Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 180 The Inheritance of Steam

This was Ethan's first day as Yuger's attending physician. Shortly after the first diplomatic meeting ended, the two met at the door of the parliament at the agreed time. His mental state seemed good, and the clairvoyance did not seem to have much impact on his mentality.

After being restricted from going out to sea, he focused on learning steam technology.

Lily followed behind him. The head maid was always with him - except when Yuge was in class.

"I'll wait for you here."

Arriving in front of the magnificent structure made of gears, bearings, and steel, she retreated to the door.

The sky over the entire city is always shrouded in gray fog, and there is a peculiar smell in the air.

This building is much more magnificent than the Great Craftsmen's Guild in the imperial capital. It is located in the center of the urban area of ​​South Port like a palace. He learned that in Ophira, steam technology technicians are the most respected profession. In a sense, they are the inheritors of the Lord of Tides.

This is another way of inheritance.

The Lord of Tides did not leave behind any specific paths, but instead passed down His power in the form of knowledge and machinery.

The technicians are easy to identify, as they are often equipped with trendy mechanical equipment. Multifunctional mechanical arms are the most common modification in Nangang. Their fingers can be transformed into various tools according to the environment. In an era still based on steam technology, people in the Western Continent have already begun the transformation of prosthetics.

Yuge responded, full of confidence.

Although he is the son of the Speaker, he is a real apprentice in the field of steam technology. Compared with those children who joined the "Brotherhood of Craftsmanship" since childhood, he started very late.

The Brotherhood accepted his application for the sake of the Speaker, saving him a series of complicated theoretical exams and talent assessments, and allowed him to start as an apprentice, but that was all.

Unlike other urban areas in Ophira, South Port seems to be a world of its own.

Politics cannot penetrate here. If one wants to gain respect from others in the Brotherhood, he can only rely on his own abilities. Every master recognized by the Brotherhood has created their own technical system. Today, the leader of the Brotherhood, his nominal mentor Mr. Gelb, has obtained his current status step by step through "anti-magic technology."

Mr. Gelb is very short, but has a temper that is completely contrary to his height.

Yuge was reprimanded in the first class, Lily was regarded as an irrelevant person and was ordered to leave the mechanical castle. Gelb also sarcastically said that this place only needed craftsmen who devoted themselves to research, and that a young master who had to be taken care of by maids was not suitable for this place.

Lily was a little afraid of Gelb. After being driven away once, she didn't even dare to enter the gate of this mechanical fortress. Whenever Yug went in for class, she just stayed in the corner outside the castle and waited until the class was over and Yug, covered in dust and oil, came out of the gate. Only then could her tense nerves relax.

Yug took Ethan into his own "workshop", where there was an assembled steam car.

"Lao Sen, you came at a bad time. Today is the exam deadline."

Yuge worked hard. If it were any other day, he could have personally introduced this mechanical castle to Ethan. However, now, he did not want to fail his first exam, especially since most of the people taking the exam were in their early teens. Most of them were children of craftsmen and had been exposed to steam technology since childhood.

However, Yug also has his own trump card - after gaining the ability of clairvoyance due to nightmares, he can keenly perceive the essential operating mechanism of steam cars.

"do your stuff."

In fact, that was exactly what Ethan wanted to see.

The process of a steam car from assembly to use.

The imperial capital also has similar steam technology products, but most of them are transported from the Western Continent, and only nobles like Margaret and Freeman can get one.

The Craftsmen's Guild has always wanted to study these novel products, but due to their low status, no nobles are willing to let them tear these trendy Western Continent products to pieces.

He observed carefully, and so far, everything seemed normal and still within the scope of science.

The fuel is burned, heating the water to create steam, which drives the engine.

The steam car can already move, but Yug is obviously not satisfied with this - for this exam, making the steam car move is only the most basic step, and he can only get 60 points at most as a minimum. He heard from other craftsmen's children that what ultimately determines the score is its speed and stability.

And their competition began from the first exam.

Apprentices will be divided according to their performance. Those who are deemed talented by the craftsmen will be trained as real students, while those who have no talent will become the lowest-level assembly workers, engaged in monotonous basic production.

The first exam is the key to determining your fate.

The craftsmen of the brotherhood believe that those who are truly talented will stand out in the first exam of their lives, and only a very few can make a comeback after failing the first exam.

Now, Yug is in trouble.

His mentor, Mr. Gelb, only taught him the most basic knowledge, and he had to figure out the parts above that by himself. Craftsmen believe that creativity is the real cradle of masters, rather than basic knowledge.

Truly talented people never stick to the old ways, but instead stand on the shoulders of giants to take a step further.

Yug's body was soon covered in oil again. He fiddled with the steam car up and down, gradually reinforcing the accessories meaninglessly.

As the exam time was getting closer, Yuger still had no idea and could only turn to Ethan for help. "Old Ethan, do you have any ideas? Can we make this steam car move faster? I call it 'Dawn', which is the name given by Lily."

"If it were me, I would change the efficiency of energy use."

Ethan observed for a long time and gradually understood something.

The part above 60 points seems to be similar to the enchanted force field on the bullet. There is no essential difference between the talents of the craftsmen and the empire's Tao beliefs. The "high-level extraordinary people" here can give their creations additional abilities beyond the scope of science.

“Energy efficiency…”

Yug was thoughtful, but this unfortunately touched upon his blind spot in knowledge. After all, he was just a beginner who had only been exposed to steam technology for a few days.

But this was of great significance to Ethan, as it made him realize the limitations of his own thinking.

As a modern man, he was too superstitious about science and subconsciously believed that all creations in this world needed to be explained by scientific theories. Therefore, he went around in circles on the issue of energy storage crystals.

However, in the Western Continent, which advocates science the most, the Lord of Tides used His creations and knowledge to tell Ethan that this is magic.

The structures most similar to them are miracle creations and cursed objects. Their existence itself is a synonym for unscientific. They are just infused with magic power to produce abnormal effects.

So, what if he put aside the "miracle" or "curse" and simply empowered this steam car based on "moving faster"?
Thinking of this, Ethan said, "Yuger, I have an idea."

..............................

Many people came to take the exam today, including Mr. Gelb, the current leader of the Brotherhood of Craftsmanship.

This short man sat in the chairman's seat. His left eye was transformed into an artificial eye and both of his arms became mechanical arms. It was said that this was because he was involved in a serious accident when he was young. Not only did he lose an eye, but he also almost lost his life.

But no one came for Yug.

In the eyes of the craftsmen, allowing this young nobleman to come to South Port to study was just to give face to the Deep Sea Council. He had only one path in the future - to obtain the title of technician and return to the council to take over his father's position.

The focus of this exam is on those young apprentices who are promising.

The test sounded simple, with only one requirement, which was to make their steam car move.

But the craftsmen all know that the level of talent has been determined as early as when the apprentices made their first creation with their own hands. It is an "inspiration" that cannot be described in words. When they start working, the inspiration descends into their bodies, as if controlling their hands to complete the task.

Even when dealing with the simplest crafts, these inspired geniuses can create something new and eye-catching.

"Look, Flor is here too."

Yuge pointed at the platform and whispered, "He should be here to see Gray Lid."

The craftsmen prepared a seat for Flor, and he sat next to Gelb.

He saw the dark shadows again, covering the sky of the arena like a dark cloud. This was a venue specially set up for apprentices, and it was also the most traditional examination project of the Brotherhood. All the craftsmen present now took their first step from here.

"Who is Gray?"

Ethan asked.

He was considered an outsider who had sneaked into the stadium. He was surrounded by craftsmen he had never seen before. Non-brotherhood members could usually only watch from outside the stadium. Lily stayed far away in the crowd, looking at this side with nervous and expectant eyes.

As for the reason why he was able to sneak into the inner field...

Ethan thought that maybe it was because he was more polite, and the craftsmen in the brotherhood liked him, so they didn't care about it.

"Gray is the heir of the Liddell family. His father is a member of parliament. The family has produced many famous craftsmen. I heard that they have always had a good personal relationship with the Lofik Foundation. They are the ones who receive Flor every time. It is said that Gray has been gifted since he was a child. Many people believe that he will surpass Mr. Gelb in the future."

The first person to take the exam was Gray Lead.

A boy about thirteen years old, looking a little gloomy.

His steam car spewed out black smoke, causing an uproar among the craftsmen. The steam car sped along the test track, and when it crossed the finish line, the examiner excitedly announced Gray's result.

32 seconds!
This number echoed in the crowd for a long time, and the craftsmen became excited, discussing this incredible number.

Ethan listened to people's discussions in silence.

Mr. Gelb, the current fraternity leader, had an initial time of 39 seconds, and he has been recognized as one of the best grandmasters in the fraternity's history.

This made him frown and his mood suddenly sank to the bottom.

Yuge was equally solemn, and he saw things more clearly than anyone else.

He saw a shadow spreading out from under Gray's steam car. The shadow turned into a hand, grabbed the steam car and dragged it to the finish line.

Isn't this considered cheating?
Yug couldn't help but wonder, because this looked more like some kind of black magic than steam technology.

Moreover, after Gray's race ended, the shadow did not disappear, but stopped at the starting line of the track.

Soon, heated discussions broke out among the crowd again.

"3 minutes 32 seconds."

This was a shocking result. The candidate, who seemed to have been placed with high hopes, looked pale. She bit her lips tightly and trembled all over, but she couldn't figure out what went wrong. She only saw the tutor looking at her with disappointment.

The order of the exams was based on the craftsmen's expectations. Ranking second meant that in the craftsmen's minds, her talent was second only to Gray's.

"This is cheating!"

Yug shouted angrily. He was the only one who saw clearly what was happening - the shadow grabbed the candidate's steam car and fiddled with it like a toy.

When he looked at Gray in shock and anger, the young man was hiding in the crowd, looking at the examination room with a sinister smile.

This is a more shameful act than cheating to improve your grades.

Yug clenched his fists.

But he couldn't prove it to anyone else.

That shadow turned the exam into a farce, the tutors' rankings became a mess, and all the results were controlled by the shadow.

When Yug looked at Ethan, he found that the latter's face was gloomy, which made him more convinced that this was not Gray's ability.

Tycoon-Flore.

When Yug saw this man in the banquet hall, he felt extremely disgusted.

"Yuge, Yuuge!"

Before he knew it, this turbulent exam was coming to an end, and the examiner's call brought Yug back to reality.

He subconsciously looked towards Gray and happened to meet the eyes of the gloomy boy.

The boy gave him a provocative look.

"Yuger."

Before leaving the team, Ethan suddenly called him, "Maybe I made a fatal mistake."

Before the exam, he was immersed in the exploration of "empowerment" for a long time. He treated the steam car as a miracle and debugged it carefully, which led to this terrible consequence.

How fast do we have to go to satisfy our desire to “move faster”?
At least, it should be faster than Rowena's electric wheelchair.

After all, this time the technology used is no longer energy storage crystal technology, but pure electrical element empowerment.

Lightning is the fastest element in nature.

In order to ensure that Yuge's exam work would not fall apart during the charge, Ethan performed many stability adjustments, and only completed his and Yuge's joint work until the last moment before the exam.

This is the current Dawn.

And he has comprehended the inheritance left by the Lord of Tide through the process of continuous experimentation and trial and error.

Yug walked towards the examiner with trepidation.

This time, the shadow emerged from the ground and bared its fangs and claws in front of him.

Before the exam began, Shadow pinched his steam car as if he wanted to crush it.

If the steam car fell apart before it was even started, his career as a craftsman would probably be over before it even began.

Even so, Yug started his work.

The burning flames caused white smoke to rise from the cylinder.

The smoke formed a cloud, and then there were several flashing arcs of electricity.

Yug heard a crackling sound.

However, when he looked towards the arc, the "Dawn" had disappeared, and its broken black shadow fell to the ground.

All that remained before his eyes was a dark blue trail.

All discussions stopped at this moment.

And this was the most fatal mistake Ethan made. As an outsider, he could never have imagined that the ancient technology inherited by the Lord of Tide was not as good as the electric wheelchair he made for Rowena.

Ethan was ready for a fight between gods.

but,
It seems that the gods didn't come.

(End of this chapter)