Groups of people boarded the ascending platform one after another and arrived at the construction site. By the roadside, the first thing that caught their eyes was a sea of trees glowing with golden light. This vast and breathtaking view dispelled many people’s fear of working at such heights.

In the end, most workers stayed. Only a few scattered individuals felt dizzy the moment they looked down, shook their heads, and backed away.

“I’m truly sorry. I’m fine walking on solid ground, but the moment I get to the edge, I can barely breathe…”

Some of those with severe fear of heights left the construction site.

But even those who remained felt uneasy when looking at the altitude, thinking that working in a place like this must be quite dangerous.

Perhaps the dwarves would be better suited for such environments, given the many steep cliffs in the mountains.

Though the dwarven halls never saw sunlight, there were still many places requiring work at great heights.

After a preliminary screening to identify the most reliable road workers, Bard began organizing the specific construction plan.

During construction, at least two people were required to work as a team. They needed to wear safety harnesses. One person would be responsible for managing the rope and ensuring stability, while the other would perform the actual road work.

With everything gradually falling into place, the road continued to stretch outward bit by bit.

Transport carts slid up along the tracks from Lake-town and even from Dale, delivering batch after batch of supplies to keep the project running smoothly.

As the road construction progressed, the noise and activity drew the attention of Thorin, who was deep in the mountain. He hurried over to inquire about the matter, and Bard explained Garrett’s project proposal to him.

“By my beard—”

Since the expedition to reclaim Erebor, several months had passed before Thorin and Bard once again stood side by side in Lake-town. Together, they looked up at the sky road taking shape.

Thorin didn’t appear particularly surprised at the sudden launch of such a massive project, more than anything, he was filled with admiration.

In matters of construction and engineering, dwarves held considerable expertise.

“I can tell that your road workers are quite inexperienced,” he remarked, shaking his head as he watched the workers still cautiously testing their footing.

“That’s true. It’s their first time working at such a high place. Even the tallest buildings we’ve constructed before didn’t reach this height, it’s quite beyond their usual experience,” Bard admitted.

But Thorin’s lips curled into a knowing smile.

“It may seem high to you,” he said, “but if you ever ventured deep into the mountain halls or descended into one of the great mining shafts, you’d realize this height is nothing.”

“We often work in places like this. The only difference between here and those mineral-rich chasms is that this place has a bit more sunlight.”

The open sky versus the mountain’s depths, green forests versus stone galleries, surface winds versus underground currents, when compared for danger, the subterranean environments could actually be even riskier.

“The skill and courage of the dwarves is renowned throughout Middle-earth.”

“Very well,” Bard acknowledged his inexperience and said, “So, what advice does the King under the Mountain offer for our project?”

Thorin’s smile broadened.

“As allies who stand together, I cannot simply watch you proceed with such an inefficient approach.”

“What you’re attempting is nothing more than fumbling along a path we’ve already mastered. Watching you struggle in unfamiliar territory when we could guide you, that’s not the way allies should behave.”

“Why not seek advice from those with greater experience?”

With the bearing of a seasoned craftsman, he reached out as if to pat Bard on the shoulder. However, due to his shorter stature, his hand awkwardly froze mid-air.

Bard clearly noticed Thorin’s predicament and naturally extended his own hand, giving the dwarf-king a firm handshake.

Perhaps next time we should sit down for our discussions, Bard thought.

That way, Thorin would be able to reach him properly.

“I’m truly grateful. I’ll remember this kindness.”

Faced with this proud king, Bard clearly knew how to handle the situation. From his previous interactions with Thranduil, he had already gained enough experience.

When dealing with leaders like this, who help others in roundabout ways yet dislike openly admitting it, all you need to do is go along with them.

Thorin clearly appreciated Bard’s respectful and humble attitude.

“No need for gratitude. After all, I didn’t come here just for this.”

That phrasing sounded oddly familiar, Bard felt like he’d heard it somewhere before.

He hesitated for a moment, wanting to comment but restraining himself.

“I’ll arrange for Erebor’s most skilled dwarves to assist you in adapting to this project, and also show you how we typically approach such work.”

With this, the technical assistance was arranged.

Following that discussion, the two talked about trade cooperation for a while, various types of preserved meats and fine ales, as well as specialties from Dale and Lake-town.

After finishing those negotiations, Thorin suddenly asked, “Where’s Garrett?”

The project didn’t look like it had been going on for very long, but where was its architect?

“He returned to Wayfort. He said he’s gathered enough ‘vis’ and now needs to research something.”

“Sounds like our friend has taken up the study of wizardry.”

“He’s becoming rather like a wizard, sometimes he speaks even more cryptically than Gandalf does.”

—

Mysterious indeed.

Yes, he certainly had become that.

Once Garrett had confirmed the project could proceed smoothly, he hurried back home to begin his next round of research.

By now, all the elemental aspects had been unlocked, and he’d accumulated quite a bit of knowledge. It was time to explore the unknown territories of thaumaturgy.

With quill and parchment in hand, he opened his Thaumonomicon, turned past the cover, and began reviewing the knowledge inscribed within its floating pages.

Chapter One: Fundamentals.

As the name suggested, Fundamentals recorded basic concepts in the field of arcane study.

There wasn’t much active research required in this chapter, most of it consisted of introductions to various common thaumaturgic materials and theoretical concepts.

Only sections involving specific methodologies required hands-on research.

For example, “Node in a Jar,” a technique that allowed one to capture an aura node in a specialized jar and transport it elsewhere. Researching it required five different aspects and thirteen connection points to complete successfully.

“That familiar feeling… it’s all coming back…”

He sighed and began copying his first research note using quill and ink.

Thaumaturgic research, rather than being traditional scholarship, was more akin to an elaborate puzzle game: all you had to do was connect two or more elemental aspects, from starting point to destination, using related elements to bridge the gaps.

For example, connecting “Aqua” and “Terra” required placing a “Victus” aspect between them, since Life was composed of both Water and Earth.

Only closely related aspects could be linked together in this manner.

Once the elements were connected correctly, the copied note would transform into a completed research theorem. Using the completed theorem allowed you to learn the associated knowledge and unlock new crafting recipes.

If the connection failed, however, the note became worthless, you’d have to copy a fresh one and attempt again.

The initial research was always simple, just a few connections to complete it successfully.

But the deeper you delved, the more aspects had to be linked, and the connection patterns became increasingly complex, often proving quite challenging.

In his previous life, he had relied on reference guides and online calculators to determine optimal aspect combinations, or at the very least, copying established solutions from other players.

But now, he had none of those resources, he had to rely entirely on his own reasoning and experimentation.

Fortunately, this type of puzzle-solving was fairly logical once you understood the principles. With a bit of brainpower, it was easy to get the hang of. And since he had gathered plenty of research points recently through his scanning expeditions, even wasting a few on failed attempts wasn’t problematic, he could always try again.

And so began the problem-solving journey of the tower’s newest researcher.

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150 = +1 bonus chapter

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70+ Advance chapters!

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