Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 102 The Past of the Bone Fortress (Bonus Chapter for 5K Views including Monthly Tickets)
Violet, she herself is that bone dragon soaring through the sky!

"You deliberately confused the cause and effect when you recounted this, trying to mislead me into thinking that you were created by Russell." Su Ming glanced at the scholar. "That's deception!"

"It's just rhetoric, I didn't lie." The girl laughed happily. The trap she had been setting for was finally discovered, and she was in a great mood.

Su Ming didn't press her about why she kept this a secret. Scholars usually do this to conceal their trump cards and keep some backup plans, especially since she had handed the Bone Mark to Su Ming back then.

It's not so easy for two people to trust each other when they first meet.

Violet unfolded the workshop floor and the layers of decks beneath, revealing the bottom center of the White Triangle, where a white skeletal dragon lay silently. Most of its body was integrated into the keel of the ship, emanating waves of undead energy.

"This is my other form, the Bone Dragon form, which is also the core of the Bone Fortress," Zi Jin explained to Su Ming.

"Why do you want to become a fortress of bones?" Su Ming asked. "Is it simply to increase its size?"

Zi Jin shook her head. "My original goal was to achieve a breakthrough in power level through the accumulation of scale, in order to overcome the health problems of Elisa's form. Unfortunately, I still failed to break through the barrier and enter the Saint rank—it turns out that taking shortcuts won't work."

Quantitative change does not necessarily lead to qualitative change.

Violet closed the floorboards. "Russell and Galio were informed in advance and buried a large number of runes among the skeletons on the plains. I absorbed them without knowing it."

"This is the preliminary preparation for the forbidden spell 'Eternal Dark Brand'," Su Ming said. The two necromancers used a pre-set magic array to activate the forbidden spell, forming the runes into a bone mark that restricted Zi Jin.

The missing links in the line of the Chestnut Owl Scholar, Bone Dragon, and Bone Fortress have been filled by Su Ming.

According to the literature, the earliest paper by a scholar of the Chestnut Owl was published 152 years ago. Of course, it's impossible for a Violet to publish a paper at birth; Su Ming is still missing the piece of the puzzle—their birth and childhood—to complete the mystery.

“You’ve actually reached the ‘Eternal Dark Mark’ section; your learning progress is quite fast,” the scholar praised. Then, her tone turned dejected, “That was actually the most tragic trap I ever fell into. I lost my freedom and spent twenty-seven dark years—until you came along and I was freed.”

Even in the initial dire situation, Su Ming had never seen Zi Jin show any signs of sadness. At this moment, he suddenly realized that the girl in front of him was not the indestructible person he had always thought she was.

At that time, whether she was helping him fight Galio or assisting him in his escape, Violet was actually prepared to die. Perhaps it was despair, or perhaps it was the long and arduous journey, but she had given up on living.

The scholar is indeed, as he himself said, awaiting the end of his life!

Su Ming recalled the night Zi Jin awoke from her serious illness, her sudden hope for life explaining her excitement. It was a pity he couldn't spend time with Zi Jin then, a moment of deep regret for Su Ming.

"How did Russell die?" Su Ming changed the subject.

The scholar's eyes flickered. "'Eternal Dark Mark' only applied to the Bone Dragon form. They don't know that I have a special dual form, and my soul still possesses autonomy."

"...So you launched a sneak attack?"

“Yes, I killed Russell on the spot,” Violet replied. “But before he died, he gave the Bone Mark to Galio. Galio quickly gave me an even more thorough seal.” The scholar paused for a moment, “...After that, I spent most of my time as a tower spirit in slumber, without finding any chance to escape, until your arrival.”

A wave of emotion washed over Su Ming; this dark period had lasted longer than his entire life.

“Let’s get back to my question.” The girl calmed herself down and steered the conversation back to the beginning. “Now that the Elisa form has been unsealed, this body is the core of my soul. I want to live as a fully human being, but I’m experiencing some physiological problems, so I need your help.”

Su Ming wanted to help, but he figured he might not understand what Zi Jin was asking. Suddenly, a thought struck him, "I know how to solve this problem!"

"Oh?"

"Simple, I'll send some physiology textbooks and popular science books from Earth, you can look them up yourself!"

"Huh, do you have books like this in your world?" Violet asked in surprise. "I've never found any here."

“There’s quite a lot. So, shall we first master the language?” Su Ming extended his hand to the scholar.

"Ok!"

Su Ming switched his gaze to the little troublemaker and discovered that while the two were talking, Miao Xin had already collected all the nearby corpses and stacked them together.

[The first phase involves using myself as the target for the spell.] Violet reactivated her mental synchronization. [During the second phase, when guiding the materials, the target will be corpses on Earth.]

"Is the material guidance intended to read the knowledge residue in the corpse's brain?" Su Ming asked, receiving the spell runes.

That's exactly right.

【Understood. 】

The technique for gaining language proficiency is not as complex as the double-ring substitution, and it's done in stages, making it significantly easier. Su Ming quickly completed the process, successfully casting the spell on Zi Jin. The linguistic knowledge left behind by the deceased from Earth thus transcended time and space, projecting into the girl's consciousness.

After a moment's thought, the scholar picked up an instruction manual for the MK71 and tried reading it. He nodded in satisfaction, "I can recognize some simple words now. With active learning, I should be able to master English quickly."

The two celebrated with a fist bump.

"I'll find you some books on physiology later, electronic versions, so you can use my laptop to read them when you have time."

"Thanks!"

****
The White Triangle was heading southeast, far from the Central Ocean and off the main shipping route between the East and West continents, with increasingly fewer ships around it.

The following day, Violet's alchemical repair magic finally straightened the left driveshaft. After confirming it was safe, Su Ming stopped the ship and completed the repairs to the remaining power system. At this point, the White Triangle was fully restored to normal operation.

After a period of adjustment and testing, the gyroscope's accuracy has significantly improved. Su Ming compared the flight track records and found that they had completely deviated from the main shipping lanes and were still about 400 kilometers away from Willow Leaf Island.

The sea conditions and weather are currently fine, so Su Ming decided to stay put for a while. Compared to a targeted island, it's actually harder to be spotted on the vast ocean.

Su Ming performed two summons each day, gradually completing the assembly of all the MK71 cannon components stored in the magic crystal. He and Zi Jin, along with a group of zombies, continued the assembly. After two or three days, the cannon's basic form was complete, and the subsystems were also largely assembled.

"Why are we only doing a simple power-on test? Shouldn't we be performing step-by-step debugging?" The scholars are getting more and more into it, no longer limiting themselves to blueprints, and have started to look through various Chinese and English materials.

When Su Ming used language-learning spells before, several of the deceased used as materials could speak Chinese. So Su Ming also began teaching Zi Jin some Chinese to help the spell take effect. But in less than three days, she had completed the progress that Su Ming had made in at least a week when learning the common language, and she was even learning both Chinese and English at the same time.

This made Su Ming realize the gap in their academic abilities; at least in the field of languages, he was completely outmatched. No wonder everyone still politely addressed her as a scholar, even though the girl fought so fiercely.

Su Ming shook his head and explained, "The existing power system is substandard."

The MK71 heavy artillery system has an installed power of up to 600 kilowatts, which is sufficient to power the Corliss steam engine that Su Ming initially transferred. The problem is that the MK71 system uses the American power standard, with a voltage of 440V and a frequency of 60Hz.

All of SuMing's existing generators are standard national standards, with a voltage of only 380V and a frequency of 50Hz. The slightly insufficient voltage is barely acceptable, but the frequency has a significant impact. The MK71 system has a large number of motors; they may pass initial power-on testing, but continuous operation will definitely burn them out.

However, Su Ming already had a solution to the power problem and had made preparations in advance. What was more troublesome was another matter.

Artillery was a blind spot for Su Ming and Zi Jin. For example, the most direct question was: they needed to use alchemical explosives from another world as propellants, so what should the proportions of the alchemical explosives be? What should the detonation velocity be? How much propellant should be filled into the cannon's chamber under different combat conditions?

The two of them had no idea how to even begin. Let alone how to make the firing tables, calculate the ship's speed, wind direction, or rain—all those other messy details.

If used well, this thing is a powerful weapon; if used poorly, it's just a large fire poker.

Zi Jin rarely showed weakness. She lay on the table covered with drawings and said, "Su Ming, we need to find a professional who is proficient in these things."

"Is there anyone to choose from?" Su Ming thought to himself.

The scholar thought for a moment, "That Beanie, isn't she knowledgeable in naval warfare and also a gunnery officer?" Su Ming's eyes lit up, "That's right, she's also skilled in mechanics. If we can recruit her, it can solve a lot of problems!"

"This person shouldn't be let go." Zi Jin examined the sea chart. "She should still be at sea, definitely on her way back to the Eastern Continent, but where is she?"

Su Ming pulled out the runic communication call sign note that Bei Anqi had left behind during their first meeting. "Why don't we just send her a message and ask?"

Considering Beianqi's personality, if we offer some technology in exchange, she will most likely give in!

Violet took the note to the communications tower and returned with two messages.

First, they received the latest weather forecast: a medium-sized storm was approaching. This wasn't something they'd only just learned; they had originally planned to set sail for Willow Leaf Island later that evening to seek refuge.

Although the White Triangle's capabilities are sufficient to withstand storms at sea, while the ship can withstand them, Su Ming and Zi Jin are numb to the situation and would rather be as comfortable as possible.

Only someone who's got nothing better to do would choose to be a canned food, shaken around all day, given the choice!
The second thing was that Beanche quickly replied to the Rune Message and asked for help.

"Requesting help, what for?" The cannons weren't ready yet, and Su Ming didn't want to fight right now.

"tug."

The Five Tooth was severely damaged in the previous battle with Yeshia, with multiple leaks in its hull. After emergency repairs by the Dwarf Guild, it is now being towed back to the Eastern Continent by a cargo ship named Iron Mountain, but its speed remains slow.

The storm the day after tomorrow will bring sea conditions to raging levels. The Five Tooth is not only in poor condition but also lacks sufficient sailors to cope with it; at this rate, sinking is almost inevitable.

"The reward is 20,000 gold coins. All we need to do is tow the Five Tooth to a safe island," said Violet.

After inquiring about the location of the Five Teeth, it was found to be approximately 200 kilometers north of the White Triangle. Su Ming estimated the distance; other ships in this world couldn't do it, but for the White Triangle—

"There's still plenty of time! I can take this job!"

"Ok!"

****
The White Triangle immediately set sail, reaching a high speed of 28 knots. Two hours later, an unprecedentedly huge spot of light appeared at the edge of the radar. Su Ming quickly conducted an enhanced scan and discovered that it was actually two large ships that were very close together.

Su Ming didn't recognize the larger one, but the smaller one was identified as the Five Tooth, which had surfaced.

“We’ve found them,” Su Ming told Zi Jin. “But that Ironwater Mountain Range ship is really huge.”

“No ordinary ship could tow the Five Tooth, could it?” Violet said.

Su Ming steered the ship closer, checking the radar data again to confirm that the large object was indeed a cargo ship, which put his mind at ease.

Approaching within eye range, Su Ming began to observe through the binoculars. He noticed that many black cloths were hanging on the Iron Mountain Range, and a prayer altar was set up on the deck. The person in charge was dressed in black, and many sailors were also wearing black veils.

"They seem to be preparing for a funeral, probably for the crew members who perished on the Five Tooth," Su Ming said. "What's your relationship with the dwarves?"

“That’s fine,” the scholar replied. “The influence of the Temple of Light is insignificant compared to their muscles and hammers, and the Eastern Continent has always been my first choice for escape, but they just haven’t given me the chance.”

Su Ming hesitated for a moment, then decided he should also attend the funeral. "Zi Jin, you stay at the White Triangle. Since we've run into each other, I'll go and pay my respects."

Su Xiang wondered if there was a banquet at the otherworldly funeral, and whether she needed to give a monetary gift.

Zijin also carefully examined the Iron Mountain Range through her binoculars. "It's a cargo ship through and through, nothing wrong. I'll go with you."

“It’s safer for you to stay on the ship,” Su Ming said, “With your presence as a deterrent, I don’t need to worry about the dwarves coveting my bounty.”

Violet laughed, “Relax a bit, that little bounty isn’t enough—the proverb ‘Everyone’s eager to do something that turns their back, but nobody does a losing business’ is something I learned from your world.”

The generous reward that would be a great asset to mercenaries is nothing compared to the Five Fangs, not to mention the Iron Mountain Range that would be involved.

Su Ming lacked experience in dealing with being wanted by the authorities, and he still unconsciously confused his understanding of Earth. In this other world, it was simply a business transaction.

"Are you a little anxious about the bounty on your head?" the scholar asked.

"No, it's because I'm still traumatized by Yesia the day before yesterday," Su Ming explained. "What if I encounter some powerful opponent again—"

“Saints aren’t exactly common cabbages; there are fewer of them than the heads of state of your Earth’s largest countries,” Violet replied. “Encountering Yesia was a huge accident in itself; normally, Saints wouldn’t bother with someone like me who is favored by the gods.”

"Why?" Su Ming asked. It seems the divinely favored weapon's power is only so-so, and its compatibility with the scholar is severely incompatible.

It's more like a mascot.

“This is something you only encounter when you reach that level of power,” Violet replied. “When your head is as high as the ceiling, you have to consider living in harmony with that ceiling, unless you can break through it.”

This was a good thing, and Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief; he had been genuinely scared.

“We should probably go change our clothes soon.” The scholar conjured his staff and released two blue and one green flares into the sky, signaling for a visit. “Let’s show some goodwill, otherwise that old guy on the other side will probably be feeling uneasy.”

The two went back to their respective rooms.

Although Su Ming's camouflage uniform was black, it was covered in pockets and looked very informal. He remembered that he had a Wei-Jin style robe in his suitcase, which he had bought on a whim during a business trip before he transmigrated, when he passed by an ancient-style clothing store.

He turned his clothes inside out and found they were mostly black with understated, simple patterns, so they should be fine. Looking at the mottled oil stains all over his clothes, he decided to take a shower first.

Thanks to the boiler system, hot water is available 24 hours a day throughout the ship. Coupled with a stable power supply, Su Ming's living conditions are becoming increasingly similar to those on Earth; perhaps the biggest difference is the lack of internet access.

As he rinsed his body with hot water, Su Ming realized that his hair had grown so long it was obstructing his vision. He had planned to get a haircut before transmigrating, which was over a month ago.

Su Ming looked in the mirror. Despite being exposed to the wind and sun at sea, his skin had actually improved slightly, which must be due to the protective effect of magic. He used magic to conjure a thin blade and trimmed the hair at his temples and bangs.

Su Ming tugged at the hair at the back of her head, feeling that it was still far from being tied up.

He quickly changed his clothes and tightened his inner garment. The outer robe of this outfit was very loose, especially the straight sleeves that resembled broadswords, emphasizing a dashing and dignified air, and suggesting that he was not capable of doing any work.

I looked in the mirror and saw that my appearance was decent enough to attend the funeral.

Su Ming began preparing the gifts. Zi Jin also changed her clothes and came out of the room. She was wearing a common formal dress in the Western Continent, a brown straight-cut coat with a long skirt, which she had bought from the Four Directions Merchant Guild during the last supply resupply.

Zijin was drying her hair with a towel when she saw Su Ming's clothes. Her expression changed subtly for a moment before returning to normal.

"Just say what you want to say!" Su Ming keenly caught it. "Don't use the excuse of combat training to beat me to a pulp again!"

The girl thought for a moment, "As our partner attending together, don't you think our outfits don't match at all?"

“You can just say my style is more sophisticated,” Su Ming replied.

Violet immediately made her move, the light of her Swiftness spell leaving afterimages in her wake. She grabbed Su Ming's wrist, who hadn't had time to escape, and braced one hand against his arm. With a flash of Brute Force, the girl used her knee to press Su Ming to the floor, pressing against his waist, and making a move to twist his wrist.

"Wait! I can't fight in this outfit!" Su Ming slapped the floor repeatedly with his other hand. "I have a women's outfit too!"

"Oh?" The girl's eyes turned strange. "You time-traveled while on a business trip, didn't you? Why are there women's clothes in your luggage?"

(End of this chapter)