While the other avatars were steadily growing, the hatchling avatar Horus had not been merely playing around either.
The secret lair he had arrived at under the guidance of the Elder Dragon Shurihartgen, who now had little time left to live.
During his stay there, he had achieved truly remarkable growth.
Priceless, invaluable teaching materials; the final lessons of an old dragon determined to leave behind as much as possible before entering his rest; and on top of innate, heaven-gifted talent, the “Elixir of Growth” that amplified it to the fullest.
Because of that, although Horus could still be called a hatchling in terms of age, his actual abilities had already surpassed those of a juvenile in adolescence and reached a level approaching that of an adult dragon.
‘For a dragon, whose age and strength are generally directly proportional, there’s no way to describe him except as an irregular.’
A mutation itself, impossible to explain with a simple phrase like “gifted child.”
He was an incomprehensible being who could never have been born in the first place without various corrections related to the system.
And those influences were naturally reflected in the avatar’s growth as well.
-Individual Name: Horus
-Race: Dragon (Hatchling)
-Common Traits: 「Mind Hub」, 「Persona」, 「Xenoglossy」
-Individual Traits: 「Gold Dragon」, 「Ruler of All Things」, 「Polymorph」, 「Draconic Word Magic」, 「Seeker of Mystery」, 「Resister of Providence」
-Special Notes: The individual is growing at an extremely rapid rate through the “Elixir of Growth.” Under the influence of 「Seeker of Mystery」, he possesses strong corrections and aptitude for all magic systems. Under the influence of 「Resister of Providence」, restrictions imposed on the individual are ignored or alleviated. As a result, he has become able to contain power that a hatchling’s body should not be able to hold.
「Gold Dragon」, which further strengthened the racial traits of a dragon, and 「Ruler of All Things」, which governed mana and elemental dominance, had now been joined by newly added self-enhancement skills.
Just as he had initially hoped, Horus was growing rapidly and vigorously.
‘To be honest, it’s precisely because he’s reached this level that I entrusted him with the enchantment of “Titan’s Left Arm.”’
Hans, the Immortal King, who belonged to the same magical field, could have performed enchantments that added extra effects as well, but he had not even considered the slightest possibility of going in that direction.
After all, if Hans were to interfere with Titan, which contained such an enormous amount of energy...
‘Wouldn’t it probably become a cursed suit of armor that turns its wearer into undead the moment they put it on?’
Hans’s power was dangerous enough to even contaminate a dragon heart.
Unless he intended to make a black magic tool that disregarded its owner’s safety, the Titan he wanted to complete was not meant for such a purpose.
‘Then shall we move on to the next step?’
And now, the place where “Titan’s Left Arm”—an invention acknowledged even by the god of dwarves and touched by the hands of a dragon, the progenitor of magic—was located was none other than—
“Mm, I think it might be a little too much after all.”
A young man wearing a black eyepatch over one eye and a bandage inscribed with mysterious patterns around his right arm.
It was resting atop the two hands of Hesperon, whose expression was solemn.
***
Who would be suitable as Titan’s user had been a topic he had pondered continuously since the early stages of production.
Although the merchant Hubert had used it briefly during the crisis in which Tarak was attacked by the revolutionaries, there were far too many issues for someone without any particular abilities to use it as his main equipment.
To begin with, like the dwarf Howard, he was an individual assumed to be noncombat-oriented.
‘I can just make Hubert a simplified version for emergencies.’
The most suitable candidate was, after all, none other than Hesperon.
In fact, the reason he had prioritized making the left arm part was because he had had him in mind from the very beginning.
“Whew—”
His own private magic training room prepared within the imperial palace thanks to Princess Riley.
In the center of it, Hesperon, holding the sleek metal arm in his hands, lightly caught his breath.
“...Amazing. I thought I had fairly high standards myself, but I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”
At that, Riley, who had entered the training room with him and had been quietly watching from a corner, let out a small exclamation of admiration.
She, who had left for the Great Temple of Roselia for the pope’s funeral and the summit meeting, had now returned to the imperial palace.
Just in case, Hesperon had even gone out to meet her on the day of her return, but perhaps it was only natural... this time, nothing in particular had happened.
‘Well, if another problem had occurred, it would go beyond mere incompetence and I’d have to assume the emperor himself was behind it.’
Fortunately, it seemed such a worst-case scenario had not occurred.
With the crown princess investiture ceremony now just around the corner, surely that really couldn’t be the case.
“So, did you summon that from somewhere else too? Like that artificial eye?”
“Ahaha— well, something like that?”
And the first thing she had pushed forward upon returning to the imperial palace was precisely—transplanting a newly cultivated eyeball into Hesperon in place of his artificial eye.
‘I appreciate the sincerity, but still.’
With a bitter smile, he raised one hand and pushed up the eyepatch covering his right eye.
Then, an alien, mysterious mechanical eye that could not be found in this world, glowing faintly, was revealed.
‘Well, I had intended to tell Riley in advance from the start anyway.’
Human body transmutation was one of the greatest longings and taboos of alchemists.
It was only natural that even cultivating just a part to replace a lost body part would be by no means easy.
Yet he had refused something Riley had barely managed to arrange by using her position and applying all sorts of pressure, so if he wanted to convince her, he had no choice but to present a reason worthy of it.
“Wow, no matter how many times I look at it, it’s fascinating. I never thought I’d actually get to see a magic tool from another world like this...”
She murmured softly, gazing as if bewitched at his exposed right eye.
Well, even if she had grown accustomed to people from other worlds after sharing hardship and daily life with two of them, it was inevitable that directly encountering an alien civilization like this would feel fascinating.
“...It might be a little cool, too.”
Hesperon nodded in satisfaction as he watched Riley repeatedly clear her throat while glancing at him with a slightly flushed face.
‘As expected, a cyborg artificial eye works even on residents of a fantasy world.’
Then, after briefly glancing over the health information such as her body temperature and heart rate floating in one corner of his vision, he turned his gaze back to the metal arm in his hand.
It had considerable weight, exactly as it appeared, but to him, who possessed 「Monstrous Strength」 as a common trait, it was only moderately heavy.
‘Let’s begin.’
Then, after taking a deep breath, he slowly inserted his left arm into it.
Crrrrk—
At the same time, the lining tightened around his arm with a unique sensation.
Starting from his fingertips, the interior of Titan, which gradually swallowed him up to near his shoulder, began to assimilate little by little with his muscles, nerves, and the like.
But even though everything was progressing smoothly, the slight crease between his brows showed no sign of easing.
‘...As expected. Even after improving it, it’s still this much...’
The time required from equipping to synchronization and activation was about ten seconds.
Compared to other armor, it could not be considered all that long, but it was far too slow to respond quickly to an emergency.
‘Since it’s not armor that ends with simply putting it on, it can’t be helped. But it would also be a waste to reduce the output just to make it respond faster.’
On top of that, the fact that he had to carry it in subspace and take it out to put each part on one by one was also a problem.
Even the arm part, which was relatively easy to equip, took this long; if it included other parts such as the torso as well...
‘As expected, the only one who can make the best use of this is Hesperon.’
As he slowly moved the fingers of his left hand equipped with Titan, he shifted his gaze slightly and stared at the message floating in one corner of his vision.
-Estimated Energy: 12,257,225
-Estimated Danger Level: B
-Energy reaction equivalent to a kilo-class ship reactor detected. Current state is stable, but handle with caution.
‘I paid quite a bit of attention to mana concealment too, yet it’s still this much... I don’t know whether the mechanical eye’s performance is just that good, or whether the energy is too great to hide completely.’
Either way, there was only one thing he had to do now.
After staring at the messages for a moment, he used 「Chains of Covenant」 on Titan without hesitation.
Wooooong—
The connection began like that, and along with a stinging headache, his left arm, covered in metal, began to vibrate violently.
A reaction as rough as the amount of energy contained within it.
At a glance, it looked like it would never be an easy process, but Hesperon had one thing he trusted in with certainty right now.
‘Now, be good.’
「Chains of Covenant」 was a skill that formed a bond and made a contract through communion between individuals.
And Hesperon—
‘Communion arises from understanding.’
...was the person who knew Titan better than anyone else in the world.
From the tiniest piece of metal to every single densely engraved mana circuit line.
No matter what anyone said, this work had been made from start to finish entirely by “him.”
Giiiiing—!
The result appeared quickly.
The moment detailed information about “Titan’s Left Arm” streamed across the mechanical eye.
His senses stretched outward, and the domain of his body expanded.
At this moment, what wrapped around his arm was not simple metal armor, but his outer skin, his arm itself.
Titan’s complex structure was embedded into his mind all at once, and he became certain he could use all its functions as if handling his own body.
Whirr— clack!
Clatter—
Blades protruding from the back of the hand and the side of the arm, and sharp spikes surging up from the fist area.
After checking this and that among the auxiliary functions, such as the cannon muzzle opened in the palm and the boosters that revealed themselves here and there along the arm, Hesperon nodded in satisfaction.
‘...It’s done.’
After roughly finishing the inspection, he released Titan’s equipment again.
Then he organized it, put it into the subspace magic tool, and looked straight ahead.
“Huh? Is it all over, Heron?”
“No, there’s still one last thing left.”
He calmly answered Riley’s question as she watched with sparkling eyes, full of interest, and slowly raised his empty left hand.
Now it was time to confirm the most important thing.
‘Like back then.’
With his left hand extended forward, he focused his mind.
And quietly opened his mouth.
“Titan.”
At last, when Hesperon called its name.
It answered his call.
Wooooong—
Around his empty left arm, sleek metal armor tinged with black light appeared, tearing through space and wrapping around it without a single gap.
Giiiiing—!
At the same time as it appeared, lines of light raced along the circuits of its body, and activation was completed in an instant.
He moved his left hand, now fully ready for combat in a moment that had taken less than a single second, this way and that, and smiled with satisfaction.
“...Not bad.”
By summoning it directly onto his arm, he skipped the time needed to equip it, and by using the contracted state for constant synchronization, he ignored the subsequent process.
It was a method only he, who possessed 「Chains of Covenant」, could use.
‘It’s fine even now, but I’m looking forward even more to when all the full-body parts are completed. ...A transforming hero, huh. Well, this is really...’
Just as he smiled in satisfaction like that, clenching his left hand in which he could feel immense power and sinking into sentiment—
“Uh... Ahem, ahem...”
A subtle sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind him.
...For some reason, the back of his head prickled.
Along with an inexplicable sense of déjà vu, a strange gaze flew over and stabbed into him.
“Ah.”
And as he slowly turned his head—
His eyes met those of Lee Sea, who was standing beside Riley with an awkward smile.
At the same time, his excited mood settled, and he became able to look back at his own actions objectively.
“Uh, I came because I thought I could help if there was anything difficult... I heard Riley was here too... Um...”
As though she felt both sorry and awkward, she avoided meeting his eyes properly and let out words that sounded like an excuse.
After hesitating like that for a moment, she soon seemed to make up her mind, raised her head straight, and nodded gently while sending him a warm gaze as if she understood everything.
“It’s a wonderful ability. It suits you well, Heron.”
“Ah! I think the same as Sister Sea. It really was cool!”
Clap clap clap clap—
Riley clapped like a seal, agreeing with Lee Sea’s warm encouragement.
For some reason, that reaction hurt even more.
“......”
But Hesperon, who had abruptly become aware of reality, could not bring himself to say anything to them and simply stared down at his own two hands.
At the two palms wrapped in futuristic metal armor and an occult bandage.
‘...Huh, that’s strange. Hans definitely took all the chuuni tendencies with him.’
Why had he ended up being treated like this?
He swallowed the unresolved question inwardly and quietly closed both eyes.
Of course, it had little effect because of the mechanical eye that automatically saw through his eyelid.