"Builder!" the boy called, hurrying over. "I drew it like you showed me. See? The bricks go like this, stacked in rows. Did I do it right?"
Adrian blinked, surprised. The lines were messy, uneven, but the concept was there. The kid had been paying attention.
"What's your name, kid?" Adrian asked.
"Lukas," he said quickly, straightening his back. "I… I want to be your apprentice."
The word hit Adrian harder than he expected. Apprentice. Back home, he'd mentored dozens of young engineers—only for most of them to be poached by bigger firms or stolen by greedy hands.
He crouched, looking the boy in the eye. "Being my apprentice isn't just drawing lines. It's working until your hands bleed. It's failing a hundred times before you get it right. You still want that?"
Lukas nodded without hesitation. "I'll do whatever it takes."