The AI Archmage - Chapter 82

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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AI Grand Mage — Episode 82

The contract with the Minelio Family was concluded smoothly.
The Blue Tower promised to keep silent about the matter in exchange for substantial compensation, and simultaneously forged a long-term partnership with them.
For the Minelio Family, it was hardly a poor bargain either.
After all, they had confirmed that the Blue Tower possessed considerable potential, and they had managed to excise the tumor that had clung to their house.
And several days later.
“…Are you really going through with this?”
Dute asked, having recently begun to grow confused about whether he was a Magical Tool Craftsman or a teacher.
And Sion answered.
“I am.”
“Oh, oh my…!”
The craftsmen as one raised their voices in cheers, reaching out their hands.
“At last, at last we’re beginning Automaton Creation…!”
“And the materials have conveniently arrived, so there’s no reason to delay.”
With that, Sion led the craftsmen toward Belusian’s Workshop.
When the craftsmen saw the Crafting Table in the workshop, their jaws dropped.
“This is… insane….”
“A Crafting Table like this wasn’t even in our organization, and it existed in the Magic Tower?”
A 5-Star Grade Crafting Table.
Apart from Belusian’s Workshop, only Casen, the current Workshop Union Leader, possessed a Crafting Table of this caliber.
And given that this table was nearly an exact replica of the one used in Altair’s Workshop, it might even be a superior instrument than Casen’s own.
Moreover, since discovering the workshop, Sion had not simply been idling.
He had understood that a single Crafting Table would not suffice, and had prepared additional tables as needed.
“I’ve prepared Crafting Tables for all of you as well.”
“…!”
At Sion’s words, the craftsmen’s eyes widened.
Like dogs that had caught the scent of meat, they panted and rushed toward the Crafting Tables Sion introduced.
“Oh, oh my…!”
“It’s, it’s real! 5-Star Grade! To think I’d get to touch one before I died…!”
The skill of the 3-Star Grade craftsmen had been verified. Thus they recognized that these tables were genuine.
Perhaps for this reason, their amazement went beyond mere exclamation—tears glistened in their eyes as they examined the tables with meticulous care.
And moments later, they reached a single conclusion.
“What on earth is your real identity?”
“As you know, I’m a teacher at the Blue Tower.”
“But, but how is it possible for a mere Magic Tower instructor to prepare 5-Star Grade Crafting Tables matched to our numbers?!”
“I put in considerable effort.”
“…?”
He had put in effort, certainly.
But perhaps… a great deal of effort? The craftsmen exchanged glances, studying Sion intently.
They were curious about Sion’s true identity, but what could they do about it.
If that’s what he said it was.
‘From the start, anyone who could negotiate with the Union Leader Casen on equal standing is clearly no ordinary person….’
The more they thought about it, the more curious they became. Living at the Blue Tower all this time, they had come to realize that it was Sion who actually ran it.
But for now, the craftsmen decided to set aside such questions.
There was something far more important at hand.
“So we’re going to use these Crafting Tables to create Automatons now?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then what should we build first? For an Automaton to move properly, we naturally need an artificial body with perfect performance, but we also need a spiritual core to animate that body.”
“Ah, the spiritual core is fine. I already have one prepared.”
“…!”
Here again, the craftsmen were taken aback.
‘A spiritual core already prepared?!’
Creating an artificial body itself was difficult, but if one had to name the single most challenging aspect, it would be the spiritual core.
The crux of an Automaton is its ability to move almost identically to a human.
It required independent judgment.
Thus, crafting an Automaton’s spiritual core was a project that demanded at minimum ten years or more of work.
And he had already completed it alone?
And in such a short span of time at that?
“Is that… even possible?”
“It’s possible because I made it so.”
“But wait, isn’t this supposed to be impossible to do alone? How did you…?”
“Impossible? That’s nothing.”
……
The craftsmen stared at Sion with bewildered expressions.
Sion found it tiresome to explain in detail and simply moved past it.
“In any case, what matters is that we’ve succeeded. The most critical materials—the ones that consume the most time—are already prepared.”
“Ah, I see…”
The craftsmen harbored doubts, but decided to nod along anyway.
They reasoned that even if Sion explained further, they likely wouldn’t understand, so there was little point in questioning.
[I’m not entirely confident that even a 3-Star Craftsman can properly construct a functional automaton.]
Akasha spoke with evident skepticism.
[The automaton the human wishes to create seems like it would require 5-Star Craftsmen to oversee it.]
‘What matters is giving them the opportunity. Actually, that’s precisely why having a 3-Star Craftsman is important.’
Ultimately, Sion’s grand ambition was not something he could achieve alone.
People’s consciousness had to shift, and it would require multiple individuals to lead that change.
A 3-Star Craftsman at such a young age meant someone with the talent to ascend to 4-Star or higher with proper cultivation.
‘If I nurture them now, I can make use of them later.’
Mm.
‘Of course, before that, I’ll need to negotiate an additional contract with terms both parties find satisfactory—but that should work itself out naturally with some gentle persuasion.’
[Surprisingly, you do think from the other person’s perspective in these matters.]
‘Of course I do. What exactly do you think a contract is?’
There are limits to what can be accomplished through passion alone.
After all, to achieve Sion’s goals required the active commitment of those involved.
‘If I had tried to dominate the Workshop Alliance outright back then, I couldn’t have cultivated it like this.’
[That’s true enough.]
Altair had deliberately restrained the influence he wielded over the Workshop Alliance to just the right degree.
The Union Leader of the Workshop Alliance had been elected with the thorough consent of all union members.
Altair had continued as Union Leader simply because everyone desired it.
He was the founder of the Workshop Alliance, and simultaneously he was efficient and possessed unwavering purpose.
Now Sion sought to do the same.
To make workshop craftsmen feel genuine longing within themselves, and lead them to exert effort toward the clear objectives Sion presented.
[Well, what does it matter if they’re 3-Star? In the end, it’s the human who directs it all.]
What truly mattered was that Sion would be the one leading.
Akasha came to this understanding quickly.
“The blueprints are already complete. Of course, the contents of the blueprints cannot be extracted externally according to our contract.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Dute nodded desperately. Given how much Sion was doing for them, betraying him would be unthinkable.
And besides, the contract with Sion would make betrayal impossible anyway.
In any case, Sion immediately distributed the blueprints among the craftsmen.
“Hm…?”
The craftsmen who examined the blueprints could only express shock.
“W-wait, Sion, this blueprint here—the method of operation for the automaton. It’s not a power replacement mechanism, but rather…”
“Yes. I’m envisioning a Real-Time Charging system that absorbs and refines ambient Mana from the air.”
“…!”
The craftsmen’s eyes widened in astonishment.
But the blueprint held more surprises yet.
It wasn’t that research into automaton construction had never been conducted before.
No—quite the opposite, there had been plenty.
Even now, in workshops somewhere, multiple craftsmen were surely devoted to research, chasing the dream of realizing an automaton.
And through that process, certain designs had solidified into what amounted to an implicit formula.
Yet this blueprint flatly contradicted those implicit conventions.
“Y-you’re saying the joint actuators were redesigned entirely from scratch, rather than using Kaleun’s gear teeth?”
“While there are elements of Altair’s design woven throughout, even so…”
The craftsmen continued their discussion, their attention completely absorbed by the blueprints.
The deeper they sought to understand the design, the more new insights they discovered.
Normally, a creation built with unique specifications rather than established theory would be crude and flawed—but this was different.
In the brief time they’d examined it, it seemed almost perfect, as though no other design could possibly serve the purpose as well.
And the conclusion they arrived at was.
‘Ah, this will work.’
‘This is the kind of angle that must be held onto no matter what!’
‘I’d accept slavery for this!’
Such extreme thoughts welled up within him.
And they were not unreasonable.
If anyone truly understood the value of this blueprint, countless craftsmen would gladly surrender their entire fortunes just to lay eyes on it.
Because they themselves were craftsmen, they could be certain of it.
And once the craftsmen had finished their deliberations, their eyes lit up as they spoke.
“What should we do? If materials are lacking, we’re prepared to contribute all our funds except for the bare minimum needed to keep the workshop running.”
“There’s no need to go that far. We’ve had considerable income recently, so there’s no strain at all.”
“Ah, I see.”
“All you need do is learn alongside me. However.”
Sion looked directly at the craftsmen and spoke.
“Guard that spirit well.”
“That spirit, you mean……?”
“Magic Engineering. Not to submit to magic as a discipline, but to master it—that is the craftsman’s will.”
“Ah.”
At those words, the craftsmen nodded with grim resolve.
“We will hold to it without fail. It is a spirit that every craftsman of Ate carries within them.”
In the eyes of Dute and the craftsmen as they spoke, a clear conviction shone.
It was the same light of conviction that Altair had once seen in the eyes of his disciples long ago.
“Excellent.”
He decided to trust them and proceed with the work.
When he had been Altair, he had accomplished much through that same trust.
After all, belief makes all things possible.
“Then, let us begin.”
Sion announced the start of the Automaton Creation Project.
“So we’re making the components according to this blueprint now?”
“Ah, not quite.”
“……?”
Seeing the confused expressions on the craftsmen’s faces, Sion smiled slightly.
“There are many things that need to be reprocessed first to obtain the raw materials. Let’s start with that.”
“What? There’s that much to reprocess? Just how much are we talking about……?”
“Haha.”
Without a word, Sion opened a Subspace before the craftsmen’s eyes.
And then.
Crash!
Weapons tumbled down in a cascade.
“Wh, what is this……?”
“These are weapons that the assassins carried when they attacked the Main Tower several days ago. They’re counterfeits of the Magic Killer’s weapons.”
At that moment, the eyes of the craftsmen who had been quietly observing them widened dramatically.
“Th, the Magic Killer……!”
To mages, the Magic Killer is terrifying in itself—a criminal to be shunned and never associated with.
But it was different for the craftsmen.
They held great interest in how the Magic Killer had used weapons to oppose magic itself.
The only problem was that the Council had been so vigilant about anything related to the Magic Killer that they’d never had the chance to analyze such things.
But now those weapons lay before them.
“These are really Magic Killer weapons?!”
“One is genuine. The rest are counterfeits. But even as counterfeits, their materials are authentic.”
“……!”
The craftsmen’s jaws went slack at those words.
One genuine piece.
And weapons of considerable value even if they were counterfeits……!
‘It’s, it’s the Holy Grail!’
From the perspective of Magical Tool Craftsmen, these were truly things worthy of being called the Holy Grail.
“What do you intend to do with these……?”
“Melt them down. There’s no point in keeping them as they are.”
“Oh……”
No, what a waste…….
The craftsmen’s hearts sank.
Sion was certainly a craftsman of remarkable skill, but the Magic Killer’s weapons were built with such an exceptionally superior structure that there was no helping it.
“Ah, what a waste…”
One of the craftsmen muttered it without even thinking.
But then Sion spoke.
“However, I never said I would melt it down right away, did I?”
“…?!”
At those words, the craftsmen’s eyes widened.
Sion laughed casually and said, “I’ll reprocess it in a week.”
“Then in the meantime…”
“Feel free to study it as much as you like. There’s nothing wrong with a craftsman pursuing new knowledge, is there?”
“…!”
At that, the craftsmen’s eyes gleamed.
Without hesitation, they rushed toward the pile of weapons.
Among them, Dute shouted toward Sion.
“S-Sion! Would it be all right if I took a week off from my lectures?!”
“Ha, I’ve already informed the students beforehand.”
“Ooh!”
Dute’s eyes sparkled.
Sion—was he a god?

Then Akasha spoke softly.
[But Human, isn’t the knowledge of the Magic Killer classified as “forbidden” by the Council?]
“It is.”
[Isn’t that somewhat dangerous?]
“Perhaps.”
As he said this, Sion briefly recalled the Magic Killer’s weapons.
Setting the imitations aside for now.
First, there was the genuine article: Aldebaran.
Sion had already grasped every aspect of Aldebaran’s design.
And because of that, he could understand something.
The Magic Killer, Roteus.
The true purpose of the tools he created…
‘It didn’t seem to be merely for killing mages.’
Sion’s eyes gleamed sharply for a moment.

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