Chapter 49 - 049＿Golem
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049＿Golem
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Rodney decided to name the island-type labyrinth the Lone Island Labyrinth.
The results of the five-day exploration were as follows.
The only place to land was the sandy beach on the south side of the island.
Proceeding westward from the sandy beach led to an area where many medicinal herbs grew naturally.
Conversely, the east side was a rocky mountain area rich in iron ore, and a small amount of True Ore could also be mined. The True Ore that could be mined was not limited to the red found in the Abandoned House Labyrinth; red, yellow, green, blue, and gold could all be mined evenly.
As for the center, no notable resources had been discovered yet.
Additionally, among the naturally growing trees, there were rubber trees. However, the amount that could be harvested was limited, so it seemed impossible to produce large quantities of tires.
Rodney also gathered information about the Selvanui.
In the west, two types of snake-type Selvanui appeared. Both had high defensive power but were weak to ice-type attacks. As long as an ice user was present, they were easy to defeat.
In the east, Iron Giants and True Steel Giants appeared. These had even higher defensive power than the snake-type Selvanui and were considerably dangerous. Rodney was able to defeat Iron Giants by force with 'High-speed Rotating Scatter Bullet' and 'Fluid Explosion Bullet', but True Steel Giants were a different story. As expected, they possessed defensive power befitting the name "True Steel Giant." However, Rodney's 'Explosive Annihilation Bullet' could defeat them. The destructive power of 'Explosive Annihilation Bullet' was enough to break the labyrinth's walls, so it could probably destroy even True Steel.
In the center, large spiders appeared, with a poisonous red spotted pattern on a black background. Also, a Selvanui resembling a crocodile appeared. Both the giant spiders and the crocodile had their movements slowed by ice-type attacks, so 'Ice Sphere' was essential, just like for the snakes.
"The True Steel Giants are quite a problem, aren't they?"
"Yeah, I'm about the only one who can damage them."
Rodmel and the others were equipped with Red True Steel weapons, but Red True Steel was the lowest grade among True Steel. Although the True Steel Giants were mostly red, that was still only about half. The other half were giants made of True Steel harder than red.
Only Rodney's White True Steel Sword, a White True Steel weapon with hardness surpassing the highest-grade Gold True Steel, was able to damage the True Steel Giants.
The rocky mountain area in the east was rich in minerals and they wanted to mine it, but many Selvanui there could not be damaged, so they decided to stay away for the time being.
After returning from the Lone Island Labyrinth, Rodney asked Rodmel to summarize the information. Rodmel was not good at such tasks. His two sons had also landed on the Lone Island Labyrinth, so he tried to leave the document preparation to them, but his sons had strongly inherited Rodmel's blood and were incapable as well. So, Rodney decided to have Roxwell help.
"Rodmel-dono, please try to learn some paperwork work."
"Soregashi is old now. Leave such things to the young ones."
"You've been saying that all along, haven't you?"
"Haha. Isn't it fine? There's no doubt I'm old, after all."
Rodmel, who would welcome any amount of combat work but was utterly hopeless with paperwork, succeeded in pushing the paperwork onto Roxwell.
At the lord's mansion, Rodney was about to orally ingest the Life Light Stones he had obtained.
He had investigated the Selvanui, but none of them were in the books. Since it was inconvenient not knowing their species names, he decided to name them arbitrarily.
The emerald green giant snake became Green Snake. The black giant snake became Black Viper. The Iron Giants and True Steel-type giants kept their names. The giant spider became Big Tarantula. The giant crocodile became Big Alligator.
The giant-type kept their names, and the others were simple species names based on color and size. Rodney himself was dismayed at his own lack of creativity.
Following the example of Rurumil, it seemed that the Origin Power obtained from the Life Light Stone of a True Steel Giant was only one, regardless of the color. However, Rodney, who could ingest them orally, should be an exception.
Also, since he had this many opportunities to obtain True Steel Giant Life Light Stones, it was a chance to 'Summon' each of them. Being able to command True Steel Giants, which boasted far higher defensive power than the Rock Giants he had wanted, was very gratifying.
Like Rock Giants, True Steel Giants did not require food. It was good that there was no maintenance cost after 'Summoning'.
He orally ingested each Life Light Stone. The Origin Powers obtained were as follows.
・Green Snake ⇒ 'Heat Sense', 'Drop of Life'
・Black Viper ⇒ 'Poison Manipulation'
・Iron Giant ⇒ 'Immovable'
・Red True Steel Giant ⇒ 'Fire Resistance'
・Yellow True Steel Giant ⇒ 'Metal Resistance'
・Green True Steel Giant ⇒ 'Wind/Thunder Resistance'
・Blue True Steel Giant ⇒ 'Ice/Water Resistance'
・Gold True Steel Giant ⇒ 'Golem'
・Big Tarantula ⇒ 'Sensory Sharing'
・Big Alligator ⇒ 'Presence Block'
The effects of the Origin Powers obtained were splendid.
'Heat Sense' was an intermediate Origin Power that allowed one to sense heat.
'Drop of Life': drinking one drop healed light injuries, two drops healed serious injuries, and three drops prevented illness for a year. However, only one drop could be produced per day.
'Poison Manipulation' not only allowed the creation of all kinds of poisons but also made the user's body immune to poison.
'Immovable': as long as one did not move from that spot, one would take no damage whatsoever.
'Fire Resistance' reduced damage and status abnormalities from fire.
'Metal Resistance' reduced damage and status abnormalities from metal.
'Wind/Thunder Resistance' reduced damage and status abnormalities from wind and thunder.
'Ice/Water Resistance' reduced damage and status abnormalities from ice and water.
'Golem' allowed the creation and command of Golems from minerals.
'Sensory Sharing' allowed sharing of vision, hearing, and smell with the other's consent. Even from a distant location, one could obtain information about that place if this was active.
'Presence Block' blocked the presence (scent, sound, presence) of the Origin Power owner.
Among the newly obtained Origin Powers, 'Drop of Life' was particularly splendid. With this, even if one fell ill, they could be cured.
Rodney had 'Swift Recovery', so he did not fall ill or get poisoned, and even if injured, his wounds closed quickly. It might seem that 'Drop of Life' was meaningless, but that was only limited to Rodney.
If Yulin, Emilia, or other people important to Rodney were injured, fell ill, or poisoned when Rodney was not around, having 'Drop of Life' would allow them to be cured. This held extremely significant meaning.
Although 'Immovable' had the restriction of not moving from the spot, as long as one did not move, it nullified all damage. This was a very useful Origin Power for Rodney, who had an abundance of emission-type Origin Powers like 'Explosive Annihilation Bullet'.
Turning into an absolutely unsinkable fixed artillery platform and firing 'Explosive Annihilation Bullet' repeatedly. From the enemy's perspective, it would surely be nothing but a nightmare.
'Golem' was also splendid. He had been pleased about being able to 'Summon' True Steel Giants, but with 'Golem', as long as he had the minerals as material, he could create Golems. Rodney grinned wryly, calling it a happy miscalculation.
The resistance-type Origin Powers he also obtained were quite welcome. As expected of Origin Powers obtained from high-level Selvanui, his facial muscles relaxed.
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All the retainers were summoned, and a discussion was held about the results of the exploration of the Lone Island Labyrinth.
Everyone looked over the documents created by Rodmel (actually Roxwell).
"First of all, the various True Steel Giants in the east are dangerous. For now, about the only one who can deal proper damage to them is me."
It would be nice if everyone could have 'Explosive Annihilation Bullet', but that required a Life Light Stone of White Rurumil, which was rarely discovered, so it was not realistic.
"So, would it be that we only explore the east when you are present, Lord Rodney, and normally explore from the center to the west?"
Endever, who had not participated in this exploration, confirmed. Endever had wanted to participate, but if Rodney and all the retainers entered the Lone Island Labyrinth, they would be unable to deal with anything that happened within the territory, so Endever had stayed behind.
"Yeah. I think there's something in the center too, but it'd be better to obtain 'Ice Sphere' before exploring there too. What do you think, Rodmel and the others?"
"Soregashi also believes that 'Ice Sphere' is necessary."
Everyone agreed with Rodney's opinion, and they decided to obtain 'Ice Sphere'.
They would set up a base camp on the 6th floor of the Abandoned House Labyrinth, and from there, attempt to conquer the cold region area on the 7th floor.
They organized four teams: a team to transport supplies to the base camp, a team to guard the base camp, a team to conquer the 7th floor, and a team to rest on the surface, and they would rotate.
"At the same time, let's prepare weapons and armor made of blue and gold True Steel. First for the retainers, then for the territorial soldiers."
"We have only a very small amount of Gold True Steel, so I would like you to prioritize crafting Lord Rodney's equipment. Please consider this the unanimous opinion of all retainers."
Rodmel said to craft Rodney's equipment with the highest-grade Gold True Steel. The other retainers agreed.
"But I'm fine with what I have now."
"Lord Rodney, that won't do. If we wear better True Steel equipment than you, we will be looked down upon by other nobles."
"Hortus-dono is right. After crafting Lord Rodney's Gold True Steel armor, we can craft our armor without any reservations."
When the veteran retainers Rodmel and Hortus argued that Rodney's equipment was more important, everyone agreed.
In the Abandoned House Labyrinth, the Selvanui were not that strong, but in the Lone Island Labyrinth, clearly powerful Selvanui roamed freely. No matter how strong Rodney was, these were Selvanui that could not be taken lightly.
"Understood. Let's craft my equipment."
It was decided to craft equipment for Rodney, Yulin, and Emilia first, then the retainers' equipment, and then the territorial soldiers' equipment.
"Next, I will promote four retainers, including Rodmel, to Knights."
In this case, a Knight was appointed by the noble Forvas Knight, so they were not nobility. The Knight rank was between Knight Lord and retainer, higher than retainer, and allowed them to inherit the family name.
"For us, this is an honor and something to be pleased about, but is that really acceptable?"
Unlike retainers, Knights each required their own vassals. Promoting four to Knights at once meant they needed at least one retainer each, and at least four private soldiers each.
The reason the Forvas House had not had any Knights until now was that they could not afford to maintain that many soldiers. If they could support soldiers, having Knights was no problem at all, and having more Knights raised the status of the Knight Lord house itself.
Promoting four to Knights this time meant the Forvas House would lose its retainers, so they had to make someone a retainer to secure the numbers.
"First, I will make Sudobein, Domeas, and Kiris retainers, the three who currently support our house's finances. They will continue their current work as civil officers."
"That is a natural decision."
Rodmel nodded, and Roxwell, Sudobein's brother, and Hortus, Domeas's father, bowed their heads.
"Next, I will promote Rodmel's second son and Endever's younger brother to retainers. These two will work as military officers."
Rodmel and Endever bowed their heads. This allowed each Knight family to establish a branch family.
Yulin's family had no close relatives, so it depended on Bajis. Even without Bajis, if he had two or more children with Yulin, they would probably become retainers or Knights.
"And I intend to recruit some from the territorial soldiers."
"If it pleases you, Lord Rodney, I would ask you to consider recruiting retainers from other noble houses, preferably from Count Banyusas's House and one other house."
"Hmm, I see. As Hortus says, let's ask Count Banyusas and the others."
Noble houses and their vassals often had second and third sons who could not inherit the house. If they could recruit such people as retainers, they could build friendly relations with those noble houses.
Also, if they could recruit even one person from the relatives of Count Banyusas's House, with whom they had a good relationship, it would likely lead to an even better relationship.
Each Knight family decided to promote one retainer from the territorial soldiers and conscript five new private soldiers.
Additionally, they invited Keldo, who was serving as an instructor, to become a retainer, but Keldo refused, saying he had no intention of becoming a retainer at this point. However, he agreed to continue working as an instructor as long as his body moved. Keldo had unexpectedly taken to the role of instructor.
Keldo would train both new territorial soldiers and private soldiers. With this, the total military strength of the Forvas House exceeded 80.
The Knights, led by Rodmel, entered the Abandoned House Labyrinth at the head of the territorial soldiers. The territorial soldiers led by Yulin and Emilia also entered. Rodney, seeing them off, clutched a crystal-like sphere on the sandy beach.
This crystal was the core of a Golem, made by processing a Life Light Stone. The effect of the Origin Power 'Golem' included not only manipulating Golems but also processing Life Light Stones into cores.
He placed the core on the sandy beach and activated 'Golem'.
The sand swelled up, taking the shape of a person. Its size was smaller than Rodney. This was the limit because the Life Light Stone that was the origin of the core was from a Godoris that appeared on the 1st floor of the Abandoned House Labyrinth. Conversely, it could be made smaller.
A Golem would regenerate even if its arm was cut off, as long as this core was not destroyed and the core's energy did not run out.
"So this is a Golem."
To Rodney, who had seen Hecatoncheires, Iron Giants, and True Steel Giants, it had no presence whatsoever.
To check the Golem's strength, he took out several stones from his Storage Bag. They were stones weighing about 10 Rodem (20 kg), 20 Rodem, and 30 Rodem.
The Golem easily lifted the 10 Rodem weight. It also lifted the 20 Rodem weight. It lifted the 30 Rodem weight too, but it seemed quite difficult.
"It can't match Rodmel, but it has decent strength."
A muscle-bound person like Rodmel could lift stones of about 50 Rodem. With Origin Power added, they could lift considerable weights.
The core could be made from Godoris Life Light Stones. He decided to test how many Golems he could create.
He scattered cores on the sandy beach and created as many Golems as possible. Thirty. He felt he could not create any more than that.
He moved those thirty Golems like an army. They understood simple commands, but could not handle detailed instructions.
He tried 'Sensory Sharing' with one. The field of view was low, but he was able to share senses with the Golem properly.
He tried having the Golem he had 'Sensory Shared' with give instructions. The other Golems moved according to those instructions.
"This is good. With this, I can command a Golem unit even from far away."
He dismissed the sand Golems and created stone Golems. The number decreased slightly to 25. Also, Golems made of iron were 20. With True Steel, it would probably be even fewer. However, as the number he could create decreased, the strength of each individual Golem increased.
He tried entering the 1st floor of the Abandoned House Labyrinth as a test, and the combat power of the iron Golems was overwhelming. If he gave combat instructions, they would defeat Selvanui on their own.
They're few in number, but they'll be a combat asset.
Afterwards, when he tried shapes other than humanoid, 'Shape Processing' took effect and they took various forms.
Wait... could this be used to make a car?
He tried creating a car-type Golem using iron and rubber as materials, and it worked.
Rodney felt deflated, wondering what all that struggle had been for, but even more than that, he pondered the considerable potential of Golems.
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