Chapter 28:

Chapter 28:

Stepping off the gigant, Abel paced, looking at the words on the wall, and thought to himself.This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site.

‘This is how it works in the real world.’

Abel thought he had gotten used to life here, but there were times when he was surprised. A world where magic has replaced science. In some ways, technological developments were surprisingly slow and inconvenient, but in other ways, things that were impossible on Earth seemed normal here. Abel walked to the door and swiped his access pass into the doorway.

Woong-!

Then, with a faint reverberation, the door opened by itself. Count Klein, Abel’s patron, stepped through the open doorway with her striking red hair.

“Long time no see.”

Scarlett smiled and greeted him first. Abel immediately returned the greeting politely.

“Yes. It’s been a long time, Count.”

“Yes. May I come in?”

“Of course.”

At Abel’s nod of approval, Scarlett strode inside. Scarlett’s attire was quite different from the last time he’d seen her at the manor, she was both a noblewoman leading a family and a professor at the academy and if her appearance before had leaned toward the former, it was now clearly the latter.

Her hair was pulled up in a bun, and her outfit emphasized practicality. After taking a long look around the interior of the training center, Scarlett shifted her gaze back to Abel and asked,

“Do you like the private training center?”

“Yes. I do.”

“That’s good, then,”

Abel realized something new from Scarlett’s words. Count Klein must have had something to do with awarding the private training room to him. Abel’s achievement was undoubtedly impressive, but even considering that the private training room was more than he could have hoped for, it made sense if Scarlett had something to do with it. Quickly collecting his thoughts, Abel immediately bowed and said.

“Thank you.”

“You’re still quick to notice things, but don’t bother thanking me. You’ve done a great job.”

Scarlet smiled and replied in a light tone, this time walking over to where Lupus was.

“The aircraft is pretty standard, but it’s well balanced. The workshop must have done a good job. What about the armaments? It must be tricky to handle.”

“I still need a lot of practice, but I’m getting the sense that it’s an excellent piece of armor.”

“Hmmm. You’re already getting the hang of using two weapons simultaneously. It’s worth it as a reward.”

“Thank you.”

Abel replied, not particularly surprised. Scarlett is his sponsor and a professor at the Academy, which means she’s both interested in him and in a position to know what’s happening within the Academy.

‘That’s part of the reason I approached her first.’

Fom Abel’s point of view, the more interest she takes in him, the better. She wasn’t particularly benevolent, but she’s the kind of person who rewards talent. Scarlett asked a few more questions before getting down to business.

“I’d like to see you maneuver the Gigant once.”

“Alright. I’ll show you right away.”

“I look forward to it.”

Abel walked straight to Lupus’s cockpit, and Scarlett moved to a suitable corner.

Abel then went through the same process as before to activate Lupus.

‘I’ve withstood at least two attacks from a Milles-class Gigant with all my strength.’

Wooooo-!

Looking at the surroundings through Lupus, the training grounds, which seemed so vast, felt small. Abel turned his head slightly to see Scarlett standing in the corner, and when she saw that Abel had finished his maneuver, she waved at him lightly. Signaling him to continue

‘You want me to keep moving,’

Abel, who understood the signal, slowly started walking.

Thump, thump, thump, thump-!

The Lupus’s movement, controlled under Abel, was quite natural. It was only walking, but Scarlet could see through Abel’s skill even with that alone.

“Amazing.”

Scarlet let out a small exclamation. Controlling a Gigant is entirely different from moving the body directly. No matter how great one’s abilities are, if one has a talent for the Gigant, one can only perform at their full potential. In that sense, Abel’s talent with the gigant was ‘real.’

“People without talent can’t even ride the gigant properly even after practicing for a year.......”

Scarlett stroked her chin and muttered. In the past, in the early days of Gigant’s development, Gigant was reserved for knights. This was because it was assumed that those who were naturally good at fighting would also be good at Gigant battles.

However, as time passed and research progressed, it became clear that it wasn’t the case. The two talents are completely separate. Of course, to be a proper gigant rider, both talents must be at a certain level.

Scarlett’s eyes twinkled as she watched Abel walk around the training grounds. And at that moment, Abel was lost in his own thoughts.

‘It’s true. My movements are much smoother now that I’ve had the Heart of the gigant implanted.’

Abel’s movements have become more natural, and this is due to the improvement of his skill, and of course, the effects of the Heart of the Gigant cannot be ignored.

The Heart of the Gigant affected his Gigant in many ways. There were abilities that needed to be activated separately, such as Active Skills, but even in basic operations like this one, the impact could be felt deeply.

And Abel could feel it. He knew that now, he could be faster, more powerful, and fight longer. It was only natural that a satisfied smile formed on Abel’s lips,

‘At this rate, I should be able to achieve the same results as I did in our last lesson with just one armor.’

A part of him wanted to move more vigorously to see the effect, but he remembered he was not alone. Just then, Scarlett, watching him from the corner of her eye, waved her arm and gave the following command. She raised her arm and bent it slightly, pointing to her back. Abel could immediately understand the meaning.

‘You want me to use my back weapon.’

Abel stopped walking and channeled magic into the core.

Imagery is essential when activating a weapon. You have to visualize the weapon you will use as you move your energy. If you don’t, it might not deploy at all, or worse, the wrong weapon might protrude, or the movement might go awry altogether.

But Abel didn’t have to worry about that. Since he had already activated two weapons simultaneously, the mana he had channeled quickly spread through the machine and converged into one point.

Tsk-tsk-tsk

The armor on his back reacted. A sturdy covering opened, revealing a blue gem nestled inside. The changes didn’t end there.

Woo-woo!

A blue light radiated out from the surroundings along with an unusual magical response. The light seemed to spread to the surroundings and then completely enveloped Lupus. Abel looked at the light around him and remembered its name.

‘Guardian’s shield.’

That was the name of the third armament. If the first armament, Blessing of the Winds, is concerned with mobility, and the second, Sage’s Crown, with the senses. The Guardian’s Shield, as its name implies, focused on defense. Though he had yet to test it himself, Abel had a rough idea of its performance.

“...It looks like...”

Abel shifted his stance immediately. Any other reward would have been fine, but Count Klein’s magic scroll was a different story. Abel spoke, his voice filled with enthusiasm.

“Whatever you imagine, I will show you and more.”

[To be continued.]