Star Forge Titan

Not to mention that there are some malicious beings in this world that are far more malicious than humans.

"You mean..." Flamel raised his index finger cryptically towards the ceiling.

"Well, actually, when I heard about the plan you named 'Living Dagger', I couldn't help but think of some special monsters I encountered before." Ivan paused, feeling a little troubled.

First of all, he wasn't sure whether the other party knew about the existence of the Demon Engine. After all, many plots had become very different from what he remembered, and he was prepared to take the blame.

At the same time, it was impossible for Alvin to fully explain the source of his information to this newly-acquainted vice president. Therefore, he could only use a relatively vague description to test the waters.

"Are you talking about those half-biological, half-mechanical monsters mentioned in some eyewitness reports after the Magic Revolution?"

Vice President Flamel's answer made Ivan understand.

Although it is impossible for him to directly ask the other party for specific information, conversations between people are not just the exchange of text messages. Details such as facial expressions, pauses, tone of voice, etc. often allow the interlocutors to inadvertently reveal information beyond the words.

By the way, this is a little trick that Alvin learned from reading a book in his previous life. He had only tried it secretly on his roommate before, but now it seems to have some effect on other people as well.

At least judging from the other party's reaction, Lind's extraordinary camp is quite qualified in being vigilant against the evil god.

Although they secretly excluded the Temple of Knowledge, which was specifically designed to deal with such incidents, from entering Lind, they were at least prepared to complete the corresponding work on their behalf.

Thinking back to what Conrad had said about the negative impact of the Magic Revolution, which might become a breeding ground for the evil gods and their believers, Alvin gradually integrated all the information into a preliminary picture of the conspiracy.

"Yes, I suspect this plan could be exploited by someone with ulterior motives. Therefore, I suggest strengthening the education of this unique awakened tower spirit. You know, smart people are at least not easily deceived." Ivan nodded and said:

"That's not necessarily true, but if you want to resist the erosion of those people, you do need enough common sense and insight." Flamel pondered for a moment and gave an affirmative answer.

At the same time, Aiwen's words just now made the vice president frown slightly. After being reminded by the other party, he seemed to have sensed some strange clues in the original plan.

The four evil gods have all kinds of believers in the material world, and some of them have extremely terrifying permeability and corrosiveness. Among those guys, there are more than one or two who are good at playing with people's hearts. Even the strict Flamel cannot say with 100% certainty that they absolutely do not exist in the Linde Alchemist Association.

"I understand what you mean. The Living Dagger Plan will not be implemented immediately, but..." Flamel looked at Ivan.

"I sincerely invite you to join this project."

"Oh? Why?" Alvin raised his eyebrows. He did not give his answer immediately, but asked the other party the reason.

"Although, I don't quite agree with your view that tower spirits are similar to children. Seriously speaking, they don't even have the concept of gender." Flamel shook his head and continued:

"But even an immature hound needs at least an owner who can tame him."

"So, you want me to be the owner." Ivan asked casually.

"Yes." Flamel immediately gave an affirmative answer.

"Also, please don't worry that this additional work will conflict with your upcoming training plan. Our research institute is also located in the Steel City of Vulcan, so these two things can be carried out simultaneously."

"Don't worry about the salary. The resources at the disposal of the Linde Alchemist Association are definitely beyond your imagination." Vice President Flamel said with a hint of pride.

"Really? What if I want a flawless gem?" Ivan smiled and asked casually:

"Uh." Flamel was obviously stunned for a moment and then showed an awkward but polite smile.

"Please stop joking. Even the Carolingian royal family might not have such a thing."

"That's not necessarily true." Ivan said meaningfully:

"Okay, I'll take the job."

"Then I will wait for your arrival in Vulcan."

Two hands clasped together also means the conclusion of a deal.

Chapter 13 Train Departure

“Woo~Woo~~”

The whistle sounded melodiously, and a heavy steam train was slowly leaving the station.

This new type of transportation that emerged after the Magic Revolution has greatly changed the way Lind residents travel.

The train before him was an iterative product. The front locomotive was driven by a modified Newcomen III magic steam engine. The traces of metal rivets could still be vaguely seen on the locomotive. Its appearance resembled a Lind baguette with half of its center sawed off. The magic lamp protruding from the center of the front looked like a sleepy one-eyed creature, drooping slightly downwards.

The streamlined shell that fully covers the internal machinery can reduce the amount of dust entering, and it can also reduce the air resistance encountered by the car body when moving forward. Considering the speed of trains in this era, the effect of the latter is probably relatively small.

A large incinerator is installed inside the 26-meter-long front of the vehicle, which can convert magical materials such as alchemical fuel into magic power, and release it in the form of flames as a heat source to heat and evaporate water, thereby using the pressure of water vapor to drive the mechanical structure into kinetic energy.

Only such a huge power locomotive can tow a total of 25 carriages that stretch like a long dragon into the distance.

This entire conversion process is more complicated than a pure magic engine, so the mechanical structure has become extremely large. Most of the space on the front of the vehicle is occupied by the incinerator and related components of the steam engine. The remaining part is equipped with a transmission and control system, as well as the most advanced automatic fuel filling machine and automatic water supply system.

Aside from the power locomotive and the second water-fueled car following it (used to store the fuel and water needed to operate the magic steam generator), the remaining 25 cars consisted of passenger cars for 10 and freight cars for the remaining 15. The freight cars were slightly shorter than the former, but their load capacity was significantly greater. Their sturdy metal chassis and wheels were more than enough to support a full carload of iron ore.

As for why iron ore is being transported, it is of course because the destination of this train is the city of Linde, which is famous for its magical engineering technology and metallurgical technology, and the Steel City Vulkan!

It had been a week since the last celebratory dinner. After packing their luggage and saying goodbye to everyone in the orphanage, Ivan in a white coat, Diana in a silver-gray slim short suit jacket, and Khayon in his usual wizard robe were now also sitting on this train.

Before leaving, Ivan thought of the old dwarf, Borok, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. Although immortals like them often have a different view of time than humans, Ivan, as someone who had received much care from the dwarf, politely left a letter explaining the situation. He used Stone, an ancient dwarven language almost unknown to other races. He took time off from the car-building competition to learn basic grammar from the old dwarf, and then... he learned it.

Before leaving, Alvin also received a reply from the other party. Borok was very reasonable and was even willing to help write a letter of introduction to the members of the dwarf workshop in Steel City Vulkan, asking them to help the black-haired boy in front of them to the best of their ability.

As a descendant of the Earth People, Borok did not know why this noble descendant who inherited the blood of the Titans appeared in Lind, a country that was only a thousand years old.

But the other party has already promised to go to the Lonely Mountain Kingdom within ten years to help the dwarves solve that huge problem, so naturally, as a descendant of the Earth People, he will also pay due loyalty to the giant god who shakes the earth.

Retracting his thoughtful expression, Alvin focused his attention back on the train he was on.

This latest train, which was born decades after the Linde Magic Revolution, can reach a maximum speed of nearly 100 kilometers per hour. Although it cannot be compared with the racing cars participating in the Magic Car Competition, it is stable and safe.

It is also because of this advantage that steam trains are gradually replacing other traditional means of transportation such as horse-drawn carriages and sailboats, becoming a new means of transportation that is slowly thriving on the continent.

Before leaving Lutetia, Alvin even heard that Elrond was also willing to introduce steam locomotive manufacturing technology.

However, it seems that they only intend to purchase a finished product as an example, and then use their own technology to create something that can replace the steam train in the same position.

Considering the various techniques used by the Blood Order to create arcane monsters, Ivan couldn't help but have a strange association. For example, a living locomotive that could pull dozens of wagons just by eating feed, that thing might even have a pair of horns...

"Pfft." The image in his mind made the black-haired boy's cheeks twitch slightly, and his expression couldn't help but become weird, and in the end he even almost laughed out loud.

"What's wrong?" Khayang, who was reading a magazine, asked without raising his head. The publication in his hand was called "Iron Staff", which mainly recorded various magical engineering related papers published recently.

"Nothing, I just feel that this way of traveling is very... novel?" As he said this, Alvin looked around, and Diana, who was sitting next to him quietly, also made a similar gesture.

The tickets provided by a certain blonde, diamond-haired duchess were naturally first-class, so the carriage they were in was not an ordinary passenger car with many seats closely arranged together.

The first-class carriage with a better environment is obviously different from the former. It has four compartments separated by wooden partitions. Inside are two rows of soft seats placed opposite each other, with a wooden table fixed to the side wall in the middle.

In addition, dark green wool blankets are nailed to the partitions to reduce the noise between compartments. Obviously, the operating company is trying hard to create a quiet and private riding environment for passengers who have purchased first-class seats.

When they first got on the car, the three of them were a little surprised.

Not to mention Khayon, who was born in Elrond, and Diana, who had hardly left Lutetia, even Ivan, a time traveler, was surprised. However, unlike the other two, he was surprised because he had never ridden such an old-fashioned "retro" train.

After boarding the train, Alvin even walked back and forth along the corridor outside the compartment with great interest. This kind of situation always made him feel that he had entered another world, and many ordinary things in the eyes of ordinary people could bring him an extremely strong sense of novelty.

The three of them discussed the characteristics of the steam train in a low voice for a while, but their attention was focused on the principles of the train's movement and they didn't pay any attention to the carefully designed decorations of the first-class seats.

Then, with the rhythmic shaking of the train, a feeling of sleepiness came over him, and the voices coming from other compartments gradually became lighter. As for why Alvin could hear them, you know, a thin sheepskin blanket cannot block the perception of a supernatural being.

All in all, the carriage gradually became quiet.

Khayon continued to read a magazine, occasionally picking up a peanut from the snack box on the table in front of him and putting it under his hood. Then, the little flying squirrel peanut butter, smelling the nutty aroma, would reach out its tiny paws connected to its furry wing membranes to take the peanut and stuff it into its mouth, causing the crops on both sides of its cheeks to bulge outward in a rounded arc.

Next to Ivan, Diana's head was tilted downwards, obviously dozing off. The girl's short hair no longer had the dark brown color left by natural dyes, but was replaced by a bright silver-white color that swayed in the wind.

As for Ivan, according to the train schedule, he still had at least a dozen hours to kill before arriving in the steel city of Vulcan. The quiet environment also gave him time to carefully consider his next move.

Steel City—Vulcan…

The black-haired boy held his chin with one hand and looked out the window with some nostalgia at the scenery that was constantly passing by.

That place was not unfamiliar to him; it could even be said to be particularly familiar and impressive.

After all, it was there that he completed his final promotion and became a giant spirit driver who used the knowledge of magical engineering to elevate himself!

Chapter 14 Train Slowdown

Amid the gentle sounds of the train and the rails, Alvin was organizing his thoughts.

He left Elrond and came to Lind. Apart from various unexpected factors, he had only two real goals.

First, the flawless gem belonging to the Carolingian royal family - the Sea of ​​Miracles, is related to the great mystery ritual "Foundation of the Original World" necessary for the awakening of the soul of King Uranus. The flawless gem is obviously a key item.

Now far from Lutetia, the capital of the Carolingian Empire, Alvin had no choice but to put his plans on hold. Thinking of the eccentric Emperor and the blond, drill-headed man who had provided the ticket for this trip, he suddenly felt that the former was more difficult to deal with...

The second is Alvin's original idea, which is to use Lind's most advanced magic engineering technology to strengthen the armed giant form in order to achieve the goal of improving combat effectiveness. It would be even better if the power of the giant soldier controlled by the "Giant Driver" could be integrated into it.

As the ultimate weapon of decisive battle created by combining some powerful biological materials with advanced magical engineering technology, the power and potential of the Giant God Soldier far exceed those of ordinary extraordinary beings, which is why it is judged by many extraordinary organizations to be a fifth-level existence in the new magic sequence.

Referring to his previous life experience and considering the powerful enemies that will inevitably appear in the future, they are far beyond the reach of the few noisy cultists in the material world. Therefore, improving his own strength has become one of Alvin's most important tasks at the moment.

Although he wanted to be like a traveler arriving in a new world, freely and spontaneously experiencing the various experiences this new country brought him, the reality was not as romantic as poetry. And the world of Palladia was definitely not as peaceful and prosperous as the Earth of his previous life.

So, no matter what, power is something that must be held in one's own hands.

Alvin sighed secretly, and then clarified this truth in his mind again.

In addition to the Colossus and the Infinity Stone - the Sea of ​​Miracles, which symbolize the highest level of magical engineering, the Central Empire Linde's secret super-powerful magical engine is also of great value.

He was only at the second level now, so it was difficult for him to obtain the high-output magic furnaces that were extremely rare in this era (in most cases, these "unearthed treasures" could only be excavated from ultra-ancient ruins, and were not only rare but also difficult to obtain). So, if he wanted to gather the massive amount of magic power of several hundred thousand standard units required to activate the giant god form, probably only this advanced magic machine that was still in the laboratory could barely meet the requirements.

Alas, I don’t know what the training plan of Steel City Vulkan is about. If he can take this opportunity to come into contact with the two things mentioned above, as long as the time is long enough, he will be confident that he can imitate the originals with the talent of [Reshaping the World], which is comparable to the level of an operational accident.

"Heh." Alvin chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Ka Yang, who was reading a magazine, asked casually:

"Oh, nothing, I just thought of something funny." Alvin made up an excuse to get away with it.

"For example?" Although he didn't look up, Ka Yang continued to ask relentlessly.

"Forget it, why don't we talk about the city of Steel Vulcan?" Alvin decisively used a good method to change the subject.

"It's not good to change the subject, but I am indeed more interested in this topic." Closing the magazine in his hand, Khayang scratched his hair which was a mess like a bird's nest after the party, and then looked at Ivan curiously.

"Really? Well, let me tell you the information I saw in the materials." Alvin shrugged and began to introduce the new city the three were about to arrive in.

Although he did not lie in his previous words, the so-called information was not books from the National Library, but introductions he had browsed on the player forum in his previous life.

"Steel City Vulkan. This name should be divided into two parts. 'Steel City' is the latter's title, which can be understood as a nickname for humans. The latter 'Vulkan' is the city's true name."

"Vulkan is a god skilled in forging in Linde mythology. It's difficult to verify the true origins of the related legends. The city's nickname, 'Steel City Vulkan,' stems from its specific function as a new city built after the start of the Magic Industrial Revolution. Specifically, it was dedicated to steelmaking."

"Making magical machinery requires a vast amount of materials, with metals accounting for a consistently high proportion. The mineral resources surrounding Vulkan are extremely rich, and it's also not far from the largest coal mine in Linde. Therefore, the Carolingian royal family chose it as a heavy industrial center specializing in metal smelting."

"That doesn't sound like anything special." Khayon interrupted:

"Don't be impatient, the real fun is coming next." Ivan kept it a secret and continued:

"But another problem immediately arose. The city's terrain was a basin, high on all sides and low in the middle. This made communication with the outside world difficult. The few caravans that appeared in the city in the past mostly relied on pack horses and other animals to cross the mountains."

"It sounds troublesome, but for a nation-level entity, this isn't an unsolvable problem, right?" Ka Yang asked with understanding.

"Yeah, so..." Alvin paused.

"Third-level conventional forbidden magic?" Khayon quickly followed up.

"The result is not much different from that, but the reality is that after a sudden flash of strong light, a gap appeared in the surrounding mountains, which is large enough to build a railway for steam trains." Ivan said meaningfully.

"Interesting." Ka Yang raised his hand and touched his chin with a thoughtful expression.

"If you're interested, you can take some time to investigate when you get to Vulcan. You might find something unexpected." Ivan said nonchalantly.

In reality, he himself only had a partial understanding of the matter. In a previous game, the hidden entity related to it was destroyed due to the failure of both the players and the plot characters in the game. This caused severe damage to Linde's important industrial center, even having a significant impact on the war on the front lines.

So, this time when Alvin came to Vulcan, he naturally had the idea of ​​further exploring the secrets of this city.

And what he had just said deliberately to Ka Yang was naturally because he hoped to make use of the other party's talent in exploring information (if he is not good at this, he cannot be the king of traitors), improve the efficiency of digging out secret information, and thus achieve the goal of changing the original future direction.

After all, there are not tens of thousands of players in Palladia now, so Ivan must inspire the talents of those who unite around him. This is by no means to exploit teammates and consume friends.

Just as they were thinking about it, they both suddenly showed surprised expressions at the same time.

Because they heard a very slight explosion coming from the front of the car.

Since the locomotive will produce choking smoke and exhaust gas when it starts, the first-class carriage is placed at the rear of the train, while the carriages near the front of the train are all freight carriages.

At such a long distance, only a super-human with keen perception could detect the sound.

Then, the car began to slow down, and Ivan and Kayon looked at each other.

"No way, why do we always encounter accidents when we take public transportation together?" The Necromancer covered his face and complained in a low voice:

"Hey, I can hear you." Ivan said with a dark face: