Chapter 152: The Greatest Tool on Earth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 152: The Greatest Tool on Earth
The summon began to reveal itself slowly, as if being extruded by a 3D printer.
It had no legs. It was just... a square?
“This is...”
“Do you recognize it?”
“No. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never seen a summon like this in my entire life.”
Something unrecognizable was forming in front of me and the Druid Club President.
If neither of us could identify it, it clearly meant it was an incredibly rare specimen.
In the first place, could you even call that thing a living creature? It was more like a cube floating in mid-air. I wondered if Helena knew anything.
—It looks quite strange.
‘Strange, how?’
—That is... hmm.
‘What on earth is it?!’
—I don’t know. However, it’s not something modern humanity could create. What could it be?
Helena also reacted as if she had no idea what it was.
Why is everyone acting like this? It’s making me nervous. What exactly is it?
“It’s not in Monster Dismantling Savoring either. What is it? What did you call forth?”
—Sion, what in the world have you summoned?
I didn’t know either.
Something mysterious had been summoned before my eyes.
Rather than a living thing, it seemed closer to an inanimate object—a hypercube that maintained a constant shape.
“It doesn’t seem aggressive.”
“It doesn’t, does it?”
“I get the feeling it’s observing us. It’s either a monster from below the 6th floor, or it’s an unknown entity that no one but us has ever discovered.”
“Would it cause a stir if reported to the academic community?”
“If it’s useful, yes. But looking at its appearance, I haven’t the faintest clue where we’d even use it.”
“Still, it was summoned with a Forbidden Art, so it must be strong, right?”
“I suppose? It would have to be.”
A hypercube about the size of an adult man’s fist.
I didn't know how to use it yet, but at the very least, it didn't seem hostile toward us.
As the President said, it seemed to be observing us with interest. If that was the case, it meant it possessed enough intelligence to observe humans.
I wondered if I could communicate with it.
I decided to try a simple greeting.
“Uh... hello?”
“Does it respond? Is it sending mental waves or telepathy specifically to you?”
“No. No response at all. It’s just spinning around.”
“Hmph. Then try giving it a command. It might react then. Since it’s a summon called by a Forbidden Art, it won’t be able to ignore your orders. It will either refuse or obey. It’ll show one of those two reactions.”
“Understood. Come here.”
When I held out my palm and commanded it to come to me, the hypercube moved slowly but surely until it settled on my hand.
“Oh! It follows orders! Any hostile reaction?”
“None that I can feel. Maybe this is... some kind of golem? It feels like an artificial intelligence that just follows orders.”
“Artificial intelligence?”
“Ah, I mean an artificially created sentient being.”
“Aha. That must be a term from the Magic Tower. Hmm. Artificial intelligence. Perhaps you’re right. If we think of it as an artificial lifeform created by a scholar from another dimension... Hmm. It might be something made with ancient technology.”
“Ancient technology?”
He was saying there was a possibility it was something made with ancient lost technology.
Considering the patterns and mysterious characters engraved on its surface, it certainly smelled like something made with the lost techniques of a super-ancient civilization.
‘Helena, do you have any idea?’
—Well. If it truly is a remnant of a super-ancient civilization as the Druid Club President suggests... then I have a rough idea of your summon’s identity.
‘You do?’
—Yes. Perhaps it is... something like a secretary for the ancients. It is merely my own thought, so do not take it as established fact.
‘Got it.’
Helena also concluded that it might be something from ancient times.
Since both Helena and the President, who were far more knowledgeable than me, were saying it, I figured it was highly credible.
“Now, here is the crux of the matter. We need to find out what abilities this thing possesses. You said you were heading into the Labyrinth tomorrow, right?”
“Yes. I planned to go in around tomorrow. So, until then...”
“We have to find out. We need to know how to utilize this to its fullest to use it in the Labyrinth. And if it’s a dangerous entity, we must terminate the contract immediately.”
“Is it possible to cancel the contract?”
“If you are willing to endure various losses, a forced contract termination is possible.”
I wasn't sure what those "various losses" were, but it didn't sound like a very good method.
It seemed better to just unsummon it and leave it be.
“Now then, first. Let’s see if it has any offensive capabilities.”
“Could it be used as a projectile?”
“Let’s give it a try.”
I commanded the hypercube floating above my palm.
“Attack that box over there.”
When I pointed to an empty box sitting in the corner of the basement, the hypercube spun and flew at a considerable speed, slamming into the box.
Boom!
“.....”
“The destructive power is significant. It seems you’ve pulled a summon beyond imagination.”
“At this rate, it could probably crush a human skull.”
“I don’t know how it’ll fare against monsters, but it seems to have enough firepower to play around with neighborhood thugs. The basement is too cramped, so let’s head outside and test other things.”
“Let’s do that. Actually, should we just go to the Magic Tower?”
The Druid Club building was too small to experiment with such a peculiar entity.
In the end, the President and I took the summon to the Magic Tower, and even the Tower Lord, who was in the middle of preparing to descend into the Labyrinth, joined in on the performance test.
“So, you used a Forbidden Art to pull a summon, and this strange thing came out?”
“Indeed. Do you know what this is?”
“It’s my first time seeing something like this too. Hmm. The structure is similar to a golem, but the technology is several dimensions higher. It’s hard to call it a biological creature. Sion, could it be the ‘artificial intelligence’ in the true sense of the word that you mentioned?”
“That’s what I thought.”
“A creature like this cannot exist. Structurally. Therefore, it must be something artificially made. Does this mean the super-ancient civilization actually existed?”
“Traces have been found before, but I’ve never seen a remnant of the super-ancient civilization as blatant as this.”
“Neither have I. It certainly is unique. Sion, you seem to have a knack for pulling these peculiar things.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“It’s good if you use it well. Now, follow me. President, you come too. Let’s go to the laboratory.”
And so, we went up to the 5th floor of the Magic Tower.
“It’s really spacious here.”
The 5th floor seemed to be a place prepared for testing weapons or new magic.
There were scorch marks everywhere, and smashed targets or scarecrows were left abandoned in corners.
I was told that mages came here frequently for magic practice or rank evaluations.
“First, try destroying that target.”
“Understood. You see that over there? Attack it.”
Once again, the hypercube flew at high speed and blew the target apart.
After that, we spent several hours in the lab conducting various experiments on the hypercube.
“The firepower seems sufficient for the Underground City. What’s the maximum movement range?”
“From what I can see, it flies anywhere within Sion’s line of sight. Is remote control impossible?”
“Yes. It seems to respond to my voice, so I’ll just have to inject slightly complex commands when I first send it out.”
“How complex can the commands be?”
“Hmm. It seems to have the intelligence to distinguish targets. You could probably pick out a specific target to attack.”
“Yes. And it seemed to understand the meaning of the command before attacking. We should assume it has a certain level of situational judgment.”
“Then this is a quite useful tool. No, it’s an incredibly useful tool.”
The experimental results proved that the hypercube was a multi-purpose projectile that could be used as a long-range guided missile.
In terms of offensive capability, it was a stone that flew according to its master’s command to bash a target’s head in. Furthermore, since the connection wasn't severed as long as it was within my sight, it could cover a considerable distance.
“Now then, let’s test its defensive capabilities.”
“Please make sure the protection magic is properly applied this time.”
“I know! Don’t worry! That time before was a genuine mistake!”
Mabel cast an 8th Circle Protection Magic on me. Last time, when I was doing the arrow-catching with Roy, she hadn't cast the protection magic and I almost died. The Tower Lord looked embarrassed when I reminded her of that incident.
“Now, the experiment we’re going to do is regarding its autonomous defense capability. Turn around.”
“Yes, sir. You have to block the incoming attacks.”
I commanded the hypercube. From now on, the experiment was to see if it could block attacks coming from behind my back.
Since the hypercube basically tended to move according to my gaze, we tested what kind of reaction it would show if attacked from a blind spot I couldn't see.
Boom—!!!
“The aftershock is a bit much.”
The hypercube successfully blocked the fireball Mabel fired.
However, rather than perfectly blocking everything, it felt more like it collided with and destroyed the fireball before it could reach me, so the heat from the fireball’s destruction was transmitted directly to me.
“It seems its durability would be hard to break even with decent firepower.”
“Since it even blocked an attack from behind, we can consider it autonomous armor.”
“It’s quite useful at this level.”
The performance test was pretty much over. Its offensive function was decent, its defensive capability was quite high, and it didn't seem like it would break easily. It was a very good summon.
Moreover, there was no need to feed it, and it didn't even rebel.
“But it’s a bit hot.”
“Is it? Then I’ll use ice magic.... Huh?”
“...Could it be?”
When I mentioned it was hot and sweated slightly because the temperature had risen from the fireball, the hypercube immediately reacted to my physical state.
“...”
“It’s cold.”
“It can regulate temperature too? Wait a minute. This is incredible!”
The President looked on in amazement, while the Tower Lord stared at the hypercube with eyes that looked like she wanted to dismantle it.
Perhaps sensing their gazes, the hypercube moved closer to me.
‘It’s a portable air conditioner...’
It could attack, defend, and even regulate temperature. This meant it could be used as a heater inside the Labyrinth, which was much colder than the surface.
‘This performance is insane.’
Attack, defense, and even temperature control.
Perhaps there were even more hidden functions. I wondered what else it could do.
“Show me all the abilities you have.”
No reaction. It meant the command input was wrong.
“Can you change your shape?”
Again, no reaction. It seemed more specific and accurate commands were needed.
“Turn into an arrow.”
“...This is crazy.”
“No way. It can even shapeshift?”
Following my command, the hypercube transformed into an arrow.
“This is a gift from God.”
—Could it be... the grace of the Spirit God...
Helena muttered about the grace of the Spirit God.
The Druid Club President’s eyes glistened with desire as he looked at the hypercube, and the Tower Lord also salivated as she moved closer to me.
“Slurp... Gulp... Hey, Sion. That... lend me that for just one day. Okay? I’ll use it cleanly and return it. Please?”
“Ah, no way! Ugh! Get away!”
The Tower Lord, consumed by desire, tried to grab me.
I didn't know what would happen to my precious cube if I lent it to that woman whose eyes had turned wild with curiosity and research lust.
I fled from the Magic Tower, taking the hypercube with me.