Chapter 92
“Bbunguuuuuuul—!”
KABOOM—!
Bangul’s [Volcanic Eruption] skill exploded into action.
The magma generated inside Bangul’s belly shattered apart.
It turned into millions of dust particles and spewed out with immense force.
It violently propelled Bangul’s 5-meter, plump body forward.
Pwooshak!
Bangul leapt.
She launched from the west tower of the suspension bridge.
In a single bound, she soared clear across the sky over the Magena River.
In her mouth, she firmly clamped down on a thick chain.
And the chain was connected to the cable.
FWAASH!
A plump arrow trailing a rope.
No—Bangul, with the chain in her mouth, flew through the air.
Following Bangul’s lead, the long cable traced a vivid line across the 238-meter-wide Magena River.
And it rushed toward the top of the east tower.
There, a natural(?) cushion awaited to catch Bangul.
“Ppodong! Pododong!”
The 10-meter-tall Ppodong stood on two feet.
He stretched both arms wide and stuck out his bouncy belly.
He took a deep breath and held it with absolute focus.
Soon, Bangul came crashing in.
THUMP!
Bangul’s round head slammed into Ppodong’s belly like an arrow.
But Ppodong’s stomach was protected by multiple layers.
The fluffy, cotton-like fur absorbed the initial impact.
The thick hide took the second wave of damage.
And his soft belly dispersed the remaining shock.
Ppodong moved his arms.
He grabbed tightly to keep Bangul from bouncing away.
Determined not to let go, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled across the floor.
At the end of it, the two [phantasm beasts] met each other’s dark, round eyes.
“Ppodong?”
“Bangul!”
“Pododong?”
“Bababangul!”
They confirmed each other was fine.
Bright smiles spread across their faces.
Behind them, Javier sprang into action.
“Now!”
Lloyd’s voice echoed from across the river.
With that shout, Javier reached out and grabbed the chain.
It was the one Bangul had carried across.
Clack!
He held on so the chain—and the connected cable—wouldn’t fall.
He summoned all his strength, drawing on his [Mana Heart] and all three [Mana Circles].
“Hrgh!”
Crreeaak!
Ppodong and Bangul rushed over.
They grabbed hold too.
They pulled, and they held.
They tugged, and they braced.
Finally, the cable at the end of the chain landed in his grasp.
At that moment, he turned his body. Slung the cable over his shoulder. Walked. Advanced. Drew closer to the target.
There, at the top of the tower, was the socket to connect the cable.
“Insert it!”
At Lloyd’s shout, they pushed the cable into the socket.
Clunk! Creeeeak!
The cable and socket fit together perfectly, as if precisely measured.
Once it was in, he twisted the socket. Locked it in place.
The cable was securely fastened.
But Javier didn’t relax.
He quickly turned his head to look across the river at the west tower. He confirmed Lloyd’s figure.
Only then did it register in his eyes.
“…Success!”
Lloyd was waving both arms in this direction.
He could hear his breathless cheer from afar.
It seemed the cable on that side had been connected too.
“Whew.”
Javier, having just completed the most dangerous and delicate part of the job, finally let out a sigh of relief.
Lloyd was safe.
That was enough.
♣
After that, a series of complicated processes followed.
All they had done so far was hang the main cable.
Under the scorching sun, the second act of the construction began.
The main cable was extended behind the towers as well. It was anchored to the anchorage structures on each side, inland behind the towers.
Then, suspension hangers made of chains were installed.
If the main cable stretched between the towers was the laundry line, the suspension hangers were like dozens of harp strings hanging vertically from it.
During this process, Ppodong played a major role.
To put it simply—Ppodong was a master at rope climbing.
With his massive 10-meter frame, he scurried up and down the main cable with ease.
Running across the swaying cable as if it were flat ground was basic stuff.
He swung along it with total freedom.
Sometimes he even slid down using his round belly.
“Pododong!”
Every day, he zipped along the cables, attaching and securing the many suspension hangers.
With that, the installation of the hangers was complete, and the largest task remained.
It was time to hoist and connect the bridge deck.
To do that, Lloyd first floated the bridge deck out onto the river.
“This is such a relief.”
“A relief? What is?”
Dwarf master craftsman Wells Corgidus looked up at Lloyd.
A satisfied smile formed on Lloyd’s lips.
“I’m talking about the bridge deck I requested. The truss structure came out way sturdier than I expected.”
“You call that talk? Who do you think made it?”
“Of course, it’s none other than Master Corgidus, the greatest craftsman.”
“You little flatterer.”
Corgidus snorted through his nose.
“But you arrogant human brat—what are you planning to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“That thing.”
Corgidus jerked his chin toward the river.
There, a large raft floated on the water.
And on that raft sat a massive steel truss section of the bridge deck.
Corgidus continued his questioning.
“You said you were going to attach that thing to the suspension hangers today, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Well, floating it on the river is fine, but how in the world do you plan to lift it?”
“Oh, that?”
Lloyd chuckled faintly at the question.
“There’s a way. It’s called the ‘jack-up-down temporary construction method.’ I plan to adapt it to our current situation.”
“Jack-up-down?”
“Yes.”
“What’s that?”
“Hmm, simply put… ah, never mind. Just watch.”
“What?”
Lloyd simply grinned.
It was honestly difficult to explain to someone from this world.
He couldn’t very well say, ‘It’s a method used in building the Gwangan Bridge in Busan.’
So he just shrugged.
And naturally, Corgidus’s mind became even more tangled.
“Jack-up-down, or whatever. How’s he planning to lift that thing?”
He couldn’t understand it.
Especially since he was the one who crafted the truss bridge deck himself and knew its scale better than anyone.
‘Even after mobilizing every craftsman under me, it still took four months to make just six spans. They’re truly heavy. Just one span—one block—easily weighs over 100 tons.’
So then how were they going to lift that from the raft up to the height of the suspension hangers?
As the question deepened the creases at the corner of the master’s eyes—
“Bogrrluk, Hamang!”
A determined cry rang out from the middle of the river.
Right after that—
SWOOOOSH!
“Huh? The river’s being sucked in!”
Just as a spectator shouted, the river suddenly began to churn.
It started to swirl and then got sucked into a single point.
As if a hole had suddenly opened at the bottom of the river.
Soon after, Corgidus and the crowd witnessed it—
The overwhelming sight of a water-guzzling hippo swelling up beneath the raft!
“Hamang! Hamamang!”
Gulp! Gulp gulp!
Hamang roared as he drank down the river.
One gulp. Two gulps. Each time, his body swelled like a balloon. Growing endlessly.
10 meters, 15 meters, 20 meters…
Crrrack!
The raft lifted onto Hamang’s expanding back.
“Hamamang! Hamang!”
Hamang’s body swelled even more with unrestrained power.
And the raft on his back rose higher and higher.
50 meters, 60 meters… finally, at 70 meters, Lloyd gave the signal.
“Hamang, stop!”
“…Hamang?”
“Can you pause the drinking for now?”
“Hamamang? Hamang?”
“I’ll let you drink more later!”
“Hamang!”
…And so, Hamang stopped at 70 meters. Thanks to that, the bridge deck on his back was now suspended 48 meters above the river’s surface.
That height matched perfectly with the ends of the suspension hangers that had been previously installed.
Lloyd shouted.
“Alright, let’s go!”
He led the waiting workers onto the bridge deck.
Dozens of suspension hangers were connected into pre-installed sockets throughout the deck.
After one deck span was secured, they repeated the same process again.
“Hamang!”
Hamang, who had shrunk back down, grew again and pushed up the next span.
Above, Lloyd, Javier, and the workers waiting connected the deck and the suspension hangers. They also connected each deck span with pre-ordered link-type joint connectors. The searing flames cast by magicians replaced the welding process.
For several days, the connection work continued.
And finally, they finished securing the last bridge span.
Click!
The moment the final suspension hanger snapped into the socket—
A clear message appeared before Lloyd’s eyes.
Ding dong.
[Construction of the suspension bridge in the royal capital Magenta is complete.]
[You have successfully completed the first large-scale suspension bridge in the history of the Lorasia continent.]
[This new type of bridge will be deeply cherished by the citizens of the royal capital. Moreover, it will be named the ‘Loyhabi Bridge’ after the builder and his handsome knight.]
[The ‘Loyhabi Bridge’ will become a new landmark of the royal capital Magenta.]
[Your name will be permanently etched into the civil engineering history of the kingdom and continent as the one who built the ‘Loyhabi Bridge.’]
[As a bonus for this meaningful construction achievement, a large amount of RP has been awarded.]
[You have gained 850 RP.]
[Current RP: 3,019]
‘Got it.’
A welcome message announcing an achievement.
And the always-joyful notification of gaining RP.
Lloyd beamed as he read it. It hit him.
The long construction of the suspension bridge had finally ended in success.
And he thought—
This achievement RP was just the beginning.
The truly hefty rewards—the ones that would make his belly burst—were only just about to begin.
♣
“I, Alicia Termina Magentano, do hereby declare—”
Boom! Boom boom!
Her Majesty Queen Alicia’s calm voice echoed grandly.
It wasn’t some kind of amplified sound magic.
She was a [Swordmaster].
Amplifying her voice by imbuing it with mana was a skill she could perform at will.
And so, her dignified voice rang out.
With each word she spoke, twenty magically-controlled golems moved in perfect unison.
Ten entered from the west and ten from the east side of the ‘Loyhabi Bridge.’
They marched toward the center of the bridge.
Boom! Boom boom!
With each heavy step, the bridge deck trembled.
But the bridge didn’t break.
Instead, it flexed sturdily and held strong.
All twenty golems gathered at the center of the bridge.
And even then, the ‘Loyhabi Bridge’ stood firm.
BOOM!
The golems came to a halt.
They lined up behind the Queen, who stood at the central podium of the bridge.
A pleased smile formed at the corners of Queen Alicia’s lips.
“To Lloyd Frontera, who has built such a strong and beautiful bridge, I hereby bestow the title of ‘Master Craftsman.’”
WAAAAAA—!
Hundreds of pure white doves filled the sky.
Citizens gathered along the riverbanks erupted in cheers.
The old bridge had always been a source of anxiety for them.
Every spring, they feared it might collapse from flooding.
Especially after cracks appeared earlier that year, the fear worsened.
The bridge was something they had no choice but to use.
Each time they crossed it, their hearts were full of dread.
They feared it might collapse without warning.
Still, they had to cross it to survive.
But now, they didn’t have to worry anymore.
The beautiful new suspension bridge.
To them, the Loyhabi Bridge looked completely safe.
Its strange form—like something hanging on a laundry line—was one thing, but more importantly, it had no piers submerged in the river.
That gave them confidence it would be unaffected even by raging floods.
Even now, it was the same.
Twenty golems had marched onto it and gathered at the center. And yet, the bridge hadn’t so much as wobbled or sagged.
“Lloyd! Lloyd!”
Among the cheers of the citizens, Lloyd’s name was shouted.
The chanting of his name grew louder and louder.
Finally, all the assembled citizens called out in unison.
It was the loudest, most heartfelt expression of respect and gratitude they could give to the one who had built them a safe, new bridge—before the festival celebrating its completion had even begun.
And because of that, Lloyd’s shoulders trembled.
‘Hoo-ah.’
Was this what it felt like to become a world-famous Hallyu star?
His name echoing across the entire city.
It felt surreal, yet his heart pounded with excitement.
Even after that, the Queen’s endless praises continued.
A parade of rewards followed, lined up like Vienna sausages.
He received a massive payout.
More than enough to repay the Frontera Barony’s debts and still have plenty left over.
On top of that, he was even granted a lifelong pension as a bonus.
‘That’s it. I’ve made it.’
What greater reward was there than money?
All throughout the completion ceremony, Lloyd clenched his fist tight.
Even as sweat pooled in his palm.
He was proud.
It was electrifying.
It had been a year and a half since he came to this world as Kim Suho.
And finally, he had fulfilled his long-standing wish to repay his debt.
‘Now, once I return to the Barony, I can live the rest of my life rolling in honey without lifting a finger.’
Debt-free at last.
A steady pension from the kingdom.
And as a rural noble, no risk of getting caught up in grand conspiracies or rebellions.
There, he would enjoy a peaceful life like a honeybee.
Lloyd was soaking in that blissful feeling.
All that was left now was to solve one last problem.
A vow he’d made silently to himself months ago when he brought Julian back from the Academy. Once he carried that out, he could truly return to the Barony with a clear conscience.
With that in mind, Lloyd waited for the right moment.
He gauged the Queen’s mood.
And swiftly dropped to one knee.
In a voice steeped with solemnity, he addressed Her Majesty as she stepped down from the platform after the ceremony.
“Your Majesty, first, I humbly thank you for the boundless grace you have bestowed upon me today. However, separate from that, I, Lloyd Frontera, beg your leave to urgently bring forth a matter to Your Majesty.”
“What was that?”
The Queen, about to descend the platform, paused.
Her gaze slowly turned in his direction.
“You say there is something you must urgently tell Us? What is it?”
Perfect.
She took the bait.
Sensing her interest, Lloyd hid a smile beneath his bowed head.
He had just been bestowed the title of [Master Craftsman].
He’d earned the Queen’s goodwill and trust.
So the time was now.
“It concerns Magenta Academy, which Your Majesty personally sponsors. A place where, regrettably, deeply unjust, irrational, and vile conduct has been taking place on a continuous basis. I am left to wonder, does Your Majesty know of this?”
“…What? At the Academy? Such injustices are taking place without Our knowledge?”
“Alas, it is true, Your Majesty.”
Lloyd’s voice dropped into a sorrowful tone.
But the corners of his lips held a secret, meaningful smile.
And at last, the moment he had been waiting for arrived.
“Speak. Tell Us in detail.”
That’s when it began.
The scoundrels who threw their weight around the Academy relying solely on their family names.
The Academy personnel who enabled and protected them.
To crush them completely, leaving no room for excuses—
Lloyd launched into a cold-blooded exposé, each word packed tight with damning facts like a fully loaded sack of spicy fish roe.
