A time traveler arrives in the Multiverse with an ability that turns confident assumptions into reality. If he believes an ordinary object should perform an impossible task, the rules of the world may simply adjust to make it happen. A bicycle can rise into the sky, common equipment can behave far beyond its normal limits, and even the human body can ignore expectations that should be absolute. The power sounds convenient, but every new idea raises a larger question: if reality keeps obeying what he thinks is “scientific,” how long will it be before no one—including him—can tell where logic ends and imagination begins?
Chapter 22: 022: Oh My God!
You’re So Tall! Kraft entered a dream again. This dream took place in a slightly cluttered room, though most researchers are like that—by comparison, this room was actually quite tidy. Most of the furniture was made of wood. The table was covered with parts like gears and bolts, and hanging on the wall was a hunting rifle—technologically outdated but exquisitely crafted, with intricate carvings. The bookshelf next to it was crammed full of books, and perched on the very top was a mechanical doll that kept dancing. Judging by the overall style, this dream seemed to be set in a period similar to Earth’s 16th or 17th century, but the strange floating chandelier overhead and the dream’s protagonist busily working near the workbench both proved that things weren’t quite that simple. Magical technology? Steampunk? 2077? A few baffling terms popped into Kraft’s mind once again. Without delving into the meanings of those terms, Kraft let out a deep sigh. The sense of historical period displayed in the scene, along with the faintly hinted-at fantastical worldview, made him hold little hope for this dream. Still, he walked over to the dream’s protagonist—after all, broadening his horizons couldn’t hurt. The protagonist of the dream was an old man with snow-white hair and a beard. Unlike most researchers, he wasn’t wearing a white lab coat, but rather a red leather armor set, with a pair of red goggles perched on the bridge of his nose. Most importantly… he was a good deal shorter than Kraft, who was only fourteen. Kraft paid no mind to this, however; instead, his gaze was drawn to the blueprints on the workbench. In stark contrast to the vintage feel of the surrounding furnishings, the design schematics were exquisitely detailed, far surpassing the technical standards one would expect for this era. Although Kraft couldn’t fully decipher the blueprints, he could make out the configuration of an energy core—which meant this contraption wouldn’t require any special abilities to operate. The only question was whether substitutes for the materials used could be found on Earth. Since he couldn’t make sense of the blueprints, Kraft didn’t waste any time at the workbench; after all, he could always retrieve his dream memories later and revisit them once he’d figured them out. He walked over to the bookshelf, scanned the spines, and—unfortunately—it seemed there was no custom of labeling titles on the spines here. So Kraft picked one at random and pulled it out. *Goblins Who Don’t Know How to Innovate* Kraft: … He decisively shoved the book back onto the shelf and picked up another one. *Dwarf Engineering Is the Future* Kraft: … Well, at least I’ve figured out that the mechanical technology here is called “engineering,” and that there are at least two branches… Kraft glanced back at the short old man still busy at his workbench. So he wasn’t a human with dwarfism—he was actually a dwarf by race? The world really is a big place… Kraft marveled once again at the wonders of different worlds, then continued browsing the books on the shelf. *Researching with a Dwarf’s Mindset*, *The Stupid Goblins Who Only Know How to Explode*, *Engineering: From Beginner to Grave*, *100 Tips for Building Energy Cores*, *Biographies of Famous Artisans*, *Dwarves Who Made Enormous Contributions to Engineering*… After scanning the titles of every book on the shelf, Kraft picked up *Engineering: From Beginner to Grave* and began flipping through it. Whatever the protagonist of the dream was building seemed quite challenging; in any case, Kraft devoured the thick volume *Engineering: From Beginner to Grave* in one go, and the dream still hadn’t ended. After finishing the book in his hands, Kraft realized he had gained far more than he had expected. Engineering was indeed a science-based discipline that didn’t require any special abilities to practice. Moreover, for the early and mid-stage designs, most of the required materials could be found on Earth; even if they weren’t available there, suitable substitutes could be found that wouldn’t affect their functionality. His only regret was that many of the later engineering creations required magical materials—and since these materials were generally used to construct the core components, he was at a loss. He would just have to wait and see if he could replace them with a purely technological core when the time came. Although Kraft was itching to rush to the lab right away to delve into his research, the dwarf’s creation wasn’t finished yet, and he couldn’t wake up on his own. So, he picked up the copy of *Goblins Who Don’t Know How to Innovate* he’d pulled out earlier and began flipping through it again. Although the book’s title was rife with prejudice, it should be enough to give him an understanding of what other branches of goblin engineering—different from dwarf engineering—were all about. Unlike gnome engineering, which focuses on inventing all sorts of bizarre gadgets,Goblin engineering was far more practical and closely aligned with Earth’s industrial systems. Their primary focus was on manufacturing various gunpowder weapons and配套 goggles, but compared to Earth’s military hardware, the weapons crafted by the goblins held no particular advantage—it was only the incorporation of magical materials that made them seem somewhat special. The goggles, however, were quite interesting, and they gave Kraft plenty of inspiration through analogy. Closing the book *Goblins Who Don’t Know How to Innovate*, Kraft felt somewhat relieved that he’d dreamed about Dwarf engineering instead. Even if he set aside the book’s biased sections, Goblin engineering wouldn’t have been of much help to him; on the other hand, the many wondrous contraptions in Dwarf engineering had piqued his interest. He glanced over at the gnome, who was still hard at work; his creation was already more than halfway finished and appeared to be some sort of robot. Kraft scratched his head. The blueprints he’d seen earlier clearly showed a vehicle, didn’t they? But then again, that was quite in line with the gnomish engineers’ tendency to come up with all sorts of whimsical ideas on the fly. Although he was somewhat curious about how the dwarf had managed to build a robot based on car blueprints, Kraft merely flipped through some engineering books. It was clearly too difficult for him to make sense of the dwarf’s unconventional methods, so he turned back around, intending to read for a while longer. “I’ll pick a thinner one this time,” Kraft muttered as his fingers swept along the bookshelf. The robot was clearly nearing completion, and there wasn’t enough time to delve deeper into the subject, so he decided to find a different kind of book to relax his mind. In the end, Kraft chose *Biographies of Famous Artisans*—a way to relax while also learning more about the specifics of this world. Then, as he flipped through the pages, Kraft realized… “I think I’ve dreamed about this world before?” Some of the names and major events mentioned in this book were familiar to Kraft—he’d encountered them before at a certain orc blacksmith’s workshop. However, since that orc’s collection of books was so limited, he’d learned most of what he knew from conversations with the orc named Saru Steelfury and others. Thinking about the visitors of various races who had come to the orc blacksmith’s shop, as well as the races mentioned in this book—such as night elves, dwarves, and the Five-Colored Dragons—and the villainous forces like the Burning Legion and the Lich King, Kraft unconsciously scratched his head. “This world really is quite complex…” Since, within dreams, Kraft could automatically learn the languages spoken by the dream’s owner, he had picked up Gnomish and Dwarven—as well as some Elvish and Human—in addition to the Common, Orcish, and Trollish he’d previously learned from Saru Nugang. “Another useless piece of knowledge…” Elvish, in particular—the elves were probably the race that appeared most frequently in dreams aside from humans—and since Elvish varied from world to world, Kraft now knew more than he could count on one hand. Judging by the worldview presented in the book, engineering seems to be only a relatively minor branch in this world; the main focus remains on magic and swords, which explains why this world has such a peculiar technological tree. Furthermore, based on the descriptions in this book, the host of this dream doesn’t seem to be some penniless nobody either. Master Craftsman Ovosback is a leading figure in the dwarven engineering system and was even the mastermind behind the Ironforge Squirrel Rampage incident. After flipping through the character profiles, Ovosback’s creation was nearing completion. Generally speaking, the dream sequence consists of the creation being finished, followed by testing—whether the test passes or fails—and then it ends. Occasionally, it might be extended for a short while, but that happens rather rarely. Kraft edged closer to Ovosback. The dwarf master craftsman was building a robot with a somewhat eerie design—one that towered well above Ovosback himself. The top of the robot lacked a head; instead, there was a seat and a control panel. “My goodness! I’m so tall!” Oversback climbed onto the robot and cheered happily in a high-pitched voice. Only then did Kraft realize that the robot’s bizarre design was actually modeled after Ovosbak’s own outfit… Fine, as long as you’re happy… Kraft looked at the rather surreal design and twitched the corner of his mouth. As Ovosback pushed the lever on the control panel, the Ovosback robot let out a series of “huffing and puffing” sounds, and thick black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipes behind it. “Go on, my baby!” The Ovosback robot wobbled as it lifted its foot and began moving around inside the house. “Yee-haw! Now, enter combat mode!” Ovosback excitedly tapped the control panel a few times, and a jumble of weapons popped out from various parts of the Ovosback robot’s body, and then… sparks began to fly from its joints. “Huh?” Owosback’s smile suddenly froze. Kraft’s heart skipped a beat as well. This plot twist! I’ve seen this at Dr. Agasa’s place! “BOOM!!!” As expected, the Ovosback robot exploded, and Kraft was jolted awake by the blast. “Gah!”
