The Runesmith

Chapter 685: Mobile Runic Armor.

“Is this part of the piloting?”

Robert stood inside a mostly white room. Around him was a strange framework with what looked like large golemic eyes attached to it. He was also wearing an unusual suit. It was a type of silvergrace suit, though not one designed to attach armor.

The suit was mostly black, with white metal spheres attached at several points. Small runes had been engraved into the metal, pulsing faintly with magical power. On his back was something resembling a backpack that held a runic battery to power the strange suit.

“This isn’t a battle suit, right?”

“No. It’s something called a motion capture suit. It will help me record your movements and the way you fight.”

“I see…”

It was clear that Robert had no idea what Roland was talking about, though that was to be expected. The suit was inspired by technology from modern filmmaking and game development. Roland had recreated parts of it through runes and his own operating system. It paled in comparison to what existed in the modern world, but it still provided him with a large amount of useful data.

“It will be much easier for me to customize your Mobile Runic Armor if I know exactly how you move and which attacks you prefer.”

“Mobile Runic Armor?”

“Yes. That’s the name of the new golem I’m designing. You can call it MRA for short.”

Robert clearly wanted to ask why Roland had chosen that name, but answering would require explaining concepts from his original world. Roland had combined several familiar terms with the sensibilities of this one. In the end, it was still best to describe this mechanized suit of armor as a golem, since a golem unit remained at the center of its operation. The machine simply read the movements of the pilot inside and reacted accordingly, while lacking the ability to move independently.

That did not mean Roland intended to leave out an autopilot function. Too many things could happen during combat. The pilot could become injured or lose consciousness. If that happened, the onboard golem core would temporarily assume control and retreat to safety.

Even after all his golemic research, including the information he had gained from Hasim, Roland still believed that a person controlling the golem from within would achieve better results. Large-scale golems were sluggish and difficult to manufacture. Their strengths lay in their durability and overwhelming attacks.

Still, that was not the true purpose behind this technology. Creating tier two or tier three golems was possible, but extremely expensive. Their programming was also simplistic, and they usually required a mage or craftsman to control them directly. They were poor at making decisions on their own, since they were typically designed for either combat or construction.

He wasn’t sure where this technology had its limits. In theory, it was probably better to place low-level people with battle classes, or even those without any class at all, into power suits or larger units so they could control them in battle.

There was likely a limit to how fast an MRA could move when factoring in both the pilot and the mana phantom. Reaction speed and processing power would also have their limits, requiring specialized materials and programming. However, these power suits were relatively cheap to produce as long as they remained below tier three. More importantly, they could bridge the gap between tiers and levels, as Robert’s previous power armor had already demonstrated.

Roland was aware that this technology could be militarized and would allow the kingdom to arm people who normally would not be capable of fighting. However, there was still something that worried him. If the technology were stolen or copied, it could easily lead to more wars. Those in power might see these enhanced armies as enough reason to conquer more land and seize additional resources.

He did not mind if they were used for defensive measures against the empires surrounding the kingdom or against the growing cultist threat. Yet he could not predict what would come afterward. Would the king attempt to expand further and continue the bloodshed, or would he use this power only to protect the citizens?

‘Well… I bet the other countries are trying to develop their own weapons. It’s not like I can rely on their generosity either…’

Through his life in this world, he had come to realize that it resembled the older eras of his previous one. National borders could change several times within a single century. Wars were constant, and every nation struggled to become the stronger side. If one country discovered a new weapon, the others would rush to create something equal or superior. It was an endless cycle that mirrored the arms races of the world he had come from, and perhaps he would end up shaping the future conflicts that arose here as well.

‘I’m not sure I’m a good enough person to think about others…”

As he reflected on the situation, he thought about the people he had become involved with. Elodia, Arthur, Bernir, and many others were people he wanted to protect. He wanted to preserve the small place he had carved out for himself in this country, and for that to happen, he needed to become much stronger.

‘And placing a hidden backdoor in the runic program shouldn’t be difficult.’

There were several ways he could prevent his technology from being stolen. He could lock the system down completely, or even allow the technology to spread intentionally. If someone ever tried to use it against him, he could simply regain control through a concealed countermeasure embedded deep within the main program. The people in this world lacked the programming knowledge needed to uncover something like that, at least not before it was too late.

“Interesting name… so what should I do?”

His thoughts shifted back to the present and the data he still needed to gather before the prototype could be finalized.

“For now, just move naturally. Walk around the room first.”

Robert nodded and took a cautious step forward. The strange metallic spheres attached to the suit glimmered faintly as he moved. At the same time, several floating runic drones appeared around him and followed closely behind. They gathered data from every angle while keeping themselves within the spheres’ line of sight to record his skeletal structure and movements.

It was a somewhat quiet exchange. Robert was not someone who spoke much. As a professional knight, he had learned to hold his tongue in front of his superiors. Even though Roland was his younger brother, Robert had no trouble seeing him as the leader. It was not unusual for knights to take orders from younger nobles either.

For a while, the two remained silent before Roland finally brought up the issue that had been bothering him for some time.

“Robert, are you really sure about this?”

By now, Robert had moved onto the more stable platform equipped with the better golemic cameras. He swung a practice greatsword through the air, demonstrating his movements.

“What do you mean?”

Robert stopped mid-swing as Roland broke the silence between them.

“You’re putting yourself in danger by going to the kingdom. Even if you wear a suit that conceals your face, we do not know what could happen. Your identity could still be revealed.”

“It could, but so could yours, brother. Besides, when else will I have the chance to see my mother and sister?”

Robert answered calmly, and Roland fell silent for a moment. At first, he had not been sure whether to tell his older brother, but once he learned that Lucienne had returned to the institute, he could not keep it from him. Robert was still the best pilot for the task. Roland trusted him with his work, and he had already analyzed Robert’s mana phantom thoroughly, which had saved a great deal of time.

“Do you still think about them?”

“Of course. They are my mother and sister, and… I should apologize for the way my mother treated you in the past.”

“Oh, that? It’s fine. You were the one chasing me around the estate, not her…”

Roland laughed while Robert lowered his head in embarrassment.

“Do not worry about it. You were just a child worried about your place in the family.”

“Even so… what I did was wrong.”

“If you feel that bad about it, then just win the competition and carry out your knightly duties while you are in Albrook.”

“Of course!”

Robert nodded with renewed enthusiasm.

“Once this is all over, perhaps you could become an official knight of House Valerian. We would just need Arthur or Julius to inherit the title first…”

“Haha, that would be wonderful, brother. It would be an honor to pledge myself to such a renowned house… but…”

Although Robert was clearly interested in becoming a proper knight, and serving a duke was second only to serving the royal family itself, something still troubled him. Roland already knew what it was.

“You would be joining the opposing faction, but I am not sure Father would object. In the end, we are still part of the same kingdom.”

Robert lowered the practice blade and rested it against his shoulder.

“Perhaps not, but others in the family might. Father spent years building connections among the royalist nobles. Some of them already see House Valerian as a rival.”

“By family… Do you mean Reyner and Edwin?”

When he mentioned their two other brothers, he noticed a slight twitch on Robert’s face. It was clear that his older brother still carried deep-seated trauma connected to the two sons born to their father’s main wife. In the past, Robert had desperately tried to surpass them and prove his worth, but in the end, he abandoned everything to escape with Lucille.

“Brother Edwin and eldest brother Reyner will probably be too busy to come, but I’m sure mother will be there if Lucienne attends, and that’s all that matters.”

After a moment, Robert recovered and picked up the practice sword again. His swings were stronger now, as if he were trying to bury something from his past. Roland had long since left the family business behind and no longer cared much about the other two brothers. They rarely visited him, as they had never considered him competition in the struggle over who would become the next Baron Arden once their father retired.

The two of them competed fiercely with each other, their ages being close, and both of them were accomplished knights. Roland had only heard rumors about where they had gone, but from what he knew, they currently served under noble houses allied with the Arden estate.

‘Even if they come, there shouldn’t be any problems. They hardly noticed me in the past, so there’s no reason for them to care about what I’m doing now.’

Even so, the familiar troubles of the Arden estate still lingered in his mind. He remained wary of his father, Wentworth. Now that the man had become a marshal and likely gained even more power, Roland would not feel comfortable confronting him until he reached tier four himself. The pressure continued to build, and he knew that eventually he would have to face the issue head-on.

Silence soon returned between the two of them, as Roland had no desire to revisit old family wounds. For the next few hours, he observed Robert’s movements and measured his proportions. For the golem to function properly, it needed to closely match the body type of its pilot.

The golem operated by mimicking the movements of the person controlling it. It replicated the motion of the arms and legs with remarkable precision. If the proportions were off, such as the legs being too short or too long, it would throw off the machine’s balance, though there were ways to compensate for that.

By designing an operating program capable of translating movements into adjusted ones that preserved the golem’s balance, such problems could be overcome. For now, however, it was best to customize the outer shell as precisely as possible, since any corrections made by the program would increase the delay between the pilot and the machine.

“That should be enough for now. I think I have enough data for the model. Let’s move on to the next stage.”

Robert had been forced to run around and perform various strange poses while testing both his flexibility and swordsmanship. Now it was time to proceed to the next phase, as the initial framework for the pilot cockpit had already been constructed and also required testing.

“What would you have me do now, brother?”

“Now you can actually put on the Silvergrace suit.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a humanoid golem walked through the entrance carrying the suit in its hands. It was Sebastian, whom Lucille had previously worked on. Regrettably, she could not be here, as someone had to remain in charge of the other city while Robert was away.

Robert said nothing as he accepted the prepared suit. It resembled a wetsuit used by scuba divers in the modern world. There was no need for a zipper because once worn, magic caused it to tighten slightly around the body while still remaining flexible.

With the suit on, they moved through the workshop. His apprentice was there as well, sitting in her room and continuing to improve several runic manufacturing skills. Roland chose not to interrupt her. Her ascension trial was approaching, and once he finished with Robert, she would become his main priority again.

Robert looked somewhat uncomfortable walking around in the skin-tight suit, but Roland assured him that no one else was there to see him. Eventually, the two arrived at the lowest level of the workshop, where the Runic Mobile Armor frame had been assembled. The cockpit rested nearby, open and detached from the main structure.

The interior of the cockpit was circular and designed around gyroscopic stabilization technology that would keep the pilot steady even if the outer frame lost balance. Countless runic pathways covered the inner shell, glowing faintly in shades of blue and silver. Several thick cords extended from the pod and connected to an external console containing the primary control program.

“So this is the Mobile Runic Armor?”

“It’s only part of it. This is called the cockpit. You’ll sit inside it and control the golem. You can see the screens there, right?”

“Screens…I know what that is at least.”

Robert came from this world and lacked the scientific knowledge needed to fully understand what Roland was describing. Fortunately, he had undergone extensive training and possessed a solid education in other areas.

The gyroscopically stabilized pod contained three monitors positioned in front of the pilot. One displayed the forward view while the other two showed the sides and rear. He would need time to adjust to relying on them while seated inside the cramped cockpit, which had been carefully designed to allow proper movement.

In addition, a harness would secure him in place. It would keep him steady during impacts and vibrations from combat. It also ensured he remained centered inside the circular pod because excessive movement could cause the pilot to collide with the inner shell during sudden shocks.

The cockpit itself absorbed much of the force, but Roland preferred multiple layers of protection. The harness also functioned as another medium for reading the mana phantom and connected directly to the Silvergrace suit, which transmitted additional information through it.

“So I’ll be moving that large golem while standing inside this?”

Robert pointed to the exposed pod and then to the golem assembled nearby. The legs, torso, and one arm were already attached, but the rest was still unfinished.

“Yes, though eventually this cockpit will be installed inside the golem’s chest cavity. Try to protect that area as much as possible during combat.”

“I see…”

Robert nodded. Rather than looking cautious, he seemed genuinely fascinated by what this was becoming. Without needing further instruction, he stepped into the circular cockpit and examined the interior with curiosity. The harness hanging above swayed slightly when he touched it.

“So I stand here?”

“Yes. Place your feet on the marked circles first.”

Robert followed the instructions while Roland helped secure the harness around him. Once he finished strapping him in, Roland moved to the side console and began pressing buttons. Suddenly, the runes inside the pod started glowing, and the panels in front of Robert lit up as well.

“Mobile Runic Armor… operating system starting?”

Robert read the glowing words slowly, as if unsure whether he had pronounced them correctly. A moment later, the symbols on the screen shifted, and several new lines appeared beneath them.

PILOT LINK INITIALIZED

MANA PHANTOM DETECTED

SYNC RATIO: 24%

“What is a sync ratio?”

“It measures how well the armor responds to your mana phantom and how accurately it translates your movements. Don’t worry. Once I calibrate a few more things, it should increase. But for now, let’s begin and see how the connection works.”

As Roland spoke, the figure beside them reacted to Robert’s movements. Its right arm lifted, mirroring the position Robert had taken inside the cockpit. Everything appeared to be functioning properly, though this was still only an alpha test and much more work remained.

Even so, Roland found himself wondering how people would react once the invention was complete and how it would compare to the regular golems created by dwarves and other master craftsmen.