Ch.115115. Things I Cannot Yield

Gilbert took a deep breath as he faced the giant mech. Though he wasn’t certain of victory, he knew he couldn’t let his guard down.

Accidents always happened in a moment of carelessness, and regret always came too late.

Even though he had confidence this time, battles always contained variables, so he needed to calm his mind.

This had been his mindset since his days as a fighter pilot.

Victory was good, but returning safely was most important.

“Good posture. An unwavering calm is indeed your greatest weapon.”

Briana, who had been watching his boarding ritual, nodded with satisfaction.

Her disciple was perfect in this regard, needing no instruction.

Not getting swept up in the atmosphere, not losing oneself.

He had already mastered the reason and essence of mental discipline without being taught.

No wonder the Imperial Princess has her eye on him.

Briana’s eyes sank into deep thought.

She recalled her conversation with Imperial Princess Seraphina just days ago.

The princess who said she wanted to obtain him by any means necessary.

When Briana heard those words, the peaceful calm of her mind shattered in an instant. Though she quickly regained her composure, there was no denying that her equanimity had been broken.

Fortunately, the conversation with Princess Seraphina ended without incident. Even though her mental calm had been disrupted once, it didn’t waver again.

But it was true that it had left one ripple.

If Gilbert were to stand beside Princess Seraphina instead of her, would he maintain the same mindset?

Just imagining it briefly caused Briana’s beautiful face to contort slightly.

Gilbert was a genius she acknowledged.

In both swordsmanship and giant mech piloting, he was already a first-class knight.

That’s why she was greedy.

She wondered if he could reach the pinnacle if he steadfastly walked the path of the sword.

Of course, she didn’t think he would abandon the path of the sword even if he stood beside Princess Seraphina. She knew without seeing that he would continue walking that path diligently as he did now.

So there would be no problem if he stood beside Princess Seraphina.

It would be enough if she could still discuss swordsmanship with him as they did now.

Is that really true?

Briana questioned herself.

Was that really okay?

Or was she satisfied with just that?

She still couldn’t find the answer.

She meditated, and meditated again, but Briana couldn’t shake off the fragments of thought that clung to her like delusion.

And now she found the answer.

Sword Saint Briana was not satisfied with that.

Gilbert needed to be by her side, not Seraphina’s.

Though she still didn’t know why, that much was certain.

[One of the Seekers’ mindset has changed.]

[Information for the Seekers of Twisted Possession is being updated.]

Gilbert sighed deeply at the notification window of the sub-scenario proceeding on its own.

Seeing such a notification while trying to focus was starting to irritate him.

He had already resigned himself to whatever would happen, but having things proceed arbitrarily was another matter entirely.

But what could he do about it?

Gilbert now stretched his body while glancing sideways at Briana.

Briana, who he suspected was one of the Seekers in this sub-scenario, didn’t seem unusual.

As far as he could tell, she was the same Briana as always.

Then perhaps Seraphina, the other suspected Seeker, had experienced a change of heart?

But that seemed too abrupt without any warning signs.

If he had more time, he would consider various possibilities, but he was in a position where he needed to board the giant mech soon.

He wasn’t given the luxury of time to contemplate things leisurely.

Thinking there was nothing he could do this time either, he closed the notification window and refocused his mind.

For now, he needed to clear the main scenario, putting the sub-scenario aside.

“Gil.”

“Yes, Master.”

“I believe in you.”

“Understood.”

Gilbert sensed something in Briana’s words of belief.

Should he call it somewhat dual in feeling?

There was an inexplicable sense of dissonance different from usual.

But he couldn’t pinpoint what it was. It wasn’t as if she was hiding something.

She clearly said she believed in him, but somehow it sounded like it had a dual meaning.

Gilbert shook his head and climbed into the giant mech’s cockpit. He had been thinking of focusing on the duel, but his mind seemed to have grown lax with these distracting thoughts.

Boarding the giant mech with practiced ease, he formed a temporary contract with the general-purpose artificial spirit.

Since this was a duel, he couldn’t link with CT, his personal possession.

It was a matter of fairness.

Using a high-performance artificial spirit would make measuring skill levels meaningless.

Additionally, Gilbert had one more thing he was aiming for.

[This is a duel with all next-generation inheritors of the Four Seasons Combat Arts participating.]

[Hidden route “Peak of the Four Seasons” is detected to be in progress.]

[Title “Singer of Sagas” is responding.]

[The Inheritor’s Saga is proceeding.]

A saga is a narrative.

Narratives gain power from stories, and the Singer of Sagas gains stronger effects the more stories they create.

The title “Singer of Sagas” was one that manifested when the conditions for creating an epic were met.

The story created during his previous progression with Brynhild and Volsung also became nourishment for the Singer of Sagas.

This was what Gilbert was aiming for this time as well.

He wanted to make the power of the story contained in the narrative of the Four Seasons Combat Arts his own.

Gilbert pulled the control lever and guided the giant mech to the dueling ground.

This giant mech duel wasn’t a 1:1 match but a free-for-all battle.

Even in a situation where everyone except himself was an enemy, Gilbert remained composed.

He could see three next-generation inheritors leading their giant mechs onto the wide, open dueling ground.

Giant mechs wielding a spear, a bow, and a sword and shield faced enemies from three directions.

Gilbert also drew his iron sword and stood facing them like the others. A pleasant tension began to warm his body appropriately.

Finally.

– Duel start.

The four next-generation inheritors clashed.

***

Fresia watched the duel between the four next-generation inheritors of the Four Seasons Combat Arts alongside Ian.

Although the amount of information transmitted through the screen was limited, creating constraints on analysis, she was an ultra-artificial spirit, the culmination of Atlantica technology.

Even with minimal information, she could derive more data than ordinary artificial spirits, and that was true now as well.

She was particularly focused on the giant mech of the man called Gilbert, whom her master Ian was concerned about.

She intended to gather as much information as possible for the day when Ian would eventually face him.

To Fresia, Ian was truly a special person.

Among all the users who had formed official contracts with her so far, not a single one except Ian had ever pleased her.

If she had to name the best one until now, it would only be Terodamas, now known as the Lion King.

Even he wasn’t quite to her liking.

Once, she considered her life unfortunate.

She also thought it was a lonely path without a companion who understood her.

Was being born as an ultra-artificial spirit good but also the root of her problems?

She felt like she might develop what people commonly call depression.

Of course, her high-performance artificial spirit core took care of such states, but that didn’t make the loneliness disappear.

Now, after hundreds of years, she had met someone who understood her for the first time since her activation.

The person she had been desperately searching for throughout those long years.

Ian Tigris Linebarrel.

After forming a contract with him, Fresia was convinced that Ian was the person she had been searching for all along.

The sense of unity with him.

The only person with the potential to bring out all her possibilities.

That’s who Ian was.

His characteristic skill “Integration” was that special and unique.

The sensation of becoming one with him provided Fresia with an ecstatic experience.

She could guarantee that with Ian, they could accomplish anything.

Although his level was still low, limiting her to a core state, she believed that someday, when the time came, she would regain her true form.

Until then, they would have to overcome various hardships and adversities, but she was confident.

After all, she was Fresia, the pride of Atlantica, an ultra-artificial spirit.

After briefly being lost in thought, Fresia refocused on Gilbert.

Despite the very short time, the battle situation had turned favorable for Gilbert.

He is impressive indeed…

Fresia stopped her battle analysis there.

All data indicators pointed to Gilbert’s victory.

Expressed as a win rate, it was 99.98% – Gilbert’s victory was certain barring any special anomalies.

The man called Gilbert, toward whom Ian harbored a sense of rivalry, was undeniably skilled. This was evident just by watching how elegantly he fought with what was called a general-purpose giant mech of low quality.

However, her appreciation ended there.

While she acknowledged his skill with the giant mech, it had clear limitations.

No matter how dexterously one controlled a giant mech, it couldn’t compare to Ian’s Integration characteristic skill.

Integration literally meant becoming the giant mech itself.

Although Ian’s skill level was still far below what the skill required, it was obvious that with her help, he would soon become a knight surpassing Gilbert.

Until she saw the giant mech’s impossible movement.

Is that even possible?

Fresia, who had been watching the nearing end of the duel with boredom, was startled.

The sight of that massive giant mech performing a back double somersault was a movement even she hadn’t calculated.

Of course, it wasn’t impossible with the backup of an excellent artificial spirit.

Terodamas, who had expertise in giant mech control, occasionally showed extraordinary movements as well.

But that was possible because Fresia herself had assisted Terodamas.

Fresia was originally created to fully control the Colossus, a strategic weapon by its very existence. Finely tuning and controlling a giant mech was as simple for her as breathing was for humans.

Therefore, with her support, such movements were possible for anyone with a decent talent for control.

But the artificial spirit controlling the giant mech that the man called Gilbert was moving was a general-purpose one.

With an artificial spirit that could barely perform the function of controlling a giant mech, he was demonstrating that impossible three-dimensional maneuver.

Of course, looking closely, there were movements that seemed to have slight delays.

After all, using a lower-performance giant mech and artificial spirit meant that no matter how precisely one moved, there would inevitably be momentary gaps.

But Gilbert moved as if he had calculated all of that. He was moving with thorough control, as if refusing to allow even the tiniest gap that occurred between movements.

Fresia thought she understood why Ian was so fixated on Gilbert.

Even to her, Gilbert seemed like someone born to control giant mechs.

Was that why?

She developed a small desire.

She wondered what it would be like if Ian defeated a man with such remarkable control skills.

It would take a bit longer than she anticipated, but with Integration and her help, it was possible.

I will definitely make Ian the greatest knight.

Fresia made that pledge to herself.