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Gilbert took a deep breath in front of the colossal mech. He wasn’t entirely confident, but letting his guard down was out of the question.

Mistakes always happen in the blink of an eye, and regret always comes too late.

Even if he felt confident this time, battles were always full of variables, so he needed to keep his mind in check.

This was a mindset he had maintained since his days as a fighter pilot.

Winning was good, but returning safely was the most important thing.

“That’s a good stance. A calm, unshakable heart is the greatest weapon of all.”

Briana, who was watching his mounting ceremony, nodded in satisfaction.

Her disciple was already perfect in this aspect, needing no further guidance.

Not getting swept up in the atmosphere and not losing oneself—these were the core principles of mental discipline, which he had already internalized without being explicitly taught.

No wonder the princess had her eyes on him.

Briana’s gaze deepened.

A conversation she had with Princess Seraphina just a few days ago came to mind.

The princess had said she would stop at nothing to have him by her side.

Hearing that, Briana’s inner peace had shattered for a moment. Though she quickly regained her composure, the fact that her calm had been broken was undeniable.

Thankfully, the conversation with Princess Seraphina ended without incident. Even though her peace of mind had been shaken once, it didn’t waver again.

However, it had left a ripple.

If Gilbert were to stand by Princess Seraphina’s side instead of hers, would he still maintain this mindset?

Just imagining it made Briana’s delicate face twist slightly.

Gilbert was a genius she acknowledged.

Whether it was swordsmanship or piloting a colossal mech, he was already a first-rate knight.

That’s why she felt a sense of greed.

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

Of course, she didn’t think he would abandon the path of the sword even if he stood by Princess Seraphina’s side. She could tell he would continue walking that path silently, just as he did now.

If that were the case, then there was no problem with him standing by Princess Seraphina’s side.

As long as he could discuss swordsmanship with Briana as he did now, that would be enough.

Or would it?

Briana asked herself.

Was that really enough?

Or was she just settling for that?

She still hadn’t found the answer.

No matter how much she meditated, she couldn’t shake off the lingering thoughts that clung to her like a veil.

And now, she had found the answer.

Swordmaster Briana was not satisfied with that.

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

She still didn’t know why, but that much was certain.

**[The mindset of one of the seekers has changed.]**

**[The information of the Possessors of Twisted Desire has been updated.]**

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

While he was trying to focus, seeing this notification made his mind restless.

He had already resigned himself to whatever would happen, but the scenario progressing on its own was another story.

But what could he do about it?

Gilbert stretched his body and glanced at Briana out of the corner of his eye.

Briana, who he suspected was one of the seekers in this sub-scenario, didn’t seem any different.

To him, she was the same as always.

Then, had there been a change in the mindset of Seraphina, the other suspected seeker?

But that seemed too sudden, with no prior signs.

If he had more time, he could have considered various possibilities, but he was about to pilot the colossal mech.

Fate didn’t give him the luxury of time to ponder.

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

For now, the sub-scenario could wait; it was time to clear the main scenario.

“Gil.”

“Yes, Master.”

“I believe in you.”

“Understood.”

Gilbert sensed something in Briana’s words.

A slight sense of duality, perhaps?

There was an unfamiliar, indescribable feeling that wasn’t there before.

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

She had clearly said she believed in him, but it felt like there was a double meaning.

Gilbert shook his head and climbed into the cockpit of the colossal mech. Just when he thought he was focused on the duel, his mind was wandering again.

Familiar with the process, he mounted the colossal mech and formed a temporary contract with a generic artificial spirit.

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

It was a matter of fairness.

Using a high-performance artificial spirit would defeat the purpose of determining skill levels.

Moreover, Gilbert had another goal in mind.

**[The heirs of the Four Seasons’ Weapon Techniques are all participating in this duel.]**

**[The hidden route, ‘The Pinnacle of the Four Seasons,’ has been detected.]**

**[The title ‘The One Who Sings the Saga’ has reacted.]**

**[The saga of the heirs is progressing.]**

A saga is an epic.

Epics draw power from stories, and the one who sings the saga gains stronger effects the more stories they create.

The title ‘The One Who Sings the Saga’ manifests when the conditions for an epic poem are met.

The story he had created with Brynhild during the Volsung Saga had also become nourishment for the one who sings the saga.

This time, Gilbert aimed for the same.

He wanted to make the power of the Four Seasons’ Weapon Techniques’ saga his own.

Gilbert pulled the control stick, guiding the colossal mech into the duel arena.

This duel wasn’t a one-on-one battle but a free-for-all.

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

In the vast plain that served as the duel arena, three heirs of the Four Seasons’ Weapon Techniques emerged, each piloting a colossal mech.

A spear-wielding mech, a bow-wielding mech, and a sword-and-shield-wielding mech faced him from three directions.

Gilbert drew his iron sword and stood ready. A pleasant tension began to warm his body.

Soon.

**[The duel begins.]**

The four heirs clashed.

***

Fressia watched the duel between the four heirs of the Four Seasons’ Weapon Techniques alongside Ian.

The information transmitted through the screen was limited, but as the culmination of Atlantica’s technology, known as the super artificial spirit, she could derive more information than a typical artificial spirit.

Even with minimal data, she could extract a wealth of information, and that was no different now.

She was particularly focused on the colossal mech piloted by a man named Gilbert, whom her master, Ian, was deeply interested in.

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

To Fressia, Ian was truly special.

Among all the users she had formally contracted with, Ian was the only one who had truly won her heart.

The only one who came close was Terodamas, now known as the Lion King, but even he hadn’t fully captured her heart.

At one point, she had thought her life was unfortunate.

She had felt it was a lonely path without a companion who could understand her.

Being born as a super artificial spirit was a blessing, but perhaps it was also a curse.

It felt like she was on the verge of developing what humans called depression.

Of course, her high-performance artificial spirit core managed her condition, but that didn’t make the loneliness disappear.

Now, after hundreds of years, she had finally met someone who understood her.

The person she had been desperately searching for through the long years.

Ian Tigress Line Barrel.

After contracting with him, Fressia was certain that Ian was the person she had been searching for.

The sense of unity with him.

The possibility of unlocking all her potential with him.

Ian was that kind of existence.

His unique skill, Synchronization, was that special and unique.

The feeling of becoming one with him was a euphoric experience for Fressia.

She was confident that with Ian, they could achieve anything.

Though his level was still low, and she remained in her core state, she believed she would eventually regain her true form.

Until then, she would have to endure many hardships and trials, but she was confident.

After all, she was Fressia, the pride of Atlantica, the super artificial spirit.

Snapping out of her brief reverie, Fressia focused back on Gilbert.

In the short time she had been distracted, the battle situation had turned in Gilbert’s favor.

Impressive…

Fressia stopped her analysis there.

All the data pointed to Gilbert’s victory.

With a 99.98% win rate, unless something extraordinary happened, Gilbert’s victory was certain.

The man Ian saw as a rival, Gilbert, was undoubtedly skilled. Even with a low-level, generic colossal mech, he fought with such fluidity.

But her admiration stopped there.

While she acknowledged his piloting skills, there was a clear limit to what he could achieve.

No matter how well he controlled the colossal mech, it couldn’t compare to Ian’s Synchronization skill.

Synchronization meant becoming one with the colossal mech itself.

Though Ian’s skill level was still far from matching his potential, with her help, he would quickly surpass Gilbert.

That was until she saw the colossal mech’s impossible movements.

Is that even possible?

Fressia, who had been boredly watching the nearing end of the duel, was startled.

The colossal mech performing a backflip was a move she hadn’t even calculated.

Of course, with a high-performance artificial spirit backing him up, it wasn’t impossible.

Even Terodamas, who had some skill in piloting colossal mechs, had occasionally shown extraordinary moves.

But that was only possible with Fressia’s support.

Originally created to fully control the strategic weapon Colossus, fine-tuning a colossal mech was as simple as breathing for her.

So, unless someone was completely untalented in piloting, with her support, such moves were possible.

But the man named Gilbert was controlling the colossal mech with a generic artificial spirit.

With an artificial spirit that could barely perform basic functions, he was performing impossible three-dimensional maneuvers.

Of course, upon closer inspection, there were slight delays in his movements.

Given the low-performance mech and artificial spirit, even the most precise movements would have gaps.

But Gilbert seemed to have calculated all of that, moving with precision that left no room for error.

Fressia began to understand why Ian was so obsessed with Gilbert.

To her, Gilbert seemed born to pilot colossal mechs.

So, perhaps that’s why?

A small desire arose within her.

What if Ian were to defeat such a skilled pilot?

With Synchronization and her help, it was possible, though it might take a bit longer than she expected.

I’ll definitely make Ian the greatest knight.

Fressia made that vow.

 

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