episode_0085

85. Build the Bridge

About a month ago.

When Erica ordered me to construct a bridge.

Waking up in a cramped side room attached to the workshop, the narrow space was filled with papers.

Among them were the formulas I had been poring over until my eyes nearly fell out.

They were calculations related to weight distribution for bridges, and there were various types of bridges listed.

Had I only slept for about four hours?

Rubbing my drowsy eyes with my fists, I picked up a random sheet.

First, what kind of bridge would be suitable for a 1km horizontal span?

“First, the simple beam bridge is out.”

A structure that simply involves driving multiple pillars into the ground and placing planks on top.

Easy to calculate, sturdy, and low-maintenance—those were its advantages, but…

“Yeah, no way.”

If maintenance ever slipped, the planks could tilt or collapse at any moment.

Not to mention, connecting a span of 1km would require an excessive number of support pillars…

Even for Erica, the cost would be unmanageable, not to mention inefficient.

This method is only useful for short distances.

So, it’s only viable as a last resort.

Next, I picked up another sheet.

“Though it maximizes efficiency with minimal materials… rejected.”

A framework built by intricately crossing well-forged H-shaped steel beams.

Sturdy and modular, making it possible to construct even in rugged terrain—pretty impressive, but…

Structurally, it’s so complex that it might as well be top-tier difficulty.

If even a single calculation is slightly off, the whole thing could tilt and come crashing down.

Plus, this method isn’t suitable for spanning a long 1km river.

This one’s an outright reject without even considering it.

It’s a design meant for earthquake-prone areas.

Aesthetically beautiful and sturdy, but even with modern technology, 500m is the limit.

Not to mention, its difficulty level is comparable to that of a truss bridge.

I immediately tossed the paper aside.

After clearing away all the useless options, I picked up the most promising candidate.

It could span the wide 1km river and was durable enough to support hundreds of people walking across without issue.

“Maybe this is the best way.”

The same method used in Korea’s Han River Bridge.

Extremely sturdy and robust, capable of handling dozens of trucks packed onto the road without issue.

And it has the advantage of easily spanning 1km…

“But rejected.”

Once again, the Redmain region has a topography similar to the Korean Peninsula.

Largely composed of clean water, abundant ore, and mountainous terrain.

But that also means strong winds… especially over a massive 1km-wide river, where violent storms would be inevitable.

The downside of a suspension bridge is obvious at a glance: it’s highly difficult to build.

And even if it’s constructed flawlessly, it’s extremely vulnerable to wind.

Since lives are at stake, I want this to be as perfect as possible.

“Which is why the most suitable option is this.”

A cable-stayed bridge.

Aside from the complexity of cable arrangement, it’s the most ideal bridge structure.

Plus, since we’ve already worked with rebar and concrete, sturdy pylons (towers) won’t be an issue.

The hardest part is calculating how to arrange the cables.

I immediately started scribbling calculations on the paper.

Wind speed, the number of pylons needed to span the 1km distance…

“The riverbed is solid. Let’s install four pylons at precise intervals.”

“Aye aye, Captain!”

“Starting now!”

Brook and Aetree stepped forward to begin surveying.

Mr. Antré and Ordreuvre also joined in.

Already rich and thirsting for knowledge, these undead elders were instantly enthralled just by looking at the blueprints.

Next, the foundation for the pylons.

If we liken this to an apartment, it’s critical groundwork that needs to be rock-solid.

So, we built a wooden frame in a square shape and pumped out the water inside.

The exposed riverbed.

“Just like when building an apartment!”

Thankfully, since this was a river in a mountainous region, the riverbed was incredibly sturdy.

We embedded rebar, filled it with concrete, and completed the foundation.

After letting it cure for about two weeks, we erected tall, slender pillars—apartment-height—on the solid base.

“Wow, looks perfect. You’re pretty good, huh?”

“Awesome, right?”

“Malang’s always been amazing.”

The compliments came from Jet and Vivian, siblings who had come to spectate with nothing better to do.

Since Jet is around my age, we somehow ended up becoming friends.

With his boy-next-door charm, we quickly grew close.

And honestly, I was pretty damn satisfied with the result too.

Who’d have thought that after apartments, I’d be building a massive bridge…

“Maybe I really am a genius…!”

Everything until now has just been a streak of pure luck.

Could I actually be a true, natural-born genius?

Now that I think about it, I’ve single-handedly made gunpowder, cannons, chicken feed, hot air balloons, and even apartments?

Chuckling to myself, I clenched my fists, overflowing with confidence.

“I’ll crush these damn cable calculations in no time!”

And then, I was the one who got crushed.

Staring blankly at the white paper, spasming, drooling—these were the aftereffects.

I had been so sure I could handle the calculations without any computer programs…

But I was just a talking potato after all.

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And now.

Being treated like a commoner, I felt refreshed, gripping the papers tightly with a sense of renewal.

Because being treated like a nobody gave me an idea.

“Why didn’t I think of this before? If I don’t have a simulation program, I should just make one manually!”

I retraced the problems so far.

Calculating the basic positions for the foundation and pylons was easy.

The real headache was figuring out how to distribute the bridge’s weight once connected to the pylons.

Normally, you’d run simulations to check, but…

I gathered concrete powder and thin steel wire.

“Why are you making us do this?!”

Our guest for this experiment? Brook.

She quickly shaped a miniature bridge inside a bucket of water.

First, the foundation and pylons, then placing a deck made of toothpick-sized rebar.

“Just follow my instructions from now on.”

“Ugh…”

“I’ll help!”

Timid Aetree eagerly raised her hand, volunteering to assist.

Honestly, for delicate models like this, her small hands were far better than Brook’s big ones.

I labeled the positions where the cables from the pylons would connect on the model.

“Connect A1, A3, A7, A9.”

“Got it!”

Aetree worked her tiny fingers, connecting as instructed.

At a glance, it seemed fine after completion, but…

“Add a few more wires.”

“Huh? Doesn’t it already look stable?”

“Yeah, seems perfectly fine to me.”

The dwarf sisters voiced their doubts.

But when I pressed my finger firmly against the model bridge…

—*Crash*

Unable to withstand the pressure, the wires and bridge deck collapsed.

The deck fell into the water below with a splash…

“Hey… of course it’d break if you press that hard—”

“It shouldn’t break.”

“That doesn’t make sense…

Honestly, nothing that heavy would even cross it, right? It’s fine for people walking over it.”

I replied sternly to Brook’s grumbling while jotting down new calculations on the paper.

“Lives are at stake here. I don’t want to gamble with something like this just because I’m lazy.”

Back when I considered using Roman concrete for the apartment.

Had I gotten lucky enough to find pozzolana or volcanic ash, it would’ve been disastrous.

Forget Erica’s trust—people could’ve died.

I don’t want to risk that… or even entertain the thought.

“This’ll take a while. You two take shifts—sleep and wake—to help.”

“…Aren’t you gonna sleep?”

“Yeah… I haven’t seen you sleep more than four hours lately. I’m worried…!”

The kind-hearted dwarf sisters fretted over my health.

Their concern warmed my heart, and I did want to collapse into bed and sleep like the dead…

“Don’t worry. I don’t stop until I succeed—that’s my talent.”

I *will* make this work.

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The vast Redmain.

By modern standards, it’s an enormous landmass, about 4/3 the size of China.

From the far corners of this land, a single carriage arrived at Praezia, the dazzling capital of Redmain.

Not some expensive noble’s carriage.

Just a cheap one anyone could ride for a fee.

The door creaked open, and out stepped a large, burly man.

“Ugh… We should’ve just ridden horses….”

188cm tall with a rugged physique.

A man with fiery red hair and beard.

The bow slung across his back marked him as a hunter.

Despite his rough beard, he had a boyish charm about him—a middle-aged man who hadn’t lost his youth.

“Aw, what, were you planning to sleep rough even with your wife here?”

“N-No way!”

Behind him emerged a stunning woman with orange hair and eyes.

Tall for a woman, standing around 170cm.

She looked too young to be the mother of a grown child.

The couple stepped out and gazed at the bustling Praezia.

At first, they admired the well-developed cityscape—”Nice place…”—but then…

“That’s….”

“Nah, no way….”

“Right? He wouldn’t go *that* overboard.”

A 15-story building—something they’d never seen or heard of before.

Commoners whose lives revolved around farming now bustling to work.

A lively marketplace, bustling despite it not being harvest season.

A massive structure still under construction…

An expanded general store selling all sorts of goods.

Even by the nearby sea, four towering pillars stood tall—their purpose unclear.

“We should talk to our son.”

“Yeah, we should.”

A gut feeling settled in.

The couple stepped into Praezia, half in disbelief.