Helios Factory.

A factory located at the edge of the Golden District, just before the Silver District, where most ordinary factories were found. That alone emphasized Helios’s importance, as it was one of the few factories permitted in the Golden District.

"We’re almost there, my lord."

My driver spoke while I sat in the backseat, reading a novel. At the moment, my bedroom still had two women trying to get along, my training room was a mess because of the dungeon, and now I didn’t even have a machine to train with.

The only thing I could reasonably do now was check on the factory and plan its defenses in advance. If I was lucky, I might even find something there that could help back in my capital.

"Very well. Just make sure to keep the car steady, I’m reading."

"No need to worry. The roads in the Golden District are very well maintained, especially for someone with my experience. I know the best routes for a comfortable ride."

"Seems like I picked the right driver."

"You flatter me, my lord."

I turned the page, but my mind wasn’t on the words. The automobile hummed beneath me, wheels rolling smoothly over the well-maintained roads of the Golden District.

This felt far more comfortable than the carriage that took me to the conclave hall. I wasn’t even sure why nobles in this world still used carriages, considering how slow they were.

Pretentiousness really does win out over practicality...

Outside the window, the buildings had shifted from the looming estates of the nobility to something more industrial, though still far too polished to be called a factory district.

Helios Factory was supposed to be state-of-the-art. One of the few facilities in the empire capable of producing the specialized equipment needed for the frontier defenses.

In the novel, it had been a turning point, a location where the original protagonist had secured critical resources after repelling the portal that appeared there and gaining his awakening.

But here, now, with things already diverging from the original timeline... I needed to see it for myself.

"The factory should be coming into view shortly, my lord," the driver said.

I set the book down and looked out the window.

In the distance, rising above the surrounding buildings, I could see it. A cluster of smoke stacks, belching gray-white plumes into the overcast sky. The architecture was brutalist in a way that clashed with the rest of the district, all sharp angles and reinforced walls.

It looked less like a factory and more like a fortress.

"Makes sense," I murmured.

In a world constantly under threat from magical beasts, even your manufacturing facilities needed to be able to withstand a siege.

"My lord?"

"Nothing. Just thinking out loud."

***

The factory gates were manned by a squad of private guards, their uniforms bearing the Helios Corporation insignia: a stylized sunburst over crossed gears. They straightened when they saw my car approach, and one of them, a lieutenant by the insignia on his collar, stepped forward to meet us.

"Your Grace." He bowed as I stepped out of the vehicle. "We weren’t expecting you. If we’d known, we would have prepared a proper reception."

"I didn’t come for a reception." I looked past him at the factory floor visible through the open gate. Workers moved between massive machines, their faces smudged with grease and exhaustion.

"I came to inspect my new purchase is all."

The lieutenant’s expression flickered, uncertainty flashing across his features before he smoothed it away.

"Of course, Your Grace. I’ll escort you to the director’s office immediately. He’ll be honored to—"

"No."

I started walking toward the factory floor.

The lieutenant scrambled to keep up. "Your Grace, the factory floor is dangerous for—"

"I think I can handle a few moving machines, lieutenant."

I didn’t wait for his response. The factory floor stretched out before me, a space of steel and steam, where conveyor belts carried raw materials toward massive presses that shaped them into components I didn’t recognize. Overhead, gantries crisscrossed the ceiling, workers moving along them with the easy confidence of people who had done this a thousand times.

The machines themselves were impressive, powered by pipes that ran along every wall. Made by something that looked like a fusion of steam and gears.

"Your Grace." The lieutenant had caught up to me, slightly out of breath. "If you’ll allow me to explain the various departments—"

"That’s not important."

I moved past a massive press as it came down with a hiss of steam, flattening a sheet of metal into something that looked like armor plating.

"I want you to lead me to storage room 7B."

"Storage room 7B? That place has been abandoned for—"

"Doesn’t matter, I want to take a look at it."

If the novel still held true, that abandoned storage room was exactly where the portal would first appear and unleash the magical beast.

Right now, I needed to make sure the place was cleared and prepared for defense. The main character took that thing down on his own, but I’m not an idiot.

I’d take that thing on with an army.

And I’d make sure I landed the final blow so I could get my awakening.

***

The lieutenant hesitated at the entrance to storage room 7B, his hand hovering over the keyring at his belt.

"Your Grace, I should inform you, this area hasn’t been used in nearly two years. The structural integrity hasn’t been assessed recently, and there may be—"

"Just open the door."

Click.

Creak.

The room beyond was cavernous, easily the size of a warehouse. Surprisingly, this place still had working lightbulbs.

"You weren’t kidding, this place really is abandoned."

Dust coated every surface, thick and definitely unhygienic. Crates lined the walls, their contents long since forgotten, their labels faded beyond recognition.

The air was cold. Colder than it should have been.

I stepped inside, my boots leaving tracks in the dust. The lieutenant stayed at the threshold, waiting for instructions.

"Wait outside," I said without turning around. "And don’t let anyone else in."

"Yes, Your Grace."

The door closed behind me, and I was alone.

I walked deeper into the room, my footsteps echoing off the distant walls. Above me, the gantries creaked softly, metal settling in the cold.

It was starting to feel like I was a side character in a horror movie.

This place definitely wasn’t normal.

[Warning: Magical signature detected. Low intensity. Source unknown.]

I stopped.

The system had never given me a warning like that before, not even in the dungeon. I scanned the room slowly, my hand resting on the hilt of the new longsword at my hip. The enchanted blade was cool against my palm, reassuring.

"This is new... is this some background lore the author never bothered putting in the novel...?"

"There!"

Near the back wall. A circle of crates arranged in a pattern that didn’t look accidental. And in the center of that circle, barely visible in the dim light, something carved into the stone floor.

"What the...?" I murmured.

The lines were sharp and precise, and they seemed to drink the light rather than reflect it. Dark magic, then. Or something close to it.

I crouched beside the circle, studying the carvings. I didn’t recognize the language, but I didn’t need to.

’What’s this?’

[A summoning circle]

"What...?"

So someone had been here. Someone had carved these runes, arranged these crates, and left this room to gather dust while they waited for something.

Or for someone.

"The portal doesn’t appear naturally," I said quietly, thinking aloud. "In the novel, it just... happened. But the main character never really went here beforehand, did he? Now this is interesting..."