novelraw Chapter 256 256: The Builder's Mind
Chapter 256 256: The Builder's Mind
Torvan leaned back in his chair, his glass of wine cradled in one hand, and he looked at Tatehan with an expression that was calm but carried a quiet pride.
Tatehan was intrigued to the peak.
Who knows Torvan might tell him he could turn to a mech or something.
"It's the ability to come up with any device in my mind and actually build it in reality without any prior knowledge of how to do so," Torvan said, his tone matter-of-fact, as if he were describing something as mundane as being able to ride a bike.
Tatehan stared at him, his soda bottle frozen halfway to his lips. "Wait, what?"
'Not being able to turn to a mech but super cool nonetheless!'
Torvan smiled faintly. "Exactly what I said. If I can imagine a device, if I can conceptualize how it should work, what it should do, what its purpose is—I can build it. No manuals, no formal training, no trial and error. I… I just know how to do it. It just... happens."
Tatehan set his soda down on the workbench, his mind already racing through the wonders of what he had just heard.
"So you didn't go to a tech school? You weren't taught how to do this? How to solder circuits, how to write code, how to fabricate components. …, yunoo, all of this tech stuff. Nothing of it?"
"No," Torvan said, shaking his head. "I didn't need to. The moment the System activated and I got my ability, all of that knowledge became accessible to me. It's like I've always known how to do it, even when I'm working with something I've never touched before. The most complex tech stuff becomes easy. If I need to build something, I just... know the steps. I see the blueprint in my head, I understand the engineering principles, and my hands move on their own to make it real."
Tatehan sat there, stunned, his brain struggling to fully process the reality of what Torvan was describing. This was not just a useful ability. This was not just a skill that made someone good at their job. This was reality-bending, almost god-like in its application.
He had never expected to hear something like that. Being able to turn to a Mech would been almost believable than this. I mean, he had seen Bjorn fuse weapons tougher. That was Magic!
But Torvan could build anything. Literally anything. If he could imagine it, if he could conceptualize the idea, then he could make it real. No trial and error. He did not need years of study and had no limitations beyond the materials he had available and the time it took to physically assemble the components.
Tatehan's mind started spinning through the possibilities. Weapons. Vehicles. Medical devices. Communication systems. Power generators. Defensive shields. Anything that could be built, anything that could be engineered, Torvan could create.
And he had been using that ability, quietly and without fanfare, to support the Red Crest Clan for years.
"That's..." Tatehan started, and then he stopped, struggling to find the right word. "That's insane. That's one of the most powerful abilities I've ever heard of."
Torvan chuckled softly, taking another sip of his wine. "It's useful, I'll give you that. But it's not flashy. It doesn't help me in a fight. It doesn't make me faster or stronger or more resilient. It just makes me really, really good at building things."
Tatehan shook his head, still processing. "But the applications are endless. You could build anything. Weapons that no one has ever seen before. Devices that could change the way battles are fought. You could—"
"I could," Torvan interrupted gently, his tone calm. "And I do. But there are limits. I still need materials. I still need time. And I still need to physically build the thing, which means my hands and my tools are the bottleneck. The ability gives me the knowledge, but it doesn't speed up the construction process. If something takes ten hours to build, it takes ten hours, no matter how well I understand the design."
Tatehan nodded slowly, understanding. It was still an incredible ability, but it was not omnipotent. Torvan could not snap his fingers and make a device appear out of thin air. He still had to do the work.
But the fact that he could conceive of anything and then build it without ever having been trained, that was the real power.
A thought occurred to Tatehan, and he leaned forward slightly.
"Wait. All the weapons the Red Crest Clan uses, were those built by you?"
Torvan nodded, setting his glass down. "Yeah. Pretty much everything. The plasma rifles, the kinetic cannons, the armor plating, the energy shields, all of it. If it's a weapon or a piece of tech that the clan relies on, I either built it myself or designed the blueprint for someone else to assemble."
Tatehan's eyes widened. "All of it?"
"All of it," Torvan confirmed. "The smaller stuff, the handheld weapons and personal gear, I build those myself. The larger things: vehicles, mounted turrets, the Skyblades, the defensive systems around the base, those are supervised by me. I design them, I direct the workers on what to do and what not to do, and I help out with the most crucial parts. But the actual construction is a team effort because it's too big and too time-consuming for one person to handle alone."
That made sense. Like building a really large Mech for example. While Torvan could build it solely, it would be too time consuming and stressful for him, so he would use some workers while directing the project.
Tatehan sat back in his chair, his mind reeling.
He had sort of guessed Torvan had constructed a lot of things for the Red crest clan, that was obvious. But he didn't know that the guy had designed and built every single thing, directly or indirectly.
The Red Crest Clan's entire arsenal, their entire technological infrastructure, was the product of one man's ability. Torvan was not just a tech guy. He was the foundation of the clan's military strength, the reason they had weapons that could compete with the Obscuron's forces, the reason they had vehicles that could traverse the Martian landscape and equipment that could withstand the harsh conditions of the planet.
Without Torvan, the Red Crest Clan would be a fraction of what it was now.
"That's a really cool ability," Tatehan said finally, his voice carrying genuine admiration. He wasn't trying to hype Torvan, no, he actually meant every praise he was giving out.
"And now I see why you're not fight-oriented, lol."
Torvan grinned. "Yeah. I'm not built for combat. I freeze up, my hands shake, my brain goes blank. But give me a workbench and a pile of materials, and I can build you just about anything you need."
Tatehan smiled, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're basically breaking the rules of how abilities are supposed to work. Can this even been considered an ability?"
Torvan laughed at that.
"I think haha."
Tatehan raised his soda bottle in a mock toast. "Well, here's to you, Torvan. The most overpowered tech guy on Mars."
Torvan raised his wine glass in return, grinning. "I'll drink to that."
They clinked their drinks together, sharing a quiet moment of camaraderie.