The Unlicensed Grandfather and Grandson

In Rein's mind, an airship would have a large airbag overhead and a cabin suspended below.

Clumsy, high risk factor, slow speed, and small payload.

That kind of thing hadn't been developed in my previous life before it was replaced by other, better flying tools.

But in this world, airships have been distorted into something else entirely, transforming into enormous, exaggeratedly designed Steam Machinery Airship. They resemble aircraft carriers flying in the sky, pure steel monsters, true weapons of war.

When Rein arrived at the Karatva Basin and saw the wreckage of the Mechanical City, broken into several pieces, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Although he had known of this thing's existence from Baron Morin's notes, he only breathed a sigh of relief when he actually saw the real thing.

Only if this thing truly exists can his "New City Plan" be established.

However, the people in the city don't seem to get along very well.

When Rein and her group arrived at the mechanical wreckage, it was nearly evening.

As darkness fell, construction continued in earnest within the ruined walls, with magical searchlights and campfires illuminating the entire "construction site."

The first group of people dismantled the giant steel armor plates from some of the mechanical wreckage and used them to build a temporary war fortress with walls tens of meters high. They then installed a dense array of cannons and defensive structures, providing a safe base for everyone to settle down.

The base was also attacked by a "zombie horde," and the piles of broken bones outside the city were more than ten meters thick.

Having likely cleared out a large area of the surrounding "living corpses," when Rein and his group arrived, there were only a few hundred scattered monsters wandering outside the city. They were being used as "targets" by the guards on the city walls for shooting practice, and before they even got close to the walls, they had already been reduced to skeletons.

Knowing that the Great Shaman Mafat and his entourage were coming, the two elders, "Elder Rain Master" Fofa and "Insect Master Elder" Imyu, led all the Kolman Warrior of the city out of town to greet them.

"Priest! You've arrived."

"Doctor Rein, it's so good to hear that you're safe and sound."

"Hunk, you're still alive! That's wonderful!"

"Alas, it's a pity that I'm the only one left to survive from our 'Green Snake Tribe'."

"."

Great Shaman Mafat, leading the two hundred survivors from the Giant Flower's belly, looked at the tribe before him with a mixture of excitement, joy, and wistful emotions.

Of the hundreds of thousands of members of the Kolman Tribe in this war and the Black Tide, probably only these few thousand survived.

Now everyone understands what happened. Looking around, everyone feels the heavy responsibility of passing on the torch rests on their shoulders.

Although they were used to living in jungles and thatched huts, they were not used to being "imprisoned" in this steel cage; although they were somewhat repulsed by this "steel monster" that had once caused great trauma to their tribe.

But at this moment, all the Kolman also understood that the Mechanical City behind them was the only "new home" that could withstand the Black Tide and allow their race to continue its lineage.

Little Karl emerged from the crowd, grinning as he greeted Rein, "Haha, Brother Rein, I knew you'd be alright!"

He chattered on and on, saying, "When Wudo said something like 'the Black Tide is coming, everyone will die,' I was really worried for a while. I told Grandpa, 'Brother Rein, you'll definitely be able to escape this danger.'"

"Um"

Rein smiled, unsure where to begin.

But to be honest, the previous experience was truly a near-death experience.

To his surprise, Mr. Tuster himself came.

Looking at the old man in front of him, whose face was rosy and who seemed to have recovered to normal, Rein was genuinely happy for him and greeted him, "Grandpa Tuster, you can walk by yourself now?"

"Yes. It's all thanks to the healing from the Kolman Witch Doctor."

Tuster responded with a smile.

Turning his head, he looked at Rein, who was all healthy, and breathed a sigh of relief, "Rein, it's good that you're back safe and sound."

He paused, then, as if remembering something, continued, "Oh, right, that old man Ilubeck is also at the base. I told him about our experiences lately, and the old man was incredibly envious."

"Oh? The teacher is here too?!"

Rein was delighted to hear this. Back in City of Radiance, Ilubeck had been taken from the laboratory by the people of Omar Blackwater Platform and had been missing ever since.

He was relieved when he heard from Ymir that they had been rescued.

Now that he heard that his teacher had come back safe and sound, Rein was filled with anticipation.

He asked with a hint of excitement, "Grandpa Tuster, where is my teacher?"

It was certainly not the teacher who came to greet the disciple; Rein planned to pay a visit immediately.

Tuster sounded somewhat envious, "He's in the airship's medical room, fiddling with all those advanced instruments I've never seen before. When you get there, tell that old geezer to get some rest. He's been inside for a month now and hasn't left the room once."

"Oh?"

As Rein listened, a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

Perhaps no one understands the importance of technology better than him, a time traveler. He valued the "mechanical Airship Wreckage" not only as a landing point, but also because he believed it might contain a wealth of cutting-edge technology that surpassed the capabilities of his time.

Those things are the real priceless treasures.

Now that I hear it, it seems there really is!

Moreover, the fact that his teacher, Dr. Ilubeck, a top medical doctor accustomed to high-tech equipment, was fascinated by those instruments suggests that they must be quite sophisticated.

At the same time, Rein looked at Tuster, who seemed quite relaxed, and asked, "Hey, Grandpa Tuster, it's rare that you're not spending today in the office?"

He was quite surprised that the old man could come out of the city. He knew that Tuster, like Ilubeck, would forget about food and drink and would never waste time on anything else when he was immersed in his research.

Moreover, now that the "mechanical airship" is right in front of us, the mechanics should be the busiest people, so why is the old man so leisurely?

Hearing this, Tuster pursed his lips, as if recalling something unpleasant, and said, "I'm just waiting for you to choose which half of the Mechanical City's remains you want. I've almost finished the blueprints. Once you've made your choice, this old man can start building the Flying Mechanical City you desire."

Upon hearing this, Rein vaguely sensed something and asked, "Huh? Is something wrong in the city?"

At this moment, little Karl, speaking his mind, blurted out, "That very beautiful princess brought some mechanics from the Oma Royal Academy of Sciences. Then they said that since we don't have the medals from the Mechanist Guild, they won't let us participate in the construction of the Mechanical City."

But clearly, Karl was more interested in the "very beautiful princess," and that was only a part of what he had seen.

Tuster shook his head slightly and explained, "Young Rein, I swore I would never provide any technical support to anyone from Omar again in my life. And even if that Princess has great ambitions, this old man has no intention of currying favor with her."

He paused, then continued, "But considering it was you who entrusted this Mechanical City to me, I should put in my best effort, even if it means risking my reputation. However, since those guys look down on us 'outsiders,' I have no interest in getting involved with them. Now that you're here, choose which half of the Mechanical City you want, and I'll help you design it."

Rein understood.

He hadn't really considered this aspect before.

Old man Tuster was killed and crippled for thirty years by Omar's men. His resentment is definitely not something that can be easily forgotten.

If it weren't for his connection with Rein, the old man probably wouldn't have even come, let alone worked with the people from the Oma Royal Academy of Sciences.

But now, the old man wanted to help, but he didn't expect to be looked down upon.

The Mechanist Guild's assessment medals are essentially equivalent to professional qualification certificates in the previous life, with levels of beginner, intermediate, advanced, and even grandmaster and Grandmaster.

Ymir happened to bring a "Mechanical Grandmaster" with him to build up the territory.

Such highly skilled individuals are extremely rare throughout the entire Oma Empire. Only "Grandmaster" level mechanics would dare claim they could design a complete Mechanical City.

People living near the capital city are inherently arrogant; in their eyes, anyone who isn't from the capital is a "country bumpkin."

Moreover, in the field of mechanical technology, those who come from the Oma Royal Academy of Sciences, which is known as the "holy land of mechanics," are indeed qualified to stand at the top of the hierarchy of contempt.

In their eyes, there are only two kinds of mechanics: "Unlicensed mechanics" and "Royal Mechanist".

Of course, there's nothing wrong with that.

The premise is that Mr. Tuster is excluded.

Then, these arrogant mechanics from the Oma Imperial Capital naturally looked down on the Tuster grandfather and grandson. They didn't even have basic certification, so how could they be allowed to participate in such high-end "mechanical airship" research?

Tuster didn't even get to see the Mechanical Grandmaster before being stopped at the door by the mechanical apprentice.

The old man already harbored resentment towards Omar's men. He didn't offer any explanation, just waiting for Rein to distance himself from those guys.

At this point, Tuster made no attempt to hide his disdain, saying, "Hmph! With that kind of fame-seeking fellow as dean, what kind of talent can be cultivated in such a corrupt academic atmosphere? Even I, after seeing the technology in these mechanical Airship Wreckage, have many advanced designs that I can't even understand yet. It's not that I look down on those guys from Omar, but giving them this Mechanical City wreckage would be a complete waste."

If there were other people here, they would definitely think that this old man was talking nonsense.

Where is the Mechanical Grandmaster from the Oma Royal Academy of Sciences? Isn't he one of the top technical talents?

In your eyes, an old country bumpkin, does he sound like some quack mechanic whose design you can't understand?

Rein had personally witnessed firsthand just how skilled the old man was with machinery back at the "Plague Base".

Looking at the entire field of machinery, the mechanical technology that this old man possesses, which far surpasses the current era, is the source of his confidence.

To put it bluntly, if someone else were to design the Mechanical City, he really felt it would be a "waste of talent."

Although Tuster said this with a hint of resentment, he had the right to be arrogant.

Rein nodded, agreeing with the old man's words, and added, "Grandpa Tuster, don't worry, I'll go find Prince Ymir in a bit."

In his mind, the chief architect of this Mechanical City had to be Tuster.

"Um."

Listen, Tuster didn't say anything more.

He knew that Rein wouldn't think he was after any empty fame, and there was no need for him to explain.

But after thinking it over, he sighed, feeling a pang of heartache for the technology. "If it doesn't work, we can split it in two. But it's best to keep it as a whole. A Mechanical City of airships far surpassing current mechanical technology relies heavily on continuous design; having only half of it would significantly diminish its value. Moreover, this is a treasure bestowed upon all humanity by the 'God of Steam,' a major opportunity that could propel our current Steam Machinery technology to new heights. It's not worth splitting it up out of spite."

Even if it might be misunderstood as "being greedy for credit," he simply couldn't bear to see this wreckage, which was capable of revolutionizing the current mechanical field, being ruined.

For him, machines were life itself.

Rein nodded. "Yes, I know."

Thanks to 'Little Q Loves Reading' 1500, 'ヒロハル' 1500, 'Jin Taiyi's Goda' 500, 'Attack Power is Zero' 500, 'Sanskrit (Li)', 'Zhu Muyan's Abba', 'Severe Loneliness', 'Tide Ju'. Thank you for your rewards. Thank you.