Chapter 195: Frozen Time

Ping!

Rino was stunned. He was still replenishing his sketchpad supply when he saw the system notification. Thankfully, nobody was around so Rino quickly checked his quest and noticed that the daily quest was completed way ahead of time.

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Daily Quest #22 (complete)

Objective: Build a Water Wheel

Time Limit: 14 Days

Tutorial here.

Reward: Pickaxe Crafting Recipe

Claim your reward here.

Penalty: Deduct 24 hours of sleep upon failure and [Curse of Overtime] until quest is forcefully completed.

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Not one to hesitate, Rino claimed his reward and decided to take this time to share the recipes he had in his arsenal with the crafters. He might not be good at drawing or sculpting, but Rino was good at technical drawings, which was a whole new set of skills. 

After coming to this world, Rino received so many rewards from completing the daily quests but nothing that stood out in particular. The complex culinary recipe books were probably the one thing Rino appreciated because they enriched lifestyle and culture. Making something complicated to achieve also meant that Rino could divvy the responsibilities and create more jobs. Rarity increased the value of things, and those who worked well should be rewarded accordingly.

As of now, motivation and initiative are sorely lacking in the lower-levelled undead subordinates. In his absence, the number of people Rino could count on to hold the fort was less than a handful. That certainly wasn't going to be enough in the future when Rino expanded. There were some promising individuals, but they were not ready to assist Rino at their current capabilities. Lack of experience and knowledge was a daunting limiting factor. Rino needed time, and while time was on his side as an immortal, he wasn't willing to spend an eternity managing this empire.

The pickaxe recipe that Rino received was rather simple. Pickaxes were tools with a sharpened point that helped shatter hard surfaces, usually rocks, using the least effort. Pressure was a concept Rino was familiar with. He often heard his dwarven partner talk about it as they tested how much abuse a new material could withstand before deciding if it could be used for production.

The pickaxe came in several designs from the reward Rino claimed. The designs that Rino fashioned for his subordinates in the early days were very primitive and could be easily recreated using sharp stones impaled through thick wooden branches long enough for them to do a full swing. Using gravity as an assistant, the stone pickaxe that Rino designed and reinforced with enchantments could chip away at the mountain rocks.

Originally, Rino did not have a need for a better pickaxe designed because the one he had worked as intended.

However, there was a very rich mineral mine back in Town Zera that Rino wanted to exploit. Stone wasn't the only material Rino needed. If he were to venture into smithing and learning the secrets left behind by the dwarves, Rino needed better tools to work with. The current pickaxes his minions used were too clumsy. Rino needed a tool with more precision, and the pickaxe design that he received from the gods was a bridge to the mining tools the dwarves created.

Rino's pickaxe was single-sided, but the pickaxe recipe design Rino saw in his rewards was double-sided. The pickaxe served two purposes with one end sharp and pointed to crack stubborn and hard rocks. The other side was a flattened surface much like a stamp. Along with the pickaxe, the design included stakes and wedges that could be used to split rocks more precisely.

The mining method proposed by the gods was a little unorthodox, but Rino did not doubt it. This method of breaking a huge structure cleanly was a scientifically proven technique. By creating fissures along a sturdy surface, targeting repeated weak points created, the huge structure under its own weight would eventually collapse because of gravity.

Writing down the new pickaxe design and all the analysed dwarven weapon inventions took half a day. Rino spent a few more hours making a copy of what he wrote into a new sketchbook, borrowing one of Kragami's guest rooms to do so before he decided to return to Town Zera.

"Leaving so soon?" the necromancer asked. Even Rina appeared slightly reluctant to let him go so soon. "Why don't you stay for dinner first?"

Rino wanted to refuse, but they were very insistent, so he stayed. Little did he know about the things they planned for him.

After downing three jugs of taro beer, Rino wondered why Kragami and Rina would try to get him drunk. Didn't they know that liches are literally immune to every other effect except for sunlight and anything holy related?

Kragami was flushed and unsteady even in his chair. Rina was already sleeping on the table, and the necromancer looked at his student.

"You know," the old man slurred. "Ever since you attacked my swamp, I always found it weird…"

Ok, Rino backtracked mentally to try and keep up with the change in conversation. Not too long ago, they were still talking about the possibility of introducing art to society and metalwork. Rina was also talking about future education plans now that they had stable paper production.

"What do you mean?"

Kragami hiccuped and took another swig at his wooden ale mug. Rino wondered if he should stop his teacher. Whatever, it was probably too late for that now. He would just have to leave some hangover medicine for the necromancer to take the next morning. They only had themselves to blame for trying to get him drunk. Rino refused to baby them in this state when he could be returning to Town Zera and checking on the water wheels.

Admittedly, Kragami mentioned his observations about Rino that the lich could not refute. He thought he hid it well enough but knowing how his teacher and Rina were some of the only capable people he could entrust territories for management, it came as no surprise that Kragami found out some of his secrets.

"You're not actually a dark magician even though you are a lich. If anything, I bet you were a very good elementalist. Your control of fire and your natural tendency to borrow air magic subconsciously even if you mostly use earth magic tells me that."

He took another wig, and Rino did not confirm or deny the accusations. What could he say? The necromancer hit the nail on the head.

"I won't ask about your past or why you're doing so much to build a community of undead. However, I ask that when the time comes when you have to do what you must, you will ask for help and not shoulder everything alone. It doesn't matter if we only knew each other for a short time and that our meeting did not start on a good foot. Rina, this child… she sees you as her older brother. And I might see you as a son."

Hearing Kragami's drunken confession, Rino's non-existent heart softened. Back in his previous world, there were people who reminded Rino of these two snoring drunkards. Although he said he wouldn't baby them, Rino still found a blanket to drape across his teacher's old bones.

Remembering those who were no longer here with him only made Rino wish he could experience the effects of alcohol. It didn't matter how many barrels he emptied at this point. Everything would just turn into mana, and Rino would still be as sober as ever.

Back in those days at the magicians' tower, Rino distinctly remembered one very old teacher. He was Rino's favourite teacher because that man never judged him for anything he did or did not do. In fact, the only thing he did was put a warm hand over RIno's head with a wisened smile on his face. Rino remembered the feeling of the heavy hand ruffling his hair and the crinkles at the corner of his teacher's eyes whenever he smiled.

The old magician died from old age and pneumonia. Rino did not cry during his funeral, but he definitely remembered stealing an expensive bottle of wine from the royal cellar and downing it alone under the moonlight in his room surrounded by the books his teacher recommended for his reading that he put off checking out. That night, he read everything his teacher recommended and suffered from insomnia for weeks before he finally gathered the courage to visit his teacher's memorial stone.

For magicians, they could not be buried. Even after death, they still possessed powerful mana channels that dark magicians could exploit. Hence, they must be cremated and the ashes placed in an urn at the memorial hall with only the magician's name on the tablet for those who still remember them.

Rino also remembered a mute child servant who cared for his daily needs at the magician's tower many years after his beloved teacher's death. That child served him for many years until she took her own life at sixteen. Rino made the son of a noble who deflowered her against her will and forced her to commit suicide pay the price along with his family. However, he could not forget the contents of her last letter to the world, thanking him for everything he did for her while apologising for her early work dismissal. He ignored her nagging about his bad bedtime routines and irregular meal cycles, but Rino distanced himself from everyone else after these two incidents.

Looking at Kragami and Rina, Rino wondered when the time frozen for him in the previous world started to tick again.