Chapter 563: Experimenting with Puppet Creation

When Blue Thunder Beast submitted proof of the ancient ruins—along with the treasures recovered—to the Adventurers’ Guild in the town of Swen, the entire town erupted into excitement over what was being called a discovery of the century.

The Guild’s branch chief dispatched messengers to report to the central headquarters, while local historians and renowned scholars were summoned at once to appraise the treasures—valuable historical materials brought back by Blue Thunder Beast.

Skill-based appraisal alone wouldn’t be enough. To understand the background of the ancient ruins, scholars would need to visit the site in person.

There was even talk of forming a large-scale expedition centered around the Adventurers’ Guild.

Amid all this commotion, Tauro quietly began his own research in a secluded forest outside town. From [Magic Storage], he took out one inert Guardian Stone Golem, its extracted core, and the magic tool he had received as a reward.

As usual, Aeris was there beside him. But this time, however, Ragune had accompanied them as well.

“What am I supposed to do?” Ragune asked curiously, standing beside the motionless Guardian Stone Golem whose core had been removed.

“I’d like you to go to the dragonfolk village and buy as many of those ‘junk’ items from dungeon treasure chests as you can—the ones whose purpose no one understands.”

“By ‘junk,’ do you mean the mysterious material you used in your gauntlets and greaves?”

Tauro’s gauntlets and greaves had originally been fashioned by Rangas, a blacksmith in the dragonfolk village, from a mysterious material found in the dungeon—remarkably durable, yet difficult to shape. Because it couldn’t easily be modified, it was often dismissed as useless scrap.

“Yes. As many as possible, please.”

“That’s simple enough—but what will you use them for?”

“I’m not sure yet if it’s even possible. So… it’s a secret for now.”

“A secret, hm… Very well. I’ll be off then.”

With that, Ragune accepted the mysterious errand and returned to her hometown through [Dimensional Corridor].

“…All right. Let’s begin on our end.”

Tauro picked up the magic-stone-like cores of the Guardian Stone Golem laid out before him and began examining their structure.

Using [True Eye], he confirmed they were indeed the golems’ cores—their brains and power sources.

So if I put this back into the abdomen of the Guardian Stone Golem, it’ll start working again, but as it stands now it’s set up to move to protect the ancient ruins, so I can’t just put it back like that.

That was why I was thinking of first understanding their structure—and then overwriting them with [Creation Magic], turning them into puppets loyal only to me.

Since they’re puppets and not living things, I can store and carry them in [Magic Storage].

He explained this plan to Aeris.

“I’m amazed… I think you’re the only one who’d try to repurpose something that dangerous,” Aeris said, understandably exasperated after struggling so much against them.

“…I don’t think so. If I’m right, the group commanding the Olog-Hai we encountered in the ancient underground ruins was probably thinking the same thing,” Tauro replied to Aeris with a serious expression.

“The mysterious monster-tamer group you mentioned… If that’s true, then the enemy might be—”

Aeris began to say a name, but Tauro stopped her.

I sense someone.

“…Those silhouettes… Oh, it’s just Ankh and Zion.”

Through [True Eye], Tauro confirmed the two approaching figures and relaxed.

Apparently, the two of them had been bored and had come to observe Tauro’s usual experiments.

“Yo, you two at it again? Huh? Where’s Ragune?” Ankh called out as he pushed his way through the bushes and spotted Tauro and Aeris.

“Ankh-san, maybe Ragune stepped away so she wouldn’t interrupt their private time…” Zion, feeling sorry for interrupting, gently tugged at Ankh’s sleeve and admonished him.

“Haha, that’s not it. I just asked her to run an errand for me,” Tauro corrected, realizing his companions were trying to be considerate.

“That’s right. Everyone, please don’t treat us differently. Just act like you always do.” Aeris added, hating the thought of their friends being so considerate to them.

“That’s fine then… But still, what are you planning to do with such a huge rock puppet?” Ankh asked—the same question Aeris had raised earlier.

Tauro once again explained.

“…You’re serious, Leader? If this becomes part of our fighting force, that’d be incredible—but are you sure it’s safe?”

“I think so. That’s why I’m analyzing its structure.”

Tauro then removed two additional defeated Guardian Stone Golems from [Magic Storage] and used [Creation Magic] to extract their shattered cores.

They had been shattered when Tauro shot them with his arrows, but thanks to that, their internal structure was clearly visible.

“…Incredible! Now I understand how it works. There are three-dimensional magic circles embedded even inside the stone itself. This level of technology is beyond anything possible today.”

Holding the fragments in his palm, Tauro immediately began chanting [Creation Magic], merging the two broken cores into one.

Light spilled outward, causing Aeris and the others to squint—but it lasted only a moment.

“With this, I should be able to make up for what was missing and create a core with a magic circle that will recognize me as its master and obey my commands… Now I’ll do the same for the remaining sixteen cores I recovered.”

Tauro muttered, taking out a core from [Magic Storage] and attempting to overwrite it with [Creation Magic] again.

But this time, nothing happened.

“Huh? …I should have enough mana. If I had to guess, something’s missing… Maybe using two damaged cores earlier made the difference?”

Tilting his head, Tauro pondered.

Then, as if struck by an idea, he took out several expensive magic stones he had acquired from the dragonfolk village.

“What are you doing with those?” Aeris asked.

“Maybe I can make up for the missing parts with magic stones.”

Holding both the core and the high-grade magic stones, Tauro chanted [Creation Magic] once more.

This time it seemed to be a success, as dazzling light spilled from Tauro’s hand and illuminated the entire area.