Galen Yu looked at the palace, not quite understanding what the Architect was talking about.
'Spirit' was a bit too vague.
If someone else had said it, he might have considered it, but the Architect?
Mist and fog couldn't stop the Architect from building, yet he claimed it lacked spirit?
"You must have seen them when the Great Wall of China was being built—those golden patterns on the outside."
"Back then, they appeared so naturally, but with this building, I just can't find its soul."
The Architect frowned, looking deeply troubled.
To him, not being able to find the soul of a structure was a fatal flaw.
In his eyes, the soul was the most important part of a building; only with a soul would the construction feel right and look beautiful.
Without a soul, even with blueprints in hand, the process would feel hollow.
"Buildings have souls?"
Galen Yu was even more bewildered.
He was a builder himself back in the game, but when it came to the 'soul' of a building, he was truly out of his depth.
He could only conclude that the Architect was truly a master, possessing a unique obsession with his craft!
Of course, it was a commendable display of craftsmanship and integrity.
"I'm afraid I can't help you with that."
Galen Yu could offer help in other areas, but regarding souls...
He was completely out of ideas.
"No, my intuition tells me that you have something on you that can help this building!"
Just as he was about to check on something else, the Architect stopped him with an incredibly serious expression.
"I have something that can help you find its soul?"
Galen Yu didn't believe it.
He had just returned from The End; his inventory consisted only of End Stone and Ender Pearls, with his Elytra being the most precious item.
Surely he wasn't expected to fly around in front of the Architect, pretending to be a dragon to provide inspiration?
A firework rocket boosted him up as his Elytra wings flapped, sending him soaring into the sky.
He could see amazement and admiration in the Architect's eyes, but it wasn't the 'soul' the man sought.
"You've actually learned to fly! Like a fierce dragon—it's breathtaking!"
Aside from a few lines of flattery, nothing changed.
Finding nothing else, the Architect was left alone on the Great Wall of China to ponder.
Returning to his renovated villa, Galen Yu began to inventory his latest haul.
"End Stone... putting these scaffolding blocks away."
"Proud Souls... several of them are enchanted. Not bad."
"The Yamato can be repaired, the Dragon Head can be used as a fixture, and the Dragon Egg..."
As he thought, Galen Yu suddenly remembered the rewards for killing the Ender Dragon.
[SYSTEM: CHUNK SCORE +100!]
[SYSTEM: ELIGIBLE TO ADVANCE TO A SMALL CHUNK. DETECTED CRISIS CHALLENGE ACTIVE; ADVANCEMENT WILL TRIGGER THE NEXT PHASE!]
[SYSTEM: FIRST KILL: ENDER DRAGON. ACQUIRED CHUNK RESOURCES: END STONE, OBSIDIAN, ENDERMAN!]
[SYSTEM: NATIONAL FORTUNE REWARD TRIGGERED: 10,000 ENDER PEARLS, 2,000 COPPER GOLEMS, 200 COWS, 200 SHEEP, AND 200 CHICKENS!]
Chunk scores and National Fortune rewards weren't particularly useful to Galen Yu.
The chance to upgrade to a Small Chunk seemed to follow the traditional progression: kill the Ender Dragon to advance.
It aligned with his understanding of the game's flow, but the reward was currently on hold due to the Crisis, making it useless for now.
The production of Obsidian as a Chunk resource meant the Sky Island would no longer lack this precious stone, and End Stone provided a new option for building blocks.
"What's the deal with these Endermen?"
A Chunk resource... of Endermen?
He had been surprised when he first saw the message; since when were Endermen considered a reward?
Now that he was back and looking closer, he noticed something.
There were seemingly no signs of Endermen on the Sky Island.
Obsidian and End Stone spawned in specific areas, but what about the Endermen?
He assumed they would appear directly, much like the Giant Guardians.
Was it different because one was an elite boss and the other was a common mob?
After some thought, Galen Yu didn't pay it much mind.
They were just a few Endermen; he didn't lack damage output, so their presence wouldn't make much difference.
He was just wondering where to place the Dragon Head and Dragon Egg to make them look best.
When his gaze fell upon the Dragon Palace in the distance, an idea struck him.
Since they were dragon-themed, wouldn't it be perfect to put them in the Dragon Palace?
Acting on his impulse, he headed straight to the palace.
Seen from afar, its grandeur was hard to grasp, but up close, the palace was truly magnificent.
Like the Great Wall, it was a beautiful landmark on the Sky Island.
Even with his Elytra, Galen Yu had to fly quite a distance to take it all in.
"This spot looks good."
Walking inside, he saw various rooms and decorations, showing just how much effort the Architect had put in.
With Galen Yu's permission, the place wasn't lonely; Villagers and Copper Golems passed through from time to time.
He found a suitable place to set down the Dragon Egg and the Dragon Head.
The moment he placed them, Galen Yu felt the palace tremble slightly.
A system notification rang out.
[SYSTEM: MYTHICAL ARCHITECTURE: DRAGON PALACE COMPLETED!]
[SYSTEM: CHUNK SCORE +200!]
[SYSTEM: TRIGGERED REWARD: END PROTECTION!]
[SYSTEM: YOU WILL RECEIVE THE PROTECTION OF ENDERMEN. RESOURCES WILL NEVER BE DROPPED, EVEN IF YOU FALL INTO THE VOID!]
[SYSTEM: DRAGON'S PROTECTION]
[SYSTEM: GROWTH SPEED FOR ALL CREATURES WITHIN THE CHUNK IS INCREASED!]
[SYSTEM: 'ENDERMAN']
[SYSTEM: YOU CAN TELEPORT BACK TO THE CHUNK AT ANY TIME!]
[SYSTEM: SPIRIT WARMTH SPRING]
[SYSTEM: UPON ENTERING THE DRAGON PALACE, ALL DAMAGED ITEMS WILL GRADUALLY RECOVER DURABILITY UNTIL FULLY RESTORED!]
Galen Yu stared blankly as four rewards were triggered all at once.
The Architect was still dazed outside, so this clearly wasn't his doing. Which meant...
It was related to the Dragon Egg and Dragon Head?
"Yes! This is the soul! It was missing the essence of the dragon!"
Sensing the change, the Architect rushed inside.
"Great Lord! Divine Lord! Invincible Lord!"
"You are the origin of all things, the creator of the world! I can't imagine what would happen without you!"
His eyes danced with excitement; he had clearly found the soul the building lacked.
"So, the soul was just the Dragon Egg and Dragon Head?"
He hadn't expected it to be so simple, but what truly delighted Galen Yu were the four rewards.
The logic behind them was actually quite straightforward.
At the moment the rewards were triggered, a pool appeared in the Dragon Palace.
It had trapdoors on top and was surrounded by invisible Barrier Blocks.
An Ender Pearl floated above it. With a single thought from Galen Yu...
The trapdoor flipped, the floating Ender Pearl was triggered—click!
He was instantly teleported just outside the barrier blocks, back inside his Chunk.
"A return device?"
Seeing a new Ender Pearl appear, Galen Yu recognized the setup.
The principle was simple: Ender Pearls cause teleportation, but they float in water.
By placing Soul Sand at the bottom to create an upward current, the pearl would never land.
Until the trapdoor was triggered, it acted as a delayed teleportation system.
With the addition of Barrier Blocks, it was clearly more advanced and safer. Moreover, it wasn't just for Galen Yu.
Every creature in the Chunk, from the Architect down to a single Villager, could set a return point here.
Future explorations would be much safer now!
The audience also witnessed this miraculous contraption.
"The Dragon Palace is finally complete!"
"Just looking at it, you can tell God Yu definitely got a ton of rewards!"
"Holy crap, a pool plus an Ender Pearl? Even God Yu's buildings are utilizing game mechanics now?!"
[Support the story with Reviews, Power Stones, and Comments—they mean a lot and keep me going! 30+ chapters waiting on patreon.com/elite_reads]