100X Returns System: I Dominate the Age of Gods

Chapter 399: 399. Creating a New District Overnight - 3

The air trembled. Both women immediately turned toward the source.

Far away, William had raised both hands.

An immense quantity of mana gathered around him like a living storm. Dense earthly elemental energy saturated the atmosphere and caused the surrounding space to feel heavy.

Then he moved his raised hand, and with a single casting gesture and a sweeping motion of his arm, he exerted his will upon the land below.

The ground surrounding the outer districts of the capital began to move. It was as though an invisible giant had placed its hands upon the earth itself.

Mountains of soil shifted, and uneven terrain flattened itself.

Valleys filled and evened out as extra earth from peaks moved to fill the cavities. Hills flattened into smooth plains. The transformation spread outward for hundreds of miles.

Massive clouds of dust rose into the sky and rolled across the horizon like gigantic waves. Inside the capital, countless citizens looked upward in shock.

Many stopped whatever they were doing. Everyone watched as the landscape reshaped before their eyes, a hill disappearing into nothing.

Meanwhile, William remained suspended in the air. After completing the first stage of the project, he released a quiet breath.

Last night, he had spent countless hours inside the Domain of Infinite Browsing and Shopping. He had purchased numerous earth-element spells from the system store and practiced them one over another to find out different combinations and their applications.

In addition to the spells, he had also read extensive information regarding dwarven construction techniques. Entire collections of books on city planning, infrastructure design, architecture, transportation systems, and urban development had been read by him.

Orion made sure to act as a good teacher and let William absorb all the knowledge he had spent weeks learning and practicing the skill of city-making personally, though he could gather his subordinates and tell them to do all this. William found the activity interesting, and there was a lot to learn from it.

Also, William possessed infinite mana; since most spells were lower-ranked and he already reached grandmaster mastery of spells with absolute affinity for earth, there was no problem expending huge amounts of mana and doing the job at a faster pace than even the dwarves.

The more he learned about city planning in general, the more dissatisfied he became with the current state of civilization in this world.

Most cities had developed without proper planning. Roads were narrow and overcrowded. Transportation and traveling were inefficient. Residential districts were crammed together with little consideration for long-term growth. 40 percent of the population lived in the slums, where mortality and crime were naturally high.

Sewage systems were primitive, and water filtration often depended upon magical solutions that were too expensive for ordinary citizens and were only available to the nobles and rich. And even though people in this world had strong bodies and immunity, there was still the presence of fatal diseases, and they were not uncommon.

Many cities had been designed to display wealth and social status rather than maximize functionality.

William wanted something different.

If he was going to build a city, then he intended to build one that would remain effective for generations.

That was why he now held a large blueprint in one hand. The drawing contained the complete layout of the new district; it was something that he had purchased from the shop and had studied its functionality properly as well.

Using his free hand, he cast spell after spell.

Glowing magical sigils materialized behind him and began rotating through the air. Lines of light descended toward the ground below.

They carved enormous outlines into the newly flattened land, tracing roads, colonies, utility corridors, residential zones, and public infrastructure.

Then the true construction began as the earth answered his command. From the flat plains below, structures began emerging.

Walls extruded upwards like growing trees; stone foundations pushed through the surface.

Buildings gradually took shape as rock and soil flowed together like liquid before hardening into durable construction materials.

The spell being used now was called ’earth transfusion’; it was a gold-ranked spell that helped increase the density of natural soil and harden it into stone.

Entire residential districts appeared section by section.

Rows of spacious homes formed in orderly patterns.

Each neighborhood was carefully planned with sufficient room between buildings, public spaces for recreation, and enough land reserved for future expansion.

Wide roads stretched throughout the city in a clean rectangular grid.

Although a rectangular layout was not the absolute peak of efficiency, it was simple to navigate, easy to maintain, and highly practical for administration services.

From above, the city looked like a vast geometric masterpiece, unlike the unorganized cities of this world that followed crude and curved structures.

With every passing second, more buildings rose from the ground. The empty plain that had existed only moments ago was steadily transforming into a living city.

Everyone witnessing this was shocked.

"Where is this colossal amount of mana coming from??" Helios spoke while clutching his head, and the small book remained gripped in his hands.

He turned only to see his father sweating profusely and taking deep breaths. "I can die without any regrets."

"Father?? Why are you talking about passing away all of a sudden?" Helios asked with a twitch on his face.

Theodore only laughed before turning around. "I never thought I would see human cities being built better than dwarven cities; this is the moment where my heart tells me that a golden period is about to start for our empire, a period where the glory of the Sun Clan will shine brighter than ever.

Helios chuckled, "Father, with age, you seem to have gone senile. Why would you be fantasizing about such things when your empire is almost going through a financial crisis, winters are about to hit and people are going to suffer?"

Theodore just gave Helios a threatening side look, shutting him down. "Try to have some foresight, kid. Now that I think about it, I will be closely monitoring your work; if you dare to slack off in your duties, I will crack that skull of yours open before her majesty could even say anything."

Helios made an expression of indignation before changing the topic to cool the old man down. "Anyways, did he also give you a book like this?" Helios asked, flashing a small book in front of him.

Theodore nodded, "Yes, it has quite interesting and ambitious ideas about policies and initiatives that we can learn from. Hopefully, you will use that small brain of yours to read and learn from yours."

Helios chuckled. "Father, I am your son. Are you saying that you have a tiny brain, too?"

That comment was the end of Helios for the day. Now only his mom could save him.