I'm the Only Wizard Climbing the Tower - Chapter 148

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 148

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I got to work to save my city.

Extreme Lunatic Hell City.

I first headed to the road in front of the government building.

A primitive medieval road, crudely thrown together, ran through it.

It was a bumpy path made by roughly fitting flat stones together.

Rattle! Rattle! Creak!

The carriages passing over it creaked as though their wheels might break apart at any moment.

I clicked my tongue.

“Typical medieval construction standards.”

It couldn't be helped.

This Extreme Lunatic Hell construction contractor...

Had no choice but to show them the greatness of modern construction technology!

Thunk!

I planted my staff into the ground.

Then I activated magic.

“Grow, roads, roads!!!”

Earth Manipulation Magic, click.

My mana spread across a vast area.

As I sent mana flowing along the roads throughout the city...

Rumble...!

Something strange began to happen.

The ground shook, and clouds of dust rose from roads all over the place.

Then the loosely laid stones began to tremble.

Rocks buried deep beneath the surface came pouring up!

“Is, is it an earthquake?!”

“What is this?!”

“Aaaah! The dust!”

The commoners scrambled away from the dust.

The driver was startled too, stopping the carriage and backing off to the roadside.

It was a little disruptive, but it couldn't be helped.

Dust and vibrations were necessary at construction sites!

Anyway.

Using Earth Manipulation Magic, I flattened the stones and firmly joined them together.

Without touching the buildings already there.

Only where the roads ran.

The uneven ground was quickly packed into a smooth, straight surface.

Of course, it didn't take long.

I wasn't building something incredible like a city wall...

I was just laying flat stones.

And after the dust settled.

“W-what is this?!”

“A road suddenly appeared...!”

“My goodness! A road this straight exists?!”

“How can it be so flat without a single seam between the stones...”

The Extreme Lunatic Hell road network had spread throughout the city and was complete in an instant!

Once the dust had completely settled, the driver who had stopped the carriage earlier cautiously began moving again.

Then they muttered with a stunned expression.

“N-no...! This ride is...!”

“Ah. You don't know? This is called a road. It improves the ride for carriages.”

“...!”

The driver looked as shocked as someone seeing a Japanese taxi with automatic doors.

They clutched their forehead and gaped, an excellent reaction.

I nodded in satisfaction.

“I made you a sturdy road, so it should last a long time. So, Valdemar, don't act like the King Korea civil servants who tear up and replace sidewalk blocks every year-end. Maintain it well and use it for a long, long time.”

“A road this flat... How is this possible...?!”

“Hehe. I've been building roads nonstop to transport loot since the Lower Floors! I've got some civil engineering experience!”

Leaving the stunned Valdemar behind, I immediately headed to the next place.

My next destination was the tent settlement on the outskirts of the fortress.

Dirty tents and crude shacks stood everywhere.

The tents were full of holes, and wide gaps showed between the shack walls.

They didn't look capable of properly blocking even rain and wind.

People were living in those places, practically exposed to the elements.

The people sitting in front of their homes looked tired and frustrated.

How pitiful!

“I lived in a semi-basement once too, so I know how they feel.”

Poor housing conditions could easily cause stress in many ways.

Your floor would turn into a water park.

Life in a semi-basement that couldn't even bear the weight of several tons of loot was this terrible.

But it was fine.

They would soon be living in respectable new homes!

Thunk!

I planted my staff into the ground.

Then I activated magic.

“Grow, buildings, buildings!!!”

Earth Manipulation Magic, click. Second try.

My mana spread through the area.

Leaving the tents where people lived alone, I sent power into the empty ground between them and the vacant land outside.

Soon.

Rumble...!

The ground shook, and countless stone pillars began rising.

The ground was packed flat, while stone pillars shot up at the corners.

The people jumped in shock.

“W-walls and pillars are suddenly coming out of the ground...!”

“What on earth is happening...?!”

Stone pillars rose, walls formed between them, and stone slabs were placed on top to make ceilings.

For now, I only made rectangular frames and simple room divisions so they would be easy to build.

I didn't know much about construction, after all.

I'd just make a rough frame.

‘Ah. Come to think of it, they need doors and windows too, right?’

I almost forgot.

Then plain, rectangular building frames rose along the outskirts of the fortress.

Hundreds, then thousands of them.

“H-houses!”

“All of these are houses? There was nothing here just moments ago...!”

“Houses made of stone...!”

The people in the tent settlement stared back and forth at the buildings in shock.

But since the homes had appeared so suddenly, they found it hard to believe.

They hesitated to approach.

Then a child suddenly ran straight through one of the open entrances.

“Hey! It might still be dangerous...!”

An adult nearby shouted, but the child was already inside, running around with tap tap footsteps.

A moment later, a voice came from within.

“Mom! Is this my room?!”

The little kid was happy to have their own room.

What a lively brat.

Kids should be bright and energetic! Damn right!

“You can handle the furniture and interior decorating yourselves.”

“C-could that person be...?!”

“An unbelievable miracle. And that beautiful appearance...”

“Could it be... the Angel?!”

“It is me.”

Simple enough.

After making the homes, I coolly left.

Shouts of thanks poured out behind me.

Someone began taking their belongings from their tent.

I could also hear people calling for a carpenter, saying they needed one to install doors.

They'd decorate the place and live well on their own now, right?

Unfortunately, I didn't have a sense for interior decorating.

They could do that themselves.

Anyway, the buildings were handled!

Next, it was time to solve the water problem.

“Iing Iing. Take me to a nearby water source. Somewhere like a clear, clean river.”

-Iing Iing!

Ppororong.

Iing Iing activated Psychokinetic Flight, and our party floated into the air.

As I let Iing Iing carry me through the sky, I looked around.

After flying for a few minutes, I spotted a large river in the distance.

“Oh. There it is.”

A river with quite a lot of water flowing through it.

Unlike the muddy water drawn from the city wells, its water quality looked decent even at a glance.

The land was higher than the city, too.

It looked perfect for digging a waterway.

I pointed my staff at the riverbank and activated magic.

“Grow, waterways, waterways!!!”

Earth Manipulation Magic, click. Third try.

My mana began spreading over a vast area.

Soon, the terrain changed.

Rumble...!

Part of the land beside the river sank down, and stone slabs rose in heaps.

I carved out a long channel and reinforced its bottom and sides with stone.

Then I diverted part of the river into it.

Whoooosh!

The stream poured into the waterway.

“Iing Iing. Keep going to the city!”

-Iing Iing!

I slowly flew toward the city while creating the waterway.

A long channel formed along my route, and water rushed after it.

When there was high ground, I lowered it.

When a place was too deeply sunken, I raised it a little.

I continued making the waterway slope gently down toward the city.

After extending the waterway for a while and returning to the city...

Rumble!

I made a reservoir inside the city wall.

Basically, I dug an enormous pond.

I reinforced its bottom and edges with stone, leaving room for people to draw water.

I also made an outlet on the other side for overflowing water.

Then.

I connected the waterway I had brought beneath the wall.

Rushhhhh!

Water poured out of the waterway!

The empty reservoir floor quickly began filling with clear, clean water.

Just looking at it felt refreshing!

“Water!”

“Look! Water is coming in!”

“W-water?!”

The people nearby rushed over.

Those standing in line at the wells turned their heads one by one.

People holding water jars came running in a panic.

Valdemar arrived after hearing the commotion and asked in a trembling voice.

“Angel. This is...?”

“You seemed short on water, so I dug a waterway. There was a suitable source upstream, so I brought it here.”

“...Surely you mean that huge river upstream. But it's an enormous distance from there to here. How did you...?”

“It is me.”

I had only brought water from a river a few dozen kilometers away.

Why were they so surprised by this?

Anyway!

“Is this enough? Iing Iing, let's go up to the top of the wall. I need to check the city as a whole.”

-Iing!

Ppororong.

Through Iing Iing's Psychokinetic Flight, we rose to the top of the city wall.

From atop the tall wall, I looked down at the city.

What I saw was a city transformed from before.

“The carts roll so smoothly...!”

“This road has changed too! They say the Angel made them all!”

People marveled at the straight, sturdy roads.

Carts loaded with goods moved without obstruction, and children ran happily along the smooth paths.

People were busily moving around the tent settlement too.

“Honey! Bring it over here! Put it down here!”

“Starting today, we won't have to worry about rain leaking in...!”

“To think the Angel would even grant us homes...”

I saw people bringing their belongings into their new homes and fitting doors with lumber.

The reservoir area was even more chaotic.

“So much water...!”

“It is thanks to the Angel. We won't have to worry about water anymore!”

“Child. Don't get too close!”

People continuously filled their buckets.

Rather than standing in a long line just to get one container of water, they stood side by side along the edge and scooped it up with ease.

I even saw a child reach out to play with the water, only to be grabbed by the back of the neck and pulled away by an adult.

The city's infrastructure had been utterly transformed in less than a few dozen minutes.

And the people cheered and rejoiced at the sight.

Carts flowed nonstop over the paved roads.

People laughed without worries before the newly built stone homes.

People holding buckets comfortably drew water at the reservoir.

Over by the farmland, children played without realizing the sun was setting.

Could you believe it?

Just yesterday, this had been an apocalyptic fortress where children gnawed on poisonous monster meat.

Feeling proud, I brushed beneath my nose.

“Hehe. The commoners are happy. Saving their lives is nice, but improving their living environment feels pretty rewarding too, right?”

-Iing!

Iing Iing nodded.

She was cute, so I patted her head.

Then Iing Iing giggled brightly.

She smiled as cheerfully as the children in the city.

I murmured quietly.

“Hmm. This is nice sometimes. It feels a little healing.”

Honestly.

I wasn't sure this was such an incredible thing.

All I'd done was make roads, houses, and a waterway.

It was basically playing house.

But it didn't feel bad at all.

How could someone spend every day diligently killing monsters and only saving people's lives?

Sometimes, you had to help them develop too!

Anyway.

It felt good.

As I looked down at the city with satisfied eyes, suddenly.

-...You.

Daesik, tucked beneath my arm, spoke.

I asked back.

“What about me?”

-...It is nothing.

“?”

I looked down at the jar for a moment.

Daesik stayed silent without continuing.

I snickered.

“What? You're no fun.”

I turned my gaze back to the city.

Either way, it was nice to see Extreme Lunatic Hell City develop!

That was when.

Flash!

The area above my head suddenly became bright.

Huh, no way?

I raised my head and looked up.

Then I saw it.

Flash, flash, flash, flash, flash!

A medium-sized Halo with a one-meter radius.

Much larger than before!

Shielding my eyes with the back of my hand, I muttered.

“Could you turn off the lights? I'm trying to look at my city.”

Then.

“A Halo! It's a Halo!”

“The Angel is blessing our city!”

“Ooooooh!!!”

“Long live the Angel! Long live the Angel! Long live the Angel!”

As the brilliant Halo's light surrounded me atop the city wall, people all fell to the ground and began worshipping me.

Thud, thud, flop, thud.

The people pulling carts.

The people moving belongings into houses.

The people drawing water from the reservoir.

They all stopped what they were doing and knelt toward me.

There were thousands in my immediate view alone.

Perhaps everyone in this city of ten thousand people.

They all looked up at me with eyes full of respect and gratitude.

I spread my arms wide with a satisfied expression.

“Praise me.”

“Angel!”

“Waaaaaah!!!”

Ten thousand citizens cried out and wept.

Their cheers, praise, and the noise of their worship seemed to fill the vast fortress.

I grinned.

“Ah...! This is it!”

I had felt a little empty, as though something was missing.

As it turned out, I had just been slightly short on the sparkling of a Halo and the awe of commoners!

At last, true satisfaction filled me.

Then Hyeji spoke softly.

“Jiho. You seem happy.”

“Of course! As the mayor of Extreme Lunatic Hell, I developed the city and earned the citizens' praise and respect. Hehe... As expected of me! I can develop a shitty primitive medieval city like this in an instant! That is the development power you'd expect from the director of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Power Plant!”

“I think those are two different kinds of development... Anyway, didn't we forget something?”

“?”

Forget what?

I built roads, buildings, and a waterway.

Was something missing?

Hyeji spoke.

“We came here to clear the floor today. When are we killing monsters, and when are we finding the Escape Portal?”

“Ah.”

Right.

I didn't come to the Tower to manage a city.

I came to kill monsters, right?

I'd completely forgotten.