Through his True Sight Eye, Li Wei watched Garvin use the first-circle Psionics spell Hypnotize Beast to hypnotize and brainwash two male Cavens Rats into mating with each other, squeaking loudly all the while. He could only stare in wordless disbelief. He sent Remlu to make another trip and tell the two idiots to learn the basics of telling male and female Cavens Rats apart, then turned his attention to the progress of the work in the West Mining Area.
Having been through plenty of online games in his previous life, he'd always figured that even in a Different World, mining should at least involve ore carts and tracks to haul the ore around.
But these guys were still hacking chunks out of the rock walls with pickaxes, then using crude homemade baskets to carry them back and forth between the mine and the ore storage and registration site. Seeing their methods, Li Wei instantly despaired of their mining efficiency.
At his current size, he could consume around sixty thousand pounds of various ores a day, on top of the meat he needed.
At the rate these slackers were mining, once they paid the mineral tax owed to Gershon City, they might just barely have enough left to feed him.
If things continued like this, he had no idea how long he'd have to put off his hibernation. Never mind his plans to turn mineral resources into wealth or build a military factory.
"This is way too slow! We have to work faster." Li Wei made up his mind, then thought with a pang of frustration, If only I could avoid paying taxes. But for now, I'll just have to put up with it.
The circumstances were against him. The reason the Drow in Gershon City tolerated a bizarre settlement like Zelandia was no secret.
The settlement was in the Dark Magic Web, which directly restricted the Drow's spellcasting. The Drow were also tied up with the Mind Flayers of Iron Melting Fortress and couldn't spare the troops. Then there was the cost-effectiveness of deploying a large force. Finally, Tiger had volunteered to pay mineral taxes, and that had become his lifeline—the one thing preserving his freedom.
If the mineral revenue suddenly stopped, the Drow—who had already drawn most of their able-bodied troops away to deal with the Psionic Slaves of Iron Melting Fortress—would probably still launch a swift campaign against this troublesome Lower City, if only to save face.
Even with their spellcasting restricted, the Drow were still deadly with their arrows and decapitation tactics.
Since he couldn't cut expenses, he'd have to solve the problem at its source.
"Maybe I should build a furnace first? That would take care of the power and transportation problems."
At the thought, Li Wei began rummaging through the "junk" in his Soul Space. It was all stuff he'd painstakingly "swallowed" bit by bit from the defunct Inheritance Dreamscape. Things over there were an absolute mess.
Without tidying it up, looking for something in there was like asking someone used to a high-end modern computer to find a file on an old 186 machine that had just caught a virus and had all its folders jumbled up. It was enough to drive anyone mad.
In fact, Li Wei felt like he'd already gone "mad" plenty of times. What could he do? These were the only two cheat abilities he had.
That was right! Two cheat abilities!
He, Li Wei, clearly had two powerful cheats. Together, they should have made him the biggest cheater in Coriel's history, earned him the title of Silver Dragon Arbiter, and let him build a harem of every race before reaching the pinnacle of dragonhood. So why had things turned out like this?
In any other novel, his dragon Inheritance Dreamscape should've been like a gentle, tender girl, comforting him again and again whenever he tossed and turned in his dreams—with all kinds of powerful skills.
And the Technology Side presence that appeared later should've been like a virile, wealthy hunk, paving the way for him by flinging one piece of unheard-of Black Technology after another at him.
When a girl and a hunk suddenly met, shouldn't they have fallen into perfect harmony—or even produced some kind of happy accident that became his third cheat?
So why were they acting like exes who'd run into each other with a new partner, both determined to kill the other even if it meant mutual destruction?
"I've got it so rough!" Li Wei flung away half a garbled copy of the Hydrogen Furnace Design Book and the Void Umbral Energy Conversion Equation. Once again, he was a lazy dragon, deeply convinced he was an idiot.
After resting with his eyes closed for a while and steadying his nerves, Li Wei stopped fretting over the bits of Black Technology in his Soul Space, which looked like they'd been dug up from an archaeological site.
Never mind that most of the stuff was incomplete and useless. Even if he had the original versions, they'd be no help right now. If someone handed an elementary school student the official design blueprints for the Apollo moon rocket, would that let him build one?
"I don't have any Arcanists I can trust yet. Otherwise, I could hand them the simpler-looking things to study. I wouldn't expect them to replicate the originals, but maybe they could get some ideas and come up with something useful. Too bad I didn't transmigrate to the Netheril Era." Li Wei consoled himself.
He had no idea that if some Arcanists heard him say that, most would just sneer. If the Netheril Era had really produced a weirdo like Li Wei, the first thing those Great Arcanists—who'd do anything to uncover the truths of the world—would do was strap him to a dissection table.
Of course, they'd never waste such a promising research subject, nor would they let their test subject die easily.
His body, his soul, the knowledge contained within his soul, even his way of thinking and reasoning—so different from anything in this world—all of it would become an object of study.
"Never mind. I'll start with something practical."
With that, Li Wei grabbed a handful of choice iron ore the Gnolls had brought to his lair. A scorching flame surged between his teeth.
The iron ore in his claws, engulfed by the flames, began to melt before his eyes, even seeping between the gaps in his scales.
As the molten iron began to drip to the ground, Li Wei tried to use magic to wrap around it and shape it.
Sizzle.
The scalding iron seemed to pass straight through his magic, landing on the ground with a wisp of smoke. A fair amount splashed onto his feet, too.
Li Wei felt as awkward as someone who'd peed into the wind and soaked his shoes. Clearly, this wasn't going to be as simple as he'd imagined.
For one thing, with his current level of control over magic, it was difficult to affect the material world directly. Even a dragon's ability to fly by manipulating magic was more like the spell-like effects of Air Dance or Levitate, combined with using its wings to change direction.
Directly affecting the material world with one's thoughts was the domain of Psionics users.
Li Wei didn't get discouraged after his first attempt failed. Instead, he gouged a few hollows into the lair floor with his claws to use as molds. He melted the iron ore into liquid and poured it inside.
Once it had cooled, he pried out the stone plates and fitted them together by melting their edges.
After quite a while, Li Wei stared at the boxy iron-and-stone contraption he'd made with his own claws and sighed deeply.
"At best, this is a Pressure Cooker. No idea if it'll leak, either. But I don't have much to work with, so this will have to do for now. As expected, even though I know the basic principles of a steam engine, putting them into practice is still a bit over my head as a former liberal arts student."
Li Wei knocked on his head, then decided he'd better solve the problem as soon as possible. Mining efficiency had to improve before he went into hibernation.
His Red Dragon body abruptly transformed into a Gnoll. He hefted the dented "Pressure Cooker" and called to Remlu, who'd just returned:
"Go tell Huozi to look through the résumé list for me and find a few spellcasters. Ideally, they should have studied the Arcane Arts, too."
Remlu had just transformed into a Slime and happily leaped into the pile of treasures. Hearing his instruction, she deflated like a popped balloon.
She made a little "Mmmph!" of protest, then reluctantly turned back into a fish-person, picked up her Coral Fork, and went to find Huozi, who was just as busy as she was.
Thanks to Fried Potato Is The Best for the five hundred-reward donation, and to xiaotang246 for the hundred-reward donation. Please keep sending Recommendation Tickets!
Before you continue