Star Forge Titan

"Mr. Armstrong, how long will it take for your injuries to heal?" While asking this question, Alvin was also prepared to do his best to make amends.

Although he is ruthless to his enemies, he will maintain a minimum of mutual respect towards people he knows and even strangers, and taking responsibility is one of the manifestations of this.

"Healed? Young man, thank you for your concern. Although my injuries look terrible, the overall erosion rate is not high, so it is not an irreversible disability." Hearing Ivan's words, the burly man with reddish-brown hair couldn't help but smile, revealing his steamy white teeth.

"As long as I keep the magic power flowing, I can slowly neutralize the traces left by this level of assimilation. However, for quite a while, I probably won't be able to 'dance' with those revered mechanical idols." Armstrong sighed.

It seemed that in his opinion, a serious head injury was far less depressing than being unable to pilot the Colossus.

The students seemed relieved by this answer. Although they had the drive typical of young people, they really didn't want to have a few indelible crystals growing on their heads.

Even if that thing is worth some money, no one wants to see themselves wearing a free crystal crown on their head.

When that time comes, what they might need is not a crystal crown but a crystal coffin...

On the other side, seeing Armstrong sighing, Ivan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

As a former giant spirit driver, he certainly understood what the "assimilation reaction" that needed to be paid close attention to was when he became a giant god soldier.

Initially, it was a horrific side effect of becoming lost in the Colossus's ancient memories, often occurring as battles exceeded a certain limit.

The driver in that state will gradually lose himself in dream-like memories. Although he can't actually see anything clearly and can't remember anything, he finds it difficult to get rid of its influence.

As the degree of erosion increases further, the "assimilation reaction" will have an impact on the material world. At first, it can be controlled by the restraint device inside the cockpit of the body, but later it will become more and more exaggerated.

Unless the pilot could suppress it again with superhuman willpower, each Giant God Soldier would have the terrifying nature of self-destructing on the spot and transforming into a weapon of mass destruction. It was not until the New Era Research Institute invented new technology that the incidence of assimilation reactions was reduced, which improved the stability of the Giant God Soldier as a regular army weapon.

As for why Alvin asked the other party how long it would take to recover, he was actually indirectly trying to figure out the other party's erosion rate.

Perhaps because there were only a few students standing in front of him, Armstrong did not notice the deeper meaning of his words. His casual words allowed Ivan to quickly figure out the other person's general physical condition.

Fortunately, the resulting value didn't exceed the threshold of 'irreversibility,' so this wasn't too bad. I figured if I'd just left behind the method used by the future giant pilots to improve the synchronization and coordination between the pilot and the machine before I fled, there wouldn't be any hidden dangers.

That is much more effective than a simple neutralization and assimilation reaction.

But then again, isn't the current method of piloting the Colossus a bit immature? How could such a level of error occur during the initial startup test? Even if the system was partially to blame, didn't he actually connect at that time?

Recalling the miserable state of the Titan Soldier Unit 03, Bekas, Alvin couldn't help but twitch his lips and decided to be more serious in the next training.

That way, if you encounter any unexpected problems during the actual operation, you can at least be more prepared. Of course, he was referring to the preparation for "jumping out of the car" on the spot.

This was the truth. Although Ivan was quite confident in the accumulation and foundation he had laid after traveling through time, the astonishing amount of battle memories he had in his previous life made him also...very confident in the power of the Colossus!!!

You know, the giant pilot was forced into a corner on the battlefield, but he had an overloaded engine core, which activated the "divine blood" to the extreme, and finally allowed the machine to perform a large-scale assimilation and self-destruction on the spot.

It can be called a fantastic glorious bullet, and its power is comparable to that of a first-level absolutely forbidden magic.

The more intense assimilation reaction that would occur at that time would not be as simple as converting the substance just touched into crystal...

and many more!

Ivan's thoughts suddenly stopped and he thought of a possibility.

Since the assimilation reaction derived from the uncontrolled power of [Reshaping the World] and the characteristics of the Giant God Soldier can achieve that, can I also do something similar?

Considering that the Titan descendants have the real power to "reshape the world" compared to the Giant God Soldier, does that mean that he can do something even more exaggerated than the former?

Thinking further, if I used this move while in giant god form...

Going a step further, if I were to use this move while in Titan form and controlling the extremely overloaded Titan Soldier...

My mind inexplicably flashed back to a past life, a World War III documentary called the 'Seven Days' War. It contained only a few frames of footage captured in low-Earth orbit of a radiation-free, 'clean' super-heavy intercontinental ballistic missile exploding...

Alvin shuddered for no reason, as if he thought of some very terrifying possibility.

Then, the black-haired boy shook his head vigorously, as if to get rid of the dangerous idea from his mind.

However, although he had deliberately avoided recalling his memories, his exaggeratedly excellent thinking ability after the mystical transformation and the bonus of Titan's blood had stored the thought that flashed through his mind firmly in his memory as neatly organized as a digital library.

What Ivan, who was thinking, didn't notice was that behind him, a magician student he was familiar with had a strange look in his eyes.

But that fleeting emotion soon disappeared deep into this person's memory, and then these memories that did not belong to him quickly sank. What emerged in Rimore's mind was a scene of himself as a student in the first phase of the magician training program, trying hard to receive education and training from the New Era Institute.

Shaking his head, letting the thought that had been completely forgotten disappear from his mind, Rimor de Maupassant straightened his back and continued to walk forward along the passage.

However, his slightly shaky body still exposed the fact that he had not completely escaped the influence of the 'Death Yo-Yo' training machine.

But aside from Ivan and Diana, the other students wouldn't laugh at him. After all, judging by the team's level, even just one routine training session had already revealed a significant gap in strength. A man should be ashamed of himself. The mockery of someone who has taken fifty steps while taking a hundred is truly ridiculous. But the one who's ridiculous isn't the one who's taking a hundred steps; it's the two of them who are both ridiculous.

Next, the Giant God Soldier driver training program carefully designed by the New Era Research Institute gradually unfolded.

What awaited the seven trainees was an extremely fulfilling, almost nauseating, all-day training with no blind spots.

Fortunately, each of them completed all the training with excellent results.

Until this day, the repair of the Titan Soldier Unit 03, Bekas, was completed.

The trainees finally arrived at the day of practical training.

They will truly ride on the Giant God Trooper! Experience a feeling they have never had before (probably)!

Chapter 107 Coming from Ancient Times

Thump thump thump.

Footsteps echoed on the metal-paved trestle.

The surrounding magic lights will automatically turn on when they sense sounds and moving objects.

Suddenly, light poured down like a waterfall, instantly illuminating a group of people walking side by side on the metal trestle.

Seven students of the first phase of the Magician Program, seven candidates for Giant God Soldier pilots, and seven knights who control giant humanoid weapons!

This is the top-secret test site where the Giant God Soldier activation test is being conducted. At this moment, three weeks have passed since the students arrived at the Whale Fall Ruins.

Twenty-one days is not a long time, but the students who can join the Giant God Soldier Program are not ordinary people.

Over the past few days, they have basically mastered the corresponding skills required to drive the Giant God Soldier, and at the same time, they have become increasingly aware of the huge difference between those tall giants and ordinary magic mechas.

Even Alvin gained something from this process. Although he took great pains to conceal the fact that he had already mastered the operating methods, the difference between the real Paladin and the game in his previous life also made him consciously concentrate and listen to every instruction from Coach Armstrong.

Now, the day has finally come when I can actually ride on the Giant God Soldier.

The test is still being started, and it is still the Titan Soldier Unit 03, the White Iron Soldier - Bekas.

"Young cadets, after three weeks, I believe you have become qualified 'knights' under Armstrong's guidance."

Christina, the director of the New Era Institute, who had not been seen for several days, was floating in the air as usual, greeting everyone.

And behind her is the white giant soldier illuminated by the magic lamp - Unit 03, Bekas!

At this moment, Unit 03, Bekas, has been replaced with a newly repaired external armor.

As a result, this Giant God Soldier no longer looked as ferocious and terrifying as when it was first seen, but instead exuded an extremely majestic aura like a knight in full armor.

The huge shoulder armor tilted up diagonally like a bird spreading its wide wings, coupled with the layers of waist skirt armor hanging down and the leg armor as tall as towers, making this ultimate war weapon called the Colossus appear to have an exaggerated and magnificent posture similar to an hourglass.

The White Iron Soldier, while its name might not sound exaggerated, is actually a humanoid weapon that exudes a strange beauty. Rather than a weapon of war, its appearance alone is more like a work of art, a man-made work of art forged from crystal and steel.

However, after studying for this period of time, no one would think that this huge humanoid weapon, which could be described as "beautiful", would be a beautiful work of art as harmless as a crystal vase.

Even though they have not actually boarded the machine yet, the students already know how terrifying the so-called Giant God is and what a terrifying ultimate weapon of war it is.

This is even when the research institute has kept it under wraps. After all, even if a confidentiality agreement is signed, some things cannot be known to too many people.

"Today's experiment is very simple. It's just a simple startup test and shield activation experiment, so not all of you are required to be present. Only two volunteers who are brave enough are needed." Christina rolled her eyes and looked at everyone back and forth.

Afterwards, she was very satisfied that she did not see any fear or retreat, but only excitement and pride on those young faces.

Well, there's also a guy who's so calm he doesn't look like a teenager.

He glanced at Ivan, who was concentrating on gazing at the Titan Soldier Unit 03, but there was an inexplicable nostalgia in his eyes.

Christina couldn't help but complain silently in her heart: Why does it feel like this young man's mentality is a bit like that of an old man like me?

But she immediately put the matter behind her. It was normal for her not to understand the young people's thoughts. After all, there was often a generation gap between people of different ages, just like she could not quite understand the musical tastes of young people today.

As for the candidates for this experiment, if we only look at their grades, it is naturally Ivan and Diana, followed closely by Catherine and Limore.

However, Christina still hopes that the people who participate in driving will be willing to join this experiment themselves.

After all, if the Colossus undergoes a spiritual assimilation reaction, the first thing to face the challenge is the will of the driver, and human will is often affected by subjective factors.

So when the time comes, the two completely different selection methods of drivers who voluntarily join and those who are selected to join may bring completely different impetus to the experimental results.

After hearing Christina's words, Alvin frowned slightly.

Two people? Why would it take two people to pilot the Colossus? This seemed inconsistent with their training.

But he didn't say much. Instead, he took a decisive step forward.

"I count as one. I think you all have no objection to that?" The black-haired boy's words were smooth and without any fluctuations, and it seemed like he was stating a fact.

Everyone shook their heads, although their inner pride as the best of the younger generation did not allow them to offer flattery like sycophants.

However, the training during this period also made the other students deeply understand the true meaning of the old proverb "Genius is not a human being". It is indeed just as the literal meaning, genius is not a human being.

Just like the first training session that everyone experienced together, Alvin achieved the best results in all subsequent events. The gap between him and the second place was not too big a gap, but the gap between him and the third place was basically equal to the sum of the differences in the scores of the next few people.

As for the second candidate, when the silver-haired, red-eyed girl silently walked behind Ivan, the others consciously chose to keep their mouths shut and not comment on the matter. Only Catherine pouted with a slight dissatisfaction.

But she didn't raise any objections in the end. The difference in grades was one reason, and the other was that the Duchess had realized that her 'Aunt' Christina didn't want her to get too deeply involved in the Giant God Soldier Project for safety reasons.

Knowing that she would never be able to ride the Giant God Soldier before changing her aunt's opinion, she simply gave up this futile act for the time being.

"The candidate was decided very quickly. In that case, please follow me." Christina raised her eyebrows and said nothing more.

After allowing other trainees to go to the command center to observe the experiment, she took Ivan and Diana directly to the preparation room adjacent to the secret testing site.

"I won't repeat the important details about piloting the Colossus. I'm sure you've already heard enough from Armstrong. He may look rough, but he's actually more talkative than an old woman, annoying as hell. He often repeats important things at least twenty times."

Then she pointed to the cabinet next to her.

"The special driving suits for the Colossus are inside. After you put them on, you can wait here or at the pier entrance. In any case, there will be a large-scale announcement when the time comes."

Although she had been complaining about Armstrong being too talkative, Christina couldn't help but give him some more advice before floating out of the preparation room.

So, only Alvin and Diana were left in the room.

After looking at each other, they each opened a rectangular metal wardrobe that contained their driving suits.

Compared to the super thick one that Armstrong wore before, the driving suit hanging in the closet now is much lighter.

The style of the special driving suit is very different from the daily clothing in the world of Palladia, and it is also different from the driving suit that is similar to a tight leather jacket when driving a magic mecha.

Functionally, it emphasized enhanced cushioning and protection, while its form resembled a combination of tights and armor. Pieces of tough, yet not soft, material adhered to the garment's surface, while a distinct metal spine protected the back, channeling magic power while also protecting the vital spine.

There are circular connecting devices similar to pipeline interfaces on the shoulders and armpits of the special driving suit. Although it is not clear what they are used for, it is believed that they should be related to driving.

Because it hasn't completely left the experimental stage, this special driving suit is pure white throughout, with only silver magic conduction circuits woven with magic-friendly metal wires, distributed on the limbs and back like embroidery on the surface of the suit.

The overly tight design made Diana stunned for a moment. She quickly glanced at Ivan, and seeing that he didn't notice her, she silently picked up the clothes and walked behind the partition next to her.

However, the girl didn't realize that because of the artificial light from the magic lamp, although the thin partition could hide her figure, the light allowed her shadow to be seen through the partition.

Alvin subconsciously glanced at him and immediately looked away. It was not that he was pretending to be polite, but he just respected his companions.

But seriously speaking, although Diana's figure is not as plump as that of the "slightly fat" devil in her family who claims to have a little extra fat, her legs are slender and graceful, just like a graceful white crabapple with lush flowers.

After changing into special driving suits and being separated by a partition, Alvin and Diana came to the entrance of the pier holding their helmets.

They all wanted to take a closer look at the Colossus, a special weapon that combined both power and beauty.

"Driving weapons..." Diana suddenly spoke, but did not continue.

"What's wrong?" Ivan tilted his head and looked at her.

"I just feel a little...uncomfortable." Diana's face showed some hesitation.

For her, the feeling of driving a magic mecha was actually not much different from driving a magic car. Even if she needed to fight with others, it was more like a competition than a real fight.

But the Giant God Soldier in front of her made the silver-haired girl feel an indescribable heaviness. She knew very well that the gap between the Giant God Soldier and the Magic Mecha Soldier was many times greater than the gap between military chariots and civilian carriages.

After hearing Diana's words, Ivan was silent for a moment, and then he said:

"Although Coach Armstrong described the Titans as living weapons, they are actually very simple, even simpler than animals and newborn babies. They are almost like quiet potted plants."

“…” Diana looked at the black-haired boy beside her in surprise.

She didn't understand why the other party spoke like he was very familiar with the Colossus, even though today was the first time they had the chance to get close to the real thing.

Alvin didn't care about the surprise in the girl's eyes, but continued talking.

"So, it is we, the knights, who truly drive these massive weapons to perform their various actions."

Recalling the name Armstrong always insisted on calling him, the black-haired boy couldn't help but smile slightly.