Ferdinand POV
I sat calmly in my chair as I watched the process for the transformation of the First Super Soldier that was being created in the name of the Imperium Daciae, the first of many that would be part of the Bulwark that I would use in the future. Taking a quick look around, I could see that my Personal Guard were almost falling out of their chairs because they were leaning forward so much, not wanting to miss anything.
Turning my attention to our first Super Soldier, who I quickly learned from Klara that his name was Leonidas, I saw the scientists strapping Leonidas onto the giant metal stretcher before beginning the procedures, with me having extremely high expectations.
3rd Pov
When the scientists prepared all the materials, the entire audience saw the scientists beginning the process of transforming Leonidas Nicologlou into a Perfect Soldier, first, they took special substances created from ancient alchemy mixed with modern science and made him drink each one slowly, having a 2-minute interval between each bottle he drank before they stopped, with the first signs of change happening in Leonidas, as everyone could see his skin turning red and smoke coming out, because of that, a respiratory mask was quickly placed on him before they applied other substances through silicone tubes with needles.
Everyone could hear the muffled sounds of screams coming from Leonidas, with Viktoriya, who was with Ferdinand's group, getting a little worried as she heard the man scream even from there.
"H-he's going to be okay... right?" Viktoriya asked worriedly quietly to herself, but Ferdinand heard this and looked at Viktoriya.
"Don't worry Viktoriya, he'll survive, he wouldn't have been chosen if he hadn't met the necessary standards for survival, he's just feeling temporary pain," Ferdinand said as he offered a calming smile to Viktoriya, who had reluctantly nodded, deciding to trust what the Prince had told her.
"Get ready, Your Imperial Highness, the substances for the physical attributes are almost all being injected into Mr. Nicologlou... we'll soon get to the main part," Klara said politely to our protagonist, with the mad scientist showing a smile on her face as she looked at what the other scientists were doing with Leonidas.
Returning to Leonidas, he screamed in pain for a good 3 minutes before he finally calmed down, with his skin no longer turning so red and no longer coming out smoke, with the scientists using needles to inject the last substances, before Magical Scientists arrived, with them carrying with them a box that was soon carefully placed on a table, before they opened the box, there containing the next step for Leonidas' transformation.
In the box, there was a small orb that could fit in the palm; this orb is what would make Leonidas resistant to certain levels of magical attacks... a Physical Magical Core.
Why was that created? Simple, none of the mages have a physical magical core in their bodies, magic simply awakens in certain individuals, with modern mages then using Computation Jewel so they can use their Spells, Ferdinand then decided to go one step further, secretly giving Klara, who was working on the Super Soldier Project, the idea of creating a physical magical core that would be placed in certain individuals (Super Soldiers) and give them natural protection at certain magical levels on the battlefield.
Klara Schnitzler, amazed by such an idea, spared no human guinea pig among the various Socialist and Traitor prisoners to try to create it together with her Magical Scientists, in the end, they succeeded after they mixed 3 things.... a small Computation Jewel of already outdated models, magical metal and.... a human heart enhanced by chemical substances and ancient alchemy.
Many died in the process of creating such a Magic Core, but in the end, it was worth it because when placed in a person's body, the person will have Magic flowing through their body to the point of being able to resist Penetration Spells without any problems, only Explosive Spells would have serious problems since they would not be able to create Magic Shields.
A problem that will not exist for the Born Mages who become Super Soldiers, with them becoming a true terror that even the Imperium would fear and always keep an eye on.
One of the Magic Scientists took the Magic Core carefully as if he were holding a sacred object given to him by God, with the other scientists injecting Leonidas with a substance to make him sleep, because, unlike the other substances he needed to stay awake to process properly, the Magic Core was not necessary, it was even counterproductive for him to remain awake.
As Leonidas fell asleep, the scientists then began to gather the necessary tools, which were prepared to penetrate his body that was rapidly hardening like steel, They then opened a hole in the central area of Leonidas' chest, with the scientists then began a small internal operation on him, injecting certain final chemicals while some made sure that Leonidas did not die.
When everything was done, the magical scientist who was holding the Core quickly and carefully placed the Core inside Leonidas and used magic to inject the Core, which was soon glowing red, with the other scientists wasting no time in closing the hole and "stitching" it as much as they could.
The scientists who were making sure that Leonidas was stable nodded their heads at the sight of his signs. Everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he was breathing; they then looked toward Klara and nodded their heads, showing that it was a success.
"My Prince, it's done; Leonidas Nicologlou has become the first Super Soldier," Klara said with a wide smile as she looked at Ferdinand, who also had a wide smile as he looked at Leonidas, who was lying on the large metal stretcher.
"Good, good! Now we just have to wait for him to wake up and recover from the transformation process... are there any side effects I should know about?" Ferdinand asked as he looked at Klara.
"Only an increase in size and musculature, my Prince... besides an increase in hunger, which is to be expected," Klara said as she perfectly remembered the side effects that happened because of the substances injected into the human guinea pigs.
"Hmmm, then it's nothing much to worry about... if the lab needs it, just ask the Central Government and we'll soon send enough food so that Lord Nicologlou can be well fed, we can't have our first of many Super Soldiers going hungry" Ferdinand said calmly while still having a smile on his face, he then looked at his Personal Guard, who had shocked faces from what they saw, in addition to having questions clearly written on their faces.
"If you want to ask something, now is the time" Ferdinand said as he saw his Guard's attention focusing on him, with Dimitri being the first to ask.
"M-my Prince, what was that orb that was placed in that man's body?" Dimitri asked; he had felt something magical from that orb; there was simply no way he could NOT feel it; even from far away, he could feel something magical in that orb.
"That, my friend, is one of the wonders the Imperium has created... a Physical Magic Core, that's all I'll say," Ferdinand said with a smile as he was served tea, with him drinking it calmly.
The weight of these words fell heavily on Ferdinand's Personal Guard, as they understood the implications of this, with the most shocked being Viktoriya and Dimitri.
"A-a-a Physical....Magic....Core?!" Viktoriya said, extremely shocked but also amazed; this could change the world a lot if such things were made public, and the Imperium would receive a lot of notoriety and fame for it.
Little does she know that the Imperium will tell no one about this, and if someone decides to open their mouth to say something they shouldn't...well, the Secret Service always needs more prisoners to test new torture methods.