Chapter 60：The Big Mouth (1/2)
[Compress-I: Use mana to compress a metal. The metal would return to its original state when the mana supply is gone. (19%)]
This was the first rune that Arthur found to be hard to understand, but he still understood the general gist of it. These metallic cords acted as muscles that would contract when you use them. They would serve as the muscles for the golem.
If their group wanted to make a golem of their own, they needed to create these cords and inscribe the runes on them. It sounded even more difficult than just making a robot, but a lot less expensive.
Mechas were the dream of many people, but it was still under research by the military. With the use of mana essence as fuels, there had been major advancements in that field.
Golems were similar to mechas, but people can create them without the need for technological expertise. They can use artificial-runes to create the golem by any means they like. Some golems were only for flight, others worked like tanks barely being mobile, and there were the humanoid golems that Arthur and his group tried to make.
The humanoid golems were a lot more difficult, but their project wasn't to make one that would fight monsters and contend with mechas. They wanted to make a simple golem to do menial tasks using a remote control.
Because he needed to study it fully, Arthur needed time to study the runes. However, the rest would simply take pictures of it and save them for later. They would then try to recreate it after combining them with the association's provided blueprints.
”Arthur, how about we study other golems?” Ori asked with a smile, happy to see his junior so invested in studying the runes. Arthur nodded reluctantly and picked up the mana core that appeared after he killed the monster. He used the excuse of studying to absorb the golem's essence.
[Mana stat increased by 1.]
Low-mid-tier mana cores would sell for almost $1000 each. If Arthur was still a porter, he would have to work two days to get that. He pocketed the mana core and the rest didn't say anything, as it was Arthur's kill.
After showing a bit of his strength, Arthur received more polite treatment from Jia. The latter avoided talking to him but would also avoid antagonizing him, and Arthur was more than happy with that.
Ellen was still as silent, but Arthur felt like she walked closer to him than earlier. He guessed she sought protection from him in case something happens since she was a long-range attacker.
Ori was the real deal, being a full-fledged runes maniac unlike the other two who studied them for personal reasons. From their conversation earlier today, Ori told Arthur that Jia's father had a weapon factory and Jia wanted to learn about runes to inherit it. As for Ellen, it seems she was from a struggling family as she simply wanted to earn money as soon as possible.
Even though Ori was a good person in Arthur's mind, he had a big mouth that wouldn't cease talking. Arthur reminded himself to not say anything personal in front of him since the whole academy would know of it the next day.
They wandered the maze looking for golems and worked together to study them. As he kept studying, Arthur found another rune that the golems used.
[Vegetation-I: accelerate the growth of plants and vegetations at great costs of mana. (2%)]
This rune was on some golems, and they would use it to have twigs attack the group like spears, attack with poisonous flowers, and accelerate the growth of some man-eating plants.
Since these were low-mid-tier golems, all of their runes were of the basic ones. Arthur didn't know if advanced runes would be labeled as II, III, and IV but he decided to make sure by asking Ori.
”Well, yes. There are advanced runes, those of greater details that would serve as multifunctional runes. I once read that the difference lies in their layers, as advanced runes were multilayered in a sequence of activation.
”Theoretically, there's no limit on how many runes' layers you can make. That's why they are numbered as first tier, second tier, third tier, and so on. The more complex and effective the rune is, the higher tier it would be. Right now, we can only make first-tier runes. Higher runes would be created in college.”
”What difference would these runes have?”
”Some of them would create sequenced effects, like turning ice into water then turning it into vapor. Although this example is inaccurate, it gives you a better understanding of what higher tier runes can do.