Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 859: Autonomous Runic Inscription Assistant (ARIA) Drones I

CH0859 Autonomous Runic Inscription Assistant (ARIA) Drones I

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Alex paused for a moment. He pondered over how he wanted the drone to actually work.

He imagined an army of Autonomous Runic Inscription Assistant (ARIA) drones perched or hovering before different structures across the domain, inscribing the necessary Runes.

Each ARIA drone had its own section to work on, allowing the army of drones to work together to complete a runic inscription project quickly and with near-perfect precision.

Thanks to this imagined scene, Alex identified the areas he needed to address.

‘There are two major factors that I need to account for during each ARIA drone’s operation—the nature of the inscription surface and the inscription method.’

‘Even if I restrict the ARIA drones to merely helping with inscribing Runes on structures—which I don’t—there are various types of surfaces they may need to inscribe on. It could be stone, cement/concrete, bricks, or even wood.

‘If I need to use them in factories, like during the production of Mana Motors, which I am now making a mainstay of the domain, the ARIA drones will also need to be able to work on metals.

‘They could also potentially help me with Rune Tattoos. If not inscribing directly onto the bearer’s skin, they can inscribe onto Rune Scrolls, which are essentially leather—processed beast skins.

‘The mouth of the inscription pen needs to be chosen in consideration of the nature of the surface being worked on. Similarly, I need to account for the different surfaces whenever I deploy an ARIA drone to work in my stead,’ Alex mused.

As Alex mused over the matter, Orion made mental notes for him to aid him in following his thoughts.

Fortunately, Alex didn’t necessarily have to classify the surfaces himself. There was already numerous literature on the classification and nature of potential Rune surfaces.

‘Let’s go with the Hayman classification.

‘S1 for soft surfaces, i.e. leather and soft organic materials used to make Rune Scrolls. Human skin, in relation to my Rune Tattoos, will also fall under this category. An injection- or impregnating-type tip will be required.

‘S2 for light/thin rigid materials, i.e. wood, clay, pottery, etc. These require a fine, narrow, and lightweight Rune tip.

‘S3 for masonry surfaces, i.e. brick, stone, concrete. These require a small, reinforced chisel tip.

‘S4 for hard surfaces, mostly metals—steel, hardened alloys, and so on. These require a denser, more durable tip.’

‘S5 for exotic surfaces—i.e. rare and exotic materials that are far from mundane. These usually need specialised artefact tips.’

‘Depending on the surface, I can have Ava reinforce the material composition and shape of the ARIA drone’s inscribing beak. Something like a thin, needle-like beak for S1, then maybe hard keratin for S2.

‘I could probably have Ava process something like a diamond or equivalent-type beak for S4. Meanwhile, S5 will most likely need a case-by-case solution.’ Alex pondered inwardly as Orion drew up a preliminary framework for him.

Alex resisted the temptation to make the modification to the drone’s form just yet. He turned his thoughts to the other factor he needed to consider.

‘Generally, there are three major types of inscriptions, at least the ones I will need to equip the drones for—Runic Ink-based inscription; physical etching or carving inscription; and then Mana Inscriptions.

‘Physical Inscriptions are easy. I just need the drone to carve into the surface material. However, Ink-based or Mana Inscriptions will be a bit trickier.

‘Rune Tattoos are Ink-based, while Space Gates require Mana Inscriptions if I want to make fixed gates. Making a Mana Motor even requires a combination of Physical and Mana Inscriptions.’

For a moment, Alex considered designing different drone models to address the different needs of either factor.

‘No, that’s too much work. Not to mention incredibly inefficient. I could end up with drones that don’t do any work for long periods of time,’ he thought to himself.

Alex leaned back in his chair as he pondered over a design that would account for both factors without feeling too much like a waste.

He stared at the listed outlines underneath the two factors he was considering.

As he stared at the projected holo-screen, for a split second, he felt a vague sensation—like the answer he was looking for was right in front of him, almost as if he could reach out and touch it.

But the sensation vanished in that split second, even faster than Orion could identify and process the vague sense of an idea from the primary mind.

Alex quickly sat up. He stared at the screen for a good five minutes, searching for the trigger behind the sensation, but it continued to elude him.

All he got was an irritation in his eyes, which prompted him to massage over his eyelids to the bridge of his nose.

As much as he wanted to continue staring at the lists in front of him in an attempt to find the trigger, Alex eventually gave up and stood up.

He knew better than to force something like this.

‘I need a drink,’ he thought to himself.

He stood up and walked to a nearby table where Eleanore had placed a jug of herbal tea for him.

Alex poured the tea into a cup and took a sip. He instantly felt his mind refresh, but Alex shook his head.

The herbal tea wasn’t really what he wanted to taste right now.

He poured the remaining tea in the cup away into a sink, then instead took out a jug of milk from the Sanctuary, as well as a jar of honey.

He rinsed the cup with water, then served himself a cup of milk and honey—his main preference.

Just as he took a sip while looking into the cup, watching the creamy white liquid empty from the cup and slide down his throat, he felt the sensation return. This time, however, he didn’t force it.

He gulped down the cup’s contents, then reached to serve himself another.

Suddenly, he froze.

“That’s it!” He exclaimed as the realisation finally came to him in full.

He rushed back to his worktable.

“That’s it! That was what I was about to think,” he muttered, looking at the table.

‘The two factors are not mutually exclusive of one another. Instead, you could say they are complementary, as units under each factor can be combined.’

The reason why Alex had gotten the vague trigger previously was because the way Orion listed the units under each factor side by side reminded him of a skill tree list from a game.

To design the character template you wanted for your playable character, you had to combine branches from multiple skill trees to create a playable character suitable for or unique to your playstyle.

‘In the same vein, I can combine branches under each factor to meet the current demands of each drone.

‘An ARIA drone might need to inscribe on a Masonry (S3) surface using a Physical Inscription method, while another drone on the same surface might need a Mana Inscription method.

‘In other words, I can’t consider each factor individually. I have to combine them together,’ he thought to himself.

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