Deep in the bright, silent basement.

A small wooden cabin, looking rather simple and even a bit drafty, stood silently here.

The glow from the basement’s gas lamps illuminated every detail of the small cabin.

Vanessa, who had been knocking and tapping on the cabin, stepped through the doorway and looked around curiously, her eyes darting left, right, up, and down.

"Young Master Zorn, this so-called Magical Castle... this Magical Cottage... it doesn’t seem that special!"

Vanessa poked her head out the window, looking at Zorn curiously.

"That’s because it hasn’t been tamed yet. Once the taming is complete, you’ll see just how incredible this mobile Magical Castle can be."

Zorn was also examining the Magical Cottage that had just arrived today, a purchase that had cost him about 5,200 gold pounds in total.

The purchase price was 5,000 gold pounds.

The other 200 gold pounds were the delivery fee, as it took a merchant caravan over half a month to transport it.

A Magical Cottage that has not yet been formally tamed must be transported slowly by Magical Creatures.

While the 200-pound delivery fee was a bit steep, it was worth it for the safety and peace of mind.

He placed a palm against the Magical Cottage.

"GURGLE GURGLE..."

The Calamity Black Mist surged forth.

The Magical Cottage took a small taste at first. After a moment of digestion, it seemed to find the Calamity Black Mist Energy to its liking and began to absorb it continuously.

Zorn breathed a small sigh of relief upon seeing that the Magical Cottage could digest the Calamity Black Mist.

When Zorn had asked Bishop Teresa for a Magical Castle, he had specified that he needed a high-grade one.

The higher the grade, the better it could digest high-quality Energy like the Calamity Black Mist.

The Magical Cottage began to digest some of the Calamity Black Mist.

"Grab the items and come here."

Zorn beckoned to Vanessa.

Vanessa immediately lifted the black Monster Treasure Chest they had prepared and hurried over.

The Monster Treasure Chest was packed with items and was extremely heavy.

However, the Merciful Witch was a minor boss-level Sequence, so she was not lacking in strength.

For her, the heavy Monster Treasure Chest was now easy to carry.

Taking Nisha by the hand, Zorn took a single, light step forward.

"HUMMM!"

Faint ripples bloomed in the space around them.

The two of them vanished from the depths of the basement.

In the darkness, Zorn opened the Monster Treasure Chest and took out a small Steam Source Pool Lighthouse that was half his height.

A brilliant light instantly banished the surrounding darkness.

As Zorn pulled one Steam Source Pool Lighthouse after another from the Monster Treasure Chest, the interior of the Magical Castle was slowly illuminated.

Though it was called a "Magical Castle," the environment inside was a rather barren wilderness.

There were only a few sparse weeds and shrubs.

The ground was mostly soil, sand, and gravel, with a few larger boulders.

As Zorn placed the Steam Source Pool Lighthouses, a portion of the Calamity Black Mist surged forth, slowly forging a link between them and the Magical Castle.

The Magical Castle itself was a living creature with Extraordinary Life Force.

And these Steam Source Pool Lighthouses used Mechanical Crystal Cores as the foundation for small Source Energy Reserve Pools.

As the Magical Castle operated and grew, these Steam Source Pool Lighthouses could become a part of it.

They would serve both as lighthouses for illumination and as Source Energy Pools.

More importantly, the Steam Source Pool Lighthouses Zorn had constructed could slowly draw a certain amount of Source Energy from the outside world, continuously strengthening the various magical functions within the Magical Castle.

Functions such as Defense, movement, transformation, and many others.

After setting up all ten Steam Source Pool Lighthouses, Zorn picked up a Lantern. Shielding its light, he led Vanessa to begin exploring the interior of the Magical Castle.

About half an hour later, Zorn had a general understanding of the Magical Castle’s interior.

’The internal space is roughly elliptical, with a minor axis of just over 200 meters and a major axis of nearly 300 meters—about the size of a small or medium-sized village.’

’Once the gray mist clears, I can have it unfold near the Fog Zone Manor. Then I’ll recruit workers to begin construction on a new Steam Castle.’

’Once construction is finished, I’ll have the Magical Castle absorb and digest the Steam Castle.’

’At that point, a perfect Steam Magical Castle will be born.’

’It will possess both magical properties and, through steam power, gain immense maneuverability, defensive capabilities, and even greater mobility.’

’Unlike the sluggish movement of an ordinary Magical Castle.’

’A Steam Magical Castle can gallop across the Wilderness at the speed of a fine steed.’

’It can cross mountains and traverse oceans.’

’And when it contracts, it can shrink to the size of a suitcase, easy to carry by hand.’

’That’s what makes it truly worthy of the name "Magical."’

’To speed up its development, it would need to devour enough metal materials, activate the Spider’s House trait, and grow at least six spider-like legs to move quickly.’

As he pondered, Zorn’s mind filled with the various absurd, logic-defying techniques used by masters who specialized in cultivating Magical Cottages and Magical Castles.

Conventional cultivation methods were no longer enough to satisfy these masters.

There were those who gave their Magical Castles wings to fly through the sky, or others who installed the Lungs of the Ocean, turning them into Magical Submarines.