"The news about the Jewel of Truth! An additional measure has been enacted!" Raphael landed on the ground as he folded his wings. His cheeks were slightly flushed.
"By that, do you mean a direct order has come from the heavens?" Lloyd inquired with delight. This was the news he had been waiting for. The reason he had let Raphael settle in his fiefdom.
"No," Raphael said as he shook his head. "There has not been an official announcement yet. However."
"What?" urged Lloyd.
"There have been rumors circulating among the Thrones angels about what additional measure the heavens will undertake."
"Rumors circulating?" echoed Lloyd. "Are more angels coming down here?" He felt a pang of shock. One angel, Raphael, was enough to stir a commotion down here. But more Thrones angels were coming? Several of them?
I'll never be able to stop them.
It would be the case even with Javier and his current self, who recently became a swordmaster. However, Raphael flashed an innocent smile and shook his head.
"Oh, there will not be more angels coming down from Heaven."
"Then what is it?" asked Lloyd, feeling a swoosh of relief.
"A rainbow briefly appeared a while ago."
"A rainbow?" Lloyd wondered where Raphael was going with this.
"Yes, a rainbow. That is what us angels use to exchange messages or information by displaying our writing on the stripe of color associated with our status."
"Wait a minute," mused Lloyd. "Like a group chat?"
Raphael cocked his head. "What's a group chat?"
"Oh, never mind," Lloyd said as he waved his hand. "Please go on and explain."
"Yes. Seraphim uses the red stripe on the rainbow. Cherubim uses the orange stripe. Thrones, which I belong to, uses the yellow stripe. Principalities and everyone else use the purple stripe. All angels have the liberty to upload any thoughts or information they have in their rainbow stripe."
"Okay," observed Lloyd, "So, you saw a message appear in your group chat, I mean, the yellow stripe of the rainbow?"
"Yes. It mentioned my failure to demolish the Jewel of Truth and an additional measure that was enacted toward you and your building."
"What did it say?" Lloyd gulped.
"They are going to summon you to Heaven."
"What?" Lloyd felt shell-shocked. Then, with a heart full of fear, he asked, "Does that mean they'll take me in?"
Raphael looked Lloyd in the eyes. "Yes, essentially."
That made Lloyd gape in horror.
"But don't worry," Raphael assured after noticing how pale the other man was. "They won't resort to savage methods as if they're rounding up a criminal."
"What will happen then?"
"It appears that the archangel wants to have a talk with you."
"Talk with me..." This rather relieved Lloyd to a certain degree.
"I suppose he plans to make a judgment after hearing you out, given your fierce resistance to the demolition."
"Hmm." Lloyd looked at Raphael as if an idea came to him. "Then, I shouldn't expect him to make a favorable decision for me in the end, right?"
"I'm sorry. I cannot predict that far ahead..." Raphael smiled apologetically.
"In that case, when will I be summoned? It's not right now, is it?" Lloyd inwardly begged that he wouldn't be taken away immediately. Thankfully, Raphael shook his head.
"No. There's no way of knowing exactly when you will. Right now, it's just a rumor going around the Thrones angels."
"I guess then it's not official yet?"
"You're right." Raphael nodded. "It isn't."
"But the official announcement will come soon?"
"Yes, perhaps. If things happen fast, it'll be out within a month, and a group of Thrones or Dominion angels will come down."
"Tsk." Lloyd clicked his tongue. He knew that he wouldn't be able to hold up against Thrones or Dominion angels.
Should I just be grateful that I'm not being immediately summoned? That means there's only one way left for me.
A war of speed. Lloyd found his answer.
I won't be able to reject the summoning. That will be true even with Javier and Yong Yong. My hands will be tied when a bunch of Raphael-level angels show up. It's smarter to just hasten things up and build the dam and the Jewel of Truth as soon as possible.
That appeared to be the best solution.
Since I'm in the final stages of construction already, I should finish and activate the building within a few days. I'll then be able to find out how I can stop the restoration of destiny. That will do. After all, that was why I built the Jewel in the first place anyway.
Lloyd would be able to achieve that goal at the very least. And then?
Summon me or not. They can do whatever suits them.
Lloyd couldn't care less about being summoned and interrogated afterward at that point since he'd have already accomplished his goal. Furthermore, if Lloyd felt that the pressure from Heaven was too much to bear, he could simply accept their terms and give them whatever they wanted.
Still, it's too much of a waste to throw the Jewel away, so I should first carefully listen to what they want before giving in to them. I likely won't receive a harsh punishment then either. What more can they say if I agree with the demolition, after all?
This was the I've-got-nothing-to-lose-because-my-goal-was-met operation. Lloyd didn't want to make even the smallest concession. He refused to live his life with that kind of attitude.
In this time and age, you're a fool if you sit back and can't take what's yours.
Lloyd didn't care if the others pointed their finger at him for being sly and deceitful. It was more important for him to claim what was his, and this time was no different.
I can't fall behind. It's a race against time from now on.
Now that Lloyd had learned of Heaven's plan from Raphael, there wasn't any time for him to waste. Lloyd put everything he had into finishing the construction of the dam and the Jewel of Truth while also devising a proper response to Heaven's decision.
The dam is almost finished. I'm glad that almost everything in the design could be perfectly executed.
As a result, the dam seemed to be far more effective in resisting external pressure than he originally expected it to be. Despite his success, however, Lloyd did not finish the project halfheartedly.
Maintaining the dam is more important than constructing it.
Lloyd put in extra effort during the final stages of construction, keeping in mind the need for long-term management and maintenance of the dam. He evaluated everything, including the water pressure, earth pressure, vertical subsidence, horizontal displacement, shear displacement, and positive pressure acting on the dam. He also calculated the potential stress that might occur on the structure from the expansion and shrinkage of concrete and checked to see if the dam had sunk during construction. Aside from all of this, Lloyd constructed a spillway for water to pass during emergencies and installed thick wire fences in the spot where any excess water from the dam would flow out.
These fences will filter any twigs and floating sediments that come upstream and clear the pathway for water to spill out of the dam.
Because it was such a large dam, there were numerous elements to inspect and touch up, even in the final stages of construction. He couldn't be careless about anything. The construction of the Jewel of Truth, on the other hand, was...
It's light work compared to the dam.
All he needed to do was stack together the perfectly sized rocks he had prepared in advance. The job would have been difficult before now as there were so many large rocks to move. But the situation had changed.
"Yong Yong. Bibeong. Let's stack them up!"
Clack!
"Bibeong!"
There were two different machines on site whose bodies extended over 300 feet long. That was bigger than the Jewel of Truth, which was 216 feet in length and 98 feet in height. To Yong Yong and Bibeong, this job was similar to a game of Zenga or Rego blocks.
But they need to work with a lot of precision. There can't be any mistakes made on where the blocks are placed and how they are fastened into place.
That was the thing with the Jewel of Truth. Everything had to be precisely pieced together. There wasn't room for even half an inch of error.
This isn't an ordinary building. The structure itself is a huge magic circle.
Not a single block of perfectly carved stone could be misplaced. He couldn't allow any leeway on this job.
If I did, any slight errors would cause a subtle change in the building's flow of mana and make it malfunction eventually.
Lloyd had the impression that the Jewel of Truth was closer to being a giant electric circuit than a magic circle. Anyhow, his eyes became bloodshot as he oversaw the final phase of the dam construction, checked for any errors in the blocks making up the jewel, and scanned countless pieces of engraved rocks with a magnifying glass for any damage or misplacement.
And at last, after about 15 days, just when he started seeing spots in front of his eyes, both the dam and the Jewel of Truth were completed. Lloyd proceeded to fill the dam with water right away. Woooosh!
As the water started to fill to its brim, Lloyd intensely gazed at the Jewel of Truth and the dam after activating his surveying skill.
Great. It's holding up well. Perfect.
The dam handled the large volume of water with ease and also withstood the water pressure around it. The Jewel of Truth, too, stood upright in the water, exactly as Lloyd had planned for it to. Finally, a string of messages began to appear in front of his eyes.
Ding Dong!
[The first concrete dam in Lorasia, the "Frontera Dam", has been built inside the Frontera Fiefdom.]
[You have showcased a new and unprecedented way to build a dam, and it will be remembered as an important achievement in Lorasia's history of civil engineering.]
[In the future, engineers will study, analyze, and replicate the Frontera Dam to build more dams across the continent. ]
[You will always be regarded as the most experimental and innovative civil engineer in history.]
[Countless civil engineering students will snap their pens in half while cursing your name in anger during their examination periods.]
[For that achievement, you have been awarded a large amount of bonus RP.]
[You have acquired 1,500 RP.]
[Current RP: 1,571]
Whew...
It was just as he had predicted. As soon as the finished dam started to fulfill its purpose, a series of messages about his achievement appeared. Lloyd, however, was still dissatisfied. After all, he had also constructed the Jewel of Truth.
What about my reward for constructing the Jewel of Truth?
He slid his eyes to the side as he had that thought. Soon, his eyes were filled with more welcoming messages.
Ding Dong!
[You have constructed "Aotearoa" or the Jewel of Truth from the mythical ages.]
[It is a structure that possesses immense power and a great cultural legacy that had been lost for all living creatures in this world.]
[You have accomplished a great feat by restoring a great artifact of history.]
[At the same time, your accomplishment caused a variety of different reactions from countless creatures of this world.]
[The Frontera fiefdom residents feel prideful about your accomplishment.]
[The merpeople have become interested in traveling to the Frontera Fiefdom.]
[The angels of the heavens are casting a gaze of concern on Earth.]
[A handful of powerful figures will greed and thirst over the jewel after being enlightened of its existence. This may become a seed of conflict in the future.]
[The demons of Hell, sensing a conflict arising, have brought out their bags of popcorn.]
[For your achievement, you have been awarded a large amount of bonus RP.]
[You have acquired 8,500 RP.]
[Current RP: 10,071]
Eek.
Lloyd clapped his hand over his mouth.
I have 10,000 RP in total.
RP was always the right answer. The more, the better. And this much? Perfect.
I used to jump in joy over earning a few hundred RP.
There were many things he could do with just that much RP. And now, it felt like he was swimming in RP. Despite this, Lloyd remained calm.
This is nothing more than just a simple reward. There's something more important I need to keep in mind.
The RP was comparable to a paycheck. It was something he received as a form of compensation for building the dam and the Jewel of Truth. He then reminded himself of a task he needed to complete. One that had been on his mind since hearing about the Jewel of Truth from the Dragon King. And so, Lloyd dove into the dam to accomplish his goal.
Splash! The water around his body felt cold. When he opened his eyes, he caught sight of a few swaying rays of sunlight, and he swam down toward the Jewel of Truth until he reached its peak. Lloyd then stood in front of the altar made from the Kiaora he found as the final key material for the jewel's construction.
This is how I'm supposed to activate it, right?
Lloyd recalled the operation method attached to the blueprint and placed his hands on the altar. Then, he activated his manaheart and manacircle.
Ziiing! The mana was soon absorbed into the altar from his hand, arousing the Jewel of Truth. The structure began to vibrate, and a shaft of light fell from the sky to illuminate the building. At last, the jewel revealed its truth. Lloyd flinched in response to the booming voice in his ears, as well as the bright droplets of water and streaks of light dancing across his vision.
[You who wish to acquire the answer from the Jewel of Truth... In exchange for an answer, you must reveal one hidden truth about yourself that no one knows about to the world.]
