Reborn as the Failed Lord with my Resource Gathering System. - Chapter 194

Chapter 194: Building a generator.
“Move!!!”

“Oi! Get out of my way!”

“Here come the metal beams! Clear the path! Let’s go, let’s gooo!”

Clang!

Clang!

The rhythmic, deafening sound of hammers slamming against metal surfaces echoed through the entire valley.

Right in the heart of the oil site, workers moved with a frantic, supernatural energy under the leadership of Seraphina and the project manager, Gatty.

They swarmed like ants, carrying wagons of sand, hauling massive iron plates, and transporting the exotic materials needed to bring the blueprint to life.

The entire place was packed with hundreds of workers, all unified by a single purpose: to build the impossible.

They were split into specialized groups, each tasked with a critical component of the machine.

The first group was focused on the Refinery Tower, a massive, alchemical machine meant to separate the raw crude oil into usable fuels.

The second group worked on the Generator, a beast of metal and magic designed to act as the heart of the city, pumping electricity through copper veins.

And lastly, the third group worked on the Grid and Transformers, the nervous system meant to be mounted throughout the city to control and limit the amount of electricity flowing into a single home.

After the liberation of the Red District, Emily and her people had become fiercely devoted to Dorian. They weren’t just working for pay; they were working for their savior. As such, Dorian’s title, [Boss of All Men], applied to them with full force.

The effects were immediate and staggering. Fatigue became a foreign concept. Hunger was an afterthought. Complex engineering concepts that should have taken months to learn were understood instinctively. They were no longer just laborers; they were a hive mind of construction.

The first group had been working on their construction for two days straight without needing to rest or eat.

First, they dug a massive foundation into the earth, connecting it to a reinforced channel where the main crude oil vein pulsed. Once that was done, they used the high-quality metals forged in the capital to create a network of intake pipes, welding them to the base of the towering metal cylinder they erected in the hole.

This was the Refinery Tower.

Next came the magic—the soul of the machine.

With the help of Seraphina and a team of hired Alchemists, they cast a permanent Purification and Separation spell on a High-Grade Mana Crystal. This crystal was embedded at the very base of the tower, acting as the catalyst.

The process was ingenious. As the crude oil flowed into the chamber, the crystal didn’t just heat it; it alchemically sorted the liquid by density and magical affinity.

Connected to the main tower were three distinct output cylinders, each designed to catch a specific agent.

The Bottom: The thick, black sludge, identified as Bitumen (Tar), settled at the bottom as a viscous, semi-solid rock.The Middle: The clear, yellow liquid, the Diesel, flowed into the second cylinder, ready to be burned for power.The Top: The volatile, invisible Ignis Vapor (Gas) rose to the very top, captured in a pressurized tank for future explosives.

With that, all the necessary agents were ready to be used. All that was needed was for the workers to empty the cylinders and start the next process.

Dorian made sure to double-check the entire thing to make sure it was working, and from what he saw, Seraphina and her workers were doing an incredible job.

As for the second group, their task was far more complicated and took a total of four days—an eternity compared to the two days of the refinery team.

Their project was to build the Aether-Voltaic Generator, a massive engine capable of generating an infinite amount of powerful electricity for as long as the Diesel was available.

Just like the first project, cylinders were needed here as well. They were connected to a large engine block forged from a unique alloy of Dragon Iron Ore and steel, coated in Volcanic Ash Paste to stop the intense heat of combustion from melting the room.

The core of the generator was the piece de resistance: a High-Rank Thunder Monster Core obtained from a crystallized magic beast. This core, capable of lasting ten years before needing a recharge, was the “magnet” of the operation.

It was locked inside the engine’s dynamo cage, connected directly to a shaft spun by the pistons. Inside the cylinders, instead of spark plugs, tiny Fire Runes were engraved.

When the Diesel sprayed in, the runes flared. Boom. The explosion drove the pistons. The pistons spun the shaft. And the shaft spun the Thunder Core at supersonic speeds, agitating it until it screamed out lightning.

Copper wires, insulated in the cooling tar from the refinery, had already been laid out. They connected the generator to a massive Grid mounted at a far distance and completely caged in a wooden chamber for safety.

In a week’s time—a feat that should have taken an empire years—the Generator and the Grid had been built.

…

The very next day.

Dorian waited for the right time, when the sun had already begun to set and the sky was painted in hues of twilight violet.

Thousands of villagers had gathered in the town square and around the facility, their eyes wide, waiting to see the machine in action. They had seen the tower rise, they had smelled the strange new fuels, but they still couldn’t comprehend what “electricity” was.

“They are ready to start.” Seraphina leaned forward and whispered directly in his ear.

Dorian was standing on a small hill, a vantage point where he could easily see the faces of everyone at the bottom, waiting to finally see the machine come online. Beside him stood his inner circle: Gatty, Maria, Ishtar, and finally, the King herself, Revina.

After hearing that Dorian was finally done with the project, she could not help but present herself there—not as the King, but as Sofia, the maid. Thanks to Alex’s mage ability, his illusion magic worked wonders, maintaining her disguise so long as she wore the maid outfit and didn’t reveal her true aura.

‘Done, eh…’

Dorian looked to the far right, watching as some of the workers had already begun to mount the first single-bulb streetlights ever made in this world, close to the Grid. They were simple glass orbs containing mana-threads, waiting for the surge.

Yes, the machine was ready to work.

[System Evaluation Complete.]

[After re-evaluating: Chances of the Generator being successful are 1000%.]

[Would you like me to run a third evaluation?]

‘Nah, don’t need it.’

Dorian smiled, holding the rolled-up blueprint in one hand like a baton.

He took a deep breath, feeling the anticipation in the air. The silence was heavy, broken only by the wind.

He stretched his hand forward, pointing directly at the massive iron beast in the valley below, and yelled out to the public with a voice amplified by magic.

“SWITCH ON THE ENGINE!!!”

A huge smile played on all the workers’ and villagers’ faces as soon as Dorian made that announcement.

It was finally time.

Gatty pulled the heavy iron lever.

Chk-CHUNK.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, a low, guttural growl emanated from the machine.

VROOOM!

The roar was unlike anything this world had ever heard—a mechanical dragon waking up. The ground vibrated. The shaft spun. The Thunder Core whined as it hit maximum velocity.

…

[A/N]

I tried to make this chapter as detailed as possible. Join the discord if you wish to see the generated blueprints, as i would be dropping them there soon.