Tivian North Suburb, King's College, Royal Saint Crown University.
The afternoon sun shone within King's Campus. As the weather had been very gloomy and cold for the past few days, this sunlight felt especially precious. Students taking advantage of the opportunity to sunbathe lay everywhere on the campus's green lawns, and the entire campus was immersed in a peaceful atmosphere.
On a stone-paved road in King's Campus, Dorothy, who had just come out of the library, was walking quickly forward. Students sunbathing on the lawns on both sides were occasionally attracted by this delicate and beautiful white-haired little girl, but Dorothy had no time to pay attention to the gazes of others. With a serious expression, she walked straight ahead, constantly thinking in her heart.
'The design blueprints for the internal combustion engine that I drew... not only could they attract the attention of the gods, but they also carry Spirit Sight... This is absolutely outrageous. How can something like an internal combustion engine carry Spirit Sight...'
Dorothy thought in her heart. The series of events that had just occurred completely overturned her understanding of this world. Things she considered scientific actually carried Spirit Sight. In Dorothy's original understanding, only knowledge related to the mysterious would have Spirit Sight.
'This matter shows that... the boundary between the mundane and the hidden, between mystery and science, might not be as I originally thought. The difference between the two might be much blurrier...'
'The difference between mystery and science, I've based on my past life's experience, but in this world, it might be completely different. What distinguishes the hidden from the mundane in this world... is simply whether the knowledge carries Spirit Sight. Thinking about it differently, if some hidden knowledge didn't carry Spirit Sight and could spread widely, what would society be like now?'
'Let's make a hypothesis. If a series of 'cup' knowledge didn't carry Spirit Sight, then learning Spirituality cultivation methods like body refinement... or blood-eating methods would have no restrictions or thresholds. Would there then be a society where everyone practices body refinement and cultivates 'cup', completely different from the current one?'
'In this society dominated by 'cup', everyone would have a strong physique. They would carry things themselves without needing machines, there would be no trains, and people could run dozens of kilometers. There would be no government, and the entire society would follow the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak. People would form small groups, hunting and devouring each other. Everyone would be subservient to primal desires, and the level of civilization would regress significantly.'
'At this point, the superhuman physique and abilities like 'cup' would no longer be Extraordinary or mysterious, because everyone could possess them, thus becoming mundane and common sense. At this point, if the knowledge for manufacturing firearms carried Spirit Sight, then the common firearms in today's society might become products of mysticism, perhaps even turning into some kind of Extraordinary items...'
'Thinking further... what if other kinds of Spirituality knowledge didn't have Spirit Sight? If hidden knowledge related to'Silence' didn't carry Spirit Sight... would a spirit cultivation society emerge? Everyone would be able to communicate with spirits, life would just be one stage of existence, and people might even remain in the world as undead after death, or even more extreme, everyone would be undead, and the entire world would be a world of the dead...'
Dorothy made various conjectures in her mind. According to her thoughts, what determined the difference between the hidden and the mundane in this world was whether the knowledge carried Spirit Sight. In other words, it was Spirit Sight that shaped the appearance of mundane society. The scope of Spirit Sight determined which knowledge could be widely spread and applied. This widely applicable knowledge created the appearance of society and even the entire civilization, while the knowledge that carried Spirit Sight and could not be widely applied became hidden.
It now seemed that the current world was stuck at the First Industrial Revolution. The reason for this was likely not that no one could start the Second Industrial Revolution, but rather that the key knowledge for the Second Industrial Revolution carried Spirit Sight.
'In this world, more than fifty years have passed since the start of the First Industrial Revolution. Various technological accumulations are quite mature, and oil has also been discovered. The conditions for starting the Second Industrial Revolution have been met in terms of both technological accumulation and resources, but those few key people who could invent those crucial technologies just haven't appeared. I initially thought I had stumbled upon a great opportunity, but now it seems it's not that simple.'
'This world doesn't lack excellent craftsmen. For that group of'Stone' Extraordinary, inventing an internal combustion engine shouldn't be a difficult task... But the fact that no one has invented it is a problem.'
Dorothy thought this way. She had seen Beverly's clockwork mechanism technology. With her technical ability, wouldn't building an internal combustion engine be simple? There were so many'Stone' Extraordinary in this world, yet inventions similar to the internal combustion engine hadn't appeared. This was problematic.
While contemplating, Dorothy had gradually walked to the east gate of the campus and then walked straight out.
After exiting the east gate, Dorothy crossed the road and walked for a short while before returning to Green Shade Town. However, this time she did not go straight home but headed directly to Number 37.
In the brightly decorated, comfortable, and pleasant Green Shade Town, Dorothy walked quickly. Before long, she arrived at Beverly's doorstep. Standing in front of the old house, Dorothy skillfully rang the doorbell. After waiting for a while, she heard footsteps from behind the door. When the door was opened, Beverly, wearing an apron and goggles, with a left hand equipped with a large number of tools like a Swiss Army knife, appeared before Dorothy.
"Oh, a distinguished guest has arrived, please come in, please come in~"
Seeing Dorothy, Beverly pushed her goggles up and immediately invited Dorothy in. After entering Beverly's house, Dorothy, familiar with the place, went straight to sit on the living room sofa. After closing the door, Beverly also came to a coffee table in the living room. A pile of test tubes, beakers, and glass bottles were currently on the coffee table. After seeing them, Dorothy asked curiously.
"Are you... doing a chemistry experiment?"
"No, no, no, I'm just practicing making coffee. Since I don't have any proper tools, I'm just making do with these things." Beverly said calmly. Then, with her normal hand, she picked up some coffee beans from a box on the coffee table and placed them in a round tin box. Hearing her words, Dorothy spoke with some surprise.
"A clockwork person can drink coffee?"
"I don't drink it, I'm just making it for fun. My recent research has hit a wall, so I'm in a bad mood and just looking for something to play with... Didn't you complain last time that I only had machine oil here and nothing you could drink? So I thought I'd try making some coffee. Anyway, when other humans come in the future, there will be something for them to drink."
Beverly said so, and then placed the coffee beans in her hand into an iron container. Her Swiss Army knife-like left hand instantly popped out something resembling a grinder. After it started rotating, she put it into the container and began grinding the coffee beans.
"A clockwork person learning to make coffee... You really have a lot of free time..."
Looking at Beverly grinding the coffee beans, Dorothy said so. After a short while, Beverly finished grinding the coffee beans and poured them into a cup. Then, the Swiss Army knife-like multi-functional left hand transformed into a nozzle, spraying a small stream of flame to start heating a beaker placed nearby. After quickly boiling the water inside, it transformed into a pair of tongs to grip it, and poured the boiling water into the cup containing the coffee grounds.
Finally, after some fiddling, Beverly managed to bring a cup of hot coffee she had made herself to Dorothy and said directly.
"Quick, have a taste and tell me how it is."
Listening to Beverly, Dorothy glanced at the hot coffee in front of her. Although the coffee in front of her looked fine, thinking about Beverly's experimental-like brewing process earlier, she couldn't help but swallow.
'This clockwork person doesn't have taste buds but wants to make coffee... Is this okay...'
Dorothy thought this, slightly worried, but then she remembered that the reason the other party had suddenly decided to research making coffee was because there was nothing for her to drink when she visited. Refusing like this didn't seem right either.
Finally, after hesitating for a while, Dorothy still picked up the coffee in front of her. After cooling it down a bit, she took two sips. Seeing Dorothy drink, Beverly raised an eyebrow and then asked.
"How is it? How does it taste?"
"Hmm... it feels alright, just a little less sugar." Tasting the coffee Beverly made, Dorothy nodded and commented. The coffee tasted alright, at least it didn't taste like machine oil as she had originally expected.
"Less sugar? Hmm... it seems the standard parameters obtained from the coffee shop are also a bit inaccurate. I'll revise it now and increase the amount of sugar next time..."
Beverly murmured softly, and then added more sugar cubes to Dorothy's coffee cup.
"Now, try drinking it again. Is there enough sugar?"
"No..."
"How about now?"
"Still no."
"How is it now?"
"Hmm... that's about right, it's okay."
After adding sugar several times in a row, Dorothy said, satisfied, while drinking the coffee in front of her. Looking at Dorothy like this, Beverly also murmured with understanding.
"Quite a bit more sugar was added than originally planned... It feels like sugar water with a little coffee powder mixed in... Is this the correct way to make coffee?"
Beverly thought thoughtfully. Then she immediately took out a small notebook and slightly revised the parameters for sugar when making coffee that she had recorded.
"Hmm... humans like sweet things so much. If I ever modify myself to have taste buds, I'll have to try what sweetness is like..." Beverly said while revising her coffee recipe.
Dorothy drank the coffee Beverly made with considerable satisfaction. At this time, after finishing revising her coffee recipe, Beverly detached her multi-functional left hand and replaced it with a normal human-like arm.
"By the way, you haven't been here for a while. Are you here to discuss some business again this time?"
Untying her apron and throwing it aside, Beverly sat on the sofa and spoke to Dorothy. At this moment, Dorothy, after drinking the first cup of coffee brewed by a clockwork person in this world, spoke.
"I didn't come to do business this time, but to ask you some questions. Of course, if you charge for the questions... then that's also business."
"Questions? Are you going to ask about path information again?" Beverly continued to ask, while Dorothy shook her head in response.
"No, what I want to ask this time... is about some questions concerning the gods... Beverly, do you know if there are any gods related to machinery within the domain of'Stone'?"
Dorothy asked Beverly seriously. Hearing her words, Beverly was slightly taken aback. After a moment's pause, her expression turned strange, and then she said to Dorothy.
"Within the domain of'Stone'... gods related to machinery? Why are you asking this?"
"Hehe, nothing much, I just recently read a few secret transmissions about'Stone'. There were some slightly related contents in them, but they weren't explained very clearly, so I wanted to ask."
Dorothy said to Beverly with a smile. The reason she asked this question was because she wanted to know which god might be watching her after she invented the internal combustion engine.
Listening to Dorothy's explanation, Beverly also nodded with interest, then looked at Dorothy and continued.
"Hmm... I see. You've come to the right person for this question. I do have some research on the gods in the'Stone' domain. Regarding gods related to machinery, there is indeed one. He is called... 'order construct core'."
"order construct core? What a strange divine name..."
Listening to Beverly, Dorothy murmured in response. Compared to others like Gluttonous Wolf, Abyssal Serpent... Holy Mother, Saint Child, etc... this title is indeed a bit strange. Compared to the gods worshipped by mystical societies and religions, this one sounds more like a term that would appear in a science fiction novel.
"Haha... you think it's strange too? Indeed. Generally speaking, this being's more widely known honored names are God of Craftsmen, God of Clockwork, God of Steam, God of Machinery, Pioneer of Innovation, Stonebreaker, Steelcaster, pioneer... My calling Him this is quite rare; usually, only those who have deeply researched this god would refer to Him this way. I am just one of them."
Beverly chuckled lightly and spread her hands as she replied. Listening to the titles she mentioned afterwards, Dorothy felt that *those* sounded like divine names.
"This god has so many titles. God of Craftsmen... God of Machinery, I can understand... But what about the titles like Pioneer of Innovation, Stonebreaker, pioneer? Can you tell me more about this order construct core?" Dorothy continued to ask Beverly, and the other party replied quite cheerfully.
"Since you helped me taste the coffee, sure~" Beverly said this, then cleared her throat and continued.
"Then I'll briefly explain. This God of Craftsmen and Machinery is the one with the strongest presence and greatest influence among the few gods in the domain of'Stone'.
"In the secret histories and myths of ancient times, He is the God of Craftsmen, symbolizing the pinnacle of almost all crafts. He once forged divine weapons for the heroes and gods in myths and legends. In the Dawn War that expelled darkness, He personally crafted the strongest weapon for Light."
"He is the Pioneer of Innovation, the pioneer of the era. In legends, it was He who broke through ignorance, enlightened humans to invent and improve the steam engine, and propelled the start of the Industrial Revolution, making human civilization what it is today. Therefore, He is also called the God of Machinery and the God of Steam."
Beverly introduced Him this way. Listening to Beverly's words, Dorothy slightly furrowed her brows and then said seriously.
"What... You mean it was this god who propelled the start of the Steam Revolution?"
"Yes, over fifty years ago, a series of key inventions suddenly appeared concentrated in the world. Almost all of those inventors were Extraordinary on the'Stone' path. Many of them claimed to have received divine enlightenment. Therefore, many people believe that the driving force behind the start of the Steam Revolution was this god."
After speaking, Beverly paused slightly, then looked out the window and continued.
"Based on the above views, some people believe that order construct core will not be satisfied with the current state of human society. When He deems it appropriate, He will once again guide an innovation like the Steam Revolution, pushing our civilization to a higher position."