Chapter 8 – The Scoundrel is No More (5)

Leaving the laboratory in a hurry, I headed straight home, exhaling white breaths.

“Sigh… it’s warmer than I thought.”

The coldness was already penetrating my clothing and surrounding my skin, even though it hadn’t been a minute since I stepped outside.

The actual temperature was -60 degrees, and the sensible temperature was even lower at -70 degrees, a world where the word ‘Ice Age’ fit perfectly.

Yet, considering that it was a time when the sun had completely vanished, it was an extreme environment that naturally made one say, ‘For a night, it’s pretty warm, isn’t it?’

Flop—

Arriving home in a hurry, I lay down on the bed to warm up my frozen body and began to organize the information I had obtained in a single day.

‘There are two people in this Ember who hold the authority to recommend candidates for the qualification exam: Leader Yan Casselos and Head of the Magic Engineering Department, Demian Vale. And those two recommendation letters, the only ones available, have already gone to the Wayne brothers…’

For me, who had to quickly rise to become the leader using the status of a magic engineer, this was not welcome news at all. As far as the information collected so far went, the only way to apply for the qualification exam was through a recommendation letter.

Surely, there had to be another way. However, it would boast an extreme difficulty that could not compare to receiving a recommendation letter.

For only those who received recommendation letters were guaranteed a very comfortable and cozy journey in a magic engineering off-roader, a vehicle for snowfields that was the essence of magic engineering and mechanical engineering sent directly from the First Ember.

In short, this was a world where one had to risk their life just to walk 1 km, and heading to another Ember without a vehicle was tantamount to declaring suicide.

Therefore, if one was to take the qualification exam by a means other than a recommendation letter, they had to be prepared for death. Unless, of course, the Ember they belonged to possessed a vehicle…

“Should I just press them down with sheer skill?”

Regardless of the qualification exam, the thought crossed my mind that I could simply press them down with overwhelming magic engineering skill.

I could create the golem blueprint on my own and distribute it to the public, making it clear to whom the credit for the golem’s development belonged.

However, if I thought about it a little more deeply, that was absolutely impossible.

‘Demian Vale and the Magic Engineering Department would never officially verify and acknowledge my blueprint.’

I was certain that if I made a golem blueprint, it would succeed. From the moment I saw the blueprint until now, ideas about golem design had been rising in my head like countless stars in the night sky.

But the Magic Engineering Department wouldn’t acknowledge it. No, they wouldn’t be able to acknowledge it.

Because the moment they acknowledged it, the very existence of the Magic Engineering Department would be denied, and it would be branded as an incompetent institution.

The power structure, which was barely in equilibrium with the leadership, would collapse at once, and the Magic Engineering Department would never be able to return to how it was before.

“It’s a problem either way. The situation is truly difficult.”

One might have said that if the Magic Engineering Department did not acknowledge it, I could have just proven it myself or used the leadership.

But magic engineering was a highly difficult study. And the golem blueprint was at an intermediate-advanced difficulty level, which was no different from gibberish even for a novice.

‘Which meant it was impossible to make non-majors understand it, even if I died and came back to life.’

That meant that everyone except for magic engineers could not determine the authenticity of the blueprint on their own, and the criteria they used to judge the authenticity of the document depended solely on the decision of a magic engineer recognized by the First Ember or the Magic Engineering Department.

Simply put, it was a matter of credibility.

But even putting this problem aside, in this Ember where even a single sheet of paper was precious, how to manufacture and distribute the blueprint was a hurdle in itself.

It meant the method was flawed from its very premise.

‘There is no way this Ember, which is not even the size of a small town, has a vehicle… I will have to look for another method as soon as day breaks.’

That snowfield outside the Ember was death. A land of white death that never allowed human footsteps.

The white land, which had now swallowed the entire continent, was boundlessly vast and wide, so it was also called the Eternal Snowfield, or the Boundless Great Snow.

But.

“Even if I have to risk my life, I must go to take the qualification exam. I must become a magic engineer.”

I could have safely risen to become a leader as a laborer, but I chose to risk my life. No, to be precise, I had to.

This was because, after finding out at the tavern that there were over hundreds of Embers in this world, not just one, I realized that the time given to me was not that long.

‘They said that, with differences only in scale and number, minor and major conflicts, slaughter, and various crimes were being committed even at this very moment.’

Terrible massacres and horrors such as plunder and murder, kidnapping and slavery, and on a larger scale, battles for Embers and wars, which were created by the extreme disaster of the Ice Age.

They said that an endless history of struggle, happening without guilt under the guise of survival, was taking place here and there.

That meant our Ember would also inevitably be swept away by the flames of that struggle, and it wouldn’t be strange if the day of the decisive battle came as early as tomorrow.

And our Ember consisted of only a thousand people, a village-level population far short of the ten thousand classified as the smallest small town.

‘In our current state, even if we get caught in a small-town-scale power struggle, extinction is inevitable.’

Virtually, we had no sovereignty. The situation was such that if anyone invaded our Ember from anywhere, we would have to raise both hands, wave a white flag, and beg for our lives.

That meant I had no time to leisurely spend my time on such entertainment as ‘becoming a leader from a laborer.’

I had to become the leader as soon as possible and establish an army to defend against external threats.

“Let’s sleep first. I’m so tired…”

Having set the immediate goal, I burrowed into the cozy goose-down duvet. Although I had possessed a physically healthy body, my mind and body had become exhausted from three days of hard labor and the tidal wave of information that rushed in over a short period.

Since today was a rest day anyway, I planned to slowly look into other ways to take the qualification exam.

“There is a long way to go…”

Falling asleep happened in an instant.

* * *

“Aylen! Wake up quickly and eat!”

“Five minutes… I will sleep for just five more minutes, mother.”

“I’ve set the table! If you don’t come down right now, expect nothing left!”

A refreshing morning… could it be called that?

At the urging of my mother Renata, which penetrated the room door, I barely raised my incredibly heavy body and headed to the dining table. In this world, saying they wouldn’t give you food was synonymous with saying they would kill you.

However, was the cliché of the morning breakfast table common to all countries… or rather, common to all settings?

“…You said you set the table, mother.”

Contrary to my mother’s words that she had set the table, the dining table was empty.

“It’s almost done. Just bring over the soup bowls and utensils.”

Helping Renata carry utensils and bowls a few times like that, I felt once again that I belonged to the privileged class as I looked at the prepared table.

‘There are three side dishes?’

Meat, two herb side dishes, and white rice.

Considering the setting, it was an extremely luxurious configuration. Because most ordinary people got by on meals of soup with a very small amount of animal bones and meat, which was not just clear but even thin.

Someone might be outraged, saying, ‘What a spoiled complaint! How is it not thin gruel!’ but meat was surprisingly not a high-quality ingredient here.

Naturally, this world was an environment where crops could not be grown, and since supplying ingredients through hunting was common, it was a world where meat-eating was actually the staple food of the poor.

A so-called reversed world.

However, grains and vegetables such as rice, flour, and herbs did exist. Once civilization and technology grew to a certain level, they could construct magic engineering cultivation facilities to grow crops artificially.

However, that was a distant future for our Ember, so it was strange that rice and herbs were served on our dining table.

“Mother, where on earth did you get this?”

“What do you mean where? Of course, we received aid from another Ember.”

“By another Ember, you mean…?”

“Among the Embers that support us, which Ember other than the Immortal Ember is developed enough to perform artificial cultivation?”

No wonder… a goose-down duvet in this Ember, where even food for humans seemed scarce, let alone feed for livestock.

It was something that did not make sense, but that was how it had happened.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Yes. Eat a lot, my son. Because this is all we received this time.”

I expressed infinite gratitude for the goodwill of the Immortal Ember toward our Ember.

I had indeed heard the anecdote about my father, Demian Vale, earning the favor of a magic engineer belonging to the First Ember, but that was already over twenty years ago…

‘Herbs also taste like honey since it’s been a long time.’

With a determination never to be a picky eater again, I emptied the bowl clean, took the empty bowl outside, scrubbed it hard with snow, and brought it back in.

Meanwhile, my mother, who had finished clearing the table, was indulging in another luxury.

“Do you want to drink a cup too?”

“Yes, please.”

This time, she was steeping tea leaves and enjoying the high-class luxury of ‘black tea.’

Soon, my mother brought a cup of tea, and it was when we were spending a cozy teatime in contrast to the brutal outside world.

“Aylen, I heard you said you would become a magic engineer? That you are going to the First Ember to take the magic engineer qualification exam.”

Having heard it somewhere again, my mother asked with a calm expression.

“You must have heard it from father.”

“Yes, he dropped by the house briefly at dawn. He said he had to see your face for some reason. I sent him back because you were fast asleep, though.”

I put down the cup silently and chuckled.

‘As expected. It’s a surprise that he came earlier than I thought.’

The clue dropped yesterday regarding golem development. They must have opened the intermediate-advanced book at my unexpectedly detailed words and discovered a shred of a clue.

But they wouldn’t have been able to go further than that. Since even Demian, who was at the highest level, was only intermediate.

However…

‘To think he understood the intermediate-advanced book even a little, despite being a mere intermediate? Demian is truly a genius among geniuses.’

I thought it would take at least two days to interpret it, so Demian’s magic engineering talent is simply astonishing.

Hiding my expression, I spoke.

“I’m trying to follow in father’s footsteps and become a magic engineer. I’ve also developed an interest in it recently.”

“It’s a good thing to have a goal. But Aylen, how do you plan to go to the Immortal Ember? I know the two recommendation letters our Ember has went to Merel’s two sons.”

“That…”

The other method to take the qualification exam, which I was planning to look into today. Renata brought up that topic.

While thinking of people who could help and the Magic Engineering Department, I felt an inexplicable sense of incompatibility in Renata’s words.

‘How do I plan to go to the Immortal Ember…? Not asking how I plan to apply for the qualification exam?’

Yes. Asking in that way meant…

“It doesn’t have to be a recommendation letter, right?”

“Yes. On-site testing is also possible. Because that means they belong to an Ember that possesses the magic engineering and technological power to cross the Eternal Snowfield and reach the First Ember. Or perhaps they have that much willpower.”

Sure enough, there was another way to participate in the exam.

Therefore, now only the question of how to get there remained.

Suddenly, she spoke with a regretful expression.

“Aylen. Give up on this exam and aim for next year. Unless you ride an off-roader, you won’t be able to reach there with your bare body.”

“Yes? Just how far is the distance…”

Yes, the method of getting there… that was the problem.

“The distance between our Ember and the First Ember is over 200 km. Do not even think about going.”

‘Fuck, it’s over 200 km?’

Regardless of the method of going.

The insane figure of 200 km rendered all the methodologies I knew useless.