The Genius Engineer's Legendary Territory - Black Terrahole (1)
The Iron Cliff Territory, known as the Bladewyn estate, was surrounded by mountain ranges rich in mineral resources.
That was why mining and smelting technologies had advanced, forming the foundation for a steady supply of mineral resources to the principality.
This time, the family had been paid for the prototype of the Black Terrahole after selling a large quantity of iron ore to the principality.
Among the nobility, the Black Terrahole was the pinnacle of luxury vehicles—reserved only for the highest nobility and something none but the four great houses could afford.
Far faster than a horse, it boasted a sturdy deck, spacious interior, and an eye-catching appearance that drew all attention.
The nobility gleamed with envy, admiring this brand-new product.
It was the ultimate masterpiece crafted by the Mardin Principality’s premier magitech research institute, Vulkan.
That was the Black Terrahole.
“Finally, I can ride it.”
A smile spread across the lips of Ted Bladewyn, the head of the family.
That morning, the Black Terrahole had arrived at the estate. After all the hard effort he had put into enduring that tedious social gathering, he had finally obtained this.
Only three had been produced, meaning just three noble houses in the entire principality could own one.
The first belonged to the eastern Helrek family, which had made a significant contribution to its development.
The second had been taken by the southern Robel house, which had poured money into it without hesitation.
“Heh heh… oh? Ted? This is amazing! It’s incredibly fast! You should go slowly. I’ll head ahead and wait!”
With a voice dripping with mockery, the man walked away. Ted’s fists clenched tightly, his blood boiling with rage.
He barely managed to suppress the twitching in his face, pretending everything was normal.
“Me too… finally!”
Riding a horse, the distance that once took three full days could now be covered in a single day.
He had no idea how the meal had passed.
The elegant, luxurious silhouette of the Black Terrahole outside the head’s office window lingered in his mind.
“After the meal, I’ll have an excuse to inspect the territory and hop on the Black Terrahole…”
“Father? Are you listening?”
Gain’s voice pulled Ted from his thoughts. The stern-faced Ted replied.
“I heard every word.”
“Ah, yes. The knights from the Robel family, who had been dispatched to the southwest, have gone missing, and the principality has requested our support…”
After the meal and a change of clothes, he headed to the carriage shed.
Along the way, he encountered servants and his children but only offered an expressionless greeting.
He was Ted Bladewyn, the Iron-blooded Knight.
They arrived at the carriage shed. For some reason, it was unusually noisy.
Creak—
The moment the door opened, Ted’s heart skipped a beat.
His own son was crawling out from under the vehicle, wrench in hand, tearing apart the wheels?
Parts were scattered across the dirt like debris everywhere.
“My… my… the Black Terrahole!”
That curious son had caused an accident in the blink of an eye!
Just by looking at the mechanic’s old man, it was clear—panic was written all over his face.
Instant heat surged to his head.
“Robon, what are you doing?”
Even as he spoke, his gaze never left the damaged Black Terrahole.
The image of himself racing across the vast plains on the Black Terrahole vanished like smoke, but he could not show that disappointment in front of them.
He was the Iron-blooded Knight. He was the respected head of the Bladewyn family.
“You will explain everything, Robon.”
***
Panicked. What was the head doing here?
He looked furious. Each step he took toward the door felt like frost creeping across the ground.
“How do I even begin to explain this?”
Just saying he was going to take a quick look had somehow turned into an inspection.
In his haste, he had lost track of time while examining the unfamiliar power source and devices.
It wasn’t broken. He had carefully avoided touching anything that looked new or dangerous.
It could be fixed quickly.
He wanted to say that.
“But will that useless young master believe me?”
At least he wouldn’t be beaten, he supposed.
Being struck would be almost preferable. The scariest part was something else.
“If you don’t attend the next meal, the head will cut off your support.”
Cut off support. If you fell out of the head’s favor, your funding dried up.
Support was the lifeline of a researcher!
“I need to persuade him as convincingly as possible…”
What was he supposed to do?
“Ahem. Because a new car arrived, I decided to take a look.”
“A car?”
“Ah… I named it that. A vehicle that moves on its own! Car!”
“…”
The head’s expression was terrible. Better to change the subject quickly.
“This can be fixed in no time. I only took off the parts and checked the inside. If something is wrong, it won’t do for Father to ride it, right?”
“How did you determine that?”
“I can. I know a lot about this field.”
When it came to this, expertise was the way. He couldn’t be trusted right now, but proof through skill would do it. As his son, he wouldn’t simply dismiss him!
“…”
“No… can I?”
Looking into the head’s cold eyes, Ted wondered if he could indeed be thrown out.
A father devoid of blood or tears! Wasn’t this the Iron-blooded Knight?
A name that fit him perfectly. One mistake and he would kill his own son.
“It’s real! Father! Please believe me just this once.”
He dropped to his knees and spoke with all sincerity. Otherwise, his head would fly off.
“So. Is there a problem?”
But the answer was not what he expected. He had imagined the head would draw his sword and shout to drop the excuses.
“No problem… but there is something slightly bothersome.”
“Bothersome?”
“Yes. Come over here.”
Ted suddenly grabbed the head’s arm and pulled him toward the car. The surrounding old man and servants flinched in alarm.
But all his focus was now on the Black Terrahole.
For this moment, he forgot he was the Iron-blooded Knight.
“Look here. The converter connected to this power source is designed far too inefficiently. The heat management isn’t proper either. There is a cooling device, but it’s useless. Not only does this reduce power efficiency, but it also lowers stability. Moreover, the motor is too large, and there’s no technology for high-speed wheel rotation or variable speed. Also, the control device and suspension seem to have been discarded somewhere…”
“What kind of nonsense is this? Converter? Cooling device? Alvar.”
Ted panicked. While staring at the car, he had unconsciously rambled in excitement.
“This…”
Was the old man’s name Alvar? His panicked expression suggested he knew nothing.
The head’s cold aura grew even thicker. If he wasn’t careful, Alvar would end up in trouble because of him.
“I read it in a book!”
“…”
“The one you keep staring at?”
Was there even such a book? Ted nodded anyway, not knowing what it was.
“Yes.”
“…”
“Did it help? You seemed to have learned quite a lot.”
“There was a lot more to learn than I thought.”
“I see. I thought Helrek was giving you garbage, but it turns out it was pretty good.”
A faint smile briefly crossed his face and vanished.
Had he misread it? A warm smile on a man who looked like he wouldn’t bleed even if pricked? Ted must have been seeing things due to his confusion.
“You seem excited about what you learned.”
His gaze shifted back to the Black Terrahole. He probably thought it was broken.
“That’s not it…”
“It’s your first time, so I’ll let you off this time. Breaking a pile of scrap metal isn’t a big deal.”
“It isn’t broken.”
“But remember this, Robon. From now on, you will not be allowed to break anything from the family without my permission.”
His presence suddenly crushed the entire carriage shed with heavy pressure.
Just staring at him made it hard to breathe.
Was this the head? The Iron-blooded Knight, as they said.
“Alvar. Leave this to Robon. He’ll handle it himself.”
“Yes, Head.”
The old man swept the area with a hawk-like gaze and left.
“Hoo…”
A sigh of relief escaped him.
“I thought I was going to die.”
As his father, he wouldn’t kill his son easily, but seeing those eyes, he realized it was possible.
“Either way, it went well?”
Better. Now he could freely touch the Black Terrahole!
“Alvar. Father said I can touch it as much as I want. So it’s okay if I do as I please?”
“…”
“You’ve been doing that all along, haven’t you?”
“…”
“Huh? What do you mean? I haven’t even touched it yet.”
His gaze slid to the back of Ted’s head. The hood was lifted, bolts and screws falling from under the car.
He wasn’t thinking it was broken, right? Just seeing the disassembly starting now would shock him senseless.
“Then I’ll rest in my room for a bit. Leave it as is.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s go, Rachel.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Ted immediately headed back to his room with Rachel. The estate was so enormous that he would have gotten lost without a guide.
Every time he passed through, the servants greeted him, but he had no idea who was who.
“Who is that person?”
“The butler, Lefri.”
“And that one?”
“Lady Siena Askan, who is staying here temporarily. She’s the one who brought the Black Terrahole this time. She greeted us when she visited the estate last time, didn’t she?”
“Oh… really? My memory has been terrible lately…”
“Haha.”
He still wasn’t sure if this was a dream or reality.
That was the reason he had come to his room—to have time to sort his thoughts.
Creak—
“If you need anything, just call me.”
“Sure.”
Back in the room, he felt strangely at ease.
The room of a noble young master was several times larger than a standard one-room apartment.
“It looks livable.”
He had no idea how the day had passed in such tension.
It felt like his head would split. Sudden fatigue crashed over him. Maybe this wasn’t a dream? When he woke up, would he return to his original life?
Buried in those thoughts, he closed his eyes.
“Young Master! Young Master! Are you okay?”
“…”
“Huh?”
His eyes snapped open at Rachel’s voice. He had just fallen asleep—why wake him?
“Umm… what’s the matter?”
“You shouldn’t be sleeping so long at this hour, Young Master. Are you feeling unwell?”
“How much sleep is that?”
As he spoke, he absentmindedly glanced out the window. The sun had set, and moonlight already bathed the garden.
“…”
“Not a dream?”
“You’re sick! I’ll call a doctor right away!”
“Ah, no! I’m fine!”
“You’re really okay?”
Rachel kept asking with worried eyes.
“I’m fine. Really.”
“I see. If you feel bad, you must call me. Understood?”
“Got it.”
“Absolutely! Absolutely!”
“Yeah. Yeah. I’ll rest for a bit.”
Even as she left the room, she urged him repeatedly.
“It wasn’t… a dream.”
He had hoped it was, but it was reality.
***
One week had passed since Robon Bladewyn’s reincarnation.
Life here had adapted surprisingly quickly.
After worrying for two days that others might suspect he was an impostor, it turned out that Robon Bladewyn’s strange, eccentric behavior was normal here.
“Thank goodness.”
He had learned quite a few things during the week.
One of them was that engineering existed in this world!
And the result was this Black Terrahole.
Clank! Squeak!
“Hoo… finally completed!”
Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, biotechnology, materials science, physics, neuroscience, artificial intelligence—everything he had studied thoroughly during his forty-five years of life, treating most academic fields like a light touch.
Although cars weren’t his specialty, fixing something like this was nothing to him.
“…”
“Has it really changed, Young Master?”
Alvar stood with his mouth wide open, unable to close it.
“Tsk. It’s a little disappointing, but in reality, this is the limit right now.”
He attached the suspension and swapped the exhaust system.
He had planned to adjust the control device, but he had refrained from touching it after hearing about stopping it with magic.
In fact, a shock-absorption magic spell had been attached instead of the suspension, but it was devouring the car’s power at an enormous rate. So he removed it.
Removing it had been easy. Just physically erasing the magic inscription.
“You said Father has to go to the principality today?”
“Yes. Well… he wanted me to ride it to the capital…”
“Yeah? Is there a problem?”
“Haven’t you even tested the driving yet?”
“What’s there to test? It’s solid!”
Alvar’s worried gaze never left him.
But Ted was confident in his own skill.
“Rachel! Call Father right now! I’ll turn him into the most popular man in the principality!”
If he acknowledged his ability like this, wouldn’t the support be generously increased?