Nerune's Laboratory

So I went ahead and asked Rin if it would come under our control.

"No."

An immediate refusal. I expected as much, but still.

"I see. It would really help if you did, but… you really don't want to be under me?"

"Yeah. Kehma is, weak, so no. Besides, once winter, ends, I'm going, on a journey."

Ah, so it's just staying for the winter? It came to our dungeon just to hibernate, huh.

… Would it be unable to leave the dungeon if it came under our control? Wait, but Chloe from Haku-san's place goes outside normally. Even Haku-san herself, a Dungeon Core, goes out, so it should be fine.

"What's this journey for? Do you have some goal?"

"… Yeah, looking for, my master. Not here."

Master? So this thing is married and female?

"… No, I mean, boss. Also, I don't, have a, sex."

It corrected me, apparently having picked up on something from the golem.

So it doesn't have a sex? Even though it looks like a wolf, it has neither? Well, according to Ontentoo, it's a slime, so it probably reproduces asexually.

No, more importantly—a boss… A tamer, maybe? So Rin is a loyal dog searching for its missing owner. Ah, wait, it's a slime, so loyal slime?

"So you have a boss, Rin. What kind of guy are they?"

"Stronger, than me."

Seriously? Someone even stronger than Rin…

"I'm strong, because, master, trained me."

"… Seriously? So they're your teacher?"

"Yeah. If I find, master, Kehma could, get trained, too."

I wouldn't mind entrusting a golem to them if it would get stronger. But really, what kind of being is stronger than Rin?

With the mystery deepening, I decided to wrap things up for the day.

"Alright then, eat me today as usual. Here you go."

"Hmm… no, I'm good. Kehma is, my follower, after all. Besides, I'm not, that hungry."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Thanks, to you."

Hmm. Did my affection level go up?

This was the first time I finished a conversation with Rin without getting eaten.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Anyway, changing topics—this is about making magic tools.

It seems Nerune has thoroughly learned the basics, and she can now make the magic tools that Kantra knew how to make: fire, water, earth, and light types.

That said, these are just basic stuff where an element simply comes out of a simple magic formation. It's apparently the fundamentals of magic tools. Still, I think that's impressive enough.

I decided to test this on golems right away. I prepared an Iron Golem and had her carve a magic formation onto it. Then we completed it by melting in a magic stone matching the attribute.

The results:

… A sand golem that emits sand from its abdomen. It's just gritty and not particularly useful.

… A water golem that emits water from its knees. Its feet just get wet and it's not particularly useful.

… A fire golem that emits fire from its face… Sorry, there's no deep meaning to this.

… A light golem with a glowing right hand. Umm, it's just bright and not particularly useful.

And so, four not particularly useful golems were completed.

As for the fire golem, I was hoping it would breathe fire like a flamethrower, but this just looks like an embarrassed person (literally red-faced).

Well, I guess this counts as a long-awaited non-physical attack method… or does it? Something feels off.

"You know, in terms of standalone power, dungeon traps would be more effective… There's even stuff like [Water Source] for water."

"T-that's～… Magic tools made by a beginner like me～ can't possibly compete with dungeon traps～. That's like a newbie adventurer challenging a god～."

That's true.

Well, the advantage is that they can be installed on golems… Yeah, let's make these into a new series: the magic tool golems.

"The goal is golems that can use magic, so let's call them gargoyles."

"Gargoyles～, there are monsters with that name too～. They really are magic-using statues～."

"Ah, they exist? … Then magic golems, nicknamed gargoyles. Nerune, from now on, I'm counting on you to research magic tools and magic so we can make golems that use magic."

"Okaaay, understood～!"

By the way, gargoyles cost 10,000 DP each. And that's just for stone ones. Bronze ones are 20,000…

… So expensive. It would be better if we could make them ourselves.

"For now, I'll provide tools and magic stones for your research. Oh, and I'll make you a room too. It'll be an isolated room within the dungeon, but I'll put a Dummy Core there so you can come and go."

"Research… room… A LABORATORY～!!"

Nerune's eyes sparkled as she threw her hands up in a banzai.

"Master, thank you so much～! I'll do my best～! I'll work hard～!!"

"Y-yeah. Do your best."

"By the way, is the research just for magic tools～? Is researching magic skills not okay～?"

"Hm? Hmm, let's see… Ah, then how about researching how to make magic skill scrolls with magic formations? That's related, right?"

"Understood～! Nerune's Laboratory: focusing on magic and magic formation research～! I'll do my best～!"

"Yeah, I look forward to your results."

Nerune really does get hyped up when it comes to magic stuff.

For her to be this happy about a laboratory… Apprentice witches must really love researching magic, huh…

"Ah, sorry, Master. For research materials, I'd like some magic skill scrolls～. And also, also～, if possible～, an assistant… is that not okay～?"

Scrolls are a natural research expense, I suppose. Let's prepare a few low-tier ones like [Fireball] and [Light].

As for an assistant, hmm… A goblin probably wouldn't work. What would be a good pick—another apprentice witch like Nerune? … Having different monsters rather than the same type would add more diversity in thinking. Let's go with something different.

"Alright, let's give you whatever monster Rokuko pulls from the gacha next as your assistant."

"Yes～! Thank you～! Go gargoyle～!"

Nerune pumped herself up with a cheer.

Right, if Nerune was this happy about a laboratory, she'll definitely love a lab coat. I searched the catalog for the outfit and exchanged it for 30 DP.

"Nerune, here's this. It's official researcher attire. Wear it over your clothes."

"White… clothes～? This doesn't feel very witch-like though～…"

Huh, she's disappointed. Dang it.

But the lab coat looked really good on Nerune. So good that I almost wanted to massage her feet. I won't actually do it, though.

At least let's have Rokuko pull a good assistant for her.

So I went to find Rokuko. Well, I just checked the map and found her right away. She was in the Master Room, apparently just finished with a gacha pull.

I told her she could spin once for every time the saintess gets eaten, so I guess the saintess got done in by Rin again. You never learn, do you, saintess?

… Moreover, a green dot indicating an ally was next to Rokuko. Looks like she pulled a monster. I called out to Rokuko in the Master Room.

"Hey Rokuko, can you hear me?"

"Ah, Kehma. I can hear you. I was doing the gacha. Today's pull was a monster."

"Yeah, that's convenient timing. So, what did you get?"

"Umm, something called a gargoyle. It's like a stone statue."

… Seriously, what is with this girl's luck?