11
Milo laid his haul out on top of one of the workbenches.
Five depleted cores, two of which might be Machine Intelligence Matrixes, and one which he hoped was a proper Machine Core.
In his pocket, he had a little over thirty silver left.
It wouldn’t last long.
“Fed, can you confirm for me what these are at all?”
Negative.
“Blast. How did the dwarves tell the difference?”
Identification was confirmed using a Core Resonance Identifier.
He blinked. “What? A what?”
On the wall of tools, a bright light lit up behind a small gun-looking device.
A Core Resonance Identifier measures a core’s resonance and identifies category.
“And you didn’t think to tell me before?”
Milo did not ask.
“I did ask you how to tell the difference.”
Identification strategies were provided.
“But you didn’t mention this Resonance thingy.” Milo glared at the wall, but reached out and snatched up the device.
He looked at it and found it had a small dwarven glass screen on the top. A trigger made him think he had to aim it at the core and pull it.
Hopefully, the screen would light up and tell him what he was looking at.
He tried it on one of the depleted cores.
As expected, the glass lit up and, thanks to the translation matrix having completed, it told him clearly that what he was looking at was a Machine Core.
And that it was out of charge.
“Huh,” he said. Then started on the others.
Of the five, two were Machine Cores, one was a Machine Unified Core Matrix, and the last two were, as he’d suspected, Machine Intelligence Matrixes.
“So, not a complete waste of money,” he muttered. “Fed, can I recharge these Cores?”
Negative. Attempting to manually recharge a Machine Core will result in detonation of the core.
“Well. Blast.”
He sighed, then put the Identification device back on the wall.
Then paused.
Fed had been very clear about manual recharging. And, given Milo had asked if he could recharge them, he wondered if the Workshop was assuming he meant trying to push his own mana into the core.
“Fed,” he said firmly. “Is there a way, in this Workshop, to recharge a core in any way?”
Recommend using a Core Recharger.
“I’m beginning to see why the dwarves went extinct,” he grumbled. It was hard not to grind his teeth. “Alright. Where’s the core recharger?”
Core Recharging Stations are in the Core Recharging room.
“And where is that?”
Illuminating now.
Milo looked around and saw one of the rooms had flickered to life as lights flared on. He scooped up the depleted Cores and stomped towards the Core Recharging Room.
He’d been in here before, but not paid much attention to what it was. At the time, he’d been too giddy with enthusiasm at just being in the Workshop. He hadn’t been able to absorb all of Fed’s vague explanations.
Maybe it was time to get a more detailed tour, he thought.
The Recharging Room was a series of shelves with small crystal plates set at regular intervals and a switch next to each plate.
“Do I just need to put the core on a plate and turn the switch?”
Affirmative, Milo.
“How long do they take to charge?”
Charging time varies. When complete, the Recharging Station will signal full charge is achieved.
“Right.” He dropped one of the cores onto a plate and flicked the switch.
As soon as he did, the plate turned red and started flashing.
“Is red bad?”
Red indicates no charge.
“So, it will turn green when it’s fully charged?”
Affirmative, Milo.
“Okay.” He put the other core onto another plate. It also lit up red.
It didn’t look like a quick process.
He watched them pulse for a few moments before drifting back to his workbench. He figured the Machine Unified Core Matrix would probably also need recharging. But he wanted to be sure the others didn’t break first.
He lifted one of the Intelligence Matrixes and watched the light bounce off the smooth silicon. “Now,” he said. “What am I going to do with you?”
The library had plenty of golems which might prove helpful to him.
He could make a cleaner to do all his sweeping, for example.
That would get Ket off his back if she ever came down to check his work.
Or he could make more complex little spider golems like Click.
For what purpose, though?
He twirled the Matrix in his fingers as he thought it through. He hadn’t yet had a real chance to explore what he wanted to do with the Workshop exactly.
While making golems appealed to the clocker in him, he had no idea what his ultimate purpose would be.
He remembered Spragg’s conversation about proving himself to a team.
What if he could make a couple of stealthy little golems who could explore the dungeons like scouts? Or even take out the monsters inside them? It would make the exams easier.
Plenty of teams might like that.
All he had to do was prove his skills to one of them and they’d take him in.
And then, logically, they’d tell someone else. Then the Mage Court would find out. And then they’d kill him to get the Workshop for themselves.
Especially if they found out it could recharge cores.
Sighing, he put the Matrix down as Click came rushing into the room. He’d sent the golem off to pilfer a sandwich from the Mess. As he reached down to take the sandwich from the little golem’s arms, he smiled.
“Thanks, Click,” he said.
He lifted the sandwich and started unwrapping it.
The spider golem was incredibly useful, he thought. He was sure in the long run it would prove to be even more so.
Thinking about the mages, he found himself worrying what they would do if they caught the little golem. They’d rip out its core to start with.
Which would make it inert.
Just so some mage could squeeze out a few more petty spells.
Taking a bite of the cheese sandwich, he tried to imagine finding a good team. A team he could trust. A team he could work with.
But so far, none of the other students had spoken to him very much.
Except to harass him for being weak.
Maybe Spragg was right. Maybe he hadn’t worked hard enough to see the other students as potential friends.
Everyone had been so determined to build the best team they could that they’d tossed aside any thoughts of friendship for the more ruthless goal of getting the highest marks in dungeon exploring.
Because those marks would define their futures as mages.
The higher the marks, the more freedom they’d have.
Power was the most true currency among mages.
Which was why he’d been dismissed. Spragg had told him to think of his skills beyond magic. Well, the old shopkeeper was right about one thing. Milo was pretty good at pulling things apart.
He knew prepping for dungeons was a major component of student life.
Typically, classes were geared around the basics of planning and leadership as much as spell ability.
Students were given details about their dungeon and it was up to them to find the best way through. The fastest most efficient way to achieve each dungeon’s goal.
Milo could do that. He liked puzzles.
All he needed was a team to trust him with that task. He looked down at Click. The little construct was an excellent spy. Maybe he could have it follow the other students so he could identify which would be perfect to befriend. Who might be open to using his services.
Or he could blackmail them.
Milo munched on his sandwich thoughtfully.
Was he that kind of person?
He pushed blackmail aside. Even if he could get dirt on other students, how could he trust them to stay loyal? Chances are, they’d stab him in the back at the earliest opportunity.
No, he needed to actually get to know them.
Learn what they liked.
Appeal to their needs.
And that’s about where he started feeling less enthusiastic.
“Dealing with people is hard,” he sighed.
Click let out a little sad chitter as though agreeing with him.
Nodding, Milo reached out and gave the construct a pat. It whirred its gears in response. It sounded like a cat purring.
The thought made him smile immediately.
“I think I prefer your company,” he told it. “I’m just not good at making friends.”
Making friends.
The two words dropped into his brain like two large lumps of lead.
His eyes flicked to the Machine Intelligence Matrix. Then he swept his gaze around the Workshop, remembering the Golemskin.
The humanoid customization screen.
The large breasts sliders.
“No,” he breathed, though his heart was starting to race as possibilities danced through his brain. “It can’t be that easy.”
But it was.
He didn’t need to join a team. He didn’t need to head up and get to know the other students.
He had everything he needed right here.
His lips widened into a grin.
“I’ll make my own friends, Click.” He rubbed his hands together and scooped up the Matrix before heading towards the Workshop Library. “All we need is the perfect plan...”