Following Wan’s response, Hyang immediately added:

“Before examining the challenge records, study the propulsion mechanism of that flying vessel and note what differs.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Wan bowed his head at Hyang’s command and waited for the flying vessel to land again.

Shortly after, the vessel descended back to earth.

“Let’s go!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Wan and his craftsmen rushed toward the flying vessel Hyang had created. Meanwhile, Hyang watched their eagerness with satisfaction alongside those who had participated in the vessel’s construction.

“It’s quite serviceable now, isn’t it?”

The elderly master craftsman who had supervised the construction nodded at Hyang’s question, asked with arms crossed and a pleased expression.

“Indeed, Your Majesty. These young ones show great promise for ten years hence. They will be of great assistance to His Highness the Crown Prince by then.”

“That would be wonderful indeed.”

In supporting Wan’s passionate interests, Hyang had employed one particular strategy: pairing the young craftsmen of Area 51 with Wan. These were confident youths who had received guidance from elder masters and believed themselves sufficiently experienced in practical matters.

The surface objective was to prepare for the future by having them challenge various projects with Wan, experiencing both success and failure.

However, Hyang’s true intentions were somewhat more cunning.

When I eventually pass the throne to Wan and can peacefully indulge in my own interests, I’ll need capable people already trained!

That had been the plan, but these youths’ confidence proved excessive. Even Hyang, who admitted to being an obsessed enthusiast, had to shake his head at their ambition.

“A flying vessel with seventy gas chambers? That’s not imagination, that’s delusion!”

Thus, Hyang and the senior craftsmen had decided to teach them a lesson.

Meanwhile, Wan and the young craftsmen who had reached the vessel carefully examined its interior.

“How is this possible with just footboards connected to the axle’s gears and chains, plus differential gears?”

Wan and the craftsmen wore expressions of disbelief at the mechanism’s simplicity.

After meticulously studying the structure, Wan ordered the craftsmen who had accompanied him:

“Examine it thoroughly and draw every detail of its configuration without omission.”

“Would it not be better to disassemble it in Area 51, Your Highness?”

Wan responded firmly to the craftsman’s question:

“How dare you suggest carelessly dismantling something His Majesty personally designed? Disassembly should be the absolute last resort.”

The craftsman bowed deeply at Wan’s stern response.

“My sincerest apologies! Please forgive my presumption!”

“You are forgiven. Instead, draw everything without omission and submit a report analyzing the principles behind this configuration!”

The craftsman in question responded with a crestfallen expression. His fellow craftsmen who witnessed this muttered the same thought internally:

Really now! Asking for a beating with that mouth. What a beating indeed.

After the day’s events concluded, Wan returned to Area 51 and pondered what might be problematic while reflecting on the flying vessel he had observed earlier.

“There must be an issue with the steam engine, but what could it be…”

Wan analyzed it by comparing what he had seen with the steam engine’s configuration.

“The soldiers’ power can be equated to the steam engine’s power. There’s no problem there. Then…”

Wan continued his deep contemplation while drumming his fingers on the desk.

“That leaves the drive system…”

At this point, Wan felt strongly that he had hit a wall.

His own submitted flying vessel used propellers for movement, and Hyang’s vessel also used propellers for movement.

The method of propulsion was identical.

“That’s why I designed it with a scaled-down version of the ironclad ship’s steam engine rather than the iron horse’s…”

Wan carefully examined the engine section design from the ‘Self-Powered Flying Vessel’ blueprint volume laid out beside him.

“Everything seems fine… Transferring the engine’s rotational force to the drive shaft, and using differential gears to control the speed is exactly…”

Suddenly stopping mid-sentence, Wan exclaimed in realization.

“Ah! It wasn’t the same at all! Ours was far too complex!”

The propulsion system that Hyang and the research team had created for the ironclad ship was as follows:

• Install four power furnaces on both sides of the engine section. -Connect the rotational power transfer devices from each furnace to the central drive shaft. -Attach a power distributor to the shaft’s end to transfer power to two propulsion propellers. -Use a speed controller made of combined gears in the power distributor to adjust the rotation speed of the left and right propellers.

This allowed the ironclad ship to turn more efficiently by controlling the rotation speed of the port and starboard propellers, and it even became a monster capable of reverse movement.

Wan and his development team had decided to create and install a scaled-down version of this engine system.

Wan realized what mistake he had made.

“It was too complex. The flying vessel needs to be as light as possible to move properly, but this makes the power system too heavy! And we need too many people to control and manage such a complicated mechanism! This won’t work! Hey there!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Having identified his error, Wan called for the waiting eunuch and commanded:

“Summon the flying vessel development team immediately! Tell them to gather in the conference room!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The craftsmen who had been wrestling with their drawings all night gathered in the conference room at Wan’s summons.

Shortly after, Wan entered the conference room and explained why he had called them.

“I believe I’ve identified the problem with our ‘Self-Powered Flying Vessel[1].'”

The craftsmen’s ears perked up simultaneously at Wan’s words. Having gathered their attention, Wan continued:

“The problem was with the engine section.”

Wan explained the engine section issues he had identified to the craftsmen.

“Ah!”

“Indeed!”

“Now that you mention it, Your Highness, that was clearly the issue!”

When Wan finished his explanation, the craftsmen eagerly agreed with bright expressions.

Seeing that most craftsmen had grasped the concept, Wan spoke with increased confidence.

“Then what should we look for in the challenge records from now on?”

“We need to find a simpler way to control the engine’s output, Your Highness!”

“Let’s begin searching tomorrow!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The young craftsmen and Wan had already recovered their spirits.

From the next day, Wan and the young craftsmen practically moved into the challenge records repository.

The craftsmen, divided into teams, meticulously examined the catalogs of challenge records, which were classified into nine grades.

And because of these craftsmen who had settled in, complaints erupted from various quarters.

“Aish! How are we supposed to check the catalogs when they’re camping out there!”

“Why are they setting up shop here and making such a fuss!”

Each time such complaints arose, the young craftsmen immediately invoked Wan’s name.

“By order of His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Ah… Well, if that’s the case…”

The complaints subsided at the mention of the Crown Prince. However, some couldn’t contain their frustration and went straight to Jeong Inji.

“This is an unreasonable situation, my lord!”

“So you’ve come to me about it?”

Those voicing their complaints nodded immediately at Jeong Inji’s question, and he nodded in return.

“Indeed, you have a point. Going directly to His Highness could bring trouble. Very well. I shall speak to him about it.”

“Thank you, my lord.”

Eventually, Jeong Inji approached Wan and diplomatically conveyed the numerous complaints.

“Ah! I’ve made another mistake. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

Upon receiving Jeong Inji’s warning, Wan immediately issued orders to the craftsmen:

• Immediately yield to others seeking to access the challenge records.

“But that will take far too long, Your Highness.”

“We’re not the only ones who need access to the challenge records, are we? Make way for others.”

The complaining craftsmen had no choice but to back down at Wan’s command.

“We shall obey your command.”

On the fifth day of their search…

“Found it!”

A loud shout erupted from one corner of the challenge records repository. At the cry of “Found it!” nearby craftsmen rushed over all at once.

“Where? What is it?”

“What? What?”

Responding to his colleagues’ questions, the craftsman pointed to a section of the challenge record in his hand and answered:

“Right here! ‘Duct-type Propulsion System, Multi-blade Propulsor, Multi-blade Multi-tier Propulsor, and Ducted Multi-blade Multi-tier Propulsor’!”

At the craftsman’s words, the craftsmen who had been taking turns examining the record all sighed in unison.

“Whew~”

“Haah~”

“Just from the title, it seems like exactly what we need but… Haah~”

There was a reason for the craftsmen’s sighs.

The titles alone suggested answers to what they were seeking. However, the grade was the problem.

Grade: Supreme, Upper (상상, 上上)

Registrant: Jang Yeong-sil (장영실)

Not only was it at the highest grade of the challenge records, but it was registered by Jang Yeong-sil, renowned as one of the ‘Unfathomables’[2].

They had found the answer, but that answer sat atop Mount Tai.

And Wan, too, sighed upon receiving the report.

“Whew~ As they say, avoid a ghost only to meet a tiger… Whew~”

After another long sigh, Wan issued his orders.

“If that’s where our answer lies, we can’t avoid it. Submit a request to the repository for copies of those entries.”

“We shall comply with your command.”

While Wan and his craftsmen were encountering another wall and feeling discouraged, others were burning with enthusiasm elsewhere.

These were the European professors who had received permission to remain in the empire.

The flying vessel they had seen while sightseeing in Seoul had been shocking enough, but a self-propelled flying vessel was even more astounding.

“Who created that?”

“It was made by craftsmen under His Majesty’s command.”

“Oh! To think such remarkable craftsmen exist! We wish to meet and discuss with them! Please arrange a meeting!”

The professors could barely contain their excitement as they requested meetings with the craftsmen.

“What do you want with them?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We wish to discuss the principles behind such movement!”

The official shook his head at the professors’ words.

“While the craftsmen built that flying vessel, His Majesty handled the design and supervision. You seem to be targeting the wrong people.”

“Ah…”

The professors all sighed at the official’s response.

The memory of being thoroughly defeated by Hyang was still vivid.

Moreover, the professors’ current situation was problematic. Almost all who had remained were still unable to shed their apprentice status.

Though they attended daily lectures on mathematics and sciences and took regular examinations, their failures far outnumbered their successes.

This was also part of Hyang’s mischief.

• These are renowned scholars and teachers in the Western lands. Shouldn’t we match their status by assigning them equally skilled instructors?

And the person assigned to teach the professors was Lee Soonji.

Lee Soonji, who had already mastered Latin, mercilessly fired sharp criticisms at the professors.

“You claim to be teachers of students? Hmm…”

“Your grades? Well…”

The professors had to make desperate efforts to suppress their rising anger every time Lee Soonji gave them those strange looks while cutting off his sentences.

And Hyang would smile mischievously whenever he received reports about this.

Meanwhile, the research institute’s researchers would shake their heads.

“We expected this from the moment Lee Soonji the ‘Tongue Devil’ was assigned…”

“That’s what they get for being so full of themselves…”

The researchers sympathized with the European professors suffering under Lee Soonji’s sharp tongue.