City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 557: Mars Tower

My eyes stayed glued to the city, refusing to waver, even when the ship moved to dock at the port.

What I watch is too absorbing to see anything else —undeniably irresistible. I couldn't tear my gaze away, not now.

There are a lot of them at the piers. Working as porters, operating things.

They are magnificent. The smallest, no larger than an adolescent child, and the tallest stood over seven meters high.

"Some of them are thousands of years old," said Rutto. To that, I nodded.

I love golems.

They represent everything that I love about this world. I wanted to buy some to act as guards at the tower's doors before discarding that idea.

It wasn't an easy decision to make.

Soon, the ship docked, and we exited. People are waiting for us.

Three people. One woman, two men. All three wear mage robes, but they are not the same type.

Archmage City has a strict code about the robes. One could tell the mage they were just by looking at their robes.

"Welcome to Archmage City, Lord Silver, Master of Velvet Garden," said the green-haired woman. "Thank you for the kind welcome, Great Mage Stoneheart," I replied.

The woman is a great mage. An Lv. 40+ mage, and since she worked in The Archmage tower.

It means she is exceptional—beyond just good.

I am surprised they have sent her to welcome me. All the Masters of the Legacies were greeted with strict ceremony—welcomed by none other than a grade of Great Mage, as was befitting their stature.

I have a list of those mages; she isn't one of them.

Mage Stoneheart is responsible for welcoming the masters of the Grade IV legacy—only a Master of Grade IV or Grade V is received by Great Mage Stoneheart.

My legacy isn't Grade IV. It's Grade III, but she is here to welcome me.

"'All the accommodations have been arranged for you and your entourage, but in light of your condition, I would suggest you go to the Mars Tower first,' she said, her voice calm yet edged with something I couldn't quite place.

"I want to attend the opening tomorrow and have other engagements, Great Mage," I replied.

I planned to visit that place, but I would not risk missing the opening of the conclave and the other things I had intended.

"I don't think that would be a problem. The opening ceremony is at ten," the Great Mage replied.

I considered for a moment before finally nodding.

"Ok," I agreed. It's in my favor to visit Mars Tower. I will need all the help I can get for tomorrow.

"Mydir will take you there," she ordered to the elf.

A few seconds later, I was in the carriage. Moving toward the Mars Tower.

I looked outside the window and saw Golems patrolling the streets. People were riding their monsters, which were not allowed in other cities.

I myself have restricted many monsters. Those who have them need special permission to bring them into the city.

Because these monsters possess the sheer power to maul through dozens of people, leaving carnage in their wake long before the guards can even mount a response

Some feel powerful enough to kill even the guards with a swipe of their claws.

"I heard there has not been a single monster accident in the past century?" I asked. "In three and a half centuries. It had been more than a millennium since a person died,"

"The person who died twelve hundred years ago died due to his own fault instead of the monsters' fault," replied the elf, his pride clearly evident in his voice.

"These collars must be the reason?" I asked, and the man nodded.

Soon, the carriage changed lanes and began to move fast. It had shifted to the Lightway.

In huge cities, there are one or two streets with Lightways. Here, every big street has one, and to use it, one only needs to shift the lane.

The carriage is moving fast. Faster than cars inside the city.

Cars move at an average of thirty miles per hour in the city, but the carriage is at least moving at forty.

Still, I could see everything.

Thanks to my new eye skill and the more I looked. The more enamored I have become.

The city is a magical metropolis.

It was remarkably well-planned. Despite its immense population, the city never felt crowded. Parks, sidewalks, and lush gardens sprawled across the landscape, seamlessly woven into the urban design.

I could even see young children walking alone without fear.

As I took in the sights, my gaze landed on something unexpected—something that brought an involuntary smile to my face.

A tram.

It differs from Earth and runs on magic, but it is still a tram. It brought back some old memories.

I will travel on it at least once before I leave the city. It will be enough till I build a tram in my city.

I wanted to build it ever since I held the city in my hands. It looked easy enough, but far from it.

It is still much easier than the Lightway.

A few minutes passed, and the sky-breaking tower came into view. It is massive and magnificent, bigger than even the Storm Tower of Namdar.

It is nearly two hundred stories tall and looks to be carved out of a gentle, glowing mountain.

It is a work of art with a bee comb design.

It is the Mars Tower. Built by Archmage Mars, who specialized in healing. The tower is also known as Healers Tower.

It is thousands of years old.

Here, nearly every affliction, including severed limbs, can be healed. However, those treatments are some of the most difficult and expensive ones.

The carriage stopped, and I got out.

A wheelchair was waiting for me. Although I could walk for a short distance, I sat in a wheelchair when I saw the massive tower.

Just going to the lobby alone will tire me out.

The young human man pushed me, and soon, I passed through the massive gates of the tower, entering the lobby that made my eyes wide.

"Magnificent," I muttered.

It didn't look like a hospital, and technically, it was not. It is a magic tower focused on teaching healing magic.

So, at a stretch, it could be seen as a teaching hospital.

Mages are everywhere, and less than 10% of the crowd are regular people like me who are not wearing mage robes.

People looked at me. Some muttered in recognition.

"Most of the things here are placed by Archmage Mars himself. A few changes have been made across the millenniums," the elf informed.

"It doesn't require any change," I replied, and it truly doesn't.

Everything is beautiful, especially those art pieces. They are from an Archmage's collection, and I'm drooling over each piece.

We reached the elevator and entered the room.

The energy screen enveloped us, and the elevator moved—fast. It was much faster and smoother than the elevator in my tower.

I could barely feel it moving. I wouldn't have felt it at all, if not for seeing the floors moving past.

Finally, the elevator stopped, and the screen disappeared.

They pushed my wheelchair out, only to see two people waiting for me: a brown-haired man who looked to be in his forties and a young dwarf woman.

The man is Great Mage Domaris—one of the most accomplished healers in Archmage City.

Specializing in the spirit.

Beside him is a young dwarf woman; she is a mage. Likely his student.

"Lord Silver, you look better than what Healer Gulfim had described in her communication," he said, looking at me.

He didn't use any active skills but with his expertise. He could see many things without using them.

"Far from it, Great Mage. I could barely walk more than a few hundred meters," I replied as the young woman appeared behind me and pushed my wheelchair.

"If your condition had been as Healer Gulfim had described. You shouldn't have been able to walk even a hundred meters," he said, and to that, I smiled.

There are people around. Most are mages, but some are patients, and quite a few are in wheelchairs, like me.

Only after seeing them does this place begin to feel a little bit like the hospital, but one could forget that the next moment, seeing its beauty.

Hospitals are not supposed to be this beautiful.

Click!

Soon, we stopped by the door and entered the room, where there were different types of tools.

We stopped beside the metallic bed. Covered densely in the runes.

"I am going to place you on this bed for the exam," he informed. However, he didn't act until I nodded after a second of silence.

To be honest, I don't want them to scan me. He will see what I don't want them to see, but I want to recover fast.

Seeing me nod. The bracelet with the green gem lit up, and I found myself floating up. A moment later, I was on the metallic bed.

I thought it would be uncomfortable, but it is surprisingly soft—softer than a mattress.

Buzz!

A second passed, and the buzzing sound rang out. As it did, the runes lit up and moved over my body.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It made me panic a little, but I remained calm.

Seconds passed when a green light dot appeared over me. Soon, that dot expanded, forming a magic image of me, and it was beautiful.

Every vein and bone, along with my beating heart, is visible here. I could see my blood going in and out of it and many other things.

Mage Domaris tapped a few runic buttons, and the scan changed slightly.

Something translucent was added to it.

"You have heavily overexerted your spirit, Lord Silver, but you are recovering incredibly fast," he said. His eyes never leave the scan.

"I don't feel like it," I replied.

"Well, you are," he said and said something to the young mage beside him in privacy. She nodded while he turned back to the scan.

"So, can you help me recover faster?" I asked, and the man smiled.

"Spirit is the most delicate part of people to deal with. Pushing it will only harm you, but this is Mars Tower."

"We have something that helps you to recover. At least enough that you will be able to use your skills and aura before leaving the city," he replied.

Hearing that report, a small smile appeared on my face.

Healer Gulfim said, I will be able to use my skills and aura in two weeks, but won't be at full power. Here, in ten days, I might be able to.

Click!

He looked at a few other things when the young woman came holding a tray of medicines.

"These will expedite the healing of physical injuries and soothe the spirit," he said, looking at the medicine. The next moment, I took the medicine.

Some were good, while others made me nearly vomit.

Afterward, I got out of bed and back into the chair as the young woman pushed it.

We came out of the room and kept moving until we stopped at the far end of the hallway, where Mage Domaris opened the door.

We entered the room. It is not big, but it isn't cramped either.

There is nothing else besides the block of jagged purple crystal, which is smooth on top.

"This is an otolis crystal. Made from bones of an otolis beast. It has spirit nourishing properties."

"It's uncomfortable, but if you spend a night on it. It will expedite the recovery of your spirit," informed Mage Domaris.

"Do I have to sleep naked?" I asked, and to my surprise. He nodded.

I asked it as a joke, but it turned out to be true.

A minute later, everyone left. Leaving me alone in the room.

I stayed in my wheelchair for a few seconds before sighing and getting up. I slowly removed my clothes and carefully folded them in my wheelchair.

Completely naked. I climbed on the purple crystal and lay down.

It was cold and uncomfortable, but I bore it and closed my eyes.

I don't know whether it is the tiredness, the medicine, or both. I fell into a deep sleep within a minute.

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