After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

”This is only the ground floor,” Althea smiled. ”Shall we go visit the rest of it?”

”Do you have to ask!?” the old man said, guiding her to move forward. ”Go, go!”

He practically pushed her forward.

They went to the upper floors where it was mostly dedicated rooms for each System Pharmacist to work on their own. They were given quite ample working space, too.

Each floor would also have communal working spaces if they needed to work as a team and so on.

Hoffen’s eyes reflected the various discussions around that hall. Since all these people were Pharmacist (and he had seen them during the ceremony), the level of discussion was naturally different.

Each one seemed to be working on something interesting. And then, if they were confused by something, they’d roll their chairs with wheels (how convenient) to a central discussion area and begin a discussion with anyone who was available or whoever could help out.

They left the pharmacists alone and headed to the highest floor, taking the main staircase. The main staircase had a comfortable width and had paintings on the landing. They were usually paintings that depicted some old invention back in Terran.

The master would often stop and look, and then she’d give a brief story about the painting’s inspiration.

While on their way to the highest floor, Althea explained a few more things. ”In the Alchemy Wing, many Pharmacists or Alchemist—whether they’re awakened by the System or not—work on various experiments that will ultimately help the territory grow even more.

”The Territory is not stingy with giving resources to these people,” she said. ”Including knowledge. One of the rooms in the upper floor, in fact, is an amalgamation of various knowledge we gathered. The Alchemists simply had to go out and check them for referencing.”

Hoffen looked at her. ”That’s incredibly generous of you.”

”We just have other goals,” she said, and stopped in front of a painting just before they reached the highest floor. Hoffen blinked and followed her sights. He tilted his head to the side, unsure what he was looking at.

It was the painting of helix structures and other things that weren’t visible in the natural world.

Later, he’d find out these were called DNAs, and it was mixed with the images of peas and other abstract objects. They were arranged in visual layers, as if one object was built up over another.

”This painting reminds us of the great findings discovered after building up on previous discoveries by other people, possibly of different eras,” she told him. ”One person could determine a concept today, and then maybe someone—completely unrelated—would be able to find a use for it a hundred years later. And so on.”

Like how DNA was discovered, building up knowledge from discoveries hundreds of years prior to that.

Hoffen’s eyes changed as he looked at the painting. He disliked people and had a natural dislike cooperating. His pride also always stopped him from asking for help. It had rarely affected him before because his talents allowed him to flourish regardless.

Through the past hundred years, he had always worked on his own, whether from scratch or from an inheritance he knew he deserved.

So… this concept was a bit… alien to him, and he never would’ve thought he’d ever start to feel like it wasn’t a bad idea at all.

Althea smiled and finally took him to the upper floor. ”This is the library, where many of our studies and findings have been published,” she said, and Hoffen’s feet moved on their own as he looked around the library.

It was not big—just the size of a room—but it felt massive to Hoffen, and it felt like it was inviting him.

Interestingly, when it was published form, Hoffen had no qualms about reading it.

He then grabbed a random book, one with a colorful cover hard cover. He opened it and was fascinated with the detailed drawings of the plant, but it was in a script he did not understand.

Althea looked over. ”We have a lot, but most of them are in our language,” Terran knowledge was studied for years in school. Naturally the references they would end up creating would be in their language. Another was that Terrans were naturally the priority to learn more.

”Where do I learn?”

Althea’s heart softened at the old man’s question. Instead of demanding she translate the book, he asked where he could learn her language instead.

He might be a grumpy old man, but he was lovable in his own way.

(If anyone Hoffen poisoned would hear of this, they’d definitely tell her off.)

”We have a school. For now, let me translate a passage for you.”

The book he chose was about plant biology. He must have known a lot about them, but a lot of his knowledge was limited by the technology he had access to.

”The stomata, only visible with microscope, are tiny openings that allow for gas exchange—something crucial to its growth.”

She knew he wouldn’t be able to see this with just words. Instead, she took him to one of the laboratories. She took a newly plucked leaf from one of the potted plants there and placed a leaf under the microscope.

”Come here, Master,” she said, pointing at the eyepiece. ”Look through this with an eye.”

”With the microscope, we know that plants have tiny cells, like building blocks,” she said.

Hoffen curiously followed her instructions and peeked.

”Close your other eye for clearer view.”

When he did so, his open eye widened in awe as he looked through the scope. He was introduced to a miniature world with an intricately patterned network of thin veins, much more dense than what the naked eye—even of his level—could see.

He looked and blinked, and he lifted his head to look underneath. He narrowed his eyes at the leaf, looking at it suspiciously.

He tilted his head and looked again, this time, he was moving the leaf around as if the confirm it was really he was looking at it. He even plucked his white hair and placed it underneath, seeing something completely different, too.

His heart palpitated as if he was about to have a heart attack.

Now, there were still many—many—things to learn, but his big brain already scrambled at this new discovery, as if his mind opened to new branches he had not yet explored.

The possibilities… were endless!