Once the coating is done I start adding the gold accents and try to make the castle look more gothic. Unfortunately, this requires a lot of trial and error since I know almost nothing about architecture. Eventually, it looks good enough that I am satisfied, even though it isn't perfect.

Once I am relatively happy with it, I call Lin outside to see what she thinks of it. She approves, but she has some additional ideas for me to add to the castle. I add everything that she wants, except for the statues, I want to wait on those.

Lin says "Why no statues?"

"I thought of adding them later because I want to make them golems. An additional line of defense for the castle."

Lin says "Oh, that makes sense. Alright, the statues can wait."

Once Lin is satisfied with the castle we head inside and I open a soulscape as usual. I want to watch some anime, but I get out-voted so we end up watching more movies. When I end the soulscape and open my eyes, I find Lin is already dressed as a Fairy Queen.

When she sees that I have noticed her she laughs and runs up the stairs. With a grin I chase after her, but I make sure not to catch up to her until we reach the bedroom. Several hours later, after Lin falls asleep, I enter my meditation and start working on my core.

*DING*

Core Upgrade Progress: Complete!

Core is now Rank 11! HP +500, MP +500, Evolution Points +2!

'What?! Why am I rank 11? What happened to the next level?!'

I find myself so confused that I end my meditation without meaning to. This is nothing like the last time I worked on my core and I don't understand why. If I don't go to the next level at ten, does that mean I have to wait until rank twenty?

All I can really do is wait and find out as I go, which drives me just a little nuts. However, there isn't much I can do about it, so I try and go back to working on my core. It takes me a while to calm down enough to get back into a meditative state.

Core Upgrade Progress: 11%

I end my meditation and open my eyes when I feel Lin start moving around. While we are cuddling I get a message from Brightfire that the kids want to come visit. The elves have all had a chance to come ashore, so there won't be any more groups visiting.

After getting the message, Lin and I get up, head downstairs, and I open a gate for the kids. Brightfire also comes through the gate and she joins us for breakfast. After the kids are done eating they head over to explore the modified play area.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Brightfire says "We will be holding another welcoming party tonight for the elves you brought back yesterday."

Lin says "Great! We will be there!"

I just chuckle at Lin's enthusiasm, but I don't dare to disagree with her. When we are done with breakfast, I open a gate for Brightfire to return to the ship and Lin leaves for the library. Seeing that the kids are happily playing, I head down to my workshop.

Gathering my materials I start constructing the physical core for the castle. I have been planning it out for a while now and finally it is time to begin. The core is going to be a sphere about the size of a soccer ball consisting of eight sections.

The sections are separated by metals that run through the sphere and the sections are formed from gems. I don't have a single gem that is that big, hence using separate sections. This way each section can be made from a different type of gem without losing capacity.

This is important since a part of the goal here is to allow more enchantments to be placed on the castle. The time altering enchantment in particular is going to require a lot of mana capacity. In fact, even building the core like this may not be enough, I won't know until I try.

Since I had already fully planned it out, the physical construction only takes me about an hour. The only part that actually worries me is the programming for Jarvis, the enchantments are easy. However, before I can begin the next step I realize that Zachariah is at the gate.

Zachariah says "Ash, I got some information about the Magic Kingdom's delegation."

"Great. When will they arrive?"

Zachariah says "Originally, it would have been about a week. But they suddenly changed directions and are now headed for the Empire's capital."

"They probably heard that I was there."

Zachariah says "I would be surprised if they didn't. You made quite the impression on everyone there. News of the emperor's miracle is already spreading like wildfire."

"Do you know what happened after I left?"

Zachariah says "Basically, Emperor Rathburn declared war on his son's faction. It isn't quite as bad as a civil war, but there are still going to be a lot of casualties."

"That's not surprising, now that he is healthy again he doesn't have to tolerate them causing trouble."

Zachariah says "That's true. After you left there was an assassination attempt against him. If it wasn't for that, things might have been a little less violent."

"I doubt it. The emperor was probably already planning this when he stripped his son of his title."

Zachariah says "Well, either way I doubt the conflict will last long. More importantly, it shouldn't affect us at all."

"Alright. I am going to plan on leaving in a week, but I would appreciate it if you kept me informed of their movements. Also, you might have to worry about them causing trouble for you. After all, our partnership isn't exactly a secret."

Zachariah says "Of course, I will keep you informed. Is there anger towards you really that strong?"

"I don't know, probably. The mages that I met didn't strike me as the types to like being denied what they wanted and a lot of them wanted Lin."

Zachariah says "I can't really blame them, Lin is amazingly beautiful. But you are right about their personalities. Alright, I will make some preparations just in case."

"So, that means you only have a week left to get as many weapons as possible for me to enchant."

Zachariah says "I'm not too worried. The amount you have already enchanted has surpassed my expectations. Even if I don't get any more, our profits won't suffer. Speaking of profits, is there anything else you need? As things stand, I won't have enough gold to cover what I owe you."