At 9:00 AM, the golem demonstration commenced across the northern green space of Avalon and the adjacent parade ground.
The spectators settled into the seating set up on the lawn, shielded from the sun by overhead canopies. Jin and his party occupied a separate waiting area prepared exclusively for them.
The demonstration itself was to take place on the parade ground.
Since it was an open exhibition rather than a lecture, the crowd had grown even larger than the previous day, swelling to around three thousand attendees. Among them were royals and prominent nobles from various nations.
Multiple massive magi-screens had been set up, positioned thoughtfully so the events could be viewed from different angles.
"Now then, ladies and gentlemen, the time has come. We will now begin the golem demonstration."
The announcement rang across the venue. It was the voice of Manon, Tomax Bartman's secretary automaton.
"Today's events will follow the Avalon-style Golem Evaluation Program. Specifically, the trials are as follows..."
- Flexibility Assessment
- 300-Meter Sprint
- Weightlifting
- Reaction Speed Measurement
- Precision Movement Measurement
- Intelligence Test
"...These are the scheduled categories. Destructive testing is not included. If anyone present wishes to see how their own golem or automaton measures up against Avalon standards, please step forward and register."
"In that case, please test ours."
"I would like to have our golem evaluated as well."
Because guests bringing golems had been notified the previous day, registration proceeded smoothly.
Four open-entry participants entered the fray.
At this point, an introduction was made for all the participating golems—a roster consisting of three female-types and five male-types.
Bib #1: Baseline comparison, Avalon General-Purpose Golem (Ball-Joint Style) (Female-type) Bib #2: Baseline comparison, Avalon Combat Golem (Ball-Joint Style) (Male-type) Bib #3: "Prototype 8," Avalon's Latest Model Golem (Ball-Joint Style) — Creators: Go-lab (Golem Laboratory) Groma, Eira, Kachea (Male-type) Bib #4: "Storm" (Magic-Frame Style) — Creators: Disciples of the Magi Craft Meister: Freddie, Greena, Rubina (Male-type) Bib #5: "Lotte Type 53" — Creator: Kingdom of Egerea Royal Factory (Female-type) Bib #6: "Yupiterra" — Creator: Kingdom of Egerea Hampton Workshop (Male-type) Bib #7: "Aria" — Creator: Kingdom of Egerea Craft Queen Workshop (Female-type) Bib #8: "Great Rock" — Creator: Klein Kingdom National Magi-Engineering Laboratory (Male-type)
"Bibs #5 through #8 are our open-entry participants. Please note that the internal structures and design specifications of these golems will not be disclosed to the public."
The spectators applauded warmly.
"Without further ado, we shall begin the Avalon-style Golem Evaluation Program. First is the flexibility assessment. Please direct your attention to Bib #1."
The Avalon general-purpose golem began by performing a standing forward bend.
(S-Stiff...)
Watching from his seat, Jin was taken aback, even though he had expected as much. Bending forward with everything it had, the golem could barely reach its knees with the tips of its fingers.
The crowd seemed to share the sentiment, and a low murmur rippled through the stands.
"Golems Bib #2 through #8, please emulate Bib #1 and perform the same motion."
The status of all seven units appeared across the massive magi-screens.
Likely because it shared the same ball-joint style as #1, Bib #2 could also barely graze its knees. Indeed, the ball-joint style offered notoriously little freedom of movement around the waist.
However, despite utilizing a ball-joint build, Bib #3 proved its worth as Avalon's newest model by bending down to the middle of its shins.
Then came Bib #4. Built on a magic-frame style, Storm was able to press both palms completely flat against the ground.
Bib #5 also managed to touch its fingertips to the turf.
In contrast, Bibs #6, #7, and #8 could only barely reach their knees.
"Thank you very much. Next is the standing side bend."
This exercise required bending the torso laterally, but the results followed a predictable pattern.
Bibs #1 and #2 could only manage an angle of about 15 degrees, while Bib #3 reached around 30 degrees.
Bib #4, Storm, bent nearly 40 degrees.
Bib #5 achieved 30 degrees, while #6, #7, and #8 hovered around 10 degrees.
"Lastly, trunk rotation."
This involved twisting the torso at the waist.
Here, the ball joints allowed ample range of motion, and every model managed to rotate past 90 degrees in both directions.
None of the eight units showed any significant discrepancy.
"Thank you. Such flexibility is crucial when imitating human movements. Furthermore, during combat, it greatly aids in responding to surroundings in all directions—up, down, left, and right."
Hearing the explanation, several spectators nodded in enlightened agreement.
"W-Well, flexibility is just one metric."
"Y-Yeah....Though for something that Freddie had a hand in making, it's surprisingly well put together."
"Hmph, the other members probably carried the load."
"Next is the 300-meter sprint. All eight units will run simultaneously upon the signal."
Being an intuitive, straightforward contest, the crowd leaned forward in anticipation.
"Now then, on your marks....Get set... Go!"
A burst of dust kicked up, gouging out the turf near the starting line.
Within a handful of seconds, all of them crossed the finish line.
"In first place is Bib #4, 'Storm,' with a time of 2.5 seconds."
That translated to a blistering speed of 120 meters per second.
"In second place is Bib #3, 'Prototype 8,' with a time of 2.8 seconds, clocking 107 meters per second. In third place is Bib #5, 'Lotte Type 53,' with a time of 3.0 seconds, clocking 100 meters per second. In fourth place is Bib #7, 'Aria,' with a time of 3.1 seconds, clocking 97 meters per second."
Manon added, "Please note that all speeds have been rounded to the nearest whole number from the second decimal place."
"In fifth place is Bib #2, Avalon Combat Golem, with a time of 4.0 seconds, clocking 75 meters per second. In sixth place is Bib #8, 'Great Rock,' with a time of 4.2 seconds, clocking 71 meters per second. In seventh place is Bib #6, 'Yupiterra,' with a time of 4.9 seconds, clocking 61 meters per second. In eighth place is Bib #1, Avalon General-Purpose Golem, with a time of 5.2 seconds, clocking 58 meters per second."
A polite round of applause rippled through the stands, acknowledging the valiant efforts of every golem.
(Well, I suppose it's only natural that this seems modest compared to the games on Onogoro Island.)
Jin pondered quietly from the VIP section.
After all, during the competition held the other day, there were contestants who had broken the sound barrier.
Elsewhere in the stands, however:
"W-What is with that golem?! It's way too fast!"
"Ours was twice as fast as our country's standard model! And yet here it's practically scraping the bottom of the rankings..."
"Did they cheat somehow?"
"What are you even talking about? They all started on the same mark; how could anyone cheat? Even second place blew past 100 meters per second."
Disgruntled murmurs and arguments were already breaking out.
"Next is weightlifting. This trial will be measured using Avalon's cutting-edge equipment."
A magi-device lavishly reinforced with adamantite was brought out onto the field.
"This mechanism applies a system that converts exerted force into equivalent weight, enabling us to measure pure strength without the need for physical counterweights."
Hearing this, Jin almost let out an audible gasp of admiration.
(Is it something like a measuring instrument with strain gauges? Or maybe...)
It was an apparatus that could truly be called a "novel invention," developed entirely outside of Jin's knowledge.