Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 1018: Section 654: Love from the Past (Part 1)_2

Chapter 1018: Section 654: Love from the Past (Part 1)_2

Thus, the fourth diary came into Malin’s view.

The Month of Early Summer, the first sunrise.

I finally understand what the so-called Chaos creatures are. These entities, unexpectedly, are just like me—foreign visitors from another dimension. The difference is, I came through a wormhole as an unlucky soul, while they are highly dangerous invaders. The Noble’s younger son, Baal Sebas, explained to me a wealth of knowledge I didn’t know before.

He was also very curious why I didn’t know these things, but he assumed I was a lucky survivor who emerged from a shelter.

He said that back in the Great Destruction Era, sometimes survivors would walk out of the closed shelters. His great-grandfather was one such survivor who had come out of a shelter.

That allowed me to dodge a bullet, as humans in this world harbor hostility toward visitors from the Outer Domain.

Malin chuckled. That father really was quite an amusing character.

But regardless, Malin continued to read on.

The Month of Early Summer, the nineteenth sunrise.

Today, the Noble—no, the Lord—summoned me because I invented the hydraulic forging press. This device enabled his territory to produce at least one breastplate a day (the output could be higher, but the problem lies in the lack of raw materials). The breastplate is about five millimeters thick and incredibly heavy. If I were to wear it, the cause of my death would likely be heart failure rather than being pierced by those so-called arrows.

But he and his guardsmen Knights were very satisfied with the thickness of the armor. They could even wear it and move swiftly, as though aided by divine power.

Is this what Transcendents are?

How intriguing. I want to try becoming a Transcendent. However, the Lord said that his master—no, the term should also mean lord—the Duke, who is a greater Lord, is in fact his own Lord.

The Month of Midsummer, the ninth sunrise.

I met that Lord and made him a custom-fitted full suit of armor.

He is also a Transcendent, and seemingly more powerful. I saw him wearing the armor I designed and leaping over a wall in a single bound.

No wonder the inner walls in these cities, apart from the outermost ones, are so sloppily built. It turns out these inner walls are only meant to fend off mortals. As for Transcendents... well, unless you build another layer of walls.

The Duke was very pleased. Upon learning that I was teaching apprentices knowledge, he decided to have his third son and third daughter join the training as well.

This was extremely favorable news for me. On the same day, my number of apprentices grew to 300, crowding my classroom to the brim.

With the Duke’s involvement, the Earl—the Lord of this territory—decided to grant me a new academy located in a semi-abandoned shelter within his land.

What’s more, he declared that this would be my territory, and that I am now a Baron.

How amusing. If my compatriots knew I became a Baron in some backwater world called the Eastern Kingdom, they would surely be so dumbfounded they wouldn’t know what to say.

Malin raised an eyebrow—Eastern Kingdom, how interesting. Come to think of it, when this body’s father landed, it must have been in the Eastern World. Where did he go afterward?

This must be a very long story. Judging by the thickness of this diary, it’s certainly impossible to explain everything here.

Moreover, while flipping through, Malin noticed that this diary mostly recorded one or two entries per month, and sometimes went two to three months without an entry.

For instance, the next entry was written on the eleventh sunrise of the Month of Forest Bells (July).

The Chaos forces arrived—truly strange creatures. I can somewhat comprehend them now, and I understand the palpable fear that ordinary people exhibit when mentioning these things. Truthfully, becoming one of the semi-slaves in the town is hardly an ideal fate. But look outside the walls at those monstrous creatures. Those twisted forms... it’s terrifying. I’ve already been confirmed to lack the potential to become a Transcendent, which means that if the town falls and I don’t help out, I absolutely won’t outrun these monsters.

It’s said that they eat humans. I wonder if my flesh will even be enough for them to savor as a snack.

On the next page, the entry was dated the third sunrise of the Month of Frost Order (September).

The town successfully defended against this Chaos assault. That’s the good news. The bad news is that half the men in the entire town died. Among my more than 400 apprentices, one-fifth were also lost. The eldest of those apprentices climbed onto the walls. These children were remarkable. They told me, "If the sky collapses, the tallest ones will hold up the falling heavens."

I’ve always had a question: why does this post-apocalyptic world, facing such formidable enemies, still manage to survive?

Now I have my answer—because those who have witnessed the brilliance of civilization carry within them a great dream of rebuilding its glory.

May these children rest in peace. Though I know that some were twisted by Chaos and taken away with the retreating Chaos forces... The commander of the arriving Church of the War God forces told me that they will never find a day of peace again.

Malin let out a sigh without realizing it.

You see, this is humanity’s ode to courage.

Malin turned another page.

The new entry was written on the twenty-seventh sunrise of the Month of Auspicious Calm (December).

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