The first night in this country passed without incident, and the next morning arrived.
After eating breakfast and getting ready—though only Fiss changed clothes—we visited the Warden’s barracks.
“Good morning! We’ve been waiting for you!”
“O-oh, good morning, Thanasis-san…”
We greeted the elderly scholar who was somehow there, and then, just like yesterday, we borrowed a corner of the plaza.
There, several pieces of equipment that weren’t there yesterday had been placed.
“I heard from the Wardens that you two are interested in Artifacts. I’ve brought some easy-to-carry items, so please, come right in.”
“Um… okay?”
The main purpose of visiting the barracks was to see the Artifact weapons—the swords and shields used by the Wardens.
The “Colossus” had both swords and shields, but there must be differences in technology between a thousand years ago and now.
The “Colossus” would probably win in terms of material quality, but it wouldn’t hurt to analyze them.
(But I didn’t expect to see so many things besides weapons.)
“…What’s this?”
I was amazed to see dozens of Artifacts. How did they bring so many?
Meanwhile, Fiss was tilting her head, holding an Artifact of an unfamiliar shape.
“Fuh-fuh, that is a lullaby Artifact. When you infuse it with Mana, it will produce a sound.”
“Oh, it really does.”
A pendulum-like object hanging from the Artifact swung back and forth, and at the same time, a unique tone was played.
It was a pleasant high-pitched sound, similar to a flute. Is this the music of this country?
“Well then, I’ll take a look over here.”
“I shall teach Kouya-dono.”
When I set my eyes on a gauntlet-like Artifact, Xanthos approached.
“That Artifact creates a Mana shield.”
“Oh, like the ones those Pseudo-Golem Machines were using?”
“That’s right. However, this gauntlet is adjusted for humans.”
He said that, put one of the pair of gauntlets on his arm, and channeled Mana.
Then, a translucent shield was created in front of him.
“It is used like this.”
“I see.”
After quickly analyzing it, it seemed that an Artifact was embedded in a normal gauntlet.
Because it was integrated with the gauntlet, the direction could be moved with the same sensation as the arm.
The difference from the one the “Colossus” had was that the generation point couldn’t be adjusted.
However, this wasn’t a simple downgrade, as it didn’t require focusing on unnecessary things.
The mechanism for position adjustment itself wasn’t that difficult, so the technology shouldn’t be lost.
“Activate… It’s a bit small for me to use.”
“It is adjusted for normal humans.”
I put down the gauntlet I had tested and picked up another pair of gauntlets that were a little further away.
“This one has a Mana Crystal on the tip.”
“That is for artillery. It can fire a beam of Mana.”
He offered to receive it, so I pointed the gauntlet at him, who deployed his shield.
The hand part of the gauntlet was covered with a hexagonal Mana Crystal, and it was shaped to grip an internal handle.
The handle was a Mana Crystal, and when Mana was infused, it gradually charged, and when it exceeded the threshold, it fired.
“Oh, it came out.”
A beam shot out from the tip of the hexagon, hitting the shield and disappearing.
I infused Mana again, but this time no beam came out. According to the analysis, it seemed that there was a cooldown.
“Hmm… the power is fixed.”
“Yes, the amount of Mana that can be released at once is fixed. This is the limit for low-grade Mana Crystals.”
“It depends on the grade, huh? Come to think of it, most of the Wardens are using the same grade, right? Why don’t you give them stronger ones?”
“There are several reasons, but the biggest is the lack of resources. Mana Crystals are hardly mined around the Great Hollow. Even the Wardens who engage in combat have their supply limited.”
Xanthos added that their usual missions were sufficient with this level of equipment.
I heard that even Dire Beasts rarely appeared in this Great Hollow.
With a magic bullet that had the power of a Greater Beast’s attack and a shield that could defend against it, they could probably handle most enemies.
After that, I listened to explanations about swords, shoes, armor, and their minor variations, and then turned to the main attraction.
Up to this point, it was more of a calibration exercise. I had already analyzed the weapons with the “Colossus.”
I was actually planning to gather information and stories after getting a little more familiar with the town, but Thanasis brought it with him, so the schedule was moved up.
“Are you interested in Pseudo-Golem Machines?”
“Yeah, I have no idea how they move.”
The main attraction was the Pseudo-Golem Machine, or more precisely, its brain.
I understood that instructions were sent from there to the whole body, but I couldn’t figure out how it thought, even after analyzing it.
This was the same behavior I saw when analyzing the brains of corpses.
I could understand that they were lumps of protein, but I couldn’t understand how they worked.
“Hmm, I’m interested too.”
“Fuh-fuh, then let me explain.”
Fiss and the others joined us, and Thanasis began his explanation.
“The secret to the operation of Pseudo-Golem Machines lies in their joints. They do not break down even under heavy loads, nor do they damage themselves through friction. They are strong and flexible—”
“(Oh, he’s starting from there?)”
It seemed he was going to explain how they moved physically.
Come to think of it, that was natural, since I was supposed to be someone who didn’t even know that.
However, I listened seriously, thinking I might learn some new information.
Then, I found out that the structure of modern Pseudo-Golem Machines and the “Colossus” were mostly the same, and when the explanation came to a pause, I asked a question.
“Hey, how can Pseudo-Golem Machines walk and fight automatically?”
“Fuh-fuh, that is a reasonable question.”
Thanasis nodded, stroking his beard.
Then, after a pause as if he was thinking about how to explain, he opened his mouth.
“Well then… first, are you familiar with the Demon Beast called Golem?”
“Golem? Of course, I know them. They’re still roaming the mines even now.”
“Then that makes things easier. I have never seen one myself, but the brain of a Golem… or rather, its processing circuit, is said to be made of crystals.”
“Oh, is that so?”
I nodded in admiration. It was a bit of a graphic story, but I was used to it by now.
I’ve been a Slime for a long time, and I’ve seen quite a few corpses in splattered states during battles.
“The properties of the crystals are very similar to Mana Crystals, and the Great Sage thought that if Mana Crystals were combined with some minerals, it might be possible to reproduce the processing circuit of a Golem. And the result of that research was the creation of the Pseudo-Golem Machine.”
“I see. But if they think like Golems, wouldn’t they attack humans?”
“There are no such records. The autonomous processing circuit of a Pseudo-Golem Machine, in principle, does not move without the orders of a higher authority. The general Pseudo-Golem Machines have not fully replicated the brain of a Golem.”
Then, he told me about the detailed composition, but it was all gibberish to me.
I was impressed that they were able to create such complex things.
“That’s amazing, creating life with human hands. You said that complete reproduction was impossible, but if you defeat them, you get Experience Points, right? They’re practically real living things, that’s insane.”
“Hmm, that is incorrect. You do not gain Experience Points by destroying a Pseudo-Golem Machine.”
“Huh? But when I defeated the ‘Colossus’…”
“Neither of you are wrong. You only gain Experience Points from the Calamity-class. From here on, it will be a somewhat specialized discussion of Archeology—”
Just as Thanasis was about to begin speaking,
“—Heh, so you guys are the humans who came from the surface.”
Along with the sound of sand crunching in the plaza, those words cut in.
A girl with deep green hair, wearing a provocative smile, stood defiantly in front of us.