Golem Cores and Mischievous Spirits

"Why... are you doing that? Is it really impossible?"

"No, not at all. I was just lost in thought for a moment. Hand over the tools you want repaired. I'll fix them right away."

Vulcan had been startled by Tud's sudden remark, but with the line of miners stretching out endlessly before him, there was no time for a leisurely chat. Repairing a Common-grade worn-out pickaxe was child's play—he could handle it perfectly even while distracted. He took the tools from the miners and dove straight into the repairs.

Using Dragon Eye to pinpoint the exact spots and timing, he hammered them with Craftsman's Oath and tossed a question at Tud.

'A golem core, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you say?'

- Yeah. You do know what a golem is, right?

- 'Of course I do. But aren't golem cores something only mages can make...?'

- Mages? Sure, those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bastards cobble together something similar. They use their magic circles to create their own guardians. But a doll stuffed with raw mana isn't a true golem. How strong do you think a dumb brute with nothing but muscle is? A proper golem requires a craftsman's touch.

It made sense when he thought about it. Conventional wisdom held that golem creation was the domain of mages with special skills, who engraved intricate magic circles into the core to activate it. But really, didn't you have to start by shaping the form to make it move properly in the first place? If the movements weren't fluid, even sky-high output would limit its actions.

'Even so, the core is the most crucial part...'

Still, golems were seen as a mage's domain for a simple reason. Wood golems, mud golems, stone golems, various metal golems—regardless of type or form, without a core, they wouldn't activate at all.

And he could make cores? A craftsman, not a mage? Then surely, they'd outperform any mage-made golem.

'And I've got enchantment on top of that...'

- To be precise, this body's techniques. Golems were originally dragons' guardians. Dragons in long slumbers made them to shoo flies from their lairs. Some races mimicked them, spreading their clumsy knockoffs. This body refined them further.

Golems originated with dragons? With enough power source, they could operate indefinitely—it sounded plausible. And since it came straight from a dragon's mouth, it had to be true. Still too outlandish to swallow easily, Vulcan pulled out a chunk of Senos ore and examined it again.

Recalling the golem core recipe via Dragon Eye, he confirmed Tud wasn't bluffing.

'It works.'

And the cores came in varieties. Not just one mana core for all golems—you could tailor them to the golem's form, attribute, and purpose for optimal performance. Of course, you'd need top-tier crafting to build a sturdy, precise body to house it properly. Done right, though, it opened doors to some fun creations down the line.

He'd need time to experiment.

"Here you go."

Lost in his thoughts, Vulcan kept repairing the miners' tools nonstop. These were cheap tools for mining only, no level restrictions, but his repair rank was already E. Perfect repairs popping off one after another was only natural.

Not just maxing durability, but boosting it beyond original specs and cutting consumption for the same work—the miners cheered as they took their fixed tools. Longer work meant more ore.

Like that, Vulcan repaired tools by the handful or dozens from hundreds of miners. Repairs via skill took barely 10 seconds each, so he blasted through them at insane speed.

After hammering away for ages, he finally ranked up Legendary Repair and Item Master. The line was still long, so he kept at it.

'Tiring, but rewarding.'

- Rewarding? More like your pockets are stuffed. How many did you snag? Not even top-shelf ore.

And with the effort came piles of Senos ore. Once word spread he'd take it as payment, most miners offered it up.

'I didn't scam anyone. To them, it's worthless until someone who knows its value shows up.'

Only possible because they didn't know its worth. Senos ore was a headache to them—no one hesitated, some even tossed in extras feeling guilty like it was trash.

Most were penny-pinchers, though, brazenly offering Senos with straight faces. Vulcan took it without complaint, making it mutual aid.

'I've got first dibs anyway.'

As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the line thinned—Vulcan almost disappointed—big worries were off the table. He had the Miners' Benefactor title effect.

Ores from Kuzar mines, minus the lord's cut, sold by individuals or guilds. His new title gave priority buy rights.

Too much for one person, but as long as they saw him as benefactor, he could reprocess and flip for fat profits.

'Wonder if they'd take installments.'

With idle thoughts like that, Vulcan wrapped up the long day. He postponed ore buys to tomorrow to avoid seeming desperate, heading back to town for resupply.

Or so he planned.

"What?"

"Gah! Everyone, run!"

"They're here!!"

But as Vulcan finished packing to leave with the departing miners, an unexpected system alert hit alongside screams.

"What's going on?!"

"Seems the bastards are back."

"Bastards?"

"We piled discard stones to block 'em. Thought it was fine now..."

Not obvious to most, but miners knew the attackers. Grabbing one, Vulcan learned his actions had triggered it.

The stone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dam blocking the canyon was really a wall against raiders—a boundary to the Secret Area, inaccessible to normal players.

'This could be good...'

Vulcan's eyes lit up. No blame from miners, and fresh opening meant first discoverer perks—hidden quests all his.

"Everyone, fall back! I'll...!"

He shoved through the fleeing crowd toward the Secret Area, drawing his sword on the intruders.

"Huh?"

But spotting them, he froze a bit.

"Spirits?"

- Not exactly spirits. Spirit energy infused into Senos ore.

"Can I kill 'em?"

Clang!

Tud said no spirits, but Vulcan hesitated to swing. Their pebbles bounced off harmlessly. No intent to harm—just pranks, pelting miners like kids.

"Help us!"

- Gladly. Fun now, but ignore 'em and they turn nasty. No malice, like babies—no good or evil. Could go either way.

Miners fled unhurt but spooked. Made sense why they hoarded sellable stones just to pile 'em up.

"Everyone, get back!"

Crack!!

Resolved, Vulcan charged. Despair Serpent stabbed down; the spirit curled into a rock, but his overwhelming attack power shattered defenses. Sword pierced like a dot, cracks spiderwebbing out.

"Haat!"

Cra-cra-crack!!

He didn't pull the sword—instead, he smashed the pommel with his mace. Like chisel and hammer on stone, dual tools dismantled it completely.

'Oh?'

It died instantly. The feeble spirit energy dispersed; left behind, an unrefined ore.

'Dulkupper fused with Senos ore?'

Unrefined Dulkupper and Senos ore fused. Pros could separate 'em—two ores for one.

'I get it now.'

Vulcan grasped their origin. Senos ore meant nothing alone, but fused with others, it empowered them—and under right conditions, animated them. No refining needed.

Lifeless without special power, but they pulled nearby stones for limbs, rolled around—pretty neat.

Neat was neat, but Vulcan swept the area, farming more ore and Senos chunks.

"Thanks. Indebted again."

"No problem. But they'll keep spilling from the canyon—okay with that?"

"We'll rebuild the wall. Thanks to you, work's faster—stones'll pile quick."

"Why not work with me instead?"

"Work...?"

Rebuilding might reseal the area—who knew—but Vulcan saw no need anyway. Sniffing profit, he could use his new "staircase" right.

Proposal to the miners' rep: with max affinity, easy yes.