Chapter 128: The City of Hope
"Dragonblood Elixir?" Levi looked at the vial of potion in his hand.
The potion was a deep amber color. Tiny golden specks drifted slowly within the liquid, as though miniature stars had been sealed inside.
Rapunzel's godmother said, "I brewed it using dragon's blood as the primary ingredient, combined with Unicorn's Tears and several magical herbs. It's a potion suited for the training of a Third-Ring Wizard."
"It provides the effects of Meditation Assistance, Mental Stabilization, and Spiritual Enhancement," she continued.
Levi used the last bit of his Magic Power to cast Detection. A faint blue glow flickered in his eyes as the information it revealed confirmed everything Rapunzel's godmother had said.
Good.
She wasn't trying to poison me, Levi thought.
However, Detection also revealed the potion's side effects.
Long-term use would gradually make the drinker irritable and eventually cause auditory hallucinations, allowing them to hear the curses and lingering resentment of dragons.
But Detection also displayed the solution.
It even provided a complete prescription.
The corners of Levi's lips curled upward slightly. Looking at the potion in his hand, he asked, "How much of this do you have?"
"As much as you want," Rapunzel's godmother replied, glancing at him.
Although dragon's blood was the primary ingredient, it possessed extraordinary spiritual potency. Rapunzel's godmother suspected that the dragon it came from had surpassed the Fifth Order and had reached the Sixth Order—or perhaps even higher.
Because of that, even a tiny amount of dragon's blood, combined with other ingredients, was enough to produce an extremely powerful potion.
That was why she was so confident in her answer.
After hearing that, Levi nodded in satisfaction.
"Good."
Rapunzel's godmother looked at him and reminded him, "Overusing magical potions comes with severe side effects."
"Thank you. I know."
Seeing his reaction, she fell silent for a moment before adding, "Besides that, I accidentally discovered something else. If a small amount of dragon's blood is mixed with certain other ingredients and then detonated using a fire-attribute rune, it creates an enormous explosion. Its destructive power is comparable to a Third-Ring offensive spell."
"More importantly, it's very easy to make. The only problem is that the process itself is rather dangerous."
"If you need them, I can manufacture them in large quantities."
Levi thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.
"That won't be necessary."
"Help me brew another potion instead."
He recited the formula that Detection had revealed.
"Hm. This is a calming potion. The ingredients are fairly common as well. How did you know this formula?" Rapunzel's godmother truly deserved her reputation as a master potion maker recognized throughout the wizarding world. Even the Seven Dwarfs had sought her help when they wanted to save Snow White.
The moment she heard Levi recite the formula, she didn't need to conduct any experiments. Based solely on her experience and intuition, she immediately identified the potion's properties.
That made Levi glance at her in surprise.
But instead of answering her question, he simply asked, "Can you make it?"
"Yes. However, some of the ingredients aren't available here. We'll have to find them in the lower world," Rapunzel's godmother replied after giving him a long look and pausing briefly.
"The lower world?" Levi frowned slightly.
"Yes. Some of the ingredients are simply too ordinary, so I never bothered stocking them. We'll need to gather them from the forest or buy them at markets frequented by ordinary people," Rapunzel's godmother explained calmly.
"Fine. Give me a list, and I'll prepare everything for you. Or, if you prefer, I can move the Floating Cloud Territory wherever you need, and Rapunzel can accompany you down there."
"Very well."
Rapunzel's godmother said nothing more and turned to enter her wooden cabin.
Levi, still holding the Dragonblood Elixir, also went into his own cabin.
Leaving Meriel standing there alone, utterly bewildered.
"Wait! You two just left? What about me?"
At that moment, the gentle-eyed Rapunzel walked over and greeted her with a warm smile.
"Hello. My name is Rapunzel. I'm a witch."
"H-Hello... My name is Meriel. Meriel Dres, heir to the Dres Family," Meriel replied after a brief pause.
It was the only identity she still had left to present to others.
Rapunzel clearly had no idea what weight the Dres Family's name carried—
If it still carried any weight at all.
She simply smiled gently and said, "Come with me. I'll show you around this cloud island. This is Lord Levi's territory. A few of us live here, along with a group of Flower Fairies. We also grow a few things..."
"Oh, right. Let me introduce you. This is Emily."
Meriel looked toward Little Red Riding Hood.
Little Red Riding Hood gave her a slight nod.
"You can just call me Little Red Riding Hood."
"All right, Little Red Riding Hood. I'm Meriel."
Meriel nodded in return.
Rapunzel smiled warmly at the scene before saying, "Come on. I'll take you to meet the King and Queen of the Flower Fairies first."
"...All right! Thank you!"
...
Time flew by.
Inside the wooden cabin, Levi's eyes shone brightly as he consumed a tremendous amount of Magic Power to cast Detection.
One piece of intelligence after another appeared before him.
[Intelligence 1: The Magic Mirror Queen has learned that Snow White has been revived. Furious, she is creating a poisoned apple capable of plunging the soul into eternal despair, intending to kill Snow White forever.]
[Intelligence 2: The aura emanating from the Old God Ruins in the Kingdom of Valeria has alarmed the Church. Following the Holy Council, the Church will issue a Sacred Edict, concentrating its forces on investigating the Old God Ruins. Archbishop Cologne's plans for Silverclaw Peninsula have been postponed for the time being, but the Church will dispatch a senior official from the Inquisition to Silverclaw Peninsula to verify Levi's identity.]
[Intelligence 3: The creatures beneath the sea are watching you. They are preparing to activate the contingency they left behind on land.]
[Intelligence 4: The witch of the Magic Castle has begun preparing a new ritual for an Evil God.]
[Intelligence 5: The hunter who wears the Teleportation Cloak and finds gold coins beneath his pillow every day is continuing his travels. Before long, he will arrive in the territory of New Orpheus, whose ruler is a witch.]
...
A fresh batch of intelligence had just arrived.
Levi barely glanced at the first report before dismissing it.
Snow White wasn't that easy to kill.
Then again...
Her luck really is unbelievable.
Still, that had nothing to do with him.
His gaze shifted to the second report, and the corners of his mouth lifted.
Archbishop Cologne wouldn't be coming anytime soon.
That bought Levi valuable time to grow stronger.
That was definitely good news.
As for the Inquisition official coming to investigate him, Levi wasn't worried.
With his cheat ability concealing his Sea of Souls, there was no way they could discover he was a wizard.
The third report, however, caused his expression to darken.
Just what was lurking beneath the sea?
Mermaids?
And what exactly was this contingency left on land?
Even a Third-Ring Detection still had significant limitations.
There was simply too much it couldn't uncover.
Upgrading Detection is becoming an absolute priority, Levi thought.
He turned to the fourth report.
An Evil God ritual?
That couldn't possibly be good.
He frowned.
What exactly was that old witch plotting?
Thinking back to the Evil God ritual carried out by The Robber Bridegroom, Levi couldn't shake the feeling that a massive conspiracy was unfolding behind the scenes.
He made a mental note to investigate it in the future.
Finally, his attention settled on the fifth report, and his eyes lit up.
The reason was simple.
The Teleportation Cloak was just too good.
If Levi could obtain that cloak—or copy its ability—he wouldn't have been forced into such a miserable situation during the Old God Ruins incident.
Instead, he could have handled everything calmly and with complete confidence.
Still, there was no need to rush.
The hunter was still wandering the world.
He hadn't yet stopped because of the witch's beautiful daughter.
Levi only needed to wait.
Wait for the right time.
With that thought, he pulled out a vial of Dragonblood Elixir and drained it in one gulp.
Instantly, countless incoherent whispers filled his ears.
He had simply consumed too much of it. Lately, he had been frantically chugging magical potions to raise his Spiritual Power.
But his expression remained composed.
He had already prepared for this.
He calmly took out another vial—the Four-Leaf Clover Elixir—and drank it to counterbalance the side effects.
Immediately, the whispers subsided considerably.
Levi then began practicing his meditation technique.
A corridor of memories unfolded within his mind, and his consciousness wandered through it.
...
In the blink of an eye...
Several more months passed.
Construction of Levi's new city was finally complete.
Yalina asked him to give the city a name.
After thinking it over for a while, Levi settled on one:
City of Hope.
When construction was finished, Levi also distributed rewards according to each person's contributions.
Land was allocated based on merit.
Those who had contributed more received more land.
Those who had contributed less received less.
Thanks to Detection, Levi was able to make the distribution almost perfectly fair.
Those who had worked the hardest wouldn't end up sweating only to be cheated out of their rewards, while those who had contributed little had no chance to freeload.
During the process, Levi also uncovered several cases of people abusing their authority for personal gain.
All of them were severely punished.
Some of them had made outstanding contributions to the territory.
It made no difference.
The outcome was the same.
Once those cases spread throughout the territory, they served as a powerful warning to everyone else.
With those examples set, even anyone tempted to try something similar no longer dared.
It saved Levi a great deal of trouble.
After distributing the farmland came the houses.
Naturally, the houses weren't free.
Levi introduced installment-based home purchases to this world.
Any citizen who wanted a house in the City of Hope could buy one of its concrete homes through installment payments.
The policy was met with overwhelming enthusiasm.
People emptied their savings to secure homes in the City of Hope.
After experiencing the convenience of the new city, none of them wanted to return to the filthy living conditions they had endured before.
The new city had clinics that treated patients without bloodletting, schools that provided free education, stable law and order, abundant supplies, cheap bread in the markets, salted fish...
Most importantly...
The air no longer carried that ever-present stench of human waste.
As a result, homes in the City of Hope sold extremely well.
It wasn't just Levi's own people who were eager to buy.
Many outsiders—including merchants, Princess Milissa, and quite a few nobles from neighboring territories—were likewise drawn to the City of Hope and purchased property there.