Chapter 90
The head of the royal forge.
Wells Corgidus, the most skilled dwarf artisan, twitched his brow deeply.
“This is, hmm… a framework to bear the load?”
The stubborn eyes typical of a dwarf scanned the blueprint.
On the blueprint was a structure he had never seen before.
‘It looks like a kind of skeleton.’
Straight rods were connected together.
They formed a series of triangles lined up in sequence.
Overall, it was a structure where short diagonal rods formed triangular patterns between two long, straight parallel rods.
The flow of force that would be applied to the structure.
The balance of the load it would support.
As a master craftsman, Corgidus instantly grasped the purpose of the structure from the blueprint.
“Don’t tell me this is meant for a bridge?”
“Yes, exactly. It’s called a truss structure.”
A smile formed on Lloyd’s lips.
As expected of a dwarf artisan.
Exactly as described in the novel.
Another question came from Corgidus.
“I see. This would allow for a wide span with minimal structure while handling great weight. But who designed this? Don’t tell me you have a dwarf artisan on your side?”
“I don’t.”
“Then?”
“I did it myself.”
“What?”
“I designed this.”
“…”
Corgidus stared up at him with a curious gaze.
Then, a gruff remark came out of the fussy craftsman’s mouth.
“This guy’s totally nuts, isn’t he?”
“Haha. You think so?”
“Of course. You came here to blackmail me, didn’t you?”
“…So you’ve figured it out already?”
“Naturally.”
Corgidus let out a huff of air through his nose.
“Ordinary blacksmiths can’t make this. Frankly, even in this forge, I doubt anyone besides me could craft this properly. The entire metallic structure needs to be forged with uniform rigidity. But if someone else works on it?”
A disaster was inevitable.
Corgidus was sure of it.
Even if the truss looked fine on the outside, a single imperfect section with uneven strength would doom the entire structure.
And if they used it to build a bridge based on the outward appearance alone?
“It would absolutely collapse. That’s the scary thing about metal. It can look perfectly fine one moment, and then—snap—just break in an instant. That’s the real danger.”
If the truss snapped?
If the bridge collapsed?
There was no doubt it would lead to the deaths of dozens.
“And you brought me this blueprint, of all things, to show it off? You thought I wouldn’t figure out what you were up to?”
“No, I was hoping you’d see it exactly that way.”
Lloyd smiled faintly and answered calmly.
Corgidus clicked his tongue.
“Trying to test my conscience, are you?”
“Well, if you don’t want to do it, there’s nothing I can do.”
“So I’m supposed to sit by and suffer, watching a disaster unfold?”
“It’s your personal choice. I won’t pressure you.”
“You’re saying you couldn’t win my interest to take the job directly?”
“No, I can’t. I’m not that impressive. Which is why…”
“Which is why?”
“I figured appealing to the famous artisan’s conscience had the better odds of working.”
“And you’re just going to say that so bluntly?”
“You would’ve figured it out either way.”
“Huhuhuhu?”
Corgidus’s thick beard quivered.
What an audacious brat.
And yet, strangely, he didn’t find it offensive.
Because among the many who sought his help, this kind of attitude was rare.
‘Most flaunt their titles or try to bait me by asking if I can make something like this to tickle my pride.’
But Lloyd, the man standing in front of him today, was different.
He clearly stated his purpose.
He didn’t throw around his status, nor did he try any obvious provocations to stir up a craftsman’s ego.
Instead, he emphasized one thing simply and clearly—that the job couldn’t be done safely without his help.
Eventually, Corgidus made up his mind.
“Let me see the other blueprints.”
“Are you saying—?”
“Let’s start with the blueprints.”
“Yes, sir!”
Lloyd’s hands moved quickly.
One by one, he laid out the blueprints he brought.
Each time he unrolled one, a fresh wave of surprise delighted the artisan’s eyes.
A massive socket to anchor the suspension bridge’s cable to the main tower.
A joint system designed to expand and contract in response to temperature changes in the bridge.
A wind-resisting flap system to dampen vibrations caused by gusts along the river.
And many other components and modules unfolded before him.
The famous artisan’s eyes were soon filled with a sense of responsibility.
And at last, he gave a nod.
“Alright. Let’s do it.”
“Really?”
“Would I lie?”
Corgidus’s sharp eyes locked onto Lloyd’s face.
“Seeing the rest of the blueprints only confirmed it. No one else in the kingdom could make this. And if someone else tries and the bridge collapses? That’s not just about curiosity—it’s a matter of conscience.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. This is my first time making any of these parts, so I’ve got a lot of questions. Don’t even think about going home tonight.”
“I wasn’t planning to anyway.”
Lloyd grinned and opened his bag.
Inside were tightly packed lunch boxes.
Two servings, no less.
“Huhuhu?”
He even planned for this?
To think this brat had anticipated all of this from the start.
Once again, Corgidus realized—this guy was no ordinary fellow.
The way he looked at Lloyd shifted from mere interest to genuine satisfaction.
♣
Three days passed.
During that time, Lloyd remained holed up in Corgidus’s forge.
Corgidus, true to his reputation as a master, was thorough and meticulous.
He constantly pointed out details Lloyd himself hadn’t considered and asked sharp questions about principles and production methods.
Thanks to that, Lloyd found himself nervously sweating on more than one occasion.
‘He really is a master for a reason.’
In truth, many aspects of Lloyd’s designs were heavily assisted by his skills. Because of that, he sometimes glossed over the finer details.
He hadn’t really felt it before, but facing questions from a master craftsman on par with a university professor in his field, he finally realized it on a visceral level.
‘I need to be more thorough with my designs going forward.’
With that resolution in mind, Lloyd managed to escape(?) from the royal forge after three days.
Of course, that didn’t mean he could rest.
In fact, things were about to get even busier.
The real work was just beginning.
“Alright then, shall we enjoy some cooking time?”
Crack. Crack!
Lloyd flexed his gloved fingers and looked ahead.
He was in a small outdoor training ground specially provided by the royal family.
There, a mountain of soil was piled up.
Today’s ingredients.
‘Just as I ordered. You’ve gotta hand it to the royal family.’
Oil-mixed clay known as yuto.
Silt clay and sand.
Sandy loam and gravel.
And heaps of finely crushed basalt, obsidian, olivine, lapis lazuli, talc, and even tin—each separated into neat piles.
‘Let’s start with the yuto.’
Lloyd began digging.
He scooped up the yuto and firmly packed it down with his shovel. He flattened it into a large, one-meter-wide pizza dough shape.
On top, he layered the various types of soil in order.
Then he sprinkled crushed stones like basalt and obsidian on top.
Finally, he presented it to Bangul, who was sitting nearby with her belly growling in hunger.
“Alright, Bangul?”
“Bangul!”
“I followed the recipe you told me about before.”
“Bababul!”
“Want to give it a try?”
“Bangul!”
Chomp!
In her enlarged form, Bangul took a huge bite of the dirt pizza.
She chewed thoroughly and swallowed.
Then her tail started shaking violently.
Jingle jingle jingle!
The bell on her tail rang loudly.
Bangul raised her chubby tail high.
And shouted,
“Bangul–!”
At that moment, Lloyd moved.
He quickly slid a large granite tray under Bangul’s rear.
Shhhhhh!
From Bangul’s rear, a much thinner steel rod than usual shot out.
A red-hot, slim steel wire coiled onto the granite tray.
Lloyd rotated the tray in time with the rhythm.
The thin wire wound itself around the tray’s edge like a coil.
Lloyd shouted,
“Fan it!”
No sooner had he called out than a gust of wind blew in from both sides.
Javier and Julian, already on standby, began vigorously fanning with large fans.
Whooooosh!
The intense wind cooled the steel wire rapidly.
Its diameter was barely five millimeters.
It looked more like wire than a rebar.
‘Good. At least the form came out right.’
Lloyd’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
Bangul had been telling the truth.
She said if she ate that dirt mixture based on the recipe, she could produce thin wire.
And now the result lay perfectly coiled on the granite tray.
‘Now let’s see if the performance holds up too.’
This wire would be used as material for the suspension bridge cables.
So its tensile strength absolutely had to be tested.
‘A load cell would be perfect for measuring tension…’
Unfortunately, there was no way to get modern measuring equipment here.
So Lloyd had to test the wire’s tensile strength manually.
“Javier?”
“Yes?”
“Hold this.”
He handed the freshly cooled wire to Javier and had him grip one end.
He grabbed the other end himself.
“From now on, I’m going to pull. You must not move an inch.”
“Understood.”
“And don’t pull back at all.”
“I just have to hold it steady?”
“Yeah. I need to know exactly at what point it snaps. If you pull too, the calculation gets messy.”
Javier’s side had to act as the constant.
Only Lloyd’s pulling force would be measured.
“Alright, here we go.”
Grip!
He tightened his hold on the wire.
He activated a Mana Circle.
For precise measurement, he even used his skill’s option.
[Activating Asrahan Heart Technique Skill Option ④: Circle Shift.]
‘I’ll need to test in stages, so start at low gear.’
He set the gear to level 1.
The circle immediately responded.
[Alpha Circle set to Gear 1. Fixed at 1,000 RPM.]
Whirrr!
The first circle’s rotation was locked at 1,000 RPM.
He channeled the amplified mana into his right arm.
And pulled the wire.
Creaaak…!
The wire stretched taut.
It didn’t break.
It held strong.
‘Next, gear 2.’
[Alpha Circle set to Gear 2. Fixed at 2,000 RPM.]
Creak!
The tension increased.
But still, it didn’t snap.
He went further.
Gear 3, gear 4… finally, at gear 5, the wire snapped.
Twang!
‘Nice. It broke between gear 4 and 5 using a single Circle. Let’s go again.’
The test repeated.
First with steady RPMs using Circle Shift.
Then, he turned off the Shift option and tested with more detailed RPM variations.
Thanks to this, he could accurately gauge the wire’s tensile strength.
‘Looks like it breaks around 4,600 to 4,700 RPM. If I convert that to force… hmm, not bad at all.’
Actually, it was more than just “not bad.”
Compared to wire used as cable material in the modern world, it held up impressively well.
Now it was time to make actual cables.
Lloyd reached into his inner pocket.
He pulled out a fantasy beast that had been napping inside.
“Hey, Ppodong?”
“Mumble mumble, Ppodong?”
“Sorry for waking you up, but can I ask you a quick favor?”
“Ppododong?”
“Bangul’s going to start spitting out wire soon.”
“Ppodong?”
“When it comes out, could you collect it, let it cool, and bundle it tightly like this? Around 120 bundles total. Like those dried noodle packs from the market.”
Lloyd picked up a twig.
He drew a rough sketch on the ground.
It was to help Ppodong understand.
“Well? Think you can do it?”
“Ppodong!”
The round head nodded vigorously.
Ppodong liked doing things Lloyd asked of him.
A satisfied smile tugged at Lloyd’s lips.
“Good. Thanks. Now, want to eat this first?”
“Ppodong!”
Pwoom—!
After munching on a red sunflower seed, Ppodong transformed into a ten-meter-tall beast.
That was when it all began.
Ppodong rubbed his hands together with gusto.
Bangul wiggled her rump, ready to unleash her steel-poop attack.
“Ppododong! Ppodong!”
“Bababul! Bangul!”
With that, cable production was ready to go.
Lloyd’s head slowly turned.
He pointed toward the third worker he’d already decided on in his mind.
“Hey.”
“H-Huh?”
Julian flinched.
It was his first time seeing such massive magical beasts.
And Lloyd, who commanded them like it was nothing.
The surreal scene had left him dazed.
A faint smirk curled on Lloyd’s lips.
“I’m about to start working on the suspension bridge’s main tower foundation with Javier.”
“Uh, okay.”
“So I need this area cleared.”
“Uh, so?”
“I want you to take care of it.”
“Me? How?”
“How else?”
Lloyd picked up a shovel.
And shoved it right into Julian’s arms.
Thud!
Without even giving him a chance to object, a huge shovel landed in Julian’s small frame.
“Alright, imagine you’re grilling meat. It’s delicious. But then, you run out of cooked meat. All that’s left on the grill are pieces that aren’t done yet. So now you have to wait for the new batch to cook. Totally breaks the flow of your meal, right? How would that feel?”
“Uh, hmm… I think I’d get a little impatient and annoyed.”
“Exactly. You get it. That’s why—”
Lloyd’s smile turned meaningful.
“You need to keep digging. Faster than Bangul can eat. Stick to the recipe exactly. Got it?”
“…”
“From now on, the dirt you shovel will pass through Bangul, turn into wire, and become cables that will support the entire suspension bridge. Understand? So work hard.”
Gulp.
Julian’s throat bobbed.
He was a delicate young man who had grown up doing nothing but studying.
Only now did he realize the weight behind this seemingly simple job Lloyd had given him.
“H-Hey, wait a sec.”
He hurriedly grabbed Lloyd, who had already turned to leave.
Still in disbelief, he asked,
“Then this is… seriously important, right?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“And you’re giving that to me? Why?”
He was curious.
It didn’t make sense.
This was Lloyd Frontera.
The brother he had always resented, never trusted.
Lloyd had never trusted him either.
Back then, whenever Julian refused to drink with him, Lloyd would lash out, call him names, curse at him.
But now, why?
Why was Lloyd looking at him with such serious eyes?
Why was he saying it like it was the most natural thing in the world—with that gentle tone?
“I’m giving it to you because it’s important.”
“…”
Unconsciously, Julian’s eyes trembled.
