Snowstorms swept endlessly across Elarion beneath a dark northern sky.
The mountain fortress stood illuminated by forge fires and mana lamps while distant hammering echoed through the sleeping city below.
Even at midnightâ Elarion never truly rested anymore.
Steel foundries roared day and night. Workshops remained active beneath towering chimneys. Supply wagons moved constantly through widened streets carrying ammunition, steel, timber, and food toward military sectors.
The territory had transformed completely.
No longer a forgotten northern frontier.
Nowâ
It resembled the center of a rising power.
Deep within the upper fortress districtâ
Warm orange firelight illuminated a massive reinforced chamber.
Unlike the cold strategy halls belowâ
This room felt alive.
Weapons decorated the walls beside maps and blueprints. Half-disassembled rifles rested carelessly beside liquor bottles and artillery shell casings.
The smell of burning wood mixed with steel oil and smoke.
It looked less like a noble chamberâ
And more like the den of dangerous men.
Near the massive fireplaceâ
Lucien sat quietly in a black chair holding a glass of dark northern liquor.
Around him sat:
Malen
Cedric
Lucas
Gandalf
Ironbreaker
And somehowâ
Aurethar occupied nearly half the room.
The ancient golden dragon had coiled his enormous body around the gigantic stone chimney built directly into the fortress wall.
Nobody understood how he physically fit there.
Not even the engineers who designed the room.
Massive golden scales reflected the firelight brilliantly while his gigantic tail wrapped lazily around reinforced stone pillars.
One enormous claw rested near the fireplace itself.
Heat naturally radiated from his body.
Clearlyâ
The dragon approved of the arrangement.
Aurethar lazily opened one massive golden eye.
"...Your fortress is warmer now."
Ironbreaker snorted loudly while drinking from a steel mug nearly the size of a helmet.
"Thatâs because half the damn mountain became a forge."
The dragon exhaled smoke lazily.
"Acceptable arrangement."
Cedric leaned back with a grin.
"I still think this is ridiculous."
Aurethar slowly turned his gigantic head toward him.
"...What is?"
"You." "Hanging from a chimney like some oversized house cat."
Lucas nearly spat out his drink trying not to laugh.
Aurethar narrowed his eyes slightly.
"...I could also hang from the ceiling."
Cedric immediately raised both hands.
"No plz chimney is fine."
Even Malen smirked slightly.
Meanwhileâ
Gandalf sat quietly near the fire wrapped in gray robes while reading several engineering papers Lucien had left nearby earlier.
The old wizard frowned deeper every few seconds.
Which usually meant something intellectually horrifying was happening.
Ironbreaker suddenly pointed at Lucien accusingly.
"You know..."
Lucien calmly sipped his drink.
"Hm?"
"Youâve made my people busier than wartime kings."
Lucien nodded slightly.
"Youâre welcome."
The dwarf looked offended.
"That wasnât praise."
Lucas chuckled quietly.
"Thatâs probably the closest thing youâll get from him."
The atmosphere inside the chamber remained calm.
No officers, No messengers,No battlefield reports.
Just exhausted men enjoying rare peace after surviving war.
Outsideâ
Snow continued falling across Elarion.
Insideâ
Warmth and firelight filled the room.
Lucien quietly stared into the flames.
The reflection of fire danced inside his eyes while the conversations around him slowly faded into background noise.
Because his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.
Toward the system.
Toward the reward waiting silently within his mind.
The 10x Rare Spin Voucher.
He had intentionally ignored it earlier.
War came first then repairs and stability.
But nowâ
For the first time since the battleâ
There was finally silence.
Time to think.
Lucien slowly swirled the liquor inside his glass.
Every major reward until now had accelerated Elarionâs growth beyond normal limits.
Rifles. Cannons. Machine guns. Landships.
Each invention had dragged this world further toward mechanized warfare.
And every step made returning impossible.
Aurethar suddenly glanced downward from the chimney.
"...You are thinking loudly again."
Cedric blinked.
"What does that even mean?"
The dragon ignored him.
Golden eyes remained fixed on Lucien.
"...Whenever he looks at fire like that, something troublesome happens afterward."
Ironbreaker immediately pointed at Aurethar.
"SEE? Even the dragon noticed it."
Lucien ignored them.
His thoughts remained fixed on the system.
A rare spin now...
Could determine Elarionâs future direction entirely.
Slowlyâ
He made his decision.
Without reacting outwardlyâ
Lucien activated the spin silently within his mind.
Instantlyâ
Golden symbols exploded across his vision.
Massive rotating mechanical circles appeared within darkness while strange metallic sounds echoed faintly through his consciousness.
Like gigantic unseen gears rotating somewhere beyond reality itself.
[Initializing Rare Spin...]
[Scanning civilization pathway...]
[Pathway Confirmed:]
[Aetheric Mechanized Civilization]
The first reward appeared.
[Reward Acquired]
[Valtherion Mana Drive MK-I]
Knowledge exploded into Lucienâs mind instantly.
Mana compression systems. Mechanical force conversion. Rotational energy transfer. Stabilized power output.
A true engine powered by mana.
Lucienâs fingers tightened slightly around his glass.
The second reward appeared immediately afterward.
[Reward Acquired]
[Pz-III Bastion Blueprint]
A massive torrent of armored vehicle schematics unfolded inside his mind.
Tracked suspension systems. Turret mechanisms. Armor angling. Transmission engineering. Crew compartment structures.
A mana-powered armored vehicle based upon the Panzer III.
This made even lucien surprised this wasnât some ragtag neutered tank version but first true tank and with mana powered engine it will surpass original version by large margin.
A true game changer.
Aurethar suddenly narrowed one massive golden eye.
"...Why do you suddenly look dangerous?"
Lucien ignored him.
Third reward.
[Reward Acquired]
[MG34 "Stormhowl" Blueprint]
Precision machining systems flooded his thoughts.
Belt-fed ammunition. Quick-change barrels. Rapid-fire stabilization.
The true evolution of machine guns.
Inspired by the MG 34 used by german army during world war. This MG was known for its frightening sound and rate of fire.
Fourth reward.
[Reward Acquired]
[TH-105 Thunderbreaker Field Howitzer]
Improved artillery schematics unfolded instantly.
Based upon the devastating efficiency of the 10.5 cm leFH 18.
Long-range bombardment. Advanced recoil systems. Enhanced fragmentation deployment.
A true howitzer finally.
Fifth reward.
[Reward Acquired]
[Aethersteel Alloy Formula]
Lucien just stared wide eyed at this no more thoughts anymore.
Sixth reward.
[Reward Acquired]
[Mana Fragmentation Shell Technology]
Seventh reward.
[Reward Acquired]
[Industrial Precision Manufacturing Package]
Lucienâs breathing slowed slightly.
Mass production systems. Precision tooling. Assembly methods. Interchangeable components.
Industrial evolution itself.
Eighth reward.
[Reward Acquired]
[MT-1 Ironhorse Military Transport Truck]
A mana-powered military transport truck inspired by the Opel Blitz.
Reliable. Fast. Efficient.
Ninth reward.
[Reward Acquired]
[Aether Resonance Locator]
Tenth reward.
[Reward Acquired]
[Aetherrail Transit System]
Mana-powered rail infrastructure consisting of everything from train manufacturing to heavy duty shielded carriages for military operations.
Cargo transport. Troop movement. Heavy logistics everything became much easier and faster .
An entire civilization-changing system.
The system screen slowly vanished.
Silence returned.
Across the roomâ
Everyone stared strangely at Lucien.
Because during the last several minutesâ
He had become completely motionless.
Lucas frowned slightly.
"...Commander?"
Lucien slowly exhaled.
Then stood.
"I need paper."
The room immediately groaned.
Ironbreaker covered his face.
"Oh no."
Cedric laughed.
"That tone means weâre about to spend money."
Lucas just rubbed his temples at this
Lucien ignored them and walked toward the massive blueprint table near the fireplace.
Without hesitationâ
He began sketching rapidly.
Everyone gradually gathered around curiously.
Even Aurethar lowered his gigantic dragon head from the chimney.
Smoke drifted lazily from his nostrils across the ceiling.
Lucas folded his arms.
"That usually means trouble."
Malen nodded immediately.
"Expensive trouble."
Ironbreaker approached the table first.
Then froze.
"...What in the mountain gods is THAT?"
Lucien calmly continued sketching.
"A successor."
The dwarf blinked.
"To what?"
Lucien looked up briefly.
"The landship."
The room became quieter instantly.
More lines appeared rapidly across the parchment.
Then suddenlyâ
The full armored design became visible.
Unlike the massive landshipsâ
This machine looked lean.
Compact. Aggressive. Efficient.
Its armor sloped sharply. Its turret rotated independently. Its tracks looked lighter and faster.
Cedric stared silently.
"...That thing looks scary."
Lucas nodded slowly.
"It looks built for killing."
Aurethar lowered his enormous golden head closer.
Massive glowing eyes studied the design carefully.
"...Smaller."
Lucien nodded.
"Faster."
Another sketch appeared beside it.
Engine layouts. Crew positions. Internal ammunition storage.
Ironbreaker looked horrified already.
"You put a rotating cannon on it."
"Yes."
"...WHY?"
"Because fixed-direction gun placement reduces firing efficiency."
The dwarf looked personally offended.
Gandalf finally approached the table.
Then froze after examining the blueprint carefully.
"...This is not another landship."
Lucien nodded calmly.
"No."
He tapped the central design.
"This is the first true tank."
The room fell silent.
"The landships are breakthrough fortresses."
Lucien continued calmly.
"Slow." "Heavy." "Difficult to deploy."
Then he pointed toward the new design.
"This changes warfare completely."
Lucas frowned thoughtfully.
"How?"
Lucien answered immediately.
"Mobility."
More sketches appeared rapidly.
Formation tactics. Rapid assaults. Armored spearhead maneuvers.
"These tanks do not merely survive battle."
Lucienâs eyes sharpened slightly.
"They will dominate it."
Silence filled the room.
Even Aurethar stopped joking now.
The ancient golden dragon studied the design carefully.
"...How many?"
Lucien answered calmly.
"Eventually?"
He looked briefly toward the fire.
"Hundreds."
The room froze.
Ironbreaker immediately exploded.
"HUNDREDS?!"
After the episode lucien kept drawing the designs one by one and none even appeared surprised anymore.
Everyone just started wide eyes at each other because any of this is enough to dominate battles for decades to come.