Dolmaeng-i's Gift Turns into the Ultimate Toy Truck!
Thinking back on running into those gangsters inside the gate, I realized I needed more companions.
At least one dedicated to offense and one to defense, right? And I should probably make more equipment while I’m at it….
I dashed straight to the workshop.
The reason I was running?
The cart had been confiscated after an accident.
I took my eyes off it for one second and it somehow ended up in a ditch….
That only made the role of our new ride, Unit Two, even more critical.
“Hehehe. At last, the time has come.”
“Welcome back. I have already brought the cargo inside.”
The moment I opened the workshop door, Dolmaeng-i greeted me as usual. It pointed toward a massive crate sitting in the corner.
“Why is a kids’ toy this huge?”
“Its weight is also considerable. Should it collide with a person, it would inflict serious injury.”
The box was so enormous that if you folded the legs a little, several people my size could fit inside.
Pretty intimidating.
I couldn’t wait to see the real thing.
First, I needed to move it over to the tools.
“Hup… ngh… hah!”
It wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I pushed or pulled.
Not even a single millimeter.
“With your current strength, Miss Ian, it is physically impossible. Please use your head instead of your muscles.”
How on earth did this thing move the crate by itself?
It really is impressive….
I decided to bring the tools over here instead.
Time for the grand opening.
I handed the sharp utility knife to Dolmaeng-i.
Since I was the one who’d done all the heavy lifting, it was only fair.
“…”
“…”
The way Dolmaeng-i stared at me felt strangely pointed.
It almost seemed to ask why I was making it do all the work while I just stood there.
I had been planning to install a monitor and speaker on it soon. That plan might have to be postponed….
*Riiip— shrrk— shrrk—*
Hmm. Instead of opening the box, Dolmaeng-i was basically destroying it.
It didn’t really matter, but… was it mad at me?
Gradually the yellow dump truck was revealed.
The specs were printed on the side.
Height 60 cm, length 110 cm, width 70 cm.
The size was impressive enough, but the real shock was the weight.
“Wait, it says 120 kg? Even if we added our weights together we still wouldn’t reach that.”
“You are 51 kg, Miss Ian, and I am 35 kg. You would need two of me to match it.”
“Whoa. And the payload capacity is 180 kg….”
That meant we could ride together and still haul extra cargo!
We were finally free from the back-breaking labor of carrying stuff everywhere!
Dobby is free!
Now that I thought about it, this thing was basically a treasure.
I wondered what kind of golem it would become once I converted it.
My heart was already pounding with excitement.
I started with the basic work.
The basics weren’t complicated. I just had to disassemble it and engrave mana circuits onto every part.
*Scritch scritch scritch*
I used a pen to mark where the circuits would go on the parts that needed reinforcing first.
Black lines followed my hand across the previously silver metal components.
“Miss Ian?”
“Nope. Don’t talk to me. I need to concentrate.”
“Are you really allowed to use your grandfather’s brush so casually? I compared it with photos I found on the internet last night. It appears to be the work of a master craftsman that is difficult to purchase even with money.”
“Is that why it draws such nice thin lines? Wow, a true master really is on another level!”
Expensive tools really do perform, huh?
Besides, Grandpa wasn’t the kind of person who would scold me for using something like this.
I had definitely asked him, right?
“Grandpa! Can I use some of the things in this room?”
“You mean the items in my study? Everything of mine is yours as well, so feel free to use whatever you like.”
“Thank you!”
He had clearly said everything of his was mine. And these were things from the study, weren’t they?
“I should grab a few more later.”
“I recall they were displayed on a stand inside the cabinet. My analysis suggests the stand was for storage purposes. Perhaps you should confirm once more?”
“I’ll ask later if I remember. For now, be quiet and focus on carving those grooves.”
“Understood.”
It did seem expensive, but that only made it better, right?
I could just buy him a new one later after I earned a lot of money.
*Ziiiing—*
When I glanced over, I saw Dolmaeng-i carving the grooves exactly along the lines I had drawn, without the slightest deviation.
It really was as precise as a machine, since it never got nervous or applied unnecessary force.
We sat side by side in perfect harmony, crafting parts for Unit Two all day long.
Carving, and carving some more.
Before I knew it, countless small components were spread across the workshop floor.
There were so many I was starting to worry I might get them mixed up during assembly.
“Seriously? It’s just a toy—why does it have so many parts? Maybe I should have just drawn circuits on the outside?”
Perhaps I should have 3D-printed the components and mass-produced them instead?
But that would only create a truly brainless golem….
“I suggested the efficient route, yet you insisted that details were crucial and continued the manual work. That was your decision, Miss Ian.”
I wanted more than just a golem. There were too many functions I wanted Unit Two to have.
Shock absorbers, headlights, a steering system that would let me drive it directly.
It’s absolutely not because I don’t have a license and just want to try driving, okay?
“Shut up and start assembling already.”
“Yes.”
One thing was certain—compared to a simple golem, a robot was practically a miracle.
The fact that it had fingers capable of delicate work put it far beyond any golem from my previous life.
To think that a creature that once only knew how to smash things could now create….
It almost felt like I was touching on some forbidden knowledge.
“Once the golem is assembled… I still need to create other items to sell to the company. What would be good….”
I thought and thought.
…
…
“…Miss… Ian.”
“…Ian….”
What? Who’s calling me?
Huh? Why am I face-down on the desk?
“Miss Ian? Have you woken up? I called you seventy-three times with no response, so I was about to shake you awake.”
Did I… fall asleep?
I had been pondering item ideas….
“Huuup… ugh… it’s wet.”
At some point I must have propped my chin on my hand while thinking at the desk and then collapsed.
Was there a leak somewhere? The blueprints that had been lying on the desk were completely soaked.
I crumpled them up and tossed them into the trash.
“Ahem. So the assembly is finished?”
“Yes. It was completed approximately seventeen minutes and twenty-three seconds ago.”
Only a robot would give such an absurdly precise timestamp….
*Slap-slap*
I gently patted my cheeks to wake myself up.
In the middle of the management building that served as both factory and laboratory stood the long-awaited Unit Two golem.
A yellow dump truck accented with black.
For a children’s ride-on toy, its terrifying weight and the oddly detailed dumping mechanism on the bed made it look surprisingly intimidating.
“Rise, golem!”
“Do you have an incantation as well? I was informed that simply installing the mana core and connecting the circuits would suffice.”
“…”
Right, what incantation would it need? Just insert the mana core and activate the circuits.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, I silently filled the grooves with mana stone powder and connected the circuits.
Once everything was ready,
*Tap—*
I infused the core with mana to serve as the catalyst.
*Vrrrrrm—*
The mana that had filled the core spread throughout Unit Two under my guidance. The emptied space was immediately replenished by the surrounding ambient mana.
Then it supplied what it had absorbed back into the circuits.
An endless cycle that would continue unless the core suffered fatal damage.
*Clank— clunk—*
“Huh? Hey, this isn’t what I—”
I couldn’t help but panic as I watched Unit Two, which had finished its mana circulation and begun moving.
It started transforming, like a cripple who had suddenly received a miracle and stood up from his bed.
The front wheels became arms, the dump bed became legs, and the driver’s seat became a head.
“Whoa… this is a little surprising, isn’t it?”
“What has gone wrong?”
“No… it’s not that anything’s wrong, exactly. It’s just different from what I expected….”
I had only meant to make a vehicle, but Unit Two had turned into a robot.
It was like one of those transforming car robots from the movies….
After completing every transformation, the figure stood tall.
Because its base emphasized sturdiness and weight, it looked far more solid than Dolmaeng-i.
“Hello?”
“Honk—!”
“Ack! You scared me!”
It suddenly blared its horn.
Wait a second.
“Can’t you speak?”
“Honk! Honk!”
“Ow! My ears! Turn it down a little!”
“Honk.”
Well, this was pretty normal for a golem.
It could follow basic commands, but complex or delicate tasks were impossible from the start.
“It is saying ‘Hello.’ It seems.”
That should have been the case.
It definitely should have been….
But it was greeting me….
“You can communicate?”
“At the level of simple exchanges, yes.”
The only plausible explanation was that, being a fairly high-end toy, it contained a semiconductor even if its performance was low.
Even without an AI like Dolmaeng-i, the presence of a processor apparently allowed for thought.
The processor’s performance would determine its intelligence level. If an AI program were added, it could probably hold conversations like Dolmaeng-i.
“Dolmaeng-i, do you think you could keep controlling other units like this?”
Until I knew how far the robots’ intelligence could develop, I had to be careful with the smarter ones.
“Too many units at once is impossible. Only within the performance range of my calculation module.”
“Okay! Don’t worry! If it gets complicated we can think about it again later.”
Just as I expected, the processor’s performance was clearly the limiting factor.
In that case, I could use kids like Dolmaeng-i as mid-level managers in the future.
I was one step closer to living the easy life!
“That said, I was planning to use it as a vehicle….”
I had already picked out a name and everything. Now would I have to keep walking?
“Honk!”
*Vrrrr— click— clack—*
As if it understood, Unit Two transformed again.
Its limbs folded away and it returned to vehicle form.
“Free transformation is possible, it reports.”
Dolmaeng-i’s explanation followed.
Since it had changed from its original shape, naturally it could change back.
Unit Two stood there in its majestic new form.
“All right! I already thought of a name for you!”
“Honk!”
“You’ll be carrying cargo, and now both I and Dolmaeng-i will ride you, so your name is Dalguji!”
“…”
“…”
I got the distinct feeling the robot had a lot it wanted to say but was holding back.
Was it that bad?
It’s easy to say and rolls right off the tongue. I think it’s pretty good….
You’ll get used to it eventually~