Chapter 97
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: The Second-Generation Core
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The carriage passed through the capital's towering walls.
Abel peered out the window to confirm it, finally feeling a wave of relief wash over him.
‘I was getting worked up over nothing.’
Ever since witnessing May's odd reaction, he hadn't been able to fully relax and rest easy.
He couldn't exactly stare at her outright, so he'd been sneaking glances until he was utterly drained.
‘At least now that we're in the capital, everything should be fine.’
Outside the capital, maybe not—but here, there was no need to worry.
To be precise, worrying wouldn't do much good anyway.
If the capital itself were ever breached, there'd be nothing Abel could accomplish charging out bare-handed.
The carriage rolled smoothly along the capital's well-maintained roads, arriving at the academy without incident, just as Abel had figured.
“You've had a hard journey.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
Abel and the others expressed their gratitude to the knights who had escorted them and the coachman.
They responded with smiles of their own, allowing everyone to part on a warm note.
No sooner had they left the carriage station and headed toward the dorms than Daniel called out.
“Hmm. Timing's a bit off. Abel! You're training today too, right?”
“No. Probably won't be able to for a while.”
“What?”
Daniel stared at Abel with a shocked expression.
“Aftereffects still lingering?”
“Nah.”
“Then there's no way you'd skip training!”
Abel shook his head as Daniel rattled off his words in excitement.
“You remember I said I'd have stuff to do once we got back?”
“Oh, right.”
“Yeah.”
He hadn't gone into details, but he'd at least mentioned he'd have things to handle.
Otherwise, Daniel would've hounded him endlessly.
Daniel looked disappointed but quickly shook it off and turned to the others.
“Iolin said she's off to train on her own. Darin, you're heading home, right?”
“Yeah. Resting today, heading back tomorrow.”
“Then what about you, May?”
May blinked as the attention suddenly turned to her before opening her mouth.
“……Sleep?”
“You're gonna sleep through the whole break?”
“……Who knows?”
May averted her eyes slightly.
It looked like she really planned to just sleep the entire vacation away.
Of course, she probably wouldn't actually do that.
This break was an important time for May too, in her own way.
‘Though things might play out differently from the game.’
If so, Abel planned to step in himself the moment he returned from the special management zone known as Red Hall.
May's excessive sleepiness stemmed not from her personality, but from a particular issue.
Unless that was resolved, she'd fade into obscurity without ever shining.
‘Still, no point overthinking it ahead of time.’
He needed to worry and prepare for whatever might come, but fretting endlessly beyond that was foolish.
If he didn't give his all to what he could do right now, nothing else would matter.
“We're here.”
Chatting away, they soon found themselves right in front of the dorms.
Having already played their fill over the past few days, everyone exchanged brief farewells and split up.
“Catch you later.”
Abel entered the dorm building, said goodbye to Daniel, and headed straight to his room.
“Feels just like coming home.”
The words slipped out as he stepped inside.
Even though he'd been out having fun, stepping into his room brought a sudden rush of fatigue.
He wanted nothing more than to flop onto the bed, but he couldn't.
‘About three hours until my meeting with Deborah.’
He'd originally planned for a comfortable six-hour buffer, but various detours had delayed their arrival.
Too awkward for a nap or a trip to the training grounds.
But it wasn't like he had nothing to do.
First, Abel sat cross-legged on the bed and pulled an artifact from his pocket.
‘She didn't give me this on a mere whim.’
With his knowledge of artifacts, Abel could tell.
Even setting aside its reputation, this was no ordinary item.
No matter how guilty Hena felt toward him, it wasn't something she'd just hand over lightly.
‘Something to do with the duke, maybe.’
That was the most obvious possibility that came to mind.
Even so, he couldn't fully shake the nagging ‘why?’
Abel tossed the artifact lightly into the air and caught it.
‘On the surface, it's probably an investment or a token of gratitude.’
The duke would already know Abel had played a major role in preventing his daughter's rampage.
In Abel's view, gratitude seemed the most likely motive.
‘Not that I can accept it completely carefree.’
He wouldn't mind money or simple goods, but an artifact like this warranted caution.
They might use it as leverage for future favors.
A duke probably wouldn't stoop that low—but there was no such thing as absolutes in this world.
He didn't have an explicit patronage deal with the duke, so full trust wasn't on the table.
“Alright.”
Abel reached a simple conclusion.
Use it if needed, but sparingly and wisely.
If unreasonable demands came, he could always return it then.
Plus, the odds were high it was just a thank-you gift.
Decision made, Abel tucked the artifact away and closed his eyes.
He'd spend the remaining three hours on his breathing technique.
“Suuuuuuh.”
Drawing in a deep breath, he recalled the breathing method's mantra, and his mind settled into calm almost instantly.
“Huuuuuuh.”
All stray thoughts vanished as he sank into deep meditation.
He opened his eyes two hours later.
Knock knock.
“Cadet Abel. You have a visitor.”
It came right after the academy staffer's voice.
* * *
A sleek black carriage pulled to a stop by the wide roadside.
The door swung open, revealing none other than Abel.
Abel glanced around.
‘Haven't been here in ages.’
This was the capital's southern district, densely packed with workshops.
As such, the buildings here were all impressively massive compared to other areas.
“This way, please.”
“Ah, sure.”
Guiding him was the man who'd ridden in the carriage with him—a staffer sent by Deborah.
The man led the way up the stairs right in front of where the carriage had stopped.
He opened the door at the top, revealing the interior.
‘Not as flashy as I expected.’
Surprisingly, the inside felt more clean and tidy than ornate.
A moment's thought made it obvious why.
‘Makes sense. This is basically a lab.’
Flashiness was usually for show, and labs rarely needed that.
If anything, the subdued interior inspired more trust.
They hadn't gone far down the long hallway when someone appeared at the far end.
“You've arrived.”
It was Deborah.
She greeted Abel with a bright smile and a polite bow.
Abel returned the gesture.
By status or wealth, he was the inferior—no question.
“Thanks to you, the trip was comfortable.”
“No need to mention it. You must be tired after just returning from your journey—everything alright?”
“I got plenty of rest on the way, so I'm fine.”
“Good to hear. Still, if you feel fatigued at any point, let me know right away.”
“Yes.”
At Deborah's subtle nod, the staffer who'd escorted him bowed slightly and withdrew.
“Shall we head down, then?”
“Yes.”
She led him underground.
The stairs were quite long, but upon reaching the bottom, Abel understood why.
‘Incredible.’
The basement was overwhelmingly vast.
He'd thought the aboveground section was large, but this dwarfed it.
It was nearly as spacious as Vulcanus's workshop.
“An astonishing scale.”
“I don't like wasting money, but I spare no expense where it's worth investing.”
Deborah spoke kindly with a smile.
“The evolution of Gigants is remarkable. Their capabilities have risen endlessly since their inception. Are you familiar with Gigant history?”
“Yes. I know the first ones developed were Miles-class.”
“Correct. A few years later came the Centurio-class, which was the most powerful weapon during the Great War.”
“Then post-war, the Militum-class and Tito-class were developed.”
“Development never stopped after the war ended either. You never know when the next one might come.”
Abel nodded.
Tito, Miles, Centurio, Militum.
These formed the current Gigant hierarchy.
Midget below Tito didn't count as a proper Gigant, and custom models above Militum weren't standard grades.
Deborah nodded in satisfaction at Abel's words before continuing.
“But separate from Gigant advancements, cores have stagnated for quite some time.”
“True. Higher-grade machines just use more powerful Gigadeus cores.”
Gigants were classified by grade, but superior ones didn't have cores made with special new tech.
They simply processed cores from stronger Gigadeus.
Of course, that processing was advanced too—but fundamentally, not much different.
“So I focused on improving the core.”
Deborah stopped in front of a Gigant as she spoke.
“Making stronger Gigants by using stronger Gigadeus cores... isn't that a bit boring?”
“If we could create a second-generation core, it'd be a monumental revolution.”
“Second-generation.”
Deborah's eyes sparkled at Abel's offhand phrase.
“Nice term. Second-generation.”
She glanced up at the Gigant with just a slight turn of her head.
“The old cores are first-generation. The new ones, second-generation... Sounds enticing.”
“I see.”
“Hehe. Yes. Assuming the core development succeeds, of course.”
Turning back to Abel, she went on.
“That's why your role is crucial, Sir Abel. Our investigations show your sync rate is unparalleled.”
Abel didn't bother denying it.
Gigant riders needed many skills, and he knew he fell short in several areas.
But sync rate? He'd never once felt inferior to others there.
“Would you like some rest before the test?”
“No.”
Abel replied calmly to her offer.
“Let's begin right away.”
Even without their deal, he burned with desire for a second-generation core.
If it emerged faster than in the original history, it'd bring massive gains.
Deborah nodded approvingly and addressed the staff waiting nearby.
“Very well. Let's prepare immediately.”
The staff handed Abel some items.
Deborah explained.
“Artifacts for emergencies. They'll monitor your status in real time and safely extract you if anything goes wrong.”
“I see.”
Abel was inwardly impressed.
She'd said it casually, but that meant space magic-imbued artifacts.
Those cost a fortune.
It proved Deborah's confidence in safety wasn't empty.
Even if the Gigant rampaged, he could emergency-teleport out.
Thud-!
Meanwhile, the staff adjusted the Gigant for easy access.
Abel looked up at the opening cockpit.
At the cockpit embedded with its purple core.
“Then, I'll board now.”
It was time to start the experiment.
An experiment that could shake the world, depending on the results.