The forge was already running within the mountain base when I arrived. I could tell before seeing it that it was the case, as everything slled like hot tal and lubricant oil... and the stench of burnt blood. Yep... I bet they were already using the requested monster blood to fill the cannisters or test the channels connecting the runes that will go onto the ch's fra. Which ans, rlin was doing voluntary overti... again. Well... All things considered, this was the most tal thing we had done yet, pun intended.
“Morning,” rlin greeted from halfway up a scaffold, using CC and his own magic to finish etching one of the runes into the arm of the machine. “You look refreshed!”
“And you are not,” I answered, stepping closer to the scaffolding. “Didn't I tell you to go ho and sleep properly?”
“Right. And I did." He swore, looking down at , "Thing is, I was excited, so I woke up early and here I am.”
“Sure,” I muttered, shaking my head.
The latest variant of our ch, well, what would beco one, as currently it only had its legs and torso attached, with the one arm that rlin was working on now, stood before as I began circling it, checking its shape and form. Its chest cavity was still open, waiting for its core, while its head was also missing, along with most of the shoulder plates and weapon installations going onto its fra. As for what type of weapons we are talking about, I haven't decided yet. But, if this works and it is going to be able to manipulate beasts, I will need it to stay behind, undisturbed, so most likely so kind of long-range weaponry. While thinking about it, Galahad arrived next, and the dark circles under his eyes gave away that he also refused to follow my orders and sleep well. Bunch of rebels!
“I double checked the rune connections,” he said, lifting a bundle of rolled-up papers. “I re-checked every curve three tis. No gaps, no inversions, we can apply them!”
“Too late,” I nodded towards rlin, “He already began etching them in place hours ago while we all slept. You slept, right?”
"A bit." Galahad nudded, avoiding eyecontact.
"I trust our work," rlin snorted, hanging above us. “I aim high, why don’t you?”
"Nothing else we can do," I shrugged, looking at my son, "Co, let's join in. And if any of you complain, I'll say nothing... I told you both to take resting seriously!"
Because ch’s fra was already half-decorated, Galahad and I began making the blood channels that would be responsible for the literal energy flow. It was what we needed to establish proper circulation between the formation different 'sectors' and 'loops.' The workers assigned to our group were, once again, led by Kraus, who supervised the construction of the machine as his technicians rolled out thick tubes of translucent piping. We made sure that we could watch the blood flow, and notice any irregularities, at least, for now. Later on, we may cover them or sothing, but we had to see everything while testing. After the fifth hour, most of them were fitted into their completed channels, going around and inside the ch's fra like actual, artificial veins. Galahad marked each connection point, reinforcing them with clamps.
“Pressure valves set to sixty percent,” Kraus reported, tapping the gauge as we began testing the tubes and cylinders, now attached to the machine's back, pumping the very first flow through them. “Any higher and we risk blowing out the joints without proper stress testing.”
“Keep it as it is,” I said, climbing up to the shoulder platform, watching it go over and head back down to the secondary blood chamber. “We must test with actual monster blood, because we can't tell if we pump anything else into the channels, would they dilute or disturb it. Plus, we have them in spades so...”
"It will be fine!" rlin grinned up at , standing with Kraus. “It can take it! Just a few rounds of circulation and it will flow like it was made to be like this!”
“Just don’t kill the patient before it’s born.” Galahad warned him, "A magical reaction or explosion would not be... fun." Yeah, that wouldn't be... But luckily, it didn't happen, and the first round of blood began flowing nicely, showing us that so far everything was going as expected. Galahad, crouched by the ch’s thigh, watching the blood flow upwards, suddenly asked, a bit unsure, “Is it supposed to look like it’s breathing?”
"The pumps are set to mimic a heartbeat," rlin nodded. "It is best if we try to simulate an actual body rather than to chanize it fully. Well, if it works, we can start testing how far we can stretch it until it stops working. For now, we are sticking to mimicry."
With a few more rounds, we had it all checked and completed. There were no leaks, and from one canister, the blood flowed to the next without getting clogged, going back and forth, giving a lovely, red shimr to the tal fra. I wonder what will happen when we put the core in, though. So, without forgoing the thought of lunch, of course, and forcing the two to take a more extended break, by the afternoon, it was ti to slot it into place.
“Bring it further in,” I called, as two cranes began lowering the containnt pod that was already holding the monster core, attached to its slot, ready to simply slide into its housing as in every other ch.
"Do we know what kind of beast this one is from?" Galahad asked as he watched it get moved into place.
“Yeah,” rlin nodded, “It cos from Markoth, last year. Originally, this was in a monster that was of a similar height to this ch, maybe a head taller at best. As for its magic, it spews fire at the walls, but then it was obliterated by the cannons before it could get close.”
“It should count as a dium-sized one,” I said from the top, guiding it in, watching as the core slid into place, and we began locking it and securing its harnesses.
"I didn't know we had a list of beasts now," rlin said, aiming the comnt at .
"It's just in my head." I answered, "Anything that is small and without a Core is a low-grade beast. Anthying matching our chs, being taller by two heads, are dium-grade. Anything bigger is high-grade. Simple, and I don't want to go into more details as we already know, most of these bastards vary a lot!"
Then, just as I finished and everything got locked into place, suddenly there was an unmistakable hum resonating through the ch, sothing that previously did not really happen. Like... ever.
“The heart is online,” rlin whispered. “I think this was a good sign, let check!" He rushed over, using his magic and also reading the flow from his instrunts, "Hm, hm. All good! Power flow is balanced and there is no leakage.”
“Check the loops, too!” I yelled, "Make sure the blood doesn't get flowing without order! It could also ruin the pipes and pumps if it forces itself through."
"Nothing," Galahad’s eyes darted across the readings on his slate, “Main circuit is holding up, the valves are currently closed, and the pressure didn't seem to change within. I don't know if there is a reaction in the blood, though.”
“There is,” rlin said, grinning, “she’s alive. I can tell.”
“Good?" I asked, being unsure of such news.
"Good." rlin nodded, "It's stable."
"I’d like to keep it that way.” I shrugged, "Okay, let's put everything together, including the cockpit."
And with that, the rest of the day was nothing but playing with Lego, pure assembly, piece by piece. Pretty much zen-style ditation, if you ask . We sealed the chest plating, then the arms ca next along with the legs while I oversaw the installation of the pilot's cockpit, that was made in a way that could be ejected. It wasn't anything complicated, just an ergency formation, turning its weight to zero, and then flinging it out and away. It also needs testing, but... Should work. And if it does, it will have to be applied to all the other chs, retroactively.
By nightfall, the ch stood complete, and I felt just as proud as when we built our very first model. For now, it was mostly black and unpainted, looking like most of the other chs with a bit more protruding head and with a backpack of canisters. With them attached, the weapon-flipping chanism had to be trashed, so there was no way to mount shoulder cannons to flip them into a rest position. Well, that is for later to think about; now we had to make sure the thing itself was working.
"Nice!" rlin leaned back, wiping his forehead with a rag. “Well, I would even say that she’s gorgeous.”
“Don’t flirt with my prototype,” I joked, "Not behind your wife's back."
“You know that I will enter it first,” he shot back at , countering my joke.
"Nope." I grunted, "Believe it or not, neither of you is capable of properly testing it."
"What do you an?" They looked at , making smile.
"I have red hair, you two don't. End of discussion."
...
....
......
There was a little back and forth the following day or so, of course, about who would test the machine. But even Sasha agreed that it will be . This monster-manipulation did play on the theory behind the Vasa bloodline, and we had it; rlin did not. And of course, we wouldn't let either Leyla or Arthur try their hands at piloting this ch, so it was either or her. And because I had already contacted Zah'Ratil once, intercepting his call to Arthur, it was evident I did have so kind of connection to them, more so than the Vasas would agree on. I was even gently sensing beasts in the past... So... I was confident.
What she didn't agree with was who would test the ergency ejection. In the end, it was decided that nobody would activate it, and we would do it remotely. As for the test, it happened outside, about two days after the ch was finished, rlin being the one activating the release. It perford as intended, as the head-unit got separated without issues, first flying upwards, like a mini rocket, shedding its plating and then, while being weightless, another burst sent it backwards, making it land a few hundred ters away. It was a bit of a rough landing, though, so we had to prepare a new cockpit because it got deford, even after landing in a pile of snow... but it could save the pilot's life, I think. So it's a worthy tradeoff. But I also wanted to install a directional control that could decide in which direction the head would fly off. We don't want to go into one way only, ending up in another monster's mouth... But I left that to rlin and Galahad... as I had to focus on the coming test.
Sitting down in the new cockpit, getting sealed into the darkness inside, I took a deep breath, and there was nothing else to wait for. After activation, the rest was coming together as usual, reminding of the first ti I tested the first ch we ever built. But then again, there was a change when the Imaginary kicked in, and I was given full control over the machine.
"Whoa..."
"What is it?" Sasha asked, her voice echoing in my ear as their group watched from a safe distance.
"Vivid." I answered simply, "Everything feels more... definitive. I'm also a bit cold."
"What do you an?" She asked again, maybe a bit more worried than she wanted to show.
"I an, I feel the snow." I raised a leg and so did the ch, looking down, "And the wind. It isn't bone-chilling, but I do feel that it's cold, and I can tell which direction it's coming from. Heh... I can even sll things! Weird... rlin, is this because of the blood?"
"Could be," He replied after a montary pause, thinking, "I don't actually know, but I have no other idea. Anything else? Anything new?"
"Let check."
For the next few monts, I kept moving around, testing, trying to get a feel, and what I could tell was that everything felt sharper. When I looked, my eyes and through it the Imaginary adjusted instantly, precisely following the instructions from my brain without moving the controls. It was linked to my body, as if I was 'jacked in' or wearing so super modern suit that plugged into the matrix. If this will be the sa for all our future Knights... I may have to implent this for all the other chs.
Or... Even to other things.
"I think," I spoke up again, feeling confident, "What remains is getting to the Pride... and to let test this out on an actual monster."
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