The Greatest Estate Developer - Chapter 75
‘What is this…?’
Lloyd’s eyes widened in shock.
A fourth skill option?
Circle Shift?
This was an unexpected bonus—something he had neither considered nor anticipated.
And yet, something about the description felt oddly familiar.
‘Revolutions per minute? RPM? Gear shifts from 1 to 6?’
It sounded just like a car’s transmission system.
As if he could adjust the Circle’s rotation speed the same way gears were shifted in a vehicle.
‘And separately too? I can control each of the three Circles individually?’
Thump, thump.
His heart pounded as he reread the skill description.
And for good reason.
It was an incredible ability.
‘This is insane.’
Controlling the rotational speed of a Circle had always been difficult.
Maintaining a consistent, precise speed was even harder.
Rotating mana Circles around the heart…
It was similar to spinning a large ring around one’s fingers.
Anyone could do it with a little practice.
Speeding it up or slowing it down was possible too.
But keeping that rotation perfectly consistent? That was nearly impossible.
‘Of course. Getting close is one thing, but to maintain an exact rotation rate, down to fractions of a second… That’s what true perfection would require.’
And yet, this new Circle Shift option?
It made that perfection possible.
Not just for one Circle—but for all three.
And each could be controlled separately at a fixed speed!
‘This is ridiculous.’
Lloyd swallowed hard.
Up until moments ago, he had been a Double Circle user.
He knew just how difficult it was to control multiple Circles at different speeds.
Controlling two Circles independently…
It was harder than spinning two rings at different speeds, one on each hand.
And Triple Circle?
‘That’s like spinning rings on both hands and adding one on an ankle.’
Controlling three independently rotating Circles like that…
It was no longer just a skill—it was an acrobatic feat, a circus-level stunt.
That was why Javier, who could manipulate Circles freely from the moment he created them, was considered a monster.
‘But now, I can do it too.’
Of course, he wouldn’t have Javier’s finesse.
He couldn’t fine-tune the Circles beyond the six preset speeds.
‘Still, this is huge.’
Using Circle Shift for gear adjustments.
Adjusting rotation speed to gain control.
Thanks to this, he could now use Confined Blasting without extensive training.
‘To trigger a blast, mana Circles have to collide.’
But the Circles naturally repelled each other.
Just like magnets with the same polarity, they pushed away from one another.
That made it incredibly difficult to bring them into contact.
To counteract this repulsion?
The Circles had to spin at extreme speeds.
But it wasn’t just about spinning them fast.
‘They need to rotate at an exact ratio. Was it… 2 to 3?’
Lloyd recalled something from a while back.
A 2:3 rotational ratio.
Javier had casually mentioned it.
He had said it was the ideal collision condition.
A reference for when Lloyd eventually reached Triple Circle.
And at that moment—
GRRRRRK!
A monstrous roar came from behind. No, from above.
Startled, Lloyd looked up.
The night sky was gone.
Instead, he saw Gigatitan’s massive body looming over him.
There was only one possible explanation.
‘It’s already caught up?!’
BOOM! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM—!
Gigatitan’s front leg slammed into the ground.
Right where Ppodong had stepped just five seconds ago.
‘This is bad.’
Lloyd swallowed hard.
There was no more time.
He grabbed one of Ppodong’s floppy ears and shouted.
“Ppodong!”
“Ppo, Ppodong! Huff, huff!”
“You can run without me, right?!”
“Ppodong!”
“Good! Just hold out a little longer! I’ll take a shot at that bastard! Stay alive until then! Got it?!”
“Ppo, Ppododong! Huff, huff!”
Ppodong, panting heavily, nodded.
Lloyd kicked off his back.
Fwip—!
His body launched into the air.
Ppodong’s round back quickly shrank into the distance.
And with the weight off his, he seemed to run just a tiny bit faster.
Meanwhile, from behind, Gigatitan’s pillar-like leg closed in at terrifying speed.
Whoooosh!
“…Hup!”
Lloyd inhaled sharply.
He was still airborne.
Still falling.
And Gigatitan’s massive leg was rushing toward him.
He braced for impact.
WHAM—!
Like crashing into a concrete pillar, he slammed into Gigatitan’s leg.
In that instant, he stretched out both arms.
He wrapped them tightly around the limb.
By sheer luck, he managed to grab onto a rough protrusion on the monster’s exoskeleton.
That kept him from slipping off.
But his stomach churned from the impact.
‘Guh!’
His diaphragm had taken the hit.
Breathing properly became a struggle.
But Lloyd gritted his teeth.
‘What is my life?! I’m not some action movie protagonist!’
Cursing his fate, he reached up.
He grabbed another protrusion, pulling himself higher.
Like a rock climber scaling a cliff, he climbed.
Thankfully, Triple Circle filled him with boundless stamina.
A height of dozens of meters.
A constantly moving pillar-like leg.
Even under these extreme conditions, he moved like a cockroach scaling a kitchen sink.
‘Faster! Climb faster!’
Time was running out.
Gigatitan was about to reach Ppodong.
‘If I’m late, both Ppodong and Javier are doomed.’
At last, Lloyd pulled himself onto Gigatitan’s back.
He dashed toward its head.
At the same time, he hastily rehearsed his blasting technique.
‘I won’t get many chances. I have to get this right on the first try.’
Whether it was basketball, soccer dribbling, idol dancing, swimming—even learning to walk—
Everything needed practice.
This is… insane.
Lloyd’s eyes widened.
A high-level technique like Confined Blasting required intense practice.
‘The rotation ratio was 2 to 3, right?’
He recalled Javier’s advice.
Activating his newly acquired Circle Shift option, he issued the command.
[Activating Asrahan Heart Technique Skill Option ④: Circle Shift.]
‘Since it’s just practice, I’ll start with gears 1, 2, and 3.’
With the settings confirmed, his three Circles immediately responded.
[Alpha Circle set to Gear 1. RPM fixed at 1,000.]
[Beta Circle set to Gear 2. RPM fixed at 2,000.]
[Gamma Circle set to Gear 3. RPM fixed at 3,000.]
Bzzzzzt—!
Each Circle spun at its designated speed.
Among them, the second and third—Beta Circle and Gamma Circle—exhibited a peculiar reaction.
Though he hadn’t forced them together, they naturally gravitated toward one another.
‘Oh.’
Startled, Lloyd quickly manipulated Alpha Circle.
He wrapped his heart with the 1,000 RPM Alpha Circle.
The collision happened instantly.
BANG!
Beta Circle and Gamma Circle crashed into each other near his heart.
“…!”
A pressure unlike anything he had ever felt exploded from within.
A destructive force surged from deep inside.
It struck against his heart, encased by Alpha Circle.
“Urgh!”
Is this what a heart attack feels like?
Mid-run, Lloyd clutched his chest and nearly collapsed.
But he quickly moved his arms.
He reached for the shovel strapped to his back.
He slammed it into the ground.
At the same time, he redirected the destructive force created by the colliding Circles through the shovel.
BOOOOOM!
The blast shot out from the shovel’s flat blade.
It struck Gigatitan’s backplate.
Lloyd was launched five meters into the air.
“Gahhh!”
He nearly flew off Gigatitan’s back.
Barely regaining his balance, he landed on the carapace.
His grip tightened around the shovel’s handle.
It worked. I did it.
His test attempt at Confined Blasting had succeeded on the first try.
No—this was beyond a simple success.
‘I didn’t even force the Circles to collide. Just setting their rotation to the golden ratio made them crash on their own.’
That meant one thing.
From now on, he could use Confined Blasting instantly, anytime he wanted.
‘Let’s go!’
Fueled with confidence, Lloyd shot to his feet.
He ran along Gigatitan’s backplate.
He approached the weak spot near the 11th and 12th abdominal plates.
From here, things would get tricky.
“Hup! Hup!”
He climbed down the beast’s side, clinging to its armor.
‘This feels like a goddamn military obstacle course!’
The vast expanse of Gigatitan’s plated underbelly.
Sharp spikes protruded throughout.
He latched onto them.
Swinging from one spike to another, he advanced.
Above him, the plates and spikes.
Below, a several dozen-meter drop to the ground.
‘I’m not looking down.’
He kept his eyes fixed upward.
Like a mosquito creeping along human skin in search of blood, he moved stealthily.
And finally, he arrived at the weak spot.
There it is.
The gap between the 11th and 12th abdominal plates.
A 50-centimeter hole.
It was angled toward Gigatitan’s head.
‘That’s where Javier struck with his blast.’
Lloyd gripped his shovel.
One more strike was all it would take.
He steadied his breath.
He adjusted his stance, mirroring the exact angle of Javier’s attack.
One shot.
That’s all he needed.
Determined, he spun his mana Circles.
He set the rotation speeds using Circle Shift.
‘Gears 3, 4, and 6.’
BZZZZZT—!
The Circles reacted instantly.
Each spun at 3,000, 4,000, and 6,000 RPM.
Much more intense than before.
Lloyd enveloped his heart with Alpha Circle at 3,000 RPM.
‘Now, I just need the collision.’
Beta Circle at 4,000 RPM.
Gamma Circle at 6,000 RPM.
The moment they collided, he would channel that force through his shovel.
He opened the mana pathway to his right arm.
He prepared to unleash the explosion.
BZZZZZZZT!
Beta and Gamma Circles resonated.
They drew closer.
They were about to collide.
Lloyd aimed his shovel, waiting for the precise moment.
And then—
GRRRRRK!
Gigatitan let out a fierce roar.
Suddenly, it stopped charging.
It let Ppodong go.
Instead, it slammed its massive front legs into the ground.
The impact shattered the rock beneath.
Then, it abruptly pulled its legs back.
The broken debris was caught in the motion.
Stone fragments shot upward.
They turned into deadly projectiles.
And they rained down upon the 11th and 12th abdominal plates.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Lloyd’s eyes widened in shock.
Did it realize I was aiming for its weak spot?!
It seemed so.
That had to be why it suddenly shattered the ground—to send those deadly shards his way.
SMACK!
“…!”
A powerful blow struck the side of his head.
Lloyd’s vision blurred.
His entire upper body lurched from the impact.
Blood splattered mid-air as his head snapped to the side.
Did I… just get hit?
His mind felt sluggish.
Time seemed to slow.
His eyes drifted downward.
A stone slightly larger than his fist fell lifelessly nearby.
Blood stained one of its edges.
My blood.
It had struck him square in the head.
If I fail here…
He couldn’t fail.
He wanted to succeed.
He had promised Javier.
But his grip faltered.
His left hand lost its hold on the armor spike.
His entire body slipped.
He began to fall.
No…
Lloyd’s eyes lifted.
Time still felt slow.
Gigatitan’s armor plates drifted further away.
Yet, even as he fell…
The unfinished hole—the weak spot—remained crystal clear in his vision.
Just once.
One more strike.
That was all he needed.
Just once.
No need for a second chance.
Just one strike.
That was all it would take.
Spin the mana Circles.
Use Circle Shift properly.
Follow the ratio Javier had taught him.
‘Two… to three.’
He mumbled unconsciously.
His mind blurred from the concussion.
Amidst the fading consciousness, only one memory resurfaced.
2 to 3.
The mana Circles had to rotate at a 2:3 ratio.
He had to maintain that ratio and make them collide.
‘Two to three…’
At the very edge of losing consciousness—
His sheer determination triggered Circle Shift.
There was no fine control anymore.
Only 2 to 3.
He kept repeating those words as he instinctively adjusted the gears.
Alpha Circle shifted to Gear 2.
Beta and Gamma Circles shifted to Gear 3.
They spun ferociously.
BZZZZZZZZZZT—!
Alpha Circle became the core, and the other Circles rotated around it.
All three Circles resonated in perfect 2:3 harmony.
Resonating, they rapidly drew closer.
There was no protective Circle around his heart.
All three Circles collided at once.
At that instant—
As he teetered on the brink of unconsciousness—
Lloyd’s body moved on instinct.
He extended his steel shovel.
BOOOOOOOOM—!
A deafening explosion erupted.
A monstrous force pierced Gigatitan’s weak spot.
The blast tore through the layers of protective armor.
It shredded muscle and internal organs hidden beneath.
It didn’t stop.
It pushed forward. It tore through. It penetrated.
It obliterated everything in its path.
The force continued to rip through the body—
From its belly… all the way to its back.
THOOOOOOOOM—!
Lloyd’s sheer will and determination had manifested into an unbelievable strike.
The first-ever Triple Confined Blasting in history had just detonated.