Star Forge Titan

But what is being trained here is a new generation of magicians. What is needed is not ordinary armed personnel, but elites who have sufficient knowledge of magic engineering and can combine magic equipment with extraordinary powers to exert 200% or even higher limits.

On the training ground, an engineering bracket specially used to assist in the maintenance and adjustment of power armor was pushed into the crowd. Its appearance looked like two parallel metal frames, smaller on top and larger on the bottom.

There are many hooks on these two metal frames that can be used to fix or temporarily mount power armor components.

At this moment, the set of 'Special 34' power armor that Catherine used as a 'teaching aid' has been dismantled into pieces. The pieces of armor on the surface of the power armor, like a knight taking off his own armor, were removed one by one by the logistics personnel and hung on the engineering support.

In this way, students can more intuitively demonstrate the internal structure of the power armor.

After removing the defensive metal armor, what remains of the power armor is a hollow frame with a power device, transmission belts, and gears on it, like the skeleton and internal organs of a machine.

This made Diana feel familiar. She vaguely remembered that the magic equipment she wore when she was promoted to a first-level extraordinary person was very similar to this.

However, the power armor is much more complicated in terms of frame than that set of equipment, and most of the extra structures are used to mount armor plates and weapons.

While I was thinking, I suddenly heard Catherine ask:

"Anyone want to give it a try?"

The Duchess's eyes swept across the crowd eager to try, but stopped at Ivan, who looked bored and even distracted.

"Mr. Elian, how about you give it a try?" Catherine raised her eyebrows and said loudly:

"Me?" Alvin pointed at himself and his expression became strange.

"Yes." Catherine nodded and then showed a joking expression.

"Don't worry, the internal space of the power armor is adaptable to a certain extent. It won't be stuck just because you are tall."

This caused a good-natured laugh, and even Alvin couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

Without further ado, hiding the nostalgic look on his face, the black-haired boy walked behind the somewhat familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar 'Special 34' type power armor.

"I'll reduce the output power to 60%, so you won't get hurt even if you accidentally fall." Catherine whispered a reminder, then she glanced at Diana who was eager to try in the crowd, and couldn't help but provoke her with a teasing tone.

"Are you not braver than a lady?"

"You think too much." Alvin shrugged, and then with a movement even more skillful than Catherine's, he grabbed a piece of armor at the back of the power armor's neck, pulled up his body like a pull-up, and then used his legs to move his entire body in an extremely smooth manner, quickly entering the interior of the power armor.

Catherine watched this scene in surprise. It was not until the armor plates on the back of the power armor closed and the small steam engine started smoothly that she subconsciously shouted:

"Walk first, don't rush to run..." Before the Duchess finished her words, she saw that the Special 34 Power Armor, which was a little slow at first, was moving faster and faster.

It's like a person who hasn't ridden a bicycle for a long time and starts riding a bicycle again after many years.

After the initial unfamiliarity, memories from the past quickly surfaced, allowing him to quickly become proficient at a speed that a novice could never achieve.

As a result, all the students present watched in astonishment as the bulky power armor flew a long distance on the training ground.

Then, he began to perform a series of gymnastic movements including spins, tumbles and vaults.

At the same time, the two spectators in the stands also looked extremely shocked.

"When did those people researching the control method of power armor make such a big breakthrough?" The tall man in black robes muttered to himself with his eyes wide open.

"No, it has nothing to do with the armor. It's the person controlling it who is abnormal." The purple-robed woman made a firm judgment.

"...That might be the genius beyond genius I'm looking for!"

Chapter 68: The Bystander

Delays, freezes, even though the 'Special 34' power armor will be half a beat slower in responding to the wearer's movements, this set of power armor, which already has a complete structure, still provides an exceptionally strong boost to every movement of the wearer.

Alvin, who had entered the power armor, felt this very clearly at this moment.

The soft cushioning structure inside the power armor offset the external impact, so that he didn't even notice the rumbling sound of the small steam engine in the backpack.

The heavy armor, which is strong enough to withstand the full-strength weapons of low-level transcendents and many low-level offensive magic, does not bring any burden to the wearer. When running, the feeling of the feet touching the ground through the steel boots is light, as if you are not running in heavy armor, but just wearing an ordinary, slightly thick coat.

More and more memories came to his mind. The experience and skills gained from the fully immersive game Palladios, like the vast icebergs floating under the sea, echoed with the real Palladios he felt at this moment. With the combined effect of Ivan's rapidly thinking brain and the sense of touch that perceived various details, he completed the transformation and adaptation from virtual to reality in a very short time, and at the same time, he also completed the re-learning of skills.

The power device used by this early version of power armor is even just a small steam engine driven by magic.

Therefore, even if the wearer does not obtain the ability to "synchronize" with the magic engine, which is unique to the extraordinary job of the Magic Sequence, it will not prevent the wearer from performing various actions. The only limitation is the level of his own technology.

Thus, in just less than thirty seconds, everyone on the training ground saw that the heavy armor that was originally just striding forward gradually began to run at an increasingly faster speed.

The heavy steel boots fell, and the grass and mud splashed backwards in the direction of the legs. The earth seemed to tremble slightly under such heavy footsteps.

After sprinting a hundred meters and performing a full set of gymnastics movements to confirm the effect of this power armor on the body's mobility, Alvin slowed down his pace and turned back to the other students.

Even with the magic ring that changed his body shape, the black-haired boy was still very tall. Coupled with the heavy power armor, he looked like a steel golem over two meters tall walking.

To be honest, because it was only the first batch of power armor that was tried for mass production, the appearance of the Special 34 could not be called good-looking at all. However, even such an ugly and heavy armor gave off a strong sense of oppression and weight when Alvin walked in it.

Therefore, even though they knew that the wearer inside was their classmate, most people still couldn't help swallowing their saliva, and their faces showed a look of nervousness mixed with a little excitement.

Controlling the power armor to return to the engineering support, Alvin put his hands, which were covered in the armor, into the slots on both sides of the support. The locking device automatically closed and fixed. Several bolts rotated and extended under the control of the mechanical device, completely fixing the hand armor on the support.

He deftly used his fingers to lift the safety cover above the unlock button, and then pressed the unlock button near the base of his thumb from the inside of the armor, allowing the mechanical structures throughout the entire suit of armor to interact with each other and release the internal lock.

Then, the armor plates on the back of the power armor separated from each other, and the heavy small steam engine backpack opened in different directions up, down, left and right, revealing a passage large enough for the wearer to leave the inside of the power armor.

Ivan took off his power armor with ease, showing no sign of fatigue. Like everyone else, he was not wearing his usual dark blue uniform, but a compact and capable driving suit specially designed for operating magical vehicles.

The pure black leather coat clung to his body, revealing the golden ratio muscle curves that undulated like the mountains on earth. The red lines distributed along the limbs and spine glowed faintly. It was not a simple decorative pattern, but a conductive circuit made of mixed magical materials. It could effectively assist the extraordinary people of the magic sequence to achieve "synchronization" with the controlled vehicle, or "machine soul resonance".

Looking at the tall man's muscular body revealed by his leather driving suit, Catherine subconsciously took a step back, and then she realized that as the temporary instructor of this class, she should say something.

"Ahem." The Duchess coughed lightly and tried to put on a serious expression.

"For a beginner, you're doing pretty well. Have you ever been exposed to something similar before?"

"Apart from the New Era Research Institute, are there anything similar?" In response to Catherine's question with some doubt, Alvin did not show any nervousness at all.

"Power armor didn't appear out of thin air. Even researchers who are good at inventions got inspiration from traditional magic armor, which eventually led to the current amplified armor made based on magic engineering." While answering the question, Catherine also introduced the reason for the birth of power armor to the other students.

This answer made Alvin nod. He didn't pay much attention to the settings in the game's Palladia before, so this was the first time he heard such a statement.

However, the power armor was actually invented with reference to traditional magic armor. This statement reminded Alvin of a certain hymn angel contracted by Afrediya. The Celestial Clan that guy belonged to was a race that was good at making and using magic armor.

If you think about it carefully, the magic armor made by the heavens also seems to have a style similar to power armor. This is probably because the battlefield environment makes the soldiers have similar requirements for armor, which further leads to the convergent evolution of armor made using different technologies.

"You haven't answered my question yet. Have you ever come into contact with similar equipment before?" Seeing that Ivan was a little distracted, Catherine asked with a little dissatisfaction:

"If you mean before 1886 in the new calendar, then no." Alvin shrugged and added in his mind.

The premise is that this world's new calendar year is before 1886.

Catherine tilted her head and looked at him for a moment, but considering that they were still in class, she didn't continue to dwell on the issue.

After letting Alvin return to the student team, she continued to explain some of the things that needed to be paid attention to when operating the power armor.

Afterwards, the training ground's logistics staff continued to deliver more Special 34 power armor. The trainees also divided into groups of three and began to try to operate this equipment.

Perhaps because Ivan had acted so effortlessly earlier, many people thought the equipment was easier to use than they had imagined. Then, the cold reality dealt them a free and powerful slap in the face.

The sudden increase in power after the power armor is activated can make even a simple action like taking a small step forward suddenly become a big step forward.

If the user doesn't have time to react, they will either do a split on the spot or kick toward the sky, then flip backward like a Southeast Asian diving team, completing a 'difficult' move of hitting the ground with their back.

Considering the limited internal space and heavy mass of the power armor, even with a buffer device, falling will still make the wearer feel a strong impact. It is just like someone hitting the wearer with a hammer through the armor. Even if there is no obvious pain, the impact is real.

For a while, shouts of "ouch" and "ah" were heard one after another on the training ground.

Most people were not spared, and a necromancer even pulled his hips because of the too-fast splits he did in place.

After just one try, he lay down in the rest area next to the venue with his legs clamped together and sweat all over his head to play the role of a corpse.

As for Diana, although her movements were slow, she was able to walk slowly in just a few minutes. Such a learning speed made Ivan and Catherine, who were watching from the side, nod in unison.

The former was in the same group with Diana, so she was watching from the side to prevent any accidents. As for the latter, Catherine was originally teaching other students, but while teaching, she seemed to move over as if her legs were out of control.

Just as many students in the training ground were trying hard to control their power armor, or performing fancy splits, Alvin suddenly looked up at the tall stands around him, because he suddenly sensed a burning gaze without any warning.

Then, the black-haired boy discovered that there were actually two spectators in the stands in the distance. The figure in the purple robe saw him looking over and waved to him in a very familiar manner.

"A stranger is actually sitting in on this class?" Ivan said in surprise.

"Ah?" Catherine was stunned at first, then followed his gaze and looked towards the stands.

Then, the Duchess's body tensed up, and she became so nervous that even the diamond-shaped twin ponytails hanging behind her head seemed to stand up straight up.

what's the situation?

Her performance made Alvin stunned for a moment, and then he realized that the girl next to him looked surprisingly nervous, just like Limore when he saw her.

Could it be that the people who came to watch were Catherine's elders? Previous generations of the Carolingian royal family?

Considering that this is the underground headquarters of the New Era Research Institute, a name quickly emerged in Alvin's mind.

Christina Condolia Victor Caroline, current director of the New Age Institute.

The ageless witch who always looks twelve years old...

Chapter 69: Unexpected Visitor

"Little Catherine, I'm here to listen to your class."

The short bystander in a purple robe, with his hands behind his back, came forward in two steps.

She had long golden hair, a peculiar quality of the Carolingian family, and looked no taller than 1.4 meters. The purple robe she wore was similar in style to a wizard's robe, but the gorgeous lace adorning the edges made it more like a formal dress.

This outfit made the already petite visitor look like a big doll, exuding extreme cuteness.

Standing behind her was a burly man in a black robe who was almost two meters tall. He looked like a walking mountain of flesh. When he first saw him, Alvin even suspected that he was wearing power armor under his robe.

"Aunt Christina? Why are you here?" Catherine was a little at a loss, but still tried to stay calm.

"Of course I came to see how the lovely little Catherine is doing at work~" Christina, who looked only about twelve years old but was called aunt by Catherine, said with a smile.

Catherine's expression froze, and her whole body became stiffer.

"Ah, time flies! In the blink of an eye, the little golden retriever who wanted to grow her hair long and braid it has now become an elegant lady." Christina said with some emotion, tapping her chin with her index finger.

"Come to think of it, I think I was the one who braided your hair for the first time."

"..." Alvin subconsciously glanced at Catherine's strange diamond-shaped twin tails.

"Yes, it was you who later found it troublesome and used magic to permanently fix your shape, Aunt C. R. Stina." Catherine gritted her teeth and spoke word by word.

It turns out that you are the culprit who caused this golden retriever to have a weird hairstyle!

Hearing this, Alvin couldn't help but look at the person who came with surprise.

"Don't worry about the details. Besides, it will look pretty good once you get used to it." Christina covered her mouth with her little hands and giggled as she spoke.

Then, her eyes suddenly turned and looked at Ivan who was standing next to Catherine.

"By the way, why don't you introduce this handsome young stranger next to you?"

After hearing Christina's words, Catherine took a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking:

"This is Mr. Ivan Elian, a key member of the winning team of the first Youth Magic Car Competition. He's also my classmate and a candidate for the first phase of the Magician Program."

Then, the Duchess with blonde hair raised her hand reluctantly and introduced the identity of the purple-robed girl to Alvin in a very formal manner.

"Your Excellency Elian, this is Ms. Christina Kondolia Victor Caroline, a respected fourth-rank crown mage. She is my elder by blood. Although she looks like a twelve-year-old child, that was due to an accident during a magical experiment. In fact, this lady is already..."

"Little Catherine, it is very rude to casually reveal a lady's age." Christina suddenly interrupted Catherine's introduction with a smile.

"Okay, aunt..." Catherine twitched her lips.

Just as she said just now, the other party was indeed her elder by blood, but the title of "Aunt" was actually requested by the other party and did not represent a true kinship relationship between the two parties.

Even so, considering the blood relationship between the two parties, he should at least have the minimum respect. In addition, the other party's identity as the Crown Mage is particularly convincing at this time.

Although the veins on her forehead were throbbing, Catherine managed to complete the introduction as calmly as possible.

"Anyway, this young-looking Ms. Christina in front of you is also the highest administrator of this new-age research institute and currently serves as the director."

"This is really surprising." Alvin raised his eyebrows but his expression was not too surprised.

"Really? But I don't seem to hear much surprise in your words." Christina walked around Ivan with her hands behind her back, with a smile on her face all the time.

"Oh, that's because ever since I met Archmage Ian in the Royal Library, the image of archmages in my mind has become a little... not so easily surprising." Alvin answered with a smile.

Christina, he had dealt with this character many times in the game before.

Because the project the other party is in charge of is closely related to the strongest power he once possessed, and it is also the most important research project of the entire New Era Institute.

Yes, this woman who looks like a twelve-year-old child is actually responsible for the entire planning of the Giant God Soldier project.

After hearing what Ivan said before, Christina was stunned.