Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 92 I Want to Build a Golem

"This is the design I've spent two years working on." The dwarf pointed to the blueprints, then to the crossbow.

"This is a prototype machine built according to these blueprints."

"I thought you were a jeweler, how come you're making weapons for people?"

"The Jinkra clan has been in the jewelry business for generations, and every Jinkra is an excellent jeweler. I am no exception," Dulin said, placing his hand on his chest with pride. "However, I am personally more interested in making magical devices than jewelry."

"Oh! Then I'm even more determined to be your friend, Dulin," Geb blurted out. "Can you make magical items for me?"

"...One thing at a time. I need to finish this crossbow first; it's been delayed for several years."

"Of course, what do you need, Dulin?" Geb asked quickly.

"To be honest, I've hit a roadblock in my design." The dwarf ran his finger across the blue blueprint, his fingertip pausing on the large-scale steel golem.

"Until now, I've been relying on experience... I've never designed a weapon for a golem before, so I can only study human-sized crossbows and scale them up proportionally." The dwarf gestured the size of a standard heavy crossbow and compared it to the large crossbow on the table. "I'll make changes as I go—meeting the client's requirements for materials, strength, and weight, as well as the connection method with the golem and the arrangement of arcane runes."

Geb nodded, indicating that he was listening.

"But after I finished, I realized that the golem could actually use a crossbow designed according to human proportions?"

"To give an example, when a person uses a crossbow, they need to pull the dial, draw the string, secure it in the slot, load an arrow, rest the crossbow against their shoulder, aim with their eyes, and finally pull the trigger to fire. The proportions of the crossbow's components are designed for the human body, conforming to human behavior and the way force is applied."

"However, when applying this crossbow to a golem, we need to consider the golem's joint range of motion, whether it will get stuck on the arm, the thickness of the fingers... how to determine the appropriate trigger force, if it's too sensitive it will be accidentally triggered, if it's too sluggish it won't fire... these details cannot be simulated on the blueprints, they must be verified through experiments."

The dwarf muttered a series of questions to himself, questions that had clearly troubled him for a long time before he could finally speak them.

"Weren't these problems considered in the initial design?" Gebu asked.

"If this crossbow is made, it will be the world's first ranged weapon specifically designed for golems—no one has ever made one before, and naturally, no one has considered these issues," Dulin said, his voice trembling with excitement. "Only in the process of making it will we gradually discover the problems."

Gebu thought about it and realized that making potions himself was the same. Learning from books was one thing, but putting it into practice was another.

Unexpected problems will always arise during the process; this is part of the creative process. Identify problems, solve problems.

"What do you need?" the halfling asked. "What do you need me to do for you?"

The dwarf was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice:

"I need a full-size steel golem. I want to personally mount the crossbow onto the golem and fire it to see if it works."

Goodness, that's some serious ambition.

"That...is unlikely," Gebu muttered.

The dwarf gave a wry smile: "That's right. Otherwise, I wouldn't have a headache."

Geb thought about it and realized he couldn't help with this task no matter what. Leaving aside the materials needed to create the steel golem, the five-ring spell slots required were so powerful that the entire kingdom probably couldn't find a single wizard with that level of skill—if there were, they would have been arrested and burned long ago!

The two men looked at each other in silence. The dwarf looked dejected, his eyebrows drooping.

Geb didn't speak either; he was thinking quickly:

Observe, analyze, act...

Hmm... does Dulin really need a fully functional steel golem? Not necessarily.

If you're just testing the crossbow's functionality, a movable arm is enough.

You can create a fake golem, only its arms can move—it doesn't even need to move on its own, as long as it has movable joints that can simulate shooting actions.

Because it can be operated manually by a person, just like a marionette.

You can even use a virtual simulation to locate the device before operating the actual object, thus avoiding repeated debugging that could damage the equipment.

If we want to make flowers for fake golems, the first thing to consider is the material—steel is definitely not an option; this town doesn't have the capability for that.

This isn't the front line, nor is it a military industrial town. The blacksmith shops in those towns can at most produce farm tools; they might not even be able to make weapons and armor.

There were dwarven blacksmiths in the caravan—but their equipment was limited, and they might not have that many materials.

Metal is expensive, transportation is a problem, and it's conspicuous.

"Make it out of wood?" Geb wondered.

The wooden golem... can use gravity amplification to simulate actual weight in certain areas... and its joints can be made of metal.

Metal parts can be prefabricated and assembled on-site.

If it's just for testing, it doesn't need to be too sturdy; it just needs to last for a while.

Geb considered it for a moment. If this thing was the same size as the golem from the Deep Well Raid, he and the dwarf alone definitely couldn't build it. They would have to hire some people.

Carpenters, laborers, blacksmiths—hiring wagons, cranes, buying timber and pig iron. Let the dwarves foot the bill…

We have a plan for materials and construction—but what about the site?

It definitely can't be in town; it's too conspicuous.

Let's find an open space outside town—the woods would be better, to avoid being seen.

Just tell the workers that you're building an Oppa statue and you'll get paid, and they won't say anything.

So, the remaining issue is technical.

What is the structure of the Steel Golem...?

Gebu glanced at the dimensional bag; the answer should be in the Book of Sand.

A plan gradually took shape in the goblin's little head: build golems, help the dwarves, get recommendations...

Let's get started right away and not waste any time!

Geb walked up and patted the dwarf on the shoulder.

"Dulin, I think it's promising—give me a morning to work on it, and I'll bring the proposal over at noon."

Dulin looked at him incredulously.

"There's a chance? What do you mean there's a chance?"

"Create a golem!"

Impatient Gebu had already run towards the door. He turned around, threw down three words, and then ran out of the dwarf's workshop.

-----------------

Gebu dashed back to his hotel room like a whirlwind, locked the door, closed the window, and sat on the bed, picking up a book.

"Book of Sand, search for [Golem Creation]".

The Book of Sand responded:

Deus Ex: Basic Golem Studies

Author: Yimingt.

Why am I not surprised?

Gebu complained, "This guy writes everything."

He's a pillar of the magical world; without him, the academy would definitely collapse.

He flipped through the book without hesitation, patiently studying it for over two hours... He almost fell asleep.

This book is so hard to understand! There's so much prerequisite knowledge required!

Creating golems is indeed a high-level magic; the terms mentioned in just the first three pages are completely beyond Geb's comprehension.

What is aggregated ether sequence? What is tree-based algorithm? What is binary?

It's like a primary school student studying advanced mathematics... their eyes are filled with unfamiliar symbols, making their eyes blurry.

Turning to the back of the book, one finds only incomprehensible calculations—followed by detailed golem-making blueprints.

This is exactly what Gebu needs—pictures are much better than words.

However, the blueprints were too complicated. Each rune corresponded to a series of logics and the movement of the golem's body parts. Moving one part would affect the whole thing.

I don't need that! It's not like I need to embroider anything; as long as the joints can move, that's enough... I need a general outline, not something this detailed.

Overwhelmed by information, Geb felt like his brain was about to explode. He slammed the book shut.

I rubbed my temples... No, I need to get some fresh air...

Gebu rolled over on the bed, sat up on the edge, and stretched out his feet to find his slippers...

Slippers...shoes...

As Geb looked at the shoes flying to the other side of the room, an idea suddenly flashed into his mind.

An old friend. Miss Shoe Loser.

I can't digest the knowledge in this book, but someone else has.

Is it okay to consume other people's regurgitated knowledge...? It's sticky and easier to digest.

He quickly found the Book of Sand and asked it a profound question.

"The Book of Sand—Can you search other people's diaries?!"

"..."

"The Book of Sand can retrieve all written texts."