Swordmaster syndrome. A formidable obstacle every knight confronted before completely mastering their swordsmanship. Since the Lorasian Continent's inception, countless creatures across all races had experienced this syndrome. Hotheaded ore warriors, courageous merpeople, cold-hearted elf archers. The swordmaster syndrome pestered them as soon as they reached the level of a high-level sword expert. Despite the continent's long history, only about 300 individuals overcame it.
Haa... In other words, there were many who failed to overcome it. I wonder what the exact number is. I'm guessing it's easily in the tens of thousands.
Lloyd was seated on the sofa. When he sighed, the sensation in his nostrils sent him into a state of shock. The wind passing through his nostrils felt too strong, and it caused the fine hairs inside him to clearly sway against his skin. Lloyd shuddered at the strange feeling.
I hate this syndrome!
Three days had passed already, but he still wasn't used to it. He worried whether he would ever get used to this. Before he knew it, dark circles appeared under his eyes.
I'm tired.
But sleeping was impossible with all the noise around him. Even when his surroundings were quiet and the window was tightly shut, the wind blowing outside sounded like a violent storm in his ears. And when he shoved his head into a pillow and clapped his ears shut, the pulse in his veins boomed like a beating drum.
So, I'm an insomniac now thanks to the swordmaster syndrome. This is nuts, really. Lloyd heaved a sigh. Just then, he heard the thunderous voice of Javier.
"You should not lose focus now. Please concentrate, Young Master."
"Ugh, you surprised me..." Lloyd frowned.
"Does my voice still sound too loud?"
"Obviously," huffed Lloyd. "If you are going to speak, can't you give me a sign before you do?"
"I cannot," rejected Javier coldly.
"Why not?"
"Because that would not provide any training or allow you to adjust to your senses."
"Come on. So, what, you want me to stay on the sofa and keep my eyes closed all day long like this?" Lloyd closed his eyes.
"You are practicing how to maintain this state of silence." Javier's voice sounded like that of a teacher. "What does this change?"
Instead of answering the question, Javier instructed, "Throw yourself into the silence. Confront the sharp tail end of your heightened senses. Focus on where that sharpness is pointing. Embrace it. Tolerate it. Accept it. Only then will you be able to find genuine peace inside yourself."
"Fine," droned Lloyd, "I get it, Monk Javier Asrahan."
"Monk?" retorted Javier in confusion. "What is that?"
Lloyd shrugged, still closing his eyes. "Something I heard when I was in Seoul."
"What did you hear?"
Lloyd said, "There are people who are called monks in that world. I heard the others talk on my way from the bathroom."
"And so, are you saying I resemble those people called monks?"
"Yeah. They love to use esoteric jargon, and you fit the bill."
“...”
"In other words, I don't get a clue as to what you mean," Lloyd protested, shaking his head. "Sharp tail end of my senses? What in the world are you talking about?"
"Pay attention to your inner self," replied Javier patiently, "And you will naturally feel what it is."
"I am already paying attention right now," Lloyd stressed every word to drive his point home.
However, Javier was unimpressed. "It does not look like it, Master Lloyd."
Lloyd sighed. "I'm trying."
"It's still not enough."
"Ack! Ack! Dammit!" yelled Lloyd as he suddenly tapped the arms of the sofa with his palms.
To this, Javier could only say, "Calm the rage inside you and find peace. Now, breathe."
Lloyd obeyed. "Whew..."
"There you go," cooed Javier. "Good boy."
"Hey." Lloyd opened his eyes.
"Focus, Young Master."
Lloyd was about to fall into a rage the longer he thought about the situation, but there wasn't anything he could do. Javier was the one with experience, living proof that he could completely overcome his syndrome. As such, Lloyd could only follow Javier's instructions, believing he would gain guidance on how to deal with his senses more efficiently.
From that day onward, Lloyd left the construction field to Sir Bayern and was engrossed in his quasi-meditation sessions on the sofa of his bedroom. He used the time to further familiarize himself with his sharpened senses. The effect of this was immense.
Wow. Wow... This is working.
Two days in, Javier's voice diminished from being comparable to the sound of thunder to mere desk tapping. The sensation of saliva sliding down Lloyd's throat and hair swaying in his nostrils had reduced considerably as well.
I guess Javier is still useful in one way or another.
As expected, Javier's teachings were effective. From that moment on, Lloyd focused entirely on meditating. Three days passed. Then five days passed. At last, on the fifteenth day, Lloyd managed to suppress his heightened senses just enough to continue his daily life.
"Ha..." Lloyd inhaled and looked around.
His nausea was now reduced to a noticeable degree. It turned out that spending every minute of his day in meditation wasn't a waste after all. However, there was still one hurdle left for him to cross.
"Okay, does this mean my insomnia is cured?" asked Lloyd.
"You shouldn't get your hopes up, Young Master."
Javier's answer disappointed Lloyd. "Is that so..."
"Yes," replied Javier cold-heartedly. "Even I could not overcome insomnia before your lullaby."
"Okay, then how about we do this?"
A sudden idea popped into his head as he conversed with Javier.
Then, I'll listen to a lullaby, too!
Lloyd immediately brought out a piece of paper and pen, remembering what he had studied back in his college years. He then quickly scribbled down lesson content from some of his major-related courses.
So, this and that, bla bla... Here and that... Okay.
After a short wrestle with his memory, Lloyd was able to fill the entire page.
"Hey, read this for me," demanded Lloyd as he held out a paper.
"Excuse me?"
"Read it. This one," urged Lloyd again.
"Wait. Is this a lullaby for yourself?"
"Yeah. Can you read it? It's nothing too complicated. I made sure to avoid any difficult language, so it's easy to read. You just need to read through it without stuttering."
"Okay, come on."
Lloyd jumped onto the bed and covered himself with a blanket. He then sent an expectant gaze to Javier. Come on now. I can sleep now. I am a genius for devising this plan. Praising himself inwardly, Lloyd looked forward to sleeping well after fifteen days of insomnia. At last, Javier began to recite the lullaby.
"Hah. I see. Then, hmm... The Limit State Design method attempts to deal with the stability of the structure probabilistically by considering the load action and fluctuations of the material strength... Blah blah... Based on the mechanical behavior of the material... Whatnot... It is regarded as being displayed as it is in the completed structural system."
"Good. Keep going," Lloyd urged.
A wide grin hung on Lloyd's face. To his relief, Javier was reciting the lullaby without much stuttering. Lloyd's anticipation grew. He closed his eyes, recalled his college days, imagined Javier's voice to be that of a boring professor, and tried to fall into a state of happy slumber.
"However, no matter how much attention is paid to the quality control of materials, the proposed value in the design... This and that... In the application of loads, the load given in the specification is... Blah blah... Probabilistic considerations will ensure that the stability of the structure is properly assessed."
"Okay, more. Keep going."
Let's go to sleep. Please let me fall asleep. I can do it! I can go fall asleep! So, continue! The corners of his eyes trembled. He engineered his brain to make Javier's voice sound boring.
"In general, when designing a structure, the allowable stress design method using the safety factor concept has a small working load... Um... If sagging or cracking is not a problem... a bill... Development of structure interpretation and design capabilities...um... High-strength rebar and...phew...the ingredients... Zzz..."
"Hey?" Lloyd opened his eyes when Javier's recitation stopped. Then, he saw.
"Are you asleep?" asked Lloyd.
Snore... Javier didn't answer.
"I asked if you're sleeping," repeated Lloyd. Phew...
"Hey," begged Lloyd. "Hello? Professor?"
"Phew..."
Lloyd teared up. How was he to accept this situation wherein his attempt to make himself fall asleep with the textbook recitation made the reciter fall asleep?
Goodness. It's not like I can read it to myself out loud.
Eventually, Lloyd gave up. Even though he had somewhat gotten used to his senses and could go on with his daily life and supervise the construction, getting sleep at night was a hopeless endeavor. There was no way to cure his insomnia, and he couldn't neglect his construction site for much longer.
Fine. It's not like this is my first time being sleep-deprived.
Abruptly, he recalled his days back in South Korea, particularly the days before he filed for college leave of absence. It was the most physically and mentally draining time in his life. Even when he hadn't healed from losing his parents, Lloyd had to survive alone and work part-time. He also had school and heaps of assignments. There was just not enough time for everything, so he wished he had two bodies because he couldn't overlook either side.
As such, Lloyd decided to do his best and ace everything. But there was one problem. Sleep. He couldn't sleep at night. Whenever he closed his eyes, he began to see things, probably because of the pain of losing his parents or the haunting images of their last moments. His heart even felt stifled. Unable to sleep properly, he tossed and turned through the night. That period marked the harshest time period in his life, wherein he had to brace himself and remain strong even when his sleep deprivation, fatigue, trauma, and stress caused him to get regular nosebleeds.
At least I'm doing better than back then. My heart is in peace. I'm well-fed with nutritional food. I have people who wash clothes and clean on my behalf.
His current life differed from the period when he lived on plain rice and kimchi. He had servants to wash his clothes and clean his room and people who supported him by his side. This place was heaven. Thinking so, Lloyd accepted his insomnia and went out to the site. Every day, he was covered in sunlight and dust. The dam construction was not an easy project.
I've got to keep it as simple as possible. Stay faithful to the dam's main purpose. Exclude any complicated features. It just needs to be strong and sturdy.
The first task ahead of them was changing the direction of the river and drying the empty space left behind for construction.
It goes without saying that I can't build the dam when the water is still flowing. In order for the construction to continue, I have to redirect the current of the river even if it means I'll have to reverse it again later on.
So, Lloyd dug for a spillway to allow the direction of the river flow to change directions. He then built a temporary cofferdam upstream and downstream of the main dam. The upstream cofferdam directed the river to the spillway and blocked the water from flowing to the main dam.
As for the downstream cofferdam, its role was to prevent the diverted river water from overflowing and sinking the main dam construction site. As such, the spillway was dug as deep and wide as possible. The cofferdam for the upstream was built using the fill dam format, wherein soils and rocks were piled up in the rip-rap format. The measurement followed the design Lloyd had finished in advance. When he completed everything, the site for the main dam dried and smoothened. It was now time to begin the actual construction.
"You all can't be thinking that it's time for a break, right? Everyone let's get to work! Work!" Lloyd encouraged the workers all the more while keeping their shift schedule in mind and strictly complying with the established safety measures. He didn't give any time for slack. The reason was simple.
That's the only way for us to quickly finish the construction! It'll also help with my insomnia! I barely get any sleep at night and can't bear to watch you all cheerfully take a break! So, you should all be pushing yourselves to finish your work!
Lloyd planned to hurry his workers and finish the project swiftly. That way, he could activate the Jewel of Truth and find out if the solution for the incoming disaster required any spending of the RP.
If the solution doesn't require RP, I'll do anything I can to get more of it and level up my manaheart.
If so, he would be completely free from insomnia. That became his ray of hope and source of motivation to passionately put pressure on the workers. His plan worked as the construction progressed without a hitch. The core part of the main dam, which would support the heavy weight of the structure, was completed.
This will essentially be a giant basin made of cement.
This was the only way to make the dam sturdy. It was more complicated than erecting a wall and trapping water behind it. Once the foundation was fully constructed, he proceeded to the most important portion of the project, the main dam. Lloyd referred to the Tibi Dam of Spain for the design.
Just like how the Tibi dam was built, Lloyd stacked together thick layers of limestone to build the structure. The interior of the dam was built using natural stone and cement. The exterior was made using uniformly sized rocks that minimized any gaps from appearing. In the end, they both came together to form a stable and dense arch. Lloyd simultaneously worked on constructing the Jewel of Truth at the same time.
Of course I have to. I need to finish it while the dam is still empty.
That was how he could make sure his construction of the Jewel of Truth would go smoothly. Thankfully, it was a relatively easier project than the dam.
It's a relief that I have a detailed blueprint.
Lloyd dutifully followed the Jewel of Truth blueprint, raising the foundation on the spot he had marked before. There, he inserted the sculpture he had found in the Mermaid Kingdom. After putting together a pyramid that resembled the Tomb of the General, he laid, inserted, and placed together all the key materials for the jewel.
Great. Let's continue on just like now. Just like now!
The construction processes in place couldn't go any smoother. There hadn't been any accidents, even minor ones, or other big challenges. Everything was progressing so nicely that Lloyd happily wished all his construction projects would be this relaxed.
One month later. Two months later. Three months later... One day, after six months passed, in the very morning Lloyd was finishing the final stage of construction for the dam and the Jewel of Truth...
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, a brilliant ray of light enveloped the construction site, and an entity no one ever anticipated to see emerged. He had a ring of iridescent light on his head and two fiery loops wrapping his whole body. This entity held the iron mace of punishment on one hand and the order of the demolition of illegal architecture on the other. It was Raphael the Throne, the Director of Inspection.
