The spring festival finally ended three days later.
Mostly because the dwarves ran out of things they were legally allowed to explode.
Elarion slowly returned to normal afterward.
Factories resud full production. Steam engines thundered through the industrial district. Rifle drills echoed across the training yards once more.
But despite the return to routine—
Lucien had been distracted ever since the system reward appeared.
The 10x uncommon lottery voucher remained unopened.
Waiting.
And sohow that felt more dangerous than beast tides.
Inside the upper fortress office, Lucas reviewed supply reports while occasionally glancing toward Lucien sitting silently near the balcony.
"You’ve been staring into space for ten minutes."
Lucien didn’t look up.
"I’m thinking."
"That sentence has historically damaged infrastructure."
Cedric lounged near the fireplace polishing one of the new Mauser prototypes while smirking faintly.
"He has the system look again."
Lucas groaned imdiately.
"Oh no."
Aurethar occupied most of the southern balcony outside while sunlight reflected across his golden scales.
"The human seeks more forbidden knowledge."
"I seek progress."
"That is the sa thing when YOU say it."
Fair point honestly.
Lucien finally stood afterward and walked toward the center table slowly.
The system interface appeared before his eyes imdiately.
[10x Uncommon Lottery Voucher Available]
Would you like to begin spin sequence?
YES / NO
Lucien selected YES.
The room suddenly beca colder.
Not physically.
But perceptually.
Even after all this ti, the system still carried an unnatural presence whenever it activated fully.
Golden light spread across Lucien’s vision while rows of rotating rewards began appearing rapidly before him.
Blueprints. Machines. Weapons. Industrial systems. Unknown technologies.
The spin began.
[Reward Obtained]
Precision Lathe Blueprint
Information flooded into Lucien’s mind instantly.
Advanced machining tolerances. Rotational stability. Mass-production tooling.
Useful.
Extrely useful.
With proper lathes, Mauser production efficiency would nearly triple.
Cedric noticed Lucien suddenly blinking.
"That one good or bad?"
"Good."
Lucas sighed heavily.
"That is never comforting anymore."
The second reward appeared.
[Reward Obtained]
Improved Steel Alloy Formula
The formula entered Lucien’s mory almost violently.
Carbon ratios. Heat treatnt adjustnts. Pressure endurance improvents.
Better steel.
Stronger barrels.
Safer boilers.
And possibly stronger armor plating eventually.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The third reward spun into existence.
[Reward Obtained]
Smokeless Powder Refinent Manual
Lucien’s eyes narrowed imdiately.
This was important.
Very important.
Grayfire Powder had been unstable.
Dangerously unstable.
This reward essentially completed the accidental discovery.
Stabilizers. Compression thods. Storage techniques. Pressure balancing.
Elarion’s firearms had just beco significantly safer.
Unfortunately—
That also made them significantly deadlier.
Lucas noticed the expression imdiately.
"...How bad is it?"
Lucien answered honestly.
"The rifles will stop exploding."
The administrator visibly relaxed.
"Oh thank gods."
A pause.
Lucien continued calmly:
"They’ll also beco much stronger."
Lucas looked tired again instantly.
"Of course they will."
The fourth reward appeared.
[Reward Obtained]
Telegraph Prototype Blueprint
This ti even Lucien looked surprised.
Instant long-distance communication.
Not magical.
chanical.
Electrical relay pulse systems using conductive crystal minerals from the north.
If developed successfully—
Elarion could coordinate armies faster than royal ssengers could ride.
That alone could change kingdoms.
Aurethar slowly lifted his head.
"The human looks dangerous again."
Cedric glanced toward Lucien.
"He’s ntally restructuring civilization."
"Again?"
"Again."
The fifth reward appeared.
[Reward Obtained]
Industrial Chemical Processing Notes
Acids. Refinent compounds. Fertilizer concepts. Industrial solvents.
A foundation technology.
Not glamorous.
But civilization-changing.
Lucien silently realized sothing afterward.
The system wasn’t giving random rewards.
It was building industrial chains.
Every reward supported another.
The sixth reward spun forward.
[Reward Obtained]
Advanced Farming Equipnt Blueprint
Lucas blinked once.
"...Agricultural tools?"
Lucien nodded slowly.
"Food production increase."
Cedric frowned slightly.
"That seems oddly normal."
"It’s probably one of the most important rewards so far."
Silence followed briefly.
Because it was true.
Rifles won wars.
But food sustained then.
The seventh reward appeared.
[Reward Obtained]
chanical Refrigeration Theory
Even Lucien paused slightly at that one.
Cold storage.
Food preservation.
dical transport.
Industrial cooling systems.
Another foundational technology.
Elarion’s growth ceiling had just increased dramatically.
Lucas rubbed both hands across his face.
"I miss when problems involved grain taxes."
"No you don’t."
"...Fair."
The eighth reward appeared.
[Reward Obtained]
Water-Turbine Industrial System
Additional energy production.
River factories.
Expanded infrastructure capability.
The industrial district below Elarion could eventually spread far beyond the fortress itself.
Steam.
Water.
Steel.
Elarion was beginning to resemble a true industrial state.
Not rely a territory.
The ninth reward finally appeared.
And this ti—
Lucien actually froze slightly.
[Reward Obtained]
Heavy Machine Gun Concept Fragnt
Not complete.
Incomplete chanisms flooded his mind rapidly.
Cooling jackets. Belt-fed systems. Sustained fire concepts. Recoil cycling principles.
Not enough to build one imdiately.
But enough to glimpse the future.
Enough to understand what was coming eventually.
And suddenly—
Even Lucien felt slightly disturbed.
Because he knew exactly what machine guns would do to dieval armies.
Aurethar narrowed his eyes carefully.
"...That one was dangerous."
Lucien looked toward the dragon slowly.
"Yes."
The room grew quieter afterward.
Even Cedric looked uneasy now.
Because for the first ti—
Lucien himself seed cautious about a technology.
Then the final reward began spinning.
Golden light intensified across the system window while the fortress office itself seed unnaturally silent.
The spin slowed gradually.
Then stopped.
[Jackpot Reward Obtained]
Steam Landship Prototype Blueprint
Classification:
First-Generation Armored Vehicle
Steam Powered
Heavy Assault Platform
Designation:
LANDSHIP MARK I
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Then information hit Lucien all at once.
Armored plating layouts.
Steam-pressure drive systems.
Track assembly.
Rotational wheel concepts.
Internal troop compartnts.
Side-mounted cannons.
Boiler stabilization chanisms.
The sheer scale of it nearly made his head hurt.
It wasn’t a tank.
Not truly.
It was sothing older.
Cruder.
An armored industrial monster.
A moving fortress.
Lucien unconsciously whispered:
"...A landship."
Cedric frowned imdiately.
"A what?"
Lucien slowly looked upward.
And for the first ti in a very long while—
Even he looked slightly overwheld.
"It’s an armored vehicle."
Lucas blinked once.
"...Like a carriage?"
"No."
"A wagon?"
"No."
Cedric narrowed his eyes.
"How large?"
Lucien remained silent briefly.
Then answered:
"Large enough to cross battlefields through enemy formations."
Silence.
Then Lucas spoke carefully.
"...Absolutely not."
Aurethar looked deeply offended suddenly.
"The humans made a fake dragon."
"That is not the point."
"It is clearly trying to beco ."
Cedric stepped closer.
"Wait."
His expression shifted slowly.
"...A moving armored fortress?"
Lucien nodded once.
Steam-powered. Steel-plated. Ard with artillery.
And horrifyingly—
Possible.
Not now perhaps.
Not imdiately.
But possible.
The dragon stared toward Lucien suspiciously.
"You looked less insane when creating cannons."
"That was a simpler ti."
Lucas pointed toward him imdiately.
"NO. WE ARE NOT NORMALIZING THIS."
Outside the office windows, the factories of Elarion continued burning beneath the evening sky while steam rose endlessly into the air.
The industrial district suddenly looked different now.
Smaller sohow.
Like the beginning of sothing much larger.
Much more dangerous.
Lucien looked toward the distant smoke stacks silently.
Then toward the system window slowly fading before his eyes.
The future had arrived again.
And this ti—
It ca on tracks.
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