Chapter 291
Chapter 291
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 291
Chapter Title: Same Time, Different Place (2)
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While his other avatars were steadily growing, the hatchling avatar Horus wasn't just sitting around idle either.
Guided by the elder dragon Shrihartgen, whose days were now numbered, he had arrived at a hidden lair.
During his stay there, he achieved truly remarkable growth.
Invaluable teaching materials beyond price, the old dragon's final lessons meant to pass on as much knowledge as possible before entering eternal rest, his innate genius amplified to the fullest by the 'Elixir of Growth'...
Because of all this, Horus was still technically a hatchling by age alone, but his actual abilities had already surpassed the juvenile stage of adolescence and approached those of an adult dragon.
'For a dragon, where age and strength are generally proportional, he's nothing short of an irregularity.'
A mutant that couldn't be explained away as merely a prodigy.
He was an enigmatic existence that could never have been born without the various systemic buffs involved.
And these influences were naturally reflected in the avatar's growth as well.
⚔ ENTITY INFORMATION ⚔ 📛 Entity Name: Horus 🧬 Race: Dragon (Hatchling) 🔗 Common Traits: 「Mind Hub」, 「Persona」, 「Xenoglossy」 ⭐ Entity Traits: 「Gold Dragon」, 「Lord of All Things」, 「Polymorph」, 「Dragon Word Magic」, 「Seeker of Mysteries」, 「Resistor of Providence」 ⚠️ Special Notes: The entity is growing at an extremely rapid rate due to the 'Elixir of Growth'. Strong buffs and aptitude in all magic systems due to 「Seeker of Mysteries」. Restrictions imposed on the entity are ignored or mitigated due to 「Resistor of Providence」. This has allowed it to contain power beyond what a hatchling body can normally hold. The newly added self-enhancement skills followed the 「Gold Dragon」, which further strengthened dragon racial traits, and 「Lord of All Things」, which influenced mana and elemental dominance.
Horus was growing swiftly, just as initially expected.
'Actually, this is why I entrusted the enchantment of the 'Titan's Left Arm' to him.'
While the Immortal King Hans, also of the magic lineage, could have handled the enchantment to add extra effects, he hadn't even considered it for a moment.
And for good reason—if Hans, with his immense energy, got involved with the titan...
'It'd probably turn into a cursed suit of armor that undeadifies the wearer the instant they put it on.'
Hans's power was dangerous enough to corrupt even a dragon heart.
Unless he intended to create a black magic tool that disregarded the owner's safety, the titan he aimed to complete wasn't for such purposes.
'Well then, on to the next phase.'
And now, the invention approved even by the dwarf god and refined by the hands of a dragon, master of magic—the 'Titan's Left Arm' was right there.
"Hmm, it does feel a bit heavy, as expected."
A young man wearing a black eyepatch over one eye and bandages etched with mysterious runes wrapped around his right arm.
It rested atop the solemn expression on Hesperon's two hands.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Who would be suitable as the titan’s user had been a constant concern since the early production stages.
During the crisis when Tarak ambushed the revolutionary, merchant Hubert had briefly used it, but he lacked any special abilities, making him unsuitable as a main user in many ways.
He was positioned for non-combat use, like dwarf Howard, to begin with.
'I can make Hubert a simplified emergency version.'
The most fitting candidate was none other than Hesperon.
In fact, prioritizing the left arm parts had been with him in mind from the start.
"Hoo—"
In his exclusive magic training room prepared within the imperial palace thanks to Princess Riley, Hesperon lightly exhaled while holding the sleek metal arm.
"...It's incredible. I thought I had a keen eye, but I've never seen anything like that before."
Riley, who had entered the training room with him and was quietly watching from a corner, let out a small gasp of admiration.
She had gone to the Roselia Grand Temple for the pope's funeral and the summit meeting but had now returned to the palace.
Hesperon had even gone out to greet her on her return day just in case, but as expected... nothing happened this time.
'Well, if problems kept arising, it'd go beyond mere incompetence to suggest the emperor himself was behind it.'
Fortunately, the worst hadn't occurred.
With the crown princess investiture right around the corner, surely nothing like that would happen.
"So, did you summon that from somewhere else too? Like that eyeball proposal?"
"Ahaha— well, something like that?"
And the first thing she pushed upon returning to the palace was transplanting newly cultured eyeballs in place of the prosthetic for Hesperon.
'I appreciate the sentiment, but...'
With a wry smile, he raised one hand to push up the eyepatch covering his right eye socket.
Revealed was an otherworldly, faintly glowing mechanical eye unlike anything in this world.
'Well, I planned to tell Riley about it from the start anyway.'
Human body transmutation was one of the greatest taboos and secrets for alchemists.
Even if it was just culturing parts to replace lost ones, it was never simple.
Yet she had used her position to apply all sorts of pressure to make it happen, so refusing would require a valid reason to convince her.
"Wow, it's amazing no matter how I look at it. I never thought I'd actually see magic tech from another world like this..."
She murmured softly, staring entranced at his exposed right eye.
Well, even after growing accustomed to two otherworlders, directly encountering alien technology like this was bound to feel wondrous.
"...I-it's, kinda cool, I guess."
Hesperon nodded contentedly at Riley, who glanced his way with flushed cheeks and cleared her throat repeatedly.
'So even cyborg prosthetics appeal to fantasy world natives.'
He glanced at the health info—her temperature, heart rate, etc.—floating in his peripheral vision, then turned back to the metal arm in his hand.
It was quite heavy as it appeared, but for him with the common trait 「Superhuman Strength」, it felt just right.
'Let's begin.'
He took a deep breath and slowly inserted his left arm into it.
Kududuk—
At the same time, a unique sensation of the inner lining tightening around his arm.
From his fingertips up to near his shoulder, the titan's interior began assimilating with his muscles, nerves, and more.
But even as things progressed smoothly, his furrowed brow didn't relax.
'...As expected. Even after improvements, it's still this much...'
From equipping to syncing and activation, it took over 10 seconds.
Not long compared to other armors, but woefully insufficient for quick response in emergencies.
'Can't be helped since it's not just a wear-and-done armor. But dialing down output for faster response would be a waste.'
Plus, storing it in subspace and pulling it out piece by piece was problematic.
If even the relatively easy-to-don arm part took this long, including the torso and others...
'As expected, Hesperon is the only one who can make the best use of it.'
As he slowly moved the fingers of his titan-equipped left hand, he glanced at the message floating in his peripheral vision.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Dormant high-energy source detected. - Estimated Energy: 12,257,225 - Estimated Risk: B - Energy reaction equivalent to a kiloton-class ship reactor detected. Current status stable, but handle with care. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ New device detected. Attempting connection. Auto-sync in progress... Connection failed. Incompatible with device. Please perform additional update. 'I put considerable effort into mana concealment, yet it's still this much... Not sure if the mechanical eye's performance is that good or if the energy is just too massive to fully hide.'
Either way, he had one thing to do now.
After staring at the messages for a moment, he unhesitatingly used 「Chains of the Covenant」 on the titan.
Wooong—
Thus the connection began, and with a prickling headache, his metal-encased left arm started vibrating violently.
A fierce reaction proportional to the energy it contained.
It was clearly no easy process, but he had one solid certainty right now.
'Now, be a good boy?'
「Chains of the Covenant」 was a skill that wove bonds through empathy between entities to form contracts.
And Hesperon was—
'Empathy stems from understanding.'
—the person in the world who knew the titan best.
From the tiniest metal scrap to every densely etched mana circuit line.
No matter what anyone said, this creation was made entirely by 'him' from start to finish.
Giiiing—!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ New device update confirmed. Attempting connection. Auto-sync in progress... ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Connection successful. The result came quickly.
The moment detailed info on the 'Titan's Left Arm' scrolled up in the mechanical eye.
Sensations extended outward, expanding his physical domain.
At this instant, what enveloped his arm was no mere metal armor—it was his skin, his arm itself.
The titan's complex structure imprinted on his mind all at once, filling him with certainty that he could wield all its functions like his own body.
Whing—clank!
Charak—
Blades protruding from the back of his hand and side of his arm, sharp spikes rising from his fist.
Palm cannon port opening, boosters revealing themselves along the arm—Hesperon nodded in satisfaction after testing the auxiliary functions.
'...Perfect.'
After a rough check, he deactivated the titan equipping.
He stored it away in his subspace magic tool and faced forward.
"Oh? All done, Heron?"
"No, one last thing remains."
He calmly replied to Riley, who watched with sparkling, intrigued eyes, and slowly raised his now-empty left hand.
Now for the most crucial test.
'Just like back then.'
With his left hand extended forward, he focused his mind.
And quietly opened his mouth.
"Titan."
And as Hesperon called its name.
It answered his call.
Wooong—
Sleek metal armor shimmering with black light pierced through space, seamlessly wrapping his empty left arm.
Giiiing—!
Upon manifestation, lines of light raced along its circuits, completing activation in an instant.
He smiled contentedly, flexing his left hand—which was fully combat-ready in less than a second.
"...Not bad."
By summoning it directly onto his arm, he skipped the equipping time, and constant sync via the contract ignored subsequent steps.
A method only possible for him, bearer of 「Chains of the Covenant」.
'It's good now, but I can't wait until the full-body parts are complete... Transforming hero, huh? This is just...'
As he grinned in satisfaction, clenching his powerfully enhanced left hand with a touch of nostalgia.
"Uh... ahem..."
A subtle throat-clearing came from behind.
...His nape prickled oddly.
A strange sense of déjà vu hit, along with piercing stares.
"Ah."
Turning slowly, he locked eyes with Isea, who stood beside Riley wearing an awkward smile.
His elated mood sank, allowing him to view his actions objectively.
"Uh, I came to help if it was tough... I heard Riley was here too... Um..."
She mumbled excuses, averting her eyes guiltily and awkwardly.
After hesitating, she straightened resolutely, nodding warmly as if understanding everything.
"Impressive ability. It suits you well, Heron."
"Ah! I think the same as Sis Isea. It was so cool!"
Clap clap clap clap—
Riley clapped like a seal, echoing Isea's warm encouragement.
For some reason, their reactions stung even more.
"......"
Suddenly aware of reality, Hesperon couldn't retort and just stared down at his hands.
At the futuristic metal glove and occult bandaged palms.
'...Huh, weird? Hans definitely took all the chuunibyou tendencies.'
Why was he the one getting this treatment?
He closed his eyes, swallowing the unresolved question.
Of course, the mechanical eye's auto-transparency through the eyelids rendered it pointless.