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“Can you be any more of a dead meat…”

Ahhh! I’ve been made fun of by Ferti’nier again! No, this mustn’t stand!

Channelling the rage from the maligned blame, I yelled the chant at the top of my lungs. With gusto. “Wyrm Transformation: Activate!!”

As arcane words filled the air, I could feel the earring on my left earlobe explode with dimensional magic, enveloping me in darkness. A moment later, I found myself within a sealed space.

This is… the cockpit of Wyrm…

The controls of Wyrm were modelled to be basically the same as an exosuit. By using meditation stones, I was able to completely sync up with Wyrm, meaning this entire magitek armor was now an extension of my body.

Why do I feel like I’m back on Gaia again…

“Oh? The view isn’t half bad. Now. Let’s start on Wyrm’s combat test.”

Her timely reminder brought me back to reality. I swept my eyes over the twelve black-robed casts still in the midst of carving that array around me. With a mere thought, I commanded the Heavensbreak system to split up into 72 rhombohedrons, spinning right towards each of them like deadly shurikens.

Thanks to the suddenness of this attack, they did not even have time to blink before they were all chopped up into pieces.

“Blast! How did you get in there?!”

In a mere breath, the tables had been turned. The casters were dead, and that masked jester knew his miscalculation had allowed his opponent to mount a comeback.

“Territory: Boundless Will!” He thrust his hand up and yelled. As the invisible Territory washed over the entire room, Wyrm’s movement became sluggish as if I was in quicksand. Even the 72 rhombohedrons of Heavensbreak stopped dead two meters before the man.

“This time, I won’t hold back, Lady Mo Na, just be still and wait for me there. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt when I tear apart that armor, limb by limb! I’m sure they won’t mind if I bring back the parts instead; they can always put it back together.”

“A psychic Territory, how interesting… but that’s just perfect for testing out Wyrm’s Pseudo-Territory Resistance.”

Pseudo-Territory Resistance… That’s right, the array system which Redleaf helped to carve onto every scale of this armor. The composite array known as the Pseudo-Territory Resistance!

As long as the mana was available, this ability could block most effects of a Territory; this jester’s Territory happened to be in the job scope.

But do I need to chant to activate it again? You know what, now’s not the time for choosing.

“Pseudo-Territory Resistance!”

The scales on Wyrm immediately burned a bright red, following which I felt the pressure on Wyrm disappear in an instant!

“Impossi–”

And he was dead… the 72 rhombohedrons flew right into him unimpeded, now that the wall blocking them was gone. Practically mincemeat at this point!

So, it’s over? Doesn’t feel real, to be honest. I thought he was going to put up more of a fight… maybe he’s a fake?

Oh right, there’s still that werewolf outside, my Inferno Lion wouldn’t be able to defeat him alone.

Being my personal magitek armor, Wyrm was equipped with flying arrays, of which the cost of carving them were high -but His Majesty had the money anyway!

Having rich friends really does pay off!

Now that the big bad boss in the lab was taken care of, I eagerly flew off to find the silver-furred werewolf whom I left behind. However, I arrived only to find a certain scarred bodyguard with his guards, coming to help late as always, like a bunch of movie cops. Because the troops hadn’t seen my Inferno Lion before, the scene was a right mess, with no one able to tell if either my lioness or that werewolf were the true enemies, or both. Even if both of them were fighting each other…

Baku had the bright idea to have the troops circle the two of them while they watched, however that ended up blocking me from entering the scene immediately. That and the fact that the other ordinary troops hadn’t seen me in Wyrm before; the sudden arrival of a gigantic scaly armor looked every bit like another enemy ambush.

But the werewolf was under no such illusion. The moment he laid eyes on me, he knew the plan had failed. Thus in the midst of the chaos, he activated his own dimensional escape tool…

“Lady Mo Na, is that you?” As the bodyguard of the king, Baku had naturally seen Wyrm before. While he might have reacted with wariness when he first spotted me, he quickly understood that I was on his side. “Lady Mo Na, are you all right?”

At three meters tall, I was towering over the nearly two meters tall Baku by a whole meter. Coupled with the fact that I was covered in monstrous red scales, I must have looked like a frightful sight to the soldiers.

“I’m fine, the enemies inside have been taken care of by me, you can send your men in.”

With a click, the back of Wyrm parted, allowing me to easily dismount from the machine. This was the actual manner of entering and leaving Wyrm. The Dragonscale Earring was actually the pilot’s key. A key which Ferti’nier had specifically kept hidden. Even I knew about it recently, let alone those intruders.

In fact, the existence of this armor was known only to a scant few. Yet we encountered an attack on the night it was finished, and by an overlord…

Even if that overlord was now nothing but mincemeat, he wasn’t weak at all. Had it not been for the surprise of losing his Territory, Heavensbreak wouldn’t have been able to mount a surprise attack on him at all.

But more importantly, who was the one who leaked this information to that jester.

Seems like I need to have a talk with Andassis the Seventh.

“Is His Majesty nearby? Bring me to him.”

“Right now?” Baku was surprised but quickly nodded. “Alright, His Majesty has specifically stated that Lady Mo Na can visit him at any time.”

Ten minutes later, I was in my apartment with Andassis the Seventh, Sersan, and Redleaf. The three of them were currently being served tea by Doris…

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The enemies carving an array into the room had me very worried, especially when it was a massive ten meter wide array. Furthermore, the carvings were highly intricate; I couldn’t even begin to fathom what they meant with my limited arcane knowledge.

Not that it mattered. As long as Ferti’nier, our resident Devil King, understood the array, we were fine.

“That’s a teleportation array, they are trying to move the Wyrm away by force. Had they kept this array hidden for longer, we might have been in trouble, but thankfully, we still have five minutes to spare.”

All right, let’s get to it!

With a focus in mind, I ordered my Shadow Guardian to disrupt the unfinished array.

However, those twelve casters had already noticed me the moment I entered, let alone while I was considering my next plan of action. In spite of that, none of them even deigned to look me in the eye. Like an unfeeling robot, they proceeded with their frantic carving without skipping a beat.

It was about then that my Shadow Guardian emerged eerily from the ground, its hand curved into a reaper’s scythe aimed right at one of the black-robed caster’s backs.

But just when I thought that I had them, a shockwave so powerful even the naked eye could see the distortions shook the room, blasting away the shadowy scythe…

What the heck?!

“A Territory -there’s an overlord hiding somewhere.”

What! Why didn’t you say something earlier?

“I thought you had some inkling when you sent your Shadow Guardian ahead. There were two eight-stars acting as door guards after all; isn’t it obvious that the person guarding the core would only be more powerful?

I… was just being cautious there… I did just get blown up…

“Hah. And here I was thinking our little brother got smarter.”

I… sorry, for being dumb…

“Oh?” Just as I was on the verge of being chewed to nothingness by Ferti’nier, a jester-esque person stepped out of the shadows. The man wore a dove-tailed, black suit, matched with an eerie-looking half white on the crying side, half black on the laughing side mask. “To think I had the fortune of meeting the legendary Lady Mo Na. Seems like luck is on my side.”

“More like your luck has finally failed you.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right, bub.”

“Bub?”

The masked man clearly did not understand that “bub” was just informal speech. The fact that he was actually mulling over it right now showed he was quite a stickler for details.

While the masked man was busy, my Shadow Guardian took the opportunity to rebound for a counter-attack. In barely no time at all, its twin blades were swinging towards the man’s back.

“Lady Mo Na’s little toys are always so adorable. Too bad, they won’t work on me.”

An instant before the blades were about to hit, the masked man’s hand shot up, and just like before, my Shadow Guardian was rebuffed by a wall of force… like a ping pong ball against a paddle…

“We’re already in his range of attack, and his abilities do not seem normal either. Little Brother, you’d best be careful, his Territory is undoubtedly strong.”

But, Ferti’nier, even with my lacking strength, I’m sure with your help unlocking my full potential, an overlord should be no problem at all.

“Ah, my dear Little Brother, weren’t you just saying you wanted to test out Wyrm?”

It can theoretically go up against an overlord, but that hasn’t been tested yet. More importantly… it’s over there!

“No worries, your big sis has already been preparing on that front.”

As I was mentally conversing with Ferti’nier, the jester front of me smiled triumphantly, most likely because he mistook my silence for fear. “Lady Mo Na, I suggest you surrender now. I wouldn’t want to have to harm a beautiful lady like you.”

“Hah, you think you’ve won?”

While I might not know what preparations she was talking about, Ferti’nier had always come through for me in a pinch; I trusted her unreservedly. And since the other party was dead set on declaring his victory so prematurely, it’s only right of me to burst his bubble.

“Oh, does Lady Mo Na still have some cards to play?” The jester cocked his head. “The array is almost done, but I wouldn’t mind having some fun before that?”

While the jester continued gloating, a small object quietly appeared in my palms; a gift of sorts from Ferti’nier.

“That’s the Dragonscale Earring, an accessory crafted from the core scale of a red dragon, situated right in the center of its skull. It has already been bound to Wyrm. Little Brother, put it on, and you can use it to reverse summon yourself into the cockpit.”

I just have to put it on? That’s it? That’s quite convenient.

Then without waiting for her to reply, I hurriedly clipped on the earring on my left earlobe. It was carved from a small reddish scale into the shape of a heart -the very girly kind… And even though I had never pierced my ear before, the moment it came into contact with my ear lobe, it automatically pierced into my lobe without resistance.

“You’re finished!” I declared with the utmost of confidence, then… nothing happened…

Five seconds later…

“Lady Mo Na, was that it?” Actually on guard for a moment, the jester sounded visibly amused as he said that -I could tell despite his masked visage that he was on the verge of tears. “If this is your idea of a joke, I must admit, you’ve beaten me.”

Awkward…

Ferti’nier! What the heck was that, didn’t you say I could reverse summon myself into the cockpit? I even threatened him because I believed you. So where’s my summoning?

Now everyone will think I’m socially awkward!

“But, Little Brother, your big sis didn’t even finish speaking before you rushed off in a fit of excitement. Since it’s a reverse summoning, there’s naturally going to be a chant involved, right?”

A chant? What is it? Quick!

“The chant is– Wyrm Transformation: ACTIVATE! With gusto, or it won’t work.”

You’re kidding… and with gusto too…

“Lady Mo Na, why have you gone quiet again? Perhaps… a lesson is in order, I doubt you will listen otherwise.”

Amidst my mental breakdown over having to say that awkward-sounding chant, I suddenly felt a giant, invisible hand grab me, like how a human would grab the nape of a small animal…

Damn it, now I can’t even move… What the heck is this!

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“O Lion’s Majesty… By my command, bless thy emissary with new life… Come forth… burn all that stands before me to nothingness!”

At the end of the day Inferno Lion was just just an elemental creature; its death only meant it had to be resummoned. And with Ferti’nier’s recovery potions, even that wasn’t an issue.

“Be wary, Little Brother, that explosive trap just now was powerful. Anyone able to set up such an array on such short notice wouldn’t be a pushover.”

Speaking of traps, couldn’t you have warned me earlier, Ferti’nier? How about some heads-up next time?

“It’s just a death, take it as a lesson so you don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Ahead of myself? How am I getting ahead of myself?

Actually, let’s not argue about that now, but I want a warning next time there’s a trap.

“If your big sis is in the mood.”

…what good is a cheat if it’s so unreliable.

But since she’s not feeling helpful right now, maybe I should get those three elementals to lead the way instead.

Hopping onto my newly resummoned inferno lion, I quickly followed up by conjuring up my elementals. Weaker as they were, they would be perfect as mine rats to test for dangers ahead.

Under my emotionless command, the three of them proceeded onwards past the rubble of the lab doorway. However, they had barely taken a couple more steps before a flash of silver struck, followed by their instant explosive demise…

“A woman?”

A deep, booming voice preceded the arrival of a three-meter tall, silver-furred werewolf blocking the way ahead. It was he who slew the three elementals I summoned in one swipe. That lightning-fast strike was beyond what any normal human could achieve, bordering on the supernatural.

In other words, this werewolf had the speed of an overlord or a near-equivalent.

But even then, how could he kill off three elemental creatures like that? After all, beings of pure elements weren’t easy to kill- there had to be some trick to his attacks.

However, there was no time for idle chat with my opponent. Not even to bait out information; he was clearly here to stall for time.

In that case, there’s nothing to do but forge on!

“Inferno Lion, charge ahead!”

Back arched for a pounce, its fiery paws burst to life as it took to the air. Unfortunately, even its impressive leap wasn’t enough to shake off the silver-furred werewolf.

Once more, in a flash of silver, the werewolf struck, and an entire leg was severed from the Inferno Lion.

Without its rear right leg, its body began to topple, nearly tossing me off its back in the process.

However, the werewolf’s attack did not end there. Like an unstoppable lightning, it had already circled past the inferno lion and was heading straight for my heart.

All that happened in the blink of an eye, leaving me without a second to react before I was met with impending doom…

Yet when all looked lost, a blade suddenly appeared in my right hand, and as if it had a mind of its hand, the blade swung right in the path of the werewolf’s claws!

Flesh met steel as I was greeted with that grisly but comforting sensation of my sword meeting its mark.

“Be careful there, Little Brother, that strike nearly took your life.”

That was quick thinking there, Ferti’nier… at least you’re finally being useful.

“How rude!”

Naturally, I ignored her griping and focused on providing more mana to my inferno lion, allowing it to rapidly regrow its leg. At that point, I decided to just jump off its back.

“Help me stall him, I’ll make the entry myself.”

“Roar!!”

In a time-sensitive operation like this, only a fool would assume that this werewolf was the only thief trying to steal my Wyrm. Now that he was injured, my inferno lion should be able to buy me a precious few seconds to reach the magitek armor before it was too late.

“Blast! What are you doing with that accursed weapon! Come back here! Damn lioness…”

His pointless howling echoed in the hallway behind me. As I continued dashing ahead, I called forth my Shadow Guardian to scout the road ahead for further ambushes.

Ever since I absorbed Shadowfang, the strength of Shadow Guardian only grew by the day. In some aspects, it was even stronger than me, its owner. Sending it ahead should suffice…

There was only one door separating me and Wyrm. That and a handsome, blonde-haired young man, dressed in the typical garb of a noble, and poised as you would expect of one. “This road is barred, I’m afraid.”

“A vampire?”

The man oozed with the ominous smell of blood. Coupled with his ostentatious dress and ruby-red eyes, I instantly figured out who he was.

His eyes held a crazed spark within them, but only for a brief moment before he calmed his fury down with a false smile. “My fair lady, I believe you’re mistaken there. I’m no vampire. We are all children of the night, the favored of the moon, the noble Bloodkin!”

“When did you vampires get together with the werewolves?”

This wasn’t my first run-in with a vampire, thus I knew nothing would irk them more than calling them vampires, especially twice.

“Oh, my lady…” He started, but never got to finish his words as my Shadow Guardian stretched out into a blade-like form, meeting his turned neck with its razor-sharp edge…

There was no blood spurt as I would expect. The vampire hadn’t been hit by the shadowy blade at all. In fact, he still had on that smile while the rest of his body had already transformed into a blood fog that engulfed the entirety of Shadowfang!

“Even though this is no creature of flesh and blood, my blood fog has the ability to corrode anything in this world…” However, he never got to finish this sentence either before his face suddenly contorted. “How… how is it an epic-grade…”

Wrapped up in blood fog, the Shadow Guardian undid its transformation, revealing a two-meter long, blackish greatsword that promptly swung down on the vampire’s head like it was a cake.

This time, there was no escaping death for the monster. And now that its prey was defeated, the Shadow Guardian returned to the darkness.

“Next time, try actually fighting instead of showing off… if there’s even a next time…” I triumphantly stepped over the corpse of my fresh prey and entered the storage location of Wyrm.

What entered my view were a dozen black-robed figures frantically carving a giant array into the floor. In the center of this array was a dome that kept Wyrm safe.

“A dimensional barrier: once deployed, even an overlord would be hard-pressed to break it. Whad’ya think of your big sis’s anti-theft system?”

What else is there to say but “well done!”

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Why am I doing this? It’s all to boost the fighting capabilities of the Western Human Realms, isn’t it? So that the humans won’t just go extinct during the Apocalypse!

“To protect the world from devastation. To unite the world in… peace and love… Basically that…”

Almost sounded like a certain rocket there…

“In that case, Lady Mo Na’s magitek armor should have a name worthy of her lofty ideals.” Amori paused for a second, then upon noticing my stunned silence, laughed. “How about I have the honor of christening it the Messiah”!

The Messiah? Kind of ostentatious, isn’t it?

“That’s good, that name is not bad at all!”

“It’s a good name… but the Adamantite King wasn’t bad either…”

Redleaf and Meister Belud were in agreement for once; they really did find the name to be both imposing and oozing with justice.

However, I hadn’t voiced my opinion yet, causing some deal of consternation in Meister Amori. “Lady Mo Na, does the name not please you?”

“No… rather, it sounds too pretentious…”

“Definitely, but is saving the world not the point of this project?”

“…”

Just like that, the first magitek armor was christened the “Wyrm” of the Messiah series. Any further magitek armor modelled after the Wyrm would be known as the Messiah-class.

With the advent of the first magitek armor, a slew of further research would only follow. Soon, a host of other variants would come to being as well. Hopefully, this would help stem the tide of the Apocalypse…

Now that the naming was over and done with, everyone returned to their individual rooms to rest, leaving only the guards to watch over the completed armor.

Even though no one had tested the suit out, I could already tell that its systems would allow me to fight toe to toe with an overlord.

Upon returning to my own room, I found that the excitement of the day had gotten the better of me, thus I pulled Doris over for a couple of movies. Finally, at the stroke of midnight, I was able to catch some sleep. Or rather, I had to, unless I wanted a splitting headache tomorrow.

Then it happened…

“Little brother, you need to wake up, quick. There has been an unknown intruder in the lab. Some rat is trying to make off with your magitek armor. You need to hurry.”

???

What the heck? A machine-theft scenario?

That’s right… don’t all Gundamns start like that?

Whenever a new model is developed, the enemy always turns up to try and steal it!

This is fate! Especially since my Wyrm is clearly more powerful than some over-merchandised robot! It would be insulting if no one wanted to steal it!

But why am I even considering that when someone is trying to steal my own suit?

…

Someone is stealing my suit!

That cur. I’m going to turn him into hotdogs once I get my hands on him!

“You understand the situation now? Fortunately, your big sis had the foresight to install an anti-theft system. That was what gave us the warning. Little brother, you had best act quickly. While your big sis doesn’t feel that there’s any human who could break her security arrays in such a short time, you can never know.”

Shet, sorry for being a little addled…

I jumped off the bed, quickly threw on a pair of pants, not even bothering to take off my pajamas, instead putting on a black cape over it. “Doris, there’s been an intrusion in the lab. I’m heading there now to stop the thief, you’d best be careful yourself!”

“Lady Mo Na? Where are you going?” Situated next to my room, Doris barely climbed out of bed in time to watch me race out the door.

Upon exiting the apartment building, my first instinct was to spread open my wings, but I immediately stopped myself.

I can’t reveal myself yet…this is the Western Human Realms, and this is the palace of Andassis, not Gaia.

The purple wings of a fallen angel was the equivalent of royalty, and if someone were to see me… I would be in trouble, to say the least…

Looks like I’m running…

“Inferno Lion!” I summoned forth my inferno lion in its normal size and leapt onto it with ease. “To the lab!”

Naturally, the inferno lion understood where I meant thanks to our shared link. With a kick of its flaming paws, it sped off like a blazing rocket, not at all slower than my wings.

In under a minute, the entrance to the lab came into view.

The doorway was a bloodbath. Each of the dozen or so guards had fallen, their finely-crafted armors no use against the impending death.

The normally sealed shut doors were flung wide open, yet to reach the lab, there was still a hundred meter long tunnel to traverse.

“Inferno Lion, forward!

I commanded without hesitation. Unfortunately, the enemy was already prepared. The moment my summon stepped through that door, an intricate, red array burst to life. Like a waiting mine, it blew apart the ten meter tall, reinforced doors of the lab…

Boom…

A tremor shook the area around us. My inferno lion instantly vaporized from the ensuing blast, while I was flung unceremoniously from its back.

The shockwave threw me against the walls next to the entranceway. My ears rang painfully from the blast and my eyes swirled uncontrollably. The only thing I knew was that I had fallen for a trap…

That red array was clearly powered by fire magicks, but the resulting explosion was purely a physical attack. Thanks to that, the Inferno Lion was blown apart.

In its normal state, it had the power of a seven-star, and for it to just die like that…

This was a difficult opponent we had on our hands…

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In the blink of an eye, three months of research and development were over and done with. The magitek armor was complete, and ready for testing tomorrow.

During these three months, our uninvited researcher, the ever talkative Redleaf, wasn’t entirely a nuisance as she first seemed. While she might have griped about the armor at first, the moment she realized this was to be my personal suit, she promptly changed her tune, even going so far as to improve the suit.

Although, if we were being perfectly honest here, she was more focused on making it beautiful. And thanks to that, our development was lengthened by half a month…

In her own words, a lumbering hunk of metal like that is an affront to our Nana’s beauty. But what would you expect from Stubby? His sense of beauty is even more non-existent than his height. Now, step aside and let a master work!

Just like that, the lab created a three meter tall suit of armor, covered from head to toe in red dragon scales, forged to slender elegance, sporting a resplendent set of 72 red metallic rhombohedrons arranged like wings.

It was a work of art, undoubtedly. Even those red metallic rhombohedrons were covered in red dragon scales, giving the entire armor a draconic warrior-esque look.

The main reactor of this armor was the crystalline core of a red dragon overlord. Thanks to dragons being innately replete with mana, the capacity of this dragon crystal was five to ten times that of an equivalent magical beast crystal. The internal structure itself was forged from the bones of a red dragon, and if one were to count in the red dragon scales painstakingly arranged by Redleaf, this was truly a red dragon in all but name… a moment of silence for our brave comrade’s sacrifice…

No wonder dragons have always hated humans… eating their meat and drinking blood probably didn’t help either…

Aesthetics aside, the main weapon was a pure-red dragonslayer greatsword measuring 350 cm in length, 290 cm for its blade, and 30 cm wide. In exchange for this weapon, and in no small part due to Redleaf nudging the dwarven meister, I was to screen ten movies for the master blacksmith.

Naturally, the weapon was steeped in dragon blood, an epic-grade weapon, through and through.

This massive weapon was actually forged by Meister Belud when he still wasn’t a meister. In order to earn that prestigious title, he wanted to forge a great weapon, thus he came up with this dragonslayer greatsword. Back then, he was hailed as a genius blacksmith amongst the dwarves, and that pushed him to seek to create a great weapon as proof of his worthiness to the title.

Unfortunately, the resulting weapon wasn’t an epic-grade. Even with all the precious materials and effort he poured into the weapon, he failed. The shock struck him like lightning.

But the genius that he was soon thought of a solution for this problem: steeping the weapon in the blood of a powerful magical beast to enhance it.

As ambitious as ever, he wanted only the best for his weapon. Thus did he decide to use a pureblood red dragon’s blood.

However, a pureblooded dragon’s blood was exceedingly rare. Most such dragons live on the Dragon Isles, only a scant few ever roam outside of those islands. Even then, they tended to be discreet. Such dragons weren’t allowed to be hunted, so to speak, lest one incurred the wrath of the Dragon Isles. There was once a kingdom that dared flout this rule, and it was now history.

The only dragons that could be hunted were those that had been exiled to the human realms, perhaps for their evil deeds, or whatnot. These dragons did not enjoy the protection of the Dragon Isles, not unless they somehow managed to prove their worth once more.

A dragon may prove their worth by successfully becoming a Demigod. The elders and Dragon King were all Demigods. An alternative would be to survive 100 years of being hunted in the human realms… an option that was in no way less difficult than becoming a Demigod, but it was an alternative.

However, the fact that dragons had such an alternative would imply they had prior arrangements with the various major races of the world to help them punish said dragons.

Yet such an arrangement was also a testament to how their race did not wish to execute one of their own, not without the most egregious of reasons. The birth rates amongst the dragons had always been chronically low. Thanks to that, their population number was always a precarious balancing game.

Bringing all that back to the present, the whole reason why Meister Belud was serving in the kingdom of Andasssis was all because of our brave comrade, the Red Dragon…

In fact, the dragonslayer greatsword in question was the very weapon used to slay our dear comrade. The boiling fresh blood washed over the massive weapon by a tidal wave, enhancing it to an epic-grade weapon in one fell swoop!

Even so, the Meister had to serve as the kingdom’s head blacksmith for twenty as part of his deal.

The weapon itself was fashioned with brute force in mind. Other than its unparalleled sharpness quality, the blade would be wreathed in flames when swung, causing severe burns on any target struck. Naturally, this greatsword was extra lethal to dragonkind, though it was also effective against other larger magical beasts, albeit at a lower rate. And to top it all off, this greatsword had the ability to summon a dragon soul to its wielder’s aid, though it required an inordinate amount of mana.

Other than the dragonslayer greatsword, the magitek armor came equipped with magical arrays hidden beneath shoulder flaps that functioned as mana cannons.

Essentially, these mana cannons fired off projectiles of pure mana –Arcane Bolts

As an offensive spell, Arcane Bolt wasn’t particularly exceptional. But thanks to Ferti’nier’s adjustments to the arrays, and the fact that the armor’s mana reactor was an overlord dragon’s crystal, the improved mana cannons were able to fire out Arcane Bolts the size of a football -more than enough to kill off a fully armed two-star warrior. More importantly, these projectiles had an additive effect on subsequent hits. As long as the projectiles kept peppering this same target, the projectiles would grow more powerful with each hit. Theoretically, one could fire off these projectiles in a fully-automatic manner and defeat any foe.

Next were the 72 rhombohedrons metallic plates that functioned as wings. Naturally, these were modelled after an angel’s wings, with each rhombohedron being 35 cm long. These were known as the Wings of Heavensbreak, a very imposing name… one that Belud and Redleaf argued over for three whole days. In fact, Meister Belud only won the naming rights after offering up his masterpiece greatsword for what was essentially free. He just felt the name suited the armor better.

That was definitely a scam… it did not matter that Belud was grinning from ear to ear when he heard he was going to watch ten movies…

And honestly, this obsession with heavens was bordering on unhealthy. The market nowadays was either “Blazing Heavens” this or “Defying the Heavens” that…

But back to more important matters, the Heavensbreak system of 72 metallic rhombohedrons were the most unique weapon system equipped on this magitek armor. They could split up into 72 individual blades that could be fired at enemies. They could form up into a floating shield or even to slice. Truly, a perfect marriage of form and function… which was only to be expected, given it was designed by Redleaf. I bet in her elven eyes, the former was the most important factor.

As a whole, my personal magitek armor had other idiosyncrasies, but that was for another day. It was just strong, and that was what mattered. Defensively, it had the scales of an overlord dragon, enhanced by a hardening array Ferti’nier gave to me, which I handed to Redleaf.

Speaking of this array, Redleaf was beside herself when she learnt of it. Not only did she engrave every single scale with that array, she did so happily. Thanks to her hard work, I merely had to expand some mana to resist the Territory of an overlord.

This unique ability was named the pseudo-Territory resistance by Ferti’nier. But despite her assurances, there was no telling how true this ability was to its namesake till we actually tested it. And tomorrow was the date of that test -kind of exciting, actually.

“How about a christening? Even without a test, I’m sure this magitek armor would perform admirably!”

As I gazed at the towering red suit of armor before me, my eyes glistened with excitement. If I could, I would ride it into battle right now!

“How about the Adamantite King?” The dwarven meister immediately perked up when he heard we were naming it. “That’s an impressive-sounding name!”

“As if!” Redleaf objected. “How about the Draconic Hero? It’s an armor made of a red dragon, it only stands to reason that the name fits this!”

“Maybe not… The name just doesn’t sit well with me.”

Hero… aren’t they supposed to kill devils?

“Hah! Lady Mo Na doesn’t like your names either.”

“Shut up, Stubby.”

“Like my short legs ever blocked you from watching a movie!”

“Like I ever cared. I just don’t like Stubbies like you!”

“You looking for a fight?”

“Bring it on!”

“All right, that’s enough! Otherwise no one is watching a movie tonight.”

The two of them immediately fell silent… Geez, why do I always get stuck with people who can’t seem to think of a good name…

It was then that I noticed the smiling elderly man watching us from the sidelines.

That’s right… There’s still one more person here. I can ask him for his opinion. No matter how you cut it, Meister Amori seems like a cultured man.

“Meister Amori, would you happen to have any suggestion for the name?

As if he was waiting for this very moment, Amori broke into a wider grin and nodded. “Since Lady Mo Na has requested of me as such, then may I first start by asking what is the purpose of this armor?”

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The next day after Andassis the Seventh was forcefully dragged over, nothing had really changed. Doris woke me up and helped me with my morning ritual. But when it was time for breakfast, Redleaf happily skipped in and joined me for a meal, after which we left for the underground lab.

From today onwards, Redleaf was a member of our little research group. Her job was to… monitor our work. Simply put, she was the new boss of this lab…

As always, the lab chugged along like a well-oiled machine. Yet the moment she stepped in, she started complaining about how the lab was stuffy. How the forging temperatures were too high. And how the prototypes looked like a pile of scrap metal. Essentially, nothing was right…

Upon learning that I had a room of my own, Redleaf promptly dragged me into it…

“Nana, let’s watch a movie!”

Looking into her golden pupils, I couldn’t help but find myself at a loss for words, though not in the way one would expect.

Lady, aren’t you here to be our supervisor?! Are you sure now’s the time for movies?

“But Redleaf, aren’t you here for work?”

“Work?” Redleaf was surprised for a moment, but she quickly remembered what I was referring to and said, “Oh, that? That brat, Amori, can handle it for me. Enough stalling, let’s watch some movies! A zombie one!”

Brat? He’s at least fifty years old… I get it now, Redleaf is basically the highest authority in this kingdom; even the king has to satisfy her whims. Well, in that case…

I had Lingling pull out a zombie flick that I had stored up for a long time, and one that I hadn’t watched either. Surprisingly, Redleaf wasn’t repulsed by those zombies. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying the movie.

“Humans really are masters at killing themselves.” She commented as she watched the male lead fight for scraps with the survivors, causing some of his own teammates to perish in the process. “But these human alchemists are quite accomplished in their arts. It’s no small feat to turn a few hundred thousand people into zombies in just days. Even a devil invasion might not produce so many casualties.”

There was no disputing that fact.

Actually the elves weren’t a monolithic race either. As far as I knew, Dark Elves were an offshoot of the Nature Elves. Their differing religions led to a schism and worsening relations. But unlike the humans, neither branch engaged in large-scale warfare, though I’m sure it took considerable effort to achieve such a state.

“Knock. Knock. Knock.”

Just as I was pondering over Redleaf’s quips, I heard a set of knocks on the door, followed by the gruff voice of Belud the dwarven blacksmith. “Lady Mo Na, may I come in?”

“Hold on a second.”

I paused the movie and closed the holographic screen. Having done that, I turned to look at Doris, signalling for her to open the door. Redleaf was decidedly unhappy about this disruption, judging by the creases between her brows.

“What are you doing here, Stubby? Can’t you see this is a girls-only party?”

The dwarven meister glared at Redleaf for a second but said nothing more. Instead, he handed over an alloy sample to me and started reporting. “Lady Mo Na, this is the new alloy. Its durability has surpassed magicite, and its conductivity does not lag behind either. As of right now, this is the most perfect sample we’ve produced. I’m sure it can serve as the main material of the shield you requested. Have a look.”

I held the still-warm alloy in my hands and couldn’t discern anything useful, thus I handed it back to him. “I’m afraid I’m not very versed in this field. Meister Belud, if you’re okay with the results, then so am I.”

“All right, we will use this.” Belud handed over the alloy sample to his disciple, and in the most official-sounding tone ever, said, “Take it, I still have some matters to discuss with Lady Mo Na. You’ve already seen the process, so I’ll leave the rest to you. Do a good job, once I’m done here I’ll go check up on you.”

The dwarven meister’s disciple was a stout man in his thirties. Squarish face, with an oily short hairstyle. His body had the distinct odor of sweat, and his arms were thicker than a girl’s thighs.

He was stunned at first by his teacher’s trust, his eyes turning red soon after. “Teacher, you’re really leaving this to me?”

“Yes, yes. And do a good job of it. Amongst my pupils, you’re the most talented, so I’m expecting much from you.”

“Understood! I won’t let you down!”

Oh you sweet, innocent child… For some reason I felt the need to say that to him…

Now that his disciple was gone, Redleaf finally snapped at the dwarven meister. “So why are you still here, Stubby?”

“I have something to discuss with Lady Mo Na, that’s why.”

“Well, then start discussing and scram.”

“Meister Belud, what is it you wish to ask me?”

“Lady Mo Na…. so… what are we watching today?”

“Huh?”

Ten minutes later…

“The head! Hit the head! That’s the weak point!”

“For a mere zombie to have three stages of transformation, are all otherworldly zombies so powerful?”

“Those “guns” seem quite powerful as well, perhaps I can try replicating them…”

Even though this wasn’t his first movie, Meister Belud was still as boisterous as before. To the point where Redleaf’s own enjoyment had reached rock bottom.

“I say, that’s enough out of you. If you’re here to watch the movie, watch it! And stop being such a nuisance! Otherwise, scram!”

“Hah, all I did was talk. Not like a certain someone who wanted to throw a spell at the screen.”

“Huh? Would you care to repeat that, Stubby?”

“Once I invent a gun, you will be the first to taste it!”

“In what? A hundred years? Just go back to your digging, the esoteric arts of alchemy aren’t meant for the likes of you.”

“Just you watch, I will succeed!”

In the end, no one watched the movie…

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Before the dwarf could leave, however, Redleaf calmly hopped off my body, chest upright and eyes scornfully looking at the blacksmith who barely reached up to her chest. “I was wondering who it was that was speaking -so it’s you, shortie.”

Acidic as always, I see…

“Hah, an old hag like you shouldn’t be acting so young either. You’re like what? A few centuries old?”

“Who are you calling a hag, Stubby!”

“And what’s wrong with short legs? Did they cause you to age?”

“There’s nothing wrong with being short, it just hurts my neck to have to look down so much.”

An arrow right to the heart, I could already see the dwarf turning visibly redder as she kept digging at his sore spot.

Maybe I should stop them soon… Yes, I should!

“Meister Belud, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“Oh, Doris came to the lab not too long ago…” Belud started explaining without much thought, but the moment he spoke of the lab, he quickly stopped. He sneaked a glance towards the impatient elf at my side, then continued, “Doris said you won’t be coming in today, so I was a little worried, that’s all…”

“I wasn’t planning to interrupt…”

No, you weren’t! That was just a movie screening, how did this apocalyptic scene even happen?! It’s all Redleaf’s fault! Not the movie!

“I didn’t expect you two to be so passionate…” He paused awkwardly. “Forget I said anything. Since Lady Mo Na is fine, I will take my leave, there is still a mountain of work to be ironed out. And that old hag just rubs my beard the wrong way.”

Having said that, he just left without even looking at Redleaf.

“Stubby, who did you say was old?”

“A good dwarven man doesn’t fight with a woman!”

This time, he left for real.

“Hmph! Damned Stubby! How infuriating!” She griped under her breath. Yet while she might not be in the best of moods, I had to admit she still looked quite adorable while throwing a tantrum.

Finally, after cooling down somewhat, she ran over to give me a hug. “Nana, let’s continue watching that movie.”

“…”

My precious apartment can’t take much more, lady.

Thankfully, someone else came to the rescue -it was Doris and her anxious-looking master, Prince Sersan. Clearly, he was the first choice she had in mind when seeking help, though it was still too late…

Like the police who always arrived after the matter was resolved, Sersan entered to find a mess, but one that was mostly settled. Except for the matter of that movie. Because of that ongoing rivalry with his father, Prince Sersan rarely came to visit me. Thus, he rarely saw a movie as well. Now that he was here, this was as good a reason as any to watch it.

With these two so eagerly awaiting a screening, and after weighing the pros and cons myself, I decided to just screen the movie.

The choice was still the same as before: Seven Winters. But Redleaf had given me assurances that she wouldn’t go on a rampage this time, else I dared not screen this movie again.

As promised, the movie screening proceeded without a hitch. Even as the ending approached, she did not try to rend the holographic screen apart. Though she was noticeably glummer as a result.

With that out of the way, I quickly sent her packing before dinner time, after which I took some time to visit the lab. To my delight, progress was still on track, even without my supervision. Finally, it was back to my apartment for dinner.

By the time I was back, I found the room back to normal, despite Redleaf’s earlier rampage. Doris had taken this opportunity to call a few other maids to tidy up the place in my absence. Thanks to that, I was able to get a restful sleep.

The next morning… I was visited by Redleaf once more…

“Nana~~ I’ve come to watch another movie again…”

“…”

Give me liberty, or give me death… Actually, just give me death…

For three whole days afterwards, Redleaf came over to watch a movie. Each time, she would stay till dinner before leaving. Thanks to that, I could only visit the lab right before dinnertime. After a quick showing of face, I would head back to my apartment to rest.

This isn’t going to work, at all. Watching a movie with Redleaf is fun and all, but I have important work to do as well!

As a side note, during these three days of effective absence, Meister Belud would always pop by to visit me, and quarrel with Redleaf. Naturally, it was impossible for him not to notice the movie screening, so our little party grew larger. But that also meant he wasn’t actually working hard during these few days either.

Thanks to Redleaf’s disruption, my daily routine of visiting the lab for my magitek armor turned into a tiny gathering of quarrelsome movie-goers. Sigh… my apartment really can’t take more of this, and neither can I.

Finally, on the fifth day, ever-talkative Redleaf came to visit me. However, she did not ask to watch a movie. Instead, she posed a rather difficult question.

“Nana, what are you researching with Stubby?”

“…”

“Don’t take me for a fool. Even if I might not know what it is you are developing, I know you two are up to something.”

Still in the middle of munching on a delicious, freshly-baked slice of bread, I had no choice but to put it down. After a moment of silence, I said, “How much do you know?”

“Not much, but I would prefer to hear about this from you, Nana.”

“I’m sorry, but this is the kingdom’s secret.” I flatly refused her. “Unless His Majesty says so, I can’t divulge this information.”

After all, his treasury was sponsoring my little exosuit – I shouldn’t just leak his secret all wily nilly.

“Oh? So I just need to get Lil’ Seven’s approval? All right, I’ll go fetch him right away.” Having said that, she just got up and left.

Lil’ Seven? You mean Andassis the Seventh? I guess she can technically call him thanks to their age difference… she is a few centuries old…

Roughly half an hour later, Andasiss the Seventh came knocking with his bodyguard, Misseger and a smiling Redleaf. He, on the other hand, had a very stiff smile all the way.

Redleaf clearly held a special position in this kingdom, seeing how its king was basically at her beck and call.

Your Majesty, it seems like I brought you trouble anyway… oopsie…

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By now, the movie had progressed significantly. It was at a turning point and Doris had already returned from her mission. Through his devious machinations, Li Aotian managed to force a marriage upon Wushang that the latter could not refuse.

Even though I knew that this turn of events was only temporary, the girl beside me did not, given this was her first movie. But more importantly, she was very, very vocal about her opposition.

“Li Aotian! I’m going to murder that cur!”

Arms bared and nails ready to claw, she leapt at the holographic screen, eyes burning with an unquenchable rage reserved only for a kinslayer.

“Wait! That’s just a movie… and the screen isn’t even a physical object, so you can’t touch it…”

I quickly grabbed her in time, preventing her from any potentially destructive acts.

“Let go of me! I will I rend this cur asunder. How dare he besmirch a person’s romance like that!” Redleaf kept struggling against my hug as she raged on. Realising that this was getting nowhere, she finally began to gather her mana. “Star of destruction…”

As the chanting began, a surge of mana began to coalesce around her. So strong was the shockwave that I was nearly knocked away…

“Stop her, quick! That’s the forbidden spell: Meteor Shower…”

What?! A forbidden spell?!

Ferti’nier’s reminder nearly blew me away as well… Sheesh, girl, do you have to go that far?!

“Doris! Leave this area first… it’s too dangerous…”

“Go–got it…” Realising the danger as well, she immediately rushed out of the room once she got the go ahead, probably to go fetch help.

Now… to placate Redleaf…

Or so I thought…

“Don’t… it’s just a movie…”

Redleaf’s magic had grown so huge that winds were starting to tear into the room, carrying me along with it, legs dangling in the air. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was hanging on for dear life onto Redleaf, I would have most likely flown off.

“I don’t care whether it’s a movie or just moving! That human is too despicable to be left alive! I will exact revenge on behalf of Wushang!” At this point, her mastery of magic was so strong that she could even stop to comment while maintaining the spellcasting.

“O countless stars in the heavens…”

“You can’t kill him… he isn’t even real…”

“What do you mean not real? Wushang is already on the verge of marrying him!”

“Yes, but she hasn’t!”

“I don’t care!”

“The spell is half done, little brother, you need to hurry!”

Geez! I get it! How old is she supposed to be again?

With my feet off the ground and my hands being the only things stopping me from flying away, there were only my words left…

But there’s no tongue glib enough to fix this now! And if I fail, there’s going to be a bunch of meteors raining down on us soon…

Maybe I should just use my mouth? Like literally, shut her up using my mouth… Why does this feel like the beginning of a cheap harem anime?

“Redleaf, look at me for a second!”

“??” As expected, she turned around to face me, at which point I dragged myself forward to her face.

Finally, when our noses could touch each other, she noticed our closeness and began to blush. Fortunately, she stopped her casting as well.

A chance! I gave it one last heave while throwing my head back. “Stop talking for a second and listen to me!”

Following that, I slammed my forehead down…

“Bang!” Our foreheads clashed, but I seemed to have used too much force. Unprepared due to her casting, she fell backwards like a rock, with me along with her.

“Bang!” Our limbs mashed together in an uncomfortable pile up of dust and bruises. However, Redleaf fared a lot worse than me. Her face was completely red and she seemed on the verge of spitting out blood.

“Redleaf! Are you all right?”

“That’s the feedback from her spell. It was lucky you stopped her in time. Give her some potion first, this is one of my creations and should suit her just fine.”

Trusty Ferti’nier, always ready with a solution at the nick of time!

I hurriedly pulled out the potion in question from my inventory and handed it to Redleaf. Yet her eyes were closed and her consciousness seemed impaired.

There’s no helping it, I guess I will have to feed her.

I parted her lips and popped open the potion with my mouth.

“Gulg, gulg, gulg…”

Finally, after some fiddling around, Redleaf was back to her normal self. Though, she was looking significantly more dishevelled, with her alluring scent still in full bloom. If I didn’t know any better, she had just gone through a vigorous battle. Emphasis on vigorous… ahem…

“Nana?” Redleaf shortly came back to her senses, the discomfort plain in her eyes from being squashed by my body. “Nana, why are you on top of me? I thought I was on the bed…”

“Bed?” I paused for a second. “No, no, no… actually, you know what… you should be on the bed getting some rest… are you able to stand?”

Redleaf tried to move her body, then shook her head.

“Fine, I’ll help you.” I picked up her soft, squishy body and gently lowered her onto the bed… which was a complete mess now, thanks to the roaring winds she summoned.

“Seems like my room isn’t livable anymore, let’s head downstairs…”

Yet just when I thought to head to the living room, the sounds of hurried footsteps echoed from down below.

“Lady Mo Na! Lady Mo Na, are you alright? I’m here, Lady Mo Na…”

A gruff voice, a heavy set of footsteps reminiscent of a beast… Meister Belud!

However, the burly dwarf was immediately stunned to silence when he ran up to the doorway, like the heavens themselves had come crashing down onto him.

“You two… how could you… two women… I’m sorry for interrupting…”

Just like that, he turned around left, pale as a sheet.

What the heck was that about?!

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The fusion of two materials was a complicated affair, one that required more than just mixing equal parts of two materials. The right ratio required countless trial and errors, along with a veritable cocktail of other ingredients to act as a flux. Even a meister like Belud needed to try many times before he succeeded. And succeeded he did, with it came a barrel of ale in celebration…

On top of fixing the problem of the armor’s durability, this series of tests was valuable experience for the dwarf as a blacksmith. After all, magicite and mithril were both rare and expensive materials -not something he would have been able to handle in such large quantities had it not been for this unusual set of circumstances.

Meister Amori was the one handling the internal structure of the armor. Akin to the skeleton in our bodies, this was a complex task that brooked not even the slightest miscalculation. In light of that, I had even considered looking for a necromancer to help -they were very good at skeletons, after all… Not that I was somehow connected to one… and Amori soon proved my concern unnecessary.

A few days passed as such in the lab. Day by day, the progress towards completion marched on. And nothing could fill me with greater joy than seeing that. The adoring eyes of those around me weren’t all that bad either…

However, this morning proved different from the last. Having just finished my own breakfast, the ever-talkative elf, Redleaf, actually left her gardens to come find me as I was leaving for the lab.

Just barely a second after Doris led her through the door, she immediately opened up with a melodic greeting in a voice akin to honey, or perhaps someone a century or two younger than she was… not that one could tell with elves -they all looked like they were twenty to humans.

“Nana, I’ve come to play.”

Caught off-guard, I did not know exactly how to respond to the long-eared, golden-haired beauty in a green dress.

“What’s the matter, Nana?” She walked up to me to feel my forehead. “Your temperature seems fine.”

At this distance, I could smell the scent of flowers off her, mixed in with the refreshing smell of the outdoors…

Ahem…

“Why is your face turning red? You don’t have a fever, or anything.”

Ahem!

Honestly, I was planning to head to the lab, but since she was already here, I couldn’t very well just leave.

Pushing aside her hand on me, I did not know whether to cry or laugh as I asked, “I’m fine. By the way, Redleaf, what brought you to me today?”

“Ah, I wanted to check if Nana has read the book I gave her.” She answered in a stern, teacher-like manner. “Don’t tell me you haven’t…”

“…”

I actually hadn’t. In fact, there wasn’t much of a chance, seeing as I was dragged away by a certain maid right after that. Then we had a movie screening, and this whole affair with the researching…

I really did not have time to spare on a novel.

Or rather, I was busy acting as Ferti’nier’s mouthpiece, seeing as whatever questions those two meisters had for me were met with feigned contemplation. At which point I would beg Ferti’nier for the answer. Oh, how those two meisters would go wide at my brilliant answers! Each and every one of them, a genius in their own right. Truly, that lab was great! Never would I have imagined that I was such a workaholic until these past few days. Stunning.

“No?” She pouted. “What has Nana been so busy with recently?”

Can I say that I was busy experimenting? Of course not!

The research on magitek armor was top secret. State secrets, or kingdom secrets, in this case. Such information wasn’t meant for the casual listener. And while I might not be the king himself, I was a beneficiary of his treasury. Keeping my lips tight was the least I could do.

“Oh, nothing in particular. Just movies. That’s right, movies.”

I knew that if I were to let slip anything now, I would never hear the end of it, thus I decided to pull out my trump card.

“Movie? What’s that?”

As expected, the lure of a never-before-heard term was undeniable to her ears.

“Let’s have a seat, or maybe a lie.” Now that I had her, I quietly had Lingling pull up a romantic tragedy movie.

She immediately jumped when the first image appeared. Thankfully, I was there to stop her, else she would have already tossed a spell at the holographic screen.

“Don’t move, I conjured that up, just sit by me and relax.”

“Oh.”

As expected, that sudden and very loud appearance of the movie company’s logo caught her by surprise. But it didn’t take long before her eyes were glued to the screen, enraptured by even the most mundane of scenes, yelping from time to time.

While she was distracted, I took the opportunity to throw a glance at Doris. She had already been by my side for a few days now; she was more than accustomed to movies. Thus, I had her send word to the lab that I was taking a day off.

Being a maid of the palace, she naturally understood my meaning from a simple glance.

“Ohhh. Nana, what’s that… and that…”

Redleaf grabbed my hands, dragging it all over as she started peppering me with questions, completely oblivious to the departure of Doris.

For the time being, my secret was safe. Now… how to get rid of her…

I began to patiently explain the scenes to her. As she listened, she kept her eyes nailed to the screen. Intermittently, she would squeal in delight and surprise. Seeing that, I finally gave up on trying to end this screening early.

I guess it’s okay to take a break once in a while. I’ve really been working too hard recently.

As a side note, the movie was known as “Seven Winters”, a Wuxia romance film.

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“Exactly, a meditation stone’s basic function is to clear the mind of its user, allowing him to enter a meditative state easier. However, some psychic magicks also use this stone as a medium. By using these stones to form an array, the rider inside these armors would be able to achieve a harmonised state within the shortest time possible. At that point, they merely have to be trained as per normal to make an army out of them.”

“By my knowledge, such arrays are highly intricate, and the vast majority of mesmers do not have knowledge of these esoteric arts. Lady Mo Na is a mesmer?”

“No, but I do come across some oddities in my travels.” Counting in Ferti’nier, I technically did know a fair bit.

“Oh? I wonder what other secrets Lady Mo Na are privy to?”

“That would be a secret as well.”

“A lady’s secret, then. Well, this old man won’t get in your way.”

What do you mean “a lady’s secret”… I mean, I am using my daughter’s name but… bah…

“But back to the questions. Other than the meditation stones, I can see that the rest of the ingredients are rather… expensive. Are you sure this design is meant for mass production?”

“That’s because that’s my personal armor -of course, I would use only the finest ingredients. And His Majesty has already approved it, you may question him yourself. As for the later mass production models, lower grade materials will be used, but the end result will still be above a four-star.”

It’s not corruption if you do it openly! And the king already had his chance to look through the list himself. He didn’t object then, and even gave me the keys to the treasury… In other words, he’s telling me to do as I please, he’s not lacking in money anyway… This is why it’s good to have friends! Rich ones!

“A cheaper version?” He nodded his general approval. “Then one last question. What would be the strength of this first prototype once it’s complete? An overlord dragon’s skeleton… scales forged from precious metals… Such an extravagance, should it succeed, would at least be seven-star? Eight-star?”

“Nine.”

“Nine?! Impossible!”

“To be exact, it’s the ability to stand against a nine-star.”

Their astonished silence was deafening. This revelation seemed too fantastical to be real. Lest one forgot, the closest proxy to what we were attempting, arcane constructs, especially necromancy which involved animating dead bodies, resulted in a net loss of power compared to their original state. After all, it was impossible to reanimate an overlord’s corpse and expect it to have the same power level, barring external additions. At the end of the day, an overlord’s strength drew from his or her Territory, something which required a functioning mind to wield. A construct wouldn’t normally have the prerequisite mind to activate a Territory. Thus, when an overlord was reanimated, it would automatically fall down a star level.

Naturally, one could use ingredients of such a high level that even an overlord could be recreated. Case in point, the Devil King Idol. But that was created by a Devil King! A divinity! There was no comparison here!

Besides, who would even use ingredients at the level of a Demigod to craft an overlord golem… there’s no forgiving such a sinful waste of resources.

Thanks to the above reasons, no one here expected my magitek armor to be as powerful as an overlord. Just like how no one here believes I am a man!

“Don’t worry, I did not expect my words to convince you all right away.” I smiled confidently. “I will let the end result speak for itself.”

“Fascinating. So Lady Mo Na still has some tricks up her sleeves which she has yet to divulge?” Meister Amori laughed accommodatingly. “Very well, a mystery that reveals itself too early is no mystery at all. I will eagerly await the day when my eyes are opened. Perhaps history will be written that day.”

“May we have a fruitful cooperation.”

“May we indeed.”

Now that I had convinced Meister Amori, I had essentially convinced everyone else on board. With everyone on the same page, the start of our project proceeded swimmingly. The dwarven craftsman, Meister Belud, proved as skillful as I was led to believe. The Dwarves were a race famous for their blacksmithing, mining, drinking, fighting, boasting, and blacksmithing. Meister Belud were all these, just with a bad attitude…

Meister Amori was an easygoing person. His skills were unquestionable as well, but he was also an amiable senior, one that everyone in this underground lab respected.

With the schematics thoroughly studied, work began on the outer armor of the magitek armor, led by Belud and his human disciples. However, the outer armor was no less intricate than the insides, causing the dwarven meister no small amount of headaches. But that was nothing a barrel or two of ale couldn’t fix.

One of the greatest problems was that they had to ensure the durability of this armor. Belud had the inspiration of using magicite and mithril, both materials worthy of any epic-grade craft, to form an alloy, creating a new material in the process. One with the durability of magicite and the conductivity of mithril. Unfortunately, the execution wasn’t as smooth sailing. After all, one was primarily employed in staffmaking, while the other was employed in weapon making. Separate branches that would require more work to combine.

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With Andassis the Seventh gone, the only other member with royal blood in the room, Meister Amori, naturally assumed the leading role. “Greetings, Lady Mo Na, His Majesty told me the gist of the situation last night, but I still wish to hear from you exactly what your plans are.”

“I understand. But before that, I wish to let everyone see something.” I pulled out the first iteration of the magitek armor which I drew up last night… Technically, Ferti’nier was the one who just gave it to me all drawn up, but still… Moving on. The two meisters were all frontrunners in their respective fields, with the ability and renown to match -else Andassis wouldn’t have sent them to me at all – so now was as good a time as any to clue them in.

“This is?” Amori received the lambskin schematic from me. He swept over its contents, eyes narrowing a mere second later. “A golem?”

He was partially right. After all, why else would there be an expert on alchemical constructs and blacksmithing here?

“Strictly speaking, these aren’t golems. Rather, they are magitek armors.”

“Magitek armor? I’ve never heard of it before.” His brows knitted together. “I see… so this is why His Majesty did not try to explain the subject beforehand…”

“Since it’s armor, then blacksmithing is required.” Belud muttered from down below. Thanks to his prodigious lack of size, he could barely see the scroll, even on the tips of his toes. The two of them clearly weren’t on good terms either, and the halfling was quick to snap at his counterpart. “Bring it down. Do you expect me to fetch a stool just to look at the damn thing?”

“My bad.” Realising his own error, Meister Amori quickly lowered himself to the same level as the halfling -which was honestly quite comical to watch.

“Hmm…” The halfling nodded as he skimmed over the schematics. “Whether we’re talking about its form or armor, the requirements are steep.”

Is he saying he can’t do it?

“Is it not possible with our current techniques?”

“Oh. It’s no problem at all, that’s assuming you’re willing to come along with me for a drink tonight. For inspiration, and all that.” The moment he heard me address him, the halfling’s eyes immediately turned predatory.

“Sure, if you don’t mind me yelling “pervert”, right now.”

“…maybe not…” The halfling reined in his lecherous smile and shook his head. “Anyway, I understand. You can be sure I’ll follow these schematics, dearest Lady Mo Na.”

“Then you have my thanks in advance, Meister Belud.” I smiled superficially at the halfling, who in turn nodded and retreated to the side. However, not before muttering to himself in a voice he thought only he could hear.

“Pity her personality is as abysmal as that chest…”

As whose chest? Is he talking about me?

I turned down to look at my chest… Not like a man needs them, so hell if I care!

Being the magnanimous soul that I was, I decided to let him off the hook. I turned my eyes towards Meister Amori who was still perusing the schematics. “Meister, do you have any questions for me?”

“Just so, in fact.”

“Perfect, I’ll be sure to answer to my best ability.”

“Why not create a golem instead? Why must it be manned, wouldn’t that result in casualties in the event of a failure?”

“A golem’s intelligence would be lacking. And by having a person pilot the armor, both parties’ strengths would be enhanced. I’m sure in time, with mass production, such a design would become mainstream.”

Golem alchemy wasn’t an exclusive discipline in this realm. But even with the knowledge and resources assembled, the true defining feature of a golem was its core – the soul that was trapped within it.

Because the Western Human Realms was a world of magic and fantasy, there was no equivalent to an AI. Or rather, the trapped soul would function as an AI-substitute. Yet the intelligence of such a substitute was directly linked to the type of soul trapped within. After all, one couldn’t very well expect human levels of intelligence by putting in a cat’s soul. In short, a human’s soul was the best choice. Because of that, the Alchemist Guild banned their golem alchemists from attempting such a heinous act. But who could really say how well this ban had been enforced? At the end of the day, an undead was similar to a golem, in some sense. There was only a fine line separating a necromancer and a golem alchemist…

But even if one were to put aside morality, such a substitute had a fatal flaw. Souls transferred into a foreign body often experienced rejection. Almost like planting a sprout into foreign soil, the transferred soul would often suffer severe damage. A powerful and sturdy soul would be required to create a highly intelligent golem core, and these were always highly sought after.

Naturally, I couldn’t just magick a bunch of powerful souls into existence to fit into my mass production, now could I?

And piloting a Gund@m is a man’s romance! I’m sure, even in this world of swords of magic, this sentiment rings true…

“Reasonable.” He nodded in approval, but he soon launched into a barrage of further questions. “How is the armor controlled? Also, based on the schematics, this armor will come out to an average of three meters tall, correct?”

“The control mechanics are actually the most complex part, but there is already a solution.” I directed his gaze towards the schematics once more. “Look down there, amongst the list of ingredients required, do you see that line about meditation stones?”

“Meditation stone…” His eyes went wide. “I see now! So the stone will allow the user to act in synchronicity with the armor?”

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The following morning…

The suspiciously free king, Andassis the Seventh, personally led me to one of the underground laboratories in the castle.

On the king’s orders, the laboratory was cleaned out yesterday, and from the various jars and implements stored around, this used to be a warehouse for alchemical supplies.

But why, oh why, did this laboratory have to be underground? An alchemical warehouse made sense; it would allow me easy access to any potential reagents, but why the cliche, villainesque setting of an underground lab? For secrecy reasons? Maybe the experiments need to be shielded from atmospheric radiation? As if!

On a side note, Sersan had Doris forcefully assigned to me under the guise of, “Lady Mona must have a personal maid of her own.” That was why she was now here with me, in this dusty, moldy, and clearly bad-for-the-skin environment. There was no doubt as to how serious she took this new assignment. Or rather, her usual flippant attitude disappeared when she realised we were going to the lab. Even her eyes grew sharp at the word… for a spy to be that obvious, geez.

Andassis the Seventh did not seem to mind Doris’s presence, though he seemed to have his own thoughts which he kept silent. And while Andassis was the king of the whole kingdom, strictly speaking, Doris was Sersan’s servant.

The king had already taken the lead by forcing an apartment on me, now that his son had forced a maid onto me, regardless of whether she was here to be an incompetent spy or not, this was a good chance for to nurture a relationship with me, all the while annoying his father as payback.

What a father and son pair…

There looked to be about a dozen people awaiting our arrival in the lab, but there were only two who mattered, everyone else was just an apprentice or assistant.

The first of the two was a tall, lanky alchemist who specialised in constructs like golems, Meister Amori. He was a sixty year old man, said to be the distant uncle of Andassis the Seventh.

The last figure of note was barely 150 cm tall, a dwarf that looked like a winter melon. This was the blacksmith meister, Meister Belud Stonehammer. My first impression of him was that he didn’t look like a dwarf. He was taller than I expected, and had muscles that were more stonelike than his name. His rugged face was semi-hidden behind a well-braided beard that his race would probably consider beautiful, and only his race. His eyes twinkled like a lecher, made worse by the pungent stench of alcohol wafting off him visibly… That was just the first impression too. After getting to know him better, I only disliked this so-called genius who managed to forge an epic-grade weapon before forty more…

“Yo~ Your Royalness, you seem chipper today. Hmm? Who is this beauty I see?”

Not long after we entered the underground laboratory, the dwarf meister greeted Andassis with a boisterous call. In fact, his tone seemed almost belittling. Clearly, this dwarf did not think much of the king.

Before coming, the king had taken the liberty to briefly introduce these two to me. He mentioned one was a master of blacksmithing while the other was a master of alchemy. However, he did not mention their races. And in my mind, the image of a dwarf was a more reserved, shorter humanoid. One who probably kept his word and had an adorably apologetic face. Well… that was until I met this old dwarf…

“Meister Stonehammer, this is the research partner I wish to introduce today.” Andassis the Seventh answered respectfully, or at least on the surface he did so.

“Ho~ You never mentioned our associate would be so… stunning!”

This dwarf was only tall enough to reach my chest, but the eyes he gave me were just deplorable. Regardless of whether or not I was actually a girl, I was offended by his inappropriate gaze -anyone would.

“Belud, stow that ugly mug of yours, you’re a disgrace to all dwarf blacksmiths.” Finally, just as I was about to smack that short pervert, Meister Amori stood out. “Please do not mind him, not all dwarves are like… that.”

So some of them are then?

“Hey, how was I being a disgrace to my race? I was just too shocked by the beauty of this lady here.” The dwarf turned to the king. “How about introducing us, Your Royalness, I’m dying to know this lady!”

Ugh… how much of a pervert do you have to be to mention someone’s appearance twice like that…

“Haha, Meister Stonehammer, you’re as vigorous as always, I see. This is Lady Mo Na…” The king started introducing me to those present. However, he did not mention my otherworldly identity.

Thanks to his introduction, I also learnt the rough situation regarding this lab.

In total, there would be 15 people working on this project, including me. Two of them had already been introduced to me. The remaining 12 were all apprentices and assistants, or just laborers…

For craftsmen, titles were shared amongst the different disciplines, whether blacksmithing or alchemy. From low to high, these were Apprentice, Novice, Journeyman, Expert, Meister, Grandmeister.

The two of them were naturally of the second highest ranking. They would be the equivalent of overlords, and only craftsmen who had created an epic-grade implement could lay claim to such a prestigious title. Such was the stringent nature of acquiring this title within the Western Human Realms. Not everyone could call themselves a meister.

“Well then, I hope the two of you will cooperate with Lady Mo Na. I have to take my leave now, there are matters of state awaiting me.” Now that he was done introducing everyone, Andassis the Seventh bade his farewells and left, though not before throwing a glance towards Meister Amori. Following that, he left with his maid and bodyguard.

From his behavior, he was clearly in a rush… but why not just send someone to escort me here…

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“Father!” Before Andassis the Seventh could get a word in, Sersan had already jumped out to make his support known. “Lady Mo Na is right, we need to get to work on those magitek armor, immediately!”

“… My dear son, would you like to share your reasoning first?” Andassis, on the other hand, was a lot more muted in his response.

“Didn’t Lady Mo Na just say that the hells are planning to invade?” Sersan almost stuttered as he opened up in an unsure tone. Then, as if the waves of inspiration were finally hitting him, he grew ever surer. “Since the Devils and Undead have already been preparing to invade the human realms since ages past, they would surely come out in full force–”

“And you are sure of that?”

“Well, Lady Mo Na just said that she was an otherworldly person…” It was at that point that Sersan finally recovered from his bout of stupidity.

That’s right… where would Lady Mo Na have obtained such information, if she was an otherworldly visitor and had been in an unconscious state since coming to the Western Human Realms? There might even be a chance that this person was actually a spy from the hells.

“So you finally understand?” Looking at his son’s moment of revelation, the king breathed a sigh of relief -at least this son of his wasn’t hopelessly dumb. “After watching that “movie”, I’ve come to the conclusion that those brutes in the hells would never have the finesse required to craft such a work of art. And neither do I doubt the veracity of Lady Mo Na’s words. But something as momentous as developing magitek armors surely isn’t as simple as that… Am I right, Lady Mo Na?”

That last bit was directed at me, and it’s underlying meaning couldn’t be clearer: how do we split the profits?

As much as Sersan was a brainless potato, his father, Andassis the Seventh, was every bit the wily fox.

A seasoned ruler like him must have seen from the movie that those military exosuits had exceptional strength. The weakest featured were at least five-star, while those massive mobile armors were at least seven-star. As for that last mobile armor which slayed that Primal beast, it was at least a nine-star.

Naturally, that was just referring to its destructive ability. An overlord’s greatest strength was his Territory. Compared to that, a mobile armor was nothing but a punching bag, barring those overlords who only specialised in support magicks.

Even so, magitek armor, being a crystallisation of the technology of two worlds, would undoubtedly grow to be Andassis’s main strength, perhaps even the entire realm’s strength.

Mass producing such an armor was a must in my plans. The whole reason why I even brought up the idea of researching was because a small quantity of magitek armors would do nothing against the might of overlords and even Demigods. At least, with sufficient armors produced, humans at the lower star levels wouldn’t be massacred so easily. Unlike cultivation which required an inordinate amount of resources to achieve a high star level, producing magitek armors would be able to raise the level of Andassis’s army by at least 70% with only material investments. At that point, their sheer numbers would be more than enough to overwhelm a more powerful foe. Probably.

Still, there was the question of how much materials… After all, the first suit hadn’t even been invented yet…

A purely technological approach to the suits wouldn’t work in a low-tech setting like the Western Human Realms. Besides, Ferti’nier was more versed in magic, which was why she brought up combining alchemy with science.

Yet even if all these armors were made for fending off the Devils, that did not mean that they should be given out for free… I actually didn’t mind all that much, to be honest. Preventing the Apocalypse was my ultimate goal anyway.

The prince clearly did not think too much into profits either, but the king wasn’t like his “foolish son”. Was there anyone who would give away such valuable knowledge for free? None. Clearly.

The king didn’t think so, and neither did I. Just because the Apocalypse was imminent didn’t mean that I should labor on their behalf for free. Absolutely not! Selfless or not, I had my terms for this impending cooperation.

“Once the research is complete, I won’t interfere in Your Majesty’s plans. What Your Majesty wishes to do with said schematics is also none of my concern, but my only condition is that this strength is shared to the greatest extent possible with the other kingdoms, at least till the realm is strong enough to fend off an invasion. In other words, I would hope that the research is ultimately shared, whether by trade or other means…”

After saying all that, I just did not want him to hoard this technology, and as a result, allow the hells to complete their mission.

As a mission given by Lucifer Himself, who could say what such a powerful being had in mind once all was said and done.

“Fine. While I might not know where Lady Mo Na has learned of such privileged information, I am willing to place my faith in Lady Mo Na… May we have a fruitful cooperation.”

“Indeed.”

So it’s done? I guess no one with a brain would say no to such a sweet deal.

“And my dear son, Sersan, you have a lot to learn about ruling a country.”

“Yes, Father.”

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“Lady Mo Na, is that “movie” rewatchable?” Lost in the sensory overload of a full-blown movie, a red-faced Sersan suddenly came back to his senses long enough at the end of the screening to ask of me, nay, plead, “I know this “movie” must be of immeasurable value, but perhaps… forgive my directness…”

From his burning gaze, I could tell that he had truly fallen for this new medium of entertainment. Yet the young prince wasn’t the only one who had been so thoroughly conquered, Andassis the Seventh had an equally fervent gaze as he looked towards me. As for Misseger, she was by the wall, recovering from the sheer excitement, or perhaps horror of the realistic carnage depicted within the movies.

I, however, was more than accustomed to such things. Had it not been for the movie being of such high production quality, I would have honestly written it off as trash.

“The movie can be repeated, and I have other variations of it as well. Before that… Your Majesty, can I take this as confirmation of my otherworldly identity?”

“Otherworldly?” Sersan was stunned for a second, but he quickly reacted to the term. “So Lady Mo Na is from a different world after all, no wonder you seem so different from the rest.”

“Thanks for the compliment, but we should be engaging in more meaningful activities.”

“Such as?”

Because Sersan only joined us midway, he did not know what I was referring to at all.

“Saving the world.” I declared in a steady voice.

“Huh?”

“I know you won’t believe me without proof, so please direct your eyes to this next scene.” I had Lingling play a portion of the video footage recorded within Southern Plains. First, was the transformed cityscape, next were the transformed citizenry. Finally, the exosuit-clad soldiers fighting off hordes of undead.

If the prince was the epitome of excitement before, he was now the very picture of stillness. “Seems like this foreign world isn’t as perfect as I first thought.”

Truly, a case of “the grass seems greener on the other side.”

“Perhaps I should start with a summary of what happened on Gaia. An Undead Demigod by the name of Karlston arrived unto Gaia from this realm. He posed as an ordinary man, using his connections to produce and illegally sell an undead virus en masse, turning the entire city into sacrificial pawns for his sick plot. Because of his actions, the laws of the world around the city have begun to warp. The fortunate few who benefited from this change managed to evolve, though not all count this as a blessing…”

According to Ferti’nier’s script, I took this time to play some of the video footage of the humans who had gained special abilities. These were all survivors of the initial onslaught, not even half of the original population. This group, in particular, were the ones I had sent out of Southern Plains after rescuing them. I should thank my lucky stars that they hadn’t gone rogue from their own found powers.

Their mutations were varied. Some had a body akin to adamantite; some had gained the ability to control fire; and some had gained the ability to summon a variety of monsters to aid them.

Of the last, the most outstanding example was that tri-colored hoodlum who managed to summon a fifty meter tall skeletal giant. The same one which was later abused by Yamabe Takuma and his cheat-like ability of Vocal Psychokinesis.

It was truly a shame that these two had gone down the wrong path, and it was a misfortune on their part to have met me. Else they would have probably grown to greatness,

“These “supernatural abilities” you speak of differ from magic…” Andassis the Seventh remarked after watching the clips. “Some have produced effects similar to an Overlord’s Territory. Others seem to be on the lower end of the strength spectrum… While some have powers bordering on the precipice of altering the fabric of the world…”

“Even if some of these ability users have yet to show promise, the alchemical standards of Gaia have reached an unprecedented level of advancement! If I may so ask, Lady Mo Na, what is the average lifespan of the citizens of Gaia?”

In a lot of ways, the lifespan of the average citizen was a good estimation of a country’s prosperity.

“Hmm… Gaia does have a few cultivators, but the world as a whole is rather special. There is no world-spanning system of cultivation, at least not before this disaster. The level of medical advances in the world is rather high, however. Practitioners of these arts are similar to those who specialise in healing and potions. Thanks to these people, the average person is able to live up to 200 years old.”

“!!!”

A sharp intake of breath could be heard from each of their wide-open mouths.

Compared to the average lifespan of 60 of the Western Human Realms, the lifespan of a Gaian was groundbreaking to the ears of Andassis the Seventh.

The king fell silent for a while. Finally, he spoke with deliberate slowness. “Then why has Lady Mo Na appeared in the Western Human Realms?”

There was no need to question my otherworldly identity at this point – those clips made sure of that. What he was asking was why did I happen to appear in his kingdom, and why did I happen to appear before his son… Such coincidences were… concerning…

“Gaia does not have the technology to cross worlds… the reason why I even came to this realm was… pure coincidence? Would you believe me if I were to say that?”

Well, my conscience is clear, regardless of whether or not you believe me!

Emperors and kings of the past were wont to see events in the light of “some treacherous cretin is plotting to steal my throne”, so I wouldn’t be surprised if my circumstances resembled those of a conspiracy.

“Perhaps… Or perhaps this is all the will of the divinities…” Andassis turned to look at me with a burning fervor. “Then, Lady Mo Na, would you elaborate on what you mean by saving the world? You mentioned prior that the Devils and the Undead were going to invade the Western Human Realms. I believe this news, but does Lady Mo Na have a plan of action?”

“Ahem. Exactly…” I paused for deliberate effect. “I will provide to you the craftsmanship of Gaia. In return, the manpower and resources will be provided by your kingdom, and together, we bring forth the first magitek armor in the Western Human Realms!”

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