emperor of steel
Chapter 14: Reina’s Crisis 2
The repair shop for the Gigant was located in a space below the arena.
It wasn’t a difficult place to find, but it was impossible to enter.
“It is prohibited for irrelevant parties to enter.”
The knights, who were guarding the gate, blocked the passage.
Luke, slowly pulled out some gold coins and held them in his hand.
“Hu, you can’t do this…”
“Don’t make loud noises, come back after taking a quick look.”
The knights, who took the bribe, opened the door, pretending to not know anything, and Luke along with Philip went inside.
Kang! Kang! Kang!
Waah! Weiing!
The heat and greasy atmosphere welcomed Luke.
Taking a step further in, Luke looked around with sharp eyes.
Every step of the way Gigants were lined up. Wizards belonging to each clan along with the riders were working hard to maintain their Gigants.
In such a place, Luke went to the place where a Gigant had been completely stripped off.
As he got closer to that, the wizards stopped him, and then the clan riders along with the mercenaries stopped him.
The outsiders were unwelcomed because they often belonged to another clan.
“What are you? A mole?”
“I just came to watch.”
At Luke’s response, the wizard let down the suspicious expression he had.
“Hmmm, no magic circle and no calluses from using tools, okay? But if you get in my way or bother me, I’ll kick you out.”
Only after confirming that Luke wasn’t a spy, he was given the right to scrutinize the work of the wizard and the structure of the Gigant.
The interior of the Gigant was much more complex yet delicate from that of the golems, which used to be just clumps of stones.
In addition, the closer he looked, the more complicated the mana flow was inside that machine.
Almost similar to the human blood and neural network.
‘Each of them is articulated meticulously with a prepared artificial magic stone. This was why such elaborate movements were possible.’
There were three important parts in such a complex and delicate Gigant.
The ‘Mana Converter’, which allowed one to unleash magic or convert it into physical aura.
The ‘Balance Device’, which was used to maintain the Gigant’s body that was made of heavy steel.
And lastly, the ‘Core Engine’.
Among them, the core engine was the most important aspect, a device that gathered mana from nature and fed it to each part of the Gigant, allowing the joints and move or concentrate the power.
To put it plainly, it was an organ that played the role of both the heart and the lungs.
Luke was shocked after seeing the organs made in such a delicate manner, yet they were more stable and efficient than the golems.
And it wasn’t all because of the completeness of the Gigant.
‘Unbelievable! This is exactly the same as what I made!’
The mana converter, the balance devices, the core engine too were completely similar.
Although some of the refinements and the additional magic circles were a bit different, the basic principles and the structure of the device were the same.
Luke took that as an opportunity and looked at the inside of the other Gigants.
“Hey kid, you wish to break your leg?”
“Get lost before I call the guards!”
In spite of the wizards and the mercenaries stopping him, Luke looked at the various parts and organs that went into the Gigants.
Although there was a difference between the new and old, high and low performances, none of the three major parts were missing, and the basic principles and structures of those main parts were all the same.
‘How did this happen? The parts are completely like the ones I made…’
By the time he remembered what happened, Luke almost went down the memory lane.
‘Well, was it the Veritas Magic Tower that made the Gigant?’
“Young Lord, what are you trying to do?”
Philip watched Luke with anxiousness for a while.
Instead of answering the question, Luke asked another question.
“Philip. Do you by any chance know how the Gigant was developed in the Veritas Magic Tower?”
“What do you mean by develop?”
“Like did they even have a blueprint or did they excavate something from an ancient ruin or a dungeon?”
At he understood the question, Philip nodded.
“I learned it in the military academy. I heard that Arsene, the master of Veritas Magic Tower and the 8th Circle Grand Wizard developed it after decades of original research.”
“Original research?”
“Yes, which was why the later historians praised him as the ‘Father of Gigant’ and the ‘Mage Engineer’ and ‘Iron Mage’.”
‘That is absurd!’
Before the golem magic was created, it was well known in the magic tower that Saymon had been working on such things.
He did some research in the Veritas Magic Tower, but Meister Arsene had never participated in it.
He was a War Mage, who emphasized on attack and defense magic, and was very ignorant at the creations of golems and artifacts.
And such a person has turned into the founder of Magic Engineering?
‘No, it could be possible.’
The Veritas Magic Tower had situations where the higher wizards would steal the achievement papers of the lower rank wizards. Whether it was a Meister or an elder, it made no difference.
And not only once did they rob Luke of his hard work.
‘It isn’t that strange if that guy stole the achievements of someone and made it into his. That is fine, but…’
Luke remembered the time when the Holy Knight Rakan had come to slay him.
At that time, Rakan was armed with a golden sword made by the Veritas Magic Tower, handed by the Archbishop of El Kassel.
In other words, it was safe to say that the Veritas Magic Tower helped Rakan in defeating Saymon.
‘They were all trying to get rid of me by shaking hands with the Duke of Baroque. They would have helped out Rakan too, so after my death, they can take my research.’
When he thought about it, everything seemed to make sense, and the mystery of the Gigants was solved.
After all, Arsene was the head.
Not only did he push Katarina to her death, but he branded Saymon a Devil and deprived him of all his research and made him into what he was as well.
‘Keuk! An enemy who doesn’t even know what he made!’
Luke’s eyes turned red with anger.
The enemy he wanted to kill was long gone.
But the Veritas Magic Tower, which was the same as then, had the magic towers of 2 continents in its hand.
‘Arsene, I’ll make sure your blood tears will come out from your bones!’
Erase the Veritas Magic Tower from the world!
The wizards, every single book, their magic stones, and their magic powers!
Luke had a fierce commitment against the enemy who had sucked him of his life.
‘I have a lot to do in the future.’
But first, he had to pay the debt to keep his castle, which was called the Devil King’s castle that had the memories of his loved one, his followers and the place which was going to give him the power to take revenge.
‘Huh?’
Luke held his neck while moving out when he suddenly stopped.
And it wasn’t the wizards or the mercenaries who stopped it.
It was a girl who was stroking the rusty legs of a Gigant.
It was Princess Reina, who had been exiled, the one he saw on the street yesterday.