Chapter 55 – Formulating a Plan

“This is…”

Having stepped forward triumphantly, I was taken aback.

Contrary to my expectation that merely a few mana circuits had burned out or become tangled, the state of the magic substrate was severe.

“I don’t think even you can fix this. One substrate is completely shattered.”

Said Will Ford, who was looking with his bare eyes without wearing the loupe—the magnifying glass absolutely necessary to observe the flow of mana during magic engineering work.

It meant the state was bad just by looking at its appearance.

Crackle crackle!

Just as the boy said, one substrate responsible for power was shattered and crackling, discharging currents of mana in all directions.

I could only now understand why white steam had risen from the engine when there was a problem with the magic substrate.

“It doesn’t seem impossible…”

If the misfortune was that the substrate had blown out entirely, the saving grace was that out of the dozens of magic substrates constituting the off-roader, only the power substrate, which had a relatively low repair difficulty, had blown.

However, no matter how highly advanced an invention the off-roader was, it was an early production model of lower quality, meaning all manufacturing and repair were possible at my level.

Of course, it was not possible simply because I was an upper-intermediate magic engineer.

Because magic engineering had entirely different fields of expertise, meaning one might not even be able to touch it depending on their main major.

But I possessed knowledge based on the setting book of , which showed broad versatility.

The problem was that I had to manufacture a new one on this spot, in a harsh environment where nothing was prepared.

And whether the magic engineering equipment granted as the top prize reward included the items necessary for substrate manufacturing.

“Harley, do you have the equipment list?”

I immediately asked Harley, the driver of the six-seater off-roader.

Because we were entering the early morning hours, the coldest time of the day, and I did not know when the mutants might pop out again, I had to handle the matter quickly.

In the first place, manufacturing a magic substrate was a time-consuming task, matching its difficulty.

If there was no other way but manufacturing, I had to decide quickly and push forward.

“Here it is.”

Taking the list from Harley, I quickly checked the names of the equipment.

The selection did not take very long.

Because with the massive amount of information shoved into my head at the Temple of Knowledge, I knew which equipment corresponded to what, and even memorized their names.

The equipment was, as expected, insufficient.

Since they were top prize rewards in the first place, most of them were items used for advanced research and development, or upgrade parts that enhanced the performance of existing equipment.

They were not basic magic engineering equipment configured to be used in the middle of nowhere like some beginner’s starter pack.

But.

‘Can I make up for this deficit with my skill?’

I felt a strange sense of confidence.

Although I was uncertain since it was my first time actually touching magic engineering, I was a skilled figure in an absolute position as the continent’s only upper-intermediate magic engineer.

If Herman Melville disappeared right now, I would practically be the number one in the magic engineering world, so would someone like me fail to make a single substrate just because I lacked a few pieces of equipment?

“We have no choice but to try making it. I need your assistance.”

I said, turning back to look at the Wayne brothers and Will Ford.

However, unlike me who moved with certainty, their reactions were distinctly different.

“Make it? What kind of bullshit is that?”

“We don’t even have the essential equipment, so what are you going to make. No matter if you are the top student, what can’t be done can’t be done.”

“What do you need me to help with?”

The first two were spoken by Thomas and Willers in turn, and the last was by Will Ford.

Because he knew my real skill and considered me a genius even greater than himself, he saw some hope in me.

I met the envious eyes of the boy who trusted me one hundred percent when it came to magic engineering.

“Simultaneous work is inevitable, so I need four hands. You just need to help when integrating and establishing the circuits.”

“Got it. Let’s start quickly. We’re going to freeze to death at this rate.”

Since one assistant was enough anyway, I bypassed the Wayne brothers.

“Crazy bastard… Wearing the top student badge doesn’t mean your skill shoots up vertically.”

“Leave him be, Thomas.”

They watched me and Will Ford, who were immediately preparing to manufacture the substrate, as if looking at madmen.

Some might say it was a waste of their names since the Wayne brothers were also guys called geniuses in their own right, but I understood.

Because it was an absurd task to the extent that their words were not wrong.

If successful, it would remain as an event to be talked about for ages in the history of magic engineering.

‘Well… though nobody would believe it.’

However, since saying such things would only get me told to write a novel instead, that was highly likely.

Regardless, returning to the rear trunk of the off-roader where the equipment was loaded, I spoke to Harley.

“Bring down HM00, 01, 13, and 27, all of them.”

From 01 to 27.

All of them were HM. That was, the abbreviation for the English letters of Herman Melville, meaning all of this equipment was developed by him.

Furthermore, except for one or two of the fifty types of equipment on the list, only the numbers differed while the prefix was identical.

It was a part where I could newly feel just how profound an influence he exerted on the field of magic engineering.

‘Is the reason the Immortal Embers is wealthy and Herman Melville is the supreme ruler because they sold the equipment?’

Such a thought crossed my mind suddenly.

Because at this level, it was to the extent that Herman Melville monopolized the magic engineering equipment market, meaning he must have raked in money by the bucketload.

However, since it was not important right now, I exerted effort in moving the equipment toward the hood.

Because they were bulky and heavy, five of us—including Harley, Jenkins, and the Wayne brothers—had to cling together to move them.

Slosh, slosh.

After moving all the equipment, I began to pour in the mana fluid, which was the fuel for the off-roader and the raw material for all magic engineering.

At that, Harley and Jenkins stood in front of me in horror.

“You must not do that!”

“Is there any problem?”

“The off-roader is one thing, but magic engineering equipment are monsters that devour mana fluid. You must leave fuel to return to the embers.”

The fuel consumption rate of magic engineering equipment was colossal.

It was inevitable since they were reconstructing lost magic through engineering.

Furthermore, manufacturing, which was not just any process but the final stage of realizing magic, burned several times the normal amount of fuel.

That was precisely the reason why every embers had a mana fluid tank drainpipe connected to the Magic Engineering Department building.

Their worry was reasonable.

However,

“There is no need to worry. That’s why I told you to bring down the magic stone melter, HM00.”

“Pardon…?”

“Do we not have the eight high-quality magic stones obtained from encountering snowy wolves seven times and a snowy bear once so far?”

“……!”

Although it was a situation caused by the mutants, ironically, the magic stones left behind by those monsters would serve as the solution.

Moreover, there was something I felt while observing the magic of the magic stones.

‘These are not the lowest quality magic stones found in our embers. They must be at least low-grade.’

A place like our embers, where the technical level was trivial in any field, mined the exposed surfaces of glacier stone containing little magic power, and then turned them into magic stones through magical refinement.

Melting the magic stones produced that way again turned them into mana fluid, but since the process was low-level, the efficiency of the mana fluid was also the absolute worst.

It could be called the most primitive method of turning glacier stone into mana fluid.

However, the quality level of the magic stones extracted from the mutants was entirely different.

It was like the difference between farmed and wild.

Of course, the Immortal Embers would not have prepared the lowest-grade mana fluid to be used as fuel for the off-roader, but…

‘As a result of examining them with my mana sense, they were emitting a far bluer light than the off-roader’s mana fluid.’

In the world of mana that emitted blue light just like when fighting the mutants, I saw them.

The magic stones shining several times more brilliantly than the mana fluid.

At this level, it would be possible to extract high-quality mana fluid in an amount by no means insufficient for returning to our embers.

“Thomas.”

“Right, you want me to convert that into mana fluid?”

Thomas, receiving the magic stones, moved briskly and grabbed an empty fuel container.

At the same time, Will Ford and I also sat in the center of the large equipment and commenced the manufacturing of the power substrate.

“Will Ford, starting now.”

“Yes…!”

In that way, my first magic engineering work began upon the vast expanse of snow.

“We will integrate and establish numbers 17 and 34. You take charge of number 34. Don’t lose focus.”

“I am focused!”

“…You mustn’t bypass it. Make a right-angle turn and climb straight up from there.”

“Doing it this way is correct, so what are you talking about?”

“Since this is a makeshift substrate, we cannot do it by the book. If we do, the circuits won’t hold and will burn out.”

“Ah…”

“And Will Ford.”

“Yeah?”

“No matter about other times, when we are dealing with magic engineering, do not talk back to me. I cannot tolerate someone of a lower level talking back to me.”

“Got it…”

How many minutes had passed as I worked with the sullen Will Ford in the bone-chilling cold and suffocating silence?

“Next.”

“I’ll start.”

“Match my speed.”

Unlike at the start, as we manufactured the complex magic substrate together, we were able to communicate sufficiently through merely each other’s hand movements and glances, beginning to share an increasingly deeper communion.

Just as the magic substrate was nearing completion, our synergy was also progressing toward completion.

“To actually pull this off. Crazy bastards…”

“Is this what a real genius is? The world is dirtily unfair.”

The Wayne brothers, who had finished extracting the mana fluid and begun watching from behind before anyone knew it, were continuously letting out exclamations of admiration at our perfect collaboration.

Natasha, watching anxiously by their side, was swallowing hard, seemingly aware that we were doing something incredible even if she did not understand it well.

“Will Ford.”

“The 0.1mm circuit creator, right?”

“…Yes.”

As I muttered, Will Ford was already preparing the necessary tools as if he had read my thoughts.

His gaze seemed to reflect my mind exactly.

Smiling amidst that subtle crossing of emotions, I spoke.

“You worked hard. You can take your hands off. I’ll finish it from here.”

Will Ford was an excellent assistant, like the genius and mature intermediate he was.

However, at the very end, I had no choice but to dismiss him.

Because from now on, it was a task that relied on the mana sense.

Yes, I had tried to resolve the absence of essential equipment through my sixth sense.

‘I can do it. Let’s close my eyes and focus…’

Instantly, I stopped my hands and closed my eyes.

The main body of the equipment burning mana fluid and scattering the lingering scent of mana.

The tool held in my hand, connected to the main body.

The power substrate blinking with blue light on the verge of completion.

My fingertips trembling pathetically at its end…

Feeling all of those fully, I took the final step.

Sssss!

And when the blue light of the substrate finally stopped blinking, I opened my eyes at last.

“It’s complete… I made it.”

In front of me lay a perfectly functioning magic substrate.

It was the first result achieved directly by my own hands.