Chapter 149
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Translator: Prime Works
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Construction Guidelines (1)
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A day had passed.
Returning from the Flame Cavern to Frontera County had been no trouble at all.
It was all thanks to the spatial transfer magic used by the dragon Solitas.
Everyone had walked out of the dungeon together.
They'd stepped beyond the range of the spatial transfer disruption magic circle.
Then they'd entrusted themselves to Solitas's spatial transfer magic.
With a flash and a flicker of light, a brief wave of dizziness hit, and suddenly a familiar landscape unfolded before their eyes.
"Welcome to Frontera County. Now, this way, please."
Lloyd immediately guided Solitas.
He took him straight to the dwarf artisan Cogidus.
And attempted a parachute introduction(?).
"Um, Master Cogidus?"
"What is it? I'm busy."
"I know you're busy, of course. It's about that thing I mentioned before."
"That thing you mentioned before?"
Clang, clang, clang. Cogidus, who had been vigorously hammering away, finally looked up. He spotted Lloyd and Solitas standing behind him, and his thick eyebrows twitched.
"That's a new face back there, huh? Don't tell me..."
"Yes, exactly. You agreed to it before, remember? I asked you to take on an apprentice."
It was true.
It had been right before they set out from the territory to recruit the dragon Solitas.
Lloyd had persuaded Cogidus in advance back then.
He'd brought out expensive wine and tasty snacks.
They'd shared drinks as Lloyd fawned over him enthusiastically.
He'd played up Cogidus's pride as an artisan to the hilt.
When the dwarf's mood had loosened just right with the buzz, Lloyd had slipped in the request.
There was this hopeless klutz of a young man, he'd said.
If you could just improve his handiwork a little...
Naturally, Cogidus had refused at first.
Taking on an apprentice?
He despised the idea.
No profit, just hassle.
But Lloyd's reaction to the refusal had been unexpected.
With a serious face, he'd spoken sincerely.
He'd laid it all out honestly.
The truth was, that young man was a dragon.
He needed that dragon's help for the territory's development.
But to get that help, he had to offer proper compensation.
And that compensation was the master's tutelage.
It was a refreshingly honest request, something rare.
Perhaps it was thanks to that sincerity.
Or maybe it was Lloyd's consistently respectful attitude toward him all this time.
In the end, Cogidus had accepted the request.
That had been just a few days ago.
"So... that one back there—no, the gentleman present—is the one you were talking about?"
Not human.
A dragon.
A predator race that, in the distant past, had enslaved countless dwarf artisans.
But not anymore.
A mischievous glint entered the dwarf artisan's eyes as he looked at Solitas.
"So, to use the young master's words, an utter klutz?"
"......"
Nod.
Solitas's face flushed a bit as he nodded.
Maybe from the fact-checking violence Cogidus had just unleashed. Or from a shred of humiliation at becoming a dwarf's apprentice. Or perhaps from the awkwardness of visiting a place outside the dragon dungeon for the first time.
No one would know unless it was him—no, the dragon himself.
In any case, Solitas unexpectedly showed a polite and courteous demeanor before the dwarf artisan.
"I've already steeled myself for this. I've set my pride aside. Please, teach me."
"Rescuing pitiful handiwork isn't easy even for an artisan. You'll get scolded plenty while you learn."
"I've prepared for that too. No, I am prepared."
Romance and marriage.
The key to a happy dragon life, and the resolve for it.
Becoming a dwarf's disciple was something he could bear.
Besides, wasn't this dwarf about to pull him from the pit of klutzdom?
Solitas figured he more than deserved master treatment.
"Good."
A hearty laugh spread through Cogidus's beard.
From that day, Solitas became the dwarf artisan's apprentice.
He even stayed in Cogidus's lodgings, learning jewelry crafting techniques.
Of course, he got chewed out left and right in the process.
Daily nagging was par for the course.
He often got scolded until tears welled up.
But Solitas never once talked back to the dwarf artisan.
This was all for escaping eternal bachelorhood.
If he endured this, he could do romance too.
He encouraged himself and worked even harder in silence.
Thanks to that, no one except Lloyd, Haviel, and Cogidus knew Solitas's true identity. To everyone else in the territory, he was just the redheaded young man getting yelled at daily while learning work at the dwarf forge lately.
In any case, with Solitas successfully recruited(?), Lloyd could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
'Now we're set. Manpower for the grand sewer, stone materials, and even the sludge processing team. All the pieces are in place.'
He had to build the grand sewer before winter came.
That was the only way to prevent the epidemic that would rage next spring.
With that single goal in mind, Lloyd dove into full-scale design work.
Of course, he didn't forget to level up his design skill first.
'This construction's scope is huge. No, huge doesn't cover it—it's the whole territory.'
The intermediate design he'd been using so far wouldn't cut it.
He needed to expand the area he could design at once.
'Surveying skill can cover narrower ranges by chaining casts and scanning around to gather terrain data. But design is different. It's not auto-extracting data— I have to design everything manually.'
But if the design range was narrow?
He'd design diligently only for the flow to break midway.
'Easy analogy: like the difference between automatic and manual transmission in a car. Surveying just chains skills and data comes automatically, but design requires me to manipulate data manually, like clutching every gear shift.'
Actually, it was even more tedious than that.
Plus, the more he used the design skill, the higher the chance of errors creeping in.
'The grand sewer can't tolerate even a tiny error. If sewage leaks, it's over. Done.'
Sewage seeps underground.
Contaminates the groundwater thoroughly.
Then the epidemic ravages.
He'd end up with the soldier ending he'd spoiler-seen.
'No way. So for once, time to level up the skill properly.'
Convenience too.
And minimize any potential errors.
With that thought, Lloyd opened the skill window.
He selected the design skill from the list.
Ding-dong.
Detailed info on the design skill appeared.
[Intermediate Design: Lv 6]
[Structure area designable at once: 729,000㎥]
[Skill-exclusive options: ① Blueprint Output, ② Floor Plan Display (3D), ③ Simulation Mode]
[RP required for next level-up: 200]
'Already intermediate level 6.'
He hadn't invested RP separately.
Yet the skill had leveled up nicely through successful large-scale constructions.
'Alright, time for some RP bombing after a while.'
Pouring in heaps of RP, more precious than gold and dearer than blood.
Lloyd took a deep breath and selected the 'skill level-up' menu.
[Leveling up Design skill to [Intermediate Lv 7].]
[RP required for level-up: 200]
[Current RP held: 4,070]
[Proceed with skill level-up?]
[YES / NO]
'Of course yes.'
The moment Lloyd nodded.
Ding-dong!
A cheerful alert sounded, and a message appeared.
[Skill level up!]
[Intermediate Design: Lv 7]
[Structure area designable at once: 1,000,000㎥]
[Skill-exclusive options: ① Blueprint Output, ② Floor Plan Display (3D), ③ Simulation Mode]
[RP required for next level-up: 220]
The level rose smoothly, expanding the designable area.
But Lloyd had no intention of stopping there.
'Naturally. If we're doing this, go all in. Until the rank upgrades.'
Better to raise the rank when investing.
Rank-ups brought new skill options.
Based on past experience, Lloyd kept pouring in RP.
From intermediate 7 to 8.
Passed 9, 10.
When he invested another 280 RP there.
Finally, the awaited message lit up his vision.
Ding-dong.
[Skill rank up!]
[Design skill rank has risen to <Advanced>.]
[A new skill option has unlocked due to skill rank increase.]
[Advanced Design: Lv 1]
[Structure area designable at once: 3,375,000㎥]
[Skill-exclusive options: ① Blueprint Output, ② Floor Plan Display (3D), ③ Simulation Mode ④ Construction Guidelines]
[RP required for next level-up: 500]
[Current RP held: 2,870]
'Nice.'
Lloyd clenched his fist.
He'd dumped a whopping 1,200 RP.
The design area had more than quadrupled from intermediate level 6.
And a new option unlocked to boot.
'The option's the key.'
Construction Guidelines.
Lloyd opened the details on the new option.
[Skill-exclusive option ④: Construction Guidelines - The blueprint of the designed result appears as simplified guidelines overlaid on the actual terrain. These guidelines will be clearly visible not only to the designer but also to on-site workers, informing them in real-time whether the construction is faithfully following the design specifications. (Construction Guidelines interlinks with option ② [Floor Plan Display (3D)].)]
'What?'
Lloyd read the description over and over.
Then the core function of the new option started to click.
'The existing floor plan display becomes visible to workers too. And it lets them know instantly if construction matches the design.'
This was no joke.
If the description was accurate, work efficiency would skyrocket.
Feeling that hunch, Lloyd stood up.
He stepped out of the bedroom.
'Let's test it.'
He headed down to the mansion's training grounds.
Haviel was there, training alone under the blazing sun.
He called the guy over.
"What brings you here at this hour, sir?"
"What do you think? To see you."
"......"
"What? Why the dead-fish stare again? What's your problem?"
"I just can't bring myself to trust it, sir."
"Trust what?"
"Yes. I can't help wondering what scheme brought you to me this time."
"Ah. So you're emphasizing that we don't seek each other out without some special agenda?"
"Naturally, sir."
Haviel neatly folded the towel he'd used to wipe his sweat.
"Please state your business."
"Yeah. Go dig a hole or something."
"......Pardon?"
He got straight to the point.
Haviel froze.
He tilted his head.
"Digging a hole, sir?"
"Yeah. Here, take this first."
The guy reflexively took the shovel.
Lloyd pointed at him.
"Dig right here, would you?"
He indicated the center of the training grounds.
Haviel's expression crumpled slightly.
"Handing me a shovel out of nowhere and telling me to dig up the middle of the training grounds. Care to explain why, sir?"
"Nope. No can do."
"......"
"You'll see when you dig. Trust me and just dig?"
"Hoo."
Haviel let out a deep sigh.
He'd been deep in personal training for once.
Reflecting on insights from his recent bout with the red dragon.
And now this pesky young master's random order was about to ruin his flow.
'Get it over with quick.'
Might as well finish fast.
He gripped the shovel firmly and took stance.
He even invoked the Asrahan Heart Method.
Crunch!
It was a swordmaster's shoveling.
Without much effort, the shovel plunged blade-deep into the ground.
Haviel scooped earth as effortlessly as spooning bulgogi rice from a bowl.
How much of the training ground floor did he excavate like that?
Something alien—a 'line'—started appearing underground.
'Huh?'
A blue straight line.
Drawn horizontally underground.
But the line looked weird no matter how he looked.
Not painted with pigment. Not a taut string.
'It's light.'
Bright blue light.
A blue beam, source unknown, traced straight underground.
Being light, the shovel couldn't erase it.
'What is this...'
Feeling a touch of bewilderment, Haviel glanced at Lloyd.
But Lloyd just gestured to keep going.
"See some markings? Mind digging along them?"
"......"
Might as well check it out.
Curiosity piqued, Haviel worked the shovel.
He followed the exposed blue line underground, digging steadily.
Gradually, the plane formed by the blue line emerged.
He dug along the plane.
The overall outline of lines and planes slowly revealed itself.
It was a massive cube drawn underground.
Two meters wide, long, and tall each.
An 8㎥ cube of blue light lines and planes embedded underground.
Thanks to it, he'd precisely dug a perfectly cubic vertical pit following the light markings.
"What in the world is this, sir?"
The question slipped out.
Lloyd's answer came from atop the vertical pit.
"Construction Guidelines."
"Pardon?"
Haviel tilted his head.
That was when it started.
"So, that thing is..."
Armed with brazen lies and tall tales, Lloyd revved up his silver tongue.
Perhaps that's why.
Lloyd smirked at him as he opened his mouth.
Watching Lloyd silently, Haviel suddenly thought.
In moments like this, Lord Lloyd was always the same.
Never hesitating to spin a white lie.