Chapter 61
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Greatsword Test Run
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Inside the training ground, engineers stood by in wait.
Standard-issue weapons didn't require any special adjustments, but custom-made ones needed inspection and tuning before use.
And among the engineers waiting there was someone familiar to Abel.
“Lady Temarin!”
Suddenly hearing her name called, Temarin jolted in surprise, glanced around at the onlookers, then approached him.
Abel smiled as he spoke.
“It's been a while. Could you tell me about the current state of the machine?”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
This was typically the chief engineer's job, so Temarin was flustered, but she answered Abel's request earnestly.
“The machine's condition is pristine, no issues. The delivered gear has undergone rough adjustments, but it'll need fine-tuning after a test run.”
“Perfect. But you do remember the promise, right?”
“Y-Yes?”
“About placing an order after I got back.”
Of course, Abel wasn't really asking if she'd forgotten.
She nodded hurriedly in response.
“Of course! I've been waiting for it.”
“Good to hear you've remembered. I'd like to talk about it after the test run.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Then let's get it moving.”
Abel wrapped up his conversation with her and turned to Kaya.
Kaya, who had been watching their exchange with a knowing look, quickly schooled her expression.
“Do well out there.”
“Yeah. Time to see just how amazing the old man's handiwork is.”
“He said it'd blow your mind. Claimed it's on a level a rookie like you couldn't even imagine.”
“That's why I'm even more excited.”
Abel grinned and headed for the Gigant's cockpit.
He climbed the extended ladder, placed his palm against the entry, and it slid open smoothly.
Settling into the seat, a comfort unlike any stock model's welcomed him.
‘Yeah, nothing beats something familiar.’
The basic specs weren't worlds apart from a standard unit yet, but no two Gigants were ever exactly alike.
In that sense, Abel had already grown fully attached to and accustomed to his own machine.
“Whew.”
Abel exhaled briefly, then slowly placed both hands on the core.
At that moment.
-An old familiar feeling.
Lupus, silent until now, finally spoke.
“Yeah. Time to work.”
-Good.
As they conversed, Abel simultaneously drew up his mana and pushed it into the core.
Woooooong—!
The familiar circulation process began, and Abel felt his senses expand.
By now, the whole routine took less than a minute.
A massive improvement from the start.
‘Ultimately, I need to shave it down to the ten-second range.’
But that was a story for the distant future.
Feeling his senses fully extended, Abel slowly moved the machine.
Thud—!
With a heavy vibration, the Gigant rose to its feet.
Abel then tested the arms and legs.
The engineers had serviced it well; despite the rough battles on the way back, the Gigant was in excellent shape.
After a quick check, Abel immediately lifted the massive sword lying on the floor.
Even gripped two-handed, it carried a substantial weight.
Its shape resembled the relic blade, but the heft was on another level entirely.
‘The relic was weirdly light, though.’
Fortunately, there was no strain on the joints.
“Phew.”
From the side, Kaya watched and let out a sigh of relief.
At least the first steps had gone smoothly. But the real question was whether Abel could handle that weapon.
‘Heavy…….’
Abel gazed down at the sword gripped tightly in both hands, his expression tense.
Until now, his go-to had been a standard one-handed sword and shield.
Excluding spears, it was the easiest to wield, with the best balance of offense and defense.
By contrast, this two-handed greatsword was extreme in every way anyone could see.
Mastering it wouldn't be easy.
If he fought his past self with one-hand sword and shield right now, he'd probably lose nine times out of ten.
‘But I have to get used to this weapon no matter what.’
For the ‘build’ he'd settled on, wielding this massive two-hander was essential.
His swordsmanship and final gear were all planned around it.
Steeling himself with thoughts of what lay ahead, Abel slowly raised the sword overhead.
When the blade pointed straight at the sky.
Thud!
Lupus took a step forward.
Whoosh—!
And at the same time, the greatsword cleaved through the air at blinding speed.
Abel didn't stop there, unleashing a chain of swings.
Horizontal, vertical, diagonal. Then back from diagonal to vertical to horizontal.
Finishing the fluid combo, Abel returned to his starting stance and exhaled.
“Whew.”
His whole body burned hot.
A sign of heavy mana drain.
‘Not easy, as expected.’
It might look like just swinging a weapon, but it was anything but.
This custom blade for Abel was several times heavier than normal, so swinging it carelessly would damage the frame.
Every motion required care, and proper mana application.
Without proper swordsmanship training yet, it was a real burden in every way.
Using it in real combat like this would be tough.
But he wasn't without options.
“Lupus. If you would.”
-Leave it to me.
In that instant, a faint light emanated from the bracelet and flowed into the core.
A trick he'd learned on the way back: Lupus, transferred to the bracelet, could shift into the machine anytime he wished.
Far more freedom than before.
Thud—!
And with Lupus aboard, the Gigant's presence leaped to another level.
Abel caught his breath briefly, then began the combo anew.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
He moved the same as before, channeled mana the same way, but the results differed.
Lupus calculated optimal mana paths on the fly, along with minute posture tweaks.
Thanks to that, Abel could execute attacks with far less strain.
‘A bit faster here……!’
Picking up the pace, Abel envisioned a virtual foe in his mind.
None other than the Gigadeus from the forest encounter.
The fight had ended well enough, but Abel had keenly felt his own inadequacies.
‘Compared to the overall rider level, I'm barely at the entry point.’
He knew it objectively, yet anxiety surged like this because he knew this world's future better than anyone.
Abel paused his swings and looked ahead.
Basic checks done; time for the final test.
“Whew.”
Exhaling deeply, Abel slowly drew up his mana.
The core, accepting over twice the usual amount, spread it rapidly through the Gigant's frame.
Abel didn't stop there, channeling mana into the weapon.
Whooooong—!
The blade greedily absorbed it, beginning to glow ominously.
A sinister crimson.
Thud!
Abel stepped forward.
Shooooom!
One side of the greatsword split open with a roar.
Propelled instantly, it whipped through the air fast enough to leave afterimages.
KABOOOOM—!
A deafening blast followed, enough to ring the ears.
The training ground's reinforced walls, crumbling and regenerating repeatedly, couldn't withstand the impact.
The air inside had grown scorchingly hot, incomparable to before.
Better results than expected.
But Abel couldn't just rejoice.
G-grind—!
Right after, an ominous noise screeched from the shoulder joint.
Snapping to attention at the sound, Abel slowly lowered his arm.
“Huff, huff.”
His body was drenched in sweat before he knew it.
‘At least it's not fully broken.’
Abel carefully checked the machine's status, then set the sword aside.
No major damage, but the joint had nearly torn free.
As expected, not an easy weapon to handle.
Wiping sweat from his brow, Abel slowly laid the Gigant back down, then disengaged sync.
-Tiring.
Lupus, having exerted himself after so long, immediately entered sleep mode.
Abel waited for his sweat to cool, then opened the cockpit and stepped out.
“Abel!”
“Are you okay?”
Kaya and Temarin's voices reached him the moment he emerged.
Looking their way, he saw their worried faces.
“Ah, I'm fine. Sorry for pushing it. Really, Kaya, it's okay.”
Abel apologized first to Temarin the engineer, then reassured Kaya.
“It's not a range-of-motion issue. Probably just a massive shock to the joint in that instant. Unless you swap the joint material entirely, the same thing could happen again with moves like that. Be careful.”
Tamarin advised him seriously, her usual shyness gone.
Abel nodded, recognizing the importance.
Once their talk settled, Abel said to Temarin,
“Then let's discuss the joint fine-tuning and my commission. One moment.”
Excusing himself, he turned to Kaya.
“Great weapon. Well-balanced too—could handle the weight decently.”
“‘Decently’? You were swinging it like a maniac. Fight like that in battle, and the joints'll shatter mid-fight. And that last one…….”
Kaya shot back sharply.
She handled reception now, but having spent her childhood in the workshop, her Gigant knowledge was no joke.
“Got it. Won't push so hard next time. By the way, I noticed some metal in the materials I didn't request?”
“Oh, you felt that too?”
Kaya blinked in surprise.
“Dad added a bit of fire quartz to the core section. Said it'd suit you well.”
“Yeah, figured. Mana kept tingling. And that heat surge at the end.”
“Didn't think it'd be that intense. Dad, honestly. Oh, and he said if you want, he'll add engravings later. Plenty of space left.”
“Engravings'll cost a fortune to commission.”
“With your bright future, you'll save up quick.”
Kaya smiled and patted Abel's shoulder.
Abel grinned and nodded back.
“I'll come commission something in a few months.”
“Big ambitions. Got it, I'll be waiting. And not just for commissions—come visit too.”
“Yeah. Planning to next time I'm out. Gotta say thanks properly.”
The commissioned weapon had turned out way better than expected; skipping gratitude would make him a thief at heart.
Kaya nodded, pleased with his reply.
“Alright, time for me to head out. Need some rest too.”
“Yeah. Get home safe.”
Abel escorted her to the training ground entrance, then returned to resume with Temarin.
“Now, about that commission—got time?”
“Ah, yes! I let them know!”
Reassured by her answer, Abel spoke.
“First, I'd like the joints reinforced a bit.”
“The joints? That'll take a fair bit of material.”
Tamarin voiced her concern.
And rightly so—Gigant joints usually required expensive stuff.
Upgrading them wasn't simple.
Of course, Abel hadn't suggested it lightly.
“Not remaking the whole joint assembly. Just swapping some parts. On the joint here…….”
Abel walked right up to Lupus's joint and explained in detail.
Tamarin listened, then nodded in astonishment.
“That'd maximize efficiency for minimal cost. How'd you know about this?”
“Worked in a workshop once.”
“Ahh…… I see.”
Abel smiled awkwardly.
Tamarin probably figured his ties to Vulcanus's shop, but the design he'd just described wasn't from there.
‘National blueprint in the game.’
Gigants were core to the game, with a robust system for customizing and crafting them to taste.
Abel had dived deep, memorizing even needless lore.
The joint mod design was one he'd committed to memory.
Game info was vague, but bolstered by workshop basics, he could explain it.
Above all, Temarin's comprehension was sharp.
‘She's a genius engineer for a reason.’
That was why he'd chosen to commission her.
She could fill the gaps in his knowledge.
“So just the joint mods?”
“No. The main one's separate.”
“Separate?”
“Yes.”
Abel's eyes sparkled as he said,
“Among my secondary armaments, I want a full overhaul on the Guardian's Shield.”