As they returned to the village, the people greeted them with heartfelt thanks. Several villagers approached Lancer, bowing slightly and offering words of gratitude.
"You saved us," one of the older men said, his voice shaky but filled with sincerity. "We owe you more than we could ever repay."
Lancer shook his head, a twinge of guilt in his chest. "I didn't save anyone. I couldn't even—"
The old man cut him off, gripping Lancer's arm tightly. "If it weren't for you, those bandits would've killed us all. Don't you dare diminish what you've done." His voice cracked, and tears welled in his eyes. "But we still lost so many… so many…"
Lancer swallowed the lump in his throat, lowering his gaze. "I'm sorry."
The old man nodded solemnly, patting Lancer's arm before stepping away. Lancer turned to Livia, who gave him a small, reassuring smile, and together they walked toward the chief's house—or what was left of it.
The structure was nothing more than a pile of charred debris now, a somber reminder of what had happened. The rest of the village wasn't much better, despite nearly two weeks of rebuilding efforts. Broken fences, half-finished repairs, and scattered rubble painted a grim picture of the task ahead.
"How are they even going to rebuild this?" Lancer murmured.
Before Livia could respond, the system spoke.
[Your magic power has increased significantly. You now have enough mana to unlock a new skill. Would you like to proceed?]
"Yeah, go for it," Lancer said absently, still surveying the destruction.
[Acquisition of the skill Molecular Reconstruction is successful. This skill allows you to rebuild material at the molecular level, effectively reversing the effects of Molecular Collapse. Using Architect's Dominion, you can create stronger materials from existing debris.]
Lancer's eyebrows raised. "That… actually sounds useful."
The system continued. [It is recommended you use Diffusion to absorb the debris and reconstruct it into a stronger form.]
Lancer nodded, focusing on a pile of broken rock bricks nearby. He activated Architect's Dominion and watched as the debris shimmered faintly. Using Diffusion, he absorbed the material, feeling a familiar drain on his mana. Moments later, the rocks reappeared in a neatly stacked pile.
He reached down to pick one up, expecting the same weight as before, but nearly dropped it as he lifted. "What the hell? This thing weighs a ton!"
Livia crouched beside him, inspecting the reconstructed material. "It looks normal, but… I think you've made it denser. That's incredible, Lancer."
He gave a faint grin at her praise. "Thanks. Maybe I can use this to help rebuild the village."
However, as he looked around at the devastation, a new problem dawned on him. "Wait… I don't know anything about building a house."
Livia burst into laughter, the sound a rare and welcome relief after everything that had happened. Lancer groaned, running a hand through his hair as he muttered to himself. "Of course. Of course I didn't think this through…"
As Lancer sat there, overwhelmed by his lack of knowledge about construction, the system spoke again.
[There is no need to worry. You can utilize the skill acquired from the subject Nero, Data Extraction, which allows direct access to another person's memories.]
Lancer blinked. "Wait, what? I have Data Extraction? How—oh…" He remembered the moment he had unknowingly used Diffusion on Nero before leaving the village, back when he was still dazed from the fight. "That's how he knew I was telling the truth that day," he muttered.
The system continued. [By combining Data Extraction with Architect's Dominion, you can create the skill Data Sharing. This will allow you to access and replicate knowledge from others, such as the village's builders.]
Lancer's eyes lit up. "That's perfect!" He turned to Livia. "Can you gather all the stonemasons and builders in the village? I think I can figure this out with their help."
Livia raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Alright, but I'm curious to see how you plan to pull this off."
After some time, Livia returned with a small group of villagers, most of them older men and women who had been part of the village's construction in their youth. Lancer explained his plan, though it took a little convincing to get them to agree to let him use Data Sharing. Once they consented, Lancer activated the skill.
A soft glow connected his mind to theirs, and he felt the rush of information flooding in. Blueprints, techniques, and years of experience were filtered and organized by the system. It neatly categorized the data, ensuring nothing overwhelmed him.
[The process is complete. The knowledge required to rebuild the village is now accessible.]
"Got it," Lancer said, nodding. He turned toward the remains of the chief's house. Activating Architect's Dominion, he began absorbing the debris and using Molecular Reconstruction to transform it into sturdier materials. The system guided him, piecing together the structure step by step based on the shared memories.
Soon, solid, dense bricks began forming, each one precisely shaped and fitted for rebuilding.
Soon, a neat pile of bricks stood where the chief's house had once been, and the empty space left behind awaited transformation. The system relayed the blueprints directly to Lancer, and he began reconstructing the house. Using Architect's Dominion and Molecular Reconstruction, he reshaped tiles for the roof from the same reinforced material. The wooden framework was sourced from the trees he had broken down with Diffusion in the forest, now rebuilt into an incredibly dense and sturdy form.
The builders watched in awe as the structure took shape. The system, combining their knowledge with Lancer's memories of modern buildings from Earth, produced an imposing two-story home. It was a marvel of both old-world craftsmanship and new-world magic, with reinforced bricks and dense, polished wood that gave it an air of authority and resilience.
"Looks better than it ever did," one of the stonemasons muttered, and others nodded in agreement.
But Lancer's satisfaction was short-lived when he noticed a limitation. He could only use about 3,000 magic points at a time for a single structure.
[Your total magic pool exceeds 140,000,] the system explained. [However, as a Level 1 mage, your mana threshold for active usage is restricted.]
Lancer sighed. "So, I can't go all out until I level up… Great."
Though disappointed, he didn't let it slow him down. He worked tirelessly in the days that followed, partnering with the builders to reconstruct the village. While he provided the transformed materials, the builders used their own construction skills, which sped up the process. Even so, the sheer number of homes, shops, and other structures meant the work was grueling and slow.
By the time the final building was complete, exhaustion weighed heavily on Lancer. He collapsed onto the steps of the newly rebuilt chief's house, wiping sweat from his brow. He looked out at the still-damaged wall surrounding the village and groaned. "And we're not even done yet…"
Despite his fatigue, his magic reserves didn't seem to run dry.
[The subject Selene possessed a skill, Mana Wellspring, which you assimilated upon her passing. This skill grants rapid mana regeneration, enabling near-constant access to your full capacity.]
Lancer froze for a moment, the weight of her loss pressing against his chest. Then, he closed his eyes and silently thanked her. "Guess you're still looking out for me," he whispered.
For now, he allowed himself a small moment of rest before the next challenge