As the Laughing Viper trio went to sleep, I got to work on the safe haven I promised to make. I was considering making a wooden palisade of sorts out of my roots, but I feel like that would take too much time and stamina and would be too permanent. Instead, I’ll make it a basic rock wall.

  I took a large amount of dirt from a few feet under the clearing and used that to make the wall. Doing it this way would also allow me to enlarge the small tank I was using to store the mana water while also making room for a second floor for the safe haven. I left a few key pillars underground that would act as support for the floor above and shifted the roots around to make hallways and individual rooms. I didn’t have enough roots to make it all, so I supplemented them by creating more roots and using some more dirt.

  When I started, I didn’t have much of a design plan other than to basically make a large wall and rooms lining the wall. But as I continued, a vision began to form. I made hallways with rooms lining both sides, I added stairs to the second floor on the side farthest from the road, and I duplicated the first floor on the second, using my tank of mana water as a continuation of my trunk.

  Once the basic layout was finished, I had to use more of my stamina to create beds for each of the rooms using my roots. I made basic cots for people to sleep in. It wasn’t anything fancy, but the people I was expecting should have been planning on sleeping in tents, so they’ll have to make do. There was still room in each room for a sleeping roll to be placed.

  I made each of the beds a bit extra sturdy by infusing the frames with a bit of iron in them, but quickly realized I wouldn’t have time to do something that labor-intensive overnight. I’ll have to make that a long-term project to work on, right alongside my golems. Speaking of golems, it has been a while since I tried making an actual one. I’ll add that to the list of things to do when the Laughing Vipers leave me tomorrow.

  I continued my work of creating a basic hotel through the night, going so far as to incorporate the rooms currently occupied by the Laughing Vipers into the design. I felt Aspen stir a few times, which was probably due to me using such large quantities of mana near her.

  Speaking of mana, the mana from my previous workshop had been leaking out for a while, so I went ahead and condensed the remaining mana I could grasp onto from inside into mana water. It was a quick thing now, made quicker the more I did it.

  The workshop was a little lower than the floor of the rest of the second floor, so I diverted some of the excess dirt there to level it out. After a moment, you could barely tell the difference, except the level of mana saturation. That will be fixed with time though; it was already starting to even out as I watched.

  With the second floor done, I realized that I needed to add entrances to the fort on the first floor.

  I removed the rooms that were at each of the cardinal directions and incorporated them into the hallways. Next, I made swinging doors at the entrance to each hallway so that the halls were separated from the outside rather than have the loose hanging roots. While the roots would be more than enough to kill any Orc, I feel that the people who would be taking refuge here would appreciate some semblance of visual security.

  Going along with the security vibe, I created a few more puppets to place them outside the entrance to my fort. They were little more than mounds of dirt with root armor, but they at least looked mildly intimidating. If it was dark and I closed my eyes and squinted really hard, I could almost imagine them to be real guards.

  Yah know, it would be so much easier if I could make actual golems. Too bad I have to wait another 11 more levels. Eye roll.

  Whatever. I was doing these people a favor, so if they didn’t like it, then they could sleep elsewhere.

  I made a pair of guards at each entrance and gave them both spears with metal blades. The blades were actually just iron infused wood, but they shined in the moonlight and looked real enough. They would do just fine when it came to offing a foe.

  As extra protection for the wall, I was planning to add layers of vines with rows and rows of thorns on them, but that was something that would also take a lot of stamina, so I opted to make dirt spears instead.

  I compacted some dirt from one section of the wall into a hard and pointy spike and loosened the dirt around it for prime firing. It would only reach about a foot away from the wall, but I wasn’t expecting any Orcs or other monsters to be trying to climb the walls when there were hallways not that far away that they were more likely to try going through instead. Still, it was nice to have the wall spears as a backup.

  I took a moment to examine the fortress I just made and truly admired my work. Sure, it took 490% of my mana pool, forcing me to dip not only into my mana berry stash, but also into my tank of mana water, but it was completely worth it. I can honestly say that I am proud of the work I just did. The only thing that I want to change is the height of the wall.

  As it stood, the wall was around 50 feet in height. It was great to have that as a way to protect the people inside the fortress, but nothing will be getting anywhere near the top. I think it would actually be better if I decreased the height a little. Unfortunately, I didn’t have anywhere to put the extra dirt. The second floor was made by removing all this, and to put it back would be a giant waste of resources.

  Instead, I took inspiration from my actions in creating the dirt spears all along the wall. I would condense the wall down and make it stronger that way.

  I started with the top layer, since that would theoretically be the easiest to fix should I mess up. I was about to infuse the dirt with my mana again when I realized it still had mana leftover from when I first made it.

  I started the process the same way that I started the process of making mana water. I focused my efforts into making 5 feet of the wall fit into only 1 foot of space. It was hard at first, but when I imagined the process as a parallel to the mana water process, it became a lot simpler. I felt the mana inside the dirt wall compact the same way as it had before, and the dirt followed the mana. I kept pushing and squeezing and making all sorts of noises and profanities in my mind, and soon enough, the entire wall was brought down a whole lot smaller than it was before, about 15 feet total.

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  I was pleased with my efforts, and they even earned me a few notifications as well.

  Through intense practice and remarkable feats, skill [Earth Magic (R+)] has improved to [Earth Magic (R+1)].

  Through intense practice and remarkable feats, skill [Mana Condensation (R)] has improved to [Mana Condensation (R+)].

  Through intense practice and remarkable feats, skill [Body Manipulation (U)] has improved to [Body Manipulation (U+)].

  By designing a fortress that can withstand both earthquakes and armies, you have earned the title [Architect].

  As I read the title notification, my mind was flooded with new ways to improve the floor plans I made. They were mostly minor improvements, like adjusting the support pillars for the stairs, reinforcing certain areas with mana to help better protect against long-term weathering. All in all, the title seemed to like the design I made. It was some serious vindication that I was more than just a resource battery. I couldn’t have done this without being a resource battery, but I digress.

  I feel like the Body Manipulation improvement has been long coming, so I was happy that the system recognized that it took both physical and magical effort to make this happen. I was very proud of how seamless some parts of the fortress looked.

  As I gazed upon my glorious creation, I realized it was starting to get brighter. It was almost time to say goodbye to the Laughing Vipers for the last time today.

  Aspen tossed and turned in her bed. Despite how comfortable it was compared to sleeping on the ground like they were planning on, the beds Willow made just weren’t the feather-stuffed mattresses she could get back at the inns in Flora. Thankfully though, they would be heading home this very day.

  Even if Aspen had the most comfortable bed in the world, though, with the amount of mana that was being used last night, anyone with a sense for magic would have trouble sleeping. Every time that Aspen thought that Willow would run out of mana and calm down for the remainder of the night, he would surprise her by surging his mana yet again. She knew that he wasn’t waking her on purpose and that he was probably working on creating the safe haven that they requested of him, but it would have been nice to get a full night’s rest before walking for the next couple of days.

  She waited until she heard Ragnar start getting up in the room next to her before she decided she had had enough restless sleep for the night. Aspen packed her bag for the final time and did a double check of the room to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything. As she picked up a comb from the ground, she heard a series of gasps and exclamations from the guys in her party. She quickly finished and rushed outside to see what all the fuss was about.

  As she left her room, she looked around and saw what the fuss was about. Willow had put all that massive amount of mana to use last night to make what appears to be a dirt inn. Aspen walked around for a while before finding what looked like a common room in the hallway that led to the road her and her party would be taking back home.

  The common room was little more than a few wooden dining tables for parties of 4, a couch, a couple of larger, more comfortable looking chairs, and a table with some of the fruit he made. It wasn’t any of the resource berries like he gave to them, but the actually nutritious fruit that was both sweet and tart. It had a nice homey vibe to it.

  Aspen walked around the compound a few times and noted the stairs that lead to a nearly identical layout below. She wondered what Willow did with all of the excess dirt that he had to have excavated to make this, but declined to ask. She knew that the answer would only lead to more and more questions, and then she would end up wanting to delay their departure even more.

  Instead, she chose to thank Willow yet again for the hard work he must have put into this. She knew that he would probably be upgrading it over time, but it was honestly amazing as it was. She was surprised at how many rooms he was able to add, and the second floor, while dark, would be great for housing multiple parties if it came to it. The ‘guards’ that Willow created were quite impressive, though they could have used eye holes in their armor to really sell the living aspect. All in all, it was a fortress hotel that would serve to protect many adventurers, should they find this place.

  Before she could get out the first words of her appreciative speech, Willow stopped her, saying that he promised to do this and he was just upholding his promise.

  “Besides,” he added, “I don’t like the idea of sapient beings dying off to a bunch of two legged pigs. It just gives me the ick.”

  Aspen nodded her approval and left to join Ragnar and Taryn for their breakfast. It was the last time they would be eating fresh Orc belly like this, so they made sure to savor the flavor. Aspen could feel her new skill doing its thing as she regained more mana from her food than she had expected. She had spent a bit of mana using Earth Magic to help her pack faster this morning, and she was already back to a full resource pool. She could see this coming in handy in the future.

  The Laughing Vipers finished their meal with gusto. It was the perfect last breakfast at their impromptu inn, and they were all already looking forward to coming back when they were stronger to say hello to their friend. Well, all but one of them.

  Taryn looked around and considered the amount of mana needed to make something this grand as he ate. He knew that this feat of magic would be wasted as soon as the elven diplomatic group made their way here, though. Despite how strong he knew Willow was, Taryn knew that he would be happier and safer in the elven grove. It was unfortunate that no races besides elves were permitted to enter the grove, so this would likely be the last time Willow got to see either Ragnar or Aspen, but it was for his own good.

  I wonder when Elowen will get here. It should be any day now, given how fast word travels through the trees. Hell, he might even be showing up today. It would be best if the three of us made our way back to Flora sooner rather than later, in that case. I think Aspen has gotten enough of a tour, and it looks like Ragnar is done eating, so…

  “I think it’s high time for us to make our way home,” Taryn said as nonchalantly as he could. “I thank you, Willow, for your hospitality. We need to leave now though, so we have time to make camp at the halfway mark before it gets dark.”

  Ragnar nodded in approval and added his utensil to his bag at his waist, his axe remaining in his hands. Aspen seemed to be interrupted from her thoughts and nodded slowly as she processed his words. He worded his statement so that way she wouldn’t argue too much, but even this level of docility was unexpected of her.

  Taryn grabbed his things and tossed his new bow on his back. It would be quick to grab it from there, and the quiver at his waist was always stocked with arrows to accompany it.

  The group made their way to the easternmost exit from the fortress that was erected overnight and said their goodbyes. They all hugged one of the ‘guard’ puppets that Willow made in goodbye and headed out. They had a long ass walk ahead of them, and they were all ready for a proper bed.