Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 580: Golem... Puppet... Robot!

CH580 Golem... Puppet... Robot!

***

Sugud tinkered away in the workspace provided by the trial.

His face was solemn —the very picture of absolute concentration— as he worked on the project he had devised after digesting the knowledge contained within the trial’s library.

The forge had become Sugud’s constant companion during the trial.

At times, he hammered steadily upon the anvil. At other moments, he performed more delicate adjustments at the workbench.

Yet regardless of the task, he never strayed far from the forge.

Its heat warmed the metal in his hands...

And the ambition and passion burning within his heart.

From the look of things, Sugud was constructing a diminutive golem.

Unlike most golems —which typically stood more than three metres tall, towering above the average human— Sugud’s creation stood at a modest 180 centimetres, roughly the same height as himself.

However, what Sugud’s ’golem’ lacked in height, it made up for in detail.

Its body possessed far clearer definition and structure, appearing far more human-like than the bulky constructs typically used by Pangean alchemists.

Another aspect that made this golem different from conventional alchemical constructs was its method of construction.

Instead of relying upon magical or elemental methods and means, it was built entirely through physical engineering.

Numerous gears and intricate mechanical components had been woven carefully throughout its frame.

This design had emerged from a discussion between Sugud and Young Master Alex, combined with a sudden flash of inspiration drawn from the work of the giant blacksmith Sugud had observed at the beginning of the trial.

According to the scrolls he had studied within the trial space, the Sorcerers of Verdantis possessed a branch of blacksmithing similar to Pangea’s golem-making.

It was known as Puppet-making.

These puppets were essentially golems crafted entirely from metal and other physical materials.

Rather than being animated by alchemical cores, they were controlled through mana threads— thin, string-like strands of mana connecting the user to the puppet.

Alternatively, they also could be controlled through telepathic

Both were means under a branch of the mystical arts the sorcerers referred to as Puppetry.

The construct now standing before Sugud represented a fusion of several ideas.

His own mechanical concepts— what Young Master Alex had called mechanics; Alex’s ideas regarding the construct’s movement mechanisms; the aesthetic inspiration of the giant man’s golem— or rather, puppet. And finally, the Puppetry control methods described in the books he had studied.

At last, Sugud inserted the final component.

He installed the control mechanism or core into the construct’s head.

Then he carefully placed the head upon the rest of the body.

”Finally, it is complete. My first robot.” Sugud smiled.

The word had also been coined by Young Master Alex.

According to the young master, if they wished to differentiate their constructs from existing creations such as golems, a new and unique name was required.

Drawing inspiration from golems —which were essentially unpaid magical servants used by alchemists and mages alike— Young Master Alex had chosen a word from an ancient, dead language that carried a similar meaning.

Robot.

And the art of making such creations would be called...

Robotics.

Sugud looked at the craft standing before him.

Its appearance was rough, yes. Crude in many places. But beyond its outward form, it represented something far more important.

A breakthrough on Sugud’s alternative path towards the creation of Magic Armour.

From his many discussions with Young Master Alex, Sugud had come to sense that the young master possessed an extraordinary vision for these robots.

Alex had once spoken of a future where robots would become ubiquitous, used across almost every field imaginable.

Furthermore, unlike Magic Armour design —a field dominated by rigid traditions and a powerful oligarchy of design guilds— robotics represented a path that anyone could walk.

All that was required was the necessary knowledge, and the passion to pursue it.

In essence, it could become a haven for those rejected by the Magic Armour design field.

Perhaps even a domain where these failed designers could someday claim their revenge against the establishment that had scorned them— despite the passion and effort they had invested into it.

In Sugud’s eyes, this strange creation —golem, puppet, robot... whatever one chose to call it— was not merely a craft construct (a machine).

It was the possibility of a dream.

Not only his own dream, nor of Alex’s vision. But the dream of countless others scattered across the plane of Pangea.

”The moment of truth...” Sugud muttered quietly as he stepped back.

He raised the dull-looking orb in his hand and spoke toward it.

”Voice command, initiate.”

The orb lit up with a soft, soothing glow.

”Activate.”

Suddenly, a faint glint flashed within the robot’s eyes.

It slowly rose from its foetal position, breaking free from the clamps and rope bindings that had held it in place.

The construct straightened its body and stood upright before Sugud.

The glowing orb in Sugud’s hand was a command orb, designed to control the robot remotely.

Or simply put...

A ’remote’, according to one of Young Master Alex’s earlier design suggestions.

The standard Puppetry methods used by Verdantis sorcerers were not currently accessible to Sugud.

So rather than attempting to replicate their techniques directly, Sugud devised an intermediary solution.

Within the trial space’s storage were several materials —no doubt rare and valuable— that possessed the ability to establish telepathic connections with other objects.

Sugud had used these rare materials to construct his ’remote’.

With the remote in hand, instead of connecting to the robot himself, Sugud linked the robot to the remote.

Through this method, he could issue pre-coded commands to the construct.

These pre-recorded instructions also acted as limiters, reducing the chances of catastrophic mishaps should the robot fail to behave as expected.

”So far, so good,” Sugud muttered.

”Raise right leg.”

The robot raised its right leg.

”Raise left leg.”

Tumble—!

Crash—!

Sugud palmed his face.

Following his instructions to the letter, the robot raised its left leg— without lowering the right one first.

The construct promptly lost its balance and collapsed onto the ground.

What followed was a painfully tedious moment for Sugud.

He had to micro-manage every minute movement of the robot while guiding it back to its feet.

Left arm.

Right arm.

Rotate torso.

Shift weight.

Stand.

For a brief moment, Sugud seriously considered walking into a corner and screaming into the wall.

But in the next moment, he forced himself to look at the bright side.

At the very least, it proved that the robot was completely obedient to its controller.

’It’s a good start,’ Sugud told himself with a faint smile.

”Shut down,” Sugud ordered.

The robot instantly lost power and dropped straight to the ground.

Sugud jumped slightly in surprise.

He quickly inspected the construct and heaved a sigh of relief when he confirmed it had not been seriously damaged by the fall.

Aside from the telepathy-sympathetic materials, Sugud had used only low-grade metals for the robot’s construction.

After all, it was an untested concept.

The blacksmith in him simply would not allow such valuable materials to be risked on an experiment.

Furthermore, even if he had chosen higher-grade materials, most of them possessed unique mystical properties— properties that would introduce new variables during construction.

Variables that could create unintended complications within such a novel construct.

Sugud folded his arms as he evaluated his work.

”At best, this is a Grade 0 robot,” he muttered thoughtfully. ”Roughly as strong as an ordinary human.”

”I doubt it could even contend with an Acolyte, a trainee or a squire (Class 0).”

He paused before nodding to himself.

”Still... this is as far as I can push the concept for now.”

”I will simply have to refine the method in the future.”

With that done, Sugud carried the inactive robot to the submission point.

A beam of light descended upon the construct, bathing it from head to toe as if scanning and evaluating every detail of its structure.

Before Sugud could even react, the trial space suddenly began to collapse.

The surroundings shattered like glass.

In the next instant, Sugud found himself back before the stele.

”It is a shame I no longer have access to the repository,” Sugud said with a small shake of his head. ”I would have loved to get my hands on a few more scrolls.”

”You can.”

A voice suddenly sounded beside him.

Sugud turned and saw the mysterious old man standing nearby.

He quickly stood up and bowed respectfully.

”Thank you for the privilege,” Sugud said sincerely.

”You have only your Fate and Fortune to thank,” the old man replied dismissively.

Then he continued what he had been about to say earlier.

”You have successfully completed the trial, and that success has earned you points. Look into the stele and use those points to acquire whatever catches your interest.”

The old man stroked his long beard thoughtfully.

”Since you are a craftsman, I would advise that you favour knowledge over equipment. Equipment can be acquired elsewhere... but the knowledge stored here is one of a kind.”

”Understood.” Sugud nodded.

He turned back toward the stele.

Almost immediately, information began flowing directly into his mind.

The more he read...

The wider his eyes became.

Excitement quickly lit up his expression as he began spending his points without hesitation.

Just as the old man had advised, Sugud focused solely on knowledge.

The same knowledge he had regretted losing access to the moment the trial ended.

In truth, even without the old man’s suggestion, Sugud would have made the same choice.

Most of the equipment listed in the stele were sorcery-based artefacts, tools designed for sorcerers.

Without learning Verdantis sorcery methods, Sugud would not be able to use them properly.

The knowledge entries were technically the same —they also belonged to the sorcery system— but knowledge could at least be adapted with enough understanding and creativity.

He did not necessarily have to learn an entirely new cultivation system to make use of them.

Sugud was still happily reviewing the scrolls he had acquired when his body suddenly shivered.

He turned toward the source of the disturbance.

There, he saw that one of the party members seated before the Armament Stele had just awakened from their trial.

***