The AI Archmage - Chapter 58

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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AI Archmage Episode 58

 

For a week, time at the Blue Tower passed remarkably quickly.

 

First, the craftsmen finished adapting.

 

And Dute, who held a somewhat leader-like position among those craftsmen, came to a conclusion.

 

“I roughly understand it. The level of the Blue Tower.”

 

That conclusion was simple.

 

“What is this place, really.”

 

As the owner of a 3-Star Workshop who had seen all kinds of techniques, even he found the scenery of the Blue Tower utterly bizarre.

 

The Blue Tower itself is just a Magic Tower.

 

Though there were a few points of concern, the building itself wasn’t much different from a typical Magic Tower.

 

But the problem was the level of magic tools rolling around here.

 

In that utterly ordinary Magic Tower, ‘Chantless Magic Tools’ were just rolling around everywhere.

 

Even bracelet-sized Chantless Magic Tools that wouldn’t be strange if they caused a magical revolution the moment they were released to the outside world.

 

And that’s not all?

 

Golems were walking around cleaning the inside of the Magic Tower and doing various tasks.

 

Not just one, but easily over ten golems were doing this.

 

“Mr. Dute, what is this place?”

 

“Don’t ask me.”

 

Dute shook his head back and forth, feeling cognitive dissonance.

 

He had confirmed a few pieces of information for now.

 

The starting point of this place’s specialness is Sion.

 

Naturally, the Chantless Magic Tools also came from Sion.

 

Moreover…

 

“That Mr. Sion has a higher magical realm than the Tower Master here?”

 

“Does this make any sense?”

 

A genius craftsman he could accept.

 

That genius craftsman using magic… he could somehow accept that too.

 

But that magical level surpassing the Tower Master was a completely different story.

 

And Dute adopted a remarkably simple solution to accept this problem.

 

“Natural disasters can be like that.”

 

People don’t try to understand natural disasters, you know.

 

They just think they got caught up in it.

 

When you think like that, people can view situations more tolerantly.

 

A natural disaster can learn magic and become a workshop craftsman too.

 

Then how should powerless humans respond in the face of such a natural disaster?

 

That conclusion was simple too.

 

“Let’s just do the work we’re told to do properly. We’re just dispatched here.”

 

“But Dute, there’s something I want to ask.”

 

“What.”

 

“Those magic tools and golems and such. If we could learn even one of those things… wouldn’t it be profitable even if we worked for 3 years without pay?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

It was a feast of techniques that no craftsman had ever achieved.

 

It would be profitable even if they worked for 10 years, not just 3.

 

In the first place, just with this automaton project alone, if they learned well by watching over shoulders, they could experience tremendous growth in their skills.

 

Hoping for more than that would be greed.

 

Just as they were thinking this, Sion came to visit.

 

“Have you adapted somewhat over the past week?”

 

“Ah, yes. Thank you for giving us time. We have adapted. But Mr. Sion, what should we do from now on?”

 

“As I mentioned, from today you will be helping with the Automaton Creation that I’m working on.”

 

Along with those words, Sion showed everyone the blueprint.

 

The craftsmen checked the blueprint that Sion had brought out with half expectation and half worry.

 

And as they examined it, their eyes began to grow wider and wider.

 

“W-wait, Mr. Sion, is this design… actually feasible?”

 

“N-no matter how I think about it, crafting parts this precise with current technology is…”

 

The craftsmen’s shock was justified.

 

There were no particular flaws in the blueprint that Sion had shown.

 

But the problem was the level of technique required to manufacture according to that blueprint.

 

“Just one joint requires about 30 devices, and each device is smaller than a fingernail.”

 

“That would be right.”

 

“Such precise work is impossible with current technology. How on earth could this…”

 

“That’s correct. Unfortunately, it’s impossible for you all to implement this design at this point. The proper ‘Hand Crafting’ hasn’t been developed yet.”

 

Sion wasn’t planning to brutishly make all of this with hand crafting either.

 

He had prepared something for situations like this.

 

“Please follow me.”

 

Sion led the craftsmen toward the underground of the Blue Tower.

 

It was originally a storage filled with miscellaneous items, but Sion had renovated this place into a new space.

 

The eyes of the craftsmen who entered that space all widened in unison.

 

In the room that Sion had guided them to, there were ‘Crafting Tables’ prepared for the craftsmen.

 

The problem was the identity of those crafting tables.

 

“V-Virtual Crafting Table?”

 

“M-moreover, that’s not all there is, th-this Crafting Table is…”

 

The ‘finished product’ of the Virtual Crafting Table that Dute and the craftsmen couldn’t complete.

 

Furthermore, the crafting tables assigned to each of them were…

 

And they once again etched it into their hearts.

 

Natural disasters are not meant to be understood.

 

Just let yourself feel them.

 

Nature is truly this magnificent.

 

* * *

 

“I, I never thought I’d get to touch a 4-Star Grade Crafting Table in my lifetime…”

 

“Eh, ehihihihi…”

 

Akasha spoke as she watched the Craftsmen making strange sounds while rubbing their faces against the Crafting Table.

 

[Can such humans really make my Artificial Body properly?]

 

‘Craftsmen are usually perverts.’

 

It was purely Sion’s personal opinion.

 

‘If you don’t become obsessed with something to the point of being a pervert, you can’t do that kind of work.’

 

[Is that so?]

 

‘That’s how it is.’

 

With that, Sion left the Work Room, leaving behind the half-crazed Craftsmen.

 

Since Sion was also a Craftsman, he knew.

 

The Craftsmen wouldn’t come out of here for a while now.

 

They would adapt to that Crafting Table and focus entirely on the work of realizing the design he had given them.

 

[When will my Artificial Body be completed?]

 

“Well. We should allow at least half a year. They’ve just started crafting according to the design.”

 

[That’s not very fast.]

 

“Since we’re not making it carelessly, it can’t be fast. Especially with Automatons, quality is proportional to time.”

 

[That’s certainly true what the Human says.]

 

Anyway, the Craftsmen would handle things on their own now.

 

He would check on their work progress regularly, but they should do well on their own for now.

 

He just needed to visit them periodically to properly guide their direction and solve any difficulties they encountered.

 

[Ah, and Human, through recent updates to the Information Terminal you installed, information continues to be updated…]

 

“Oh, tell me about it.”

 

[It seems the Magic Council has noticed the Blue Tower’s changes to some extent.]

 

Sion had updated Akasha’s information functions as planned.

 

And Akasha had been regularly filtering information coming into Ate and reporting it to Sion.

 

This was quite a significant change.

 

Due to the Blue Tower’s location on the Continental Frontier, obtaining information wasn’t easy.

 

So being able to regularly obtain information from other places was a considerable advantage.

 

[The Council seems to have officially inquired with Rostery about matters concerning the Human. Surely, they must have heard information about the Human.]

 

“Did Rostery sell information? I didn’t move enough for the Council to notice immediately.”

 

[The Council’s eyes are everywhere. You know that if they want it, they can obtain most information.]

 

“That’s true.”

 

Sion agreed with Akasha’s words.

 

Having clashed and negotiated with the Council multiple times in his previous life, he couldn’t help but know.

 

However, even the Council wouldn’t respond quickly to information about a Magic Tower they had no interest in.

 

This meaning ultimately…

 

[It means the Council was watching the Blue Tower continuously from the beginning.]

 

“…Continuously.”

 

Was it not enough that Belusian had hidden himself and caused its rapid downfall?

 

Sion let out a hollow laugh and shook his head from side to side.

 

Really, he couldn’t think kindly about those bastards.

 

“So what other information is there?”

 

[The Council chose Hayden Kaul, a mage from the Red Tower, as their messenger.]

 

“…Kaul?”

 

[Yes, as you can tell from the surname, he’s that ‘Rotel Kaul’s’ disciple.]

 

At those words, Sion let out a hollow laugh.

 

The name Rotel Kaul was unforgettable.

 

When he was Altair, he had clashed with him quite frequently.

 

At that time, he was just at the level of having barely reached the 8th Circle, but now he had become an Archmage and the Red Tower Master.

 

“…A pure magic fanatic, a hardcore magic fundamentalist.”

 

In a way, he could be seen as standing at the opposite end from Belusian.

 

And as a magic fundamentalist, Rotel Kaul had been in friction with Altair from long ago.

 

And another person Sion needed to be concerned about.

 

“Tch. Rotel aside, what is that bastard Pavlov doing now? I don’t think I’ve heard any news about him.”

 

[That’s right. Magic Council Chairman Pavlov is currently known to be in seclusion. Coincidentally, starting from when Human cleanly gave up his previous life.]

 

“…Tsk.”

 

It was somewhat concerning.

 

Even for Altair, Pavlov was someone who worried him.

 

Pavlov wasn’t the Magic Council Chairman for nothing.

 

Someone who was considered the continent’s greatest mage even back then.

 

And at the same time, someone most obsessed with his own beliefs.

 

“Since he possesses an ancient artifact on par with the Akashic Record, it’s hard to predict what that guy might do.”

 

Sion remembered the greed Pavlov had shown toward Akasha.

 

He was obsessed with the existence called artificial spirits, and whenever he had the chance, he would offer various prices to Altair trying to learn how to create Akasha.

 

Of course, Altair firmly refused each time.

 

Worried about the possibility of leaks, he researched this only in his own Secret Workshop.

 

Even in the final moment of using the Akashic Record, he made sure to completely demolish that Secret Workshop.

 

But since it was after his death, he couldn’t be at ease, which was why he felt so uneasy about it.

 

“…That bastard didn’t manage to restore my Secret Workshop and steal the information, did he?”

 

[No way. Human disposed of it directly, so there’s no way he could have restored it. Human knows best that it’s impossible.]

 

“That’s true.”

 

Sion thought just up to that point and erased his unnecessary anxiety.

 

It wasn’t particularly important right now anyway.

 

In any case, what’s important now isn’t that, but rather the Council’s movements.

 

‘Faster than I thought.’

 

I thought I could buy about a month of time, but unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be the case.

 

“Tell me information about Hayden Kaul.”

 

[As Rotel Kaul’s disciple, he’s a genius in the spotlight as the Red Tower Master’s successor. He reached the 5th Circle in his early twenties, and when it comes to fire magic, he’s reached the 6th Circle level.]

 

“That level is definitely genius material.”

 

Lumia is just unprecedented, but Hayden is also at the level of one of the top geniuses of his generation.

 

[Yes, and like his master, he’s someone who advocates magical fundamentalism to his very core.]

 

“Good. Any other information?”

 

[He currently uses the surname Kaul, but his original background is from the Tordon Marquis House. He’s the current Marquis’s fourth son.]

 

“Direct lineage from a high noble family plus genius talent… He’s truly someone who’s steadily walked the elite path.”

 

[That’s correct. And as for other notable matters… Oh.]

 

Akasha, who had been searching through information for a while, made an intrigued sound and continued speaking.

 

[Before Human awakened in this body, he regularly visited the Blue Tower.]

 

“Here? Why?”

 

[From an artificial intelligence perspective, it seems he came for extremely instinctual behavior.]

 

“Instinctual behavior?”

 

[Yes. Courtship behavior.]

 

“…”

 

Sion decided he didn’t need to think deeply about who the target of that courtship behavior was.

 

“Lumia, I suppose.”

 

[You know well.]

 

“Is it the same reason this time?”

 

[The intention might be the same, but this time it’s likely he’ll come not on such a personal level, but as a representative of the Council.]

 

In other words, unlike before, he’ll pressure Lumia by borrowing the Council’s authority and power.

 

So what should be done?

 

“…Hmm.”

 

After pondering for a moment, Sion soon nodded and spoke.

 

“Akasha, I’ve got a good idea.”

 

[Suddenly?]

 

“Really good ideas always come suddenly.”

 

[…]

 

At those words, Akasha briefly searched through her memory data to check statistics on Sion’s ‘good ideas.’

 

‘The time he spoke with a similar feeling was when he gave up his previous life with the Akashic Record, wasn’t it?’

 

Confirming this, Akasha did her best to stop Sion.

 

[Please don’t do it, Human.]

 

“Alright, let’s go.”

 

[Humaaaaaaaan!]

 

But for Sion who had made his decision, Akasha’s attempts to stop him were meaningless.

 

Only Akasha’s cry echoed sorrowfully through Sion’s mind.

 

* * *

 

It was 2 PM in the afternoon, a time known for when people are at their most gentle.

 

“Tower Master.”

 

Lumia was facing Sion, who had suddenly burst through the door to visit her.

 

“Huh? Sion, what brings you here so suddenly? Did something big happen…?”

 

“Let’s get engaged.”

 

“…?”

 

At those words that came out of nowhere, tea spilled from Lumia’s mouth as she had been peacefully sipping her tea.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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