Chapter 118
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Offer
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“Pernyan Fallenberg!”
“…Professor?”
Pernyan, suffering from morning muscle aches after his match with Ruina, stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth at his usual diner.
“I saw the tournament video! Controlling three golems. It was truly magnificent!”
It was because of a completely unexpected visitor.
*Clang-*
The man who slammed his tray down and sat across from him was Professor Harkon of 『Golem Magitech』.
“You’re walking the wrong path! Forget about earth magic! You must become a golemancer!”
“Wow, isn’t that Professor Harkon?”
“Is he trying to recruit him personally?”
“Well, it makes sense. I heard he controlled three golems at once.”
“If I were a golem studies professor, I’d be drooling too.”
The other students in the diner began to murmur.
It wasn't entirely unexpected. He knew that controlling three golems at once wasn't a common feat.
But he never imagined a professor would accost him while he was eating.
“A golemancer, you say?”
“Yes! I guarantee it, you’re the only one on this continent who can control three golems simultaneously! You were born to be a golemancer!”
Professor Harkon leaned forward and lowered his voice.
“I’m currently researching something. It’s called an Auto Golem.”
“Auto Golem?”
*Snap-*
Professor Harkon snapped his fingers, manipulating his mana. A thin barrier of mana enveloped them, blocking out the external noise.
“It is the ultimate ideal that golems should strive for.”
“An ideal?”
“Many people say it. Golems are trash.”
Golems were certainly useful items. A well-made golem was a monster capable of easily crushing an average knight.
The problem was that no matter how strong a golem was, its operator was left defenseless, and if the operator was killed, the golem became useless.
“But things will change once the Auto Golem is developed.”
“What exactly is an Auto Golem?”
“What do you think is the biggest problem with golems?”
“That would obviously be the vulnerability of the operator.”
“Exactly! An Auto Golem is a golem that moves according to pre-programmed commands. It means we can overcome their greatest weakness!”
A rough picture of its mechanics formed in his mind.
“It won’t be easy.”
But if it came to fruition, it would certainly change the perception of golems.
A golem that required a mage to be constantly tethered to it, even for simple movements, was fundamentally different from one that moved on command.
“Its beginning may be humble, but its future will be prosperous! The Auto Golem is the ultimate ideal of golemancy! Let’s research this together! With you, I’m sure we can do it! This is a revolution!”
*The ultimate ideal of golemancy? He’s gravely mistaken.*
The ideal golem wasn't some idiot that could only do what it was told. It was a living golem that could think and move of its own will. An Ego Golem.
Pernyan barely suppressed the laugh that threatened to escape.
He pressed a hand against his clothes, covering Wooden, who was squirming inside as if to announce its presence.
“Well, I’m not sure about research, but it seems worthy of investment.”
But apart from that, it was true that it could be a rather useful thing.
If this research progressed properly and they could mass-produce these golems.
*‘It would be a great help in the war against the demons.’*
Just imagine. Hundreds of golems lined up on a plain, charging toward demonic beasts.
It would be a truly magnificent sight.
“What? Investment…? Uh, that’s not bad, but that’s not why I came…”
“Golems require a lot of funding for research and manufacturing, don’t they? You must need quite a bit. I’m willing to invest. If you’re interested, please visit the Golden Turtle Merchant Guild.”
“…So you’re saying you’ll invest in me? A Fallenberg?”
“To be precise, I want to invest in your research, Professor. From what I see, it has that much value.”
“…I knew a man like you would recognize its potential!”
Professor Harkon’s face lit up with a smile at the validation of his work on golems.
【Pernyan Fallenberg, Bardian Branch Manager, Golden Turtle Merchant Guild】
Pernyan handed him a Golden Turtle Merchant Guild business card.
“I’ll see you next time, then.”
Pernyan, who had already finished his meal, stood up from his seat.
“Yes! I’ll see you then. I’ll be sure to visit!”
There weren’t many willing to invest in golems, which were, in crude terms, treated as high-quality scrap metal.
Because of this, Professor Harkon was always desperate for investors, and the promise of an investment from the Fallenberg heir left him giddy.
Thanks to that, Pernyan was able to escape his clutches.
“Wooden, stay still.”
- *Kuuuuung!*
“What, you’re asking why I’m comparing a mere doll to you? I agree, but are you jealous of a golem right now?”
- *Kung kung!*
“You’re the best? Yes, I know that too. But you haven’t forgotten that you’re a spirit, have you?”
- *Kuuuung! Kuung!*
So you’re a golem now, so you’re just a golem?
“You’re not wrong. Meeting you was the greatest luck I’ve had. I’m counting on you in the future, Wooden.”
- *Kung!*
Pernyan let out a soft laugh.
*‘Anyway, since I said I’d invest, he probably won’t bother me with this again.’*
He had too much to do to be tied up in golem research.
But starting that very evening.
“Pernyan. I don’t think I got to speak properly last time because of the investment matter, but you were born with the destiny to become a golemancer, not a merchant…”
Pernyan realized he had underestimated Professor Harkon.
***
The Unified Exam wasn’t limited to second-year students; it was held for all grades.
Naturally, both Aint and Verian were participating.
“……”
“……”
And in the semi-finals, they found themselves face to face.
“…I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
“I was originally ranked higher than you.”
“When was that? Wasn’t that ages ago?”
“It hasn’t even been a year!”
Verian snapped, but he quickly calmed his anger.
“No, forget it. That doesn’t matter anyway. What’s important is that I finally have a chance to get my revenge on you.”
He licked his lips, glaring at Aint.
“The people who made it to the semi-finals are all pretty formidable.”
Aint muttered.
The four semi-finalists were Aint, Verian, the current top student of the first-year Knight Department, Valoci Vienderk, and the top student of the Magic Department, Jace Baintz.
Both were formidable opponents.
It was impossible to know what Valoci was thinking, and while he hadn’t seen Jace much in person, he couldn’t easily gauge his true skill.
*‘I wonder if it’ll be revealed this time.’*
Neither Valoci nor Jace would be able to hold back against each other.
*‘But before that.’*
Aint pointed his sword at Verian.
Although Verian’s rank had dropped after his defeat, objectively speaking, he was by no means an easy opponent.
His rank as the third-best in the Knight Department proved that, and recently, as if driven by spite, his skills had been improving at a frightening pace.
- *What are you planning to do?*
*‘I have to crush him decisively.’*
Their first meeting had been far from pleasant, but things were different now. His desire to make Verian his ally remained unchanged.
He planned to defeat him soundly and make the offer once more.
“Begin!”
As the professor and referee shouted.
Verian vanished from his spot.
*Claaaaang!*
An instant later, a spark of aura flashed before Aint’s eyes. Two swords bared their sharp fangs at each other.
“You’ve gotten faster.”
“You have room to talk?”
*Scraape,* Verian’s sword slid along the flat of Aint’s blade.
He spun around, reinforcing his aura, and swung his sword once more.
*Kwang!* Even though it was a clash of sword against sword, an explosive sound erupted. Aint steeled himself against his opponent’s increased strength.
*‘I can’t win if I’m not serious.’*
The skill gap wasn’t so overwhelming that he could win by taking it easy.
For him to be strong enough that Aint—who had Gardner’s help, consumed various elixirs, and even absorbed a demon’s power—couldn’t afford to be careless.
Verian truly had to become his ally.
To fight the demons, to become emperor, he needed many allies.
“Then I’ll get serious too…!”
Aint launched his first real offensive. Using the surging force against him, he pushed Verian’s sword away and advanced—
Advanced…?
- *What is that fool doing?*
Aint’s movement halted as he watched Verian’s sword fly from its master’s grasp.
“…Huh?”
“…Tch, damn it, to lose again!”
Verian bit his lip, his expression filled with frustration.
Seeing this, Aint let out a hollow laugh.
“What are you doing?”
“I lost.”
“I asked, what are you doing?”
Aint growled as he approached him. Despite his anger, Verian whispered nonchalantly.
“Your next opponent is either Jace Baintz or Valoci Vienderk. Do you think you can win if you exhaust all your strength here?”
“…What did you say?”
“I can’t beat them or you anyway. I know my own level right now. So you take them down.”
“Wait, what you just said…?”
*Hmph,* Verian swatted away Aint’s hand as it grabbed his arm.
“I don’t side with just anyone. So win. Or this will all have been for nothing.”
There was no need to ask any more questions.
Verian had made up his mind.
And it was in the direction Aint had hoped for most.
“…Of course!”
- *Looks like you have one more reason you must win.*
- *That one is definitely useful. We can’t miss this chance.*
“Winner, Aint! Stop your little soap opera and get out of the arena. We’re busy.”
The referee clicked his tongue and gestured impatiently.
***
Verian, who had willingly become the loser, watched Aint’s retreating back.
*‘This is the right thing to do.’*
Even his family wanted him to stick by Aint’s side.
Aint also wanted him to be his ally.
But his decision wasn't based solely on those reasons.
The future.
A future where demonic beasts and demons would run rampant, a worst-case scenario that anyone with even a little knowledge of them could now predict.
To survive in that chaos, he couldn't deny that siding with Aint was the best path.
*‘The more the demons run rampant, the greater Aint's value becomes.’*
The Adversary of Demons was as incredible as his reputation suggested. Verian had witnessed it firsthand.
Although he had been unconscious for most of it and only saw fragments, but still.
*‘Aint will eventually approach the core of power.’*
The people of the Empire still held a sense of nostalgia for the Armian family, and Aint had already begun his journey as a hero in Valerich.
Aint’s goal was to become emperor, and there would be a conflict with the current imperial family, the ‘Schwabens.’
Armian.
Or Schwaben.
The Empire would be divided between the two, and everyone would have to choose a side.
*‘And yet, that man who hates losing has taken Armian’s hand.’*
Pernyan Fallenberg. Verian disliked him for blackmailing him and putting him in this situation, but he didn’t disparage his abilities.
He had chosen Armian, not Schwaben, which meant there was a significant possibility of success.
Aint probably thought Pernyan was moved by his ideals and decided to join him, but…
*‘Or maybe not? He can’t be that naive.’*
What did it matter anyway?
In the end, their interests aligned, and Verian had simply made an extremely realistic, optimal choice.