Master Craftsman of the Elven World

Chapter 328 The Melting Heart of Steel

Iron Warrior returned to the center of the mechanical city, where a state-of-the-art laboratory needed maintenance after the extraordinary battle.

Although there was nothing abnormal about his body, Iron Warrior himself felt that there was nothing wrong.

It's just that I need to rest for a while.

Even during her rest, she couldn't forget the "human" who had suddenly appeared.

This was the first time since she was born that she had discovered a creature of pure flesh and blood.

Everywhere, mass-produced robots performed examinations on her. Deep inside the laboratory, an AI computer was displaying the Iron Warrior's various physical functions and information parameters.

The serial number is T-1006-01 Iron Warrior.

This artificial Pokémon was created by a mad scientist who analyzed, combined, and modified past Pokémon data in order to create the most powerful psychic Pokémon.

"You failed to capture the Aluminum Steel Dragon T-1006. Your output power and combat performance did not meet the requirements. Why did you reduce your output power during the battle? Is it because there is something unstable about this test model?"

"answer me."

The AI ​​computer contains the memories and data of that mad scientist; it has been completely AI-driven, becoming a stream of data.

The AI ​​became quite annoyed during the inspection of the Iron Warrior.

The mad scientist, who was also his predecessor, was obsessed with creating the strongest psychic Pokémon. However, the creature he created, named Iron Warrior, was found to be lacking in psychic attributes after testing!
It was created based on Gardevoir and Gallade's appearance and power, so why did it turn out like this?

When the genes of two Psychic Pokémon are combined, the Psychic attribute is lost, resulting in the strongest Psychic Pokémon not having the Psychic type. Is this reasonable?

Following No. 1006, more robots of the same type as her were developed. However, since she was the first unit of the Iron Warrior Legion, she was equipped with more systems, which means she was heavily equipped with additional features. Most of the later ones were reduced versions.

It's only natural that mass-produced machines can't beat test machines.

[The target, suspected to be "human," is being obstructed by an unknown life form.]
Iron Warrior responded.

"What, a human?"

The AI-powered mad scientist was somewhat surprised; it accessed the Iron Warrior's memories and learned about the situation at the time.

A human being emerged from the destroyed ruins, and it was a flesh-and-blood human being that was neither mechanized nor AI-powered!
We previously captured an ancient human, but because she possessed a lot of ancient technology, we haven't modified her yet.

"This is an important experimental sample! Redirect your target; the human and the aluminum steel dragon are together. Prioritize capturing the human!"

The Iron Warrior's eyes flashed with pixelated information, and he suddenly asked a question:
What kind of existence is humanity?
What kind of existence is a life of flesh and blood?
"You've started thinking?"

"You possess the genes of Gardevoir and Gallade, making you the strongest Psychic Pokémon. The so-called humans of the past are fragile beings in the face of Pokémon."

"Neither the body nor the mind can compare to the strength of steel. Mechanization is the ultimate way out for human evolution. Anything that retains flesh and blood is merely a flawed existence."

[The mind? And what is the mind?]
"."

"Yes, the mind is like the module system I installed for you. It can simulate thought. The mind is the root of thought."

"But this is also the source of suffering; creations without a soul are perfect."

"Alright, go capture humans! Ancient humans possessed special powers and technologies; they are very important experimental subjects."

The Iron Warrior nodded slightly, gave a knightly salute, and withdrew.

However, her doubts and curiosity did not diminish; on the contrary, they increased.

She appeared outside the laboratory at lightning speed, activated the environmental scan, and quickly located traces of the aluminum-steel dragon's activity.

Immediately afterwards, a powerful vortex of superpowers appeared in the Iron Warrior's eyes!
After the Iron Warrior left the lab, the mad scientist uttered chilling words:
"It actually has a mind? A machine with a mind is no longer a completely qualified tool. It can think, question, make its own judgments, and even disobey instructions! This is a manifestation of program upgrade. In the process of upgrade, some emotional problems will inevitably arise."

"What I want are machine Pokémon that don't need minds."

"Robots don't need to have hearts. Iron Warriors that develop curiosity are no longer complete fighting machines. They might even develop inappropriate empathy, violating the principle of using them as tools."

"It seems this guy is a defective product resulting from a failed modification."

"Prepare for destruction. Activate the second Iron Warrior as a replacement."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The moss has been busy during this time as well.

After repairing and polishing the Aluminum Steel Dragon's body, its power was restored. The steel dragon let out a happy roar and seemed to have a better appetite for eating garbage.

Duraludon is a Pokémon that hates rust. Its metallic body has low corrosion resistance, and once it rusts, its strength will decrease, its stamina will be insufficient, it will tire more easily, and its joints will be unable to move freely.

Like armored birds, in the wild, they usually hide in caves when it rains or snows, since there are no wild men to help them remove rust.

Lightmoss then used some machine parts from the abandoned hideout to modify them, attempting to create a larger "enhanced electromagnetic shield" that could block abnormal magnetic field signals from the surrounding area.

The signal and radio wave technology of the Galaxy Team and the Plasma Brigade will still be useful even in the distant future.

However, the interference here was still too strong, and after discovering the difficulties in making it, Lightmoss couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

At the same time, the light moss is also communicating with the citrine.

Isn't it said that modern human technology is useless against the power of crystal?
But citrine also has its reasons!

I was talking about modern humans. Where are you now? You're in the future!
Furthermore, they haven't even found the main body of the magnetic field machine; it might be the entire city! How could a mere crystal fragment possess such powerful abilities? You should get the three-colored crystal raw stone first!
However, the citrine served as a reminder to the light moss.

With the power of crystals, combined with the knowledge gained previously, isn't there also "dream projection"?

Having arrived in another world, the power of projection will be maximized. By using specific Mind Crystals, the projected Pokémon can gain real battle power! And I possess two crystal pendants!
In addition, having received the special power of mental amplification before arriving here, I can maintain the projection battle for a long time under the current circumstances!

"Should we summon the Giant King? But the projected Giant King might not be the real one; it could just be an illusion. If we still have a slow start, that would be a disaster."

No, if this were still the Unova region, then summoning the Black and White Dragons would be a better choice!
Legend has it that the battle between the black and white dragons destroyed the land of Unova with fire and lightning. Moreover, Pokémon projected from dreams shouldn't be controlled by advanced technologies like radio waves. So, that's how it is!

"As long as you maintain a high level of mental strength, you can sustain the fight."

However, before that, Lightmoss tried to project a Pokémon that could solve the energy problem, so the first one projected was Rotom.

In the hazy, super-powerful light, a phantom Rotom gradually solidified, emitting a giggling laugh.

"Rotom!"

The Rotom projected in the dream was his own Rotom. Guangtai pointed to the C-device in his hand: "Quickly use 'Charge'!"

"Hehehe Loto?"

Rotom looked at his new body with curiosity and told Lightmoss about his current situation.

Its main body is unable to observe the outside world and is still idle inside the time machine. It seems that time and space outside have stopped, but Rotom doesn't know why!

I just think this kind of thing is fun and interesting!
At Lightmoss's instruction, Rotom used the Charging technique, and with a strong current injected into Device C, the area on Device C related to the Time Machine lit up.

however--

"Power error, connection invalid!"

The button was grayed out and showed an error message. Rotom fiddled with the C device for a while, but when he found that he couldn't start it, he immediately stopped laughing.

[Item (Pokémon Form?): Connect to Rotom.]

[Regarding: The time machine connection section.]

[It requires driving energy as its power source and needs to reconnect to a machine capable of generating powerful energy (such as a time machine)!]

At that moment, a tremendous superpower was rapidly approaching!
"The robot is here!"

Ladybug panicked: "How did she find us?"

Lightmoss: "It is said to be the strongest Psychic-type Pokémon, but it does not have the Psychic type. That being said, it can easily locate our position by using 'Foresight'."

Well, in any case, if we want to obtain powerful energy to restart the time machine in Device C, we must go to the laboratory to find out.

As she was pondering, the Iron Warrior broke through the wall of the ruins, and the outside light shone in, falling on her and giving her a strange beauty and a sense of holiness.

But her cold body and emotionless eyes told the creatures before her that she was a machine creation without a soul.

"Damn crazy robot! Heartless thing!" Ladybug trembled with fear, and it began to fantasize about how great it would be if it still had the Mega Stone on it!

“From a technological perspective, a creation without a soul is a failure,” Lightmoth commented.

The "Mageana" created by the ancients using mysterious science all possessed emotions and a soul, and were special creations called soul hearts. Moreover, even without mentioning this crystallization of mysterious science, the relatively crude clay creations such as "Libra Dolls," "Clay Dolls," and "Clay Doll Giants" also possessed a soul.

"Aluminum Steel Dragon, prepare for battle!" Lightmoy, holding the unfinished enhanced electromagnetic shield, called to the Aluminum Steel Dragon, who was still eating steel bars and iron sheets on the side. After a hearty meal, the dragon rallied its spirits and roared as it moved to the front!

I'm not the same person I used to be! Let me show you my strength—no rust, no dents!
Click, click. The Iron Warrior approached with intense aggression, and as she moved forward, electricity surged again from the surrounding ruins.

Phew! Electrical field!

Lightning flashed beneath my feet!

It still starts with an electric field, simultaneously triggering the Quark Charge feature, but this time the boost from Quark Charge is different from the last one!

The Iron Warrior's body suddenly became light, and he swung the light blade in his hand at an extremely fast speed!
This time, the enhanced ability is speed!

"what?!"

Guangtai was taken aback.

Theoretically speaking, whether it is an ancient species or a future species, their characteristics are actually the same. Moreover, whichever ability they have is high, they can increase the power of that ability. However, the Iron Warrior in front of us has already increased its special attack power before, and this time it has increased its speed.

Does this mean the Iron Warrior before you can freely choose which ability to enhance? Is your Iron Warrior status even legitimate?!
But...it doesn't seem like it's impossible!
After all, it is a robot from the future, theoretically a highly technological species from the future. It only needs to load a specific program to switch its own ability values, thus freely adjusting the increase and decrease of its abilities. After all, it is future technology!

"Iron wall!"

Upon receiving the order, the aluminum-steel dragon gleamed with a hard, steely sheen, greatly enhancing its defensive capabilities.

Regardless of what happens in the battle that follows, using Iron Wall once is always a good idea!
The Iron Warrior charged toward the Aluminum Steel Dragon at incredible speed, slashing fiercely with his Light Energy Blade!
With a feint, she swept past the Aluminum Steel Dragon!

"Roar?" The Aluminum Steel Dragon stared blankly, unable to see the Iron Warrior anymore, and immediately turned around!

Hey, weren't we supposed to be fighting? Why are you running away?!
"She's after you!" Ladybug shouted!

Sure enough, people from the future want to capture ancient humans and use them as experimental subjects!
"Ladybug, ultrasonic!" The moss grabbed Ladybug and tossed the dregs forward.

The ladybug was startled and immediately used its ultrasonic attack in a moment of panic!
It emits special sound waves from the body to confuse the opponent, and this move ignores the target's Substitute status!
buzz-

Ladybug unleashed its ultrasonic attack, which was easily dodged by the high-speed Iron Warrior. Ladybug was terrified when it heard the Lightmoss's inner thoughts:

Use bluster!

The ultrasonic wave has a 55% hit rate, and I never intended for it to hit, but the Alpaca has more than just ultrasonic waves as a confusing move.

"You heartless monster! I am the Zerg hero who rules over humanity! I am not afraid of you!"

The ladybug used a "bluff" and trembled with fear.

But it sounds a bit like he's just making a harsh statement.

However, this time it hit the Iron Warrior directly, and her body paused for a moment. Her pixelated eyes began to calculate and fell into a brief state of confusion!
Heartless monster
The Iron Warrior was calculating amidst his chaotic thoughts.

As the strongest machine Pokémon, I don't need a mind.

perhaps?

At this moment, the light moss transmits commands to the aluminum-steel dragon.

Use "sharpening" to concentrate your mind and ensure that the next attack will hit the vital point!
Then use the "iron head"!
Even if there is a huge difference in strength between the two sides, a warrior with twice the strength of a steel-type opponent will definitely suffer severe damage if hit by a move that is weak to their element and hits a vital point!

A silver light enveloped the aluminum steel dragon, and with a burst of power from its iron claws, it charged forward like a steel cannon or rocket, directly blasting the iron warrior away!
Boom! The Iron Warrior crashed heavily into the distant ruins, but the next moment, powerful moonlight burst forth from the Iron Warrior's body, blasting all the surrounding ruins into dust.

Moon Power, a powerful Fairy-type move with a power of 95! It borrows the power of the moon to attack the opponent, and may sometimes lower the opponent's Special Attack.

She seemed to feel no pain or fatigue. After escaping the chaos, she maintained her incredible speed and slashed at the moss with her sword!

The light blade suddenly enlarged and swung like a heavy hammer!
Thump! Lightmoss dodged Iron Warrior's attack. The martial artist's enhanced physique played a crucial role at this moment. Taking advantage of the Iron Warrior's attack gap, Lightmoss successfully delivered a "million-ton punch"!
This is the power of a martial artist!
The punch landed on the Iron Warrior's slender waist, the powerful force sending her staggering backward, her emotionless eyes revealing strange emotions.

Curiosity, confusion, disbelief.

Is human power really that great?
Hmm. If you're this strong in close combat, then use superpowers.

The Iron Warrior's eyes gleamed with powerful psychic energy!
Mental Shock! Materializes wondrous psychic waves to attack the opponent, inflicting physical damage!
Countless orbs of light swirled and converged like a vortex, transforming into a shockwave! But just as the mental impact was about to hit, it was reflected back by the superpower used by the Lightmoss!
The mirror reflection returns the opponent's special moves with twice the power!

Bang! The Iron Warrior was thrown back, blasted away from his spot, and crashed into the ruins again!
She was overwhelmed by her own power, staring blankly at the top of the ruins, her thoughts somewhat confused.

Superpowers. Humans have developed superpowers?

How could the strongest psychic Pokémon lose to a psychic human?
A surge of intense emotion welled up within her, causing her program to overload as she wrote.

Confused! Curious! Unwilling to give up!
"So this guy's target has become me. Just as Ladybug said, he wants to capture humans for research. Isn't this a crisis for omnics?!"

"Aluminum-steel dragon! Use the beam cannon!"

Pressing its advantage, the Lightmoss immediately tilted its body, placed its forelimbs on the ground, and condensed a strong silver steel attribute energy in its mouth!
Boom! The powerful beam cannon, enhanced by the Steel Gem, slammed into the Iron Warrior!

The emerald green barrier opened, a defense that completely blocked any external attacks.

The Iron Warrior emerged from the smoke of the cannon beam unharmed, but this time, her gaze toward the Lightmoss was filled with a desire to explore.

[Analyze, input, judge.]
[Target: Humans.]
What exactly are humans, made of flesh and blood, like?
What power do flesh-and-blood beings possess?
Various mysteries filled Iron Warrior's heart with endless confusion and curiosity. This was the first time she had felt these emotions, but it didn't seem so bad.

She even felt a strange sensation rising within her, which, from an information analysis perspective, should be described as "happiness and joy".

I've had this feeling before when fighting against Aluminum Steel Dragon.

Iron Warrior subconsciously touched her chest. There was a red protrusion on her chest that resembled Gardevoir and Gallade, but the inside was hollow. That was the energy core, which was incredibly hard.

As a robot, you don't need to have a heart.

But if we consider it as a living being, is the heart located here?

“The heart and the mind are two different concepts. For a robot, the core and the computing center are also different things.”

Lightmoss heard Iron Warrior's thoughts: "In the instant we touched, I read your emotions and mind."

[Mind intrusion?]
The Iron Warrior showed confusion.

Did the humans before me read my mind?

According to the Iron Warrior's calculations, the danger level of the Light Moss was rising rapidly, and the danger level of the human race as a whole was also increasing.

For Lightmoss, the robot seeking the meaning of the heart is a classic science fiction theme.

"Want to know what the mind is?"

The yellow and blue crystals began to glow, and the two colors of light were reflected in the pixelated eyes of the Iron Warrior.

Well, whether the power of the crystals would be effective against a robot without a mind is a question that neither of the two crystals themselves knows.

After all, such things didn't exist in ancient times. It seems that science is still superior in this way, as it can create things with souls at will.

However, the two-colored crystal still worked. The Iron Warrior's pixelated eyes fluctuated, and she suddenly understood the emotions that had appeared in her heart before.

Machines analyze and dissect emotions, but these analyses often fail to yield effective results. However, things are different now. It's as if a special system has been added to one's empty heart, and this new system can understand those emotions.

In an instant, the superpowers within the Iron Warrior suddenly surged violently!

The stronger your mind, the stronger your superpowers!
"Why did you end up strengthening the opponent?" Lightmoy was speechless. Even the two-colored crystal hadn't expected things to backfire like this!
Ah, robots can also suddenly become powerful?

However, the Iron Warrior, whose superpowers had surged, did not continue her attack. She had come to understand emotions and the mind, albeit only superficially, but this was enough to make her feel joyful, as if a whole new world was opening up before her eyes.

She looked around, observing the world before her with a completely new perspective, filled with curiosity about everything.

She is observing and scrutinizing!
[Order—Immediately arrest humans.]

[Repeat the command—Arrest immediately.]

Iron Warrior could clearly feel the command in the system. Originally, this command was as deeply rooted as a steel imprint on his mind, making him obliged to obey it. But now, this command had become dispensable.

This feeling was something she had never experienced before, which made her momentarily lost in thought and forget to answer.

But soon, that command was replaced—

[Empathy confirmed. You have developed feelings and emotions. Unfortunately, this is an unstable factor. T-1006-01, you have been defined as a defective product and will be destroyed immediately.]

Outside the ruins, a rumbling sound was gathering, and ten robots that bore a striking resemblance to the Three-Headed Dragon appeared in the vicinity.

Intense and scorching high-energy rays condensed from their heads and mechanical maws, instantly leveling the ruins.

(End of this chapter)