Chapter 348: Street Lights.

Chapter 348: Street Lights.

“Oh, are they doing something with the old clock tower? Are they going to finally fix it?”

“I don’t know, they started bringing in those large slabs... what are they trying to do?”

“Are they removing the old clock? Maybe some rich merchant finally decided to buy it?”

“Why would they, there isn’t really anything here, and it’s not close to the marketplace or any of the districts...”

“Those look like city guards, this must have been ordered by the City Lord... and isn’t that the new Knight Commander? What is he doing here?”

A group of confused people were looking at a large group of craftsmen. They were working on an old clock tower that was inside the city. It was in a somewhat bad location away from any trade or entertainment districts. Not far from it was the city hall which most people hoped to avoid due to the large concentration of soldiers and bureaucracy. Officials for cities were known to have a stick up their rear, so everyone wished to limit the interaction if it was possible.

There wasn’t really much here but for some reason before their eyes, the large structure was being turned into something new. After a while, everyone went on their way but from time to time some of them returned to take a peek at the progress. It didn’t take long as the changes weren’t that extensive, instead, they were kind of strange to the onlookers.

The clock tower remained mostly the same but something was placed on top of it instead. It consisted of a large shaft with three blades attached to it. Only after they started moving did people realize that it was somewhat similar to a windmill. Yet it didn’t seem like the insides of the tower were changed to accommodate the true use of this construction, it was spinning but no grain was being transported inside to be turned into flour.

“What is this supposed to be for? Decoration?”

“Was our city lord this strange? He seemed like a regular noble...”

“Aren’t all nobles strange? But didn’t this all start ever since that Knight Commander showed up? Wasn’t he supposed to be a rune smith?”

“Didn’t that turn out to be a lie?”

Residents of the city didn’t know what to make of this thing. It wasn’t the only strange change that was implemented. Right as this blade tower was being assembled many ditches appeared in the city. They were placed on each side of the road and even caused some trouble with carts and merchants. Some strange black rods that were able to bend were placed inside and then covered up. They could even see them being connected to this clock tower for some reason.

This process was quite interesting as some magic was involved. At first, it was the Knight Commander who displayed earth magic to help create and cover those ditches. After a week some mages appeared to take over and continued filling up the holes with those strange things that were apparently called wires. The purpose of this alluded the populace until they brought in another strange device.

“What are they doing now... why are they placing those poles into the ground?”

“They aren’t made from wood? Are they hollow on the inside?”

The workers brought out a strange hollowed rod through which they started shoving those black wires. One side of this thin iron pole was then connected to a thicker base. Some of the onlookers noticed that this thing was getting assembled near the previously dug-out ditches. Others also saw the workers connecting the two wires with each other by some type of strange clasp.

On top of this thing, there was a glass rectangle that started to get wider when arriving at the top. The four sides were covered by regular cheap glass that wasn’t anything hard to produce even in this world. Then when trying to peek into the inside they saw some strange plate with an even stranger symbol on it.

“Is that some kind of rune?”

The day was almost over so the area they were placing this thing in was becoming darker. Usually, the only thing that lit up the night streets were the torches the guardsmen carried with them. Sometimes when an important guest arrived at night some temporary lanterns could be set up but they could not burn forever.

“It looks like a lantern but not like any that I’ve seen before, it’s more similar to magical lanterns.”

“A magical lantern? But why would they just put them here out in the open?” Updated chapters at novelhall.com

“I have no idea.”

Lanterns existed in this world but they were usually costly to produce and even costlier to care for. They required constant refills of mana fluids or mages. They usually found their way into the homes of rich merchants or nobles that had ample amounts of money to spend. Even the ones in richer cities were only placed in rich districts or points of interest. This one on the other hand was near a common road that led to the marketplace.

“Okay, that should be enough, we are going to activate the construct.”

“Oh, they are doing something?”

While the onlookers were contemplating this strange lamp the people that were assembling it, started to back away. To the side, there was another strange box with some switches. It was constructed before this lamp was placed here and the main technician was now about to activate it. After a resounding click, the rune on the plate started responding and quickly a bright yellowish light appeared.

“It is a magic lamp... are they going to place them along the street?”

A commotion broke out again, the light was bright and illuminated the usually darkened street quite well. To everyone's surprise, they could see more of these hollow rods and glass lamps at the side of the city workers. It quickly became clear that they were going to place more of them throughout the city.

Within the span of a few days, the main road had a row of these lanterns. The first time they were all activated the people were baffled by the improvement. Everything was so bright and they could easily traverse back home even late at night. With this amount of illumination another boon was noticed, the street had become a lot safer than before. Thieves and pickpockets could not use the shadows to their advantage anymore, the improvement to safety during the night had been expanded.

Luckily, this wasn't all. Soon an

“Praise the Sun, Sir Wayland, you wished to ask me something.”

“Ah yes, praise the sun... I was wondering... are there any divine beasts related to the Sun Goddess? Like um... perhaps a Phoenix or something like that?”

“Divine beasts? The Goddess Loves all creatures that live under the sky, the Phoenix is a creature born of secret flames and has a close relation to our Goddess that is true. Would you like to hear its tale?”

“No that’s fine... are there any wolven creatures that you know of?”

“A wolf birth of secret flames? I don’t recall any legends related to them, hmm...”

“Is that so...”

“There are many divine beings blessed by the goddess. Have you come across one of them? Oh my, could it have appeared in the dungeon?”

“Oh... no nothing of the sort, I was just wondering what the church would do if a monster that was ‘blessed’ appeared in the wild.”

“The church tries to not involve itself with such beasts, we believe that the Goddess has a plan for everything. Of course, it is forbidden to hunt such blessed beings.”

“It is forbidden?”

“Yes, one must not harm a being blessed by the Goddess. If you find yourself discovering such a being, please report it to us immediately.”

“I need to report it?”

“Indeed, heathens target these magnificent beings born of the sun! If it is possible, we must protect them from harm.”

“I see, I think that will be enough. I have to leave.”

“Ah already? How about we pray together for a while Sir Wayland, I’m sure everyone from the flock would love the Head Knight to join us.”

“Ah, you’ll have to excuse me, I’m very busy and need to resume my work...”

He was quick to distance himself from the sun fanatic and the cult-like stares that he was getting. While these people looked harmless on the surface, they could be quite scary. The inquisitors that could judge people on the spot were one problem and when one was judged to be a heretic, then their life would be practically over.

‘Hm... they don’t capture monsters born of the sun but instead, protect them...’

While going back home Roland glanced at the status screen that belonged to his tamed beast. There he could see the possible choices for his next evolution. He had been conflicted on what to get but after having a talk with Kassia, his mind was shifting towards the surprise last one.

Lesser Mystical Ruby Fenrir

[ Fire/Earth/Beast ]

A rare lesser ruby variant of the apex Fenrir wolf. It combines a large frame of a Fenrir with the magical aptitude of a Mystical Ruby Wolf.

Mystical Orthrus

[ Hellfire/Beast ]

A rare ruby variant of the two-headed hellhound. The heads of this species can function independently of themselves and destroying one of them will not kill this creature. Their flames gain a special property and can’t be doused by normal means.

Alpha Volcanic Dire Wolf

[ Fire/Earth/Beast ]

A fully adult variant of a volcanic dire wolf. Its whole body is now transformed into a shell of volcanic matter. Its flesh is extremely resistant to physical attacks.

Alpha Mystical Dire Ruby Wolf

[ Fire/Earth/Beast ]

A rare fully adult specimen of the Mystical Dire Ruby Wolf. The horn on their foreheads becomes even more pronounced and their size is greater than their unevolved counterparts.

Sunlight Wolf [ Ruby Form ]

[ Fire/Divine/Beast ]

A legendary creature rumored to have been birthed by the sun. This ruby variant uses the large horn on its forehead to channel divine fire spells. Its mane can take on the form of radiant flames and it is rumored to have been a companion animal of the Sun Goddess.