Chapter 138 : Foundation of Hope
Chapter 138: Foundation of Hope
‘What did I just hear?’
If his ears were not mistaken, it was said to be a ‘bridge’.
‘A bridge. A bridge is good.’
It was a fine structure that could connect rivers and shorten travel time. However, the bridge the Demon King was demanding was not that kind.
‘Attaching a bridge to the tower?’
So he was going to move the tower?
What kind of nonsense was this?
The tower was enormous. And heavy. No, this tower, created through the authority of the Demon Realm, went beyond being merely enormous and heavy—everything about it was unknown.
To make such a tower move?
That was, that was—
“That is impossible madness!”
Roger shouted.
No matter how much he might have been said to possess innate talent and ability for making things,
attaching a bridge to the Demon King’s tower and making it move was an entirely out-of-spec story.
“It only becomes impossible because you think it’s impossible.”
“It’s impossible because it really is impossible.”
“Roger.”
Berje’s eyes sank coldly. At the growling voice, Roger flinched.
“S-sorry....”“Are you a human, or a dwarf.”
“Of course, I am a dwarf.”“A dwarf is an artisan with superior dexterity compared to humans, correct?”
Though he did not know why such a question was being asked, Roger answered with utmost sincerity.
“No race, not just humans, can match the dexterity of dwarves.”
“Then what about you, Roger?”
“What do you mean by that.”
“The abilities of dwarves are the best. But among those dwarves, what are you? Top-tier, or bottom-tier?”
What was he among dwarves?
“Well of course, I am the best in Berfht—no, the best on the continent! There has never been anyone superior to me on this continent, and there never will be!”
“Then shouldn’t such a top artisan create something great that others have never been able to do?”
“Of course! Things those insignificant wretches wouldn’t even dare to attempt, I can produce with ease!”
“Then you can make the tower’s bridge as well.”
“...Hic.”
Swept up by the atmosphere and running wild, Roger finally recognized the situation again.
“...Th-that seems like a different matter.”
“You just said with your own mouth that you could do it. Surely you aren’t a two-faced, trashy ‘dwarf’ who speaks differently out of each mouth instead of a great ‘dwarf’, are you?”
“O-of course I am a great ‘dwarf artisan’.”
He could not bring himself to say no. Because the Demon King was frightening, and because of his pride.
Even though he knew it meant walking into a dead end himself.
“Then make it.”
“But....”
“You will accomplish a great achievement that no one has ever achieved—no, one that no one even dared to attempt.”
“...A great achievement.”
“All artisans will look up to you. They will admire and worship the masterpiece you created. Perhaps your golden statue will even be erected in the very center of the continent.”
Gulp—
Roger was not particularly interested in honor. But at the same time, he was a typical dwarf who wanted to create the first and greatest weapons and equipment, even if no one recognized him.
He did not covet the fame of a dragon slayer who killed a dragon, but he longed to be the artisan who made the dragon’s arms.
“I’ll do it!”
“Well thought out! That’s how you should be as my subordinate!”
“Of course! With the greatest artisan at your side, you will surely achieve whatever you desire at any time!”
Kuhahaha— The Demon King and the hero faced each other and burst into loud laughter.
“Ah, for now, finish moving what’s on the first floor. Until we face Hilderan’s assault unit, things will proceed as planned. After that, we’ll draw up a concrete plan. Once you’re done, come up to the office.”
“Yes!”
The Demon King waved his hand and disappeared.
‘...I’m doomed.’
It did not take long for the dwarf, intoxicated by illusion, to face reality.
* * *
While moving the remaining mana cannons, Roger thought it through.
Was it possible?
Impossible.
‘Of course, I do want to try something like that....’
To make the Demon King’s tower move—what a thrilling notion.
But reality was not so forgiving. Current dwarf technology was the most advanced on the continent.
However, the culmination of that technology—golem creation—was limited to a mere 7 meters. Compared to human versions, the performance was overwhelming, but that was the extent of it.
It could not be compared to a tower dozens of meters tall.
This was a problem on an entirely different level from simply making many mana cannons.
‘I won’t do it—no, I can’t.’
But having already boasted that he would do it after falling for the Demon King’s scheme, he could not easily turn back.
So he changed his approach.
‘I’ll explain why it’s impossible and make the Demon King give up on his own.’
There were countless reasons it was impossible. He would have no trouble listing them.
Facing the Demon King and the Demon King’s adjutant, Roger selected three of them.
“There are three problems with moving the tower.”
“Speak.”
“First, a tower tens of meters tall would naturally be extremely heavy. To support such a tower, the bridge would also have to be enormous, requiring a vast amount of materials.”“I’ll distribute that somehow through the merchant companies.”
“But it won’t be just one or two items. It’s uncertain whether the merchant companies can gather that much material, and if they do, the merchant network you’ve painstakingly built could be exposed....”
“Would it come to that?”
Berje asked Gordon.
“Transporting that level of resources into the mountain range can be concealed by breaking them down and using Your Majesty’s subspace, but if they disappear without a trace, that in itself could raise suspicion.”
“Can you gather what’s needed?”
“I can only give a definite answer once the blueprints and the exact required resources are determined, but since we’ve been steadily supplying materials for mana cannons, we do have a fairly established distribution network for ore and construction materials. It was reported by the Black Knight not long ago, so it shouldn’t be wrong.”
“Then that’s settled. The merchant companies were created to be used eventually. If I die and the tower collapses, they’ll be meaningless anyway. What are the other two?”
Despite Roger’s attempts at excuses, they did not gain any traction against such a clear-cut solution.
“The second is the core. In fact, this is the most important one. A tower that moves by attaching bridges is, in the end, not much different from a golem. And the key to moving a golem is ultimately the core that supplies mana. If the power is insufficient, no matter how well-made the bridge is, it won’t move.”
“That’s not something you need to worry about. Do you remember what happened to the Ghost of Mana?”
“Ah...!”
Roger recalled the memory from that time.
The Ghost of Mana had completely merged with the tower and now operated through demonic energy.
“Then if the bridge is connected to the tower, it will automatically link as well!”
“Exactly.”
Although the amount of demonic energy consumed in the process was impossible to easily estimate, if it meant avoiding the Empire’s hero’s march, he was willing to pay even more.
“Then it might really be possible...?”
With the power source capable of moving the enormous tower—the biggest problem—resolved more easily than expected, Roger accidentally let his true feelings slip.
“Of course it is. You’re not thinking it won’t work, are you?”
“O-of course not!”
“Then what is the third and final issue.”
“Manpower.”
“Manpower?”
“Things like mana cannons were small enough that I could make them one by one, but a bridge like that is different. We’re talking about creating magi-engineering equipment that, in proportion to the tower’s size, could be several meters—perhaps even tens of meters long. It’s impossible for me alone.”
“What if we use the elves?”
“They could assist, but still....”
“You need artisans of an appropriate level?”
“Yes, that’s right. This is just an estimate, but such an unprecedented culmination of magi-engineering is not something just anyone can handle.”
“What about the golem mage, Lavinia, and the monsters?”
“The golem mage and Princess Lavinia will be helpful. But the monsters—absolutely, absolutely not!”
“Understood. Then I’ll find artisans somehow. The more, the better, right? Dwarves would be preferable?”
“Yes, of course....”
“Then if the artisan issue is resolved, you can make it?”
“...Uh.”
Caught up in the conversation as it barreled forward, Roger nodded without realizing it.
“...There are still minor issues, but it seems doable.”
Originally, the most important part of a golem was the core that handled power, but if the tower’s demonic energy replaced that core, then truly....
‘Could I actually make it and leave my name in history?’
Roger, whose mind was consumed solely by the spirit of craftsmanship and making things, did not realize it.
If he were recorded in history, it would not be as a great artisan, but as a pawn of the Demon King.
* * *
Roger left.
“I was surprised that you suddenly decided to move the tower.”
“I thought you would oppose it as ridiculous nonsense.”
“Wasn’t there the precedent of the Ghost of Mana? I also don’t know the limits of this tower’s authority.”
Gordon smiled bitterly. Though he had graduated top of his class from the Demon Race Training School, the tower was still an enigma.
‘To begin with, they never even taught us that magi-devices could be merged with the tower.’
In truth, it was more likely that they themselves did not know.
The First Demon Emperor, who had designed the tower and sublimated it through authority, was already dead, and the demons of the present were merely using the legacy handed down from that era.
There were likely still many hidden functions yet to be revealed.
‘There are only fifty towers, after all.’
Ten dimensions, and a total of fifty Demon Kings.
Even as more Demon Kings graduated from the Demon King Military Academy or safely conquered a dimension and returned, the reason the Demon Realm never opened more than ten dimensions for conquest at the same time was simple.
There were no towers.
When a Demon King died, the tower vanished. But in truth, it was not annihilation—it was forcibly reverse-summoned back to the Demon Realm.
Because the tower was an irreplaceable asset that could no longer be created in the current Demon Realm.
“Even if Roger succeeds, moving the tower will require an enormous amount of Demonic Points.”
It was impossible for the cost of moving the Demon Realm’s authority embodied in the tower to be cheap.
[5154232pt]
Berje checked his Demonic Points. Even though he had spent all the points he had accumulated on releasing interference power, a large amount of demonic energy had gathered again in a relatively short time.
‘That’s immense.’
The period when demonic energy began increasing rapidly was not long ago. It was the moment the tower’s location was exposed and announced to the entire continent.
He had captured and devoured part of the search parties that entered the territory. He had killed the Star Hero, Daphne Phillian.
The Star Hero was both the symbol of heroes and the hope of humanity. Killing such a figure meant sowing the seeds of continent-wide anxiety, but humans took their own countermeasures.
‘They buried Daphne’s death altogether.’
Not completely. They certainly mourned and grieved Daphne’s death.
But they excessively elevated Hillan Cargill.
And by finding the tower, they proclaimed that humanity—the Empire—had achieved victory.
As a result, the death of Daphne Phillian became smaller than it should have been. Instead, anger grew larger.
Anger at killing the Demon King who had slain the tower discovered at the cost of Daphne Phillian’s life.
Daphne became a martyr for humanity, and Berje became the greatest evil of the age.
It was the result of propaganda by the Empire and the Hero Guild to stoke rage toward the Demon King rather than sorrow over the fallen Star.
But that rage was steadily turning into power for Berje.
At this rate, it was expected that the current rate of increase would be maintained until perhaps ten million.
That was not necessarily a good thing.
“With this much.”
Connecting the bridge Roger made to the tower and moving it once should be more than enough.
“But still.”
Gordon muttered anxiously.
“What is it.”
“That bridge—can it really be made?”
“....”
“Given the case of the Mana’s Shadow, I don’t think it’s impossible, but if it fails....”
“We would be finished. But it will succeed.”
“Are you certain?”
“No one anticipated that the Ghost of Mana would bind to the tower, or that the tower itself could deploy concealment.”
“But hiding the tower temporarily and moving the tower itself are different matters.”
“They are not different.”
Berje was certain. The limits of the power this cursed tower possessed were still unknown. But if the bridge failed to properly bind with the tower, then—
“It would simply mean the Demonic Points were insufficient. Then we just pour in more Demonic Points.”
“....”