"So, this Professor Connor Moore, he’s your mentor?" Zog asked, tapping his claws on the table.

’I should stuff some cotton balls in my cheeks and hold a Cat,’ he thought. ’That would really complete the look.’

"Yes," Yuno replied, a bit confused. He was in the middle of researching camera miniaturization and didn’t understand why Zog was suddenly asking about his mentor.

Ever since he was inspired by the goblins disassembling Undead to make cameras, he’d had a breakthrough. He realized Undead could maintain any form, so he began trying to compress them, with the goal of creating a camera that an Ordinary person could carry.

Let us thank the Undead species for their indelible contribution to the development of image sensing technology on the Feilin Continent.

Fortunately, these Undead were a type of energy body; the vast majority of them possessed no sensation or consciousness.

Otherwise, this wouldn’t be invention and creation, but a mad dash in some sort of indescribable direction, like a wild donkey that had broken its reins.

"Your mentor—what’s he like? How skilled is he?"

Zog couldn’t judge Professor Moore’s level of expertise, because he couldn’t understand the reply letter either.

Judging from the background check provided by Zor, Professor Moore’s resume was far from outstanding. One could even call him scrap material from the research institute. The fact that his way of thinking aligned with that of the goblins made it hard to say if he was a genius or a madman—or perhaps both.

"The professor is a very good person, and his professional skills are incredible. In the entire research institute, he’s one of the best in the field of mechanical design," Yuno replied without hesitation, his tone filled with admiration for his mentor.

"But doesn’t he only pay you a salary of Several Copper Coins a month?"

’Graduate students are destined for a life of hard labor, but to pay one so little—and in engineering, no less—suggests there are some problems with this mentor’s character.’

"That’s not it," Yuno said, quickly waving his hands. "The professor is very good to us. He helps whenever he can if we’re in trouble. It’s just that... he’s also very hard up for cash."

"Hm?"

Zog’s tapping claws came to a halt. This was an even more serious problem. If it were just a matter of bad character, he could still be controlled.

’But for a distinguished professor at the research institute to be living so frugally... that means there’s a problem with his ability!’

’Could it be he got into the institute through connections when he was young, and after his patrons fell from power, he just turned into an old washout?’

Seeing Zog’s doubt, Yuno explained, "My mentor has actually had many opportunities to make money, but he’s refused them all. He’s self-funding his research on the Difference Engine, wanting to prove that mortals can surpass the authority of the Deities."

"Huh? What does a Difference Engine have to do with the authority of the Deities?" Zog didn’t get the logic.

"Because the professor believes the existence of Magic relies on calculation. And since a Difference Engine can surpass Magic in calculation, it can also defeat the Deities in calculation. He’s very stubborn, isn’t he? To be honest, I don’t really get it either. But the Difference Engine is incredibly difficult to design, and it’s true that no one is willing to invest in it."

"A little interesting. Let’s go. We’ll go meet your mentor."

Zog stood up and straightened the bow tie on his neck. ’No matter who’s looking to cause trouble for the Deities, I, Zhuo the Dragon, will definitely help stir the pot.’

「The research institute, in a remote storage room.」

Yuno knocked on the door. "Professor Moore, it’s me, Yuno Stone."

There was no response. The CLACKING sound of mechanical parts rubbing and colliding came from inside the room.

"The professor is often like this. When he’s researching, he enters a kind of trance and can’t hear anyone. But he never locks his door."

Yuno opened the door, and the sound of clashing metal instantly grew louder. "Professor, we’re coming in!"

The first thing Zog noticed was the massive Difference Engine. It was over three meters long and more than two meters high, the color of brass. Thousands of Gears, like the reeds in a music box, spun and played a symphony of mechanical beauty.

Professor Moore was also very different from the stereotypical image of a professor. He was about fifty years old, but compared to a scholar, he was dressed more like a blacksmith: white T-shirt, overalls, work boots. His thick arms were rapidly turning the crank of the Difference Engine.

’Well, I’ll be. A hand-cranked CPU. The faster you crank, the more you overclock, right?’

The machine gradually came to a stop, and the result appeared on the cylinders engraved with numbers.

Professor Moore picked up a sheet of paper and checked the results of the Difference Engine’s calculation one by one.

When he reached the thirteenth digit, he suddenly tore the paper to shreds in anger. He raised his fist as if to smash the machine, but stopped it in mid-air, his gesture softening into a caress.

"It should be accurate to twenty digits, it should be accurate to twenty digits..."

"Professor?" Yuno said.

"Oh, it’s little Yuno." Moore’s scrunched-up features instantly relaxed into a kind smile. "I heard your camera was a success? I knew you could do it."

"Er, it was a success, yes, but it deviated a little from the original design. But... where’s my senior?"

"Oh, he transferred to another department. After all, it’s not easy to produce any results here with me."

Now, Professor Moore was a general without an army.

"My boss would like to discuss a project with you," Yuno said, getting to the point.

"Is it my old eyes playing tricks on me, or is your boss really a..." Professor Moore rubbed his eyes, uncertain.

"A Sub-Dragon. Zog." Zog extended his right claw.

"So it is. How... unique," Professor Moore said, shaking the claw while also giving it a curious squeeze. "This is a vocalizer to simulate a human voice. You must be the most imaginative Sub-Dragon I’ve ever met."

"Thank you. I’ve come to introduce the mechanical assembly line project to you, and I hope to receive your guidance. We have corresponded before."

"Ah, I remember now. It was that paper with formatting issues all over the place and a completely incoherent introduction. It took me a long time to roughly understand it."

’He understood it.’ Zog latched onto the key phrase. ’In that case, Professor, I don’t think you’ll be getting away.’

"Although it was written chaotically, it’s not impossible to implement. I would truly love to participate in this project. A completed mechanical assembly line would certainly be a remarkable achievement."

’A strong sense of déjà vu washed over him—he was about to get the "you’re a nice guy" card. The next word was definitely going to be "but".’

"But... I don’t know if Yuno has told you, but the Difference Engine is my life’s dream. So, I’m sorry..."

Zog held up a claw, signaling that there was no need to say any more.

He activated his Illusion Mimicry, opened the Visible Inscription Workshop, and entered a logarithmic function into the input field.

"What’s the maximum precision your Difference Engine can achieve?"

"Twenty decimal places," Professor Moore said, not very confidently. A moment ago, it had produced an error at the twelfth digit, as everyone had seen.

Zog confirmed the input. With almost no delay, the result was displayed, accurate to the twenty-fifth digit.

"This is just the display limit, because we don’t currently need more precise values. But if necessary, it can be made accurate to many more places."

Professor Moore’s mouth hung open. He was speechless for a long time, as if a breath was caught in his throat, unable to be expelled or swallowed.

Zog continued, "This is a Magic model, running entirely on Magic Power. You cannot defeat Magic, not even in the single aspect of calculation."

Hearing Zog say this, Professor Moore seemed to age several years in an instant, losing the vigorous spirit he’d had while flinging his arms to turn the crank.

’In truth, he was walking a path doomed to failure. Even without magical computation, future information technology would be a dimension-lowering blow to the Difference Engine.’

"You’re a scholar. You should understand that science is a way of understanding the world. If Magic Power exists, it’s meaningless to resist it blindly. Besides, who can say for sure that Magic originates from the Deities?"

"But Magic models are destined to belong only to a select few," Professor Moore retorted.

"The mechanical assembly line is meant to bring Magic models to everyone, so that even those who can’t use Magic Power can enjoy the fruits of Magic through machines."

Of course, Zog’s goal was not limited to game consoles. He was aiming for magical computers and a magical internet; the consoles were just a springboard for accumulating technology and promoting the network.

And it was the best springboard. In 1958, a few students at MIT would never have imagined that the simple tennis game they created would become a major driving force in the development of computer technology.

"By the way, that paper in the letter was completed by goblins."

"Goblins?"

"Yes, goblins. Could you have imagined that goblins were capable of this? Not even the Deities can comprehend how far mortals can go. If you figure things out, meet me at Zog’s Toy Store."

After saying that, Zog left with Yuno.

After they walked out of the research institute’s main gate, Zog suddenly asked Yuno, "If I were to use some... coercive measures on your mentor, would you go on strike?"

"Huh? No, I wouldn’t."

"Good. Give him three days. If he hasn’t figured it out by then, we’ll also be meeting at Zog’s Toy Store."

"Yes," came Zor’s reply from the shadows.