City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 500: Open the Gates

"The day has come," I said as I woke up.

Today is the opening, and everything looks perfect. I know it. I could see it all.

Every inch of the tower is visible to me.

The work is finished. The only place the people are still working is the underground. The work there is going on with full force.

I watched it all before going to the bathroom to freshen up and shower.

Usually, I train first before showering.

Since I came back from Panar, this would be my second day of skipping practice; the first one being the day Carla returned from the Ertburn.

I came out and changed into a new set of clothes before sitting down.

Just moments later, a steaming breakfast appeared in front of me. It is a simple breakfast; it doesn't have mist or any special ingredient.

I cannot eat those daily.

Once I finished. I walked into my office, where everyone was waiting for me, and they had serious expressions on their faces.

"Why so serious?" I asked, but no one smiled.

"Deerpond has released the news that they have opened the mine with Grade VI crystals," replied Lola.

Immediately, the smile on my face disappeared, and serious expressions appeared on my face.

"Grade VI, hun," I said and sat down.

It is definitely bad news for me and the entire city since Deerpond is an enemy.

If they had found the biggest mine of Grade III crystals and below, I wouldn't have been worried, but above grade III, the energy crystals begin to get rarer with each level.

Grade VI crystal mines are rare and expensive. They are going to boost the economy of the Deerpond, without a doubt.

Which will translate into a bigger army, better weapons, and more powerhouses, among other things.

They have attacked us once and with this, they could attack us again. I am confident they will attack us if they think they could win.

Last time, they suffered a defeat, but didn't lose anything important. Only a few people died; so that they had come out unscathed militarily.

I will have to increase my forces and not just numbers, I would need more powerhouses and experienced soldiers.

He has that advantage over me. Thanks to the forces coming from his territory in the empire.

It is really unexpected.

I had heard about the new mine and was aware of the experts he hired from the merchant state, but never in the dream, I had thought, the mine would be a Grade VI.

At most, I thought it would be Grade IV.

"They had done it intentionally. Releasing the news on the day of opening," said Hendriks.

"It's fine. It won't affect the celebration," I said, and it is the truth. He might have done it intentionally, but it will not even dent the celebration, not even a bit.

"Today is important. I want everything to go as we had planned. We have to make a grand impression, something they will never forget," I stated.

"Everything will be perfect, Master Silver. We will make sure, it is," replied Caena.

They stayed for fifteen minutes, before the meeting ended.

I looked at the clock. There is less than an hour before the opening of the tower and thousands of people have already gathered around the legacy.

People had gathered on circle street in the night. They had then entered the park as soon as its gates opened at dawn.

Now, every minute, their numbers are increasing.

I looked at the crowd for a minute before focusing on the pages in front of me. This is my speech.

Today is a founding day and I am going to address my citizens in the central square.

A lot of things have happened in the past two years since the city was inaugurated.

Its ruler ran away, it got attacked by the undead and a neighbor that we considered an ally, but the city had faced through it all when many thought it never could.

There are even greater challenges ahead, but I am confident that the city will be able to face them.

I will make sure it will. I am sure it will weather them all. 

Soon, there was only a minute to eight, and I got up from my chair and walked to the window.

The crowd had only grown in the past hour. Their numbers are more than quadrupled, that of two months ago, when we opened the tower.

Which isn't surprising given last time that there was no legacy for the common people to experience for free.

At most, they could see the beautiful plants and enjoy their fragrance, but not the sensation of the legacy, but today, they will and for it, thousands have camped through the night.

"Open the gates!"

Finally, it was eight, and Caena's command rang out. It rang out, not only in the legacy, but through the entire city.

At her command. The guards opened the door and the people immediately came inside.

We have made arrangements for them to control the crowd. From setting up guardrails to hiring a group of people that specialize in crowd management.

Their services aren't cheap, given their levels, but I could afford them.

Soon, the first person came inside, and he stopped and gasped in shock as he saw the lobby.

The power of legacy that fills it, the fragrances from the plants, and art pieces that would invoke a powerful emotion and the greatest of them is a centerpiece.

It is amazing, incredible, mesmerizing, and scary.

Just one look at them was enough to have a small emotion burst.

People entered one by one and looked around the lobby, while many took the elevator and stairs to the stores.

Currently, only the spa and stores are open, including that of Eva's. In the afternoon, the theater would open, but I wouldn't be here to see it.

I will be in the central square. Addressing my people.

At six, the door of the velvet red would open, and at eight, the velvet blue; it is where the party will be.

I could have opened velvet red now with the stores. Hendriks and a few madams suggested it and it would have been wise, but with openings, we always open it at six.

I am not going to change that. Despite some losses, we will suffer because of it.

A few minutes passed and soon all the store floors were filled with people.

Each store floor has a large area for people. I could have packed more stores if I wanted, but I didn't. It increased the capacity of the floor, but despite that, floors became crowded within minutes.

There are people everywhere, and they are enthralled.

One could see the pure joy on their faces. They are experiencing the legacy, something they had never thought they would be able to in their life.

To them, the legacy is for the rich, and powerful. Common people have no business in it.

Here at Velvet Garden, this is not the case.

In the tower, everyone could enter. Whether they are rich or poor.

I have also reserved tickets and tables for regular citizens at the theater, spa, and Velvet Blue. There will be a need to pay a nominal fee, to be able to enjoy the things that the rich and powerful do at a fraction of the cost.

With Legacy advancing into Grade III. I increased the number of those tickets as well.

I am not losing much doing that. As it is not the money, I seek the most.

I looked before focusing on two stores, Gagarin's and Sagra's.

I have given access to three stores. Eva's, Gagarin's, and Sagra.

Sagra is a woman in her fifties and an ivory artist. Both her son and husband are in the army and have fought in all the battles of Greltheaven.

That is her loyalty.

So, after some thought and a few interviews. I gave her the access and a few days later, to her staff like I did with George.

I could give access to all stores, and it wouldn't be too heavy on the core. It would also make me earn more money and gather more emotions essence, but I am not doing that.

I will not sacrifice long-term benefits for the short term gain.

They need to understand that access is a privilege. They will get it through their work and loyalty.

It is a lost opportunity in the short term, but it will provide an incredible windfall in the long term. Not to me and the legacy, but also the city.

Soon, it was nine, and I had to leave for the city. I wish I could stay, but there are things I have to do.

A few important people I have to meet. Including, Lord of Inam.

He had come this time, and so had the lord of Owlspring and a few city lords of merchant cities and nobles from the empire.

Click!

The door opened as I was in my thoughts and Caena walked in.

"How is it?" she asked, and she wasn't asking about the flow of people. "Let's see," I replied with a smile.

Everything turned dark, and a moment later, the core appeared. As we took in the scene, both of our eyes widened.

For a few seconds, nobody spoke.

"You are incredible," she said, with wonder looking at the core. "It wouldn't have been possible, without you," I replied.

The core is surrounded by the great multi-colored flood of emotions that are coming at it from the legacy, and it is absorbing it all. I thought the core would have a problem doing that.

Even legacy cores have a limit. They could only absorb a certain amount of emotions, but it seemed like the limit of my core is greater than I had thought.

Currently, it is having no problem with absorbing emotions coming from the thousands of people,

These emotions are from only six floors.

There are fifteen more floors that have yet to be opened. My mind began to contemplate how much emotions there will be for my core to absorb, after all the floors open at night.

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