Standing at the podium, Jin began to speak calmly.
"Yes, I am Jin, the Third Generation Magi Craft Meister. I found this demonstration exceedingly fascinating to observe."
He remarked that the trial categories were quite novel and offered many valuable takeaways.
"With that in mind, there are a few points I noticed. First, regarding hardware and software."
Superior physical capability, Jin explained, was only as good as the control system governing it.
"Because a control system is invisible to the eye, it tends to be taken lightly. However, it is indispensable for drawing out the full performance of a golem's body."
He noted that its critical role had surely been made clear during today's demonstration.
"Therefore, rather than prioritizing one over the other, it is desirable to achieve a well-balanced configuration."
"Another point I wish to emphasize is this: you should by no means conclude from today's results that the ball-joint style is useless."
Jin paused for a beat before continuing.
"The Adriana-style, which bears the name of the First Generation Magi Craft Meister, possesses a range of joint motion comparable to that of a human, for better or worse. At times, that can become a drawback."
Blind spots were easily created, Jin explained, meaning such golems inherited the very same vulnerabilities as human beings.
"Of course, since those weaknesses are known, it also means we can devise ways to overcome them."
He suggested one possible direction: adding sensors specifically designed to cover those blind spots.
"Thus, I would hate to see the ball-joint style discarded under the assumption that it is obsolete."
Jin went on to explore the possibilities further.
"The part where the ball-joint style differs most from human anatomy is the waist. Because this area is so fundamentally distinct, it is no exaggeration to say it makes the golem's movements appear unnatural."
Therefore, one could either refine this area, or...
"If it is a golem consisting solely of an upper body, there should be no issue at all."
Jin explained that in the past, an upper-body-only golem had been outfitted with paddles to propel a boat during the Golem Boat Race in Port Rock Town.
"As for what other applications it might have... well, how about something like a scribe golem?"
An appreciative murmur rippled through the audience at the suggestion. It seemed no one had considered such an approach.
Seizing the momentum, Jin shared several other ideas as they came to him.
"Golems for kneading dough in bakeries, or golems dedicated solely to packaging goods in shops—there are countless potential uses."
Whispers of "Indeed..." and "What a concept..." drifted from the crowd.
"I must point out one key fact: the greatest weakness of a ball joint is its structural strength, while its greatest strength is its range of motion."
Due to its design, the joint was relatively prone to dislocation.
Although this issue was largely masked by wrapping the joints in magical muscle, it remained a crucial point to keep in mind.
Then there was the range of motion. While human elbows and wrists were fairly constrained, a golem built with ball joints enjoyed far greater flexibility.
"There is no reason to intentionally restrict a golem's control system just to mirror the limitations of human movement."
Jin's advice proved immensely valuable, prompting many participants to furiously jot down notes.
After offering two or three more practical tips, Jin gave a brief closing remark and stepped down from the podium.
"Thank you very much, Jin-sensei. Well then, that concludes our scheduled program. Does anyone in the audience have any requests?"
Perhaps out of hesitation, the crowd was slow to respond, until a single hand went up.
"Yes... that would be Mr. Depres from the Kingdom of Egerea. Please, go ahead."
It appeared Manon had memorized every single guest in attendance.
"Jin-sensei, thank you for your insightful lecture....If possible, we would like to see your own creation undergo the same measurements."
A wave of applause broke out as many attendees voiced their agreement.
An event official hurried over to Jin.
"What do you think, sir?" they asked.
Jin was curious to see the numerical results for a few of the trials himself. If that's what they wanted, they should have just said so from the start, he thought, but readily agreed nonetheless.
"Hope, give it a shot."
"Yes, Master."
Hope had undergone several modifications since his initial creation, and his current capabilities were on par with or superior to those of the Land squad.
(Keep it at thirty percent, understood?)
Jin relayed the instruction secretly via Hope's internal manacam through Reiko, ensuring no one nearby would overhear.
"Jin-sensei has graciously agreed. Please understand that a few of the trials cannot be conducted under identical conditions."
Having already witnessed the maze and arithmetic problems, repeating the exact same tests would be meaningless.
Under the watchful eyes of the audience, Hope's trial began.
First came the flexibility test, which went smoothly.
In this area, Hope performed on par with an ordinary human.
During the standing forward bend, his palms just touched the ground.
His standing side bend reached roughly 45 degrees.
His torso rotation measured about 100 degrees.
Satisfied with these solid results, the spectators nodded in approval. Next was the 300-meter sprint.
"Ready... Start!"
A cloud of dust exploded into the air. A mere instant later—
"Goal!"
"Whoa!"
"Wh-What in the world...?"
"The time is 1.7 seconds, with an average speed of 176 meters per second!"
"I-Incredible..."
"That athletic performance is on an entirely different level!"
"Next is weightlifting. Please proceed."
Hope grasped the bar and hoisted it overhead.
"That's 1,458 kilograms!"
Surpassing a full ton, the number left the crowd utterly dumbfounded.
Next came the reaction speed test.
Hope moved so swiftly that the spectators could barely track him with their eyes.
"It clocked under 0.01 seconds—unmeasurable!"
Cries bordering on shrieks erupted across the grounds.
"Please proceed with the precision movement test using the steel balls and dishes....Begin!"
Using both hands, Hope transferred the steel balls with blinding speed.
"11 seconds!"
Even assuming it would take twice as long with one hand—22 seconds—it was still faster than the top time of 25 seconds set by the eight competing golems.
By this point, not a single person in the audience harbored any doubts about the prowess of the Magi Craft Meister.
"As for the intelligence test, since there is no time to reconfigure the maze, we will limit it to arithmetic. Please note that the problems themselves must be changed, so conditions will not be completely identical."
This was unavoidable; the only option was to compare results using problems of equivalent difficulty.
"Question one: 234 + 567 + 890 =?"
Hope instantly raised a board with "1691" written on it.
"Correct!"
While it was unfortunate that there was no direct baseline for comparison, everyone present could intuitively grasp just how fast he was.
For the remaining four questions, Hope continued to write down the correct answers with astonishing speed.
"Thank you very much. Everyone, this is the true craft of the Magi Craft Meister!"
As Jin bowed beside the podium and Hope bowed on the parade ground in unison, the venue erupted in thunderous applause.