Stop, Friendly Fire!

<Chapter 33. Titan - 7>

[You have brought back high level magic engineering and further improved upon it, allowing you to create the highest rank level 8 artifact! Perhaps this is the beginning of a legend. Proficiency in all mana-related skills increases significantly and Magic has increased by 50!]

The moment they finished engraving a magic circle onto the last component, it synchronized and combined with the core, and that message appeared before Lee Shin Woo.

Kratia, who'd really helped in the endeavor, achieved a feat that made her go white, and Rem, who'd help them both, gained an increased understanding of golems.

"Shin Woo...!"

"...Nice."

[That's a relief, Master.]

They briefly exchanged looks and then, as if promising beforehand, extended their hands towards the completed golem. But once they began reading the golem's information, Lee Shin Woo and Kratia wondered whether they had actually succeeded or not.

[Lv8 Titan Bone Golem]

[A golem that personifies a constantly erupting volcano. The Titan was created to satisfy man's greed to control mother nature. In the process of resurrecting the golem, the power of the sun has been reinforced, and only a human who can survive this intense heat can properly control this golem.]

[Fully Charged. Upon activation, the core can run for a total of 240 seconds, and once that time is up, the core requires a recharge time of 60 days.]

[If the user's level is less than level 8, then their level will be temporarily adjusted to level 8, and all stats will increase. However, this can be detrimental if the body cannot properly handle that increased power.]

The core could fit into the palm of his hand, as it was compressed to the limit, but he had several questions, as the explanation didn't explain things clearly.

But at the very least, there were a few things he could understand: that it could only be used for 240 seconds and that after that 240 seconds had passed, it had to recharge for 60 days!

"Keuk... But now's not the time to be hesitating!"

"Do your best!"

[Good luck, Master!]

Lee Shin Woo grabbed the completed golem, rushed forward, and infused a portion of his mana into the core. He achieved a complete synchronization with the core, and activated the golem!

[Beginning synchronization.]

The core, which had been dormant until now, suddenly emitted a blinding light, and the outside layers of the core came off and attached to Lee Shin Woo one layer at a time.

The equipment he'd had equipped were all unsummoned. A golem's external equipment wrapped around Lee Shin Woo's skull, arms, ribs, pelvis, and feet, and it looked as though he was wearing some sort of red bone armor.

[Synchronization complete. Activating the Titan.]

The core attached to his chest and emitted an even more radiant light than before. No matter how he thought about it, he was definitely a giant hero, but the moment he thought that Lee Shin Woo's body felt hot. No, it was actually the core's heat spreading throughout the outer equipment!

The magic circles, which were substituted for the Mana Breathing ability, which had caused a small tribe to evolve into the giant Titans over a span of hundreds of years, activated simultaneously, causing his body to grow in an instant.

[Activating Titan. Remaining time: 240 seconds.]

Lee Shin Woo felt like his body had grown instantly. To be honest, his body was inside of a golem right now, but through the core, he had completely synchronized with the golem and could now move and feel the golem's body as if it were his own.

'Did the Titans always see the world from so high up? I see... it makes sense that Arema Steelworker became so arrogant.'

He finished growing, tapering off at 7 meters tall. He spread his senses throughout his entire body and realized that his five senses had been completely synchronized with the golem. The ground seemed so far away when he looked down. At that moment, he could understand the Titans, who'd looked so large.

'It's hot.'

Despite his High Rank Fire Resistance, it felt hot inside the golem due to the Bone of Lunatic Scarlet. But at the same time, it also felt refreshing, as his mana was being amplified and being spread throughout the golem.

The pleasant feeling offset any pain he felt, and getting over it didn't take very long. It was suffocating, as it felt as though his mana, which had been swallowed up the heat, was changing everything in the world into heat. It would be most apt to describe this feeling as omnipotence.

[Temporarily increasing Strength and Health by 3,000, and Agility and Magic by 2,000.]

Lee Shin Woo's level was forcefully adjusted to level 8, and his stats had been amplified to match the golem. His original stats were 7,922, but now, they totalled out at 17,822, which meant that he had instantaneously reached a mid level 8's power!

'The fact that it increased my stats so much must mean that I'm just that weak. The more my stats increase, or in other words, the less of a stat difference between myself and the golem's body there is, then the fewer stats I gain from the transformation.'

It frustrated him that he had to borrow the golem's strength to fight Metafel head to head, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. He would temporarily become the possessor of such strength, which made him realize just how powerful a level 8 truly was!

[Hoo... Heup!]

But the moment Lee Shin Woo, who had completely combined with the golem stepped forth, he felt a change occur within the Giants that were fighting desperately on the frontlines.

Arogan, who had been eaten and wondered if this was the end, had been reborn with a body entirely made of bone and seemed much stronger than before. If that wasn't enough, Ellata had also evolved as well!

[Oh Titan!]

[Huaaaaaaaahp!]

It wasn't just them. The other Giants, who had hidden away within their territory and witnessed the Titan's rebirth, began to change as well. Arogan and Ellata were the first to be connected to him, and the other Giants were connected to him through his darkness mana one by one.

Once he'd become a Titan, his (or the Titan's) mana filled the battlefield, changing the very roots of the Giants' existence!

[You have resurrected the Titan. The Giants have realized that they hadn't waited in vain, and are no longer disillusioned. They are now capable of dreaming something anew. They are no longer the dead, who are trapped by death, but have conquered death and have been reborn as Titans.]

[You have acquired the title, 'Descendant of the Titans'. All stats have increased by 15. All Titans who follow you are buffed by 10%.]

[Through the item you have created, you have completely broken apart God's designated hierarchy. While you are operating the Titan, the Rebellion skill activates, further increasing your stats by 16%!]

Several messages appeared, but Lee Shin Woo felt more overwhelmed by the darkness mana links that formed between him and the Giants one by one.

The sorrow and tenacity of these Giants, who had waited for the Titan's return for so many years! All of that was in the past now, and Lee Shin Woo had given them the courage to take a new step forward. At the same time, they all looked towards Lee Shin Woo.

Lee Shin Woo was the Titan's Descendant, the very personification of the word 'miracle' to them! At that moment, he had become the Titan's king, and it was now his mission to lead the Giants!

[The Titan is...]

[Moving!]

[Hooo....!]

Lee Shin Woo took another step forward under their gazes, wielding a gigantified Drake Horn Lance that matched the size of the Titan golem.

[By gigantifying the Lv5 Drake Horn Lance, its attack power increases exponentially. And by absorbing the overwhelming heat, it is temporarily elevated to Lv6.]

Now that he wielded such intense fire he couldn't use a lightning weapon, so he chose the Drake Horn Lance, as it could be wielded with any element and was also a high rank weapon as well.

It was indeed a good choice. The moment he wielded the lance, the fire was concentrated in the lance, and lance was dyed red. It was as though it had synchronized with the golem's body itself!

[Heup!]

Lee Shin Woo softly leaped. Bisher, Shino, and Chi Paul moved out of the way, and Ellata struck the ground, creating a mounting block for him. The moment he stepped foot onto that, Arogan, who had been fighting against Metafel, grabbed onto Metafel and threw him into the air.

[Kiihaaaaaaaaaaaa!]

Metafel's tongues let out a frightening sound and were simultaneously severed. He cried out and whirled round and round within the air, but once he noticed Lee Shin Woo, he extended his tongues at Lee Shin Woo without waiting, as though to say 'nice of you to come'.

However, the Titan's heat wouldn't allow his tongues to approach. What's worse, the heat was beginning to control more and more of the area, so the closer Metafel got, the more his body would light aflame!

'The fire ain't half bad. It's the best... especially when fighting against him!'

Just by existing, the golem's body prevented Metafel from attacking, and the flames would continuously chip away at Metafel's resistance. This authority, above all else, proved to Lee Shin Woo that this golem was indeed level 8!

Lee Shin Woo, who could fully enjoy that ability across his entire body, controlled the flames with his mind and gathered all of them into the tip of his lance. It was such a high degree of mana control that anyone would marvel at it, but it was as natural as breathing for Lee Shin Woo at this point.

[Kihik, Kiheeeeeeeehk! In the end, you seek to kill me!]

[Hoo... Heuaaahp!]

He condensed the energy to the max, and then, shot the Drake Horn Lance at Metafel as if it were exploding. Although it wasn't clad in lightning, it still contained the essence of Bursting Thunder, and at the same time, he had applied Shadow Horn to it as well.

[Kuhahk!]

[Critical Hit!]

[The Intermediate Shadow Horn skill has become Lv9. All stats have increased by 6.]

[High Rank Fire has become Lv2. Magic has increased by 20.]

The lance pierced through the center of Metafel's body, and the flames erupted from the lance, burning Metafel's entire body. The white hot flames were so bright that it was difficult to even look straight at them.

[Kik... Don't think... that you're above me!]

Despite that, Metafel didn't die. On the contrary, Metafel struggled to consume the flames in order to make them his own. Though his tongues were constantly melted away by the flames, more would come out from all across his body; there was nothing but hatred contained in his tongues as he continuously licked the flames.

[Beyond the power of a corps... An absolute being!]

[Heuup. Heup!]

He forcefully thrust his lance downwards and forced Metafel onto the ground. Like he'd previously done to his subordinate, Setoin, Lee Shin Woo embedded the lance into the ground so that Metafel wouldn't be able to move. He was overpowering Metafel, to the point that one wouldn't think that they were both level 8s!

[Kyaaaaaaahk!]

However, this couldn't be explained by anything other than Metafel's poor luck. If he had been given a little bit more time, he might've become a beast that devoured the entire Empire. But he had been forced to face off against a Titan, who utilized the element most disadvantageous for him.

[Remaining time: 118 seconds.]

[That's plenty of time.]

Once he landed on the floor, Lee Shin Woo checked how much time he had left and muttered relaxingly. Then, he activated Bone Armory once more. He had summoned two more Drake Horn Lances in both hands.

[Heup!]

[Guaaaaaahk!]

Lee Shin Woo stabbed two more lances into the resisting Metafel's body. If he actually knew where Metafel's vital spots were, he would've stuck them there, but now that Metafel's body had turned into tongues, he had no choice but to go about it this way.

[You bastard, the Empire will...!]

[Hahp!]

Lee Shin Woo could summon eight weapons total. He summoned eight Drake Horn Lances, embedded them into Metafel's body, and released the golem's heat through them. It looked as though he were burning a witch.

[The Archmage... will... kill...!]

[Yeah. Wait patiently. I'll kill him at some point and send him over to you.]

Even though Metafel's entire body was burning, he attempted to consume the flames. However, Lee Shin Woo grabbed two of the embedded spears and concentrated the overwhelming heat, making it so that it was difficult to even make out Metafel's original form.

[The Mercenary King's...]

[...You should've just stayed a mercenary.]

Metafel boasted a frighteningly tenacious vitality, but the moment Lee Shin Woo spoke, he blew up the eight lances and killed him.

A tremendous amount of heat was condensed in a single spot, burning his body to bits. But while he was disappearing, Lee Shin Woo noticed that Metafel had successfully devoured a portion of the flames, making him wonder what would've happened had the Titan's flames been a tiny bit weaker.

[...Hoo.]

In any case, Metafel was dead. Once he made sure that Metafel wasn't responding anymore, Lee Shin Woo raised his head and declared to all his troops, who were all looking at him.

[Good work everyone. We won.]

The battle had ended.

The long battle in the glacial mountains had finally come to an end.