Chapter 149
A day had passed.
Returning from the Flame Cavern to the Frontera County wasn’t difficult—thanks to Solitas’s [Teleportation Magic].
They walked out of the dungeon together, stepping beyond the range of the anti-teleportation wards.
Then, as Solitas cast the spell—
‘Fwoosh!’ ‘Flash!’
Light burst around them. A brief dizziness swept over, and then—familiar scenery unfolded before their eyes.
“Welcome to the Frontera County. Now then, this way please.”
Lloyd immediately led Solitas to Dwarven artisan Wells Cogidus.
And just like that, he began his subtle little ‘favor request’.
“Excuse me, Master Cogidus?”
“What is it? I’m busy.”
“I’m aware. It’s about what I mentioned before.”
“What I mentioned before?”
‘Clang, clang, clang.’
Cogidus, who had been hammering away at hot metal, finally lifted his head. When he saw Lloyd and the unfamiliar figure behind him, his thick eyebrows twitched.
“The one behind you—I’ve never seen him before. Don’t tell me…”
“Yes. That’s right. You remember our previous talk? The apprentice I requested you to take in.”
Indeed, it was true.
Right before leaving the territory to recruit the dragon, Lloyd had already persuaded Cogidus.
He had brought fine wine and delicious appetizers.
They’d shared a few drinks while Lloyd flattered the master craftsman’s pride.
And when Cogidus was pleasantly tipsy, Lloyd slipped in his request—
There’s a young man, hopelessly clumsy with his hands.
If you could help improve his craftsmanship just a little, it would mean a lot.
Of course, Cogidus had refused at first.
Taking in an apprentice? Absolutely not.
No profit, only hassle.
But Lloyd’s response had been unexpectedly sincere.
He spoke with a rare earnest expression, explaining that—
The young man in question was actually a dragon.
That he needed the dragon’s cooperation for a massive public project.
And to gain that cooperation, they needed to offer the dragon proper compensation—
which would be ‘the master’s teaching.’
That honesty, paired with Lloyd’s consistent respect toward him, had eventually worn Cogidus down.
And so, a few days ago, he had accepted the request.
“So, the one behind you—that’s him, isn’t it?”
He wasn’t human.
He was a dragon.
In ancient times, dragons had enslaved countless Dwarven artisans. They had been natural enemies.
But not anymore.
A mischievous glint flickered in Cogidus’s eyes.
“So, as the young lord put it, you’re the one with hands like wet clay, eh?”
“……”
Solitas gave a small nod, his face turning slightly red.
Whether from embarrassment after being hit by a brutal truth, from the humiliation of becoming a Dwarf’s apprentice, or simply from awkwardness at stepping outside his dungeon for the first time—only he, or rather ‘only that dragon’, could know.
Still, Solitas stood before the Dwarven master with polite humility.
“I’ve steeled myself. I’ve set aside my pride. Please—teach me.”
“Hmph. Saving hands that useless won’t be easy, even for a master. You’ll learn through plenty of scolding.”
“I’m prepared for that. I truly am.”
Love and marriage.
This was all part of his determination to achieve a happy dragon life.
Becoming a Dwarf’s disciple was a price he was willing to pay.
After all, this Dwarf was the one who could rescue him from his curse of clumsy hands.
He was worthy of being treated as a teacher.
“Good.”
A hearty laugh rumbled beneath Cogidus’s beard.
From that day on, Solitas became his apprentice.
He even lived with Cogidus to learn the art of gemstone crafting.
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
Daily nagging was standard.
Sometimes, the scolding brought tears to his eyes.
Yet Solitas never once talked back.
He endured everything, reminding himself: ‘This is for love.’
If he could get through this, he could finally date someone.
Encouraging himself with that thought, he pressed on diligently.
As a result, no one in the county—except Lloyd, Javier, and Cogidus—knew his true identity.
To everyone else, he was just “the red-haired young man who gets yelled at every day in the Dwarven workshop.”
Having successfully recruited Solitas, Lloyd could finally relax.
‘Good. Everything’s ready—labor, stone, and even a sludge disposal crew for the great sewer project.’
They had to complete the aqueduct before winter.
Only then could they prevent next spring’s outbreak of disease.
With that conviction, Lloyd began full-scale design work.
Of course, before that—he focused on improving his [Design Skill].
‘This project’s massive. No, it’s practically the entire territory.’
His current Intermediate-level design wouldn’t be enough.
He needed to expand the scope of what he could design at once.
‘Surveying’s fine even with a small range. I can gather terrain data bit by bit. But designing’s different—it’s not automatic. I have to manually map everything myself.’
And when the design range was too small, the workflow kept breaking.
‘Like comparing automatic and manual transmission. Surveying is automatic—data collects on its own. But designing’s manual—I have to shift gears myself every time, like pressing a clutch.’
In truth, it was even more tedious than that.
The more often he used the skill, the higher the risk of errors.
‘This sewer project can’t afford mistakes. If sewage leaks—game over.’
Leaking sewage would contaminate groundwater.
Then the diseases would spread—
and they’d face the ‘plague ending’ he’d seen in the spoilers.
‘That can’t happen. Time to level up the skill.’
He wanted both convenience and precision.
Opening his skill window, Lloyd selected the [Design] skill.
‘Ding!’
The detailed status appeared.
[Intermediate Design: Lv 6]
[Max design area per use: 729,000㎥]
[Skill-exclusive options: (1) Blueprint Output, (2) Floor Plan Display (3D), (3) Simulation Mode]
[RP required for next level: 200]
‘Already Level 6, huh.’
He hadn’t even invested RP lately, yet the skill had leveled up naturally through all his projects.
‘Alright then, time to spend big.’
He took a deep breath and selected [Level Up Skill].
[Upgrade Design Skill to <Intermediate Lv 7>?]
[Required RP: 200]
[Current RP: 4,070]
[Proceed? YES / NO]
‘Obviously, yes.’
He nodded.
‘Ding!’
[Skill Level Up!]
[Intermediate Design: Lv 7]
[Design Area: 1,000,000㎥]
[Next RP: 220]
Smooth upgrade. Increased range.
But Lloyd wasn’t done.
‘No stopping here. I’ll push until I hit a rank-up.’
Ranking up would unlock new features.
With that thought, he kept pouring RP in.
Lv 7 → 8 → 9 → 10.
And when he invested another 280 RP—
‘Ding!’
[Skill Rank Up!]
[Design Skill has advanced to <Advanced> rank.]
[New exclusive option unlocked.]
[Advanced Design: Lv 1]
[Design Area: 3,375,000㎥]
[Skill-exclusive options: (1) Blueprint Output, (2) Floor Plan Display (3D), (3) Simulation Mode, (4) Construction Guideline]
[RP required for next level: 500]
[Current RP: 2,870]
‘Nice.’
Lloyd clenched his fist.
He’d spent over 1,200 RP, but the design range had quadrupled.
And best of all—he’d unlocked a new option.
‘The option’s the key.’
[Construction Guideline].
He opened the detailed description.
[Option (4): Construction Guideline – The designed blueprint will now appear as a visible guide overlay on actual terrain. This guideline will be visible not only to the designer but also to field workers, allowing them to verify in real-time whether construction aligns with the blueprint. (Linked with Option (2) <Floor Plan Display (3D)>.)]
‘What…?’
He reread it several times.
Then the meaning clicked.
‘So now the blueprint overlay becomes visible to workers too—and they’ll know instantly if construction’s off-track?’
That was huge.
If it worked as described, efficiency would skyrocket.
Feeling a thrill of curiosity, Lloyd stood up.
‘Let’s test it.’
He headed out of his room and went down to the training yard.
Javier was there, training under the scorching sun.
“Sir Javier!”
The knight turned. “What brings you here, my lord?”
“What do you mean, what? I came to see you.”
“……”
“What? Why are you giving me that side-eye again?”
“I simply find it hard to trust your sudden visits.”
“Hard to trust?”
“Yes. I can’t help but wonder what scheme brings you here this time.”
“Oh, so you mean we only talk when I have an ulterior motive?”
“Exactly.”
Javier neatly folded the towel he’d just used to wipe off sweat.
“State your business.”
“Alright. Do some digging.”
“…What?”
He said it plainly.
Javier blinked. “Digging?”
“Yeah. Here, take this.”
Lloyd handed him a shovel.
Javier took it hesitantly.
“Could you dig right here?”
He pointed to the middle of the training ground.
Javier’s brow furrowed.
“You hand me a shovel and tell me to dig a hole in the middle of the yard. May I ask why?”
“Nope.”
“……”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Just trust me and dig.”
“Haah…”
Javier sighed deeply.
He had been focusing on training, reflecting on his fight with the Red Dragon—only to have this man interrupt again.
‘Let’s get this over with.’
He gripped the shovel tightly and took stance.
He even activated the [Asrahan Heart Technique].
‘Clang!’
A Swordmaster’s shovel strike.
Without much effort, the shovel plunged fully into the ground.
Javier dug smoothly, as if scooping bulgogi from a rice bowl.
After a while, something strange appeared beneath the soil.
‘Hm?’
A blue line.
A glowing straight line running horizontally underground.
It wasn’t paint. It wasn’t a string.
‘It’s light.’
A bright blue beam drawn into the ground—no matter how he poked it, it wouldn’t fade.
‘What is this…’
Javier looked up in confusion.
Lloyd only gestured for him to keep digging.
“You see that line? Follow it.”
“……”
Curious now, Javier continued digging along the glowing line.
As he followed it, more blue light appeared, forming planes—surfaces.
A shape gradually emerged.
A large cube, glowing beneath the earth.
Two meters wide, tall, and deep—
a perfect cube of blue light.
By following its edges, Javier had unknowingly dug a flawless, square pit.
“What is this?” he asked.
From above, Lloyd answered proudly:
“Construction Guideline.”
“Pardon?”
Javier tilted his head.
“That’s right,” Lloyd began, his voice oozing confidence.
And as he smiled slyly down at Javier, the knight thought—
‘At moments like this, Lloyd Frontera never changes.’
He never hesitates to tell a little white lie.