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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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It had been four days since I began researching the “Defensive Matrix with Irradiate,” also known as the “Plasma Mana Shield.”
From Thursday to Sunday, I had relentlessly pursued this research.
“Done!”
And in just four days, I was able to complete the technology.
This was because I actively utilized my abilities and received significant help from Fix.
“Fix! Good work!”
“Woooong~!”
‘Fix,’ a sub-skill which I had acquired when my Dexterous Hands skill leveled up to 3, was a versatile robotic arm.
Thanks to this versatile robotic arm, my work efficiency has increased to an unbelievable degree.
Not only did it conduct research in my absence, but it also played a vital support role when I was directly developing, allowing me to work several times more efficiently than before.
If Fix hadn’t been there, completing the “Plasma Mana Shield” in just four days would have been unthinkable.
I tapped Fix’s head a couple of times in gratitude and looked back and forth between the suit and the plasma shield.
Now it was time to implant the newly developed technology into the suit.
“First…”
I inserted three pre-made mana stones, set to maintain a 1:3.45:6.74 ratio, into a black steel case: the ‘Plasma Generation Mana Stone,’ the ‘Release Formula Mana Stone,’ and the ‘Form Preservation Formula Mana Stone.’
Then, I inserted the black steel case into the groove at the top of the suit.
*Click-*
A satisfying click sounded as the suit and the case became one.
Now it was time to connect the optical fibers to supply power to the steel case.
“The optical fiber…”
“Weeeooong~”
As I looked around for the optical fibers, Fix brought the ones on the table and held them out to me.
I stroked the commendable fellow’s head once and connected one end of the optical fiber to the steel case, then connected the other end to the suit’s power source.
With that, the setup was complete.
“Alright. Time to test it.”
Now that the suit and the case were connected, it was time to test if it worked.
I put on the suit, which was made of latex with various alloys partially attached.
This suit didn’t have the form-shifting function like the gauntlets I usually wear, so I had to put it on manually like this.
It was still under development, so functions like form-shifting would be implemented later.
“Hmm…”
After wearing the suit, I stood in front of the mirror to check my appearance.
However, the latex-based suit I was wearing was still a semi-transparent color without any added coloring, so parts of my body were visible.
Of course, about 70% of the suit was covered by the gray alloy, so it wasn’t a case of my entire body being exposed, but it still looked visually embarrassing.
The alloy was also a basic gray color, making it look dull.
I had been so focused on function that I hadn’t paid attention to the design or color aspects.
“Hmm… what color should I make it?”
So, I began to ponder.
What color should I paint it?
The colors that immediately came to mind were red and gold.
Like the men’s dream, Iron Man!
But I wasn’t trying to be a hero like Tony Stark.
The reason I was wearing this suit was to protect this world in preparation for the impending disaster.
Therefore, the motif that suddenly came to mind was Batman.
Because Batman was a figure who wanted to protect Gotham City from the rampant criminals.
‘Bruce Wayne wanted to become the embodiment of fear that criminals feared. That’s why he decided to become the bat he was afraid of.’
Batman had a fear of bats.
The day he accidentally fell into a pond while playing with a friend and bats swarmed him and his parents were murdered on their way home from a performance.
From that day on, the bat became a symbol of fear for Bruce Wayne.
It became a catalyst that brought back painful memories.
‘But Bruce Wayne overcame that trauma. And he became Batman, the symbol of the bat, and was reborn as a hero protecting Gotham City.’
Bruce Wayne, who had been plagued by self-loathing while reminiscing about his childhood whenever he saw a bat.
But he accepted that fear and became the Dark Knight protecting Gotham City, and in the end, he became a hero protecting Gotham City.
The symbol of the trauma that had tormented him became the symbol of the hero protecting Gotham City.
‘My fear…’
Therefore, I thought about it.
Inspired by Bruce Wayne’s narrative, what was I afraid of, and what did I want to overcome?
The answer was too obvious.
“The destruction of this world.”
What I was afraid of.
The ending of this game, no matter how many times I replayed the game, it always ended in the same inevitable apocalypse.
And the primordial demons that had brought me the end every single time.
…I was afraid of them.
I feared the gradual collapse of the world as the people around me, including the heroines, fell one by one, corrupted by their hands
I was afraid of all the processes that led to the empire fracturing, kingdoms falling into corruption, and ultimately the annihilation of all humankind by their unfathomable power and terror.
Even now, the emptiness I felt as I stared blankly at the monitor after having poured everything into it but still ending in disappointment was still vivid.
“…”
But if someone heard my soliloquy, they might ask.
Is it worth being so immersed and afraid of a mere game?
After all, isn’t the world you’re in a fictional game world?
“…”
…Yes, that was certainly true.
I had only played in a fictional world created by the scenario writers and programmers, and perhaps I was just a gamer who was still attached to the game because I hadn’t reached the desired ending of the product.
But now this place had become my reality.
James, who was just a blacksmith NPC in the academy, was a father who did his best for his son so that I wouldn’t feel the absence of his deceased wife.
Enya wasn’t just a typical tsundere character but a shy girl who would open her heart to anyone who acknowledged her.
Not only that, but Elena, Isabella, the Princess, Claire, Lucas, and even various extras and NPCs I hadn’t known before.
They all had new sides I hadn’t known, and they were alive and breathing in this place where I existed.
It had become a precious part of the daily life that ‘Edgar Fix’ wanted to protect.
“….Demons.”
Therefore, I decided to become what I feared.
I decided to become one of the ‘Primordial Evils’ that all humans would fear in the near future.
But the demon I wanted to become would be different from the others.
The demon I aimed to be would not be a symbol of fear and terror for humans—
“A demon who punishes demons.”
That’s right, a demon who punishes demons.
I would become a demon more evil than any demon and be a symbol of punishing evil.
The primordial evils would now experience just how terrifying humans with power and skills could be when they harbored malice.
“Devil.”
Therefore, I named the suit ‘Devil.’
It was to show the enemy, with all my sincerity, why humans were nicknamed ‘bastards’ in the first place.
I would reign as the absolute evil for them.
“Devil 1”
And this suit was the first step.
A clumsy suit that only had the ‘Plasma Mana Shield’ function for now.
From now on, this suit’s name was ‘Devil One.’
“……”
However, the visuals of Devil One, with bare skin peeking out from various places, were embarrassing.
I immediately took off the suit and began to paint it with a special spray.
First, I painted everything black, a color symbolic of demons.
“Hmm… I’ll leave it at this for now.”
I decided to leave the parts where mana stones were embedded, emitting a blue light.
It seemed to create more of an atmosphere than if it was all black.
After a while, I stood in front of the mirror again.
“…Hmm. Not bad.”
It wasn’t a completely satisfying design yet, but I decided to leave it at this for now.
Right now, adding more functions was more important than the design.
“Now… is it just the three-dimensional maneuvering left?”
Currently, I had propulsion, but it was only capable of vertical flight.
That meant the function that would allow me to fly freely hadn’t been fully implemented yet.
Therefore, I needed a three-dimensional maneuvering device.
It was a device that would allow me to shoot a wire from the suit, hit terrain features, and then pull my body by winding the wire.
With the assistance of the propulsion, I could also fly at low altitudes.
“The problem is…”
The problem was that the wire was too inconvenient.
In order to do three-dimensional maneuvering, I had to shoot a wire, attach it to terrain features, and then wind the wire to pull myself, but the front part of the wire, which was attached to the terrain features, would often fall off.
Conversely, there were also cases where it was too tightly fixed, and the wire wouldn’t retract.
Because of this, instead of doing three-dimensional maneuvering, I would sometimes fall to the ground as the wire came loose while pulling my body, and there were also mishaps where the three-dimensional maneuvering would stop because the front part of the wire was too firmly embedded in the terrain features and wouldn’t retract properly.
That’s why I needed a wire with both excellent adhesion and the ability to freely retract the line, like Spider-Man, but where can I get that…?
“….Huh?”
Wait, Spider-Man?
Come to think of it, why hadn’t I thought of that?
There were super spiders like Spider-Man in this world too.
The super spider that emitted spiderwebs with both great tensile strength and adhesiveness, ‘Ungoliant.’
Now that the gauntlets were somewhat repaired, how about collecting Ungoliant’s spiderwebs to test the suit’s performance?
If I could apply the properties of those spiderwebs to my wire, I could implement the perfect three-dimensional maneuvering that I was thinking of.
“Since I have some time left.”
Without wasting any time, I immediately got up.
I put the suit and gauntlets into my inventory and left the academy.
To go to the place where Ungoliant was, I had to go to the 3rd Danger Zone, so I had go to the ‘Imperial Exchange’ which was a 30-minute walk from the academy.
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“What is your name?”
The Imperial Exchange was located in the center of the Empire.
It was a place where teleportation magic circles that could take you anywhere in the Empire were gathered.
In other words, you could instantly move from various noble family estates to various fortresses and even dangerous areas with monsters through the magic circles in this exchange.
Since the academy dormitory wasn’t activated yet, the reason why various nobles, including Enya and Isabella, were able to commute to school was all because they came from their estates through the teleportation magic circles in the exchange.
“Edgar Fix.”
However, the expression on the guard’s face crumpled upon hearing my name.
This place was a special space that only nobles, especially high-ranking nobles, could use.
*Swish.*
Therefore, I took out the nameplate that Elena had issued.
The imperial crest was engraved on the nameplate.
The guard’s expression, which had been freezing over, changed drastically.
“Y-Your Highness the Princess…! Where would you like to go?”
“The 3rd Danger Zone.”
“I will guide you!”
Following the guard, I entered the large exchange office, where a pretty receptionist greeted me.
Her appearance, bowing politely and smiling for service, gave off the vibe of a department store receptionist.
“You are a hero embarking on a journey to the perilous 3rd Danger Zone.”
Soon after hearing my destination, the receptionist smiled brightly and flattered me.
Perhaps because she was dealing with high-ranking nobles, each of her compliments was meant to boost my ego.
In particular, the compliments about my appearance were not lacking here either, and just like what a famous celebrity said, being told that I was handsome was always thrilling.
As I moved while listening to the receptionist’s compliments, I soon arrived in front of the magic circle that led to the 3rd Danger Zone.
“It was an honor to meet you, even though it was brief. I wish for your safe return, and I will activate the magic circle for the 3rd Danger Zone.”
The receptionist said that and began to infuse mana into the magic circle.
As I stared blankly at the magic circle which started to glow blue, I suddenly remembered a phrase I had seen in the setting book, which was a brief comment on the receptionists working at the Imperial Exchange.
In short, those who were selected to serve high-ranking nobles were only ‘mana shuttles’ to activate the teleportation magic circles, but because they worked at a public institution of the Empire, their salaries were high, and sometimes, their pretty faces caught the eyes of high-ranking nobles, and they became their concubines.
Anyway, as I was having such useless thoughts, the teleportation magic circle was activated.
It was set up so that you could move when you placed your hand on it.
“The teleportation magic circle has been activated. Have a safe journey, my lord.”
*My lord.*
Hearing that, I felt like I should pretend to be a noble, so I nodded nonchalantly and placed my hand on the teleportation magic circle.
Then, a white light enveloped me, and at the same time, the surrounding scenery changed in an instant.
It was the teleport exchange in the 3rd Danger Zone.
“……”
Indeed, the feeling was 180 degrees different from the exchange in the capital.
Since it was an exchange in an outer region, and a dangerous area at that, the facilities were severely damaged, and there were only two male staff members.
In addition, there were some monster corpses scattered around.
Soon, a male staff member, who was sitting in an old chair chewing gum, opened his mouth.
“Hey, if you’re just here to play hero, you better just go back. I’ve almost lost my life trying to rescue nobles like you more than once.”
The receptionist, who had been sending me a listless gaze, muttered with a sigh after seeing my face.
Frankly, he looked more like an inspector than a receptionist.
And a veteran inspector with considerable experience at that.
“Haha, Jenon, what kind of rude way of speaking is that to someone from the capital? Haha! I, I apologize. A noble recently came here, and he led a mob of monsters here while fleeing, causing some casualties…”
“……”
“Haha, it’s just a blunt way of speaking, but he’s just worried about your safety. Please forgive him.”
As such, the other staff member, who seemed conscious of the inspector-like staff member’s words, gave me an awkward smile and rambled on.
However, I responded by taking out the gauntlets from my inventory.
*Fzzzt!*
“Don’t worry. There won’t be any need to send out a distress signal.”
*Clank- Clank. Shhh…*
As I put on the bracelet, the gauntlets began to wrap around my right hand.
The gladiator and the old man with glasses were staring at me with wide eyes.
“I came thoroughly prepared. And I’m not planning to catch monsters that are that strong.”
I said that and took the suit out of my inventory.
*Thud-*
The suit fell to the floor.
“…..”
After a brief pause, I lowered my pants.
That was because I had to take off the clothes I was wearing to put on the suit.
However, feeling awkward under the gaze of the staff members who were staring at my underwear, I casually made a remark.
“Uh, I’m going to change.”
“……Ah, okay.”
*Ahem,*
The two of them cleared their throats and turned their heads away.
I really needed to add an automatic-equipping function as soon as possible.
Indeed, the most important thing for a suit was its style.
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