Chapter 74: [74] Eccentric rune master (1)

Twenty four hours ago…

’If I want to build a toilet and shower, then I need to first solve the problem of our water supply.’

The modern toilet was only so effective because there was always enough water to make use of it.

Although Eliron could substitute with bucket flushing, he felt like that would be an insult to his capabilities.

There was even a chance the system would not reward him for completing the task…

Normally, the easiest way to supply water to a building was by combining the use of an overhead tank and a surface pump.

The surface pump would pull water from a borehole or well, and take the water up to the tank.

Then, using the effect of gravity, the water would easily be pushed into the house through a descending pipe.

The tank part itself was easy enough.

Although most modern tanks were made with either plastic or metal, it could easily be substituted with wood.

Since as early as 300 BC, in central Europe, barrels were already in use.

The way it worked was that they were made up of wood tightly compressed together, and held in place by staves.

When the wood would absorb water and swell, the wood would become even more tightly packed, thereby making the barrel even more water tight.

There was no need for glue or even nails…

’Making a barrel the size of a tank is the easy part.’

The issue was how to pull the water all the way to the top of the house.

’I can’t make an engine with the current tools I have…’

Meaning there was only one reasonable option left— runes.

Runes relied on mana found naturally in the air to function, especially when the tasks were basic enough.

They were basically the fantasy version of modern programming languages.

It was like weaving a spell but with ancient words and markings, when done right, it could produce amazing results based on the command given.

There was only one problem.

’I don’t know shit about runes!’

All Eliron knew were theoretical blabbings made by different scholars in the novel.

Since the MC and other named characters never learned to use it, Eliron was also left out of the loop.

Haaa…!

Eliron sighed and plopped down on his butt, an annoyed look on his face.

’Don’t tell me I’m going to need her…’

The very thought of how stressful it was going to be made him feel a hundred times heavier.

But he had no choice. So Eliron got to his feet and picked up his hand saw.

“Now, how do I get that old rune geek to leave her godforsaken tree?”

After brainstorming for a few minutes, a sly smile appeared on his face.

With his eyes shimmering gold due to the effects of dwarf’s thumb, Eliron then said.

“Terra!”

The girl jolted, afraid that another task was about to be given to her.

“Y-yes my lord…”

“Summon Durin and take a break, you can resume work tomorrow.”

It was as though a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders…

“Yes my lord!” She yelled with glee, practically running away from the construction site.

Eliron sighed.

“Kids these days…”

•••

Durin and Delilah were strolling past a large treehouse at the other side of town.

“Hey, have you heard?!” Durin screamed a bit too loudly for someone having a ’casual conversation.’

It was almost like he was making an announcement instead of chatting.

“Huh? W-what… are you talking about?!” Delilah asked loudly, raising her voice as much as she possibly could.

“It’s Lord Eliron, the handsome, charismatic lord of elves!”

Durin was walking in a wonky manner, and he looked very nervous, acting was clearly not his strong suit.

Delilah rubbed her shoulders and asked, “Really? What about him??”

“He…” Durin paused and slipped out a paper from his pocket, quickly reading through it.

“I heard he built a SELF RELIANT AUTO FUNCTION RUNE BOARD WITH MULTI INPUT CAPABILITIES AND A SELF ADJUSTING SEQUENCE!”

His words were oddly… specific.

Thump!

A loud crash could be heard from inside the tree house.

With all curtains tightly shut, there was not even a flicker of light in the space.

Which made it only more terrifying, when two amethyst eyes suddenly snapped open and a dark figure shot up to their feet.

“Did that idiot kid say someone built a SELF RELIANT AUTO FUNCTION RUNE BOARD WITH MULTI INPUT CAPABILITIES AND A SELF ADJUSTING SEQUENCE?!”

“Impossible!” She huffed. “We don’t have such talent in this shabby village.”

The amethyst eyes narrowed slightly, then drifted towards her door.

There was a sound of tapping sounds as she repeatedly tapped her fingers against her arms.

’I’ll see for myself…’

She walked toward the door then froze.

’Maybe I should put on some clothes first…’

•••

The present day…

Eliron stared at the woman in front of him and held back the urge to sigh.

Zenith was a cold beauty, with an impassive look in her eyes, as though nothing about this world was of concern to her.

Her posture was straight, her arms folded across her chest as she stared at the building.

She looked like the type of person that demanded perfection even from the air she breathed.

All telltale signs of a genius.

’If only she was easier to relate with… Artaris could have already been a little more advanced.’

Even amongst the more eccentric elders, Zenith was still an oddball among them.

She was never present for any meetings, preferring the comfort of her tree house to the company of people.

Zenith only came out when there was something of interest to her… handling her would have been a problem even for Lazarus.

That was why Eliron had spent the entirety of the previous day preparing to get her here.

He was going to convince her to help him out with his rune problem, and secure her vote as well, thereby killing two birds with one stone!

Who says he couldn’t recruit allies while doing his work?

’I guess my actors played their parts perfectly well. You couldn’t possibly resist the urge to check it out could you? Hehehe…’

While Eliron had these thoughts, his face was perfectly normal.

Zenith stared at the toilet for a few seconds, before tearing her gaze away from it… completely uninterested.

Instead, she directed her attention to the house.

“I see you’re building a new home.” She said, her voice cold.

“It’s about time we renovated the entire village isn’t it?” Eliron got up, holding the potter’s wheel to stop it from moving.

“The entire village?” She glanced at him, her amethyst eyes narrowing slightly. “You don’t seem to be joking.”

Eliron shrugged. “Why would I joke about a thing like that?”

“Fair enough…” Zenith muttered.

A period of awkward silence spread between them, filled with the sound of banging wood and breathless panths.

“That human girl… she doesn’t look so good. Should she still be working?”

Eliron waved his hand dismissively. “She’s fine, trust me…”

“Okay…”

Even more awkward silence…

Eliron was stealing glances at the woman, noticing her every move.

Since she arrived she had only spared his lure a single glance, after which she completely ignored its existence.

The item he designed to lure her here, was actually a rune block, with a name so long that Eliron would rather not say it.

It was something he should have had zero idea about how to make…

But due to the master craftsman skill, and all the theoretical knowledge he gathered, he was able to piece it up after several hours of work.

’This should have caught her attention, why isn’t she saying anything?!’

Meanwhile, Zenith was doing everything in her power to keep herself together.

’Does this foolish kid have no courtesy…? Is he really going to make me ask?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep