Proofread by Thomas F
Edmor Amellus
"When are you going to release the floors?" asked Miss Rolgath with irritation as she appeared behind me.
I didn't turn away from the view of the city, from the fiftieth floor of the tower. It's incredible, especially when one sees how rapidly the city is changing.
I moved my gaze toward the park. It's huge, covering 15% of the inner city.
It will be just as transformative for the city as the legacy is. It could be said to be part of the legacy; all the mist plants they have planted wouldn't grow without it.
"In three days," I replied.
"I am under really heightened pressure. It would really help if you could hand them over to me before that time," she said. "You aren't the only one working on a tight timeline."
We had barely a year and a few more months to achieve that timeline.
It's not much time to build the massive tower, much less a legacy with very specific requirements. Every day, we are fighting the deadline.
The only thing that helps us in every way is the talent we have access to.
"Just so, you know, how even a day would help me," she said. I have already released twenty floors to her, and in three days, I will release another ten.
She began working on them the moment we finished and handed over the floors.
Usually, things are not done this fast, but here we didn't have any choice. It's unheard of for a legacy to be closed for a full year; most legacies would die if that were to happen, but not the Velvet Garden.
Still, the year is the limit; we have to finish it before that, not just the tower, but also the park and everything else Lord Silver added to it.
"I am trying, Sharn. My people are working day and night to meet the deadline. If I could finish it early, I would and hand the floors to you."
I am not intentionally holding the floors on her. I am working on them, and as I finish, I will hand them over to her.
"How are things going on your end?" I asked, after a minute of silence, but she didn't answer immediately. instead massaged her head.
"Velvet Garden had a clear-cut requirement, easy. It's the store owners and their ever-changing demands that are keeping me frustrated."
I could feel the clear strain in her voice, and I am glad that I am not in her place.
Here, I have my own designs and requirements. Yes, they have changed, and new requirements come in, but they are few and manageable.
Though I have an idea. It will change the design completely, but I haven't decided yet whether to share it with Lord Silver.
I have to do it soon, within a week. If he agreed, we could enact those changes; doing it later would cost both money and time.
Neither of which we have. Especially time.
"Tell them you will complain about them to the people higher up; it will shut them up immediately," I said, and she let out a laugh. They might be entitled, but the moment you mention the madams, they become quite as mice.
They are very strict and don't suffer from entitlement. Just yesterday, they threw the store owner out.
The man was great at his craft, but he got handsy with the young apprentice. It happens outside, and in trades and craft circles, it is normal.
Here, there was no tolerance whatsoever.
The moment they found out, they immediately restricted his privileges and access while they investigated, before firing him a few days later.
"If I couldn't handle a couple of prissy store owners, then I don't deserve the privilege of working on this legacy," she replied with a smile.
Yes, it's a privilege to work on the legacy.
An opportunity of a lifetime, which is enough, but there is more.
This experience and exposure help attract new clients and create more opportunities. Take Miss Rolgath; her life had changed since she started working on the legacy.
Now, her firm is one of the most in-demand in her state. There is also the large number of levels that we have gained.
She left soon, while I turned back to the floor, where people were working everywhere, each are at Lv. 20, with 10% at Lv. 30.
Even when I worked for that bastard, we didn't have such a concentration of high-level individuals.
It's hard to get so many considering 99% of people in the world never reach Lv. 20.
Here, it is an exception because it is a legacy. Getting talent is the only thing I have had a lot of since I started building the legacy. I could get people from all over the world.
Yes, the world.
Many people working here are owners of their firms, but came running to work on the legacy the moment I offered them the opportunity.
They are the reason we could move so fast.
Their immense experience, skills, and levels make the work faster, without compromising on quality. The quality of work is even better than we had expected.
These people are really working hard, not for legacy, but to preserve their mark in it.
"What is the progress?" I stopped a middle-aged woman. She is the floor foreman. "We are 95% finished with the tesor plaster." She replied.
"Will it be finished by tomorrow?" I asked, and she nodded.
"The night will be enough to dry it with the aid of skill. The moment it does, we will start with the layering of enchantments immediately."
She informed me of other things; the floor is massive, with tens of things going on all around it.
I listened while I checked the progress. Everything is going smoothly. These are all professionals with years of experience; they know how to do these things.
It's not like mistakes didn't happen; they did, but they are manageable, especially with hundreds of active skills that work to stop such mistakes.
Lord Silver's skill is the most popular.
I was inspecting the column when I suddenly heard the explosion, and the floor shook. Immediately, everyone became alert.
The shock lasted only for a second before the building absorbed it.
Immediately, I cast Haste on myself and moved toward the stairs. My Architect's Sense tells me the incident happened on the fifty-second floor.
I moved fast and climbed the stairs; within seconds, I reached the fifty-second floor.
There I saw a large hole, where I saw what it is and its enchantments. I know what had caused it. It's not the first time something like this has happened.
"Fuck!" I cursed as I stopped and looked at the tremendous damage. It is more than just a huge hole; I can see the floor.
Through the architect's Eyes, I could see that the piping is destroyed; the enchantments have burned, and precious tiles blasted to smithereens.
"I had clearly laid down the procedure for putting down the enchantments on the Beravos tiles," I said, turning to the man beside me.
"It was my fault; I should have seen that the isolation field isn't strong enough," said the blond-haired man in a mage robe; he is the foreman of the floor.
"You should have, you know, how the tiles react to the same element in enchanting ink," I replied, trying to keep the anger and frustration out of my voice.
"I should have, and it's my mistake. I was busy stabilizing Sandwayn's array."
It's his fault without a doubt, but not completely. The tight timeline is causing such incidents. The foremen have so many things to look after that they can't monitor everything.
Usually, there are strict procedures, with every safety precaution followed, but the deadlines are forcing them to take risks, leading to such an incident.
Thankfully, despite so many accidents, no one had died.
I opened my mouth when I felt the gentle wind. Everyone did, and we stepped back, knowing what was going to happen in ten seconds.
Soon, ten seconds passed, and the debris that was all around the floor moved back toward the hole.
It was as if time had rewound, while everyone watched in wonder. There are skills like this, but nobody has ever seen a skill as powerful as this Master's.
This is the legacy skill of the Velvet Garden Master and one of the reasons we can move fast with construction as we are now. Because if an accident happens, it could be fixed.
It would have been tremendously helpful if he could use the skill on the Mage Tower.
This is the legacy skill.
Within seconds, the damage is healed, and the runes flared, which I had cast an isolation field.
"Finish the enchantment!" I ordered the stunned enchanters. They quickly controlled themselves and moved to finish up the enchantment.
Lord Silver had rewinded the damage, but it was not without a cost.
It's a legacy skill, which means it costs emotion essence whenever it is used. The cost also depends on the magical weight of things on which it is used.
Considering it was a magical marble and enchantment, this cost would be high.
"Make sure not to make such a mistake again," I warned the foreman. His track record is great, and this is his first mistake. So, he is getting off with just a warning.
If he made it again, there would be a price to pay.
The enchantments took forty-minutes to finish, with me using my Rapid Progress on it.
I didn't stay on the floor for long. I walked out of the floor and checked the floors above. Talking to the foremen of each floor to assess the progress.
It was evening when I descended from the tower.
The shift changed once more, with another batch of workers replacing the ones who were leaving. The work on legacy never stops.
People work in three shifts, and not even a minute is wasted. We need to do this to meet the deadline.
The carriage was waiting for me in front of the tower. I stepped in it, and a few minutes later, stepped out in front of Lady Carla's office.
"Lady Carla," I greeted as I stepped into her office. "Mr. Amellus," she replied and offered me a seat before turning to the file in front of her.
"You have replaced sygner dust with kralis crystal to mix in the outer coating of the upper floors? Their efficiency is only 2.5% better, but we are paying 45% more for it," she asked, without getting into the pleasantries.
Lord Silver and Lady Carla operate in a different style.
Lord Silver decides on the direction while she manages the micro-affairs. She is very sharp; nothing is hidden from her, and she asks about everything and expects answers.
"Their general wind-resistance efficiency may be 2.5%, but as I have written in my report, when mixed with the coating, it increased to 7.2%,"
"That saves the enchantment from activating in strong winds, saving us tons of money in the long term," I explained.
Taller buildings are great, but they have an enemy: the wind. It's stronger the higher you go.
So strong, they have toppled the towers.
Enchantments are the best way to protect against them, but they are expensive, and their power is consumed with every use. Re-enchanting is an expensive affair.
So, if we could lessen the need to use them, it would save us a large amount of money in the long run.
"But it's a lot more volatile, and given the number of accidents that are happening, I am reserved about it," she stated. "That is a risk, and accidents might happen, even if we have enough safety mechanisms in place."
"I believe it will be worth it," I replied, and she looked at me.
"It will increase the cost further, but fine," she agreed, and relief filled me.
I was quite worried she would not accept it, given how expensive it would be, but she did. Now, I have to make sure that the accidents won't happen.
I will increase safety training and standards. It has become a clear need, given the number of accidents.