Chapter 96
Huh. So it's less useful in an actual fight than ordinary 【Healing Arts】.
That was Jigoro's impression after hearing my explanation of 【Soul Arts】. Well, at least he's honest.
Well, I had thought the same thing, to be honest. Not only does it use the healing target's own magic power, but the healing itself is slow. Using it in the middle of battle would surely only confuse our allies.
As for how to use it, it'd be best to heal everyone together during a short break, then replenish everyone's depleted magic power with the 【Staff】's martial technique, Mana Gathering Formation. It's different from what I'd expected, but I should think of it as a way to save on potions. Yeah.
"Izam, we've finished retrieving the golems."
"Ah, thanks. So... how is it? Think it's doable?"
My question, of course, was whether creating golems was possible. I don't expect we'd make an identical one, but I definitely want to try creating a golem. That's only natural for a magician, right?
"We won't know until we take it apart in detail. But I think it's possible. If we can get a specialized book, we'll know for sure."
"I see... I hope we find one during this exploration."
"Yes..."
For both Iris and me, finding a method of creating golems had gradually become the main objective of this exploration. We were supposed to be aiming to defeat the boss here, but it's only natural that our interest in new technology would take priority, right?
"For now, take a look at this too."
"Oh, a drone. This one is... the β type, is it?"
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Security Golem β Type Quality: Junk Rarity: C (Common Class)
A mass-produced golem developed to maintain public order. It has flight capabilities.
It is heavily damaged and will not move in its current state.
――――――――――
That was the 【Appraisal】 result for the drone I had pierced with my tail. Other than the mention of flight capabilities, the wording was the same as for the α type. Its shape and means of attack were completely different, though. Was that really okay?
"It can go into the Inventory... yes, it can."
"Yes. If it's broken, it can be put in as-is. Conversely, even if it's merely unable to move, it can't be stored while it's still activated."
Apparently, of the three I had short-circuited with Sand Wind, one couldn't be put into the Inventory. It seemed that although it couldn't move, it hadn't completely shut down. That was probably the reason.
Although it went without saying that living creatures couldn't be stored, moving golems were prohibited too. Well, when I thought about it, that was obvious. If it were allowed, we could keep a huge army of golems in our Inventory and carry a powerful fighting force around with us.
"Makes sense. Then let's set out once we've collected them."
"Yes!"
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"Hmm... so the building towering over the center of the city is the government administration building? To get there... No, part of the map is unreadable."
This underground mall we were in was apparently quite large. We had discovered that thanks to a directory with a map on it during our exploration.
The 'Ancient Ruined City' was broadly divided into four districts: the administrative district, commercial district, industrial district, and residential district. The administrative district was in the center of the city, while the other three surrounded it. This underground mall seemed to be in the commercial district.
As for its size, this underground mall covered nearly the entire commercial district. In other words, it was as large as a quarter of the city. Exploring all of it was clearly impossible in a single day.
So, during this exploration, we would avoid detours as much as possible and prioritize our original objective: defeating the field boss. We could search for the method of creating golems, or clues to it, another time.
Jigoro had previously insisted, "Bosses are always at the highest point!" So, for now, our destination would be the rooftop of the tallest building towering over the center of the city. However, even when I tried reading the signs to determine the route, they were so old that the paint had peeled off in places, leaving some sections illegible. It seemed we wouldn't be able to proceed straight there without difficulty.
Even so, it was true that we had figured out part of the route. There probably weren't countless forks in the road, either, so from there we could simply begin our usual trial-and-error adventure. It wasn't a major problem.
"Gwoooon!"
"You're persistent!"
The problem was that the security golems attacked us intermittently. Like the harpies, they were numerous, and their numbers increased with every attack. Unlike the harpies, however, they were weak, and we had an easy way to deal with them, so they didn't wear us down much. But one particular problem was sapping our morale.
"Agh, come on! Even after doing all this, not getting any experience makes this really not worth it!"
Today's biggest surprise was that destroying golems gave us absolutely no Race or Job experience. If that were possible, we could endlessly destroy and repair golems we had made ourselves, leveling up with ease. Ruby, who was just about to level up, couldn't hide her irritation.
"Haha... but Skill levels still go up..."
"I know, but..."
The only saving grace was that Skills gained experience with every use, allowing their levels to rise properly. Without that, everyone except Jigoro and Genjuro, for whom combat was the greatest joy, would surely have lost heart.
"Dual Magic Formation, Remote Activation: Black Thread. Thanks for covering me while I deciphered it."
"Looks like you've figured out the route, huh? And... take that!"
Jigoro said this while punching apart a golem caught by my magic. There was a reason it had taken me a little time, even though I was only reading a map.
The written characters were ancient script that couldn't be read without 【Linguistics】. What was more, when we found the directory, I was the only one in the party with the highest 【Linguistics】 level, so I was the only one who could decipher it.
When I began deciphering it, we were unfortunately attacked by golems. I tried to join the battle, but Jigoro told me to concentrate on deciphering the map.
That proposal must have been because he felt the golems were too weak and fragile, and wanted to enjoy the battle even a little. If that was the case, I could simply take a screenshot, then decipher the map afterward. I had realized that, which was why I continued deciphering it. I can read the room at least a little, you know.
Everyone relaxed when my movement told them I had finished deciphering the map. We shouldn't have let our guard down while the battle was still going on, but that couldn't be helped. It was because of a certain magic I could use.
"Let's finish this quickly. Spell Adjustment, Magic Jammer."
"Gagag... gaga......"
"Grrrk......"
"Beep..."
Magic Jammer, one of the 【Void Magic】 spells, sent invisible waves spreading out from me. Any golem they touched stopped moving outright, regardless of its type.
According to Iris's investigation, golems were a kind of magic item. Magic items moved using magic power extracted from magic stones as their energy source, and Magic Jammer apparently interfered with that process.
Apparently, someone had mentioned Magic Jammer's effect on magic items on a crafting forum, and Iris had suggested that we try it. When we actually did, the effect was tremendous. Every golem within its range stopped, and afterward we could do whatever we pleased with them.
"This kind of thing showed up in the sci-fi-ish VRS Shii-chan played, right? What was it called again?"
"Do you mean an EMP... an electromagnetic pulse attack?"
"Oh! That's it! Iris, you know so much!"
An electromagnetic pulse attack... Indeed, Magic Jammer's effect on magic items was similar to an electromagnetic pulse attack's effect on electronic devices. If we were going to create golems, we'd have to consider countermeasures against Magic Jammer. Even if the golems weren't intended for combat.
"All right, let's set out once we've collected the wreckage. First, we'll go straight down the corridor we came through, then turn left at the second corner."
"Yes!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Some answered spiritedly, while others replied without a hint of enthusiasm, but everyone began the collection work. For someone with no interest in it, working hard to gather scrap would be difficult. Still, I wanted them to do their best for the sake of Iris's and my research. Thinking that to myself, I gathered up the countless golem parts scattered around us.
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After that, we proceeded through the ruined underground mall while repelling two more attacks by security golems. Once we passed through the district filled with food and daily necessities, and then the district filled with restaurants and boutiques, we came out into an open area. The place where we had found the directory had been fairly spacious, but this was a plaza with a magnificent artificial pond sitting in its center.
"Oh? That's quite a finely wrought stone statue."
The pond was circular, and Genjuro gazed at the stone statue sitting in its center with admiration. The statue was carved with such intricate detail that it seemed ready to move at any moment. Its subject was a battle between five warriors and a dragon.
There was a Human knight in full armor, a Human mage in robes and a broad-brimmed pointed hat, an Elf kneeling with a bow drawn, a Dwarf carrying a great shield and battle-axe larger than their own height, and a Beastman dual-sword wielder baring their fangs. It was a well-balanced party made up entirely of the races of mankind.
Opposing them was a dragon just slightly larger than Cal. It had a head like a lizard made more vicious, with two horns; a mouth lined with dagger-like fangs; scales covering its entire body; sharp claws on its forelegs and hind legs; and a pair of wings with batlike membranes. In short, it was a more streamlined, orthodox dragon than Cal.
"Grrr?"
Seeing its unmoving kin, Cal tilted their head in puzzlement. Cal, it's a stone statue, so it won't start moving by itself, you know? Still, it was cute, so I'd let it slide!
Looking closely at the dragon statue, I could see what appeared to be some kind of pipe deep in its throat. Presumably, water had once flowed out from there in a fountain designed to evoke 【Dragon Breath】. Well, not a single drop of water remained, so that was just speculation.
If this fountain had really been operational, it might have become a famous tourist attraction like Rome's Trevi Fountain. It had reached the level of art worth paying to see.
But I wasn't particularly interested in the statue. The map said that the route from here to the government administration building passed through a district filled with shops dealing in magic items and alchemy. We planned to skip it today, but I wanted to get an idea of what shops were there and which might contain something worthy of being called treasure.
'Intruder detected. Intruder detected.'
'Eliminating.'
At that moment, the security golems attacked us yet again. All of us, myself included, reflexively readied our weapons, but we soon relaxed. They were nothing but the same weaklings as before.
"...You just keep coming back, don't you? Let's finish this quickly. Spell Adjustment, Magic Jammer."
As a matter of course, I used Magic Jammer. I had to expand its range so it would cover the entire plaza, but that wasn't much trouble. No matter how many of them there were, with Magic Jammer, golems were nothing to fear!
'Magic Jammer activation detected. Resist Field, deploy.'
...There was a time when I thought that. Just as I was thinking it, about ten thin rods rose from the bottom of the drained pond. Waves nearly identical to Magic Jammer spread out from the rods, collided with the waves I had released... and canceled them out!
"W-what!?"
'Resistance successful. Deploying Jammer Field next.'
As if mocking us for being dumbfounded that Magic Jammer had been nullified, the mechanical voice uttered an ominous message. Jammer Field? I had nothing but a bad feeling about this...
'Threat level: 5. γ Type, activate.'
The moment the emotionless mechanical voice announced that, we saw red light kindle in the eyes of the stone statue installed in the pond.