Shades of the New World

Chapter 233: Development of the Dimension

As Evin expected, Mana Complexes were the most expensive items on the list. Moreover, the fact that its price doubled with every Complex that Evin would own didn't really help much as well. And perhaps because of its rarity, there really wasn't much variety in this list.

From what Evin could see, it seemed like the Cosmics held a certain monopoly over the energy supply and maintenance of Dimensions, which meant that most of the list contained various Mana Complexes built to support them. 

Unlike Evin's dimension based on his shadow, most of them were made for dimensions based on the World of Thoughts or the World of Space purely. None of the other Worlds seemed very compatible with the idea of a dimension, though, there was one made for the World of Emotions. Evin was a bit curious about how the last one worked, but since there was no way for him to inquire about it, he soon forgot about it.

Aside from Mana Complexes made for Dimensions, there were some for a mage's personal use, and some artificers offering to make custom-made Mana Complexes. 

In the end, Evin ordered another Mana Complex for himself and rented one for his shadow. The first one was more than enough to supply his needs until he became a lesser-imposer, so Evin gladly purchased the item. He also sent the details of his Channeling artifact, so they could easily wire the two together. 

The second one was to support the rate at which his Shadow Dimension increased in size. Although Evin felt that it was a bit overkill, he didn't mind splurging a bit, since it was going to be tied to another service.

At the end of it all, Evin had accrued a debt of almost 550 thousand gold.

'I really thought I'd spend a bit more than this, but I guess this is alright. With this, I should start making money in about a year or two, depending on how well the banks do,' Evin thought with satisfaction.

But he wasn't finished with his purchases yet. After all, he hadn't finished looking through the non-magical category of the list.

Though expectedly, the items and services in that list weren't anything too bizarre: clothes, toys and games, books, decorations, furniture, fine art, all stuff that one would expect from such a list. Evin bought a few interesting books from it, looked through some furniture and skipped over to the next section, which was about services. 

What he was more interested in was found in the development services, particularly one that said [Comprehensive Development of a Dimension].

This service was foreshadowed in the previous section about dimensions, which was one of the reasons why Evin decided to rent another Mana Complex for his shadow.

Evin looked through the details and found that it was a business that was willing to build a proper town, a military base, some kind of specialized facility, or just fancy a mansion inside a Dimension. Naturally they would sign a non-disclosure agreement with Evin, in which they agreed to not speak of anything that they saw inside the dimension.

It was a bit weird to see it added on the non-magical category, but Evin wasn't going to dwell on that. For Evin, who was wondering what he was going to do with his dimension, this was a godsend, or should one say, a goddess-send opportunity.

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The total cost of the development varied from the amount of residents inside the Dimension, so for Evin's 80 or so World Sprites, it was relatively cheap. Only a few thousand gold for the cheapest option, which only included the buildings and the very minimal form of infrastructure. Weird how some of the random and useless magical artifacts cost around the same amount of gold, not even mentioning the useful ones that Evin bought.

Obviously, Evin wasn't such a cheapskate. He considered the middle-high level of development at the least, which cost him a modest amount of 8000 gold. This included a sewage system, a house with a proper bathroom and lighting for every resident, plus six miscellaneous buildings that Evin wanted (a central building, an inn, blacksmithing place, bakery, fishery, clothing, barber, etc.).

Evin didn't know what the World Sprites would do with all these buildings, but thinking of the future, where one day an actual town might take root here, Evin wanted to put down the best foundations a city could have. He also considered upgrading the infrastructure in preparation for maybe a 1000 or so people to take root here, but he didn't want to commit too hard into this. He decided to first try it out with the World Sprites and see how everything worked.

He also didn't know where this little project of his would take him in the end, but since it was interesting, he didn't mind investing in it and see where it goes.

'Now, I just have to wait until the Cosmics take care of everything for me,' Evin thought with satisfaction, closed the list and gave Rith the small note of things that he wanted to purchase. 

After stretching, he entered his shadow and found Runa and Enri talking to each other on a patch of grass, as the other... genderless, humanoid-shaped, black World Sprites listened from the sidelines.

From around the Dimension Core, random patches of grass started growing, which was quite miraculous, considering the fact that Evin didn't remember planting any grass seeds, or anything organic. Rith explained that it happens due to the effect of the Dimension Core and the constant supply of mana, but Evin still found it all quite dubious.

'But considering the fact that this place might develop ores and lodestones veins in the future, I suppose it's natural' Evin pondered with a sigh.

[Evin.]

[Big Brother!] 

Enri and Runa noticed Evin appear in the vicinity and came over alongside the rest of the troupe.

"You can take a break from teaching the World Sprites sometimes you know? I feel as if you're always speaking of one thing or another whenever I glance inside my shadow," Evin said smilingly.

[We do get breaks, when we go to sleep at night,] Runa replied.

'How are you all so hardworking, even though I'm probably one of the bigger advocates of slacking off on this damn World,' Evin thought as he looked at the World Sprites.

"Don't you get tired of broadcasting your mind all day and every day?" he asked.

[It's not as hard as you imagine. We just make it so that our stray thoughts are broadcasted every moment of the day. After all, we think of one thing or another all the time,] Enri explained.

'Huh? Won't that just turn these World Sprites into complete copies of you two?'

"Although I admire your efforts for the time being, just teach them the words, alright?" Evin said.

'Actually, since I'm bringing in a bunch of construction crew in the near future, I can easily bring in a few teachers and have them teach the World Sprites. Though how would that even work? They would have to be mages, as well, since Enri and Runa can only talk through telepathy,' Evin thought a bit about the idea.

[Really? But you told us to teach them all we know,] Runa asked cutely.

"Well, you can take a small break from that, since I've just hired a bunch of people to start building a town here. You're finally going to have your own houses and dwellings," Evin declared smilingly.

After the cheers and excitement toned down a bit, Evin also explained his plans about their education.

"I'm also thinking of hiring a group of teachers for you all with them."

[What's a teacher?] Enri asked.

[Oh, I know what it is!] Runa giggle happily.

"It's someone whose job is to explain to kids like you how certain things work in life. Things like mathematics, history, physics, all that good stuff. Obviously, I'll be there to teach you other things, so don't worry about that."

[I'll be waiting for your arrangements.]

[Okay, big brother! Also, Enri says that the other siblings are becoming bigger, but I don't really see it,] Runa said in her usually high-tone, while Enri was as stoic as ever.

The contrast amused Evin greatly, but he steered his mind to the statement from Runa and investigated the World Sprite, wondering if they were taller than before or something. But as far as he could notice, he couldn't really see the difference.

"Are you sure? I don't really see anything different," Evin said and held one of the children in his hands, wondering if they were heavier.

[It's a very small difference, but they're definitely bigger. Maybe if you don't visit here for a few days and come back, you can see it.]

[Don't say that! Just measure them and compare it!] Runa retorted.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to measure them," Evin said, but was faced with a problem. He didn't have any measuring tools, or any planks of wood to draw on either.

"I'll be right back," he explained and went out to get the necessary things.