#279
Technological Revolution (1)
The avatar Howard, born through the medium of Jaonic’s cherished pickaxe, “Elinne.”
As he devoted himself to crafting with the body of that other race, there was one fact he came to realize anew.
‘Indeed. At this level, it would be hard for other races not to feel deprived.’
It was the sheer absurdity of a being called a “dwarf.”
To begin with, technology was the sum total of experience and theory steeped in the blood and sweat of countless artisans, craftsmen, and engineers over long generations—a golden tower of knowledge built up through their endless anguish and research.
As such, it was only natural that there were limits to how much one could acquire or advance in a short time.
‘That is common sense.’
But the race known as dwarves were beings that completely ignored such systems.
Everything about them, from their way of thinking to their sensory functions, was different from other races.
Their original creative logic, for which the word creativity was insufficient, was basic; they instinctively performed fine processes surpassing precision machinery, and even understood procedures requiring complex calculations purely by feel.
It was no exaggeration to say they were a race specialized from birth in creating things.
‘If they had no flaws in other respects, the dwarves might well have become the race that ruled the world.’
Fortunately or unfortunately, unlike their unreasonable genius for production, they were despairingly lacking in sense in many other fields.
To the point that, had they not possessed even that talent, it would not have been strange if they had long since gone extinct or been reduced to slavery.
“Ooh—so this is… indeed!”
And that overwhelming talent of the dwarves was passed on in full to the avatar Howard.
A secret safe house prepared near Incheon, Republic of Korea.
Inside its warehouse, Howard’s eyes, remotely summoned there, flashed brightly.
Before him, as he stood overcome with emotion as though facing treasures, were the magic tools from various worlds that he had gathered one by one until now.
‘As expected, seeing them directly is different! All the functions are properly intact, too!’
A vividness unlike what he had only sensed indirectly until now mercilessly stimulated all five of his senses.
It was a completely different sensation from when he dealt with items transmitted through sensory sharing, or with other-dimensional objects that had crossed over to Auterica and lost their individuality.
“Ha! This one is fascinating, too. What on earth was it made of?”
He picked up a metal ornament shaped like an animal’s tooth and, after staring at it intently, sniffed it.
Lick—
And he did not stop there, even flicking out his tongue to lick it.
“Smack, smack. Calcium phosphate? It seems closer to bone than tooth. I see, metallic yet biological. Did they contain a shamanic spell in this? The heat treatment is so crude I can hardly bear to look at it, but their focus on preserving the characteristics of the material isn’t bad at all.”
Howard, the overseas-educated dwarf who had also gained considerable knowledge of Earth’s science through the systematic education he had continuously received.
He pushed up the specially made glasses he wore with one hand and nodded seriously.
The gleaming lenses and the loose, pure-white lab coat draped over him made him look especially intellectual.
‘I may not look it, but I have already been acknowledged by Jaonic as an artisan in my own right.’
To him, items originating from other worlds and containing unique systems were no different from a well-prepared feast.
Just as when Hans had come into contact with the spellcraft of other worlds.
And just as when, at the end of it, he had finally awakened to the 「Path of Magic」.
And that impression reached its peak when, after moving beyond the reinforced exoskeleton recovered from the Lawgiver, he encountered the artificial eye.
“Ha!”
The moment he saw it, inspiration, like lava from an erupting volcano, shattered the frame that had confined it and burst forth.
Was this what it meant to be unconventional?
‘This…’
Looking, listening, touching, tapping, smelling, biting, and so on.
Only after going through that series of actions in a daze did Howard come back to his senses, and he was able to be certain of one fact.
‘…This is definitely something made by a dwarf.’
A dwarf from another dimension, not from where he had been.
Of course, that race was probably not exactly the same as the dwarves of Auterica to which Howard belonged.
Perhaps not only the name of the race, but also their appearance and other detailed traits were entirely different.
‘But…’
The basic framework forming its foundation was certainly that of his kin.
The 「Dwarven Creative Logic」 that had seeped deeply into Howard was asserting that fiercely.
‘How curious. Are the gods sharing some kind of open source for creating intelligent life?’
A question he had already thought of while encountering vampires from various dimensions surged back up again.
But what mattered to him now was not some secret of the world like that.
Snorting heavily, Howard indulged madly in the conveniences of civilization before him.
“Ooh—splendid. Absolutely splendid!”
Dwarves, a race with an absolute advantage in the thing called technology.
However, despite their existence, Auterica’s scientific level was not all that outstanding.
There were many reasons for that… but the biggest was ultimately one thing.
‘The environment. To be more precise… I suppose you could call it civilization.’
It was a world teeming with monsters capable of facing armies alone, and where it was not impossible to blow away a castle with a single spell.
In fact, there had even been a record of the moving calamity called the Immortal King devastating half the continent.
Naturally, the dwarves’ ultimate goals could not help but be influenced by that.
To create peerless divine swords that could cut through anything, impregnable armor like moving fortresses, and magic tools containing miraculous supernatural powers.
And for those to fall into the hands of the qualified and help them execute great evils.
‘There must also be differences in the foundational basic sciences. Perhaps the “worldview” possessed by the dimension subtly influenced it as well.’
But Howard, now here on Earth where civilizations from all sorts of dimensions intersected, was different.
The dwarf dressed like a researcher in a white coat and glasses raised the corners of his mouth and stroked his beard with satisfaction.
He was bound by nothing.
No one could block his growth, and not even the world could restrict the direction of his creations.
“Pu-hahahaha! My hands are itching!”
Howard moved busily as he waited for the time-acceleration barrier Hans had painstakingly installed in the Incheon safe house, the “Room of Time and Space,” to activate.
Space-time magic was so abstruse, and there was also the constraint that it had to be deployed covertly, so even Hans could only properly maintain it for a little over a day at a time, but…
‘A tenfold time multiplier isn’t bad. At least it can be called a level similar to when I’m in another world.’
He had already had Heterosis prepare the safe house and complete all the necessary preliminary arrangements.
Now all he had to do was devote himself fully to research.
Besides, was he not currently under the effect of the “Elixir of Growth” as well?
[Hoo—then shall we begin?]
Soon, when Hans, who had quietly appeared outside the safe house as if he had been there all along, activated the barrier, the time inside began to flow in a current different from the world.
“Oho! The more I look at this artificial eye, the more fascinating it is!”
“Hmm, come to think of it, this reinforced exoskeleton was also given to the Lawgiver by that fellow called Doctor. It’s certainly different from the others. Handmade using materials from another world, is it?”
“There’s no reason I can’t do what someone else can! Let’s give it a try!”
Howard moved passionately, constantly muttering to himself.
And so time passed.
By the time the hour hand of the clock had roughly made nearly one full turn.
《The individual has gained enlightenment through repeated training. Skill 「Magical Engineering」 acquired.》
Perhaps it was the fruit of his consistent consumption of the Elixir of Growth and devotion to training finally sprouting, but less than five days after entering closed-door training, Howard was able to gain a deeper understanding of magical engineering.
And when, after barely one full day of outside time and ten days of inside time, the barrier was on the verge of losing its power—
‘…I see. I think I understand something.’
《The individual has fulfilled the conditions and blossomed their potential. Special Skill 「Technological Revolution」 acquired.》
At last, he was able to obtain the modest result he had set as his initial goal.
Far sooner than he had expected.
- Individual Name: Howard
- Race: Dwarf
- Common Traits: 「Mind Hub」, 「Persona」, 「Super Recovery」, 「Clear Mirror, Still Water」, 「Monstrous Strength」, 「Hypersensitivity」, 「Insight」, 「Xenoglossy」
- Individual Traits: 「Craftsmanship」, 「Dwarven Creative Logic」, 「Song of Fire and Metal」, 「Artisan’s Soul」, 「Technological Revolution」, 「Metallurgy」, 「Precision Crafting」, 「Magical Engineering」
- Notes: Under the influence of the “Elixir of Growth,” all actions are receiving additional growth correction. Through steady effort, he has explored magical engineering and grasped its essence. Using 「Technological Revolution」, he has become able to intervene in and partially modify items produced with the technology of other worlds.
‘…Wait, if I make good use of this…’
Perhaps it was an even greater result than expected.
***
The imperial hospital located in one corner of the Azelion Empire’s imperial palace.
After the attack by the masked men, including Stave, who had become a dark knight, Hesperon once again found himself hospitalized in a ward for the long term.
“Uh, is it really not possible?”
“It is not. You must still remain in absolute rest while we observe your condition further. Please do not worry. We have arranged not only a holy formation from the Order for nerve stabilization, but also aromatherapy, massage, and even palace bards. In addition, we can bring in various books, as well as a mage to assist with your training, whenever you wish, so please rest comfortably here.”
Though quite some time had passed even after the treatment for the aftereffects of that incident ended, no matter how much he protested that he was fine now, the medical staff, who had received the princess’s direct order, would not budge.
From the start, he was not the one they needed to impress, was he?
- Riley, I’m really all right now.
- …I’m sorry. Things on this side are almost finished now, so please bear with it just a little longer. Once I return, I’ll wrap everything up quickly.
Riley, connected to him through the 「Chain of Covenant」, replied in an apologetic voice.
In truth, he knew why she was being this cautious.
Even while he was only in the hospital like this, the atmosphere throughout the entire imperial palace was so menacing that he could feel it.
After the previous attack on Princess Riley.
Once the disturbance involving even the captain of the imperial guards had been settled, the defenses of the entire capital had become even stricter, and not even a few months had passed since then.
Naturally, this attempted kidnapping of Hesperon, too, was something that should never have been able to happen originally.
This was, after all, the Empire, the strongest nation on the continent in name and in fact, and its capital, the heart of it, no matter what anyone said.
‘And yet the incident actually happened.’
No matter how they had set a trap in the outermost slums, where a gap in public security was inevitable, and had someone disguised as a coachman guide him there… that could not serve as an excuse.
Whatever else one said, the result was already clear.
Someone high up involved in public security had deliberately created a gap in the defenses, and the culprit had been captured at the crime scene thus laid out.
The former captain of the imperial guards, who had supposedly been killed, corrupted by dark mana.
‘The imperial family’s face has been utterly ruined.’
It made no difference even if the target of that operation had not been a member of the imperial family, but merely a single guest.
How great must the wound to their pride from this incident have been for the emperor, who until now had stayed one step back and merely supported the princess as she took the lead, to personally step forward?
It meant they had crossed the line he had been turning a blind eye to to some extent because they were his in-laws.
- They grew impatient and made a self-defeating move. Still, now that they’ve been driven into a corner, there’s no telling what insane thing they might try, so that place is the safest right now. The director of the hospital is completely neutral, but he will never sit by and watch anything that happens in his hospital. In fact, if you exclude the commander of the Royal Knights, he’s also the strongest in the imperial palace.
- Uh, he was that strong?
- I heard he’s a senior of Marquis Lawrence, the master of the Magic Tower. I was told he changed course because of personal circumstances.
- I see…
Though Hesperon accepted it for the time being, he could not help smacking his lips inwardly in regret.
After all, to state the conclusion, it meant he should behave himself because it was dangerous right now.
‘I’m grateful that she’s worried about me, but still.’
For him, who had been thinking of taking a brief chance to quickly visit Earth, the current situation could only feel utterly frustrating.
Of course, if he made up his mind, he could use release from summoning to slip away and come back at any time, but the moment he actually did that, an enormous commotion far greater than the present one would occur.
‘They must be checking things like life signs inside the imperial palace in real time.’
On top of that, hadn’t she said the hospital director was an archmage superior even to a Magic Tower master?
The moment he disappeared, the abnormality would probably be detected and a state of emergency declared, and if he then appeared again inside the imperial palace afterward… it likely would not end as an awkward situation.
‘Tsk, I wanted to try it right away, but do I have to put it off until next time? …No, wait. Now that I think about it, there’s no need to go all the way to Earth, is there?’
After thinking for a moment, Hesperon’s eyes shone as he sprang up from his seat.
As he strode forward, a milky-white sphere was already gripped in one hand.
A bead from which no energy at all could be felt, like nothing more than a smooth ornament.