I am the Centre of the World VII

[Although I did expect a certain level of power, this world sure has a higher league than most others. It's probably one of the top worlds that have been through the 3rd Great Cataclysm.] (Liera)

Was Liera's comment as they entered the truly enormous imperial castle. Yu IlHan agreed with her. Although Ferata, just before their 3rd Great Cataclysm, had also possessed 5 4th class people in one empire, Lanpas was in a different league.

"Fufu, so you feel it."

Said Irma An Ill'ta with pride, as she was the imperial princess of the empire of Palladia.

"The forces in our empire are tremendous. We even have three 4th classes, when others would consider themselves lucky if they have one."

"Your Highness, is it fine to tell him that?"

"What good is hiding it? If it's him, he would have felt their presence even without me telling him."

"Three huh? That's amazing."

Vaguely answered Yu IlHan to the imperial princess who acted very proud.

However, what Yu IlHan wasn't surprised at, was not that. Well, it was no surprise since in regards to militaristic power, even Ferata was better than Palladia.

"And there are more than one hundred of those who are at the doorstep of 4th class, but have not been able to step through it due to lack of opportunities and records."

Yes. What Yu IlHan was surprised at, was the fact that experts on magic, in a stable empire, numbered overwhelmingly higher compared to that Ferata's!

[If there are few geniuses in Ferata, then there are many talents here.] (Spiera)

[However, they will die unless they reach the 4th class. How unfortunate. I think I can sympathize since I too had a time when I was stuck at the doorstep to becoming a higher existence for a long time.] (Spiera)

[Oh, really? I never felt such a thing.] (Liera)

[Hooh, are you picking a fight with me?] (Spiera)

Such was the beginning of the 5th Angel War. Despite the battle on top of his head, Yu IlHan leisurely followed the imperial princess and Kang MiRae while guessing how many wars they would have in total.

Yumir's eyes were shining in Yu IlHan's arms, as he looked at the gigantic imperial castle, and Na YuNa walked gracefully, unlike her usual self. YuNa walking quietly was beyond beautiful, to the point that he accepted the reason why the god of beauty had bestowed a blessing on her.

And since that figure nagged on his mind more and more, he asked.

"Why are you so quiet, it's unlike you?"

"Whenever I'm at a place I'm unfamiliar with, I need to be quiet."

She said as if speaking the obvious.

"I'm too pretty so wherever I go, people will aim for me. So I need to stick to a person I can trust."

"Damn, you and your first world problems."

"But it's the truth, so I can't help it~."

How could she spout out such first world problems like that so naturally? Yu IlHan was shocked but had to accept it after noticing that the maids, mages, and knights alike that they passed by in the hallway had focused their glances on her.

Yu IlHan was natural with her since he was too used to the beauty of the angels around him, but in fact, her beauty had enough power to make everyone ignore the first imperial princess that was with her.

So, the imperial princess became slightly upset.

"...Hey, you. Cover your face with a mask or something."

"That's the last resort~. It's fine to expose my face where people don't come at me like they're mad. And there's a splendid knight beside me too!"

"I only protect myself."

"Wao!"

Yu IlHan's loner-ness wouldn't be shaken by Na YuNa's beauty alone! This was no exception to the next challenger, the imperial princess.

"Mr. Yu IlHan. I'll prepare a banquet tonight, so rest easily for today, and let's go there tomorrow."

"No, I'll go there immediately if you tell me the location."

"Still, the imperial family has prepared a welcome fea-"

"I'll finish before that. I'll go by myself so tell me the location."

"...Fuu."

The imperial princess let out a laugh after feeling Yu IlHan's firm will.

Fortunately, she had met with a lot of strange people in her life until now. Interestingly, all of those with exceptional abilities had a weird point about them. She thought to herself that Yu IlHan was one of those people.

"Then let's delay the banquet until after. And since we can't send you alone….. can you wait 20 minutes for us to get prepared?"

"That's fine."

After the imperial princess left to prepare, Yu IlHan, Na YuNa, and Yumir waited in the room where Kang MiRae stayed in the imperial castle. Although he couldn't imagine what Kang MiRae did in order to acquire a room inside the castle, Yu IlHan didn't ask.

"There might be a battle in the ruins. There were a lot of such devices during the magic kingdom era."

"Although I did suspect things to be like that, it really is?"

"That's like an RPG!"

"You wouldn't think so leisurely after confronting those traps. Testing the door openers or whatever they say – aren't they all meaningless if the entrants die...?"

Seems like Kang MiRae had a history with ruins. Yu IlHan stroked Yumir who was nibbling on a cookie in his arms, before thinking of something and taking out a bag of cookies from his inventory to hand over to Kang MiRae.

"If a battle occurs, eat one, and just one."

"Is this cookie made by you? And what do you mean in battle…..?"

Kang MiRae accepted the cookie while tilting her head, and turned stiff after checking the information on it.

"Mr. IlHan. This is...?"

"You probably guessed it, but it's not for sale."

"What is it? What is it?"

Na YuNa, who received the bag of cookies from Kang MiRae also stiffened very soon. However, she exclaimed soon after.

"Wow, this looks very expensive!"

"It's not for sale. To anyone."

Kang MiRae, who guessed the meaning behind those words, took the bag of cookies back from Na YuNa and put it inside her chest pocket. When Na YuNa nagged about wanting to eat one, Kang MiRae gave her a smack instead of a cookie.

Not long after, the imperial princess, who was riddled with all sorts of earrings, rings, tiara, and bracelets, and looked like she was preparing for a ritual, appeared. She shouted courageously.

"Well, then. Let's go!"

"I thought there was a restriction on the number of accessories you can equip?"

"I have a subclass that allows me to increase the number of equippable artifacts!"

Now that was a meaningless subclass for anyone other than a princess of a huge empire!

Yu IlHan knew of the infinite potential of subclasses as he himself had the Angel's Partner, and Dragon Rider subclass, but he could only admit defeat in front of the princess's subclass. He also wanted that class.

[You do know that just because you want to get one doesn't mean you will, right? Like how you acquired the Angel's Partner and Dragon Rider are special cases.] (Liera)

"Of course. So, first, let me try making accessory-type artifacts for the next few months."

[Yup, you aren't listening at all.] (Liera)

While Yu IlHan was deciding in his heart, what subclass to earn for his next class, the imperial princess's words came to a climax.

"We've prepared an airship so let's go immediately?"

"....Miss MiRae. Is this empire really wealthy?"

"Yes."

Kang MiRae immediately nodded and explained further.

"I thought all worlds were like this, but it looks like they aren't."

"I want to get on the airship!"

"Everyone, hurry up!"

The airship prepared in the flight zone in one corner of the imperial castle wasn't as big as he had expected, but it had a tremendously sturdy and beautiful outer appearance.

"That's amazing. You've mana-crafted the magic stone itself."

Yu IlHan exclaimed while checking the various artifacts installed according to their roles in various parts of the airship. When mana crafting on a magic stone, it had a higher probability of transferring the power contained in the magic stone, and it also enabled the magic stone to emit mana more stably.

If there was a drawback, it was that there was an extremely high possibility of the functions of the completed artifact being restricted, and the conclusion was that more magic stones had to be wasted in making an artifact that had the same function! Yu IlHan felt deplored after seeing many 4th class magic stones embedded in various places throughout the airship.

"Fuuu..."

[Ah, IlHan is in a silent rage!] (Liera)

[The soul of a meister is crying…..] (Erta)

"Amazing, isn't it?"

The imperial princess acted proud without knowing what he was thinking. Yu IlHan decided to not speak about how he could make a better item than this with just two 4th class magic stones, as he seated himself.

However, unlike Yu IlHan, Yumir was very excited.

"Dad, are we going to fly in the skies with this?"

"Yes. Although, it's much slower than me."

"Dad is amazing."

Even though she wanted to retort, she couldn't say anything since she saw Yu IlHan using Ruin Calling to fly just 3 days ago. Irma An Ill'ta activated the airship after feeling a little down.

The magic engine was activated to levitate the airship, and immediately after that, another engine was activated to push the airship forward. The speed gradually increased over time, but the inside of the airship was quiet and comfortable as if they were on the ground. Only, the pilot was busy activating and controlling many artifacts at once.

"How is it?"

After the airship completely took off, the imperial princess looked back at the group with shiny eyes.

Kang MiRae kept quiet as she had experienced riding in these before, and Yu IlHan did think that it was quite unexpected since it was more comfortable and wider than an aeroplane but didn't say anything.

Yumir was looking at the outside scenery in joy, and only Na YuNa replied with a bright smile.

"It's a lot worse than an aeroplane!"

"Wut!"

"Don't compare it to the first-class seats!"

The atmosphere became cold in an instant. The imperial princess stared at Na YuNa, but the person in question only nonchalantly smiled. Yu IlHan decided to play with the kind and cute Yumir rather than meet eyes with those idiots.

The airship arrived at the destination in exactly one hour. It was located in the middle of a huge stone mountain, completely outside the city, and from the fact that there were traces of big explosions nearby, it seemed like they had used magic in the excavation process.

A truly humongous and grand monument was rolling on the ground, and nearby was the entrance to the ruins. He thought that that monument may have been blocking the entrance to the ruins.

In any case, the entrance to the ruins had opened. A path entirely made of pure, white metal, could be seen connecting to the central regions of the stone mountain. Although it was unknown how deep it was, it was incalculable to the eyes from the outside.

"Your Highness!"

"Yes. Some of you come here and guard the airship."

The knights and mages protecting the entrance to the ruins immediately ran over after noticing that the airship had landed. The imperial princess naturally gave them orders, and guided the group to the ruins.

"You need to enter here. We had a hard time cleaning out that monument."

It seems like Yu IlHan's predictions were on the mark. It was amazing how there were traces of burns and craters all around the monument, but the monument itself had no scratches at all.

Yu IlHan approached it. There were incomprehensible archaic characters everywhere and after reading them for a moment, he asked the princess.

"Did you not think that there was another way to open the ruins?"

"We did try, but there was no other method."

"So that's why you used such a stupid method."

"Stupid!? Even I don't want to use magic against such a sturdy stone! I brought 2 4th class mages to do it!"

Yu IlHan was talking about how stupid it was to remove the monument with raw strength, but it seemed like the princess had misunderstood.

'This person has both a sharp side and a stupid side. I don't want to get caught up with her in the future, if possible.' thought he, as expected of a loner, while extending his hand to the monument.

"What are you going to do to the monument?"

"I'm going to open the entrance."

"Huh? But I've already opened the... so that's it. I did not actually open it, correct?"

"Yes."

The imperial princess had understood correctly this time. Yu IlHan made the group back off with a wave of his hand without many words. An incomprehensible language to anyone in that place came out of his mouth.

"(Welcome to this place, O, strange one.)"

"Huh? What did you just say?"

"Don't tell me he's reading the archaic text on the monument!? How can a person from Earth-like Mr. Yu IlHan read the archaic language of this world....?"

He ignored the reactions of everyone present as he read on. The more he read, the more light the monument started emitting, and accordingly, mana started boiling within the ruins.

"(The devotion of the juniors willing to continue and research the meaning of magic engineering...)"

"Amazing, the ruins are reacting! I knew it was right to have brought him here!"

"Although Mr. IlHan was already amazing, never did I know that he had the ability to read archaic languages..."

Yu IlHan was now reading the last sentence on the monument.

"(I leave behind here, the essence of magic engineering that I've dedicated my life to researching. I wish for the junior to see the ends of magic engineering, which I was not able to catch even the slightest glimpse of, due to the lack of my ability.)"

The monument glowed in blue. Following that, the path made of white metal started trembling and the light intensified. The high-level mana crafting technique had leapt beyond time and started breathing again!

Yu IlHan explained to MiRae and company.

"It seems like it wasn't activated properly since it has been such a long time since the ruins were made, but it looks like reading the text on the monument was a trigger to activate all the magic engines again. It did take a little of my mana in the process.... in any case, the ruins will be active now."

"So now we can acquire everything inside the ruins!"

Shouted the imperial princess in emotion. However, immediately after that, an explosion with a 'boom!" could be heard at the summit of the stone mountain.

It was fortunate that the ruins hadn't collapsed, but the explosions did not stop there and gave a bad feeling to all those present.

"No, it 'was' like that originally, but the situation is slightly different now."

When everyone's gazes were on the summit of the mountain, Yu IlHan refuted her comment. However, as the group was being shocked while seeing a gigantic… 'something' raising its 'body', they didn't listen to him.

"Miss Ill'ta brought two mages here and fired off magic like mad."

"But nothing happened at that time, though?"

"Like I said, the ruins will act normally 'now'."

Nonchalantly replied Yu IlHan as he warmed up his body. He was preparing for battle.

"Although it's a little late, now that it's functioning properly, it's trying to 'exterminate the invaders'."

[To think it will do a timed attack, nice going!] (Liera)

[Please be a little more nervous. No matter how you look at it, it's a colossal monster over level 250!] (Erta)

Kang MiRae took out the bag of cookies from her chest pocket, and threw one in her mouth, and gave one to Na YuNa and Yumir each. Na YuNa became happy from the cookie even in this situation.

"Mr. IlHan, marry me after defeating that thing!"

[Guoooooooooooh!]

Replied the colossal monster on the mountain instead of Yu IlHan. Na YuNa grumbled.

"I didn't ask you!"

"Nah, it's fine. I have the same opinion."

"You're too much! At least reply to me in Korean!"

"Fine, I refuse."

"Wao!"

"And please buff me."

"Wao! And I hate myself for buffing him so obediently!"

[Attack power and defense increases by 30% for 20 minutes. When ambushed, a shield will appear to protect you, and all attacks will have an additional effect from the god of beauty, Leytna's power.]

Yu IlHan expanded his Ruin Calling as soon as he received Na YuNa's buff full of 'love' and 'devotion'. After letting Yumir go, he also took out a magic stuffed cookies, and threw it in his mouth.

"Uiiiik! Who would've known that such a monster existed in the magic engineering ruin!"

"Mir, don't approach it and attack from long range, okay?"

"Got it!"

While the imperial princess gathered the knights and mages that protected the entrance to the ruins with a crying face, Yu IlHan instructed Yumir as he flew into the air with a leap.

At that place, was 'it'. 'It' being, a ludicrously large monster that made him think it would be possible to have a 100m dash on top of its back.

[Kuoooooooh!]

The monster that had grown after eating a tremendous amount of mana during the long years of hibernation – the giant golem; born from the essence of the magic engineering era's top technology – let out a deafening roar!