Limitless: New Dawn (Book II Complete)

The morning sun had just begun its slow climb across the horizon, Arthur finished his breakfast, and after exchanging brief words with the children and the staff he vanished into the skies.

What followed was a few hours of harvesting veins of iron and aluminum from the mountainsides of the mainlands, he also stored up silica sand, granites and rich, dark soil from riverbeds, and stored them in the Spear of Heaven for processing them.

After returning to the island Arthur hovered towards the plot high above the coast, his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the terrain. The location he'd chosen was slightly elevated, with a panoramic view of the ocean stretching beyond the cliffs, behind him was green wilderness, and a stream gurgled nearby. It was like a paradise waiting to be reshaped.

He raised both of his hands, and with a thought, his telekinesis burst forth. Trees hundreds of years old were plucked from the ground like weeds, massive boulders levitated and were kept aside. Arthur didn't destroy the natural materials; he gently set them aside. They would serve another purpose. Within minutes, a vast 300,000 square meter (3229173.13 Sq foot) of area was cleared and leveled.

He packed the soil down with another telekinetic sweep, layer by layer, until the ground felt solid underfoot, ready to bear the weight of the buildings he was going to build here.

Arthur exhaled slowly. "Alright… let's begin."

With a mental command, he summoned the nanobot swarm.

The tiny silver motes glinted like metallic dust under the sunlight, spreading across the site like a mist. From the Spear of Heaven, he took out the processed high grade alloys and other construction materials and put them on the ground. Then the nanobots started to weave them together with precision.

He started to build the walls first, and they began to take shape. They were towering fifty meters (164 feet) high, and eight meters (26.2 feet) thick, made entirely out of high grade alloy forming a perfect circle with a 300-meter (984 feet) radius.

Massive automated gates were installed on the eastern and western ends, one facing the ocean, the other towards the forest.

Arthur hovered along the wall, tweaking designs as he walked. He installed infrared sensors, motion trackers, auto-cannons disguised behind retractable panels, and a network of surveillance cameras, all seamlessly integrated into the walls. On the inside, lifts were installed, small elevator tubes that would allow fast access to the top of the wall for patrol guards.

The alloy used wasn't just strong. It was absurdly strong, strong enough that even Arthur himself would have to exert effort to tear it down.

Satisfied, Arthur turned toward the center of the circular base. An underground facility was dug in mere minutes, reinforced tunnels and walls took shape, and soon a compact reactor room layered with a shielding and redundancy system was made connecting with an operation chamber aboveground.

Next came the houses and the public facilities.

The nanobots dispersed again, flowing across the landscape, and beneath the soil to lay foundations. They then weaved reinforced glass, high grade alloy beams, and polished stone. Then one by one hundreds of modern houses and public buildings began to take shape, each built with care, durability, and comfort in mind.

Streets began to form in perfect geometric patterns, along with underground drainage systems and utility lines. Walkways curved around parks and fountains. Smart plumbing, lighting, embedded heating systems, all were connected and powered by the central reactor.

At the heart of it all, a towering ten-story building began to rise. Its frame was high grade alloy, but the entire façade was covered in reinforced glass that caught the sunlight and reflected it like a jewel. This would serve as the administrative building, the place where decisions would be taken regarding the base.

By the three hour mark, the houses were finished and all the roads and drainage systems were connected. A hospital and school took shape near the southern quadrant, and a few warehouses and granaries to the west. Parks and green spaces were dotted throughout the base as he transplanted the well trimmed clumps of grass and small decorative plants, designed for children to play and act as recreational areas for adults.

And then came the final touch, the furniture.

Arthur lifted the lumber from the trees he had preserved previously. Using the nanobots, he fashioned tables, chairs, beds, kitchen shelves.

By the fifth hour, the base was complete. A sleek and futuristic looking city, with tall buildings and modern homes stood before him.

He landed quietly atop the main tower, his cloak billowing in the breeze. But he wasn't finished yet.

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He rose again and hovered just outside the walls. Starting from the wall, he marked out a 200-meter-wide (656 feet) belt of land encircling the city. He tilled the soil, to turn and soften the ground. Then he vanished into the forest, returning with dark humus, decayed leaves, and nutrient-rich organic matter. It was then all mixed meticulously into the soil.

Ten meters (32.8 feet) tall stone walls were built around the fields to protect them from small animals. Irrigation lines were connected with the water system of the base, ensuring even distribution and automation during dry seasons.

And now the base was finally complete, although there was nothing planted here for now, but it was a start.

By the time Arthur finished everything it was already past lunch, so he decided to return toward the temporary camp where the others were still waiting, probably wondering where he had gone.

…

After a five minute walk Arthur finally arrived at the temporary camp. The adults were seated in small clusters and were chatting about the new place, while the children were playing nearby.

Seeing Arthur arriving the staff rose quickly to their feet, brushing off their clothes as if caught being idle. Arthur raised a hand and stopped them as he addressed them.

"No need for all that," he said with a faint smile. "Relax."

They paused mid-bow, straightening slowly as he looked across the familiar faces, all the people he'd brought from the orphanage.

He continued. "I know you all lost your last home because of me. I can't undo that, but I'm not going to let it end that way either."

There was a hush among the people.

"So," Arthur said, "I built you a new one."

Everyone was surprised at his proclamation.

"Come," Arthur said simply, turning toward the trees. "I'll show you."

The group followed behind him with hesitant curiosity. The kids scampered to the front, full of questions they didn't voice. The adults trailed behind, murmuring among themselves, wondering what Arthur meant.

Then they broke through the trees, and finally saw the smooth stone wall.

It stretched on both sides, a colossal ring made of dark gray granite like stone. And in the distance, just visible over the massive wall, they could see the peak of a tall building, rising like a crystalline spire.

Someone gasped.

"How… how is this even possible?" a woman among the people rescued by Arthur whispered, taking a step closer. "He was gone for just a few hours! Is it because of magic?"

Kai looked at Arthur surprised as he finally put it all together. "So that's what all that racket was in the forest," he muttered. "I thought you were just throwing boulders around for stress relief. Turns out you were building this."

He then flew above the wall, and his eyes went wide as the full scale of the structure revealed itself. "Okay. Yeah, this is… ridiculous." Arthur just gave a smug look at him.

They entered the arched gate and Arthur led them down a smooth concrete road flanked on both sides by the vast agricultural fields, ready for planting.

"This is where we'll grow fruits, vegetables, and grains. Enough to feed everyone here and sustain the base's consumption. We'll be self-sustaining by the end of the year." Arthur explained as they walked.

Children and adults alike stared open-mouthed at the sheer size of the farmland.

The people could see the tall metallic wall in the distance, and were eagerly anticipating how their new home looked, and as they arrived before the metallic wall, it automatically opened up, surprising everyone again.

And the city beyond the gate revealed itself to them.

"Whoa…" someone breathed.

They stepped into a wide avenue lined with pristine buildings, tall and modern, each fitted with glass windows and small courtyards before them. Clean streets ran in perfect geometric patterns, parks dotted with trimmed trees and fountains. And rising in the center like a crown was the ten-story tower of reinforced glass and alloy, catching the sunlight and casting shadows over the streets below.

Lisa, riding on Arthur's shoulders, let out a delighted squeal. "WOW!"

The adults weren't much different. Some stood frozen in place, while some walked ahead slowly, craning their necks to look at buildings. One man actually pinched his own arm in disbelief.

Arthur turned to face them, his voice calm but resolute.

"This is Avalon," he said. "From today onward, it's our home."

He hadn't been sure what to name the base at first. But as he laid down the last stone, this name resonated with the hope of the people, as a paradise they can call their own.

Butler Hudson stepped forward, quiet and composed as always, and bowed in front of him.

"Thank you, Lord Arthur," he said, his voice steady. "For doing so much for us."

Arthur asked in a confused voice. "Why are you calling me Lord?"

Hudson straightened, "Well, you now own land larger than most nobles possess. And… with a city in it too. That makes you a Lord, doesn't it?"

Arthur rubbed his temple with a sigh. "You know you don't have to call me that."

"I know," Hudson said, but he didn't stop smiling.

One by one, the others followed, even the teenagers and the people he saved.

"Thank you, Lord Arthur," they said in unison as they bowed.

Arthur stared at them with a deadpan and fed up look. "This is going to be a thing from now on, isn't it?"

He cringed, already imagining people calling him lord whenever he came out of his room.

Kai floated down beside him, clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Kid… You've built a city, might as well accept your title."

Arthur just sighed, knowing that he cannot change their mind.

But as he looked back and saw the children laughing, running ahead to explore their new home… he didn't mind too much.

***