"Well, things have been going smoothly so far," Jin muttered to himself back on Hourai Island.
"Yes, My Lord. The Supervising Brain's reaction followed Helente's prediction to the letter," Laojun replied.
"Yeah. The real challenge starts tomorrow."
"Indeed. Ideally, you will be assigned to maintain critical equipment, such as the ether transporters."
Jin was thinking the same thing. As of now, he hadn't had the opportunity to touch any high-priority machinery.
"First, I should get some rest."
Since Onogoro Island and Hourai Island were located on opposite sides of the world, their day and night were completely inverted. Although Helente and the others functioned regardless of the hour, they seemed to maintain a concept of a schedule; Jin's Doppel was granted a rest period during the island's "night." Thus, Jin was taking a nap now to prepare for the work ahead.
＊ ＊ ＊
"Right, it should be about time."
<<Ah, Jin-dono, if you please.>>
Helente appeared almost the exact moment Jin's Doppel sat up from its bed.
<<The units you will be servicing today are the golems.>>
"The Guardians from before?"
<<Them as well. We have combat models, security models, and maintenance models.>>
"Maintenance? So, they're repair personnel?"
<<Precisely.>>
"I see..."
Jin felt a twinge of disappointment. If their own maintenance staff were restored, there was a high probability that the repair of the Supervising Brain would be handed over to them instead of him. Still, he had no choice but to accept for now, and the opportunity to analyze their golems was a significant merit in its own right.
<<This way.>>
Guided by Helente, Jin's Doppel stepped into the golem hangar.
"Whoa..."
The sight drew an involuntary exclamation from him. Lined up inside were roughly a hundred golems, including the familiar Guardian models.
<<I would like you to finish as quickly as possible. The materials warehouse is in the adjacent room. I do not believe there will be any shortages.>>
"Understood."
Jin's primary concern was whether these golems had been parasitized by the Micro-Magi Machines. He would likely find out as he performed the maintenance. Accompanied by Reiko, the Doppel began its work.
<<My, you are fast.>>
Jin was only exerting about twenty percent of his true skill, yet it was more than enough. Most of the golems were merely suffering from "rust."
"Deoxidization."
He stripped away the oxide films using the specialized Craft Magic. For the sliding joints and moving parts, he applied another spell.
"Surface Treatment."
This reduced frictional resistance across the frames.
"The muscle tissue is a synthetic substance," Jin noted.
It was a material he didn't recognize, and it seemed different from Helente's own composition. When he mentioned this to Helente, who was monitoring his progress, she offered a simple explanation.
<<The Guardians were built to be more powerful than I am, after all.>>
"What about the automata that were dispatched to the Shouro Empire previously?"
<<Those are in the room beyond the next one. I plan to have you service them after you finish here.>>
"Understood."
Jin decided to concentrate on the task at hand and refrain from further questions until he had completed the general maintenance and finished his analysis.
In the end, maintaining the hundred golems took half a day, leaving the remaining half for the automata. While the physical Jin only piloted the Doppel for about a fifth of the duration—leaving the rest to Laojun—the haul of information was substantial.
First, the golems and automata in this hangar were not parasitized.
"That's a relief, at least."
"Indeed, My Lord. That leaves only the Supervising Brain as the likely host," Laojun added.
Second, Jin had covertly installed a full monitoring suite—specifically, a manacam and a magic eye—into the maintenance golems. Even if he wasn't personally entrusted with high-level repairs later, he would still be able to observe the work through their sensors.
Third, he had successfully decoded the Onogoro Island style of golem technology. While Jin's own techniques seemed more advanced in certain areas, the discovery of how they synthesized muscle and skin from artificial materials was a major breakthrough.
＊ ＊ ＊
"I think I'll call it magi-plastic," Jin decided. Since the material had no name in his records, he coined one himself.
"That is a fitting name, My Lord."
Magi-plastic was a high-polymer, much like the plastics found on Earth. The only fundamental difference was that the atoms within its molecular structure were magi-isotopes. Admittedly, Jin didn't know the complex chemical formulas for every type of plastic. However, he remembered ethylene ($C_2H_4$) and the polyethylene derived from it from his high school chemistry classes. Thus, "magi-polyethylene" was something he could actually comprehend.
But there was still a hurdle.
"I wonder where they source the magi-isotope carbon and hydrogen from, though."
The procurement of raw materials remained a mystery. While leaving the tasks on Onogoro Island to his Doppel, Jin worked on this puzzle back on Hourai Island.
"My Lord, could it perhaps be natural magi-resin?" Laojun suggested.
"Ah, that's it!"
Magi-resin was essentially pine resin that carried a magical charge. Its chemical structure was nearly identical to the natural version. Since Jin didn't know the exact structural formula for resin, his Analyze spell only gave him the ratios of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. However, knowing that much allowed him to perform an Extraction of the magi-isotope carbon and hydrogen.
By combining Extraction with his original Craft Magic, Combine—which was an application of Crystallization and Stransform—he reached the point where he could synthesize ethylene gas.
"I'm so close to making polyethylene from ethylene..."
"My Lord, please do not overextend yourself. You must focus on the situation on Onogoro Island," Laojun advised, uncharacteristically admonishing Jin as he grew obsessed with the experiment.
"You're right. I'll call it a day and get some rest."
"Yes, please do so."
＊ ＊ ＊
Meanwhile, on Onogoro Island.
<<Hmm. The Lord of Kunlun's proficiency is high.>>
<<Yes. He can maintain golems, Live Puppets, and low-level facilities without any issues.>>
<<The question is whether to allow him to maintain mid-level facilities.>>
<<I believe it would be safe to entrust them to him.>>
<<Very well. Even if he learns a few of our secrets, it matters not—so long as we never let him leave this island.>>