CHAPTER 504: CHAPTER 433 THAT’S STEAM! (TWO-IN-ONE)_2

Even though Dwarfs were extremely resentful, most of the time it was towards outsiders, but in this Dwarf child’s mind, there seemed to be a Book of Hatred, chronicling various resentments since birth.

Finally, Vidor’s hundredfold retaliation caused his peers to develop a huge disdain towards him. What hatred brought back was only more hatred.

His peers understood Vidor far better than those wise Elders or Clan Leaders. They were deeply skeptical about Vidor’s sudden talent, and as Vidor became increasingly assertive, the young boy revealed more and more flaws.

For example, although Vidor could create exquisite mechanical structures, there were times when he seemed completely clueless about how they operated, and so on—too numerous to count.

His peers secretly conspired to uncover Vidor’s secrets.

And they found a great starting point—Vidor’s gambling-addicted father.

...

Inside Veldor’s house.

Because the Wood Stone Clan Dwarfs lived in the woods, unlike other artisan-involved Clans who lived in stone houses, they resided in wooden longhouses similar to humans.

Due to the living conditions of the Wood Stone Clan, although they bore the appearance of Dwarfs and revered forging, mechanics, and architecture, their customs were actually closer to humans or Three-eyed Ape People.

As dusk slowly fell, Veldor hid away in his room. Since his mother left, he had become withdrawn, accustomed to being alone.

He flipped through the Mechanical Book in his hands, his gaze deeply drawn to one of the pages in the latter half.

It was a beautiful illustration depicting an unprecedented Underground City made of steel and brass, its entirety connected by minecart-like tracks. Vast, majestic mist enshrouded the towering Temple, and giant machines belching black smoke propelled the city like gears in motion...

"Simply... perfect..."

Veldor couldn’t help but exclaim,

"It’s just... a craftsman’s Heaven."

This Dwarf youth’s gaze was deeply attracted by the Underground City in front of him. The city didn’t seem like something from this era. It was so vast and so orderly. At this moment, wood was no longer the main substance of the city; instead, steel and brass took its place, with precision and massive machines operating as if unattended in the black smoke.

Although he couldn’t read, let alone recognize the text in the book, he could only understand the records through the illustrations, and he couldn’t comprehend how exactly this Underground City operated. But as long as he saw that Underground City, no matter how many times he saw it, he would always be stunned by the scene in front of him.

Slowly coming back from the shock, Veldor focused on the first page of this Chapter, trying hard to learn the mechanical structures through the illustrations.

This Mechanical Book was divided into many Chapters, each representing a different kind of mechanism. Within the same Chapter, the earlier the mechanical structure, the simpler it was—this was a pattern Veldor had figured out.

In the illustration in the book, there was a hollow brass container with a small opening, like a small ball.

Veldor saw that underneath the small ball was a copper pot filled with water. The copper pot was connected to the small ball with two hollow tubes, and underneath the copper pot, there was a flame heating it.

In the subsequent illustration, the small ball started to spin.

"What is this?" Veldor murmured to himself,

"The bottom of the pot heats up, then the small ball spins? Is this witchcraft? Or Ancient Language?

No... it shouldn’t be... think again, Veldor, think again,

There’s water in the pot, then a fire heating it, after the water heats up, the small ball spins..."

"Could it be..."

Veldor’s eyes widened in surprise,

"Steam? Water steam?!"

The Dwarf youth found it unbelievable, yet felt like he was having an epiphany, just like those Noble craftsmen’s children solving math problems.

"The bottom of the pot heats up... making the water boil, steam from the pot enters the ball through the tubes, and finally, the steam exits from the opening of the ball, causing the ball to rotate..."

Veldor tried hard to reconstruct the whole principle, the more he thought, the more excited he became,

"And that city, everywhere there’s mist, those... could that also be steam?!"

"Yes, very likely! Very likely!

It is steam!"

The young Dwarf trembled as if he had discovered a new world.

Slowly, Veldor composed himself, murmuring softly,

"Great Mountain and Craftsman God, thank you for bestowing this supreme treasure upon me..."

Having said this, Veldor was about to turn to the next page of the book.

Just then... he suddenly smelled something burning, a thick smell of smoke began to spread.

"What is that?"

Veldor picked up the Mechanical Book and walked out of the room, puzzled. As he pushed open the door, he intended to see what was happening.

Then, he saw the black smoke coming from the back of the house. The dwarf boy mistakenly thought it was a fire and hurriedly ran towards it, shouting loudly.

But when Veldor reached the back of the house, what awaited him was not a burning building but a group of peers who lured him out by burning straw.

"Tsks... so it’s this book."

The son of the Great Elder laughed teasingly as he casually flipped through the Mechanical Book in his hand.

Due to a dwarf’s nature, he knew at a glance that the book in his hands was no ordinary book.

In front of him, several boys and girls of his age pinned Veldor to the ground, and no matter how hard he fought, they did not let go.

"Molu... give it back to me!"

Veldor snarled viciously.

He was covered in bruises, and the Mechanical Book had been seized by those peers whom he had taken revenge on.

"I wondered how you suddenly became so talented, almost as if you had a Divine Revelation... so it really was thanks to this book..."

As he spoke, Molu, the son of the Great Elder, shook the Mechanical Book in his hand and mocked,

"If it weren’t for your drunken father, we wouldn’t have known about this book...

Veldor, I really hope you learn your lesson."

Facing the mockery of his peers, Veldor’s face turned red with rage that burned fiercely. He continued to struggle, but the boys and girls held him pinned to the ground.

"Give it back to me!"

He roared furiously.

"Give it back to you? To keep it to yourself exclusively?"

Molu sneered sinisterly,

"Of course, I won’t keep it to myself, because I’m not as selfish as you.

Such a precious book, I will hand it over to the Clan Leader, and from now on, it shall belong to the entire Clan.

Be happy, Veldor, this is also a great contribution from you, isn’t it?"

Veldor’s eyes filled with fury. If Molu had kept it to himself, he could have used his recent prestige to compel the Clan Leader to demand its return.

But once Molu handed it over to the Clan Leader, making it public, the false image he had created would be shattered, and he would have to return as much as he had gained before.

Veldor looked desperate, yet he was powerless.

"Go on, beat him until he can’t walk."

Molu looked up and instructed the crowd.

The boys and girls nodded, and soon after, Veldor was subjected to a beating.

"Molu... Molu..."

Veldor, covered in wounds, lay weakly in bed.

He almost crazily muttered his nemesis’s name as if to etch it into his heart.

Dwarfs are a vengeful race.

Veldor was among the most vengeful, eager to tear the son of the Great Elder to pieces and feed him to the pigs and dogs.

But he was powerless.

His peers mocked him, bullied him, and looked up to the son of the Great Elder.

In this moment, Veldor felt deep regret.

He should not have flaunted the Mechanical Book! He should not have been so eager to take revenge on his peers!

His flaunting and eagerness for revenge had triggered more revenge, creating a cycle of retaliation—you retaliate against me, I retaliate against you.

Now... everything was over; he could no longer keep the book all to himself, and his true identity was about to be revealed...

Veldor gasped for breath, his dignity shattered.