The Magic Sword Golem Blade and the Clothes Golem

And so, three days passed. I spent the time remodeling Testool and building Testool Mk. 2 onward while researching various things about golems.

Now that I could make basic golems… well, they weren't exactly to spec since they were small, or clock-shaped, or hollow, but still… I tried using different materials beyond stone, wood, and clay. Things like water or fire, stuff that wasn't solid. Turns out you can actually make golems out of a surprising variety of materials.

That said, the fire golem was a failure. The moment I thought I'd successfully made one, it burned out and disappeared. When I tried a different approach—setting a wood golem on fire instead of using fire directly—it just burned down to charcoal. More like a charcoal golem… or rather, a damaged state. That was a failure too… Though it would probably be pretty terrifying to have a burning golem latch onto an intruder.

On the other hand, an aqua golem made from water actually worked out surprisingly well. Appearance-wise, at least.

It looked like a proper golem, but when you touched it, your hand just sank right in. Could probably use this for something, but what's the deal with this thing? I bet I could even raise fish inside this thing. Maybe use it as a substitute for a water tank or glass case.

And then there's the crowning achievement: the Golem Blade.

It's a sword-shaped golem made from an Iron Ingot that cost 30 DP.

I imagined a Japanese katana while making it, and it turned out to be a surprisingly good blade. Even though it's made from a single material.

When you channel magical power through it, the blade vibrates and can slice through logs like a chainsaw—zviiiiiin. It's not quite a high-frequency blade, but it's definitely a magic sword.

It even has a mechanism where the blade can shoot out with tremendous force.

And then there's crowning achievement number two: the clothes golem for movement assistance.

In the end, the armor suit-type golem was way too conspicuous and its weight made quick movements difficult. So I figured, why not just make the clothes themselves into a golem? Tried it on a whim, and it actually worked.

There's even gloves for grip assistance and wrist protection.

Gotta love magic—anything goes.

The clothes golem's basic command is movement assistance, but when linked with the Golem Blade, even someone like me who's never held a sword in his life can move like a proper soldier… For movement samples, I pulled up footage of knights, bandits, and those adventurers. Apparently Menu-san auto-records everything viewed on the monitor. Amazing. High-tech stuff. Retro-futuristic tech.

Well, the movement patterns are pretty limited, and if it moves too suddenly my body can't keep up—guaranteed muscle pain… and that's if I'm lucky enough to get off with just muscle pain. Yeah, well, at least I won't be completely helpless in a fight now.

I used the leftover iron from making the sword to create plates and placed them at key points, so the defense should be reasonably high too.

Worst case scenario, if I give the command "Escape to the cave," it'll carry my unconscious body back even if I black out. I at least want my life to be safe. As long as I'm alive, I can sleep even without arms or legs.

"So yeah, this is my current strongest equipment. What do you think?"

"… Are you out of your mind?!"

Rokuko keeps saying whatever she pleases as usual. The usefulness should be obvious at a glance.

Ah, was she disappointed that I only had time to prepare sets for Niku and myself this time around?

Sorry, Rokuko, but you're a dungeon core so I need you to stay home and hold down the fort.

"No, that's not what I was saying?!"

"Yeah. Well, if any adventurers come, just send out five goblins. Should probably still be fine, but…"

I put on the clothes golem and equipped the Golem Blade.

Niku got the same setup, except her Golem Blade was knife-shaped.

Just to be safe, I ordered it not to attack me.

Now we can head to the human settlement whenever we want.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

Since Niku had already learned the letters to a reasonable degree, I gave her a hamburger as a reward. Rokuko was also munching away on some melon bread. How peaceful.

"Ah, that reminds me. Hey Rokuko, is there any difference between mana and magical power?"

I suddenly remembered something I'd been curious about.

When you channel magical power into a magic stone, it becomes fully charged with mana—so they should be the same thing, right? Why are they called different names?

"Hmm, basically, when it's inside a living creature's body it's called magical power, and when it's outside it's called mana. They get mixed up a lot since people aren't that careful about it, but yeah, same thing. Sometimes they call what's inside monsters mana too."

They get mixed up? That's pretty sloppy.

"Well, everyone's magical power has a different wavelength or whatever, so even though it's all called magical power, there are subtle differences. Some say mana is what you get when those subtle differences blend together and become indistinguishable once it mixes with the ambient mana outside."

"Huh, so it's like a fingerprint. Interesting that something like that exists."

"U-um, that reminds me, Goshujin-sama… won't you register your magical power?"

"Hm?"

Niku joined the conversation.

What's she talking about? I wondered, and apparently I needed to register my magical power on the slave collar Niku was wearing.

What a pain… but she said if I don't register, I won't have any grounds to complain if someone else claims her, so I decided to go ahead and do it. Having Niku stolen would be way more of a hassle. She's been going in and out of the Master Room in [Ordinary Cave] after all.

Wait, doesn't this mean I technically stole her from her previous "Goshujin-sama," the bandit boss? I thought about it, but apparently since her master died, she was in a released state. According to a more experienced slave, there had been someone whose master died and was freed before. Slaves like that can be claimed by whoever finds them. That person got caught again and became another master's slave, then got sold and ended up back at the slave shop.

"… Is it not okay to just remove the collar?"

"No. I would die."

The slave collar is a relatively cheap magic tool designed to strangle the neck, but apparently when someone becomes a slave, they're made to sign a contract saying they'll die if they remove the collar themselves. Remove it without permission and the contract magic kills you. Scary! Contract magic is scary!

Also, the collar itself has an effect where it strangles you if you try to harm your master or harbor rebellious thoughts. Harsh, man.

On top of that, the master can tighten it just by thinking about it. Apparently some people use a light squeeze to summon their slaves.

And releasing a slave costs a fair amount of money… Yeah, what a pain!

"Well, in that case I'd better register properly… Let's get the annoying stuff out of the way first."

"Yes. Please channel your magical power into the magic stone on the collar… Um, then to make sure it registered properly, please try lightly strangling me."

I channeled magical power and registered… Yep, felt like a connection was made. That should do it.

Then, reluctantly, I imagined lightly squeezing her neck just a bit.

"Gh-, ek…!"

"Whoa?! Wai— release, release! Stop strangling, stop!"

I saw the collar squeeze tight. It dug right into her neck.

That's not "light" at all! Immediate release!

… Anyone who uses this to summon their slaves is an absolute monster.

"Are you okay?!"

"Hyu… cough, y-yes, th-thank you… very much…"

Niku, who'd had her breathing forcibly stopped, answered with teary eyes and flushed cheeks, coughing a little.

Yeah, I'm genuinely sorry about that.

"Ehehe, now I'm properly Goshujin-sama's slave."

Niku smiled.

Eh. This is the first time I've seen Niku smile, but this is the moment she picks?