In Paradiso Rosso.

Construction was underway as soon as everything was confirmed with Willem. Jura had taken it upon himself to inspect every usable site and perform every kind of test he could think of to ensure there would be no future difficulties.

Willem was overseeing the expensive reconstruction of the dark elf homes, guiding the workers and explaining the general plan and unique structures. On the hand-drawn map there was much more open space compared to before the fight, where decrepit buildings were marked and torn down.

The wall between the spires of the main area and the 'slums' as they had previously been called was torn down unceremoniously. Many civilians joined in the effort, breaking down the wall with pickaxes made in the Private Sanctum. Children would carry baskets filled with small rocks to another area, clearing the way for the adults to continue their work. The civilians happily sang a song while they worked, their clothes slowly becoming caked in dust and debris.

Willem confirmed with the Stinging Blood Tortoise that this process of removing the wall did not hurt him. The tortoise's homunculus was playing with the children in one of the courtyards when Willem found him.

"Ashkatar, would tearing down that wall cause you any pain?" Willem pointed to the wall in the distance.

"No, in fact I am sure I will be feeling better with it torn down. Those nobles I had talked to before begged to put up a wall but would not tell me why, I was against it but they said it had to be done, so I relented." Ashkatar nodded his head to show his agreement for tearing it down.

"That is good news indeed, our paradise will look that much better without walls." Willem patted one of the children on the head while conversing.

"I know you're in the beginning stages of war, little one. There always comes a point in war where you can choose to forgive your enemies or annihilate them. I hope you choose the right path." There was a flicker of light in Ashkatar's eyes, something Willem had never seen.

Willem was unsure why Ashkatar had said that, but he was probably seeing something Willem did not. Willem chose to gratefully accept the information.

"When that time comes, I hope you will guide me properly." Willem bowed before leaving.

Ashkatar looked on, a smile growing on his face. The little children grabbed at his sleeves wanting to continue playing.

"Yes, yes. Come along." Ashkatar picked up a ball and threw it to one of the children as they resumed playtime. Despite looking like an old man, he could jump around quite spryly.

At the heart of the city.

Construction of the homes and stores had resumed at the same pace as the wall coming down.

"Can we add flecks of gold and silver without affecting the performance of the pillars?" Willem casually asked Jura.

"We can, although it would probably be easier just to make a gold trim as opposed to mixing it with the materials." Jura replied while exaggeratingly moving his hands.

"It is not for show, it is to improve the conductivity for magic. Gold and silver transfer magical power easier than any other metal I have tested." Willem corrected Jura.

"Ah, yes, I see. I have also noticed this, as most magical weapons are made with bits of silver or gold, but we simply did not have enough materials to conduct further tests. All gold was bought by nobles and used to make gaudy trinkets and trim their furniture. I will do as you ask... May I ask a question?" Jura motioned for a few of his workers to come closer while he responded.

"Of course." Willem nodded his head.

"Why are we laying out the buildings in a circular pattern? It seems a bit wasteful..." Jura pointed at the map, the Stinging Blood Tortoise's body was indeed circular, but the total space had less buildings than before the takeover.

"Ultimately this is to improve the flow of magical energy since I have already laid down the necessary runes. As long as the buildings follow these specifications the quality of life for anyone here will improve. I have made it so you get less tired, feel less hungry and your five senses improve." Willem traced a magical line just above the map to show what the array would look like when completed. "The magic energy used for this array is taken from the excess magical power the Stinging Blood Tortoise gives off when he moves."

"Brilliant, simply brilliant..." Jura could not make out a lot of the runes that Willem drew, but the map showed the array to be perfect in alignment. If it had not been pointed out to him, he probably would never have noticed it. Considering the accomplishments Willem had, Jura had no reason not to believe what he was saying, despite not understanding how it worked. However now that he was shown, how could he have not noticed the rune pattern to be so obvious?

The workers that Jura called over received the order to add gold and silver flecks into the materials as evenly as possible. Due to the density of gold, it had a habit of sinking to the bottom of the mixture and therefore needed to be stirred several times before settling. However the extra work was well worth it, as the workers now understood what it is they were doing it all for.

"The Dark Elves were wise to choose you as their representative." Willem nodded to Jura before leaving.

"Thank you, Master Grandia." Jura bowed before going back to the map, issuing orders with more fervor than before.

Seeing the reconstruction and smiling faces of children and adults, any fleeting thoughts of dissent from the surviving soldiers were summarily dismissed. Blood City had died the moment Willem stepped foot inside it, and what was left in his wake was a paradise for humans and magical beings.?

There was much work to be done inside Paradiso Rosso to be sure, but Willem would never neglect the families inside the Private Sanctum. Willem was the pillar of support for many families who had to quickly uproot their entire lives from the Bastion of Hope.

In the morning he would dedicate most of his time to creating and executing a training plan that suited the soldiers, hunters and gatherers. Formations were drilled into the soldiers, who were in charge of guarding and protecting the gatherers while the hunters explored and mapped the edges of the forest. The information that the Bastion of Hope had on anything besides the city and it's immediate surroundings was dismal. Hunters would gather fresh meat for the day but practice restraint by not killing the young or females and focusing on killing the wounded and elderly, keeping with Willem's practice of living harmoniously with the wildlife. They did not go so far as praying for the life of their prey, as they would have to let their guard down to do it.

By noon he would greet and guide his apprentice alchemists and the Mages who willingly followed him, showing them techniques that could help with increasing their power and explaining things that were too difficult for the average Mage. Once training was done he would sit down and eat lunch in bed with Kinsey, allowing no one else to be in the room besides the two of them. Kinsey relished every moment she had alone with Willem, as it seemed that the more people came to the Private Sanctum the less time he had for her. Near the end of their rendezvous there was always someone interrupting them, saying there was some emergency or another.

Once the daily crisis was resolved, whether it was reports about the movements of Magical Beings or a magical beast getting out into the common area, Willem would teleport to Paradiso Rosso and walk around with Jura to help expedite the rebuilding process. When the day was done and the sun had fallen beyond the horizon, Willem would return and eat supper in the food hall with all the other families.

With Willem's input and keen perception, magic flow in Paradiso Rosso went from an estimated ten percent increase to well over 30 percent, allowing for much more of a conversion of energy. Once the Stinging Blood Tortoise started moving again, the mix of overflowing physical and magical energy could easily allow for a more productive life from the inhabitants. An unforeseen benefit that would not be known for a few hundred years was that the energy conversion also allowed for a much higher chance of pregnancy and less risk of fetal death, which created a large population growth.

Two weeks later.

The construction of the new buildings and homes was completed, with only the furnishing and finishing touches requiring a bit more time. Willem no longer directly oversaw the work, as he was busy with a new problem.

Word got out to most of the Mages residing in the Bastion of Hope that the city was doomed and one of the Grand Mages was taking in families, despite the Royal Family and nobles suppressing the rumors as best as they could. Mages of the Academy were packing up and leaving in large numbers, taking anything from books to medicinal ingredients in an attempt to buy their way into the Private Sanctum.

Willem had expected before long to take on the Mages of the Academy, but he had no idea how many Mages were in the Academy and could only guess at how many would come. A batch of five hundred students were guided from the mines at the side of the mountain by the nearby miners and gained access to the Private Sanctum.

Before Willem could react to the new presence within his Sanctum, his magical energy swelled and tightened and the Private Sanctum grew further in order to welcome the new guests. Sweat dripped from his brow as the magical energy in his body coursed throughout the Sanctum, pushing the boundaries deeper and deeper into the Void.

In order to compensate for the wider surface area, the magical energy expunged from Willem's body went through a refining process and became denser and purer than before. Most of the denizens of the Private Sanctum instantly felt refreshed and wide awake, and any pain they had was now gone. Small injuries that had been sustained from hunters and soldiers fighting in the forest became remarkably healed and larger injuries could visibly be seen to be healing faster.

Willem rotated the magical energy in his body from his hands and feet to his heart, then to his head and back. The power seemed to well up as a floodgate of energy was released from every pore, creating a shimmering magical barrier floating around Willem's body.

The multi-colored barrier swirled like a storm as Willem did his best to control the energy, using the refining techniques provided by Jörmungandr. His brain swelled from the forceful expulsion of magical energy, and if it had been anyone else that was going through this they would already be in a catatonic state.

Willem had the resources and only really lacked the experience, so this was valuable time for him to understand the intrinsic mechanism behind the connection between the Private Sanctum and his new soul. The energy that flowed from the soul was dense and purified to an astonishing degree. It was warm and open, just like Willem had intended the Private Sanctum to be perceived.

After hours of refining and sending out magical energy from his body, the Private Sanctum stopped swelling up and settled to the size necessary to fit alot more occupants.

Willem felt a pain in his chest as he coughed up a mouthful of blood before opening his spatial spell, retrieving some cloth and wiping the blood away. The taste of iron was strong in his throat, but all he could do was bitterly smile. If he was not in the middle of a war, and had time to actually train beyond his first soul, he could harness and refine the magical energy better.