The Story Of The Second Son Of The Baron Family [EN]: Chapter 87

Thump- Thump-

It started with walking. Even though the ground had been thoroughly prepared, the floor shook as if about to collapse under the overwhelming weight. If the lab hadn’t been located away from the center and if measures hadn’t been taken to prevent the internal commotion from leaking outside, there would have been quite a stir by now.

“It, it moves. It’s moving!”

Watching the Titan, Armin’s lifelong dream, stand on two feet and move, Armin couldn’t stop marveling. Although the result was embarrassingly inadequate to be called a Titan, the sight was exactly what he had hoped for. It was on a different level from a mere giant golem moving.

Thump- Thump- Thump- Thump-

I moved the Titan as much as my mana allowed, from simply walking and running to poses that were difficult even for a human body. How long had I been absorbed in this? I could feel anew that maintaining this huge body and countless types of magic was very difficult.

“Haa.”

“Are you alright?”

My heart felt faint. The mana circuits and core felt strained from the fatigue they hadn’t felt in a long time. It was a phenomenon felt when a large amount of mana was consumed in a short time.

‘I’ll be in big trouble if I don’t set a limit.’

Even without that, the lives of knights were painted with mental fortitude that relied on willpower and efforts that exceeded limits. The choice they would make when they reached their limit, as they do now, would never be retreat. If I didn’t want to waste valuable manpower like knights, it was wise to install a limiter.

“I’m a little tired.”

“It was an amazing sight.”

“Amazing? The road ahead is a thousand miles.”

“……Yes?”

“Did you expect me to say it was a great success? With just this? Is that all the potential you thought the Titan had?”

Having moved it myself, I knew better. No matter how flashy the Titan in front of me might look, no matter how emotional it might feel, it was just a prototype, a product with a long way to go.

“There are so many things to fix, no, to improve. I’ll rest for a bit and then go, so prepare the data.”

“Yes, yes!”

#

As I closed my eyes and rested, I could feel mana filling the empty mana core. From today, I would have to commit to working overtime again. Thanks to this newly acquired body and mana, staying up all night for a day or two was nothing, and I wasn’t particularly tired, but if that continued for months, even if I relieved fatigue with mana, it couldn’t be good for my body.

“I have a mountain of work to do.”

There were mountains of things to improve. And some of them had already found solutions or were looking for them. However, just because a solution was found didn’t mean it could be applied recklessly. I had to consider whether modifying this would affect other magic, whether the cost-effectiveness was acceptable, and so on.

‘The reaction was slow. It’s okay if it moves slowly, but it’s disqualified for combat use. I need to find a way to increase the synchronization rate.’

And that wasn’t all. As if to prove that golems were inherently difficult to perform complex movements, the movements weren’t very satisfactory. It would be okay to some extent, but isn’t the battlefield a place where intense movements are the norm? Reinforcement was needed.

In addition, there was another problem: size. More precisely, the sense of distance that came from the huge size. The Mk.I was three times the height of an adult male. That meant the length of the arms and legs was also three times, and the length to the head was also three times.

I had lived my whole life with a height of less than 2 meters. But circulating mana through a huge body that was over 5 meters tall to a distance nearly three times greater than before was bound to lead to mistakes if I wasn’t conscious of it.

‘Reduce the size or have the user adapt.’

It’s hard to reduce the size any further. Unless I conduct more research and magic develops further, according to the research so far, it was the optimal size that balanced the destructive power and mana consumption while securing the space to implement the necessary magic.

I can’t pay attention to everything. To take all of that into account would take twice, no, three times as long for the research period. I needed to be flexible and overlook anything that could be covered with effort or wasn’t a fatal flaw.

‘If we worked this hard, the knights should work hard too. Why are they only trying to enjoy the benefits of magic?’

Returning to the lab, I separated the data that Armin had prepared in advance: parts that needed improvement, parts that showed good performance for now, parts that had to be cut out altogether, and so on. Armin sighed at the rapidly accumulating workload.

“There’s really a lot to do.”

“Be happy. The fact that there are many points to improve means that there is a lot of room for growth. Isn’t it better to get a great reward, even if it’s difficult and far away, than to walk a short distance and get an insignificant reward?”

“You only say what’s right, so I can’t deny it.”

It was clear that it was something that had to be done. But no matter how urgent the matter, it was difficult to achieve the goal by only whipping [forcing someone] them. What I had valued most during that time was none other than efficiency. Adequate rest was essential for maximum efficiency.

Tuk-

“Let’s go.”

“Yes? Where to……?”

“Home. It’s a three-day break. Don’t even set foot in the lab. Clear your head completely and return to the lab in three days, back to your original self. Got it?”

Well, if you get bored, you can think about improvement plans in your head. But regardless of the afterthought, Armin, who was guaranteed a long-awaited break, left the lab with movements that showed he was excited. Even if it was a process of running towards a dream, it wouldn’t be easy or not tiring.

Scribble- Scribble-

I continued to organize the data in the empty lab. I had to write down at least all the problems so that I could start working as soon as I got back.

Click-

Before the sun set, I also left the lab. I couldn’t remember the last time I went home watching the sun.

#

The sunlight is so bright. The air is clear, and the weather is warm for spring. There couldn’t be a more suitable weather for outdoor activities.

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you for coming, Brother.”

“I couldn’t go last time, so I had to come this time.”

Count Kramer’s inauguration ceremony was held in a grand manner. It seemed like he had put in extra effort. But you can’t rest assured until the very end. It’s always the most dangerous when you’re almost there.

“Don’t worry too much. There will be no more tricks.”

“There won’t be?”

“Yes. The guild that attacked me sent someone. They even included evidence that one of my younger brothers, Maxwell, asked them to assassinate me.”

“……I don’t know whether to say they’re quick-witted or that they have no integrity, even though trust is their lifeblood.”

“Aren’t they the kind of guys who always act in their own interest? They seem to have judged that sticking with me is more profitable than forcibly carrying out the request in a situation where you, Brother, are involved.”

If it’s been resolved well, there’s no need to worry about it anymore. Willand isn’t incompetent enough to not be able to finish things properly in a situation where he has the initiative, and he’ll do well on his own. As we were talking for a while, Count Kramer, holding his grandson, Willand’s son, in his arms, slowly approached us.

“Are you alright? You need to recover quickly. My teacher also asked me to send his regards.”

Count Kramer’s expression couldn’t be called good, even as a formality. He was an ambitious man who didn’t hesitate to use any means to grow his family, but to those who didn’t know him, he was just an old man waiting for the day he would die.

“Haha. For my retirement ceremony, the chief disciple is gracing the occasion. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

As Willand said, there was no need to worry much, and the succession ceremony proceeded very smoothly. No matter how urgent it was, they couldn’t cause a commotion in this place where so many nobles were gathered. That’s how the owner of the Kramer County changed.

#

For two days, excluding the day I attended the inauguration ceremony, I spent time with my wife. I had a lot of work even after the wedding, so the fact that I hadn’t spent much time with her existed as a burden in a corner of my heart. She also had quite a bit of talent in magic, so there were many stories to tell. Of course, the Titan itself was bound to be unfamiliar, so it might have been a difficult story for her, who was orthodox, to accept.

“Hello!”

“Did you get enough rest? Did you recover the stamina to work until a proper result comes out?”

“I’ll do my best!”

The best medicine for fatigue was, of course, sufficient rest. Whether he had really rested well for three days, the dark circles that had been full around his eyes had decreased a lot, and his face itself was full of vitality.

“Now, let’s start. Bring all the related data!”

The first part to look at was refining the exoskeleton. Once the basic foundation is complete, shouldn’t we build something on top of it? If the ground is not properly compacted, no matter how solid the pillars and walls are, no matter how decorated with fancy ornaments, it is nothing more than a castle in the sky that could collapse at any time.

“I thought there would be no problem if I followed the structure of a human, but I was wrong.”

“Specifically?”

“I think the skeleton is fine. Bones or metal, it’s a hard material. The problem was the flesh and muscles that cover the bones. The flexibility cannot be matched with metal.”

It was a dilemma. For free movement, metal requires a generous space due to its characteristics, but that makes it vulnerable to external attacks. The durability would also decrease. I was thinking of a way to catch both, and if that didn’t work, I had to give up one.

‘If I have to give up one in the end, the latter is the right choice.’

Free movement is essential in combat. In the first place, weren’t joints weak points? It was just that the weak point became a slightly larger weak point. I couldn’t give up the strengths to compensate for the weaknesses.

‘The best thing would be to come up with a way to catch both.’

But it wouldn’t be easy. Armin also answered in a troubled voice.

“I’ll have to find out from now on. But fortunately, there is a stopgap measure. When new people come in, they may come up with unexpected methods, so I’m not too pessimistic.”

“That’s good news.”

“What can I do? It’s my destiny to build from the bottom up.”

Yes. Destiny.

In order to create something that didn’t exist before, efforts that didn’t exist before are needed. If I was going to kneel at this level, I would have given up dozens of times already.

As always, but as if the three-day break was a dream, the lab was bustling with the sound of searching for data. And the sky when I left the lab was shining with moonlight, not sunlight, unlike three days ago.

Baron’s Second Son – Episode 87 – End