"I'll allow it, provided you're under a restriction," Alex decided.
"Very well. I shall accept an Oath of Silence," the old man easily agreed.
"Let's head inside for now," Alex said as he stood up and walked into the old man's home as though he owned the place.
The old man followed him inside, only to freeze in shock when he spotted a magical creature waiting in the room. The pressure he felt from her alone was enough to tell him how powerful she was. She was definitely a Rank 8 Mind magical creature.
"A Fae… You managed to earn the affection of a Fae?!" the old man exclaimed.
"Her name is Gardevoir. She will extract your knowledge and place the restriction on you," Alex explained.
"Gardevoir. A fitting name for such a beautiful creature," the old man said, staring at her in awe.
"Gardevoir, you know what to do."
Gardevoir approached the old man and placed her delicate hand on his forehead. She frowned as she searched through his memories, extracting as much information as possible.
Aside from his knowledge of Knights and Mages, she also retrieved the schedules of the old man's watchers. It seemed they were retired Knights of at least Rank 5. They had been assigned to protect and keep an eye on the Grand Librarian until his death. They sent a letter every month listing the old man's visitors, and if he ever left his home, they had to report it and escort him wherever he wished to go.
Once Gardevoir finished extracting the information, she placed a psychic node inside the old man's mind to stop him from revealing anything about Alex. It was a simple restriction, though removing it would be difficult. Only a Rank 9 Mind Mage, a Mind Mystic, or someone like Alex could remove it, and such people were extremely rare. If that still wasn't enough, they would likely place a bug on the old man to make sure he kept his silence. Such was the price of knowledge, one the old man was more than willing to pay.
"Gardevoir," she said, informing Alex of the old man's schedule.
As long as they returned within a week, they shouldn't have any trouble taking the old man on a trip.
"Alright, take us back to the base and give Rotom the old man's memories so it can add them to the library," Alex instructed.
With a flash of light, Alex, the old man, and Gardevoir teleported away. It took several hops to reach their destination, and the experience nearly scared the old man to death. Eventually, they arrived at the central castle on the southern side of the continent, overlooking Giant's Bed.
"Oooohhhh~" the old man murmured in awe as he looked around the castle's command center.
Through the northern windows, he could see the mountain range of the Frozen Tundra. The view reminded him of his visit to Wedgehurst Castle, though the sight before him was even more impressive given the proximity. The snow-covered peaks stretched across the horizon, forming a natural wall to the lands he had known all his life.
To the south stretched a vast field of gold, spreading across the land as far as he could see. He had never imagined that villagers could grow so much food. The sight alone was enough to make him wonder how many people this single stretch of farmland could feed.
Finally, he spotted magical creatures and even gigantic monsters roaming freely across the land. From everything he knew about them, such creatures were dangerous and should never be allowed to wander so freely. Yet here they were, moving about as though they posed no threat at all.
"H-how many people live in your kingdom to need this much food? And how powerful are they that monsters can roam freely and eat the crops as they please? Also, what is this magical table that seems to show a map of the land?" the old man asked, his eyes wide with the excitement of a child.
"Only my family lives here, and we don't stay here permanently. Until recently, there were only about four of us living here. The crops you see were planted specifically for the magical creatures. We want them to grow strong enough to reach Rank 9 before culling them. As for this," Alex said, tapping the table, "it's a holotable that uses light to project a holographic map of the territory."
"Four people? Why? How? That field looks like it would take at least ten thousand peasants to plant!" the old man exclaimed.
"One of my wives planted it. She did the same with the rest of the cultivated plants throughout this entire region," Alex replied casually.
"Who's the old man?" Rhea asked as she entered the command center to inspect the place.
"That's the Grand Librarian of the Hammerlocke Kingdom. He just donated a rather large collection of books," Alex explained.
"Wow~ Fancy title."
"It is a pleasure to meet you, young lady," the old man said with a slight nod. "You must be his daughter. My name is Alfred Pembroke, former Grand Librarian of the Hammerlocke Kingdom and a Rank 8 Mage."
"Oh! I like him! He called me a young lady and thought I was your daughter!" Rhea exclaimed excitedly to Alex before turning back to Alfred. "The name's Rheabel Argent, but you can just call me Rhea. I'm not Alex's daughter, though I do call him Daddy sometimes. I have some fancy titles of my own, but my favorite is Alex's Sex Toy."
Alfred, caught completely off guard, blushed a little. He was an old man, but encountering such a blunt young lady was quite the surprise.
"She built all the castles and outposts across this entire region," Alex added.
Alfred's eyes widened in shock. How could a single person build everything he was seeing? Even a thousand workers would need a decade to build the castle alone, let alone all the other buildings scattered across the region. It was almost impossible to believe.
"Rhea, why don't you take him along on your inspection? He wanted to see the place for himself," Alex suggested.
"Hmm… Babysitting him sounds annoying, but fine," Rhea said, though the excited smile on her face betrayed her words.
Since moving to the island, she rarely got the chance to show off her work and enjoy the astonished reactions it received.
"Come on, old man. Let me show you around," Rhea said as she headed for the door, with Alfred following close behind.
Alex stayed behind to organize their new magical library. It now contained the loot Alvera had given him, copies of books taken from the Hammerlocke nobility, and the knowledge extracted from the Grand Librarian's memories. It was a promising collection that would only grow as Alex visited Wedgehurst again and the others gathered more knowledge from the other magic towers.
Meanwhile, Alfred looked around the castle in awe. Most of the structure was made of metal, an expensive building material that was rarely used on such a large scale. The design was also strange, with only a few living quarters on the top floor while everything below was one enormous storage space.
What amazed him even more were the metal golems scattered throughout the castle. Each one had an intricate design, far more complex than anything he had seen before. Yet the most incredible part was that these golems were built by other golems through an automated process. They could produce more of their own kind without needing people to oversee every step.
Alfred could hardly imagine what such a system could achieve if its principles were applied to magic. If they could build metal golems this way, what else might be possible? His mind raced with ideas as he followed Rhea through the castle, eager to see what other wonders this strange place had to offer.
"Everything looks good," Rhea muttered as she inspected the facility, speaking loudly enough for Alfred to hear. "No signs of corrosion, errors are being handled properly, the production line is running smoothly, repairs are holding up well, and material waste is down to a minimum. Looks like this place can last a century."
"What are these golems built for?" Alfred asked.
"Pretty much everything. Right now, they're mostly used for construction and maintenance, though they can also pick up weapons and fight if needed."
"How many are there, and how strong are they?"
"A few thousand. Each one is about as strong as a Rank 4 Knight and a Rank 6 Mage."
Alfred managed to hide his shock as he nodded thoughtfully, though his hand trembled slightly as he stroked his beard. A few thousand golems of that strength were comparable to the military force of an entire kingdom. Their true potential, however, was even greater.
After all, they were currently being used for construction and maintenance rather than warfare. Given how quickly they could be assembled, their forces could potentially build an army capable of sweeping across the continent in less than a year.
"Oh? A Master ranked Pokémon was just spotted. Why don't we go watch the battle?" Rhea suggested, taking Alfred along for a ride.
They headed to the hangar and boarded a transport vehicle built using the same technology as the ones from the advanced technological world. It resembled a wide, compact bus with enough room for a dozen people, designed to carry small teams between different parts of the territory.
Alfred said nothing as the vehicle lifted off the ground and flew north. He nervously watched the landscape through the window as they flew at impossible speed, his hands gripping the edge of his seat. The experience was terrifying, yet he couldn't help marveling at the view. Never in his life had he imagined that such a thing was possible.
"There it is," Rhea said, looking at the footage displayed on a screen. "It's one of the gigantic Mamoswine that picks fights with the outposts every once in a while. It finally reached Master rank, so it's ready to be culled."
Alfred stared at the screen, recognizing the creature as a Rank 9 monster, though he had never seen one of its kind before. Few people dared to explore the Frozen Tundra, given how dangerous it was, so creatures like this had remained largely unknown to the kingdoms.
The gigantic beast stood nearly 100 meters tall as it charged toward a much smaller-looking magic tower. Its massive tusks pointed forward, and every step sent tremors through the frozen ground. Judging by its speed, Alfred doubted that the tower would survive a direct hit.
Suddenly, a beam of light shot from the top of the tower, striking the beast near its eyes. The Mamoswine flinched and veered off course, momentarily disoriented by the attack.
Before it could recover, several flying golems flew down from above the clouds and gave chase. They launched metal pillars that shot through the air under their own power, streaking toward the enormous beast. Alfred watched in disbelief as the weapons slammed into the Mamoswine's head and exploded in a massive fireball.
The ground shook as the beast collapsed. It struggled to get back up, only for more beams of light to burn through its thick hide. More metal pillars followed, striking its head and exploding on impact until the massive creature finally stopped moving.
Alfred watched with wide eyes, struggling to believe that a group of golems had taken down a creature that might have required an entire army of Knights to defeat. Worse still, the entire process seemed to require almost no effort from the kingdom's rulers, as though they were merely butchering cattle.
He had come here hoping to learn about a strange new land. Instead, he had discovered a power that could overturn everything he knew about the world.
As the transport vehicle carried them back toward the castle, Alfred quietly prayed that this kingdom to the south would never consider the Hammerlocke Kingdom an enemy. If it ever did, he feared there would be little his homeland could do to protect itself.