Chapter 406
Chapter 406
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: World 4 (10)
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Pardau Fortress Station, 2nd floor common area.
The engineers, who had been scrambling in response to the sudden emergency alert, were gathering one by one at Naelda's call.
"All the windows covered?"
"Yes, sis."
"Who's watching the station fence and building entrance?"
"The somewhat sobered-up Foram and Bilkert are on it."
"Don't blink, especially keep those rotten reporters from getting anywhere near. This is a station, but just in case—run the magitech detection gear through every floor starting from the first."
"Uh... That's expensive stuff, and we were told to use it sparingly since it only works a few times—"
"Do it. I'll shave my head bald and sell my hair to cover it later."
The engineers moved with crisp efficiency at Naelda's utterly serious tone.
"But seriously, what's going on? You're always messing around, sis, but ringing the emergency bell means it's no joke."
"Nah... This is no joke. Hmm, Gerry? Go brew a round of tea for everyone. Settle their stomachs before they puke from the shock."
"You got it. More than justified. I'll grab something strong to snap 'em out of it quick."
"Good."
Hooo—
While the dwarf fireman scurried off to distribute tea to the engineers, Naelda, perched on the table, took deep breaths like someone facing a monumental task.
As the tense engineers slurped their hangover-curing bitter tea in response, Naelda lifted me up—still bound in her arms—with an expression like she was ripping out her own heart.
"Say hi. Our new family member, Professor."
"...And?"
"Yeah. Nine years old. And a son of the Brasol family."
"A noble, even? Can we handle this?"
"Ransom maybe?"
"Sis might be capable of that...."
"Our finances are a mess, though...."
Murmur murmur!
Rustle rustle!
The roughly twenty engineers buzzed, speculating wildly about the reasons and identity of their suddenly introduced new family member. Of course, a few who had witnessed the tea cup trick kept their mouths shut tight, struggling to stifle leaking laughs.
"Bottom line, we have to handle it somehow, even if it guts us. Because—"
Naelda savored the commotion like an orchestra conductor, then grinned as if she couldn't hold back any longer.
"This little guy's a wizard."
Drip—
.
.
.
.
.
The word "wizard" instantly silenced the noise.
And then,
"Puhahaha!"
"Cough, hack, croak! Gah!"
"Oh man! Sis! Your jokes have gotten way better!"
"A wizard! That hairless kid's a wizard!"
"Gahaha! Sis! Even if he's a short-eared elf, he looks way too young to be a wizard!"
"Puhaha! Exactly!"
Roaring laughter erupted among the engineers. Naelda just grinned and watched them, as if they'd told an absurd joke.
"Haha, ha, ha...."
"Ha ha...."
"Uh...."
.
.
.
.
....Gulp.
"...Sis?"
"Yeees~?"
"The mood's getting awkward... Mind telling us the real reason you brought this kid into the family now...?"
"I hate repeating myself."
"That's the thing—the first time didn't sound believable...."
"Did I explain it wrong? Our new family member, nine-year-old Professor Brasol, is a wi.z.ard?"
Shwaaa—
This time, a heavier silence descended. From the dwarf repeatedly slapping his own cheeks in a daze, to the engineer starting to hiccup from gulping air, to the beastkin muttering something like a holy sign.
Reactions varied wildly, but every face shared the same incredulity.
"F-For real?"
"Yeah. Our loyal Bolteus is finally starting to repay my ocean of grace!"
"D-Did we steal a Brasol wizard?"
"No? No one knows this kid's a wizard except us Rail Ship engineers here. He's not a Brasol-made wizard—he's just their son we snatched. From the kind who wouldn't care if the kid lived or died."
"A free wizard...."
Thud!
The sound of one engineer collapsing after endless gasps rang out.
"Attribute! What's his attribute!"
"Wind, right? No other reason for one of those wanderlust types to walk in willingly."
"Wrong~"
"Fire! We've got a top-class fireman!"
"What are you waiting for! Engine crew, out! Your baby brother—no, your lord and master is here! Fire up the boiler and show him the engine room right—"
"Wrong~ Not a fire wizard either?"
"...Not fire?"
"Then maybe earth?"
Thud, flop!
Two more dwarves toppled over, eyes welling up as they began chanting prayers like "O great roots of the earth—"
"An earth wizard... That means we could secure our own rail stations independently?"
"With our current numbers, it's tough, but he's still a kid... We wait till he grows a bit, build up our crew, and with an earth wizard in tow, folks would crawl on all fours to join us...."
The engineers began painting starry-eyed futures, entranced. Naelda set me down in front of them and made a scissors sign with her fingers.
"Wrong! Too bad, not that precious earth wizard either!"
Regret flashed across the engineers' faces at her words. Followed by puzzlement.
"Not wind, fire, or earth. What then? Soul shaman?"
"You ever seen a soul shaman this healthy? How many dead people has a nine-year-old even seen?"
"Then the last one's...."
.
.
.
.
"Water?"
"Correct!"
....Slap!
Slap slap slap slap slap!
Some engineers who'd been slapping their cheeks earlier swung harder, some even begging neighbors to slap theirs.
"N-Number one fire chief! Exen Outra! R-Request to speak!"
"Sure~ In a generous mood today. Speak."
"Y-You said no one but us knows he's a wizard... So, is he... a natural-born?"
"Right. A true wizard who gained 'enlightenment' by pure accident. Not like those human mana stone mine wizards these days."
"C-Could a natural-born water wizard really exist?"
"No known cases in the Tarigden Archipelago, at least?"
Sniiiiff—!
"With that said, I'm issuing a gag order to everyone here in the Rail Ship crew. Anyone who lets the 'm' of magic slip from their lips, I swear on my name I'll rip their jaw off and shove it in the engine. Got it!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Good. Elves hate lies, so don't make me tear apart my own family with my hands."
Having extracted oaths from the still-dazed engineers, Naelda gazed at me with eyes dripping honey.
Watching this near-farce, an irresistible curiosity bubbled up.
"Um... Naelda?"
"Hmm~ Baby? What's up? Anything but you wanting off the Rail Ship—I'll grant it."
"Uh... How rare exactly is a wizard? Seems like it varies by attribute."
What could be so precious that dwarves and beastkin slap each other's cheeks muttering "This is reality. I taste blood." / "Guess it is real."?
"A wizard's value... Simply put, it's like pouring every mana stone from a small mine into one person."
Naelda stretched my cheeks, then began explaining one by one.
****
"First off, most wizards on trains are wind wizards. Those guys have... a curse? Innate wanderlust or anxiety—they go mad if they stay in one city too long. So, train wizards are mostly wind attribute."
"Makes sense."
Due to their attribute mana nature, they can't stay put. Even if they can fly, they need rest stops. Can't rest safely in the soft lands everywhere. Becoming a wizard great enough to fly between cities isn't easy, so trains—the only reliable long-distance land option—are their go-to.
Main jobs: train ventilation and defense.
Trains crawling with unwashed, sweltering engineers are hellish to breathe in, but one wind wizard acts as a self-contained air purifier and cooler. Useful for magitech engine maintenance, combat, and especially making the train livable—hence their high regard.
"If wind wizards are treated like combat/comfort gear, fire wizards handling flames are a real boon to train ops."
"Magitech engines need fire?"
"Yep! Ancient pure-mana magitech engines exist, but they don't mesh with modern mana stones!"
The continental mana explosion thinned mana density everywhere, degrading mana stone quality.
Old dense mana stones powered pure-mana engines—stronger, more efficient—but weak modern ones barely move even a truckload. So most trains use magitech-steam hybrid engines.
One side burns coal or wood, the other generates heat via mana stone heaters to drive steam. Base ops on mana stones, boost with fire for acceleration or obstacles.
Recruit one fire wizard to stand by the engine?
"Precise thrust control, and in a pinch, power and propulsion beyond normal trains."
Not just better engine power. Real case: train derailed by land burrower attack, but fire wizard's raw power kept it charging off-rails to the next city. Basically insurance against train doom, ultimate fuel/time saver.
"That's the 'great for trains!' tier."
"Then earth and water wizards?"
"Those are strategic assets tied to city control."
Earth wizards are core to human survival. They live in bedrock zones for a reason?
Earth wizards expand city limits in peace—territory tools. In war, shields for soft land ops. Crucially, post-dungeon conquest/mutant lord slay, essential for linking new bedrock to cities via rail.
Mercifully, mutants ravaging the world into soft/hard land dichotomy boosted earth wizard ratios vs. others. Past 3rd tier, treated like fortress-city lords.
"So train earth wizards are mostly 1st/2nd tier. Usually borrowing disciples from other earth wizards."
Earth wizard trains scout off-rails, unlike standard city-to-city runs.
Crew wizard muffles footsteps/vibrations, scouts mutant/land burrower attacks—enabling ops beyond human lands.
Dig golden age relics from old cities (engine-worth of cash), secure/build/repair 'stations' (inter-rail outposts) for tolls from passing trains, even tax breaks.
Thus, 1st/2nd tier earth wizard rental fees match full train ops costs. Higher tiers? Locked in cities as top strategic assets.
"Rare, huh...."
"Insanely so. Post-vein twist, mana scarcity blocked wizard paths."
"Ventilation, thrust control, range expansion... Can't magitech cover if wizards are rare?"
"Some yes, some no. Magic's the mystic realm. What takes three train-sized magitech rigs, one wizard does. That's why they're precious where used."
Next. Last: water wizards like me.
"Pure value slightly favors earth—for rail repair/construction needs unmatched."
"But rarity-wise, across four elements, water wizards top the list."
"Why?"
"You won't find any, eyes peeled."
As known, mutants scorched biospheres, dug dungeons worldwide—shattering continents into wastelands, boosting earth wizard ratios amid landmasses.
That boost inversely crushed water wizards.
"Utility ranks second. World parched; water essential for all life. Low-grade mana stone steam engines guzzle it. Hence water wizards = city strategic assets like earth."
Cities on thickest bedrock naturally lack groundwater. Flowing water means gaps—soft land vulnerable to burrowers.
Most cities pipe from distant sources: lord-neck-snapping costs, deep-pump mana stones galore, plus defenses for noisy engines in soft lands.
Stationed water wizard? Solves all solo. Pulls water channels continuously—new flows to city.
With city aqueduct support, well-dig without ground disruption. Ample water enables extra engines/gear, permanent industry/resource boom.
"On trains?"
"Water merchant. No long stays for big projects, but fetch water during stops. Sell it. Filling our tankers free? Huge win."
"Never heard of train water wizards, so utility unknown, but if you grow well... Drinking and washing water feasible?"
"Washing... water?"
At Naelda's words, silently listening engineers stirred.
"Engineers bathing?"
"No more sharing with yellow-salt-stinking lumps?"
"Groundwater... Cool water! No more hot swill in the heat!"
"C-Cold showers!"
"Oooo!"
"This... Criminal! Not engineer life!"
Nod nod,
"As you see. Most engineers suffer unimaginable heat, dehydration, cramped hell. Daily combat demands condition management. Proper water halves deaths? End-of-run fights near-desiccated."
"Of course, far off for you, fresh on water wizard path."
Ruffling my hair fondly, Naelda drummed the desk to refocus the dream-struck engineers.
"You've all glimpsed Rail Ship's rosy future. In years, comfy runs, and [Magitech Train - Water Wizard Aboard] title reclaims past glory!"
"Past glory?"
"Straug Fortress-City mega-dungeon purge. Rail Ship joined, earned 'Lord Slayer' fame and family-free ops—but lost most veteran crew. Consolation payouts, wrecked train repairs left us cash-strapped."
"So that's how...."
Bolteus, slipping up behind the cheering Naelda and crew, explained.
No wonder. World 4's elite, sky-popular train crews looked poverty-stricken. Reviving near-bankrupt train by belt-tightening. Post-big purges, trains often disband. Wreckage scrapped for parts/repairs; survivors scatter to domains/other trains.
"All hyped, but we know it's distant potential—no pressure. Focus first on building the body foundation for any power."
"Yes."
"Remember: Rare... exceptionally talented as you are, 'seed of Shard Knight Bolteus Straug' weighs heavy. Safe shard possession needs refined spirit; curb your innate malice too. Magic's mental discipline—benefits both."
"Understood."
Good to have a Bolteus amid these half-unhinged folks.
'Anyway, safe shard possession needs mental cultivation. Lacking it risks instability?'
Considering shards as data souls, eerily familiar.
Reminiscent of World 3 early days—bickering with Hydra over shells/parasites.
'Hydra. Come to think, over 200 years since we parted.'
Even solo thoughts felt oddly hollow.
Blended into GG's world as data soul, he'd lived post-Saint death era.
...Hope he hasn't changed too much.
"Again! Rail Ship's biggest event in history—make it happen!"
Lost in reverie, Naelda and crew's clamor peaked.
"We hide Professor the wizard's identity absolute! Snatch him from Brasol clean! No suspicions! Fulfill Brasol request! Act exactly normal! Got it!"
"Yes ma'am!"
"But how? Bastard son or not, he's official Brasol blood."
"Hmm... Like snatching Bolteus back then?"
Naelda pondered, then strode over seriously and hoisted me.
"Baby."
"Yes, sis."
Eyes of the world's happiest lunatic scanned me top to bottom—the elf Naelda.
"Any interest in child marriage?"
"...Pardon?"
For some reason, Bolteus hung his head, face flushed.
"Oh, too young for that? Marriage, marriage! Wanna marry this young, perky elf sis till you croak of old age?"
"...No way?"
My glances between Bolteus and Naelda prompted her nod of confirmation.
World tree tending all elves.
Did it die of stress from this shit?
Even self-proclaimed sharp mind as mine couldn't fathom this mad elf's headspace.
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