Overwhelming Firepower

The creation of the train was finally starting. Most of the workforce were now fully concentrating on working on creating the train.

In the beginning, only the blacksmiths were involved in the project, but then others started joining in.

Among the Mages, the ones from the Grey Tower came to help first, which led to Robert’s irritation and sudden rampage.

It took a few Mages and knights to calm Robert down. Because of that incident, Robert wasn’t allowed in the forge for a week, which he found unfair.

He did try to sneak in, but the security became tighter because of the incident. A few other mages from different towers also joined in the creation of the train.

After a week or so, a few dwarves arrived in Ironhold. Unlike when Durik first arrived, the people of Ironhold were now used to seeing a dwarf, so adding a few more didn’t garner that much of a reaction.

With more hands involved, the forge changed again, but not in the way most expected. Although mages arrived in Ironhold, none of them touched the train itself.

The Grey Tower mages who came first quickly understood the rule Lucen had laid down. They did not engrave runes, channel mana, or reinforce anything through magic.

Instead, they assisted as engineers, lending knowledge of structure, stress distribution, and precision measurement. Their role was to observe, calculate, and advise, not to alter the metal through spells.

The other mages helped in different ways, only casting spells to make physical labor easier.

The train itself remained untouched by magic, but the world around it became more efficient. Earth was leveled more quickly so heavier components could be moved without strain.

Temporary structures were raised to shelter the forge from wind and rain. Heat was redirected, smoke vented more cleanly, and water channels were expanded to ensure the waterwheel never slowed.

None of it altered the machine; they needed this to be something that people without any mana or aura could create.

Inside the forge, the train’s frame began to take definitive shape. Thick steel beams were fitted together through interlocking joints and reinforced with rivets driven in while the metal was still hot.

Each connection was tested under load, then tested again. Testing the joints was not a gentle process.

Weighted blocks were hoisted and dropped onto the frame, chains groaning as they tightened.

On more than one occasion, a beam screamed under stress before settling back into place.

When that happened, everyone nearby froze. A single misjudgment here could turn tons of metal into flying shrapnel.

Only after the sound faded and the structure held firm did work resume, slower and more deliberate than before.

Durik oversaw the work personally. He moved constantly, from anvil to mold to assembly platform, correcting angles, rejecting imperfect parts, and approving others with a sharp nod.

The wheels were next. Each was forged as a single piece, heavy and uncompromising, then mounted and rolled along short test rails laid inside Ironhold. Some were discarded immediately.

Others were reshaped, reheated, and tested again until they turned smoothly without wobble or drag.

Only once the frame and wheels were deemed acceptable did work begin on the steam engine.

It took them a few weeks to finish the two, which was an incredible feat since in Lucen’s past life, it took years to make, but with the help of magic and the dwarves, the pace was incredibly fast.

***

Durik and the others did not immediately start building the steam engine as they waited for Lucen to return from his training expedition.

During the time they were making the frame and wheels of the train, Lucen, who wasn’t good enough to join the work, headed out to go train instead.

He went to areas infested with monsters to hunt them down that were near towns and villages.

Lucen’s strength had increased from the hunting, and he had gained a few things from the training.

His current status window had become nice to look at for him.

[STATUS WINDOW]

Name: Lucen Thornehart

Age: 16

Class: Gun Mage

Level: 20

Health: 3477 / 3477

Mana: 525 / 525

AP: 300 / 300

Aura: Awakened (2nd Mantle)

Mana Core: Second Circle

SKILLS

+ Bullet Creation – Active (Intermediate)

+ Gun Creation – Active (Intermediate)

+ Gun Knowledge – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Marksmanship – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Gun Kata – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Alchemy – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Battle Instinct – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Regeneration – Passive (Novice)

+ Flame Resistance – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Poison Resistance – Passive (Advanced)

+ RELEASE – Active (Novice)

+ Ricochet – Active (Intermediate)

+ Blacksmithing – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Ice Resistance – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Elemental Bullet – Active (Intermediate)

+ Killing Zone – Passive (Novice)

+ Woodworking – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Fear Resistance – Passive (Intermediate)

+ Unarmed Combat – Passive (Beginner)

+ Bullet Parry – Active (Beginner)

+ Suppressive Presence – Passive (Beginner)

+ Explosive Bullet – Active (Beginner)

TRAITS

• Thornehart Lineage (Dormant)

• Foreign Soul (Unique)

+ Training Adept (Rare)

+ Grit (Normal)

+ Acting Adept (Rare)

+ Dragonkiller’s Resolve (Epic)

+ To the one who had been given to (Legendary)

+ Battle-Crazed (Rare)

BLESSINGS

+ Unyielding

He had gained a lot of things from training and hunting. Still, despite the impressive look of his status window, just looking at his HP, MP, and AP at this level, he now once again confirmed how far his base talent was from Alexander’s talent, the true protagonist.

This was something he already understood before. Alexander was a paragon-type hero who had the strength to match his convictions. He was not someone Lucen could compare to, nor did he want to.

Even though Alexander’s stats differ depending on how you play him, at the same level, Alexander’s stats were higher than Lucen’s current visible stats.

The advantage Lucen had was that he had more skills and traits than the different versions of Alexander at the same level.

’Well, he did have a set of skills ready. Unlike me, who can only gain them through training or leveling up.’

Lucen accepted that he didn’t need to be stronger than Alexander. He needed to be ready in ways Alexander wasn’t.

***

When Lucen returned to Ironhold, he was immediately brought to the forge so that they could start making the steam engine with him present.

It should also be noted that Robert was supposed to be here as well, but because of his behavior when he saw the grey tower mages, he was once again banned from entering the forge for the time being.

The moment he stepped inside, the heat hit him like a familiar embrace. The scent of oil, hot iron, and coal filled his lungs, grounding him instantly.

Before him stood the frame and wheels of the train, assembled side by side, massive and unmistakable.

”Okay, now that you’re here, we can finally begin to make the most important part,” Durik spoke and got straight to the point.

The group then began the construction of the steam engine. Work began immediately, without ceremony.

Durik took the center position, claiming the core components as his responsibility. The pressure vessel was forged under his direct supervision, with layered steel shaped, cooled, reheated, and shaped again.

Each pass refined the metal further, the structure growing denser with every cycle. He tested the surface with sound and touch, rejecting anything that rang wrong or felt uneven beneath his fingers.

Around him, the other dwarves spread out, each naturally finding a role without needing instruction.

One group focused on the pistons, carefully boring the cylinders until the inner surfaces were smooth enough to reflect light.

Another worked on the valves, crafting them with obsessive precision so they would seal fully when closed and open cleanly when triggered.

Oswin coordinated the human blacksmiths. They prepared rivets by the hundreds, heating them to the exact temperature needed before passing them down the line.

Others shaped the connecting rods, checking measurements repeatedly against Lucen’s drawings before committing their hammers to metal.

The Tower mages stood at the edges, parchment and measuring tools in hand. They calculated tolerances, marked stress points, and quietly adjusted recommendations when they saw something that could fail under pressure. Their hands never glowed with mana, their role confined to numbers, angles, and logic.

Apprentices moved constantly between stations, carrying parts, cooling finished components, and clearing space as assemblies grew larger. Mistakes were not shouted down. Faulty pieces were simply set aside and replaced without comment.

Lucen walked among them, observing more than directing. He checked seals, traced joints, and compared reality to the designs in his mind.

When something deviated, he corrected it immediately. When something exceeded expectations, he said nothing and let the work continue.

He understood the basics and how it works, but creating the parts and understanding their quality was beyond his current abilities.

Once the pressure vessel was complete, it was mounted onto the frame with reinforced brackets.

The pistons followed, fitted carefully into their housings. Each was tested by hand, pushed back and forth to ensure smooth motion without resistance.

Valves were attached next, their timing tested repeatedly with manual pressure and weighted mechanisms.

Pipes were added last. Thick, curved steel conduits designed to carry steam where it was needed and nowhere else.

Every joint was sealed, tested with water first, then air. Any sign of leakage meant removal and replacement.

While they were making the steam engine outside the forge, one could hear Robert complaining.

He was complaining about why he wasn’t allowed to enter, while the useless Grey Tower B*stards were allowed in, but despite his protest, the ones guarding the forge would not let him in. These continued for a while, right until they finished making the steam engine.

It took them a few months for them to make it. There were some failures along the way, but overall, they did it quite fast. The first steam engine now stood before them assembled.

This was a momentous occasion for many of them who worked hard to make it, but for Lucen, this sight was truly incredible.

It once again proved to him that he was able to advance this world’s tech.

’To think I would see a steam engine in this kind of fantasy world. It’s not far off now, maybe I can truly make this world into a fantasy steampunk world.’ Lucen mused to himself.