"I’m... hungry."
Jin had inherited the knowledge and techniques of the Magi Craft Meister, Adriana Barbora Tsetse, but he soon discovered that no magic in her repertoire could conjure food out of thin air.
He could just barely manage to produce water with magic, so he wasn't in danger of dying of thirst, but the lack of sustenance was a critical problem.
He had fashioned his own clothes. His years of honing his sewing skills hadn't been for nothing. For the fabric, he had simply used some material he found on a shelf.
For the time being, Jin had been conducting a thorough survey of the laboratory. While he possessed the knowledge of the facility in his mind, it felt like he was consulting a reference book or a dictionary; the information lacked the resonance of lived memory.
Magic worked in much the same way. Once he used a spell, he could wield it as naturally as breathing from then on, but searching his mind for magic he had never cast before seemed to take a little time.
Anyway, returning to the matter at hand, there appeared to be no food stockpiles in the laboratory. Even if there were, he had no desire to sample thousand-year-old rations. In all likelihood, they wouldn't even be edible.
"Hmm, let's put this here, and..."
What Jin was currently occupied with was the repair—or rather, the reconstruction—of the automata.
The sight of her fallen into pieces after fulfilling her final duty inspired a deep sense of pity. Jin had always been the type of person who made dolls for orphans and, whenever he saw broken tools or machinery, felt a natural urge to fix them if it were within his power.
"The predecessor was incredible. The skeleton is almost identical to a human's."
This automata possessed an internal skeleton like a human’s, used magical fiber for muscles, and had magical skin synthesized through magic. In place of organs, she was equipped with an ether converter and a mana driver, while her cognitive functions were handled by a sophisticated control core.
"The skeleton is already in pieces and beyond repair... It'll be faster to just make a new one."
And so, he set about rebuilding the skeleton using a light metal he found in the underground warehouse. Even though he was "making" it, processing the material with magic was simple, and since he was following the original dimensions, the work proceeded smoothly.
He only learned later that what he had used was the rare light silver. Since there was a mountain of it available, he didn't grasp its true value. In reality, a single kilogram of light silver was worth enough to build a mansion, but he had used it casually simply because it had excellent compatibility with magic.
"The ether converter would be more efficient if I did this... and the mana driver could be miniaturized if I changed this part."
He continued the reconstruction, making improvements as if he were working on a model kit. To create a magi-tool, one must engrave words of power—incantations—using the Magi Language. However, he noticed that for some reason, the efficiency skyrocketed when he used Japanese—specifically kanji. He decided to rewrite everything in his native tongue.
"I suppose I can just make new magical fiber for the muscles and magical skin using the same specifications? No, there’s room for improvement in the magical fiber... As for the magical skin, if I change that, her appearance will change too. Oh, but I’ll at least apply a permanent Reinforce."
Jin became increasingly lost in his work. Consequently, he failed to notice that the already absurd specifications set by his predecessor were being pushed into even more ridiculous territory.
"Lastly, the control core. This one is degraded and looks like it's about to break... I think there were more of these in the warehouse."
There was a tunnel beneath the laboratory where numerous magical dolls classified as Golems had been slowly but tirelessly excavating useful resources for a thousand years. The resulting stockpiles were unfathomable, but Jin had no way of knowing that. He simply had nothing to compare it to. Because Golems had a simple structure, they would continue to operate without degrading as long as they were supplied with mana.
"Found them, found them. There are so many here. In that case, I’ll try using this beautiful one."
The magi-crystal used for the original control core had been red, but the one Jin pulled out shone with iridescent colors like an opal.
"I'll just transfer the information from the old control core and... yeah, success. This one is larger, so it looks like it still has plenty of room. Maybe I'll try copying my own knowledge too."
Forgetting his hunger, Jin's obsession with crafting took over—the classic trait of a dedicated hobbyist.
"Trans Info... Whoa, that really takes a toll on the head. I guess transferring all my knowledge is impossible. Well, this much should be fine."
Since transferring the entirety of Jin's knowledge would take too much time, he primarily transferred knowledge regarding language—specifically Japanese, kanji, kana, and the alphabet.
And so, Jin spent an entire day on the re-assembly of the automata.
"All that's left is clothes."
The clothes the automata had been wearing had turned to dust and scattered the moment her mana ran out, so she was currently naked—which was, in many ways, quite a distraction.
"I’ve come this far, I might as well see it through to the end."
Since he had already fashioned his own clothes, there was no fabric left from what he had originally found.
He had no choice but to search the warehouse again. He found a massive quantity of ground spider silk, so he used that to create fabric. His predecessor had even built a loom.
He wove thin thread into cloth for underwear and thick thread into cloth for an outer garment. The fact that the machine could even weave lace was a testament to the first Magi Craft Meister’s brilliance.
"I'll go with the same structure as the original outfit, but what should I use for dye?"
When he looked, he found proper dyes as well. He chose a clear, translucent blue. This was, in fact, a magical dye that had the effect of warding off monsters.
For the shoes, he used dark brown leather from the warehouse. It was actually the hide of a dragon species, but Jin didn't mind.
One way or another, he finished an outfit that looked more like something Alice in Wonderland would wear than a maid’s uniform. Since the design was based on the dolls he used to make for the girls at the orphanage, it was only natural.
"Yeah, well, she has the build of a child, so this should be fine."
Jin was satisfied with the result.
"Now for the final touch: 'Activate.'"
He poured in mana to start up the mana driver, but the automata lying before him did not move.
"Huh? Did I mess up somewhere?"
He checked her over, but there were no flaws in the construction of the magic circuits.
"Hmm, I don't get it."
Just then, as if to remind him, his stomach gave a loud, long growl.
And so, we return to the line at the beginning.
"Ah, man, I'm so hungry..."
Jin slumped to the floor.
"If I stay in this lab, I'm going to starve to death..."
With that thought, he decided to head outside for the time being.
"Let's see... I’m pretty sure I can travel easily if I use a Warp Gate."
The knowledge he had inherited confirmed that such technology existed.
"The Warp Gate to the surface should be on the first floor."
Searching through his knowledge rather than his memories, he arrived at the Warp Gate hall. Several gates stood lined up in a row.
"Well, any of them will do, but I'll go with number five."
According to his knowledge, this Warp Gate would lead him near a large town.
To ensure he had something to exchange for money, he took five gemstones from the warehouse. They were small rubies (or so they appeared). He judged that if they were too large, they would be difficult to liquidate.
"All right. Time to head out."
He stepped onto the Warp Gate's magic square and channeled his mana. The magic square activated immediately, but—
"Something feels wrong."
There was one thing Jin had forgotten: the Warp Gates had been installed over a thousand years ago. A thousand years is enough time for towns to fall and for the very geography of the land to change.
The destination gate corresponding to the one Jin was using no longer existed.
"No... way... Is it... running... wild?"
The magic square flickered violently. The amount of mana required for teleportation was immense, and having lost its destination, that energy began to surge uncontrollably.
"This... is... bad..."
Unable to step off, Jin vanished from the laboratory, swept away by the runaway magic square.
"...Fa...ther?"
The automata opened her eyes. Perhaps because she had been in the room directly beneath the surging magic square, she had sensed Jin's peril.
The reason her startup had been delayed was that her body's mana capacity had become astronomical. After the mana driver started, it had taken time to convert the free ether in the air into the amount of active mana required for her to move.
"Father... is not here."
His disappearance—the disappearance of her creator—was a matter of utmost importance for the automata.
"I must... find Father."
The automata set out to find Jin, her very reason for existence. After making preliminary preparations, such as setting up a new Warp Gate for her return, she spoke.
"I am going."
She, too, vanished from the laboratory.
All that remained behind were the Golems, which continued to mindlessly excavate resources.