Bastion heard a knock on his door a week after the first year of classes had ended.
"We're going relic hunting," Seraphina declared the moment he opened it.
"Where?" Bastion asked.
"An abandoned mine."
"What do I need to bring?"
"Elyra, and enough gear to raid a technological facility. It should be a three-day round trip."
"Alright."
And so, the party set off on a relic-hunting expedition to an undiscovered ruin located southwest of the academy, near the mountain range that separated the school from the rest of the kingdom.
Their destination was an old mining town that had been abandoned after monsters overran the mine near the town, according to the book Seraphina had been searching for during her free time.
The book described how a miner accidentally broke through the ceiling of a strange, man-made metal tunnel deep inside the mine. Metal monsters began pouring out, killing most of the workers. No one could identify where the creatures were coming from, except for one miner who escaped and recorded the entire account in the very book Seraphina had been searching for.
Although Seraphina had warned Bastion to prepare for a three-day journey, they reached the town within just a few hours, thanks to Steve, Bastion's Diamond Steed Summon. Carrying all three of them, Steve charged ahead at full speed, tearing through forests and rugged mountain trails without pause, barreling through anything that stood in its way.
At the foot of the mountain range, just outside the town's abandoned mine, the group came to a halt.
"This place looks dangerous," Bastion remarked.
The mine looked old and run-down, with rotten wood barely holding it up. Cracked beams leaned at odd angles, and the walls sagged inward as if the entire structure could collapse at any moment.
"People would've already found the ruins if it wasn't," Seraphina replied.
"There are monsters inside, Master," Elyra reported. "Minor earth elementals, kobolds, and dark moles. All Apprentice Rank, with traces of lingering Rank 1 mana."
"Then we should be fine. What about you, Seraphina?"
"I'll leave the fighting to you, my knight in shining armor."
"By your command, my princess."
The party moved forward through the pitch-black, winding tunnels. Bastion led the way, a ball of light hovering steadily above them.
When it came to combat, Elyra handled the occasional monster, while Bastion stepped up whenever an earth elemental or a small horde charged in.
An elemental was an amalgamation of stale mana that had somehow condensed enough to give inanimate matter a semblance of life.
The ones they encountered in the tunnels were earth based and were easily destroyed with a simple waterball, which disrupted their amalgamated mana and shattered their core, a fragile mass of compacted dirt.
As for the kobold hordes, which were goblin sized lizardmen, they posed little threat. Bastion easily corralled them using a combination of earth magic and his shield.
After what felt like a few hours, the group came upon an old mining shaft that descended into a gaping abyss.
"That does not look pleasant," Bastion muttered.
"That means we're on the right track. Let's go."
"By that, you mean jump in, my princess?"
"Sure."
With a sigh, Bastion dropped into the abyss. Thanks to his armor and Vitality, fall damage was the least of his worries. He was tossed about briefly during the descent but eventually landed in a strange metallic room, complete with working overhead lights.
'This looks like a utility closet,' Bastion thought, then casually tossed a light up the hole he'd fallen through.
A few seconds later, a rope dropped down through the hole.
"You couldn't have used that earlier?" Bastion asked as Seraphina shimmied down.
"I forgot."
"Sure."
Once the party regrouped, they took a moment to assess their surroundings.
The utility closet slid open with a soft mechanical hiss, revealing a narrow hallway beyond. Cold steel lined the walls, floor, and ceiling, gleaming faintly under recessed strip lighting. The air smelled faintly of ozone and machine oil, and every step echoed sharply down the sterile passage.
Taking the lead, Seraphina strode forward with confidence, as if she owned the place.
"This is a ruin from a civilization that used it as an emergency shelter long before the Kingdom of Brilliance ever existed, well over ten thousand years ago. In the game, it was just a quick side quest to acquire a relic that granted the Magic Engineer class. It was a decent Class, but it pales in comparison to actual knowledge in real life," Seraphina explained. "There are going to be golems scattered around, so stay alert."
As they advanced, Bastion took in their surroundings. The walls and ceilings were reinforced steel, and the sliding doors suggested a society far beyond what the Kingdom of Brilliance could comprehend. This was the work of an advanced civilization, one that had likely achieved space travel.
"Group of three coming from the right," Seraphina said as she passed an intersection.
Bastion rounded the corner just in time to slam his shield into three metallic, goblin sized golems targeting Seraphina. The impact sent parts scattering across the hallway as the golems crumpled under the blow. They were more fragile than Bastion had expected.
"Store them, Eli. I could use them as samples."
"Yes, Master."
The party moved through the corridors at a brisk pace, Seraphina navigating with practiced ease. Along the way, mechanical golems attempted to halt their progress in a futile effort.
Eventually, they reached a room that appeared to be a research lab, complete with written records and functioning equipment. Dust coated the desks and consoles, but the soft hum of active machinery and the flicker of monitor lights hinted at ongoing processes. Scattered notes, diagrams, and labeled samples suggested the researchers had left in a hurry, leaving their work abruptly unfinished.
At a subtle signal from Bastion, Elyra began scouring the room, storing every record and device she could find, even the larger machines whose functions remained a mystery.
Seraphina, uninterested in the lab, rushed into an open hangar beyond the room. It was a vast space clearly designed to house vehicles. Without a word, she vanished inside, leaving Bastion and Elyra to their scavenging.
After finishing up in the lab, Bastion and Elyra discovered an adjacent storage facility, prompting another round of organized looting. It was a highly productive endeavor for all parties involved.
Then, a sudden mechanical screech echoed through the entire facility.
Reacting instantly, Bastion and Elyra sprinted toward the source of the sound and found Seraphina locked in battle with an enormous mechanical titan.
The construct stood five meters tall, equipped with massive power claws that swung with frightening force. Seraphina darted between them, narrowly avoiding each strike, buying time by hurling freezing and shocking potions one after another.
Without hesitation, Bastion charged in and slammed his shield into one of the titan's legs with a resounding crack, crippling the limb entirely.
The titan may have been large, but its body was constructed from basic Apprentice Rank steel, far from the toughest material Bastion had faced. In the end, it was just a massive tin can.
Though Bastion would've preferred to preserve such a fascinating golem, its destructive potential gave him little choice.
Circling around to its back, he struck again with a crushing Shield Bash, compromising the chassis. With the machine faltering, he dug into its core.
There, nestled at the center among glowing magic circuits, lay a magic core etched with microscopic runes, dense and intricate script covering every millimeter of its surface. It was a brilliant fusion of magical theory, replicating and even surpassing the achievements of Earth's own computational systems.
"This world never ceases to amaze," Bastion murmured, staring intently at the core.
"Master, no further enemies detected," Elyra reported.
"Good. Pack up everything and keep searching."
"Yes, Master."
Seraphina dusted herself off and approached.
"I'm finished here. I'll wait while you collect your spoils."
"Thanks."
It took several hours to finish sweeping the facility. Despite the absence of any living beings, the place remained remarkably intact, its preserved state only raising more questions.
The party decided to stay the night in the facility before heading back the next morning. Their entire excursion lasted two days, but the gains far outweighed the effort.
Upon returning to the school, Bastion immediately dove into research, determined to uncover everything he could about their discoveries.
First off, the civilization's written language was Common, which wasn't surprising. It was a language created and popularized by the gods. The continent had been using it for several million years.
As for the research itself, it focused on the early stages of golem development, combining magical scripts with a metal outer shell. The purpose seemed more like a proof of concept than a move toward mass production.
Regarding the missing inhabitants, records revealed that the facility had served its intended purpose: to hide them while an invasion swept through the region. Once the threat had passed, the survivors took their successful research and headed east, leaving behind prototypes and equipment.
A defense protocol had been established to prevent monsters from nesting within the facility. The goblin-sized metal golems they encountered along the way were likely responsible, both for enforcing the protocol and for the massacre of the miners.
Bastion was stunned by how advanced even their discarded constructs were. It was far beyond anything Earth ever developed. Still, their so-called junk warranted proper investigation. None of it was covered in their school curriculum or found in the library archives.
Further analysis revealed that the core principles of magic used by the ancient civilization were nearly identical to what they were currently being taught, with only minor variations. That meant the artifacts they recovered weren't just useless relics; they were high value samples demonstrating advanced applications of familiar magical theories.
Bastion was elated by the discovery, as it would allow him to replicate their research and eventually create golems of his own. With this in mind, he continued his research tirelessly throughout the rest of the break.
When Lilia finally returned, she eagerly joined him in the lab, brimming with excitement to begin development on a prototype golem.
Of course, their progress was soon interrupted because they had another dungeon dive scheduled now that they were reunited and classes had begun.
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