Chapter 3
Prototype.
The ultimate powered suit—created by my past self, combining all of humanity's technological advancements.
If you ask me why it's here, I have no idea.
It was about twelve years after I fell into this world. Out of nowhere, it just dropped right in front of me.
It’s absurd, but that’s all there is to it.
The problem was that both the external armor and internal circuits were completely wrecked, making it nonfunctional.
Fortunately, I still retained my knowledge of Gate Engineering, and since this world had developed magical engineering, I was able to tinker with it and begin repairs.
Of course, this wasn’t something I could easily show, even to my own family, and finding the necessary materials wasn’t easy either, so the process took a long time.
How long has it been now? Five years?
It took an enormous amount of time and money, but at least I was starting to see some progress.
I still hadn’t touched the outer frame or internal weapon systems, but the repairs on the internal engine were almost complete.
"Alright, let's get started."
Pshh.
I easily removed the outer frame, which I had already taken apart, and examined the inside of the prototype.
I carefully removed the internal frame and started working on the core engine.
‘If only this world had Ether, things would be much easier…’
Back on Earth, Ether could be easily found near Gates, but in this world, it didn’t exist.
There was a very similar form of energy called "Mana," but it wasn’t compatible with Aether.
‘If I could refine Mana into Ether, I could solve the charging issue as well…’
But that wasn’t something I could deal with at this stage.
For now, I just needed to get it up and running.
‘Actually, I might be able to run a test today.’
The fine-tuning wasn’t completely done yet, but the various indicators on the control panel were looking fairly stable.
With just a little more work, I should be able to at least test whether it could function.
Feeling a bit excited, I finished the final adjustments on the engine and headed outside, just in time for a scheduled appointment.
---
The Leventesia Territory wasn’t exactly a run-down village, but it wasn’t a thriving city either.
It was just a typical rural town—where everything necessary was available, but luxuries were nowhere to be found.
Of course, obtaining high-end magical engineering components or metals to repair a prototype in a place like this is never easy.
That’s why I turned to the auction house.
“This next item is a brand-new product from the renowned Leventesia Workshop, known even in the capital! A miraculous innovation that extends the lifespan of conventional light bulbs by ten times!”
The auction house was my main source of income.
The materials were cheap, and it didn’t require any advanced technical skills, but I was able to craft items that were good enough to be auctioned off.
Design wasn’t my specialty, so there wasn’t much I could do about that. However, when it came to performance, my products far outclassed the standard ones. Because of that, not a single one of my items had ever failed to sell.
As I continued to consistently sell my goods, my workshop even gained a premium reputation, allowing me to rake in quite a bit of profit.
'Especially the light bulbs—they’re my best-selling product. If competitors start catching up in performance, I just put in a little more effort, and that’s that.'
With my technical skills, I could easily produce bulbs with forty times the efficiency of standard ones in this world.
But if I introduced them all at once, I wouldn’t make as much money, so I started by releasing ones with ten times the efficiency.
Besides light bulbs, I was also preparing other products in various fields, carefully planning their release while ensuring a steady profit.
At this rate, I wouldn’t have to worry about making a living for the rest of my life.
This was an alchemy of engineering that warriors could never hope to imitate!
“100,000 gold!”
“120,000 gold!”
“Oh ho, 150,000 gold!”
Once again, a fierce bidding war was unfolding, surpassing my expected price.
Satisfied with the amount, I stood up and confidently made my way to the restricted area, off-limits to unauthorized personnel.
Creak.
As I entered, the person watching the auction through a glass window lit up with excitement.
“Oh my, Sir Raniel! You’re here!”
“The auction house seems lively today.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Sir Raniel! Ah, I should have come out to greet you earlier!”
The auction house owner rubbed his hands together eagerly, looking as if he would offer up his liver and gallbladder if I asked.
“If the owner steps away, who will oversee the auction? You should stay and keep watch.”
“My gratitude toward you is immeasurable, Sir Raniel. Thanks to you, the auction house is always thriving. Haha!”
After exchanging a few pleasantries, I quickly got to the main point.
“So, the items I mentioned…”
“Of course! They’re all prepared, without a single one missing!”
The auction house owner lined up three hard cases in a row.
They were all engine-related parts, and each one was a top-tier product that couldn’t be acquired through ordinary means. Since personally searching for them would be both troublesome and difficult, I relied on the auction house owner to obtain them.
“These look good. As for the fees and the price….”
“As I’ve mentioned before, there’s no need to worry about the fee! The auction house has been doing so well thanks to you, Raniel!”
“But still….”
“As always, I’ll just deduct the purchase amount from the auction proceeds and deposit the rest.”
This was exactly why I couldn’t help but maintain a good relationship with them.
“Thank you. You really know how things work now.”
“We’ve been doing business for years! Haha.”
Hearing it put that way, I suddenly felt how quickly time had passed.
Especially considering how many items I had put up for sale over the years, yet I never seemed to have much money on hand.
‘I do make a decent profit, but fixing the prototype eats up so much money that I always end up back at square one.’
A sudden image popped into my head—of the bald minister, his face turning red like a boiled octopus.
“Research really is best when funded with someone else’s money….”
“Huh? Research?”
“Ah, nothing. Anyway, take care!”
After gathering my items, I quickly left the auction house.
‘In any case, I need to finish repairing the prototype first.’
Whatever came next, that had to be my priority.
---
When I returned to the mansion, my father and mother were still away. Thanks to that, I could head down to my secret workshop without worry.
As soon as I entered, I took the parts I had acquired from the auction house out of their cases.
“This is like pouring money into a bottomless pit—or maybe into the ocean.”
Since I couldn’t use subpar parts on the prototype, only top-tier or better components would do.
On top of that, there was no way the parts from this world would be compatible with Earth’s components, so I had to reprocess them.
‘I’d love to just slap on something similar and call it a day, but….’
The problem was that I wasn’t working on the external frame—I was repairing the damaged ether engine inside.
Even the slightest error, as small as a single strand of hair, could cause malfunctions or prevent it from working altogether.
I had to be extremely careful.
I let out a short sigh and began machining parts with the precision equipment tucked away in the corner of the workshop.
Whirrr!
Screeeech!
Focusing all my attention, I carefully refined and reinforced the components bit by bit.
Using mana, I meticulously engraved circuits onto the parts without pause.
Physical circuits were certainly durable, but magical circuits were easier to manipulate with mana, took up less space, and allowed for more complex designs.
"If I want to compensate for the Ether Engine’s performance, I have no choice but to do this…."
The Ether Engine installed in the prototype was the pinnacle of all technological advancements from Earth—truly the culmination of human ingenuity.
Its output was so powerful that most metals and components in this world couldn't withstand the strain.
To endure such stress, I had no choice but to rely on magical circuits, despite potential durability issues.
"The problem is, even after all this effort, there's no guarantee it'll actually work…."
Ultimately, the prototype’s power source was ether.
However, ether didn’t exist in this world.
So, I had designed it in a way that would at least allow it to activate using mana.
"Ether particle cannons, atmospheric exit, interstellar travel… I had to abandon all of that just to make this thing move!"
Spending years solely focused on activation might seem absurd, but this was essentially like trying to repair a cutting-edge AI android in a blacksmith’s forge from the Joseon era.
"Please… please…!"
I had meticulously verified every component down to the smallest decimal place to ensure there were no errors.
Then, gathering them all together, I concentrated every fiber of my being on assembling them.
As expected, the parts fit together perfectly, just as designed.
Click.
"…!"
I checked the internal gauges—enough output had been reached to theoretically allow for activation.
The gauge displaying the engine’s status wavered slightly, but at the very least, basic stability had been achieved.
"Now, there's only one thing left to do!"
Following a time-honored tradition across all fields, I entered prayer mode.
"Please! Start up! Please…!"
With that, I manipulated the internal control panel and input the activation code.
Wooooong…
A distinct hum, characteristic of the Ether Engine, filled the air as it roared to life.
"S-Success!"
At last, after five years, I was witnessing the fruits of my labor.
Overcome with emotion, I clenched my fist tightly.
"Hah! My instincts haven’t dulled after all!"
As the corners of my mouth curled into a small grin, the engine—
A familiar-looking interface window appeared before my eyes, accompanied by a steady sound.
[User synchronization in progress….]
It had been over a decade since I last saw this, yet it felt incredibly nostalgic and welcoming.
[Synchronization complete.]
Overcome with emotion, I curled my lips into a broad smile and spoke.
"It’s been a while."
[It’s been a while, Master! Ah, I can’t even begin to say how long it’s been!]
I frowned as I looked at the interface window in front of me.
It looked exactly like the one that had appeared earlier, yet it was unmistakably different.
It almost felt like… it was talking to me.
"Your way of speaking… something feels off."
[Huh? Me? I’m not sure what you mean.]
Whether it was the phrasing or the tone, that was one issue, but the bigger problem was—
"No, that too, but my current body should have a completely different genetic makeup. How are you recognizing me as your Master?"
A prototype was, after all, just an experimental model still in development.
Naturally, no user registration should have been in place.
Not to mention, the AI of the prototype should have been set to address me as "Professor."
[Is there a problem, Master?]
"…Why do you recognize me as your Master?"
[Because Master is Master!]
"And what is the basis of that judgment?"
[I don’t know!]
Hmm.
It seemed I had managed to repair the engine somehow, but the software was clearly malfunctioning.
"Why the hell is this AI malfunctioning in a way I didn’t expect?"
[I am functioning perfectly fine!]
"Are you reading my thoughts now?"
[Of course! It’s because we share a special connection! There’s nothing about Master that I don’t know!]
"A special connection? You’re a war machine, and I’m a weapons developer."
For that matter, reading my thoughts shouldn’t even be possible unless I had some kind of nanite interface implanted in my brain like the one I experimented with in my past life.
"Did you just get lucky with your guesses?"
[Nope! You already have a nanite interface deeply linked to me inside your brain!]
"You’re serious?! And why the hell were you the one to test it?! You implanted it without my consent?! When?!"
[The stability tests were completed, and for you to fully utilize my capabilities as my Master, it was a necessary measure!]
At that moment, I realized something had gone terribly, terribly wrong.
[Master’s medical checkup has been completed.]
[Oh. You’re in great health! But after scanning the surrounding environment, it seems like this isn’t Earth but another planet!]
That’s strange.
Really strange.
Even though this is an AI based on strong artificial intelligence, I only added it as a supplementary option to assist with tactical decision-making.
And yet, it took the liberty of testing the nano-particle interface and implanted itself into my mind?
What’s even more unsettling is the way it talks.
[Master? Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t tell me you’re so overwhelmed with emotion after meeting me again after so long that you’re at a loss for words?]
Not just the phrase “tightly connected” that it used earlier…
Everything this AI says sounds like something an old friend or a longtime comrade would say.
As if it were actually human.
But the AI language protocol I remember was nothing like this.
It was a tactical AI built solely for the purpose of "slaughtering" monsters, making judgments based purely on calculations and efficiency, with every emotional element excluded.
‘I should shut it down for now and take it apart.’
I reached out to enter the shutdown code into the internal control panel of the prototype unit.
But then—
Screech. Clunk!
The prototype’s internal and external frames suddenly closed on their own, and the surrounding space wavered.
“A dimensional… storage hangar?”
As soon as I spoke, the prototype vanished into the dimensional storage hangar.
I thought everything was broken, but it looks like the storage hangar is still functioning properly.
No, that’s not the problem here!
“What the hell are you doing?”
[W-Well, Master was about to shut me down!]
Damn nano-particle interface!
The prototype read my thoughts without permission and started rejecting my orders.
“Stop talking nonsense and come out of the storage hangar, Prototype. If there’s a malfunction, I need to fix it!”
[No! I don’t want to shut down! I just finally got to see you again, and now you want to shut me down?!]
A sudden wave of dizziness hit me, making me stumble—it was no coincidence.
‘No, seriously, what the hell is going on?!’
If I had to rank absurd situations, getting reincarnated in another world would already be ridiculous enough.
But why the hell is the monster-extermination weapon I spent years repairing acting like this?!
I let out a deep sigh.
[Master, promise me you won’t shut me down—]
"I won't leave this place until it's done!!"
A very ominous feeling crept in, as if difficult days lay ahead.
"You've opened your eyes."
A towering golden throne, as massive as a skyscraper, stood tall. A figure clad in pure white armor muttered.
The man silently rose from the throne.
"Our enemy has awakened."
Then, looking straight ahead with unwavering confidence, he declared:
"Find them! And annihilate them!!"
Before him stretched an endless horde of monsters, as if they were darkness itself, covering the entire landscape.
"Uwaaaaahhh!!"
"Annihilate! Annihilate!!"
The monstrous horde echoed, as if they would swallow the entire land.
Amidst the deafening roars, the white-armored figure quietly murmured:
"If they refuse to accept once again, the only thing left will be annihilation."
