Emperor of Steel

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Thud thud thud thud!

The inside of the Gigant’s production workshop was too hot.

In each of the workshops were dozens of wizards and engineers. The workers working there were sweating while performing their tasks.

Each time a magical spark lit, various magical machines moved. An iron would get shaped and the magic circle would appear on the ground.

Luke, who watched the entire process from behind, couldn’t help but burst into admiration.

“This is brilliant. It has only been around 2 years, and you have managed to prepare a workshop of this size. Above all, it is amazing how meticulously structured it is.”

The size of the workshop was larger than Katarina Magic Tower, which recently expanded the production facilities.

Even when compared to the headquarters of Veritas Magic Tower that was currently occupying the 1st place of the top ten magic towers, the Dark Moon wasn’t that small.

At the praise from Luke, Meister Johas responded with a proud face.

“We have increased the size of our production workshop 3 times more than before and expanded our labs and other workshops 2 times more than before. The efficiency of the production equipment and the various magic tools were also maximized. All of this was because of your support.”

In addition to providing them with a manor, Luke’s slush funds were largely involved in the construction of the Dark Moon Magic Tower.

When they were struggling because of a lack of funds, Luke supported them by giving them a huge sum of money.

Those funds were part of the gold ingots produced in Rakan mines that were under the supervision of Kirillov, which have been secretly stockpiled by Luke for emergency situation.

“The supply and demand?”

As the scale increased, more wizards, engineers, and workers would be needed to fill the slots.

“Even though all the students who were sent to the Volga Republic and the magic towers were brought in, with the lack of manpower, we either buy slaves or gather refugees to fill the lack of workers.”

According to Johas, there were a lot of refugees hiding in the Jason Estate than what was known outside.

They were people who ran away because they couldn’t pay their debts, and living wasn’t going to be easy for them because of monsters and slave hunters.

“So, they were willing to come because of some food from the magic tower and protection from potential dangers. Of course, we aren’t just going to give them access. We have whipped up some rules, and we prevent them from going outside.”

“That is nice, but wouldn’t they be reluctant to work if they know that it was being run by warlocks?” Asked Luke.

“Well, since most of them are people who don’t know the difference between wizards and warlocks, no problem of such has arrived, and we made sure to brainwash them.”

The slaves were said to be more active than the exiles.

After working for quite some time, Johas promised to liberate them from slavery. He did that so that the slaves would have a strong dissatisfaction with enslavement in the world.

The Dark Moon Magic Tower’s warlocks were using the anger and the rebellious nature of the slaves to unite them and make them members of their magic tower.

“Anyway, there is no need to worry about that. We have been able to stay hidden for over 500 years because we have considerable know-how in finding, nurturing and managing talent.”

“Then, I don’t need to worry.”

In the last part of the tour, Johas took Luke to the most secluded Gigant workshop of the magic tower.

In that place, three new hero class Gigants that had been just recently developed were displayed.

From the Gigant’s head to toe, it comprised of 15 meters.

The body of the Gigant kept pulling Luke’s eyes.

Its heavy armor that was covered with various magic circles felt like it could even break down mountains or split the seas.

‘Amazing! It feels like a legendary giant is standing in front of me!’

There was a reason why a weapon with no life was bringing out Luke’s interest.

It was because of the strong will, commitment and devotion that the workers poured into making such a masterpiece.

In other words, the new hero class Gigants were beyond the word called ‘masterpiece’.

Looking at the Gigant for quite some time, Luke asked Johas, “Is this based on the Atlas blueprint that I gave you?”

“Yes, I named it ‘Orion’.”

“Orion, huh? It’s named after a giant from the myths like Atlas?”

In the past, Luke had handed over the hero class Gigant’s blueprint, which he had stolen from Veritas Magic Tower’s Brandon branch, to Dark Moon Magic Tower.

Dark Moon spurred the development of the new Gigant, which was based on Luke’s given design, and with a lot of trial and error, they managed to make three hero class Gigants.

“Would you like to ride and see it for yourself?”

At the question from Johas, Luke coldly nodded his head.

After his reincarnation, Luke thought of touching a Gigant as a means of exploring the truth.

“Then enter the guy who is in the middle. That one has been added with special magic features unlike the other two.”

“Special magic features?” Luke asked with curiosity.

“You will understand once you enter.”

At the prompt from Johas, Luke hurriedly entered the cockpit of Orion.

-Please, install Helm.

‘Huh?’

As soon as Luke sat in the cockpit, a beautiful voice of a woman entered his ears.

As Luke was a little taken aback, he noticed an object similar to a helmet placed in the front of the cockpit.

Luke was curious about the unusual shape of the hollow head sphere that was placed in front of his eyes.

There were small engravements of magic with magic characters.

‘Oh ho, this is…’

Luke wore the thing called the Helm after taking a look at it.

Then, a new voice entered his ears.

-Orion steering system and rider’s sense have been synced. Slight dizziness might occur, but if you feel any severe abnormality, please discard it.

He saw a light shining in front of his darkened vision, and as the view widened, the scenery inside became clear.

However, Luke’s field of view was much wider compared to a Gigant’s usual view. It seemed like he was actually watching through the eyes of the Gigant and not just controlling it.

“Haha, is this the function of the Helm?”

The voice of Johas entered Luke’s ears as he heard what Luke said.

“Zeitgeist, the Helm that you just used was a consciousness-based magic which we have been learning in the Dark Moon Magic Tower for a while. So, with the help of the Helm, it is like the rider and the Gigant has become one.”

“Indeed! This way, we can increase the reaction speed by aligning the senses of the Gigant and the rider!” Said Luke.

“I suppose that it will react much faster than Atlas or any other Gigant that will be developed on the continent in the future.”

“I guess so, but it will take time for a rider to get used to the Helm.”

Luke started to move Orion to feel its reactions.

He swung his arms in places, walked around and even ran.

After a while, while holding a practice sword, wielding it lightly, he hit a steel scarecrow built on one side.

Slash!

It was just one strike.

The steel dummy that was cut from its left shoulder to its right side collapsed.

Thud!

As the dummy collapsed, the vibrations of its fall subsided. Johas approached Luke and explained.

“Orion’s output is 3,700 fight higher than Atlas.”

“I feel that too. But to feel it like this, I think that it isn’t enough?”

“Then, how about sparring?”

There was nothing better than to fight with a Gigant.

Luke willingly accepted Johas’ suggestion and went out with Orion.