Emperor of Steel [EN]: Chapter 4

4. Reina’s Crisis

1

In the arena, a black-painted Gigant from the Inter Clan and a red-striped Gigant from the Barsha Clan began a fierce battle.

On the surface, it seemed like Lionel, the Barsha Gigant Luke had bet on, was going to win.

Lionel, wielding dual swords, constantly pushed Kazan with his flashy swordsmanship.

However, Luke saw it differently.

In Luke’s eyes, the black Gigant of the Inter Clan, piloted by Kazan, seemed to have the advantage.

Even though Lionel’s swordsmanship was flashy, his attacks weren’t effectively damaging the heavily armored Inter Clan Gigant.

Rather, by continuously unleashing attacks, he was only drastically depleting his mana.

‘The tide will turn soon,’ Luke thought.

As Luke predicted, Lionel’s movements became sluggish as his mana depleted, and Kazan launched a counterattack.

Kwaaang!

Lionel’s Gigant staggered from Kazan’s counterattack. Not missing the opportunity, Kazan unleashed a barrage of attacks.

Lionel’s Gigant, having consumed too much mana with excessive attacks, struggled to defend and was ultimately struck with a fatal blow, its head flying off.

“The winner is Kazan of the Inter Clan!”

“Waaaaah!”

The cheers of the crowd echoed through the arena.

Those who had bet on the winner couldn’t hide their joy, while those who had bet on the loser were either dumbfounded or hurled insults at Lionel as he was being escorted out.

‘Tsk, tsk, 5,000 pesos turned into scrap paper in an instant,’ Luke thought, recalling the pot-bellied noble who had bet on Lionel earlier.

“The next match is between Brian, the zealous knight of the Germain Clan, piloting ‘Savage,’ and against him, the rising star of the Alberia Clan, the female warrior Karen, piloting ‘Sting’!”

At the announcer’s shout, new Gigants appeared from both sides of the arena.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Brian’s Savage, heavily armed and wielding a large two-handed axe, presented a rather imposing figure.

In contrast, Karen’s Gigant, Sting, was about a head shorter than Savage, and its armament was simple, consisting of a mace and shield.

It was a match that seemed unwinnable at first glance.

Moreover, unlike Brian, who had fought over 30 matches, Karen was a rookie with only 1 win and 5 losses.

‘Based on the Gigant and their past records, Brian has an overwhelming advantage. But would the organizers really arrange a match that is so one-sided?’ Luke wondered.

As if to dispel Luke’s doubts, Brian’s Savage fiercely pushed Karen’s Sting.

Each time the giant two-handed axe grazed Sting, its armor shattered, and fragments scattered in all directions.

Thanks to the Barrier magic, the fragments that flew into the audience seats bounced back into the arena.

“Hahaha! That’s too much, Brian!”

“Go easy! She’s just a rookie girl!”

As Savage cornered Sting, the majority of the audience was convinced of Brian’s victory.

At that moment, Luke was startled.

The mana flow emanating from Sting…

‘Could it be?!’ he thought.

Bang!

Savage’s axe cleaved Sting in two.

No, what was cleaved was just an afterimage of Sting.

With astonishing high-speed movement, Karen had escaped the crisis and was now behind Savage.

Seizing the opportunity, Karen aimed for the location of Savage’s spinal joint and brought down her mace.

Whoooom!

The moment the mace struck, a powerful explosion erupted with flames, breaking Savage’s steel body.

‘That’s Fire Blast magic!’ Luke realized.

Brian struggled to get the fallen Savage back on its feet. However, with its spine broken, Savage could never rise again.

“The winner is Karen of the Alberia Clan!”

“Ah, no!”

The audience was shocked by the unexpected result.

Those who were certain of Brian’s victory were even more so.

Philip was no different.

“Sh-she used magic!”

The magic Karen used wasn’t just Fire Blast.

There was also the Quick magic she activated to achieve high-speed movement.

Philip nodded as if he understood something.

“It seems Karen was a Rune Knight. Rune Knights aren’t that strong, except for the fact that they can use both magic and swordsmanship, but she attacked well at the right moment.”

“……”

“Um, young master?”

As Luke fell into silence, Philip turned to look at him.

However, Luke’s expression was completely distorted.

Seeing him looking as if he had received a severe shock, Philip was seized by an ominous premonition.

‘Surely, he didn’t bet all his money on Brian, did he?’ Philip worried.

Of course, Luke hadn’t done anything so rash. He had bet on Brian, but only 200 pesos.

The reason for his shock was something else.

‘Using magic while riding a Gigant…?’ Luke thought.

Those who didn’t know would have thought that Gigants were originally made to use aura, divine power, or magic, but he knew better.

‘What is it? How did this happen? The basic principle of making them manifest magic like that is something I devised…’ he pondered.

It was clear from the basic flow of mana that Gigants were an improvement over existing golems.

So, the mage who created the Gigant must have known the weaknesses of golems and thought about how to overcome them.

Such as preventing enemy snipers by having the pilot inside, or minimizing the control gap phenomenon.

‘Let’s say that’s the case. But how is it that even the method of amplifying the power of magic manifested by mages or Rune Knights is the same?’ Luke wondered.

No matter how similar the thoughts and solutions were, the principle of the magic that goes into the device could not be the same.

Moreover, the magic formula that Luke devised and applied was knowledge that came from researching black magic, so ordinary mages could never have come up with it.

No, even if they had approached it differently and figured it out, the method of using mana, that is, the principle of the formula, would have been different.

But why is it that his theory and operating principle are identical!

Unable to shake off the question, Luke jumped up from his seat.

“Sir Philip, there must be a place here to inspect and repair the Gigants, right?”

“You mean the maintenance depot? Of course, there is.”

“Guide me. I’m going there.”

‘Huh? Why the maintenance depot all of a sudden?’ Philip wondered.

Although he was puzzled, Philip couldn’t say no. Luke’s eyes were too serious.

It was to the point where he felt a little scared.

‘I need to see the inside of the Gigant. If I see it, I’ll know for sure,’ Luke thought.

Luke hurried towards the arena’s maintenance depot.

2

The arena’s Gigant maintenance depot was located in the space below the spectator seats.

It wasn’t difficult to find the entrance to the depot, but one couldn’t just enter carelessly.

“No entry for unauthorized personnel.”

The knights guarding the depot entrance blocked their way.

Without a word, Luke took out gold coins and placed them in their hands.

“Hah, you shouldn’t be doing this…”

“Don’t make a fuss and go take a quick look.”

The knights, having received their ‘admission fee,’ pretended not to notice and opened the door, and Luke and Philip entered the depot.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Whirr! Whee— Wheeeeee!

The hot air and the stuffy smell of metal greeted Luke as he stepped into the depot.

Luke took a step forward, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.

Gigants were placed in each bay. The mages belonging to each clan were busy maintaining the Gigants with the blacksmiths.

Luke approached the place where a Gigant had its armor completely removed.

As he approached, the mages stopped working, and the riders and mercenaries belonging to the clan blocked his path.

Since there were often cases of the opposing side sabotaging Gigants, they were not happy about the approach of outsiders.

“Hey, who are you? A spy?”

“I just came to take a look.”

The mage, still suspicious, said in response to Luke’s words.

“Hmm, you don’t have a magic circle, and you don’t have calluses from holding tools. Fine, I’ll allow you to look around. But if you interfere or become a nuisance, I’ll kick you out, so keep that in mind.”

Only after confirming that he wasn’t a spy, Luke was able to carefully examine the mages’ work and the structure of the Gigant.

The interior of the Gigant was much more complex and delicate than a golem, which was just a combination of simple stones or lumps of metal.

Moreover, the flow of mana inside the machine was much more complex when viewed up close.

It was almost reminiscent of the human body’s blood or nervous system.

‘They’ve carefully embedded artificial magic stones in each joint. That’s why such precise movements are possible,’ Luke noted.

There were three important organs in this complex and delicate Gigant.

The ‘Mana Converter,’ which allowed the manifestation of magic or conversion into physical aura.

The ‘Balance Device,’ which maintained the heavy steel body.

And the ‘Core Engine.’

Among them, the Core Engine was the most important, gathering mana from nature and supplying it to each part of the Gigant, allowing the joints to move or concentrate power.

It was an organ that served the role of both the lungs and the heart in a human.

Luke was shocked by these organs, which were much more delicate, stable, and efficient than golems.

It wasn’t because the Gigant’s level of completion was high.

‘This can’t be! It’s exactly the same as what I made!’ Luke thought in disbelief.

It was the same with the Mana Converter and the Balance Device, but the Core Engine was also a complete copy.

There were some differences in the few modified devices and the additional magic circles, but the basic principle and structure of the device were identical.

Luke examined other Gigants in the depot as opportunities arose.

“Hey, you wanna get your legs broken?”

“Get lost before I call the guards!”

Despite the cold treatment from the mages and mercenaries, Luke stubbornly examined various types of Gigants and the organs and parts that went into them.

There were differences depending on the new and old models and the level of performance, but none were missing the three important organs, and the basic principle and structure of those organs were all the same.

‘How did this happen? The parts I made were definitely…’

At this point, something Luke had seen in a history book not long ago came to mind.

‘Wait, wasn’t it said that the Gigants were made at the Veritas Magic Tower?’

“Young master, what on earth is wrong?”

Philip looked at Luke with concern, who had been acting strangely for some time now.

Instead of answering his question, Luke asked one of his own.

“Philip, do you happen to know how the Veritas Magic Tower developed the Gigants?”

“How they developed them?”

“I mean, have they ever excavated blueprints or actual models from ancient ruins or dungeons?”

Only then did Philip seem to understand Luke’s question, nodding as he explained.

“I learned about it at the Military Academy. I heard that Arsen, a Meister [Master Craftsman] of the Veritas Magic Tower and an 8th Circle Archmage, developed them after decades of original research.”

“Original research?”

“Yes, that’s why later historians praise him as the ‘Father of Gigants,’ the ‘Founder of Magical Engineering,’ and the ‘Progenitor of the Iron Mages.’”

‘That’s absurd!’

Golem magic had started in ancient times and was quite well-known, with various magic towers researching it even in Seymon’s era.

The Veritas Magic Tower had also conducted related research, but Meister Arsen had not participated at all.

He was a War Mage who valued attack and defense magic and looked down on the creation of golems and artifacts.

And that guy became the founder of magical engineering?

‘No, it might be possible.’

At the Veritas Magic Tower, it was common for high-ranking mages to steal the research results or papers of lower-ranking mages. Meisters and elders were no different.

In fact, Luke had had his hard-earned papers stolen more than once or twice.

‘So, it’s not strange that he stole someone else’s work and made it his own. Of course, that’s not all…’

Luke recalled the time when Holy Knight Rakan had come to kill him.

At the time, Rakan was armed with a holy sword given to him by the Patriarch of the Elkasel Order and golden magical armor made by the Veritas Magic Tower.

In other words, it was right to see the Veritas Magic Tower as being behind Rakan.

‘They were hell-bent on getting rid of me along with Duke Barok. Of course, they would have supported Rakan, and after I died, they would have taken my research results and new parts.’

Thinking that way, everything clicked into place, and the question about the core parts of the Gigant was also resolved.

In the end, the culprit was Arsen.

Not only did he drive Katarina to her death, but he also slandered him as a demon king to steal the research results that Seymon, his past self, had created.

‘Ugh! That shameless enemy!’

Luke’s eyes turned red with anger.

The enemy he wanted to kill was already long dead.

However, the Veritas Magic Tower, which was no different from his legacy, was flourishing as one of the two major magic towers on the continent.

‘Arsen, I will make you shed tears of blood from your bones!’

He would erase the Veritas Magic Tower from the world!

He would grind it to dust, not leaving behind a single mage or a single magic book, down to the very foundation!

Thus, Luke solidified his fierce determination to get revenge on the enemy who had sucked his marrow.

‘I have a lot to do in the future.’

First, paying off the debt and protecting the fortress was the priority.

That place, called the Demon King’s Castle, held not only precious memories with his lover and the ideals of his subordinates but also the power that would enable him to take revenge.

‘Huh?’

Having set his goal, Luke was about to go outside when he stopped in his tracks.

His gaze was not directed at the Gigant or the magic of the Iron Mages maintaining it.

A girl was stroking the leg of a rusty Gigant.

It was Princess Reina, the princess of the fallen kingdom he had seen on the street yesterday.

3

Reina was on the east side of the Gigant Arena’s maintenance area.

She sighed as she stroked the last remaining Gigant of the fallen royal family.

A knight-clad old man, seeing her worried expression, patted his chest and said,

“Don’t worry, Princess. Andrei is a veteran mercenary rider known for his skill.”

“But the performance difference between the Gigants is significant. I wonder if it will be okay…”

“If it’s someone as skilled as Andrei, he should be able to beat the Count’s rider even with this ‘Mir.’”

Reina’s expression brightened a little at the old man’s words.

She was currently in a crisis.

The crisis began a month ago with a debt collection notice that suddenly arrived from the Imperial Bank.

It stated that if she did not repay 200,000 pesos, including principal and interest, within a month, they would proceed with forced execution.

Reina had borrowed money from the Imperial Bank several times last year to help refugees who had suffered greatly from the great flood, and the amount was not small.

However, she had not expected a sudden notice without prior warning.

Recently, the Imperial Bank’s debt enforcement was at a level that surpassed even the most ruthless loan sharks.

If their merciless debt enforcement began, she would lose everything that remained in the royal family.

Not only the mementos of her father and mother but also the mansion and furniture filled with memories.

So, Reina looked everywhere to raise money.

But it was the royal family of a fallen kingdom. There was no one willing to lend a large sum of money.

Then, a man approached her, who was stamping her feet in frustration, and made a proposal.

It was Count Lipi de Monark, the owner of the Lamer Territory.

“I will pay off the Princess’s debt. In return, marry me.”

Reina refused outright.

Count Monark was in his fifties, old, and already had two wives. There were also rumors that he had more than ten mistresses hidden away.

In addition to his womanizing ways, Count Monark’s reputation was terrible, and his popularity among the residents was also at rock bottom.

Princess Reina also thought that she would rather live alone for the rest of her life than marry such a dirty man.

However, as the debt repayment date approached and the Imperial Bank’s pressure intensified, her heart began to waver.

Then, Count Monark proposed a bet.

If the princess’s side won a Gigant duel in the arena, he would pay off the debt without any conditions, and if the Count’s clan won, she would marry him.

In the end, Reina had no choice but to accept the bet.

There was one Gigant left in the exiled royal family.

Although it was an old model that was more than 50 years old, it was still good enough to be rented out to lords who wanted to hunt monsters.

The problem was the rider.

The only knights left by her side were the old guards of the former Volga Kingdom, all over 60 years old, and the only rider was Sir Victor.

However, Victor had not ridden a Gigant for over 10 years.

As a result, they sought a mercenary rider as an alternative and succeeded in recruiting Andrei, nicknamed the ‘Red Reaper.’

Andrei was a mercenary rider who had made a name for himself in the southern part of the Empire, boasting outstanding skills, having won 100 Gigant duels.

And what was more reliable than his skills was that he was from the Volga Kingdom.

He said that he had always wanted to help the virtuous princess and did not receive a single penny as a reward.

Thanks to this, the exiled royal family was able to see a glimmer of hope in this dangerous gamble.

“I’m sorry, Sir Victor. I made you all suffer because of my stubbornness.”

“Not at all! How dare that old geezer ask for the Princess as a concubine? He must be out of his mind. If the Princess had not refused, I and Pavel would have vehemently opposed it.”

Knight Victor and Chief Steward Pavel were the most loyal of the remaining old retainers of the Volga royal family.

The two, who had taken care of Reina since she was born, were the center of the exiled royal family.

It was thanks to them that even the old retainers were able to remain.

Knowing this well, Reina treated the two more like her grandfathers than her retainers.

“But Andrei is late.”

“Pavel went to fetch him, so he will be here soon.”

The two were chatting in front of the Gigant when Pavel, who had gone to fetch Andrei, came running.

But something was ominous.

His expression was unusual.

“Something terrible has happened, Princess!”

“What is it?”

“Andrei has disappeared! I searched the rider’s waiting room and even his lodgings, but he is nowhere to be found!”

“Th, that can’t be!”

Reina’s body swayed.

Victor, who quickly supported her, asked Pavel.

“Did you search properly?”

“I searched everywhere. But he’s nowhere!”

“This is bad! I should have known things were going too easily…”

The Red Reaper was a skilled mercenary rider whom even famous clans and influential noble families of the Empire tried to recruit.

Even if he was from the same country, they should have been suspicious of such a person readily accepting the princess’s request. No matter how urgent the situation was.

But it was already too late!

Victor shouted, his face flushed red.

“This is definitely Count Monark’s conspiracy! We must go and confront him!”

“But we don’t have any solid evidence, do we?”

Reina sighed and shook her head.

Since the Elkasel Order had already certified the duel, they could not postpone it. Giving up in the current situation meant losing the bet.

“Ugh, I will go. Even if I die, I will surely win…”

“No! Sir Victor, you hurt your back. It’s impossible for you to control a Gigant with that body!”

“But if not me, where can we find a rider right now?”

Only a few of the most skilled knights could become Gigant riders.

Where could they find such a precious person right now?

It was also difficult to borrow a rider from another clan.

They didn’t know if they would readily lend one, and even if they could, it would be impossible to beat the Count’s knight with just any rider.

It was then.

An unexpected person appeared and said,

“That rider… shall I find one for you?”

4

‘Hehehe, the princess must be burning up inside right now, right?’

A plump, middle-aged man with a sinister smile was lounging on a luxurious sofa in a special seat overlooking the arena.

His name was Lipi de Monarch.

He was the lord of the second-largest power in the southern part of the empire, which included Lamer City.

“Did you take care of that Red Reaper guy?”

At the Count’s question, the vassal with the goat beard quickly answered.

“As promised, after giving him a hefty sum, we put him on a regular ship heading to the Kingdom of Castia.”

“Good, well done.”

With this, the evidence that he had plotted was completely gone.

No matter how much the princess protested, the outcome of this bet was decided.

“Is there any possibility that some foolish mercenary rider might interfere?”

“We have notified all the clans and mercenary groups in the arena not to interfere in this duel. No one would want to cross the Count, the lord of Lamer and the owner of the arena.”

“Good, good! So, now we just wait and see the result?”

The lecherous Count Monarch had heard rumors about the princess three years ago.

It was when rumors about her, who was at the peak of her beauty, began to spread.

However, he couldn’t recklessly touch a young, beautiful, and, above all, highly respected princess.

So, he had been waiting for an opportunity to make her his own.

Then, he learned that Reina had incurred a large debt with the Imperial Bank, and starting with instigating the Imperial Bank to demand repayment, he had plotted the current scheme.

And the beautiful and delicate bird was caught in the trap he had set.

“Hehehe! Hehehehe!”

“It seems like something good has happened?”

It was when Count Monarch was laughing to himself. An elderly clergyman wearing luxurious vestments approached.

“Ah, Bishop Pascal!”

Count Monarch, who had risen from his seat, welcomed the elderly clergyman.

Pascal was a high-ranking cleric of the Elcasel Order, and Count Monarch had invited him as a notary for the bet with Princess Reina.

“If it’s something good, why don’t you share it with me? They say joy is doubled when shared.”

“Hahaha, it’s nothing much. I was just a bit out of it….”

Bishop Pascal was quite naive, but he was a very principled person.

If he were to honestly say, ‘Actually, I plotted this scheme to take the princess,’ the notarization would be canceled immediately.

And he would surely receive fierce criticism from the continental nobles.

“More importantly, you must have had a long journey.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Considering the donations the Count makes to our order every year, I can travel any distance.”

“Hahaha, it’s nothing like that….”

Count Monarch was smiling outwardly, but his insides were very bitter.

The donations to the order were not out of goodwill at all.

They were largely for political and social purposes, so he had given the precious money with tears in his eyes.

“By the way, when does the match I’m notarizing today start?”

“Since it’s the most exciting match, we’ve postponed it to the end. So, until then, please enjoy watching the other matches.”

“Hmm, shall I?”

The two chatted and turned their heads toward the center of the arena where the ninth match was taking place.

5

“That rider… shall I find one for you?”

At the sudden voice, Reina looked at the speaker.

A boy who looked about 17 years old.

His appearance and attire were quite familiar.

“Ah, you’re the one who helped the children in the downtown area yesterday.”

“I am Luke de Rakan.”

Luke introduced himself politely.

A feeling of excitement, similar to when he first met Katarina and talked to her, arose.

‘I don’t feel that energy I felt yesterday.’

He examined her carefully several times, but he couldn’t feel the great energy resembling nature that he had felt yesterday.

Was it just a misunderstanding?

“Luke de Rakan? Are you perhaps the young lord of the Rakan barony?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

At Luke’s answer, a look of doubt flickered in Reina’s eyes.

Victor and Pavel, who were looking at Luke with even more suspicion than her, stepped forward and asked.

“Excuse me, but are you really the young lord Luke?”

“I heard that the young lord of the Rakan barony suffered a major accident recently and became incapacitated?”

“I recently recovered. It seems the news hasn’t spread yet.”

Luke rubbed the ring on his right hand with his fingertip.

Then, a flame seemed to ignite from the smooth ring, and the crest of the Rakan family appeared.

This ring, made of meteoric iron, was a token given to lords by the imperial family, an artifact that could not be easily forged.

So, Reina and her party knew that Luke was genuine.

“I am truly sorry. Please forgive my rudeness.”

“No, it’s alright.”

The two old men bowed deeply to Luke.

The reason they had questioned Luke was not only because of the rumors from the barony.

Given the situation, they were wary that this boy might also be part of Count Monarch’s scheme.

Pretending to be kind to them in their desperation, and then introducing a terrible rider to make them lose the duel.

‘If it’s help from the Rakan barony, we can trust it!’

There was a reason why the two old men made this judgment.

Originally, this place, Lamer, was land granted to the Rakan family by the Livia royal family.

However, after being defeated in the rebellion led by Carno de Barok, who later became the first emperor of the Barok Empire, they lost a significant amount of land and cities.

At that time, this land was granted to Count Monarch’s ancestor by the imperial family, and from then on, the two families were completely at odds.

Considering this past bad blood, there was no way the Rakan barony would help Count Monarch.

Moreover, the Rakan barony, though small, was said to be a family of warriors who had maintained an upright family tradition.

“But you’re saying you’ll find a rider for us?”

At Reina’s question, Luke nodded.

“Yes, I happened to overhear, and it seems you’re in a desperate situation.”

Princess Reina, who resembled Katarina, was in a similar situation to her in the past.

Katarina had refused to become a plaything of a dirty noble and chose death.

At that time, Luke didn’t know anything and couldn’t do anything.

‘But it’s different now!’

He wanted to help Reina.

Whether this was a coincidence, or a connection arranged by the fickle god of fate, he didn’t want to face the same outcome, even if it meant risking everything.

Luke pointed to Philip behind him and said.

“Sir Philip may be a bit rough around the edges, but he is a graduate of the Imperial Military Academy and an expert-level knight.”

Reina and the two old men’s expressions changed instantly.

The Imperial Military Academy was a kind of elite knight training center. As such, they also practiced piloting Gigants [large, humanoid combat machines].

Moreover, if he had become an expert at a young age, there was a high probability that he was a genius.

In other words, he was a skilled person comparable to an ace mercenary rider in the arena.

‘Damn it, why does this kind of troublesome thing have to happen….’

Philip, who had been standing idly, frowned when he was named.

Seeing the members of the ruined royal family with their eyes sparkling with anticipation, he sighed deeply and said.

“Young lord, I’m sorry, but even I would have difficulty beating the old lecherous Count’s rider with that old Gigant.”

“What?”

“As far as I know, the Lipi Clan, which Count Monarch operates, has several expert-level strongmen. I heard they are aces who have fought not only in the south but also in the arena of the imperial capital. Moreover, the Gigant they are fielding is called ‘Achilles.’”

Achilles was a warrior-class Gigant released 20 years ago by the ‘Altica Magic Tower,’ one of the five major Gigant manufacturers on the continent.

Having been active in conflicts and territorial wars across the continent, Achilles was still recognized as a model for warrior-class Gigants, with appropriate armor and stable output.

“Is it different from this?”

“Mir is an antique that was produced more than 50 years ago. Not only is its frame old, but its core engine output must have dropped significantly, so it probably won’t even be at the warrior-class level.”

Gigants are broadly classified into three categories based on their output and performance.

Warrior-class with 1000 fights,

Knight-class with 2000 fights,

and Hero-class with 3000 fights.

Fight is a unit that represents the output of a Gigant, and usually, 1 fight meant ‘the combat power of one elite soldier.’

In other words, the power of a warrior-class Gigant was equivalent to 1,000 elite soldiers.

Anyway, the lifespan of these Gigants is up to 100 years, but they usually retire from active duty after 30 years.

This is because new types of Gigants are released, and the output of the core engine decreases day by day.

“There are various reasons for the drop in output, but nine times out of ten, it’s because the lifespan of the central magic stone embedded in the core engine has expired. This one is probably the same.”

Indeed, the mages who were maintaining Mir nodded at Philip’s words.

Luke looked at Mir.

Through the mana energy he had observed so far, his knowledge of golem magic from the past, and the work of the mages he had seen earlier, he was able to understand the Gigant to some extent.

Even while being maintained, the Gigant continued to absorb a small amount of mana from its surroundings, just like a person breathing while sleeping.

The core engine was also operating like a beating heart, but the mana gathered in Mir’s core engine was much weaker than what was detected in other Gigants in the vicinity.

‘It’s definitely an old-timer compared to the others.’

The reason was, as Philip had said, the central magic stone in the middle of the core engine.

‘But replacing the magic stone would take a lot of time, right?’

Each magic stone has its own unique mana wave.

Therefore, the magic circle engraved on the artifact where the magic stone is embedded must match the mana wave value of the magic stone.

Only then can the magic be fully exerted, and the lifespan of the artifact itself will be long.

Gigants, with their numerous magic stones and complex magic circles, can also be considered artifacts.

Therefore, you cannot just insert any magic stone.

You have to find one with exactly the same wave as the original magic stone, or you have to modify the magic circles one by one to match the new magic stone.

However, this method was not something that could be completed in a day or two.

‘Then… there’s only one method left!’

There was only one method.

A method that only he could do.

Luke smiled with satisfaction as he thought of that method.