Chapter 5
In Lyael Leventesia's eyes appeared a horde of monsters, goblins, straight out of old legends.
The sheer number, resembling a moving hill, was terrifying.
On the other hand, the men of Leventesia who stood against them numbered around sixty.
Half of them were merely young men who had come running without armor, wielding spears or pitchforks.
“Is this all the soldiers we have?”
“Since there could be goblins trying to bypass us, we couldn’t leave the village completely undefended….”
The lieutenant, trailing off mid-sentence, quickly added upon noticing the stern expression of Lord Lyael Leventesia.
“This is all we could gather on such short notice, but reinforcements should arrive soon, as they pull themselves together!”
“……”
Despite the lieutenant’s words, Lyael’s unease did not subside.
Support from other territories was out of the question, and at most, a few more villagers might show up.
But if they were untrained, the best they could hope for was that they wouldn’t flee. Against such a vast number of goblins, they would only add to the casualties.
‘Even if goblins were depicted as weak creatures in ancient texts... if there are hundreds of them, it could be dangerous.’
He had thought he could peacefully live out the rest of his days, yet here he was facing such an ordeal.
As this thought crossed his mind, memories of the harsh words he had spoken to his son surfaced.
If he had known this would happen, he might have let him live more freely, pursuing whatever he wanted.
“Keeek! Kieeek!”
“Kraaaagh!!”
The goblins, who had been approaching slowly, suddenly broke into a sprint.
“Damn it! They’re coming!”
“Raise your shields! Hold your positions no matter what! Do not fall back!”
The goblin army charged, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
Among them, the ones leading the pack were nearly the size of fully grown men.
“Mother….”
“Oh, oh… Dear God, please take my soul under your grace.”
“Damn it! If I had known this would happen, I would’ve spent all my money before dying!”
Just as each person was mulling over what might be their final thoughts...
*—Wooong.*
A strange ringing sound echoed in the air.
And then, there was an unusual gust of wind.
Something appeared in the sky.
“What is that?”
A chunk of black metal, battered and broken, fell into the center of the goblin horde.
“Black armor?”
Someone looked up at the sky and muttered.
KABOOM!
With a deafening explosion, as if a meteor had struck, the spot where the goblins had gathered erupted in chaos.
As dust and debris shot up into the air, dozens of goblins were wiped out in a single strike.
And at the center of the explosion, the prototype spoke.
[Remaining operational time: 13 seconds.]
"I know!"
Lanyel, equipped with the prototype, leapt high into the air and drove his sword into the ground several meters away.
**BOOOM!!**
"Kyaaaah!"
"Kieek! Kek!"
Amid the scattering dust, Lanyel calmly calculated.
‘The maximum blade length of the high-mass blade is 2 meters.’
In other words, even with one swing, cutting down three or four goblins was the limit.
‘But if I lower the blade’s cutting force to the minimum and push mass compression to the extreme...!’
The reason the high-mass blade, though a simple sword, could serve as the prototype’s main weapon was, of course, due to its “mass.”
Theoretically capable of forming near-infinite mass, it could deliver physical attacks weighing tens of tons. At that level, even ordinary melee weapons could crush magical circuits or barriers purely with physical force.
Thus, every strike Lanyel delivered with the blade tore the earth apart like a mass bomb weighing tens of tons, killing the goblins just from the shockwave.
"Kyaaaah!"
"Kyak! Kyahahk!"
[Remaining operational time: 7 seconds.]
The prototype could only operate at 8% of its usual power, but even 8% of a unit capable of atmospheric re-entry was nothing short of godlike speed for these creatures.
[5 seconds.]
With every leap, several meters were covered, and a strike shredded everything within a radius of ten meters.
[3 seconds.]
**BOOOM!!**
[2 seconds.]
"Kyaaahahk! Hahk!"
"Kyak! Kyak!"
[1 second.]
And finally, when the powered suit’s remaining ether was completely depleted...
[Remaining ether: 0.7%. Shutting down.]
Not a single goblin was left standing on the battlefield.
"Ah... Ahhh..."
From afar, those who had been watching the scene made sounds that could not be distinguished as gasps or exclamations of awe.
Some fell over in shock, while others clasped their hands together with tears streaming down their faces.
"O nameless warrior in black armor, thank you!"
"The guardian deity of Leventesia!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
* * *
After clearing out the monsters, my mind felt a bit clearer.
I still didn’t know where such a large goblin horde had come from, but at least I was relieved they were defeated without harm to the village.
Still, despite the victory, my satisfaction was far from high.
Yes, I had wiped out the goblins completely, but the prototype’s performance was far below what I had originally intended to create.
What a waste of time, dealing with something as trivial as goblins.
As expected, the thought of repairing this thing as soon as possible grew stronger.
Just as I was thinking about the current battle and preparing to leave the battlefield—
[Master.]
"What?"
[The Ether engine readings... seem strange.]
"What are you talking about?"
[The Ether engine readings... they're, uh, increasing?]
What the hell? The energy source is nearly depleted, and the system has already shut down. Why would the engine readings suddenly rise?!
[10%, 25%... 135%!!]
What the hell?!
Suddenly, the engine output started to skyrocket.
[Stabilization is necessary! I strongly recommend storing the main body in the dimensional hangar immediately!]
‘You don’t have to tell me that—I already know!’
"O divine protector of Leventesia! Where are you?!"
"Black Knight! Black Knight!"
"I think it was around here? Damn it, I can’t see anything because of all this dust!"
"Hurry up and find him! We must bring him to our village for *worship*!"
To make matters worse, villagers and soldiers who had been some distance away began approaching the area.
The moment I saw them, countless annoying scenarios played out in my mind.
And I came to one conclusion.
Run.
"Retreat from the area! As fast as possible!"
[But the engine is overloaded...!]
"We’ll put it in the dimensional hangar as soon as we’re out of here!"
[Understood, Master!]
Carefully avoiding the approaching people, I moved the prototype to escape the area.
As soon as I reached the secret workshop, I stored the prototype in the dimensional hangar.
"Status report?!"
[Yes! It peaked at 174%, but the readings stabilized again after being stored in the hangar.]
Thankfully, the engine's mysterious overload stabilized once it was stored.
‘I have no idea what caused this. Do you know anything?’
[No idea, Master.]
Sigh. I already had plenty to deal with, and now there’s even more on my plate.
[Master.]
"What now?! Don’t tell me there’s another issue!"
[It’s not a problem, exactly, but regarding the excess output... During the stabilization process, an Ether crystal was formed.]
"What?!"
Startled, I checked, and sure enough, there was a minuscule amount of Ether crystal formed.
‘Why the hell did this happen?’
Ether crystals are rare metals occasionally found in Ether-rich environments. While they don’t contain Ether themselves, they have high Ether conductivity and, critically, are ridiculously durable.
"Can you figure out why it was created?"
[Not for certain, but the only factor I can think of from the earlier situation is hunting the monster.]
I hunted a monster, which caused the engine to overload, and then an Ether crystal was created?
“When we caught monsters on Earth, this kind of phenomenon didn’t happen, did it?”
[That’s right.]
It was a clear anomaly.
Several reasons and causes came to mind, but nothing definitive stood out.
“Let’s move on for now.”
[Isn’t it a bit too serious to just move on?]
“What’s the point of worrying about something we can’t solve? Besides, I’ve got a plan.”
[A plan?]
“I’ll just make you tougher.”
If it can’t withstand the overload, I’ll just make it so it can. Simple as that. The testing can come after that.
It might take some time, but better safe than sorry.
With that unsettling feeling lingering in the back of my mind, I returned to the mansion.
***
[By the way, Master, why did you hide your identity earlier?]
“That’s because of you.”
[Me?]
To be honest, I’d suspected it since I designed you on Earth, and I was sure of it after massacring those goblins in this world.
The performance of a prototype is truly on another level.
“What do you think would happen if a powerful war machine like you became publicly known?”
Even before the prototype was developed, I’d faced numerous kidnapping attempts back on Earth.
In this industry, especially in weapons development, things like kidnapping, imprisonment, and blackmail are pretty commonplace.
“If word got out about you, even if it wasn’t random strangers, our own villagers would probably start demanding things like, ‘Let’s make Leventesia great!’ and try to march on neighboring villages or suggest hunting dragons for money.”
[There are dragons in this world?]
“If there are, that is. If there are.”
Anyway, it’s not that the villagers are bad people. That’s just how humans are.
Once your existence is revealed, it’s practically guaranteed that I’ll get dragged into all kinds of trouble.
“If I’d planned to reveal you from the start, I would’ve repaired you in my regular workshop, not in a secret one.”
[As expected of you, Master! You even considered that from the beginning!]
In any case, the first activation of the prototype after repairs went off *successfully* (?) and even netted us a nice little bonus in the form of an ether crystal. Everything seemed to be wrapping up smoothly.
Until my father came to my room.
“Raniel.”
“…Father?”
“Open the door for a moment. I need to talk to you.”
Even though he must’ve been busy cleaning up goblin corpses and sending the villagers back to their homes, my father came to my room.
I tilted my head in curiosity but opened the door.
“That black armor you were wearing earlier—is that one of those magical engineering things?”
The moment I opened the door, that was the first thing out of his mouth.
For a second, I wondered if I should correct him by saying it’s called arcane engineering, not magical engineering, but I held back.
I feigned ignorance with a calm expression.
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s no need to make excuses. I already know everything, and I’m not here to interrogate you.”
I considered continuing to play dumb, but the look on my father’s face made me think otherwise. He had the expression of someone who had already reached a conclusion.
“…How did you find out?”
“The swordsmanship you wield—it’s the one I taught you.”
My father’s expression as he said that was a complicated one.
I had no words to reply, so I stayed silent. My father, too, quietly gazed out the window.
How much time had passed like that? My father finally spoke up.
“I won’t ask why you haven’t told me about that armor. I can guess well enough.”
“……”
“There’s just one thing I want to ask.”
My father fell silent again for a moment, and then, after some time, spoke softly.
“My son.”
“Yes?”
“Do you like magical engineering?”
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
“Well, yeah, I guess.”
“Then do it.”
“What?”
“Do what you want to do.”
As he said that, my father handed me an academy recommendation letter, complete with his signature and seal.
“This is…”
“I believe the entrance exam period hasn’t ended yet. If you start preparing now…”
“No, that’s not it. The ink’s a bit faded. Did you sign this a long time ago by any chance…?”
“Ahem! I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“So you planned to give this to me all along, but couldn’t because of everything you said before, and now you’re using this moment as an excuse to hand it over—”
“Enough! I told you I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
My father abruptly turned his back to me.
I looked at his back and grinned.
“Magical engineering’s pretty useful, huh?”
“At least you wouldn’t get beaten up with it. Oh, and there’s one thing I need to correct.”
“……”
“That time when I said you didn’t even know the basics of the Leventecian style—I take it back.”
At that moment, I couldn’t see my father’s face, but I could clearly imagine the expression he must’ve had.
“At the very least, you do know the basics.”
---
*Sniff. This is what a father-son conversation looks like!*
The prototype, which had briefly turned serious during the ambush, quickly returned to its usual self.
By now, I’d gotten used to that tone, so it didn’t feel as jarring as before.
“What nonsense are you spouting now? It’s not like I had some deep conversation with my dad.”
*Aww, you’re just shy!*
“Looks like the AI’s gone buggy. I’ll have to fix you up.”
*I’m not leaving the hangar for a while, you know! I’m staying in here! It’s NEET mode!*
As if it could leave the hangar without charging anyway. Ridiculous.
The prototype suddenly declared a break, making me want to just rest at home as well.
Whether it was territory management or research, I just wanted to drop everything for now…
“Oh, right. Did you finish scanning the surroundings with the sensor?”
[Of course! No goblins, just a swarm of rats!]
A swarm, huh?
Well, that’s better than goblins, but I’ll still have to deal with them at some point—maybe by burning them out.
Ah, and there was one more thing to do.
“If we use the extracted ether crystals for engine repairs, how much functionality can we restore?”
[You should be able to use the booster, at least!]
Well, that’s good enough.
With the already limited operating time, anything that helps conserve travel time is welcome.
After wrapping up everything for the moment, I checked the letter of recommendation I had received from my father.
<Imperial Academy – Department of Magitech Engineering, Letter of Recommendation.>
At the bottom of the letter was my father’s seal, but it had an unusual marking.
Normally, there should only be a single sword emblem, but next to it was a crudely drawn gear—symbolizing magitech engineering.
Seriously, this man…
And so, time passed peacefully.
I had repelled the goblin attack, earned my father’s recognition along with the Academy recommendation, and continued my research and prototype repairs while waiting for the entrance exam. (I also eradicated the sewer rats.)
Meanwhile, my father gathered his soldiers and intensified their training to prepare for potential monster attacks.
As time passed and the Academy exam date drew near—something truly bizarre happened.
“Raniel! Look at this!”
“Ugh! Keep that sweaty, dreadful aura away from me!”
Out of nowhere, our maid, Linia, had awakened Aura.
And just like that, my Academy recommendation count increased by one.
