Aouterica, where most of his avatars were active.
The Ganghwan Realm, a dimension he had only recently set foot in.
And Earth, the central base where his main body was.
Living in various worlds simultaneously through multiple bodies, there were truly countless things he had come to feel.
But if he had to choose just one thing that stood out among all the elements he had experienced firsthand, there was something he could pick without hesitation.
…it was none other than the “time difference.”
‘In a way, I suppose it’s only natural. I have been paying quite a lot of attention to Earth lately…’
A time difference of no less than tenfold.
The gap between dimensions was by no means easy to dismiss.
If he spent just three days on Earth, roughly a month would pass in the other world, so it was unavoidable.
Because of that, on Earth, one could say that not much time had passed compared to the scale of the incidents he had experienced, but when taking the other worlds into account, that wasn’t exactly the case.
The holy land located at the center of Aouterica’s Ion Continent.
“You have arrived, Saint. You have returned a little early this time.”
“Ah, Sir Lyrin. Thank you for your hard work today as well.”
Heinrich, who had just passed through the main gate and entered the Roselia Great Temple, turned toward the blue-haired woman greeting him.
She was a member of the Radiant Guardian Paladin Order, to which he had once belonged as well, and among the many knight orders of the Main God Church, she was an elite paladin dedicated to guarding the interior of the Roselia Great Temple.
As though she had just happened to be passing nearby, she approached him with disciplined steps, apparently having business with him, offered proper courtesy, and continued speaking.
“Saintess was checking several times a little while ago to see if you had returned, Saint. It seems she had some matter to discuss with you…”
“Ah, it seems I came at just the right time. Thank you for telling me, Sir Lyrin.”
“Not at all, Saint. Then I shall take my leave again.”
“Yes, keep up the good work.”
Having delivered her message, she bowed her head and turned away again with angular movements.
When he had first been assigned inside the Great Temple, she had been his senior officer, and because of that connection, he still treated her more comfortably than most others.
After all, he was a case of unprecedented rapid growth compared to his position, so there weren’t many people he was actually close to.
‘Come to think of it, Lyrin was also the first to tell me that one of the Immortal King’s fragments was inside the Great Temple.’
Of course, that had been part of the procedure included in guard duty, but in any case, it was also true that it had helped with his subsequent course of action.
Heinrich let out a faint chuckle at that, then shrugged as he resumed walking deeper into the Great Temple.
‘Anyway, she said Riesta was looking for me. Is she going to ask about Earth again this time too? Well, since I’ve gone back and forth several times, maybe she guessed I’d be coming around now.’
Naturally, he had not crossed over to Earth without saying a word to the Main God Church.
No matter how much leisure they had gained recently after the white giant incident came to an end, how could the symbol of the Church’s military power, a Saint and Hero, leave his post as he pleased?
‘So I just told them honestly on this side too.’
That he would be away briefly from time to time for a while to visit another world.
‘Of course, I packaged that as the grace of the Main God.’
In any case, they were all fanatics; even the great feat of crossing dimensions was nothing before the glory of God.
Besides, after Hesperon and then Lee Se-ah were revealed to be otherworlders, the Saintess had grown curious and was already conducting her own investigation into other worlds.
‘I should speak to Lee Se-ah separately about it soon.’
Now, there was not much time left until her scheduled return.
Wasn’t she probably thinking it would be sometime right after the decisive battle against the Immortal King ended?
If she learned the truth after returning to Earth, she might feel betrayed, so it seemed best in many ways to at least give her a hint in advance this time.
‘If I do that, I’ll be able to continue a cooperative relationship on Earth afterward as well.’
Because of the ties she had left behind in Aouterica, she had poured in all the karma she could have used for her return.
For someone as affectionate as her, Heinrich, who could serve as a channel of communication between dimensions, would be like a welcome shower on parched earth.
‘Lee Se-ah also seems like she could cross the wall if she only had some kind of opportunity now. The more forces of that level we have, the better.’
While she was here, he could pass along news to her family on Earth on her behalf, and even after she returned, she would be able to continue indirect communication with Riley, so it would be a good thing for her as well.
But that did not mean there were no worries at all in the back of his mind.
‘I have to hide somehow that Hahoe Mask and the Immortal King are the same person.’
A villain who had been a Demon King in another world returned to Earth and was operating as a dark hero?
To prevent an encounter that would be awkward for both sides, it was now necessary to fully fix Hans’s area of activity overseas.
‘Korea is stable now anyway, so there’s no need for Hans to be there too. As long as I absolutely avoid a direct face-to-face encounter…’
As for media like photos or videos, he could simply insist they were just similar-looking people.
To begin with, their dispositions were far too different, the gloomy black robe was nothing especially unique, and the Hahoe mask had always been something like a symbol of Korea.
‘After I found out Lee Se-ah was Korean, I deliberately went around Aouterica wearing only the broken mask, too.’
But he had no confidence in hiding his identity even while directly facing someone he had already exchanged blows with several times.
Now that the home theater had already ended, it wasn’t as if it would be a disaster if he was caught, but wouldn’t it be better to block off anything that could become a problem from the start?
‘Then I’ll have to go to Earth again after staying here for a few days or so, so I should deal with the work that piled up… Ah, should I visit Riesta first?’
The usage cycle of “Interdimensional Transfer Array Summoning” was once every twelve hours by Earth time.
His activity on Earth amounted to only a few hours a day at most, so it was more than possible to balance both sides.
Of course, if he operated the transfer array this tightly, there was a concern that the mobility of his other avatars would decrease somewhat…
‘There’s nothing urgent for the time being, so it shouldn’t matter much.’
The only major event left in Aouterica now was the conclusion of the home theater.
A moment like the calm before the storm was passing.
***
A private workshop located in Tarak.
“Oooh! Finally!”
Not long after testing the prototype and causing a commotion, Howard left behind his life of lodging at Zaonic’s workshop and moved into a personal workshop that had just finished preparations.
Zaonic said he could continue staying there as before, but since he had the Hubert Company behind him and wasn’t short on money, Howard had gone through with it because he felt there was no need to impose.
In any case, it was practically right next door, so the fact that they interacted every day would not change.
“It’s finally complete!”
Still, there was something strangely stirring about having a secret base entirely of his own.
Perhaps thanks to that, Howard, who had devoted himself to work as if possessed from the very first day after moving in, was finally able to reap meaningful results after several weeks.
“The left arm of the all-purpose full-body combat suit Mk.2!”
Though even so, it was still only one arm for now.
Holding it high with both hands, he looked over his masterpiece once again with moved eyes.
A mechanical arm that exuded an extraordinary presence at first glance.
It was only a single part, but this was by no means an ordinary item.
Needless to say, the materials and technology used in it were exceptional, and even the energy source built inside was far from ordinary.
‘As expected, technology is important, but capital is the greatest virtue when it comes to production!’
A highest-grade magic stone.
A precious item one step below a Dragon Heart, which was called a special-grade magic stone.
Even the Imperial Palace of the Empire used highest-grade magic stones rather than Dragon Hearts as the core of its barrier when it was not an emergency, so there was no need to waste words explaining its value.
‘Last time, I did burn one up to get Diana away from that revolutionary bastard.’
To begin with, because he had used such an item as a consumable, Hubert, who had no special abilities, had been able to escape from the hands of such a monster.
But now, that treasure had been built in as the energy source for operating no more than a single arm…
‘It would have been impossible if not for an alloy of ten-thousand-year cold iron from the Ganghwan Realm and adamantium from the Demon Realm.’
Both materials were metals famous for their outstanding durability as well as energy resistance.
The process of alloying such materials was by no means easy, but through effort using “Song of Fire and Metal,” “Metallurgy,” and “Technological Revolution,” Howard ultimately succeeded.
Thus, the alloy of golden ratio born from that process was densely laid throughout the interior of this part, serving as its circuits, and so an item capable of withstanding that much energy had been born.
A fantasy dwarf using materials from a martial arts world and the Demon Realm, then combining them with future science technology to create a reinforced exoskeleton!
“Kahahaha~ At this point, it’s no different from carrying a small spaceship around on my arm! I wonder what it’ll show me once all the parts are complete!”
Howard, who had been joyfully dancing about while holding up one mechanical arm, suddenly came to a halt.
Then, standing still, he stared at it and stroked his beard solemnly, pondering something.
“Hmm— I think this needs a proper name soon.”
He couldn’t keep calling such an excellent thing by the bland name “all-purpose full-body combat suit” forever, could he?
It was time for a cooler proper noun, one that would immediately stick in the ear.
“Hmm, as expected, this should be ‘Iron Guy’… No, no. That sounds too much like a knockoff. Then ‘Captain Aouterica’… is the same. Ahem.”
Afterward, he suffered from the agony of naming and groaned for quite some time.
Then, when everything suddenly began to feel futile, he let out a deep sigh.
“Eh, I suppose just ‘Titan’ would be good enough! It has the feeling of a small giant. Come to think of it, I’m a dwarf too, so for something of this level, taking its name from a god isn’t all that bad…”
The moment Howard, having roughly settled on a name, muttered to himself like that.
Fwoosh—
A streak of flame that sprang out of the furnace to the side flared violently and wrapped around him.
And immediately after those flames disappeared, several lines of notification windows appeared before him.
《Titan gazes down upon you.》
《The individual has fulfilled the conditions and grows. Special Skill “Song of Fire and Metal” evolves into “Harmonizer of Fire and Metal.”》
It was something he had experienced once before.
“This is… the Blessing of the Furnace?”
They had said it was an expression of interest that appeared when a craftsman made something meaningful before the furnace or when one favored by a god crossed a wall and grew.
‘Which means this, too…’
It seemed the god had taken a liking to it as well.
This new invention that bore his name and had originally not existed in the world.
***
Whoooosh—
The sound of waves breaking echoed gently.
A seaside with fine waters and pleasant winds, where even the faint salty tang mixed into the air lent a distinctive mood.
“Mmmph!”
From a hideout inside a cliff at that resort-like place, the small sound of someone straining leaked out.
“If I do dis like dis…”
The owner of that childish, poorly pronounced, muffled way of speaking had an appearance as very young as his voice.
A cute boy of six or seven, with shimmering blond hair, moistly shining golden eyes, soft and smooth skin, and charmingly plump cheeks.
It was Horus, the last gold dragon hatchling remaining in Aouterica.
Standing on a chair in a magic laboratory lined with all sorts of curious equipment, he clutched something placed on the table and groaned over it for a long while…
“Done!”
Then, seeming satisfied, he raised both hands high and let out a cheer.
And then—
“Oh? What is that?”
“Eek?!”
He flinched at the sudden drawling voice, then turned around with both hands still raised and smiled bashfully.
Behind him, though it was unclear when he had approached, stood the elder dragon of the gold clan, Schriharrtgen, directing his half-lidded gaze at him.
“Hehehe…”
“…Hoh, that is no ordinary object. Where did you get such a thing?”
The old dragon, who had been gazing fondly at Horus for a moment, turned his eyes to the object placed before him.
His body had fallen into a state no different from hibernation as he forcibly clung to a dying life, yet even in that condition, an extraordinary aura emanated from it, enough for him to perceive.
“This is… dwarven craftsmanship. Quite, no. It is extraordinarily well made. Was it produced with enchantment in mind from the very beginning?”
As he examined the object, surprise gradually filled his weary expression.
“Ha, at this level, it is not merely a matter of being well-versed in magic. Without at least the discernment of an archmage, this would be impossible.”
That was a considerably surprising thing.
To begin with, that stubborn race known as dwarves took pride in creating objects that surpassed magic tools through craftsmanship alone.
It would be one thing if they merely added enchantments to an already completed item, but it was not very common for them to “collaborate” by keeping an enchanter’s additional processing in mind from the design stage itself.
And on top of that, the level of knowledge forming its foundation was archmage-class?
‘Did this child enchant it? …This is excellent as well. To think he has already reached this level. It harmonizes so well it is as though it was fitted together from the start. At this point, one could almost say it was made by a single person from the very beginning.’
Glancing at Horus with newly appreciative eyes, he slowly examined the object again.
A smooth design forming graceful curves, mainly composed of a subtly black metal.
A style of armor that even he, who had lived an immense span of time, had never seen before—its left arm part.