[Revive...]

[The Titan...?]

"Yeah."

Lee Shin-Woo’s nonchalant response made the Giants freeze. They focused on the now exposed core; it was quite memorable to see cold air forming ice all over the core despite the circumstances.

[As expected, it takes a human to say something so impious with such ease.]

[The Titan passed away. If a human could revive it, it would've risen long ago.]

"Mm, you still don't get it even when you're looking right at it."

Lee Shin-Woo stared at the Titan's Heart...or more precisely, the Titan Golem Core, as it drew in heat from its dented side nonstop. He let out a wry laugh.

How long had it been since the core’s creation? He thought about how the story of a giant Golem had morphed into the legend of the Titan. He was certain it must have been more than a couple centuries. Moreover, there were no traces on the core indicating that it was made by a Steelworker! That meant the core hadn’t been made by the Empire!

"Do you still think the Titan is a god?"

[We will tolerate no more disrespect. I acknowledge that you're strong for a human, but the penalty for looking down on the Titan's Pride is death.]

"Is that so?" Lee Shin-Woo replied apathetically.

They remained frustratingly ignorant even though it was clearly not a living being's heart. Lee Shin-Woo had to show them the truth in a different way.

"Watch."

[You dare!]

Lee Shin-Woo extended his hand. While the Giants were overwhelmingly stronger than Lee Shin-Woo, they were also extremely slow. When they reached out to stop him, Lee Shin-Woo had already reached the core.

[How dare you!]

"Ha."

Lee Shin-Woo evaded the Giants' attacks and grabbed the core. As expected, he felt the core stealing all the heat from him at contact, but he didn’t have to worry about freezing with his level 8 Intermediate Fire.

[T-The heart.]

[That fool... The human ends up taking the Titan's Heart!]

[The Titan's Pride will kill you without fail. When it does, we'll take back the Titan's Heart! That's not just the proof of our ancestors, but the very soul of the Giant Tribe!]

Lee Shin-Woo had already blocked out the Giants. All of his attention was on the Titan Golem Core in his hands. The moment Lee Shin-Woo used his power, the core, which had until now been absorbing all heat...

[Through Bone Reinforcement, the Lv8 Damaged Titan Golem Core is transforming.]

He had been worried that it might reject his skill like the Huginn's Eye, but fortunately, it did transform. Perhaps his affinity was high since he'd manufactured Golems before, and he had earned the title ‘Puppet Master’.

[T-The Titan's Heart is...!?]

[Kill himmmmmmmm!]

The enraged Giants rushed up to Lee Shin-Woo, but they couldn't get too close. Their large frames dwarfed the Titan’s Heart, and there was a chance they would damage Titan’s Heart if they tried to kill Lee Shin-Woo, which would be an unforgivable sin.

"As I thought, you guys really are undead. Or were you like this when you were alive? You have no patience."

[You have acquired the Lv8 Damaged Titan Golem Bone Core.]

The transformation was complete. Half of the once crimson metal core now looked like a red, broken circular bone.

Its energy hadn't diminished in the least from the transformation. The changed composition and form had only made it easier for Lee Shin-Woo to understand the core… And there was one more thing.

"I'd expected as much, but it's still damaged even after the transformation. I don't think I'll be able to analyze a thing when it's in this state. In order to restore it, I'll have to use Bone Reinforcement... Oh, that's right."

He could use Bone Reinforcement on the core itself!

Lee Shin-Woo mulled over what the right materials to reinforce it with would be. He didn’t take too long to think before he opened his inventory and pulled out something that wasn’t bone. It was none other than the fossil that permanently radiated heat... The Solar Fossil.

[Consuming the Solar Fossil to reinforce the Damaged Titan Golem Bone Core. The compatibility between the two items is incredibly high! 2% of the Bone Core's information has been restored!]

"Nice!"

[...Huh!?]

[This human.]

[The Titan's Heart is...?]

Lee Shin-Woo was the only one who could see the messages, yet all the Giants there responded. Why, you ask? It was because the authority—or blessing, as the Giants understood it—bestowed upon them by the Titan's Heart had become stronger.

[What is he doing...?]

"I already told you. I'm reviving the Titan."

Lee Shin-Woo reinforced the Bone Core with the second Solar Fossil. The core accepted it without hesitation, as if it was a chick that was being fed by its mother.

[A resounding success! 3% of the Bone Core's information has been restored!]

[I-It's gotten stronger again!]

[Is he truly...? Is a human truly reviving the Titan...?]

The Giants were confused. Contrary to their original assumptions, Lee Shin-Woo wasn't stealing the Titan's Heart, but restoring its energy. The realization doused their hostility towards Lee Shin-Woo. Undead were always quick to anger but also quick to calm down.

[Success! 2% of the Bone Core's information has been restored.]

[A resounding success! 3% of the Bone Core's information has been restored.]

[Success! ...]

The compatibility between the Solar Fossil and the Bone Core was unmatched. When reinforcing a core with a similar core, there would be times when the reinforcement failed, but the Solar Fossils never failed to reinforce the Bone Core.

Perhaps the Solar Fossil had been used in the construction of the Titan Golem Core in the past... Or more accurately, it was the sunlight stone that had been used in either the creation of the core or part of the Golem’s body.

[It's gradually...]

[The energy in my body is increasing more and more. It might even be similar to the blessing that the Titan bestowed upon all Giants when it was alive...!]

Why was their energy increasing as the Bone Core was restored more and more? What exactly was the connection between this core and the Giants? Lee Shin-Woo continued to reinforce the Bone Core diligently, if for no other reason than to find out the link between the two.

[A resounding success! 3% of the Bone Core's information has been restored.]

[Success! 2% of the Bone Core's information has been restored.]

The restoration rate of the core had already reached 50%. At this point, the restoration began to slow down, but each Solar Fossil still restored the core by at least 1% without fail. The Giants were no longer just shocked; they looked in awe.

[T-The Titan is...]

[The human... No, Paul Zero was right. The Titan...is coming back to life...!]

[Ooh, Ooooh...!]

The Giants who had been standing around awkwardly began to bow to Lee Shin-Woo. Lee Shin-Woo had expected to clear up the 'misunderstanding', but things unfolded in an unexpected manner. He couldn’t help but smile.

[A resounding success! The Bone Core's information has been completely restored.]

When he finally completely restored the Bone Core, the Bone Core stopped drawing in all of the surrounding heat. The once prevalent cold air was instantaneously cleared, and the Giants looked as though they were going to cry.

[The curse has finally been lifted...!]

[How preposterous. To think it was a human who did it!]

[I'm angry. I may be angry, but I guess I have to acknowledge him!]

[You... You're our savior. Fennos sent us a savior!]

Lee Shin-Woo glanced at the Giants and turned his attention back to the Bone Core. A hero's eyes could see all, and he mercilessly devoured the now complete Bone Core's information.

[Lv8 Titan Golem Bone Core]

[A Golem created by a human who wanted to reach godhood. A Titan's core. When the Titan was destroyed, the core's charging function was damaged. As a result, it became a defective item that continuously drew in heat. However, it is now restored to its 100% functionality.]

[The heat is charged to 100%, but because there is only the core left, there is nowhere to release the heat. You must learn to recreate the Golem and procure the necessary materials to manufacture it.]

"...Ha."

Lee Shin-Woo couldn't help but laugh. How unbelievable. The core had frozen the entire mountain range and even twisted and hidden the Giants’ Domain only because its charging function had been damaged!

So the original Golem sucked in heat from its surrounding and stored it in the core. Its strength lay in releasing all of that heat.

Once it reached full capacity, it would stop charging, but because the core's charge function had been damaged, it could never reach its full capacity and ended up creating the ridiculously icy zone. What a joke!

"Kratia would be disappointed if she found out."

Kratia had thought that the Titan's Heart was an item that continuously discharged cold air. However, that cold air was just a byproduct of the Titan's Heart sucking in all the heat in its surroundings; that would be an unsatisfying revelation to her.

Wait, that may not be the case.

Kratia might actually get excited if she knew that they could make a new type of Golem with this. With a level 8 core, they might even be able to create a level 8 Golem if all went well!

[Who is Kratia...?]

"She's someone who'll be really helpful in reviving the Titan."

[Oh, Oooh!]

At some point, the Giants had begun addressing Lee Shin-Woo with honorifics, and Lee Shin-Woo accepted it quite naturally. He'd been in so many scenarios where an individual changed their attitude to him when the situation changed.

[Can you really...revive the Titan?]

[If that's the case, we'll be able to regain our original power!]

[A true Titan's Pride. With pride that none can challenge!]

Lee Shin-Woo grabbed onto the Titan's Heart. Now that it was fully restored, he realized the 'Titan's Pride' the Giants spoke of wasn't simply a belief.

They were actually strengthened by the Titan's Heart. If he managed to recreate the Titan, the Giants would undergo an even greater transformation. After analyzing the core, albeit only briefly, he now understood the reason somewhat.

"Humans who wanted to become Gods... You're that group of humans."

[We were Titans... The Titan Tribe.]

"Yeah, right. Titans."

Lee Shin-Woo had observed the mana flowing within the Giants and concluded that the pattern was what gave them their strength and sturdy constitutions.

Through a special way of circulating mana, they developed their bones, muscles, skin, and blood and became the Giants they were. While they didn't have any magical abilities, they could use mana to reinforce their bodies to such an extent that they were able to overcome magic.

Wasn't that kind of strange, though? There was no reason to further enlarge their bodies with mana if they had always been Giants. It would make more sense for them to create a technique to harmonize their powerful physical bodies and mana to generate incredible destructive force.

Giants didn't start out as Giants.

If they hadn’t been Giants at the very beginning, everything made sense.

To reach godhood, they studied mana and applied their research to the human bodies. As they focused on improving their bodies nonstop...Mana Breathing was born and spread amongst humans. Generation after generation, the technique was passed down... If that was how their descendants steadily increased in size...

What if the Titan Golem is the basis for Mana Breathing?

In that case, it made sense that the magic coming out of the core would affect and strengthen the Giants’ mana...

"Hoo."

Lee Shin-Woo shook his head to himself. In the end, it was nothing more than a hypothesis. Perhaps Titans born with Mana Breathing had been developing with the Titan Golem as the ideal. The goddess would probably give them her blessing as well.

"Since all that matters is the result."

[Sir... Paul Zero?]

"Listen."

Lee Shin-Woo curtly ordered the Giants, who were now even addressing him with a ‘sir’.

"We're going to revive the Titan. Now help us kill Metafel. You can, can't you?"

[Of course we can!]

The Giant who'd led him here, as well as his senior heroes, responded energetically.

Aside from these Giants, no one had any idea that a single skeleton was attempting to revive the Titan, which had been lost in the annals of history.