Chapter 252: Brother? (2)

The vast conference hall fell into an eerie silence.

“Hmm…”

A low, groan-like sound made the Masters flinch. Their gazes remained fixed on Louis, seated in the chair of honor at the head of the table.

Or, more precisely, on the small notebook he held in his hand. The contents of that little book had unleashed unimaginable chaos and forced them to endure untold hardships.

Shuffling… Shuffling…

Who knew the quiet rustle of turning pages could be so terrifying? The Masters trembled.

As this agonizing moment stretched on,

“Well, I think we’ve taken care of almost everything.”

“Whew…”

The instant Louis finished speaking, sighs of relief erupted from every corner of the hall.

But that relief was short-lived.

“Alright, shall we begin the meeting?”

The Masters’ eyes flickered with anxiety once more.

Two months ago, the sudden appearance of the Lord of the Tower had led to the purging of the tower’s corrupt elements.

However, this left a gaping void, which Louis swiftly moved to overhaul.

The existing organizational structure crumbled completely, replaced by seven new departments:

• New Product Research Department
• Quality Control Department
• Technology Management Department
• Production Management Department
• Sales Management Department
• Finance Department
• Security Department

These core departments would drive the Tower of Wishes to its pinnacle.

The Masters who had survived the Bloody Purge were appointed as their chiefs.

And now, at the end of each month, the department heads convened to report directly to the Lord of the Tower.

“Oh, please let today go smoothly…”

“Please…!”

Though the meeting was meant to celebrate the prosperity and well-being of the tower, the end-of-month report sessions were a source of dread for the Masters. At the previous meeting, they had witnessed Andres suffer a disastrous report that left him with a double nosebleed.

“Begin the reports,” Louis commanded sternly, and the end-of-month situation reports commenced.

First to present was Lona, head of the Finance Department—the department Louis cared about most.

“I’ll now begin the Finance Department’s end-of-month financial report.”

“Proceed,” Louis replied.

“First, the processing of the Syron Marquis Family’s assets has been fully completed. The total assets amounted to…”

The news Lona delivered was astonishing: all of Count Syron’s assets had been liquidated and transferred to the Tower of Wishes.

While this would have shocked others, it was merely one of the conditions Louis had demanded from the Meldeyck Royal Family.

The confiscation of Count Syron’s property.

The power of life and death over the Duke and his entire family.

From Louis’s perspective, these were rightful entitlements.

So, could this truly be the only demand Louis had made of the Meldeyck Royal Family?

As Louis listened to Lona’s report, he suddenly asked, “You’re doing well. How are the residents of the territory reacting? Any complaints about the change in ownership?”

Lona beamed at his question.

“Everyone in the world is absolutely delighted. There’s no room for complaints.”

This was another of Louis’s demands from the Royal Family: the disposal of the Syron Territory.

With the downfall of the Syron family, the territory’s former lords, a Central Noble was slated to take their place.

But Louis demanded that the Syron Territory be handed over to him.

The Prince of Meldeanik, perhaps anticipating this request, quietly transferred Syron to the Tower of Wishes without protest.

For the Duke House of Syron, who had ruled the territory for generations, this was an absurd end.

Conversely, for the Tower of Wishes, it meant transforming from a mere fortified tower into a vast organization with its own domain.

Moreover, the Lord of the Tower of Wishes was promised the title of Duke, responsible for governing the Syron Territory.

Moreover, the Lord of the Tower of Wishes wasn’t just a noble with a personal title; he was a hereditary noble with the right to inherit it.

In other words, anyone who became the Lord of the Tower of Wishes would become a Duke.

As this news spread throughout Syron, the people of the territory cheered.

“The Lord of the Tower of Wishes is now our Lord!”

Above all else, the people were immensely relieved that the Tower of Wishes had remained in Syron.

Soon after, the Lord of the Tower of Wishes announced a three-year tax exemption, reducing taxes by half. Praises for him never ceased.

A full three years of tax exemption!

It seemed unbelievable that Louis would permit such a massive reduction—half the revenue from the Syron Territory—but upon closer examination, the reason became clear.

Louis’s audacious ambition was immediately apparent in the question he posed to Douglas:

“How’s the new product development coming along, Douglas? You know we need to squeeze every last drop out of this thirty-year tax exemption.”

Any resident of the Syron Territory would have been horrified to overhear such a statement.

Indeed, having secured the Syron Territory and his title, Louis didn’t stop there. He demanded a fifty-year tax exemption from the Meldey Kingdom.

Naturally, the Meldey Prince nearly jumped out of his skin at the audacity of the request.

After a prolonged and heated argument, Louis’s bold ultimatum—threatening to walk away if his terms weren’t met—ultimately forced the Prince to settle for a thirty-year exemption.

I ground my teeth so hard I thought my molars would crack.

Thirty years of tax exemption.

This meant that all profits from the production of the highly sought-after Transcendent techniques would go entirely to the Tower of Wishes.

It was difficult to imagine the exact amount.

All that was certain was that it would be astronomical.

Reducing the domain’s taxes by half for three years?

That was merely a superficial gesture by the newly appointed Lord Louis, a token effort to curry favor with the populace.

Still, reduced taxes inevitably meant lower revenue.

Since then, Louis had been relentlessly pressuring the New Product Research Department, determined to squeeze every last coin out of the next thirty years through innovative products.

Driven to their wits’ end by Louis’s relentless pressure, Douglas and Harold were forced to rack their brains day and night.

But their efforts yielded disappointingly meager results.

Douglas spoke, his face grim. “Did you… did you see the draft I submitted earlier?”

“I did.”

“What did you think?”

“It was trash.”

“Oh… um… Ah, right…” Douglas’s face crumpled.

It was always like this.

They would meticulously craft a new product proposal and submit it, only to receive Louis’s inevitable response:

“You expect me to sell this garbage for money? Would you even buy this crap yourself?!”

By now, over a dozen rejected new product ideas lay in their wake.

Ugh… If this isn’t good enough, what am I supposed to come up with next?

If only inspiration flowed endlessly…

Even then, I couldn’t guarantee I could produce something worthy of Louis’s sky-high standards.

Louis clicked his tongue at the sight of Douglas and Harold, who were fidgeting anxiously. “What’s the problem? Don’t you have anything to present?”

Harold, after stealing a furtive glance around, cautiously voiced his opinion. “Um… but is it really necessary to create something entirely new? Aren’t the Transcendent Techniques we’re currently producing sufficient?”

The answer, of course, was a sharp rebuke.

“Tch, you’re so naive. It’s true that our Tower’s Transcendent Techniques far surpass those of other factions in performance. But how long do you think that advantage will last?”

”…”

“Pioneering new paths is incredibly difficult, but those who follow the trails we forge will reach our position far more easily.”

”…”

“To stay ahead of the competition, we must constantly improve our technology and lead global trends with innovative products.”

”…I’ll keep that in mind.”

“No, what I mean is, does anyone have any truly groundbreaking ideas? I’m tired of seeing garbage like a Second-Class Transcendence Technique with a robotic claw arm!”

“Ahem!”

Harold, the one who had attached the robotic claw arm to his Transcendence Technique, flushed crimson and cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Tch.”

Louis clicked his tongue in exasperation, his face darkening at the lack of answers.

“Huh?”

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

“Ah, right! That’s it! Why didn’t I think of this sooner?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“We can just create and sell First-Class Transcendence Techniques!”

”…”

Louis’s cheerful suggestion was met with silence. Everyone exchanged nervous glances until Douglas finally spoke up.

“Um… Tower Lord?”

“What is it?”

“Well… First-Class Transcendence Techniques don’t exist.”

“What do you mean?”

“Due to technological limitations, it’s impossible to produce them.”

“Then why did they reserve Grade 1 when classifying the techniques?”

“We reserved it in case we could develop First-Class Transcendence Techniques someday. But with our current technology… it’s simply not feasible.”

“Explain in detail. Why is it impossible?”

“Hmm… We did manage to create a prototype that could be considered a First-Class Transcendence Technique. Floria, Erica, Victor, and I pooled our efforts to build it. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that the culmination of our entire research lives was poured into that single technique.”

“And then?”

“First, the materials required were enough to build dozens of Second-Class Transcendence Techniques. Still, we somehow managed to assemble it, but the problem was… we only created the physical framework of the technique. We couldn’t actually make it function.”

“Why?”

“The power supply was woefully inadequate. According to our calculations, we couldn’t generate enough power to operate even a theoretical First-Class Transcendence Technique. So, we temporarily suspended production.”

“Power? Roughly how much power are we talking about?”

“Theoretically, we’d need a power unit capable of simultaneously operating thirty Second-Class Transcendence Techniques.”

The Masters groaned at Douglas’s words. They were hearing for the first time that Grand Masters had attempted to produce a First-Class Transcendence Technique. Moreover, a power unit capable of running thirty Second-Class Transcendence Techniques simultaneously?

They instantly understood why Douglas claimed it was impossible to create a First-Class Transcendence Technique with current technology.

However, Louis, the person Douglas was trying to persuade, reacted differently.

“Is that all? I thought it would be something more.”

“It’s not just ‘that all’! We simply don’t have the technology to create a power unit of that scale…” Douglas’s expression froze mid-sentence.

His face flickered through a series of rapidly shifting emotions.

Douglas’s face lit up.

“Ah, that’s right! The Tower Lord is here!”

The technical limitations of the power units required to operate Transcendence Techniques had made the production of First-Class Transcendence Techniques impossible.

But that was before Louis arrived.

The very man who had pioneered the foundation of modern Transcendence Technique power units was now standing right before them.

As if reading Douglas’s mind, Louis chuckled and rummaged through his pocket dimension.

“Let’s see… where did I put it?”

Moments later, he pulled out a large sheet of paper from within his robes.

“Here.”

“Th-this is…”

“Never seen a blueprint before?”

”…”

Gulp.

Douglas swallowed hard.

He unfolded the blueprint, revealing an intricate and complex diagram.

The participants in the meeting were all renowned experts in their respective technological fields, yet even they were overwhelmed by the intricate detail, precision, and sheer complexity of the schematics.

Only someone like Douglas possessed the insight to truly decipher them.

Of course, even he didn’t fully comprehend the details.

After studying the schematics for a long while, Douglas asked, his voice trembling, “This… it seems to have over thirty times the output of a conventional Second-Class Transcendence Technique, doesn’t it?”

“Not bad, you’re developing quite an eye for this,” Dan remarked. “By my calculations, it’s closer to thirty-two times greater than a Second-Class Transcendence Technique.”

“Thirty-two times?!”

“What’s so surprising? It’s just an obsolete power unit we were going to scrap.”

“I-is this it?”

“Yep. Probably manufactured around fifty years ago.”

Douglas and the others stared in stunned silence.

Louis turned to them. “With that, you can create a First-Class Transcendence Technique, right?”

“Y-yes! More than enough! In fact, it’s excessive!”

“I know it’s excessive. That’s why you need to reduce its performance.”

“Huh?”

Louis grew slightly irritated by the persistent questioning. “Are you planning to sell it for just one season? Start by releasing a First-Class Transcendence Technique with the performance of twice a Second-Class one. Then gradually increase its performance and price over time. Milk it for about thirty years, and finally release the real First-Class Transcendence Technique.”

While it was certainly a shrewd business strategy, in theory, a First-Class Transcendence Technique was dozens of times more powerful than a Second-Class one. With the right pilot, it could even rival the top-tier experts.

There was no way they could recklessly mass-produce such a machine, was there?

Well, even if I wanted to churn out First-Class Transcendence Techniques, I couldn’t.

Without my assistance, the tower’s current technology could barely produce one complete First-Class Transcendence Technique every ten years.

Mass production of First-Class Transcendence Techniques was still a distant dream, but there was no harm in being cautious.

“Ah! I understand!”

“Do I need to explain how to reduce its performance too?”

“Don’t worry about that!”

“Alright, then notify me when the First-Class Transcendence Technique design is finalized… Erica.”

“Yes!”

“Spread the word far and wide—Our Tower of Aspiration has commenced production of First-Class Transcendence Techniques.”

“Understood!”

This announcement would likely send shockwaves across the Autumn Continent… no, the entire world.

Erica and Paula, who managed the sales and marketing departments, nodded enthusiastically, their faces alight with excitement.

“Next item.”

The meeting continued with further reports. Finally, the last report concluded with an explanation of the treatment of traitors from the tower and members of the Marquis Family at the forced labor camps.

Just when it seemed the situation was resolved, Louis suddenly spoke up.

“Come to think of it, isn’t today the opening day of the Transcendence Academy?”

“Huh?”

“The Transcendence Academy’s opening ceremony.”

“Ah! Yes! I… Um, Tower Lord,” Erica asked hesitantly, a hint of concern in her voice. “Are you sure it’s alright not to send any Masters to the Academy?”

The recent upheaval at the Tower of Wishes had brought about significant changes at the Transcendence Academy as well.

Along with these changes came several problems, one of which was the critical shortage of Masters. With so few available, there was no one to spare for professorships at the Transcendence Academy.

Erica voiced her concerns, but Louis dismissed them casually.

“Just send a Grade 1 Apprentice. From my experience, assigning Masters to teach students is a serious waste of talent.”

This was both the testimony and the command of the Tower Lord himself, who had once been a student at the Transcendence Academy. Who would dare refuse?

As everyone nodded in agreement, Louis rose from his seat. Douglas noticed him fumbling with an envelope he had placed beside him.

“Where are you going?” Douglas asked.

“To the Transcendence Academy.”

“Huh? Why are you suddenly going there?”

Everyone stared at Louis with questioning eyes. He grinned in response.

“I have people to meet and things to deliver.”

”…?”

“And while I’m there… I also have some business to take care of.”

With those cryptic words, Louis strode out of the meeting room. Paula watched his retreating figure, her body trembling.

“What on earth does he mean by ‘taking care of’?”

The horrors that had unfolded at the Tower of Wishes had left her deeply shaken. Now, the mere mention of the phrase “take care of” sent chills down her spine.

Especially since it was Louis who had uttered those words, Paula knew her shivers would linger for quite some time.