands on her hips, and let out a heavy sigh as she surveyed her handiwork with a satisfied smile. She quickly compared the outline of the new house with the five already completed and, after confirming that everything was perfectly identical, nodded triumphantly to herself.

She was about to continue building the row when she noticed that the forest was too close, leaving little room for further expansion. Without giving it much thought, Elyria raised her right hand and slightly curled her fingers.

At that very moment, a low rumble filled the air around her. Massive trees, along with their extensive root systems, smoothly lifted off the ground and hovered in the air. With a gentle sweep of her hand, she pushed the entire treeline farther back into the woods. Once she was satisfied that there was now plenty of room for more houses, she lowered her finger.

The trees settled softly back into place as their roots sank deep into the soil, and the ground beneath them instantly leveled out and restored itself, erasing all traces of the relocation.

Elyria was practically glowing with overwhelming joy. In her mind, she cheered excitedly:

Finally, I'll have a space of my own! Hooray!

With a small, triumphant sigh, she floated a little farther forward, stopped in midair above the cleared area, and resolutely stretched both hands out in front of her. A tiny, brilliant point of light appeared ahead, rapidly growing larger with every passing second until the distinct outline of a new house began to take shape.

Meanwhile, Eliza was tossing and turning in her sleep. After a while, she rolled over to face the fireplace and slowly opened her eyes.

She blinked, sleepily rubbing her eyes with one hand while stretching languidly. For several minutes, Eliza simply lay still, gazing absentmindedly around the quiet room.

Then she carefully sat up in bed, threw off the blanket, and lowered her legs to the floor. Once she was on her feet, she walked a few leisurely steps and settled into the soft armchair right beside the fireplace.

Meanwhile, work was in full swing at the construction site. Clerk was confidently and efficiently overseeing the process, giving clear instructions to Vadya and the other men. Under their skilled hands, the houses were steadily taking shape before their eyes. The workers were finishing the roofs and installing the window frames. As he moved past, Clerk briefly glanced at the men installing the glass. They were putting the finishing touches in place, and the results looked more than satisfactory. A faint, pleased smile crossed his face, but he quickly returned to work.

Nearby, Kane was hard at work. As he hammered a heavy fastener into place on his section, he straightened his back for a moment to catch his breath and inadvertently glanced toward Elyria. Seeing that the spirit had already managed to form the outline of yet another house, even if it was still unfinished and lacked a roof and windows, Kane felt a powerful surge of motivation. Tightening his grip on his tool, he threw himself back into the work with twice as much effort, determined not to fall behind her.

Meanwhile, Noah was making his way back to the village from deep within the forest. Walking at a calm, leisurely pace, he finally emerged from beneath the spreading branches of the trees and stepped into the open space of the settlement.

Elyria, who was completely focused on creating another house at that moment, caught sight of Noah returning out of the corner of her eye. She got distracted for just a second, and the outline of the building she was forming immediately fell apart, scattering into thousands of bright sparks.

Elyria let out an irritated snort and muttered:

"Damn it!"

Without wasting another moment, she shot forward and quickly flew over to Noah, blocking his path. Hovering directly in front of him, she demanded:

"Hey, Noah, help Clerk and the others!"

Noah gave her a lazy sideways glance:

"Go ask Marek."

Elyria planted her hands on her hips, looking outraged:

"He's already helping our girls alongside a few other guys! You're the only one left with free hands. Come on, just help out already! It's not like you're doing anything useful for us anyway!"

Noah silently turned around and headed toward the construction site, tossing over his shoulder:

"Fine."

Elyria froze for a moment in surprise, thinking in disbelief:

That's it? Not even a single sarcastic remark?

Still walking forward, Noah turned his head slightly and added:

"But on one condition."

Elyria immediately grew alert, fixing her gaze on him with interest:

"Well?"

Noah raised his hand and pointed toward the bustling construction site near the new houses:

"You and me. Once we're done here, we're fighting."

Elyria lit up with anticipation, flashing a wide grin and giving him a confident thumbs-up:

"Deal!"

The next moment, her voice echoed right beside Noah's ear. Elyria herself was already hovering at the other end of the construction site, stretching out her hands to create another house:

"Just don't forget, I'm going all out!"

Noah merely chuckled softly and continued on his leisurely way.

A few seconds later, Noah reached the men at work, silently picked up a heavy tool lying nearby, and began twirling it in his hands.

Clerk noticed him and looked up from the beam in surprise:

"Oh, Noah, what are you doing here?"

"Here to help you," Noah replied calmly.

Clerk gave him a skeptical look:

"Help? You? Seriously?"

Noah simply tilted the tool slightly toward Clerk:

"So, what should I do?"

Clerk quickly recovered from his momentary confusion and immediately gave him clear instructions. With Noah's arrival, the work picked up pace again. Heavy structural components fell into place without the slightest delay, and his physical strength helped take some of the burden off the others.

About fifteen minutes later, when another house had been completely finished and the workers had all moved on to assembling the next building, Noah was carrying a massive support beam toward the new frame.

At that moment, Eliza appeared in the distance. She was walking leisurely along the path, an unlit cigarette held between her teeth. When she noticed the men at work and Noah among them, she immediately took the cigarette out of her mouth, carefully placed it back in its case, and slipped it into her trouser pocket along with her lighter.

Picking up her pace until she was moving at a brisk, almost jogging speed, Eliza approached the construction site and confidently said:

"Let me give you a hand."