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Once the next day arrived, after training all morning with my family and friends, I hurried to construct the last buildings I had planned. Sigrid and the workers had already cleared the sites.
"Alright, Freyja, let's get this done. We have plenty more work ahead."
Ding!
[You have exchanged 250 Soul Points and a large quantity of other materials.]
[You have successfully built the [Temple of the Sun (D+ Grade)]!]
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[Temple of the Sun (D+ Grade)]
[Building Type]: [Divine Temple] [God Sanctuary]
[Building Capacity]: [30 People]
[Building Durability]: [1000/1000]
[Building Abilities]: [Sun God's Blessing] [Faith is Power] [God's Delight]
[Upgrade Requirements]: [5000 Soul Points] [Stone] [Magic Stones] [Spirit Stones] [Spiritual Hearts] [Sun Stone]
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The Temple of the Sun was the first. Its three abilities immediately surprised me. Without even needing to request a favor, I felt the god's divinity shine brightly across the entire village. The winter grew far more bearable, and the snow turned gentle and weak.
Amazed by the sudden change, I quickly examined the building's abilities.
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[Sun God's Blessing]: The God of the Sun and Pride, Solaris, has blessed this temple and the surrounding village with his divine radiance. Sunny days will prevail most of the time, and even the harshest winters will feel noticeably milder under this blessing.
[Faith is Power]: All who offer genuine prayers to the Sun God will receive a minor blessing. They will recover Health and Mana faster under sunlight and, in some cases, even awaken Fire, Light, or Sunlight Magic.
[God's Delight]: By offering entertainment that pleases the god, you may receive random rewards.
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"I should have done this earlier! This is amazing…!"
Ding!
"Huh?"
[The {God of the Sun and Pride, Solaris} is pleased that you have finally built his temple! He has been waiting for some time and seems rather annoyed it took you so long. He doubts your faith.]
Oh? I remembered these kinds of messages appearing in the game, though they were usually ignorable.
But this was no longer a game—the god was speaking to me directly!
"I'm so sorry, Lord Solaris. I will make sure to offer a prayer every day."
[...]
[The {God of the Sun and Pride, Solaris} nods grumpily and says you should also offer the heart of a virgin woman.]
"What?!"
[The Divinity: {God of the Sun and Pride, Solaris} laughs heartily, saying it was a joke.]
"Oh, please don't joke like that, Lord Solaris!"
After that exchange, I quickly moved on to the remaining buildings.
Ding!
[You have exchanged 250 Soul Points and a large quantity of other materials.]
[You have successfully built the [Temple of Nature (D+ Grade)]!]
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[Temple of Nature (D+ Grade)]
[Building Type]: [Divine Temple] [God Sanctuary]
[Building Capacity]: [30 People]
[Building Durability]: [1000/1000]
[Building Abilities]: [Nature Goddess' Blessing] [Nature's Communion] [Spiritual Support]
[Upgrade Requirements]: [5000 Soul Points] [Stone] [Magic Stones] [Spirit Stones] [Spiritual Hearts] [Nature Stone]
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There it stood, the temple was complete. Its abilities felt different from the Sun Temple's. I didn't sense any immediate change, perhaps because the effects were subtler.
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[Nature Goddess' Blessing]: The Goddess of Nature and Spirits, Tierra, offers her gentle blessing to this temple and the surrounding village. Nature will bloom faster and healthier, the soil will remain fertile, and spirits will find this place far more welcoming to settle in.
[Nature's Communion]: By offering daily prayers to the goddess and the spirits, nature itself will stand beside the village. The surrounding forests will conceal themselves from prying eyes, and trees may sometimes lash out at intruders with malicious intent.
[Spiritual Support]: Spirits raised in the village will grow stronger and are more likely to form bonds or familiar contracts with faithful villagers.
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Amazing. With this, crops were guaranteed to be of the highest quality, the forest itself might defend us, and the spirits would become allies too!
Ding!
[The Divinity: {Goddess of Nature and Spirits, Tierra} is pleased you have built her sanctuary.]
[She also recommends constructing the Temple of the Spirits if you possess the blueprint. It will attract more spirits to aid you, and you can dedicate prayers and offerings to the Elemental Spirit Kings for their protection and blessings.]
"Wow, no way…" I gasped. "I guess you're going to speak with me too, Lady Tierra? And… the Elemental Spirit Kings' protection would certainly be valuable. Thank you for the suggestion."
I quickly built that temple as well.
Ding!
[You have exchanged 250 Soul Points and a large quantity of other materials.]
[You have successfully built the [Temple of the Spirits (D+ Grade)]!]
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[Temple of the Spirits (D+ Grade)]
[Building Type]: [Spiritual Temple] [Spirit Sanctuary]
[Building Capacity]: [30 People]
[Building Durability]: [1000/1000]
[Building Abilities]: [Elemental Spirit Blessing] [Spirit Home] [Spirit Weapon]
[Upgrade Requirements]: [5000 Soul Points] [Stone] [Magic Stones] [Spirit Stones] [Spiritual Hearts]
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[Elemental Spirit Blessing]: By praying to the Ten Elemental Spirit Kings and offering something that pleases them, it is possible to receive a variety of different blessings for the village's benefit.
[Spirit Home]: This temple serves as a sanctuary for spirits. Spirits will occasionally come to rest here. When pleased with the temple and the faith shown toward the Spirit Kings, they may choose to stay or leave a gift behind.
[Spirit Weapon]: This temple enables the infusion of spiritual energy into crafted weapons, creating spirit weapons when paired with an Old Forge and an Alchemy Studio. Spirit Crystals and Spiritual Hearts are required.
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"Awesome. And the Spirit Kings… Hmm, I suppose I could pray for Ignatius? But what does he like? A fire-type spirit stone should work."
I stepped inside the temple and stood before the statue of a fairy. I placed a fire spirit stone on the altar, clasped my hands, and prayed.
"Great Elemental Spirit King, Ignatius, Lord of Fire, I humbly ask for your protection as I offer this fire spirit stone…"
The statue glowed with red light. Ignatius responded almost instantly. The fire spirit stone vanished from the altar, reappearing above before being devoured by a massive dragon head.
"This barely counts as a snack. You have to offer more—why are you so stingy?!"
"L-Lord Ignatius?!"
Unlike the gods, he spoke directly to me!
"Well, it's still a prayer, so…"
He flicked his long claws. A wave of red-hot energy washed over the village for a brief moment.
"That'll do. Next time bring something better, or I won't answer."
He vanished as quickly as he had appeared, leaving behind a new system notification.
[Congratulations, you have reached the Fire Spirit King, Ignatius!]
[The Fire Spirit King has granted you his blessing.]
[For the next week, the village will remain warm and cozy regardless of the cold outside.]
[Fire Magic can be learned at three times the normal speed, and Skills related to the Fire Element will level up just as quickly.]
Oh, this was fantastic. It would help everyone else learn Fireball—and from there, they could slowly develop countless variants and techniques just like I could.
"Thank you, Lord Ignatius."
I stepped out of the temple and moved on to the final two buildings, constructing them back-to-back.
Because these were production facilities, I built two of each instead of one.
Ding!
[You have exchanged 600 Soul Points and a large quantity of other materials.]
[You have successfully built the [Alchemy Studio (D+ Grade)] x2!]
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[Alchemy Studio (D+ Grade)]
[Building Type]: [Production-type] [Alchemy]
[Building Capacity]: [5 People]
[Building Durability]: [1000/1000]
[Building Abilities]: [Alchemy Cauldron] [Mini Alchemy Library] [Synthesis]
[Upgrade Requirements]: [5000 Soul Points] [Wood] [Stone] [Magic Stone] [Alchemist Class Villager]
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[Alchemy Cauldron]: This building houses mana-infused alchemical cauldrons that allow villagers to brew potions, elixirs, and concoctions more efficiently. Potions crafted here have higher success rates, shorter brewing times, and a small chance for bonus effects (such as increased potency or additional minor buffs). Basic healing salves, mana restoration drinks, and elemental resistance potions can be reliably produced even at low skill levels.
[Mini Alchemy Library]: A small but enchanted collection of alchemy recipes, herbology notes, and formula guides is available within the studio. Alchemists working here gain accelerated learning for alchemy-related skills and recipes. New formulas can occasionally be unlocked or improved through study, and the library provides minor bonuses to ingredient identification and preservation, reducing material waste during experiments.
[Synthesis]: Enables advanced combination and transmutation of materials. Villagers can synthesize new compounds, refine raw ingredients into higher-grade versions (e.g., turning common herbs into spirit-infused variants), or fuse properties from multiple items. When paired with an Old Forge and sufficient Spirit Crystals or Spiritual Hearts, this ability supports the creation of spirit-infused potions or alchemical catalysts for spirit weapon forging (as referenced in the Temple of the Spirits' [Spirit Weapon] ability).
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Ah, perfect. The description was long and detailed—it was clearly far more important than the temples.
Ding!
[You have exchanged 600 Soul Points and a large quantity of other materials.]
[You have successfully built the [Old Forge (D+ Grade)] x2!]
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[Old Forge (D+ Grade)]
[Building Type]: [Production-type] [Forge]
[Building Capacity]: [5 People]
[Building Durability]: [1000/1000]
[Building Abilities]: [Blazing Forge] [Weapon and Armor Blueprints] [Blacksmithing]
[Upgrade Requirements]: [5000 Soul Points] [Stone] [Magic Stone] [Metals] [Blacksmith Class Villager]
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[Blazing Forge]: The forge burns with a perpetual, mana-enhanced flame that reaches higher temperatures more easily and maintains heat consistently. This allows blacksmiths to work metals with greater precision, reduces forging failures, shortens crafting time, and improves the base quality of created items. Weapons and armor forged here have a small chance to gain innate heat resistance or minor fire-element properties.
[Weapon and Armor Blueprints]: A set of fundamental blueprints and forging diagrams is stored within the forge, covering basic to intermediate weapons, tools, and armor types (swords, axes, shields, plate mail, etc.). Blacksmiths can study these to learn new crafting recipes faster. Over time, successful crafts may unlock improved or variant blueprints, and the forge supports experimentation to customize designs.
[Blacksmithing]: Grants all assigned blacksmiths a passive boost to their Blacksmithing skill progression and crafting proficiency. Items produced in this forge are more durable and have enhanced stats compared to those made without a dedicated building. When the village possesses an Alchemy Studio, this ability enables synergy with [Synthesis] and [Spirit Weapon] (from the Temple of the Spirits), allowing the infusion of spiritual energy into weapons and armor to create spirit weapons or enchanted gear using Spirit Crystals and Spiritual Hearts.
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"Excellent, perfect! I'm finally done!"
I shouted at the sky, feeling a tremendous weight lift from my shoulders.
But I wasn't completely finished yet…
"Now I need a wall to protect the entire area…" I sighed. "Hey Freyja, can I expand or combine the existing walls into a larger, evolved version? I have all the stone and wood we need."
"Hmmm… If we use three times as many Soul Points and add spirit stones as well, it should be possible," she said, calculating quickly. "Does that sound good?"
"Okay, let me check if I have enough Soul Points."
[Soul Points]: [5.800]
"Is five thousand enough?" I asked.
"Hmm, the base cost would be 1800 Soul Points, but the more you invest, the more stable and powerful the wall becomes. How about 3200? That will guarantee a large, strong, and magic-infused barrier."
"Okay, sure—you've convinced me. Let's do it."
"Understood!"
Freyja worked her magic. Soul Points surged from my Soul Orb as materials flew from my inventory, rapidly gathering around the existing walls to everyone's astonishment.
The walls suddenly came alive, fusing into a colossal serpent of wood, stone, metal, magic stones, and spirit crystals.
RUMBLE!
It swiftly extended outward, encircling the village, encompassing every new building and the full territory I had expanded with the Territory Expansion Towers.
"No way…"
I was left completely awestruck.
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Author's Note:
Hello and thank you for reading so far! I am the author PancakesWitch and wanted to say that this is a novel I'm writing with a lot of love. I will publish 5 chapters a week, or sometimes 4.
There will always be an additional chapter on Patreon though, and you can also join it right now to get +23 Advanced Chapters for only $10! The number will keep increasing every week as well!
https://www.patreon.com/pancakeswitch