City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

I know, it was late when I woke up.

I could tell the time based on the activity in my legacy. I turned and looked at the clock, as I had expected, it was a little past nine.

Usually, I woke up at dawn, but I arrived late from the city hall, and most importantly, I was still recovering from my injury.

I didn’t immediately get up and look at my precious legacy. It had changed a lot after swallowing the Tranquill Bathhouse, including the 0.4% essence of Grade IV Wander’s Inn.

It might seem like a small amount, but it’s not. It is quite large and powerful.

It holds many possibilities—perhaps even the power to amplify Caena’s spells.

I got up from the bed, freshened up, and showered before walking out.

A few minutes later, I walked out of my room, and a surprise appeared on my face. There are people in the office, one of whom is unexpected.

Click!

The guards opened the door, and I stepped inside. There, I saw Bell and Caena, along with Stone.

“Lord Silver,” greeted Stone. I nodded and sat down.

“So, what is the meeting about?” I asked. “The spell,” replied Caena, and my expression was serious.

The next hour gave me the greatest hope against the undead. I knew Caena’s leveling to Lv. 40 is going to help me a lot, and she was already part of the battle plan, but now things have changed even further.

Now, I have a genuine hope to survive against the undead.

“Give me the list of things you will need. I will get them for you,” I said to her as we finished. “I will give it to you in a few days,” she replied.

Stone left soon after, and I turned to the two when Bell placed a small book in front of her.

I arched my brow at her.

“Information about Rhidon’s Vitae,” she replied. She had already shared a lot of information with me about it. Still, I took it and began to read.

Within a few pages, a frown appeared on my face, then surprise and shock.

I didn’t use the reading skill, but I could still read much faster, which is normal due to my attributes and habit, and finished the book within twenty minutes.

When I looked up, I only saw Bell. Caena seemed to have left at some point.

“It is very powerful; it should be close to the relic. Some might even qualify it as a quasi relic,” I said to her, but she shook her head with a smile.

“Yes, it’s a very powerful artifact, but it has too many limitations to fit in the standard definition of quasi-relic,” she replied.

“The greatest is that it consumes a lot of power.” “Even if I were operating it with my control, I would be drained within hours, and that is with its basic functions.”

“If I used the powerful ones, I would last barely a few minutes. If there are a couple more like me, we would last for an hour at most.” She added. I couldn’t help but nod at that.

This artifact is a guzzler through and through. Even a person of her power isn’t enough to operate it for even an hour.

It is why Tranquill Bathhouse used it sparingly.

“It’s clear, this artifact is made for the legacy. No one could provide it the power it needs other than it,” I stated.

I misspoke; a very powerful person could, but they wouldn’t need this artifact, with the power they have.

“That’s likely true,” she replied.

There is no information about its origin. Nobody knows where it was forged, who forged it, or even what most of the materials used to forge it are.

It’s an ancient artifact; at least twenty-one thousand years old. That is the earliest mention of it; it’s in a book about an ancient Grade IV legacy.

Since then, it has exchanged hands with over fifty people before falling into the hands of the Dictator of Dorus, one hundred and seventy years ago.

There was silence for several seconds, as we were both busy with our thoughts.

“The swallowing was tough, but it brought tremendous benefits to you,” she said. I couldn’t help but nod at that; the core, the skills and the freaking artifact.

“When you recover, I will start teaching you the aura methods,” she added, shocking me.

I didn’t even think about the aura with so much going on.

“Do I have the required control?” I asked hesitantly. The Aura methods require fine control, and people often practice for years to achieve the necessary control.

“Yes, you now have enough control to learn them,” she replied.

I remained silent, but a small smile appeared on my face. I had worked hard for it, and now it is in front of me. The only thing I have to do is recover.

Soon, it’s eleven and I’ve got up and walked out of the office with Bell.

It’s time that we bring out the artifact.

…

Danielle Vought

“I am excited,” I said as I stepped out of the elevator with Tara. “It is an amazing artifact,” she replied.

“I am so jealous of you. You’ve got to see it and even swim in it,” I said, looking at her with envy. “You might get to as well,” she replied, but I just shook my head.

It’s a precious artifact; they will never let us carelessly swim in it. Though I would be satisfied, they just let me touch it.

I had heard a lot about the artifact from Gloria and couldn’t wait to see it.

I looked at the bathhouse, and it is empty today. I mean emptier than usual. I could see a few people in uniform, doctors, and patients.

It isn’t just empty of people, but also of water. All of it is drained; there is not a drop in any pool. 

They are going to test the abilities of the new artifact and skills.

This time, Master Silver didn’t just get the legacy skills, but also Master’s Skills. I don’t know how many, but I hope he got the Perfect Soak and Silken Skin.

Tara had told me all about the five Master Skills that the master of Tranquill Bathhouse had and said Master Silver should have gotten at least two.

We passed through the pools and other areas of the bathhouse before reaching a flat, empty space. There used to be a beautiful, large fountain here, but it has been removed.

They have also expanded the space and raised it.

Many people have already gathered. I could see many people—nearly all the madams, except for three, and also the trainees.

“I can’t wait to see it,” said Lyra, one of the trainees. “Me too,” replied Rexy beside her. She had gone with Tara and others to Tranquill Bathhouse, but didn’t get a chance to see it.

We were looking when everything calmed down. I didn’t have to turn to see that Master Silver had arrived.

I turned and saw him, and there were a lot of people beside him—the three, Miss Dawnstar, Miss Maeve, and Madam Della.

There are Chief Elar, Robin, General Cardin, and a few more people.

“You did well, Amellus,” said Master Silver as he looked at the platform. “Thank you, my lord,” replied Architect Amellus.

He smiled and turned to the empty platform.

“Rhidon’s Vitae,” said Master Silver, and waved his hand.

Gasp!

Gaps rang out around me as the artifact appeared. Nearly everyone seemed to have gasped, including me. It’s beautiful, too.

Until then, I thought the most beautiful thing I had seen was the general’s saber, but this fountain, without a doubt, was more attractive than it.

“It’s magnificent,” said Chief Valentina.

It looked like it was carved by the greatest artisan in the world. The engraving on it is beautiful, and so is the delicate metalwork on it.

There are two wells within it, one inside the other, with a swirl of water above them.

There are pillars surrounding, with an enchantingly beautiful arch. Though the things I liked the most are sculptures of animals.

They are so realistic that I felt like they would jump out of their places.

I admired them for a while before turning to the outer pool. Tara said she had swum in it, and I want to do the same. I even wore the swimming clothes underneath my dress.

…

“Fill the bathhouse,” I said and commanded.

Immediately, the floating swirl begins to spin faster, and the water starts to flow into the pools.

The water is pure and crystalline, so that one would want to drink it. It is drinkable, possesses potent healing properties, and has cleansing abilities.

The pools begin to feel very fast, while I kept an eye on the essence.

“It is really a guzzler,” said Carla with a sigh, and I couldn’t help but nod at that. It’s already consuming quite a lot of essence.

No wonder Tranquill Bathhouse only used it for special occasions.

I will be using it far more, but how far I will go will depend on what I get in return. Yes, it is consuming a lot of essence, but the question is, how much essence will it help me gain?

The artifact is going to be a big draw; we already have a lot of people asking about it.

Over the next three days, I will test it with the selected individuals, and then the week’s tests will be conducted with the patrons.

Only after that will I make the decision on usage. Until then, I will try different things and gain a comprehensive understanding of this artifact’s capabilities.

“The pools have been filled.” Informed Maeve. It was swift; the artifact barely took a minute.

“Lt. Colonel Nindis, begin,” I said to the man in his late forties.

He is the highest-ranking medical officer in the army. He is an average doctor, but a competent manager. Poaching him was one of the best things I had done.

He sent commands, and his people began to place people in the pools.

I walked toward them as they placed the injured in pools. They were wounded in the battle of Panar. Many are healed, but many are healing.

We can use potions on all, and mages and clerics are limited, and focus on the critical first.

A minute passed, and then another. Soon, over ten minutes passed, and I could see the result, but I turned to the man. I could see the outward, while he could see it all.

“It’s amazing. In low to medium injuries, it’s excellent. If I were to guess, in two hours, they will recover enough to fight the battle,” he replied with a smile on his face.

He is very right about that, as the water not only heals injuries, but also removes fatigue.

“I am activating the legacy skill,” I informed the man, and his expression turned serious again, while I activated Vital Spring.

A pleasant voice of spring spread across the bathhouse as some of the beautiful mist mixed with crystalline water.

Vital Spring is a healing skill.

It does what an artifact does, and when the power of two merge, they create quite a powerful effect.

“Forgive me for being bold, my Lord, but it’s going to save a lot of lives,” he replied, and to that, I smiled.

I won’t use it for the soldiers’ healing, except for wartime, because it’s not cost-efficient.

It cost a lot of essence. Far more than the healing potions.

I watched for a few minutes before walking toward another group. There are four people aged twenty to fifty standing by the pools.

All of them are from the army and the mages. They look fatigued, like they could barely stand.

They are suffering from mana burn. We asked to do it, to test the skill.

Recharging Bath.

I activated the skill and looked at Nindis. “Enter,” he commanded, and four of them entered the pool.

They are mages of different levels. From Lv. 8 to Lv. 32; I want to test the effect of their skills on them.

“Amazing! The novice mage will be able to recover from the burn within twenty minutes. The high mage shouldn’t take more than two to two and a half hours,” he informed, surprising us.

Mages are different from the warriors. More important.

“This new artifact and skills are going to be tremendously useful in the battle for us,” said Cardin. “Especially, long battles and siege battles,” he added.

I nodded at that, fully understanding the implication of the artifact and the skills.

Yes, it cost a lot, but in the battle. It is worth it because things like these could turn the defeat into a victory.

I watched for a few minutes before walking away. I didn’t walk out of the bathhouse, but toward Maeve and others; there is one more skill I have to test.

“Enter the pool girls,” Maeve ordered six girls, from Lv. 5 to Lv. 34, while I activated Silken Skin.

They soaked in it while Maeve and the spa staff watched. They stayed there for ten minutes before coming out.

“Amazing, a ten-minute dip is giving the effect of a complete treatment,” said Noud, shocked as she touched the silky skin of the girls.

“Forgive me for saying, my lord, but this skill might bankrupt the spa,” she added, with a hint of fear, not of me, but for her future.

I smiled, so did Maeva.

“The opposite is going to happen, Noud. It will help the spa further. Imagine how good our treatments will become with the addition of this,” said Maeve to the woman.

Maeve is right, this will not be detrimental to the spa, but help it.

Not just the spa, but the whole damn legacy.

Since it is part of the legacy, I can bring its water anywhere, and I am going to, not only to bathe, but also to drink and for other purposes.

I am going to squeeze every benefit this artifact could give me.

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