Mage And Wolf
Chapter 278

Chapter 278: Chapter 278

The tests all go smoothly, as expected with my level of cultivation. None of the inscriptions malfunction, though we do end up reversing a couple of control directions for more intuitive movement.

A thought comes to me, or more correctly, a spell from the repository of Dragon God information that has been Cloned into my soul shrine. A Spell for creating artifact weapons.

Once we’re finished adjusting the inscriptions, it can bind them all together to make the suit an artifact armor, moving more intuitively with the user than the actual control inputs would accomplish, and gathering some of its own energy.

The spell is from the Red Dragon, so the energy will come from combat, using the suit in battle. I don’t know how much it will provide, but even crappy artifact weapons are still artifacts right? They’re much stronger than their component materials.

"Can we add a Barrier to it? Something to take the first attacks? If it had that, plus the plasma rifle I think it would be a hit." Karl suggests, looking over the designs with Elder Song.

Lala comes in with Hui’Jin and our lunch, followed by a large group of kids who hover outside the door, curious what we’re up to.

"Oh, I saw those in an anime. Flying and smashing and shooting. So amazing." The bunny says with a bright gleam in her eyes.

"So, a flying Inscription, plus a Barrier. I’ll work on those while you assemble the weapon." Elder Song instructs Karl who sighs and holds out his arms to remove me from the robot.

I jump on him, wrapping my arms and legs around him to pepper his face with kisses, causing Lala to burst into laughter and almost drop the tray.

"Eat first, then work. What are you making these for anyhow? Aren’t cultivators stronger than machinery?"

"If we make this into an artifact weapon it will be strong enough to deal with most mortal realm Beasts and cultivators, when piloted by a Condensation Realm pilot. A few of them can guard the compound, and keep the civilians safe." I tell her, happily taking the soup Hui’Jin has passed me without disentangling myself from Karl.

"Oh if that’s the idea, why not just use Golem spells? They’re strong, have good attack power and are replaceable." Hui’Jin provides a bit of logic and sanity to the situation.

"Not the point. The point is, we’ve made giant robots." Karl says firmly.

The look on the Dragonewt’s face is priceless. She’s not sure if she should reprimand him, go along with his idea or bow to his superior rank and admit she was wrong to suggest the logical alternative.

"Only Mage type cultivators can easily use the Golem Spell. Since there are only a handful of them among the hundreds of people here, that’s pretty limiting. Yes, Golems are the better option in basically every way, but they’re not nearly as much fun to deploy as giant robots and don’t have the same motivational effect on people." Karl finally elaborates.

"Can I try it after you’re done? You did say Condensation Realm volunteers and up, right?" Lala says hopefully.

Elder Song nods his agreement with a mischievous smile. "Deal. You’re perfect for the test. Nobody sees Bunnies as a combat force, so having you pilot the new suit would really reinforce the notion that these are a powerful deterrent and not just a gimmicky toy."

The kids have brought adults, who were wondering where they went, which attracted more adults, including the Bunnies among the refugees, who heard Lala was going to test something new to save them.

I’ve spent three hours going over the controls with her as they work, and she’s ready in every way possible once they finally announce that the suit is ready for final tests and enchantment.

Lala climbs inside, activating the limbs one at a time, then the rest of the machine and finally the shield and weapon. Everthing works smoothly, it lifts off the ground with a smooth hop and flies according to her directions. Only a half minute later, she lands on the wall, gasping for breath.

"Flying is exhausting, I can’t do that for long." She pants with a frown.

"Well the suit is very heavy, it’s unavoidable. But you can at least use it to make long hops." The unintentional bunny reference makes the onlookers giggle and Karl gives the next instruction.

"Target that square rock in the distance. The enchantment should help, but it’s mostly up to you. Fire when you’re ready."

Lala is far from a trained soldier, and a sniper she definitely is not, but the first ten shots go in the right general direction, before she finally manages to hit the Boulder.

"It takes practice, but I can totally see myself shooting monsters once I Master this thing." She half screams in victory.

The onlookers are stunned at that plasma shot, which had a lot of power behind it for a Condensation Realm Cultivator. It’s not that Lala suddenly got more powerful it’s just a trick of technology and cultivation combined to create a natural phenomenon beyond the raw energy input.

"Looks good. I’ll just tweak a few spots and we’re ready to call it complete." Karl tells the crowd as they cheer for Lala, who is doing a happy dance in the robot.

"I’ve learned a spell that should integrate everything into a low level artifact weapon. I’ve never used this ability before, so I can only hope it works, but if it does the robot should become easier to use, and slowly enhance itself over time the way all artifacts do. Once it’s defended the people for a few decades it should become a very impressive weapon." I inform Karl and Song.

"The War Relic spell?" Lelou asks, standing in the back and watching over the kids who came to spectate.

"That’s the one. Do you know it?"

The Red Dragon shakes her head. "It was lost after the wars. But if you can bring it back, I should be able to use it later. The strength of the artifacts it creates is low to start with, but they grow with use. Some have even become Saint Class Immortal Weapons after a millenia of service."

That might not save the world immediately but a handful of low level war artifacts is better than zero war artifacts, right? Song helps Lala out of the bot and I begin to focus on the ability that the Artifact is showing me.

It layers over the weapon, merging all the inscriptions into one new magical rune that covers the entire surface. Originally the robot was raw titanium, chosen for the light weight to strength ratio, but it’s slowly turning to a dull black with red runes. As the ability completes, the runes flash before fading to a dark Red and going inert.

A handful of cultivators rush over to inspect it, talking in some sort of technical jargon I don’t understand. But from what I can gather, the robot is now a Rank 2 Mortal Grade Artifact. One grade better than the breaking point between simply being a magical weapon and an artifact, their determination is that it should indeed be able to take out category 3 and 4 monsters with some effort when piloted by a Condensation Realm Cultivator.

There’s only one way to be sure though. Intensive testing. With our favorite fluffy Cultivator at the helm.