Chapter 74: Recognition (3)

A few days earlier…

Douglas and Pablo had been summoned by Louis. They raised their eyebrows as they examined the blueprints he handed them.

“You want us to make this?”

“What exactly is it for?”

Louis presented multiple drawings to Douglas and Pablo. While they understood that combining all these parts would create something whole, looking at each blueprint individually gave no indication of its intended purpose.

This was understandable since the blueprints were based on modern-day items from Louis’s previous life. However, there wasn’t enough time for Louis to explain everything in detail.

“I’ll provide more information as you work on it. Let’s get started.”

“Ugh… Understood.”

They grumbled but couldn’t refuse the work outright. Who would dare defy such an order?

And so Douglas and Pablo moved to the forge-cum-workshop located inside one corner of the tower. From that day on, their hammering began in earnest.

However, there was one issue.

“Hmm… This isn’t right.”

“What? We followed your plans exactly.”

“Hmm… Yes, you’re correct.”

This time, it was Louis who groaned. Indeed, Douglas and Pablo had meticulously crafted everything according to his blueprints. The problem lay with Louis himself. His designs combined his rudimentary knowledge of modern technology with holy magic principles, creating a unique artifact.

Of course, there had been no prototypes to test along the way, so even if they followed his plans exactly, it was impossible to guarantee success without conducting various trials during production…

Which means I have to personally oversee each step of the process…

Louis would draw up the blueprints, Pablo and Douglas would create the artifact based on those drawings, Louis would then verify whether it functioned properly or not, make adjustments as needed, redraw the blueprints, and repeat the cycle…

The whole ordeal frustrated him immensely.

This is terribly inefficient.

Finally, Louis lost all patience and yelled, “Argh! Fine! Let me just do this myself!”

If he made the artifact himself, he could skip several steps involving feedback from the dwarves.

Having reached his limit, Louis decided to craft it himself.

Pablo and Douglas overheard Louis’s outburst.

“What? Ha-ha-ha!”

“…Ha-ha.”

The two dwarves chuckled at Louis’s proclamation.

Louis frowned. “What’re you laughing about?”

“Ha-ha, yardang crafting is…not as easy as you think.”

“That’s right. It takes years of practice.”

These dwarves had been wielding hammers since they were young, with the shortest among them having decades of experience while others boasted hundreds of years. To them, Louis seemed foolish for underestimating their craft, even if he was a dragon.

However…

“So? Let’s hear it anyway.”

Louis refused to back down, so Pablo sighed heavily.

“Oh boy… Fine then.”

Pablo and Douglas were confident that Louis would give up once he realized how difficult blacksmithing was.

“Let’s start with the basics.”

They began by teaching him how to properly hold a hammer.

A few hours later…

Clank! Clank!

“…”

Pablo and Douglas watched Louis pounding away at metal near the furnace, their jaws dropping.

“All done!” Louis beamed as he admired his handiwork. He held out the sword for inspection. “So, what do you think? Not bad, right?”

It wasn’t just not bad—it matched the quality of swords crafted by master blacksmiths.

The dwarf’s trained eye instantly assessed Louis’s craftsmanship. Douglas was so astonished that his jaw dropped, but he reluctantly nodded.

“Uh… Y-yes… It’s very well made.”

“Right?”

“…Yes.”

Pablo and Douglas were rendered speechless by Louis’s smug expression.

What have I been doing with my life until now…?

Haah… Life is meaningless.

Louis had displayed extraordinary talent to create such a sword after wielding a hammer for only a few hours.

“Oh, this yardang technique isn’t too hard!”

“…”

As they watched Louis swinging the hammer effortlessly, Pablo and Douglas shared the same thought:

Damn dragons!

They finally realized why dragons preferred to employ dwarves instead of crafting weapons themselves—it wasn’t because they lacked skill but rather due to sheer laziness.

As Douglas and Pablo were lost in their thoughts,

Clank-clank.

Dexter watched Louis hammering away, mesmerized by his intense focus. A myriad of emotions swirled inside him.

What if…he actually creates something with this?

The ten-year-old boy had made a bold claim no one believed would come to fruition. But what if he succeeded… Would Dexter have any choice but to acknowledge Louis then?

I mean…

Despite himself, Dexter felt slightly excited about whatever surprise Louis was working on.

Where did such a kid even come from…?

A mix of emotions played across Dexter’s face as he continued observing Louis.

Suddenly, Louis stopped hammering. “It’s done!” he declared loudly.

Despite the intense pounding, it was odd that Louis hadn’t broken a sweat, but Dexter, mesmerized by his work, didn’t notice this discrepancy.

Louis grinned as he admired what he had created.

This is kinda fun.

Initially, he’d wondered why anyone would bother with such a task, but now he found himself feeling oddly accomplished and relaxed, stress melting away as he worked. There was a certain joy to seeing something come together with one’s own hands. Louis couldn’t deny how much he enjoyed it.

Is this how model kit enthusiasts feel?

Though not quite the same, the sentiment resonated with him.

“Huh?” Louis, caught up in his excitement, suddenly noticed his audience. “What’re you doing there?”

“Oh…uh…” Dexter finally snapped out of his daze and sheepishly mumbled, “I-I just came to check on you.”

“Hmm…” Louis narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “What, were you spying on me, old man?”

“S-spying!” Dexter indignantly sputtered before quietly retreating. “I only came because it was so noisy over here.”

“Sure, sure. That’s your story.”

“You need to work more quietly from now on!”

“How do I hammer things quietly?”

“Just do as I say!”

Dexter turned away, exasperated by Louis’s attitude.

As he watched Dexter walk off, Louis muttered, “What a grumpy old man.” With that, he swung his hammer once again.

After that day, Dexter didn’t visit Louis’s workshop nor interfered with his activities. He merely observed from afar. On the other hand, Louis became a frequent visitor to Dexter’s workshop.

“Hey, Grandpa?” Louis peeked inside through the slightly opened door.

Dexter, engrossed in drawing blueprints, yelled at him upon seeing who it was.

Inseok

“what now?!”

“Oh, just checking things out.”

“What do you mean ‘just’? Are you casing the place for more theft?!”

“Theft? I’m only borrowing them, sir.”

“When have you ever returned anything you borrowed?!”

“Well, I’ll return them once my work is done.”

“Bring them back right now! I need those tools too!”

“All righty.”

Louis had been stealthily stealing—no, borrowing—various tools from Dexter’s workshop on multiple occasions. His eyes scanned Dexter’s tools, searching for something new.

Hmm… What’s this tool used for?

As usual, Louis browsed Dexter’s toolbox and grabbed another tool without knowing its purpose.

Let’s take this first. I’ll find some use for it.

Louis tiptoed away like a cat but paused to observe Dexter engrossed in his blueprints. His gaze then caught sight of something massive covered with cloth behind Dexter.

I wonder what that is?

It had always piqued his curiosity whenever he entered Dexter’s workshop. What could be so important that Dexter felt compelled to keep it hidden?

Dexter noticed Louis lurking around the shrouded object and called out, “What, trying to steal that too?”

“Oh, come on! How would I even steal this thing? It looks over two meters tall at least.”

Of course, size alone wouldn’t deter him from attempting theft. As Dexter returned his attention to the blueprint, Louis subtly probed further.

“So what exactly is this thing? Why keep it hidden away like this?”

Dexter’s hand stopped moving over the blueprints at Louis’s question. After a brief pause, Dexter spoke up.

“People tend to admire those with extraordinary powers, be they wizards casting flashy spells or warriors surpassing human physical limits. However…”

”…?”

“Despite that, artifacts have always been overlooked by both ordinary people and those wielding Attribute Powers alike. To them, artifacts are merely peculiar objects.”

“And you think…?”

“I wanted recognition. Crafting artifacts is clearly a branch of holy magic, and exceptional artifacts can rival outstanding holy magic and martial arts. What you’re seeing here is…”

Dexter’s gaze fell on the object covered with cloth. “This has been my life’s goal—to create an outstanding artifact that can be compared to holy and martial arts…”

Louis looked at Dexter as he spoke calmly. Despite his old age and frailty, there was a burning passion in his eyes reflecting the fervent dreams of his youth.

However, Louis found this worrisome.

It feels like he’s igniting one last spark before the end.

He recalled how Dexter had collapsed coughing up blood not too long ago. Since then, Dexter’s face seemed to grow more gaunt each day.

As Louis continued observing Dexter silently:

“Ahem, ahem.”

Dexter started coughing again.

“Oh dear… It’s time for my medication.”

He glanced at the clock and headed to the kitchen. Louis was about to follow when he noticed the blueprints Dexter had been studying earlier.

“Hmm?” He leaned over for a closer look and soon became engrossed in them.

“This is…?”

The plans depicted intricate circuits entangled together. However, Louis quickly realized what they were meant for.

“Oh! Look at this!” His eyes twinkled as if he’d reached some epiphany. But then his expression turned slightly disappointed.

“…It’s not finished yet?”

Every time Louis visited the workshop, Dexter would be hunched over these same blueprints, muttering to himself.

On many occasions, Louis skipped meals because he was stuck on something and spent all day poring over blueprints. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that’s what occupied most of his waking hours.

As Louis continued staring at the drawings, Dexter returned.

“You’re still here? Time to go. I have work to do.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And bring me some bitter tea right away!”

“Yessir!” Louis responded half-heartedly as Dexter nagged him.

In that moment, Dexter noticed a small smile playing across Louis’s face.

Why is this brat smiling?

The peculiar grin made Dexter frown deeply.

Regardless of what Dexter said, Louis simply nodded and left the workshop.

“You’re such an enigma, Louis.” Dexter shook off thoughts of Louis’s peculiar smile and returned to his research.

Meanwhile, outside the door, Louis’s small grin widened.

“Heh-heh-heh!”

Dexter could never have imagined that the blueprints for the invention he had spent his entire life conceptualizing were stored inside the head of a young dragon.

“This should work nicely, don’t you think?” And unbeknownst to him, this very invention was being reimagined within Louis’s mind.