A lot happened over the next while.
Torva watched Grid discover a myth-grade item, so now she can make myth-rated items too. I doubt she'll make one for a long time, though.
It really upset me when Grid extorted the Rebecca church, after they'd been left with barely anything once he killed their corrupted pope. Welp. His reputation with Golemkind is almost in the negative now. Sucks to be him.
After that, I kept focusing on making golems. My accessory maker golem was already done and working in his own workshop outside the castle.
I started mixing production methods together, with mixed results. When I combined a normal mage with a priest, I got a summoner golem, so I made a ton more of those. After that, though, every other combination failed.
I also used one of my Golem Creation slots on a new class: the magic sniper. It was fascinating watching Torva make a sniper rifle that runs on magic. It needed magical enhancement, so a few mages helped her. I made a bunch of them, since they have absurd range and explosive attack power. They can also stealth like assassins.
My golem teams raided one of the new, harder dungeons. It was mostly corrupted golems of various kinds, and the good thing about them is they drop a big variety of metals.
While experimenting with the magic snipers, I found that for all their explosive power, they don't have much health. So I had Torva craft them gear focused on health, damage and defense.
After that, I went back to grinding golems, since I want my class to reach legendary someday.
One thing I've been enjoying a ton is my daughter in Satisfy. She's been a pleasure to spend time with. I may or may not have been spoiling her whenever she leaves the kingdom. She reached level 154, and because of her class, she's probably the strongest one here besides Fenrir.
I've also been spending more time with my golems, to see what they're up to and keep them positive.
[S.A. Group POV]
Thanks to Satisfy's amazing success, the S.A. Group had become the best group in the world. It had two billion loyal customers and hundreds of affiliated companies. No group in history had ever had more influence or wealth.
Just yesterday, the South Korean government had brought the S.A. Group a new request: invite Satisfy's rankers to South Korea for a national competition. A meeting was now underway at S.A. Group headquarters.
"Companies and broadcasters in various countries can host a Satisfy competition," one employee said. "Why should we invest our money and manpower?"
"Why invite rankers to South Korea, when it can be done online?" said another. "What do they think the top 100 rankers are? They're busy raising their levels. They won't move for a small amount of money."
Yoon Sangmin spoke up. "You should note that it will be a national competition. Competitions that pit countries against each other, like the Olympics and the World Cup, have always been popular worldwide. More than a third of the world's population plays Satisfy, so most sports have lost popularity, yet the ratings for the Olympics and the World Cup are still high. A national Satisfy contest could become a global phenomenon."
After some back-and-forth among the S.A. Group's core members, they finally agreed to the South Korean government's request. Later, they decided to issue quests promoting the national competition to every player in Satisfy.
The head of the S.A. Group, however, was cooking up something special for a certain NPC-slash-player he'd been watching.
[Daz's POV]
About a week passed in real time, and I made an absurd amount of progress expanding. I also hid my name from the leaderboards, since I was level 205 now. I didn't want people researching me and finding the Golem Kingdom.
The weird thing was that I didn't get the 'first king' title. I got a different one instead.
Title: [Golem King]
Can issue quests.Golems are easier to organize and command.Near-absolute loyalty from golems, even ones the user did not create.All stats increase.
Torva also reported that Grid had discovered a metal made by Pagma and the legendary mage Braham. Apparently it moved on its own and protected Grid.
Torva wondered how to make a metal like that. I said I could just make golems that mimic what his paruvium does.
That's how we got to my current struggle. I was trying to make a golem that was nigh indestructible and had a will to protect Torva, the way Grid's paruvium protects him.
I had nothing but failures for three in-game days. I was about to give up when I realized I could use my Golem Creation skill and spend a slot on it. Once it was made, Torva could forge the metal into a weapon, and her hunts would be that much easier, since she prefers to hunt solo.
"Golem Creation."
[What type of golem would you like to create?]
"A metal."
[.....]
"Aw, crap. I broke it again. I just hope this works."
I sat there for about 30 minutes without a response. I started wondering if I'd actually broken it this time. Juliet was holding my hand, Fenrir was lying on my head, and Torva sat to the side with excitement in her eyes. After another hour, I finally got a response.
[The hidden effect of the title 'One Who Defies Logic And Reason' has activated.]
[Describe the properties of the golem.]
It worked? IT WORKED. Okay, calm down. Let's just hope there's no limit on it. And if there is, let's hope I can at least arm Torva, Juliet, Fenrir and myself.
Not that I really need to go out and hunt or gather materials myself anymore. Heck, I could easily send a golem to auction off items and make some side money in real life. Whatever. Beside the point. Let's move on.
"I want an autonomous golem that moves on its own and can be forged into different items, like materials such as iron, bloodstone and mithril. The ore can't be damaged or destroyed in any way. Because of the huge amount of power it needs, it's infused with large amounts of magic, which makes it more adaptable, lets it levitate, and lets it learn skills."
[New title earned: Nothing Is Impossible]
[New title earned: To Defy The Gods]
[Due to the power and potential of this golem, the user can only create enough to forge four weapons. Please name the ore.]
Honestly, I was expecting a much longer description. I guess the titles say enough. The name was easy.
"Call it Machina."
When I named it, the description popped up, and I almost passed out. The only thing that stopped me was Juliet on my lap, Torva standing next to me, and Fenrir on my head, in that order.
[Machina]
The strongest material in golem form, conceived by the Golem King Daz and his enthusiastic blacksmith Torva, inspired by a mineral made in a similar way. Thanks to the adaptability of golems, it is far more versatile. It is more compatible with magic than mithril or orichalcum, just as hard as adamantium (and can be improved further), and more elastic than jaffa or rubber.
By default, Machina revolves around and protects its owner, but will take other actions when commanded.
Its skills and abilities depend on the form it is forged into.Machina needs a gigantic amount of magic to be created. When created by the Golem King, this requirement is halved.
Smelting Conditions: Daz, Torva
Conditions of Use: Daz, Torva, Juliet, Fenrir
After reading all of that, I passed out from exhaustion.
I woke up an in-game hour later in a gigantic bed, with Juliet asleep on top of me. When I looked around, a lot of my golems were watching me, and they got excited when I woke up. Fenrir was still asleep on my head.
Thinking back on what happened, I'd gotten two very dangerous titles. I looked at what they did anyway.
Title: [Nothing Is Impossible]
Things that would be impossible under any other circumstances become easier for the user.
Title: [To Defy The Gods]
You have created something superior to what the gods of this world have created. The more you defy the gods, the easier it will be to obtain [??????].The requirement for your class's next rating is lowered.
[Requirement for Legendary rating changed. Create 1 more legendary being (1/2), and 1 new unique golem with a unique class, made from now on (0/1).]
I almost jumped out of bed when I read that, until I remembered Juliet was still asleep on me. Four legends would have taken me years. One more, and one unique golem with a unique class? That changes everything.
I slowly got up, holding Juliet in my arms, and saw something floating beside Torva. It looked like a small round shield. Torva spoke up when she saw me looking.
"My King, I'm glad you're awake! This new creation of yours is simply astonishing! Every golem that wasn't out hunting tried to damage it in some way, and none of them could. It was shaped like an egg at first, so I molded a little of it into a small shield to test it. I'll melt it back down for the real work. I know only a limited amount can be made, but I'm ready to gather golem mages to help create the rest whenever you are!"
I nodded, and decided we'd make all of the Machina first, so we could figure out the best way to use it.
While we started the long process of creating it, my thoughts wandered, and I thought of something funny. Could you make something like a reality marble in this game? I'll have to look into that later.
I also checked in on my targets and Agnus. Grid had just gotten married. He's the first player to marry an NPC noble. Good for him. He could use something to fix that personality of his a bit.
Yura was fighting for the Yatan church. Euphemina was still looking for a good orb recipe, I guess. Agnus told me his guild was helping him build up his unique undead, and one of its members thinks he's insane. I found that kind of funny, since I know for a fact that isn't true.
Living together has been good for both of us. Agnus says I talk more now. I've noticed he sleeps more.
Once the Machina was finished, I let the golems vote on how to use it. Almost unanimously, they voted for four weapons: a sword for Fenrir, a sword for Juliet, and a greatsword for Torva. The fourth was meant to be a sword for me.
I asked Torva to make mine a bow instead, so I could use the magical side of Machina and fire magic arrows.
Her eyes lit up at the idea, and she got to work right away.
Once everything was taken care of, I decided to grow my kingdom. Right now, it's about the size of a small city. I gathered all my golems, including the ones out hunting. I had every golem who could help with construction start right away, and sent the hunting teams after building materials.
Soon enough, I'm going to make this place enchanting to look at. Because soon enough, other players will set foot on my lands, and I'll be ready for them.