[Dark Elemental Bone]

[A bone gem with all the unnecessary elements removed and contains the essence of pure darkness mana. It is a never before seen treasure that can store a much larger quantity of mana than its appearance might suggest.]

"Nice. A lot more was mined than I expected, but now I'm done processing the raw materials."

"The cores are ready too."

Lee Shin-Woo and Kratia had spent a few days after returning to base processing the materials, and would finally be able to start producing Golems.

It felt like a long time had passed, but looking back, the process had actually taken them less than a month. He hadn't been able to hunt much, but there had been so much to do all around the area; it made sense that it would feel like a long time.

"Pauls, you did well. Get into groups and go hunting again. Ah, don't forget to report if you find a mine."

[Whenever you summon us, we will come.]

Shino Rendu, who had become more dependable than when he was human, said his goodbyes and left with the Pauls. Almost 1,000 troops had left in an instant, leaving the base seemingly empty, but there were actually still hundreds of Golems left.

"You guys go too. You know what to do if you meet a Steelworker, right?"

[You are our one and only master.]

He said his farewells to the Golems that had been hacked by Rem, leaving 10 of them to manage the winery and produce more wine. Through trials and errors in doing the job, they would eventually become specialists in winemaking.

Ah, the Silver Golems were on standby for now.

[Paul Zero, you're not done yet?]

"Now's the important part, so just keep watch."

[Ooh, then I'll come by to play when you're finished!]

The Dryads, who didn't know Lee Shin-Woo was leaving the winery as soon as he was finished, returned to the vineyard. Lee Shin-Woo and Kratia then began to produce Golems in earnest.

They already had everything mapped out, so all they had to do was follow the plans in order and create the Golems. Normally, inserting raw materials and the core in separate equipment was enough to manufacture a Golem, but he needed to try doing it manually at least once.

"Ah, there's a partial flaw. Kratia, wait a sec."

"Guu, as I thought, it was a problem with the knee joint... I'll fix it right away. A moment."

"No. Let's get rid of this and use the magic in the raw materials to fuse it instead."

During the manufacturing process the two once more engaged in a conversation Jin couldn't understand. However, he decided that he wouldn't leave this time. He wanted to at least be there when Lee Shin-Woo created his first Golem.

Fortunately, the errors in their plans weren't serious, so they could progress without much issue. There used to only be a core at the center of the worktable, but in no time, there was a body attached to it, and then limbs as well, which was quite the sight.

"Done,” said Lee Shin-Woo. “The legs are moving."

"But is the core's AI okay like this? You don't need to imprint anything else?"

"We have the darkness mana. Look."

Perhaps because the Dark Elemental Bone's very existence was Lee Shin-Woo’s doing, it absorbed his darkness magic easily.

It seems the Golems would be fully devoted to Lee Shin-Woo even before their completion… Kratia sulked a little and grumbled, "But I'm making it with you too."

"Then come back after you've learned how to use darkness magic."

"Kuuuuu."

Originally, Kratia had been interested in manufacturing Golems, not taking ownership of them. In the process of studying the magic applied to Golems, she had increased her knowledge of magic theory beyond her imagination. She did achieve her objective, but...

"It feels weird. It's like the feeling a mother has when her baby, who was born through the joint effort of both parents, only follows the father around."

"Did you have a kid in your original world...?"

"No, I didn't! I'm talking about our kid, ours!"

"!?"

The process went smoothly. Not even Arema Steelworker would be making Golems without hiccups. Fused with darkness, the Golem’s magic circulated incredibly quickly, and a solid connection was established between the core and the body.

"It'd probably be hard to use the magic in a different way."

"It doesn't have that ability, and it wouldn't be efficient. Since these are weapons for combat."

"Then... I think it's done. The assembly's done, Shin-Woo."

They'd only started building the Golem less than an hour ago, yet there was now a 4 meter tall humanoid Golem laying on the worktable.

Though it was of a similar height to the level 5 Iron Golem, it was far more sophisticated, at least in terms of design.

"Will it really move...?"

"It'll definitely move. I'm more worried about whether this thing is level 6 or not."

"We used a level 6 core, so it should be… The raw materials and the process were perfect; it could even be an elite."

Lee Shin-Woo couldn’t help but shudder. He had been focused solely on the goal of creating a Golem. If they actually succeeded in creating one, their situation would change in an instant.

He would be able to control hundreds of level 6 elite Golems, entities that made even the other heroes nervous.

Lee Shin-Woo softly closed and opened his eyes. His heart was pounding, and he wanted to sigh, yet he couldn't as he didn't have any respiratory organs. Not having any means of breathing never hurt so much.

"Shin-Woo… Try activating it."

"...Alright. I'm doing it."

In the end, he steeled himself and put his hand on the core. Of course, the core was protected by an especially durable material, but if Lee Shin-Woo were to just let out his magic, it would reach the core immediately. That was how impressive the mana conductivity of the material was.

"Activate."

He said something unnecessarily without thinking and sent out darkness mana from his fingertips. A skeleton and a Golem... Normally, these two entities couldn't easily be linked, but the darkness magic made it almost too natural.

[Activating...]

His powerful will was transmitted along with his magic, and the core seemed to prioritize its absorption; the gently glowing core vibrated like a heart that had suddenly started pounding, radiating darkness mana everywhere to fill each and every part of the Golem's body.

[Checking to see if all parts can be activated...]

There was an operating 'organ' located within its brain, and its arms could attack in a variety of ways with magic while its feet had boosters that could increase its speed through magic.

Once that process was complete, a gentle green light radiated from the dark green, translucent Golem. Despite being an inanimate object, it seemed to radiate vigor that it didn't have before.

[...Activating.]

The Golem spoke in a mechanical voice, and simultaneously, its body bizarrely wriggled. The core was in the process of regulating all of the body's magic. And eventually, it slowly, very slowly stood up.

[Assessing situation...]

The Golem slowly looked around. Because its upper body alone ran 2 meters, it had to look down to see Lee Shin-Woo and Kratia. It was so overwhelming that Kratia instinctively grabbed her orb, and Lee Shin-Woo kept Rem on standby.

However, their caution turned out to be unwarranted. The moment the Golem saw Lee Shin-Woo, a deep link formed between them through his darkness mana... The Golem then spoke up.

[Master recognized.]

Tension left his body the moment Lee Shin-Woo heard that. Kratia staggered and even fell towards Lee Shin-Woo, but fortunately, Jin caught her.

"...And who am I?"

Lee Shin-Woo tried his very best to not act excited as he asked. The Golem's response came immediately.

[You are my master. Master, please give me a name so you can differentiate me from the others.]

Quietly, Kratia waited for him to respond. Lee Shin-Woo clenched his fists and, in a calm voice, gave the Golem a name.

"Rem Two... No, let's go with Erem."

[Recognized.]

Be it Rem Two or Erem, Lee Shin-Woo’s naming ability hadn’t gotten any better. However, Erem happily accepted its name.

But is it normal to give Golems a name? Lee Shin-Woo thought and tilted his head. Then a message popped up before him.

[You have created the elite Lv6 Dark Emerald Bone Golem, Erem.]

[You have succeeded in creating a unique Golem by stealing techniques from various places. These Dark Emerald Bone Golems, which were created with darkness magic as their foundation, not only possess high strength and powerful magic, but have a high elemental resistance as well. Their greatest strength lies in their ability to draw upon the world's darkness magic and store it in their bodies. Through that, there is a chance that they can become even stronger.]

[One problem with these Golems, however, is that they have no value as commercial products. They will be absolutely loyal to you, as you possess darkness magic.]

[You have acquired the title, 'Puppet Master'. All stats have increased by 5. Command’s effectiveness has improved, and the power of the darkness element increases slightly.]

He had somewhat expected this to happen. How could he not get a title, when he had just created a Golem? However, something that he hadn't expected happened as well.

[Your strength has surpassed 1,000! You have acquired the title, 'He Who Dreams of Giants'. Strength has increased by 10. Your body is evolving so that you can exhibit greater strength.]

"Huh!?"

It seemed the five stat points he got from becoming a Puppet Master had caused his strength to surpass 1,000, earning him another title! When his magic surpassed 1,000, his body had changed as well. Something similar happened again.

"Shin-Woo?"

"Give me a sec."

Although it was a title related to his future growth, his body didn't change dramatically. It did get stronger so that he could exhibit more strength, though.

It wasn’t a bad feeling to have his body become heavier and more honed. With the armor he was wearing, he couldn’t see what was underneath, but he could feel the changes.

Didn’t Kratia say you would only get a title like this once?

He remembered it clearly. At the time, she had said that the first stat among his strength, agility, endurance, and magic to surpass 1,000 would come with a title, and that title would determine their level 5 ‘class’ and the direction of their growth.

Lee Shin-Woo looked back at Kratia, who seemed to have no idea what was going on. In the end, he decided to move on without saying anything.

This is probably due to the Joker’s karma.

"Well, I just got a title from creating the Golem. Did you get it too?"

Lee Shin-Woo feigned ignorance. Kratia tilted her head and meekly answered.

"Yeah, 'One Who Walks the Path of New Magic'."

"Nice. I'm sure we’ve succeeded. Shall we finish making all of the Golems? From Erem to Erem 277!"

"So you really are going with that name..."

They had succeeded in making the prototype, so there was no reason to hesitate any longer. Lee Shin-Woo and Kratia activated the manufacturing equipment that had been standing by, meticulously scanned Erem, set the fine controls on the equipment, and added the materials.

"The initial activation will require my mana, so I have to put my hand on each and every one of them..."

"Shin-Woo, I'm activating it!"

"Yeah, go ahead!"

"Roger!"

Kratia's eyes shone as she activated the manufacturing process for all the equipment. The Dark Emerald Bones and the cores that were piled together like a mountain were placed into the devices one by one. Accompanied by blinding light, the fusion to form new Golems commenced. Lee Shin-Woo gathered his darkness mana, waiting for the moment Erem Two was completed.

With no one the wiser, Lee Shin-Woo was making an army that could threaten a part of the Empire.