Leon closed his eyes, listening to the rhythmic sound of water against the shore, letting his mind settle completely before making the final decision.

His clone was still out there somewhere, periodically checking the Pyrrhan realm for emergencies. His training had advanced his darkness mastery significantly. His Hellfire Control remained mysterious but undeniably powerful.

Everything is progressing. But this purchase—this investment in others—might be the most important decision I make. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

He opened his eyes again, staring across the peaceful lake.

I’ll buy them. The Pillar of Structured Ascension, the Worldbreath Mana Condenser, and the Covenant of Stabilized Strife. All three, right now.

But first, he wanted just a few more minutes of this tranquility.

The decision was made. The path was clear. Soon, his dimensional world would transform from a mere refuge into a true cultivation realm.

Leon smiled slightly, feeling genuine satisfaction despite the impending financial devastation.

It’s worth it. Completely worth it.

Leon opened the cosmic shop interface again with a thought, the transparent golden screen materializing before him.

SHIMMER!

He didn’t hesitate. His finger moved to the confirmation button, and with a single mental command, he completed the purchase.

[Transaction Confirmed]

[170,000,000 Causality Deducted]

[Remaining Balance: 247,850 Causality]

The number hit him harder than expected, seeing it displayed so starkly. Nearly everything he’d accumulated—gone in an instant.

I’m practically broke now. But it’s done.

Then, as if reality itself glitched for a fraction of a second, the three items appeared.

Leon was ready for their arrival—he’d braced himself, expecting a massive tower to materialize directly in front of him, something he’d need to dodge or prepare for spatially.

But what actually appeared was completely unexpected.

A miniature white tower enclosed in glass with a strange wooden base materialized in the air—looking almost like a decorative toy or collector’s piece. It couldn’t have been more than a foot tall.

Along with it came two rings, which Leon immediately recognized as spatial storage rings.

An unexpected bonus. I appreciate extra spatial storage—they likely contain the other two items from their respective vendors.

Leon caught all three objects smoothly with his hands as they dropped toward the ground.

But the moment his fingers closed around the miniature tower, he felt the weight.

THUD!

His hand started plummeting downward fast, pulled by impossible mass. His arm muscles bulged instantly—veins standing out prominently along his forearm and bicep as he fought against the gravitational pull.

He hadn’t activated any elemental boosts or holy power enhancements to make it easier. This was pure raw physical strength.

This small miniature tower is absurdly heavy!

He was barely holding it—his entire arm trembling slightly from the sustained effort. It felt like trying to hold an impossibly dense dumbbell that he could just barely lift at his maximum capacity.

How can something this small weigh so much?!

Information flooded into his mind as his skin made contact with the tower—instructions on deployment, size specifications, operational requirements, integration methods.

The spatial rings provided no such information transfer, which made sense. They were just storage containers, not the primary purchased items. Not every cosmic shop purchase came with telepathic instruction manuals—there were exceptions depending on the vendor and item complexity.

Leon absorbed the tower’s information rapidly while his muscles continued straining against its weight.

I need to move. This location won’t work.

He teleported several kilometers away from the peaceful lakeside, appearing in a vast expanse of empty grassland far from the settlement.

FWOOSH!

The new location was perfect—nothing but open space stretching in every direction for dozens of kilometers.

Leon carefully placed the miniature tower on the ground, feeling both relief and slight regret as his arm muscles finally relaxed.

The outer glass encasing the strange wooden base... It’s a one-time deployment mechanism. The moment I release the tower following the activation process, this entire container will be destroyed.

That disappointed him more than he’d expected. The craftsmanship of the casing itself was extraordinary—clearly a treasure in its own right with intricate spatial compression enchantments woven throughout.

It would have been so valuable to keep. But sadly, it’s designed for single-use destruction.

Following the instructions he’d received telepathically, Leon stepped back several meters and extended his hand toward the tower.

He channeled his mana carefully—not flooding it chaotically, but following a very specific pattern dictated by the symbols carved into the wooden base.

His mana flowed in precise geometric sequences, tracing invisible pathways through the air before entering the miniature structure through designated activation points.

The wooden symbols began glowing—first faintly, then with increasing intensity as the mana pattern completed itself.

BOOOM!

The glass and wooden casing exploded outward in a spectacular burst of light and force—completely obliterated in an instant, reduced to nothing but dissipating energy particles.

And then the tower started growing.

WHUMMM! RUMBLE!

It expanded rapidly—doubling in size every second. One meter, two meters, five meters, ten meters—

The growth accelerated geometrically, the white structure shooting upward like a pillar being erected by invisible gods.

Fifty meters. One hundred meters. Two hundred meters.

Leon had already known intellectually how large it was going to be from the information transfer, but actually seeing it manifest was an entirely different experience.

It’s magnificent.

The tower continued ascending—three hundred meters, five hundred meters, eight hundred meters—

Finally, after nearly a minute of continuous expansion, the growth stopped.

The Pillar of Structured Ascension stood before him in its full glory—a colossal white tower that easily surpassed a kilometer in height. Maybe closer to fifteen hundred meters based on visual estimation.

Despite having only one hundred floors internally, the sheer physical scale dwarfed anything Leon had ever seen in either of his lives.

This is the tallest building I’ve ever witnessed. It makes Earth’s skyscrapers look like children’s toys.

The tower’s surface was perfectly smooth white stone—or perhaps compressed spatial energy solidified into physical form. Geometric patterns flowed across its surface like living circuitry, pulsing faintly with latent power waiting to be activated.

I still don’t know if one hundred million causality was worth it. Won’t know until the full system is operational. But it definitely looks like a majestic piece of art standing here.

The tower dominated the landscape completely, visible from anywhere in the dimensional realm.

Somewhere in the distance, near the central settlement, every single person inside the dimension had their eyes glued to the massive structure that had just appeared out of nowhere.

The sheer height was mesmerizing—a sight that defied comprehension, especially for people who’d come from a land where they hadn’t something so tall as this.

Everyone immediately knew whose doing this was.

It can’t be anyone other than our Lord.

People were already buzzing with excitement and speculation. These past few weeks have been transformative for the community.

The gifts from their god had arrived recently—those incredible mana cores radiating terrifying power. Even the oldest people had become noticeably younger after absorbing them, vitality returning to aged bodies.

The blessing had been profound.

Now this mysterious tower appeared without warning.

Their hearts solidified with renewed devotion. The Lord hadn’t forgotten them. He was actively working to improve their lives, even from whatever realm he currently inhabited.

Their worship, already strong, became even more fervent.

Somewhere far away in a different training area, Seraphine stood looking at the majestic sight she could see clearly despite the distance.

She’d been expecting something—Leon had sent her a telepathic message earlier, mentioning a major project—but the reality was far more impressive than she’d imagined.

That tower... It’s incredible.

Her heart blazed with fierce resolve. She immediately understood what this meant—trials, challenges, opportunities to test herself against real opposition rather than just training exercises.

When his next message comes saying it’s ready... I’ll be first in line.

She was itching already to test her strength on actual trials and monsters, to prove herself worthy of standing beside him, and not only that, she had to beat his second wife, but that was also a matter of pride.

Seraphine turned back to her training with renewed intensity, pushing herself even harder.