Heavens! You're So Tall!

Kraft entered the dreamscape again.

This time, the dream took place in a somewhat messy room. However, most researchers were like that; compared to them, this room was quite tidy.

Most of the furniture in the room was made of wood. The table was covered with parts like gears and bolts. On the wall hung a hunting rifle that was technologically outdated but exquisitely crafted, adorned with intricate patterns. Next to it, a bookshelf was crammed full of books. On the very top shelf, a mechanical doll danced incessantly.

Judging by the overall style, this dreamscape seemed to be set in a period similar to Earth's 16th or 17th century. However, the strange floating chandelier overhead and the protagonist of the dream, busy working near the workbench, proved that things were not that simple.

Magic Technology? Steampunk? 2077?

More inexplicable terms popped into Kraft's mind.

Without delving into the meaning of these terms, Kraft sighed deeply. The sense of historical period displayed in the scene, along with the faintly revealed fantasy worldview, made him not hold much hope for this dreamscape.

Still, he walked over to the dream's protagonist. After all, broadening his horizons was good.

The protagonist of the dream was an old man with white hair and beard. He wasn't wearing a lab coat like most researchers; instead, he wore a set of red leather armor, a pair of red goggles perched on his nose, and most importantly...

He was significantly shorter than the fourteen-year-old Kraft.

However, Kraft didn't pay much attention to this. Instead, he was drawn to the blueprints on the workbench.

Unlike the sense of historical period conveyed by the surrounding furnishings, the design on the blueprints was exquisite, its complexity far exceeding the standards expected of this era. Although Kraft couldn't fully understand the blueprint, he noticed that it included a setting for an energy core. This meant that the device wouldn't require any special abilities to operate. The only question was whether the materials used could be found as substitutes on Earth.

Since he couldn't understand the blueprints, Kraft didn't waste any more time at the workbench. He could always recall the dream memory later when he understood it.

He walked over to the bookshelf and glanced at the spines of the books. Unfortunately, it seemed they didn't have a habit of labeling the book titles on the spines. So, Kraft casually picked one out.

"Goblins Who Don't Know How to Innovate."

Kraft: ...

He decisively shoved the book back onto the shelf and picked out another one.

"Gnome Engineering is the Future."

Kraft: ...

Alright, at least he understood that the mechanical technology here was called engineering, and there were at least two branches...

Kraft glanced back at the short old man still busy at the workbench. So, he wasn't a human with dwarfism, but a dwarf by race?

The world is truly vast...

Kraft marveled once again at the wonders of different worlds, then continued browsing the books on the shelf.

"Researching with a Gnome's Mindset," "The Stupid Goblins Who Only Know Explosions," "Engineering: From Beginner to Grave," "One Hundred Little Tricks for Building an Energy Core," "Biographies of Famous Craftsmen," "Gnomes Who Made Great Contributions to Engineering"...

After reading the titles of all the books on the shelf, Kraft directly picked up "Engineering: From Beginner to Grave" and began to read.

What the dream protagonist was building seemed quite difficult. Regardless, Kraft devoured the thick book "Engineering: From Beginner to Grave" whole, and the dream still hadn't ended.

After finishing the book in his hands, Kraft's gains far exceeded his expectations.

Engineering was indeed a science-based technology that didn't require any special abilities to drive. Moreover, for early and mid-stage designs, most of the required materials could be found as corresponding materials on Earth. Even if they weren't available on Earth, similar substitutes could be found without affecting their function.

His only regret was that many later engineering creations required magical materials, and these materials were generally used to construct the core. He couldn't do anything about that. He could only see if he could replace them with a pure technological core later.

Although Kraft really wanted to rush to the laboratory and study it thoroughly right now, the dwarf's creation wasn't finished yet, and he couldn't wake up on his own. So, he picked up the first book he had pulled out, "Goblins Who Don't Know How to Innovate," and began to read it.

Even though the title of this book was full of prejudice, it should be enough for him to understand the situation of the goblin branch, which was different from gnome engineering.

Unlike gnome engineering, which invented all sorts of strange and peculiar gadgets, goblin engineering was more practical and closer to Earth's industrial system. Their main focus was on manufacturing various gunpowder weapons and matching goggles. However, compared to Earth's arms, the weapons manufactured by goblins had no particular advantage. It was only the addition of magical materials that made them somewhat special. The goggles, on the other hand, were quite interesting, giving Kraft inspiration through analogy.

Closing the book "Goblins Who Don't Know How to Innovate," Kraft felt fortunate that he had dreamed of gnome-系的 engineering. Because even if the prejudiced parts of the book were removed, goblin engineering wouldn't have helped him much. Instead, many of the magical gadgets in gnome engineering interested him greatly.

He glanced at the dwarf still busy working. His creation was more than halfway done, and it looked like it was going to be a robot.

Kraft scratched his head.

The blueprint he saw earlier was clearly the shape of a car?

But this was also consistent with the impulsive nature of gnome engineers.

Although he was curious how the dwarf managed to build a robot from a car blueprint, Kraft had only briefly skimmed through the engineering-related books. It was still quite difficult for him to understand the dwarf's "awesome operation," so he turned back and decided to continue reading.

This time, he would pick a thinner book. Kraft's fingers slid across the bookshelf. The robot was clearly nearing completion, and there wasn't enough time for further study. So, he decided to find a different type of book to relax his mind.

Finally, Kraft chose "Biographies of Famous Craftsmen." While relaxing, he could also learn about the specific situation of this world.

Then, as he flipped through the pages, Kraft realized...

I think I've dreamed of this world before?

Because of some names and major events that appeared in this book, Kraft had encountered them before when he was with an Orc blacksmith. However, the Orc's home had too few books, and he had learned most of it from conversations with the Orc named Saru Nu Gang and others.

Thinking about the several visitors of different races at the Orc blacksmith's place, and the races mentioned in this book like Night Elves, Dwarves, Chromatic Dragons, as well as villainous forces like the Burning Legion and the Lich King, Kraft subconsciously scratched his head.

"The composition of this world is really complex..."

Because in the dreamscape, Kraft could automatically learn the languages mastered by the dream's owner, in addition to the Common Tongue, Orcish, and Trollish he had learned from Saru Nu Gang, Kraft also learned Gnomish and Dwarvish here, as well as parts of Elvish and Human Language.

"Useless knowledge has increased again..."

Especially Elvish, which was probably the most frequently appearing race in dreams besides humans. And Elvish varied from world to world. The Elvish Kraft had mastered now exceeded ten different dialects.

From the worldview presented in the book, engineering seemed to be a not-so-important branch in this world. The main themes were magic and longswords, which explained why this world had such a strange technological tree.

Furthermore, according to the introduction in this book, the owner of this dream didn't seem to be an unknown figure. Master Craftsman Ovosbak, a leading figure in the gnome engineering system, even single-handedly created the Ironforge Squirrel Rampage Incident.

After finishing the biographies, Kraft's own creation, Ovosbak, was nearing completion. Generally, dream sequences concluded with the completion of a project, followed by testing, which would then either pass or fail, ending the dream. Occasionally, the dream might extend a bit longer, but that was rare.

Kraft moved closer to Ovosbak. The Master Craftsman Ovosbak had built a robot with a rather peculiar design. It was significantly taller than Ovosbak himself. Instead of a head, the robot had a seat and a control console at the very top.

"Goodness! I'm so tall!"

Ovosbak climbed into the robot and cheered happily in his high-pitched voice.

Only then did Kraft understand that the robot's strange design was actually mimicking Ovosbak's own attire...

Fine, as long as you're happy...

Kraft watched the rather stream-of-consciousness design and twitched his lips.

As Ovosbak pushed a lever on the control console, the Ovosbak Robot began to make sputtering noises, and thick black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe behind it.

"Move out, my baby!"

The Ovosbak Robot shakily lifted its leg and began to move around inside the house.

"Yippee! Now, into combat mode!"

Ovosbak excitedly pressed a few buttons on the console, and a jumble of weapons emerged from various parts of the Ovosbak Robot's body, and then...

Its joints began to spark.

"Huh?"

Ovosbak's smile suddenly froze.

Kraft's heart also leaped in alarm.

This plot! I've seen this with Professor Agasa!

"BOOM!!!"

As expected, the Ovosbak Robot exploded, and Kraft was jolted awake by it.

"Damn it!"