Austronesia Empire, Imperial Majahapit, Jayapura Papua, Jayapura Mining Facility
1st Year of God, Sunday, 1st Week, 3rd Month Of Abraham.
Following the discovery of the Dragonite crystals and the sudden appearance of a dungeon, the mining station underwent a frenzy of changes. Moreover, the military quickly dispatched a battalion of 600 soldiers to reinforce the mining station and provide security to the miners.
At the helm of this large force was Lieutenant Colonel Ciaphas Cahyono, a high-ranking officer of the military within Imperial Majahapit.
Riding in his armored vehicle, Cahyono felt the heavy rumble beneath him as it came to a stop in the parking lot. As he disembarked the vehicle, his boots slammed against the hard concrete. Immediately, he noticed several large rocky figures pushing carts filled with soil along the tracks. The strong stench of waste assailed his nose as a breeze blew the smell over, making him wrinkle his nose.
"Hey," Cahyono called out, stopping one of the workers along the way and pointing to the strange rock figures laboring in the yard. "What are those?"
The worker looked up at him, revealing his dirt-covered face that cracked into a toothless grin. "New here? Those are Sir Odysseus' Earth Golems!"
"Earth Golems?" Cahyono scratched his head in interest, "And who is this sir Odysseus? Is he the elf the government sent here?"
The worker nodded eagerly, "Indeed, and he is more than just that. He's even our mining community benefactor!" He pointed to the animated rock figure, "With his help, those walking stones can do the work of a dozen men, greatly helping us increase our output and easing our burden!" He said proudly.
"Hmmm," Cahyono rubbed his chin, watching the slow movements of the rock figures. He thanked the worker and walked up next to one of the working statues.
On closer view, the Earth Golem looked like a massive chunk of stone with very humanoid features chiseled out from its surface. A featureless lump served as its head, while its large broad chest and wide shoulders supported blocky arms dangled down to its stubby legs, ending at the knees area. Each hand ended in three digits that looked like a clamp.
One of the golems was unloading a cart of soil into a vat. Ignoring the stench, Cahyono stood nearby, observing as it towered over him, even taller than the four-meter-high vat, which had a platform and stairs constructed on its side for workers.
Cahyono rapped his knuckles against the golem's stone legs. The Earth Golem paused its work, turning its featureless face toward him. For a moment, it seemed to study Cahyono before resuming its task, carefully emptying the cart of saltpeter-rich soil into the vat.
"Goddamn," Cahyono whispered in awe. These things seemed to be made of solid rock, yet they moved their arms and legs as if they weren't bound by the limitations of solid matter. "What kind of magic is this?"
"Lieutenant Colonel?" a voice called from the processing plant. Cahyono turned to see Director Letif approaching and casually saluted him. "What brings you here, Sir?"
"Oh, I'm just here to take a look around," Cahyono replied and gestured to the stone figure working behind him. "New help?"
"Haha, you've met our automations?" Letif grinned as he led Cahyono toward the admin building. "The locals call them elementals or golems."
"Where did they come from?" Cahyono asked. "The dungeon?"
"No no, it's that elf whom the government sent over," Letif clarified. "Odysseus von Aston, he made them."
Cahyono stopped in his tracks and stared at Letif, "I heard he has Earth Magic, but does he really have the power to create something like this?"
"Not exactly," Letif explained. "He could originally make only a dozen or so smaller golems, but they'd only last about a few hours before he had to transfer more magic to keep them going. At the first start he wanted to use them to help out with the mining work, but it depleted his energy greatly."
"I see," Cahyono nodded, glancing back at the massive golem. "Then looking at this giant, I say there has been some kind of breakthrough?"
"Oh, absolutely," Letif grinned even wider. "You see, those Dragonite crystals we found? They're packed with magic powers that will make most of our energy sources obsolete. Odysseus placed one of the crystals into one of the golems, and it ran like some energizer bunny, its operating time lasting a solid three days straight and still running strong."
"So, we decided to experiment with larger golems, and the results were incredible," Letif continued proudly. "We estimate that even just a quarter of a gram of Dragonite crystal alone is equal to roughly five months of battery life for these monsters."
Seeing the Lieutenant Colonel's dumbfounded expression, Letif gestured to the giant golem diligently unloading the contents of the mining carts. At that moment, a trio of mini golems, carrying a crate over their heads, ran past Cahyono and disappeared around a corner.
"They have very basic intelligence," Letif explained. "You need to be specific with their instructions. They respond well to commands that are almost like programming. I've had a couple of IT eggheads to see if we can apply programming languages onto their magic cores, hoping if they can write or develop some form of basic AI for them."
"That is outstanding," Cahyono praised, seriously impressed by the blend of magic and technology in this world. "But how do they move their arms and legs if they're made of solid rock?"
"Honestly, I don't have an answer for that," Letif shrugged. "Even if you ask Odysseus, he'll just say, 'It's magic.'"
"Hmm, interesting," Cahyono murmured as they entered the main admin building, where Letif began to strip off his work overalls and safety gear. "Keep me constantly updated on the golem AI development."
"Of course, Sir. Oddly enough, we can't use concrete for the golems," Letif added as they walked toward the offices. "Odysseus mentioned something about 'living rock' and how concrete lacks life or something along those lines."
Letif opened the door to his main office, revealing a room lined with desks where two staff members were busy filling columns and ticking checklists in thick ledgers.
"Welcome to Mining Incorporated!" Letif said with a grin. "That's my office, and this is where my staff handle the records of output, expenses, and accounts."
He pointed to another door on the right. "That's Odysseus' office, though it looks like he's not in."
"Aetter?" Letif called out to a young woman who was busily punching numbers into a calculator amidst the messy pile of paperwork around her desk. "Where is Odysseus?"
"Sir Odysseus?" the woman paused her work with a slightly irritated glance. "He should be in his workshop." She then returned to her work, paying them no further attention.
"Sorry about that," Letif said, smiling apologetically at Cahyono. "They are very hardworking and focused."
Cahyono grinned, appreciating the professionalism, and followed Letif out of the admin building and back into the courtyard. Soon, they reached a large, two-story building with wide, red-painted swing doors standing open. It was one of four similar buildings, each marked with a large white number. This one bore the number '4,' and a pair of rail tracks led into its open doors.
As they entered the workshop, Cahyono noticed there were mini cranes and hoists crisscrossing the ceiling, their chains hanging overhead like metallic vines. At the center of the workshop, a large magic formation was intricately carved into the floor, surrounded by symbols, signs, and runes that seemed both ancient and mysterious, followed by cables snaking across the floor. If the lighting and atmosphere of the workshop weren't so bright and sunny, he would have thought he entered some sort of cultist den.
Work tables occupied both sides of the workshop, cluttered with monitors, laptops, and tools of all kinds and scrolls, candles and jars of unidentifiable substances laid haphazardly all over the tables while a radio was blasting some rock and roll. Stairs on the side led to a second-floor plankway, which stretched across the middle of the room, suspended above the workspace.
A massive boulder, over four meters tall and two meters wide with moss still present on its surfaces sat at the middle of the magic formation where the pair of tracks cut right through.
'They must use the tracks to transport the rocks over here using the carts and the cranes to hoist it over the formation,' thought Cahyono.
As they approached the boulder, Cahyono noticed a head of thick brown hair tied in a ponytail appear on the other side. A bearded elf, dressed in dirty work overalls, was carefully painting arcane symbols onto the rock surface with what looked like a brush dipped in liquid silver.
Letif cleared his throat and coughed, and the elf who was humming along to the tune jerked up and noticed the two of them standing at the entrance.
"Oh, director!" He cheerfully called out and placed his work tools down on the side.
He removed his gloves and paused, his eyes recognizing Cahyono. "Ah, you must be a military commander judging by your uniform."
"Yes," Cahyono replied, stepping forward. "I heard from the elves that you were once in the Tarxan army. Is this what you're working on, an Earth Golem?"
"Indeed, sir. This is a golem," the elf confirmed, glancing at the boulder with a sense of pride. "I apologize for the mess. I have to use traditional methods to create elementals to ensure they're perfect."
"Amazing," Cahyono murmured, walking around the boulder with his hands clasped behind his back, taking in the intricate symbols and runes drawn across its surface. "How does it work?"
"It's quite simple, sir," Odysseus explained as simply as possible. "I cast a spell on the rock, imbuing it with life through my Earth magic. It then follows my commands or those of anyone who bears my magical mark. It will continue to move and perform simple tasks until its magical reserves are depleted or I withdraw my magic."
"Can anyone just remove its magic?" Cahyono asked as he stopped next to the elf.
"No, only by destroying its core can the magic be undone, and only I can stop it intentionally," Odysseus replied. "Normally, my magic allows me to create much smaller versions of these elementals. They act as simple servants, carrying objects and such, but they only last an hour or two before I need to recharge them with my magic."
He then turned to a nearby table and picked up a blood-red crystal quartz. "But with Dragonite crystals, I can extend the lifespan and increase the strength of the golems, allowing me to make them larger and more powerful."
"And Director Letif has arranged for someone to help me program the golems, which lets us give them more complex instructions," Odysseus added, gesturing toward the computers on the tables.
"How do you program them?" Cahyono asked, curiously.
"For me, the spells I inscribe on the golems include basic commands like walking, running, lifting, and other simple movements," Odysseus explained. "That one human is helping me analyze my enchantments with those devices." He pointed to cameras mounted on the workshop pillars.
"Where is this human now?" Cahyono asked again. "I'd like to talk with him."
"I think he's gone to lunch," Odysseus shrugged. "He should be back soon."
"Yoshiyuki Tomino," Letif interjected, "He's our IT support here, originally responsible for the mining drones. But after seeing Odysseus' work, he asked to get involved."
"Apparently, he believes he can decipher the drawings Odysseus is inscribing on the golems," Letif continued. "If he succeeds, he thinks he can treat it like programming code, potentially laser-printing more complex enchantments onto the golems, creating something, you know like some basic AI stuff."
"Damn," Cahyono said in excitement as he turned to Letif. "I need to report this to High Command. If he pulls this off, we could have fully operational combat walkers!"
"True, we've already started developing something similar, but it's projected to take a decade," Letif noted, glancing at Odysseus. "With Oddy's help, though, we might finish much sooner."
Cahyono laughed, "This has been fascinating, but I've got 600 men to check on. Most are patrolling both land and sea, while a few platoons will begin exploring the dungeon with Dr. Penelope." He then turned to Odysseus. "As for you, elf, you're coming with them. Meet me at the Army building."
"Let me guess," Odysseus replied with a wry smile, "You want me to act as their guardian?"
Cahyono nodded, "Absolutely, just in case."