I Became the Genius of the Gigant Academy - Chapter 27:

A private training ground to operate Gigants is genuinely an incredible privilege. There are many training grounds for human use throughout the vast academy grounds, but Gigant training grounds were few.

‘There’s a reason there are so few cadets.’ 

The total number of cadets in the first year is 40. That seems like a lot, but the number of cadets who make it to the second year from here is usually less than thirty. And as they get into higher levels, they keep decreasing……

In the end, at most ten Cadets will receive a diploma. It’s a minimal number despite Del Mordor Academy attracting the best and brightest from the Empire and the neighboring nations. However, even with such few Cadets, they still needed access to the private gigant training grounds.

If they had tried to build more private gigant training grounds, the grounds wouldn’t have been twice as large as they are now.

“That’s a lot of space.”

Abel muttered to himself as he stood at the entrance to the training grounds. In such admiration, Abel walked forward again. He didn’t have to worry about how he would get in.

As he approached the doorway, he could see a security device. Abel deftly took the pass from his pocket and swiped it through the security device.

Woooong-

As if by magic, the door opened by itself. Abel cautiously walked through the open door. The inside of the training center was just as spacious as the outside.

It wasn’t where you could run to your heart’s content, but it was enough for simple training. As he looked around, his gaze settled on a single spot where a giant gigant lay.

‘There it is.’

The Gigant hangar was directly attached to the training ground, so it could be used immediately if you told them in advance. Abel moved closer to his Gigant. Unlike the last time he was in class, now he was alone, so he could walk around comfortably and check out his Gigant.

“It’s perfect…….”

Abel muttered, staring at his Gigant as if possessed. He couldn’t find any flaws, in his eyes, it was a work of art.

He couldn’t believe that it had been so many years since he’d woken up in this place, yet such a gigant stood on its own two feet and roamed freely.

It was a clear violation of Earthly common sense, but all the more so, it made his heart flutter. It wasn’t something he would tell anyone, but these metal gigants sustained him in a world where he had no place to call home.

“Huh,”

Abel smirked and shook his head. It would have been perfectly acceptable to return to his childhood and gawk, but time was passing. He couldn’t keep wasting time like this. After calming his excitement, Abel walked straight to the cockpit. There were ladders prepared in advance for easy climbing. Abel climbed the ladder and placed his hand on the cockpit glove.

Wo~wo-!

A small amount of mana was sucked into it, and with a resonating sound, the glove that enclosed the cockpit opened on both sides. Abel carefully slid himself inside.

Typically, he would have just touched and activated the core, but he didn’t bother. He had something else in mind. Abel closed the cockpit’s gloves first. It was not long before darkness came.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”

He took a long breath and pulled a small box from his bosom. In his mind, he had already opened the box and pulled out its contents, but he stopped himself.

‘I need to remain calm. Calm…….’ 

What was currently in Abel’s hands was an object that could be a treasure or a disaster, depending on how it was used. Taking several deep breaths, Abel opened the box very slowly.

[Ummm.]

As he opened the box, a low, heavy voice echoed in his head. Abel slowly spoke up at the sound of the groaning.

“Are you awake?”

[Yes, Master.]

This time, unlike last time, the answer came straight back. And somehow, his voice sounded stronger. As if his consciousness had become clearer. Abel didn’t give him long to think before he spoke again.

“I have a gift for you.

[A gift?]

“Yes.”

Taking the Gigant’s heart out of the box completely, Abel placed one hand on Gigant’s core.

“You’ll need a body because you won’t be able to do much in your current state.”

[Hmm. I can’t be sure, but… I’m already overwhelmed by this short conversation.]

“That’s right. Here’s a body just right for you.”

Abel’s words confused his opponent.

[This is a body?]

“Yes.”

[Something’s strange.]

“You don’t have to take it if you don’t want it. I don’t really care.”

There was silence for a while. Abel waited a moment, then gestured to place the Gigant’s heart back into the box. That’s when an answer came.

[Alright.]

“Hmm?”

[I accept the body.]

“You will take the body?”

Abel repeated the other’s words, and after a brief pause, the answer came back.

[……I will accept your gift with thanks.]

Infamous Scans

“Alright.”

The tone wasn’t very polite, but Abel didn’t want to risk it further and lifted the Gigant’s heart again.

“But there is a condition.”

[Conditions?]

“Yes. Obey my commands and do nothing to harm me. Just do those two things.”

[That…]

“You’re not going to reject it, right? I don’t want to risk my life to give you a gift.”

Despite Abel’s gentle urging, he didn’t answer right away. In human terms, he must have been in a coma for decades and just woke up, but his judgment wasn’t wholly impaired.

‘No, this is probably how far I fell.’  

Abel thought so and spoke up again.

“In return, I will make sure not to give you unreasonable orders, let alone inflict fatal harm on you for no reason.”

[Really?]

“Yes. This is a promise.”

[A promise…?]

Another short silence came.  However, it was Lupus who broke the silence this time around.

[Alright. I’ll accept it.]

The moment he heard the answer, Abel breathed a sigh of relief. Despite his outwardly carefree demeanor, he was nervous to the point where his palms were sweaty. Fortunately, his opponent did not seem to have grasped the loophole. Of course, it didn’t matter if he found out later.

Woog-. 

A symbol had already appeared on the smooth surface of the Gigant”s heart—the mark of a pact. Abel and Lupus could never return to their word, meaning their primary safety had been secured. Abel organized his thoughts before speaking again.

“Very well, then, I will give you a body. They may be a bit of a shock, so be prepared.”

[Shock? What’s that…]

Thud-. 

Before Lupus could finish speaking, Abel pushed the Gigant’s heart into his core.

Woo-woo-! 

A blue color rippled over the surface of the core, and at the same time, a pained groan sounded in Abel’s head but Abel didn’t stop, instead he applied more force to his arm. There was quite a bit of resistance, but with a firm push, the heart slowly began to be sucked into the core.

[Aaah!]

Abel didn’t stop when he heard Lupus groan. It wasn’t exactly comfortable. There was a strong repulsive force and an electrifying pain that shot through his body like an electric shock.

It was a pain that made him want to pull his hand away from the core. But Abel gritted his teeth and pushed the heart into the core as hard as possible. When the heart was finally completely absorbed into the core.

Thud!

With a loud thud, the core vibrated and emitted a brilliant light. At the same time, the dark interior of the cockpit brightened. It was shortly after that Lupus’s voice was heard.

[Huhhh, what is this…?] 

The voice was mixed with quite a bit of bewilderment, and it resonated from the core, not from Abel’s head. Abel simply answered.

“That’s your new body, Lupus,”

[This is my body?] 

“Yes.”

Abel replied, placing both hands on the core.

“I’ll show you properly.”

Without much explanation, Abel infused his mana into the core. It was normal as usual up until a point where it became different.

The mana that had been sucked through the core spread out at an incomparable speed, and as it flowed back in and out, completing the cycle, he felt a vitality that had never been there before.

Abel felt his senses expand instantly, and with that, Lupus slowly pushed himself to his feet.

Kuung-!

The inside of the training ground vibrated finely. Lupus stood on the ground with both feet.

[This feeling… It’s been a while.]  

Abel, intoxicated with that omnipotence for a while, came to his senses at Lupus’s words. There were strange emotions in Lupus’ voice. Longing. Familiarity.  Bitterness.  It was a complex emotion that was difficult to pinpoint.

“How do you like your new body?”

[Not very great, but not bad.]

“It’s a relief. At least you passed the passing mark.”

Abel smiled and slowly walked around the training grounds, inspecting the aircraft, while Lupus remained silent, then suddenly realized something and asked a question.

[But didn’t you say it was my body?]

” Yes.”

[But isn’t it my master who just moved me?]

Abel didn’t hesitate to answer the question, as he was expecting the question.

“Yes. That’s because your role is to help me.”

There was no immediate answer. However, Abel could feel the dissatisfaction radiating through his core. Unfazed, Abel spoke in a friendly voice.

“Why? Is it better to stay in a box than in a body? I’ll send you back if you want.”

[No, no, of course not. I like it better the way it is.]

There was a hint of embarrassment in his voice. Abel smirked. He would not let his guard down, but he had no desire to be dragged around. Abel held the hilt now that they had made their pact. There was no way Lupus could get what he wanted without harming Abel himself.

‘Right now.’

He thought that to himself, Abel held out a carrot instead of a stick this time.

“Of course, I don’t intend to keep you busy forever.”

[What does that mean?]

“If you help me, I will give you a proper body.  A body that you can move at your own will.”

[I see. I understand.]

Abel felt Lupus’s dissatisfaction eased a lot with those words.

“Okay.  Then let’s end the conversation here. Let’s get down to business.”

[What?]

“What? I need to check your ability.”

[Ah, that’s right.]

Lupus was immediately convinced. He’d woken up from a long sleep and wondered, too. He was wondering what he was capable of. Abel ran through Lupus’s abilities in his mind. Most were worthy of real-world experimentation, but some were not like pushing the core beyond its limits. In the game, it had nearly doubled its power briefly. Abel thought of things to check.

But then.

Woo woo woo woo-!  

Lights suddenly formed on one side of the training ground.  This was unexpected even for Abel, so he squinted and looked at it.  Eventually, the clusters of lights came together and created letters.

[Request for admission] 

[Visitor, Professor Scarlett Klein] 

Abel’s expression changed strangely.

[To be continued.]