Chapter 121 – New Golem Maker (3)

In order for Lee Shin-Woo to set up the manufacturing equipment for Golems, he needed to dig a hole through the passageway leading to the winery. Just in case, he first strengthened the passageway's foundation so that it wouldn't collapse. He then placed a sturdy pillar in the center, which would allow him to expand the corridor.

It wasn't as easy as it sounded to make more space in a dungeon, but Lee Shin-Woo and Jin were assisted by Kratia, a level 7 mage, so it wasn't that difficult for them, either. Moreover...

[I just need to do it here, right?]

"Yeah, thanks."

[First I'll toss it... Alright, grow!]

Realizing that Lee Shin-Woo was doing something underground, the Dryads kept coming out of the vineyard to pester him; he might as well ask them for help while they were there, and they were surprisingly helpful.

He used their power to cut off a branch of the grapevine and plant it, making it grow to instantly support both the ceiling and the ground. The vine was extremely durable and reduced the construction time significantly. In fact, it was so tough that he couldn't believe it was a grapevine.

"Dryads... They really are amazing."

[Compliment us more!]

The environment down here was much too different from that of the surface. As a result, technology was much less efficient than magic! Lee Shin-Woo cheered as the estimated time to finish the construction shortened.

As long as he came up with a proper design, it seemed like he would be able to expand the dungeon by about ten times without undermining its structural integrity. He didn’t plan on going that far, though, and he stopped at a suitable point.

"There's a lot of space left even if we put in the Golem equipment," Kratia said.

Lee Shin-Woo agreed. "Yeah. There's a lot of space."

"Then... How about a bedroom for me?"

Lee Shin-Woo wanted to snort at her wishful thinking, but unfortunately, he didn't have a nose to do so. Seeing how hard she was trying to get her own room, Lee Shin-Woo could only shrug.

"I'm thinking of turning the empty space into a waiting room for my subordinates. I’ve told them to roam around the Empire and hunt undead, but...we need a place for them to store the loot they collect along the way, as well as a place to meet for emergencies."

"When they do gather, and the other heroes accidentally find this place, I wonder what they'll think..."

If the other heroes were to see this mixed force of Skeletons, Golems, Chimeras, and Dryads, they might assume that they are the Undead Empire's secret taskforce and make a huge fuss over it.

"Alright, this way. The wires will go through the walls."

"Uaah, this is heavy."

"Is the device broken? I'm going to kick it softly."

"Hey, don't!"

After Lee Shin-Woo had finished setting up the equipment and tested them—he had brought those that could manufacture Golem cores, but he didn't have the resources to use them right now; he would have to leave it alone for the time being. Then Lee Shin-Woo worked on the entire area's security. Three days flew by that way.

"Is that it?” Lee Shin-Woo muttered in satisfaction, looking around the facility. “Nice, we're right on time."

"What do you mean?"

Kratia tilted her head inquisitively. Lee Shin-Woo grinned and led his party towards an empty area outside the winery. They were immediately met with a ferocious wind.

Where did this wind come from, and where is it going...? Kratia thought absentmindedly, cocking her head in contemplation. Then she saw something that she hadn't noticed before the winds started blowing.

"Is that…” Kratia gasped. “No way."

"You’ve guessed it. I told you I'd use it as a waiting room."

Lee Shin-Woo nodded softly. He had spent three days organizing the facility, but at the same time, he had been waiting. Who was he waiting for, one might want to ask…

[Captain, we've come!]

[We've gathered just like you asked us to.]

[Answering Steelworker's call.]

It was the Pauls and the Golems who had spread throughout the Empire's outskirts! Aside from the Chi Pauls, who he'd just sent away, all of his forces had gathered here. Outside of the time Lee Shin-Woo had summoned a portion of his subordinates to periodically reinforce them, the full assemble had never gathered in one place before.

"Wow..."

Kratia could only laugh at the sight of a force exceeding 1,000 at the very least. Of course, the Limited Order Bone Core that Lee Shin-Woo had let her borrow allowed her to control Golems, but never in her wildest dream did she expect something like this to be possible.

[Sir Paul Zero, it's been a while.]

"Yeah, it has. Thanks for coming."

The Undead Avenger, Shino Rendu, was there as well. Lee Shin-Woo had made him the commander in chief of more than 800 Pauls, and Shino Rendu had taken the elite Pauls who were close to level 5 with him to hunt undead in various danger zones.

Though his strongest subordinate was technically the level 7 Chimera Avenger, Chi Paul, Shino Rendu possessed an ability that quite closely resembled his authority as a hero, so anyone would be hard pressed to say one of the two was stronger than the other.

[Is that girl next to you a...]

"I met her by chance. She's a hero. Since she's not as rigid as the other heroes, and I could actually talk to her, we've decided to work together."

[...As I thought, you truly are amazing, Sir Paul Zero. I'm...]

"Did you meet any other heroes?"

[I couldn't even think of doing so.]

Lee Shin-Woo had ordered him to give heroes a wide berth, but even if he hadn’t received the order, Shino Rendu wouldn't have attempted to make contact with another hero. Because he, as a hero in the past, knew exactly how heroes reacted to an undead.

"Not all heroes are like her. Try to avoid other heroes if you can."

Shino Rendu nodded. [...I understand.]

"Hi."

Kratia greeted him with a clear voice, and Shino Rendu seemed to flinch for a moment, but he soon recovered enough to nod back at her and return the gesture.

[I'm an Undead Avenger.]

"Yeah."

Right when the former and working heroes finished exchanging pleasantries, the other Pauls cut in and showered Lee Shin-Woo with praise.

[You're that mage from back then!]

[I'm in awe of your open-mindedness for working with humans, Captain.]

"Yeah, yeah. Just follow me."

Having long gotten used to their reaction, Lee Shin-Woo nonchalantly ignored them and led them all to the newly built meeting place.

In the process, he taught the team leaders and higher ranking members the magic pattern necessary to enter. It was hard figuring out something out of nothing, but memorizing a magic pattern wasn't hard; they were able to memorize it without much difficulty.

"This is your meeting place from now on. If I call, come to this place. Also, all the loot you gather from around the Empire should be stored in this storehouse."

[I understand!]

[Ooh, it's a truly secretive facility.]

After gathering all of his subordinates, Lee Shin-Woo's first agenda was using Bone Reinforcement on the Pauls with the bones they and the Golems had gathered thus far!

Of course, level 1 or 2 bones were pretty insignificant, so they were set aside. He was planning on using these bones as consumables for the gate that would transport him to other places.

[Ooh, Sir Paul Zero! Because of you, I have...]

[I feel my bones becoming tougher. The acid within me is growing stronger as well...!]

In the process, a good number of Pauls grew to level 4 elites, and dozens of stronger Pauls starting from Paul 41 became level 5 elites! The Pauls who were once Doom Factors gained a cool name: Doom Soldier.

"Even so, their growth is way too dramatic..." muttered Lee Shin-Woo.

"Isn't it because you’ve awakened your darkness element?"

"Mmm."

The darkness element strengthened one's ties with those they contracted. Thus, it made sense that his darkness mana would influence those he had contracted as a master positively.

Moreover, his use of Bone Reinforcement on them was like baptism! He was sure that the darkness element had strengthened the effect of Bone Reinforcement. After he pushed the joyous Pauls to one side, he called over the next hitter up to bat.

"Next up are the Golems."

[As you command, Steelworker.]

"Rem, let's start."

[Understood, Master.]

Unlike the Pauls and the Chi Pauls, who wholeheartedly recognized Lee Shin-Woo as their superior, the Golems only followed him because he had the Steelworker seal. If another Steelworker showed up, he would have to terminate them! That was why Lee Shin-Woo had been ignoring these Golems to avoid catching their attention.

But things are different now.

Infused with Lee Shin-Woo's darkness mana, Rem flew between the lined up Golems and spread its mana.

The effect of Mana Parasite was absolute; it worked on any and all Golems. Since the Golems already followed Lee Shin-Woo’s commands, it didn’t take that much mana to turn them. With only a light spray...

[Bug modification complete. It's a pleasure, Master.]

[I await your orders, Master.]

[Scrapping Steelworker's authority. Modifying program...]

Hundreds of level 4 Bronze Golems, as well as dozens of level 5 Iron Golems, now recognized Lee Shin-Woo as their sole master. Even if they were to meet a Steelworker later, or were destroyed and later revived, they would never obey Steelworker again!

"Nice. Since we’ve scraped the unnecessary code, the amount of mana they had access to should increase as a result. The Golems cannot level up. I have to at least strengthen them like this."

"You do such ridiculous things as if it were nothing," mumbled Kratia.

Regular Golems didn’t grow. They were puppets that followed inputted orders and acted accordingly, and they weren't autonomous. That was one of the reasons the Emperor wanted to implant the souls of his knights into Golems.

Moreover, Golems don't accumulate karmam, either, so they couldn’t be expected to change or evolve. To make up for that, they received a large amount of Perium whenever they defeated something. It was as if the karma that should've gone to them had turned into Perium instead.

"But will that remain true in the future?" Kratia asked.

"What?"

"These Golems... Can they really not grow?"

"That's one of the prerequisites to a Golem,” said Lee Shin-Woo. “They shouldn't be able to grow, right?"

Kratia didn't immediately reply, and instead stared at the cuckoo Rem. It had returned to Lee Shin-Woo’s shoulder after completing its mission, and it tilted its head to Kratia like it had noticed her staring, still looking like a fine piece of art made out of bone.

"It had awakened a skill it didn't have before. Maybe they could grow."

"Huh?"

Perhaps Kratia wasn’t wrong. Lee Shin-Woo observed Rem, which responded by tilting its head again. Now that he thought about it, Lee Shin-Woo remembered seeing a message saying that Mana Parasite could grow...

I just have to wait and see, I suppose.

If it was the involvement of the darkness element that brought about the change, he would be able to figure it out sooner or later; that would be entertaining.

Clapping, Lee Shin-Woo said, "Shall we start in earnest?"

"Finally!"

Kratia's eyes shone. Lee Shin-Woo started giving out orders with vigor.

"Pauls, find an underground mine. Silver or gold is best."

[Understood!]

"A gemstone mine also works. In any case, I want you to look for a mine with materials that can store a large amount of magic. You won’t be fighting for the time being; your priority is searching!"

[We’ll keep that in mind!]

The Pauls responded with great enthusiasm and soon departed. Unlike the authoritative look Lee Shin-Woo gave them, Jin and Kratia had a vacant look on their faces, which seemed to be saying that they didn’t understand why he had given such an order.

With a shrug, Lee Shin-Woo explained, "Do you really think we'd be able to make Golems right away? Cores alone aren’t enough. We obviously need materials for their bodies."

"Why don’t you use the materials you have on hand?"

Lee Shin-Woo knew exactly what Kratia was talking about. She was asking him to make Golems with bones. He knew that it would eventually come to this. Thus...

"I have to use the high-level bones to strengthen the Pauls. For the Golems, I’ll transform metal or gems into bones. The right man for the right job."

He didn't know if using high-level monster bones would be beneficial in the construction of Golems, but to be blunt, it would be a huge waste of resources. One Golem would require hundreds or even thousands of bones to create; the high-level bones would be better served as reinforcement materials for the Pauls!!

Moreover, he could transform gemstones and ores as well; although they would be useless on skeletons, they would be effective in the creation of Golems!

"I'll definitely be able to create Golems that could rival Arema Steelworker’s ones."

"Then... What are you going to do while the Pauls are looking for a mine?"

Kratia was disappointed that they couldn’t create Golems as she had expected to. Lee Shin-Woo grinned and turned around. There was the equipment Kerr Century Winery had used to create the best wine in the Empire...!

"We have to make wine with our obedient Golem friends!"

"..."

Kratia would love it if she could pass out now, but she realized then Lee Shin-Woo's contract with her would forbid her from leaving whenever she wanted. Frustrated, she stomped on the ground. That was the moment the newbie hero realized she shouldn't recklessly sign a contract.