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A massive golem loomed before me, its almost pitch-black color and gigantic size of nearly 200 meters contrasted sharply with its spindly six arms and two legs.

In front of it stood a small man with a bushy beard, a stark contrast to the golem.

“Hehe… It’s finally complete.”

Colossal Machine — Destroyer.

Five years since being exiled from Marquina. Two years of wandering, and three years of preparation in this place, where I had finally settled down.

I hammered away tirelessly, working day and night, fueled only by a single-minded ambition.

“With this, I can destroy Marquina all by myself.”

Despite his stubby stature, fury burned in his eyes, seeking revenge. His name was Hassan, a dwarf expelled from Marquina.

His dwarf lineage made him look older than he was, but Hassan was still relatively young among his kind.

Unlike the older dwarves, Hassan was creative. He had no fixed notions; if other dwarves saw him, they would call him a dreamer for his innovative and fresh ideas.

Initially, Hassan had aimed to develop a cart powered by magical energy. Current carts were uncomfortable and took too long to travel.

– If my magical-powered cart succeeds, I’ll no longer need to endure those uncomfortable rides and can travel faster and more comfortably!

– Ha, do you really think you can make that with your eyes? You’re still trapped in delusions. Instead of wasting time, forge another sword!

But, as always, elder stubbornness was a problem. They were obstacles to change and refused to accept anything new.

This trait of the old guard, common in dwarves of this otherworld, was no different.

– Huh? Instead of wasting time on such nonsense, why don’t you hammer away like a proper fool!

– What have you made? This noisy, utterly useless contraption?

– You’re a disgrace to our dwarven clan! If you insist on pursuing such foolishness, get out of Marquina immediately!

Young Hassan was rejected simply for being different before he could even show his potential.

Stuck in useless stereotypes, the elders insisted that hammers were meant only for shaping iron and that iron must exclusively be made into weapons.

Thus, Hassan was expelled from Marquina for pursuing a different path.

“I will make them pay for casting me out.”

As those memories stirred, fury surged, clenching my fists unconsciously.

At that moment—

-Boom─! Boom─!

“What the hell?!”

Sudden bombardment slammed into the tower where Hassan was. Just from one blast, the tower was crumbling.

The shockwave knocked Hassan down, and after rolling a few times, he finally managed to grab onto a nearby pillar to stand up.

At first, he stumbled, but soon regained his composure and thought of the culprit behind the attack.

“Could it be their attack?! How did they find out I was here…! It’s a bit premature, but it can’t be helped.”

The elders. They must have come to interfere once again.

‘Those damn fools…!’

Hassan climbed aboard the Colossal Machine. Although he had designed it to move automatically like the golems he created before, that method had the drawback of being too unintelligent.

If that was the case, it might have chased butterflies instead of breaking down Marquina, so Hassan designed it to be controlled directly by himself.

-Kugukuku───.

As Hassan took control, the Colossal Machine opened its eyes. It moved its arms and took a giant step forward.

With each movement, the tower collapsed behind it. But Hassan didn’t care.

In truth, what appeared to be a massive tower was only a framework to support the Colossal Machine. However, to hold the heavy golem up, sturdy materials like steel were used, which happened to resemble a tower.

Like shedding its skin, the Colossal Machine emerged from the wreckage. From Hassan’s perspective, he saw one Beastman and four humans below.

‘Mercenaries? Or adventurers?’

Whether they were mercenaries seeking pay or adventurers on an investigation, it mattered little. The mere fact that someone had come to attack him at a desolate mine made them enemies.

‘But I can’t waste time on flies.’

The colossal machine consumed an enormous amount of magical power. After collecting magical energy from nature for three years, he had finally gathered enough to properly use the machine.

Every second of magical energy was precious. He couldn’t waste it dealing with the insignificant annoyances in front of him. Therefore, Hassan circumvented the mercenaries and piloted the Colossal Machine straight toward Marquina.

*

“Wow…”

Suddenly, the tower collapsed, and out emerged a gigantic golem. Wait, is it correct to call it a golem? It seems more like a robot.

‘No man could resist that.’

Even if the giant robot was piloted by a villain, any man would become captivated by the sight of it. It’s just romantic, right?

“W-what should we do…?”

But it seemed the others were panicking except for me. Especially Amy.

“What’s wrong?”

“Isn’t it heading towards Marquina?”

“It certainly looks like it.”

Despite clearly making eye contact with us, the Colossal Machine ignored us and continued onward, heading in the direction of Marquina.

“Can someone stop it?!”

“Why should we?!”

“Because, of course…!”

“Our request was just to help you gather materials for your Transformation Potion.”

And that request had just wrapped up. The materials piled up from the collapsed tower were the last bit of steel he needed. Therefore, to request more assistance, there had to be a fitting reward.

“Ugh… then I’ll give you the potions I make! They’ll sell for a good amount of money!”

“Deal.”

The potion crafted by the genius known as an Alchemist would fetch a high price, even if it was merely plain water with no effects, due to its name alone.

Just like a brand that charged ridiculous amounts for a black tracksuit with their logo and three white stripes.

“Then let me finish making the Transformation Potion! With that, we can take on the Colossal Machine!”

Once the negotiation was successfully concluded, Amy moved quickly. She grabbed a piece of steel from the ground and scattered various unfamiliar tools she used for potion-making from her leather bag.

The materials were already prepared; all that was left was to make the potion.

After receiving a Teleportation Stone from Amy, I hurriedly returned to Marquina.

-Boom! Boom!

What I saw upon arrival were dwarf warriors firing cannons from the ramparts. The cannons seemed to have superior technology compared to human ones, boasting exceptional firepower, yet the Colossal Machine just marched on, as if mocking their fire.

Then, the colossus prepared to unleash an attack, its six arms glowing with different colors, unleashing magic of every attribute.

Fire, water, ice, earth, wind, electricity. All attributes except for light and darkness, wielded only by protagonists and demons.

That terrifying assault shattered the ramparts in an instant.

“Wow.”

I was the first to gasp, but the other four followed suit. Frankly, if that existed, who would go through the trouble of learning magic?

Yet, if claiming defeat over something as trivial as a breached wall was the case, Marquina would have fallen to other races long ago.

The dwarves were also ready with their legendary weapons, confronting the Colossal Machine.

As I watched the grand scene of the dwarves battling the Colossal Machine, Amy presented me with the Transformation Potion she had prepared earlier.

“Drink this!”

“Right now?”

“Yes!”

Using me as a test subject in this situation? She’s got guts. As a Manly Man, I couldn’t back down!

I quickly accepted the potion and opened the lid.

“How do I use this? Just drink it?”

“While drinking, picture what you want to transform into in your mind!”

It transforms you into whatever you vividly imagine. I had dozens of images immediately popping into my head.

Isn’t this actually a potion for indecisiveness instead of transformation? Regardless, I could pick one thing I wanted to transform into. Without hesitation, I downed the potion.

“Ugh! What the hell is this taste?”

It tasted like some water that had been soaked in a rag.

“It’s because of the ingredients.”

Deheh, Amy stuck her tongue out and grinned. Given that it contained strange ingredients like monster tears or weird herbs that screamed when picked, there’s no way it would taste normal.

As I was thinking this—

-Crack, snap.

With eerie sounds, my body began to change. There wasn’t a cartoonish “bang!” or any smoke effect accompanying my transformation.

Bones protruded; my body’s structure shifted. Along with the sensation of being remade anew, I transformed.

I envisioned a colossal form to rival the Colossal Machine—a powerful creature that anyone in fantasy could imagine. One that could also hide and ambush like a chameleon.

As my body morphed, it became incredibly bizarre, no longer resembling a human in the least, yet there wasn’t a shred of pain.

Before long—

I completed the transformation into the image I had in mind.

*

“Luke…?”

It seemed something had transformed Luke, but after the transformation, he vanished from sight in an instant.

In this bewildering situation, not just Luna, but Riche and Yui also called out to Luke, but no response came.

“Wait, did it fail? That shouldn’t be possible…?”

In the moment of confusion among the four, Amy suddenly exclaimed.

“Raaahhh!”

The Transparent Dragon screeched.

 

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