Deep within the dark forest, five adventurers found themselves surrounded by magic beasts.
"This is bad. What’s the plan?" a lightly armored warrior asked, his eyes fixed on the monsters.
"Plans don't matter now—we fight or we die," the leader replied, gripping his greatsword. The battle erupted the instant the words left his lips.
The beasts encircling the party were Goratels. They stood about a meter tall and bore a passing resemblance to raccoon dogs, though they possessed none of that animal's charm. Instead, they radiated a feral bloodlust, their singular intent to devour their prey plain on their vicious faces.
While a single Goratel was a formidable opponent, their true danger lay in their pack mentality. Even now, over twenty of them were closing in on the adventurers.
The party fought back with desperate precision, managed to wound three of the creatures, but the injured beasts simply retreated to the back of the pack while fresh, healthy ones took their place at the front. At this rate, the adventurers’ strength would give out long before the monsters’.
Sensing their impending end, the lightly armored warrior swung his sword with the frantic energy of a man possessed by fear. The Goratels dodged the strike with ease and immediately launched a concentrated assault on him. They were picking off the weakest link first. The adventurers felt the chilling intelligence behind the beasts' tactics.
Trapped, the leader briefly considered a grim strategy: could they use the targeted warrior as a decoy to make their escape? He immediately dismissed the thought. If their numbers dropped any further, the rest of them wouldn't stand a chance anyway.
"Stand your ground! We're helping him!" the leader roared, rallying his companions as they continued the grueling struggle.
They all knew the truth. The power gap was insurmountable. From the moment the Goratels had surrounded them, hope had vanished. This wasn't a fairy tale; they knew the world wasn't kind enough to provide a miracle. No high-ranking adventurer was going to swoop in and save them. In the wild, you either cut your own way out of a crisis or you died in silence, another nameless casualty of the forest.
And yet, despite knowing the odds, they refused to surrender. They were adventurers, after all. They clung to the possibility of a miracle.
Then, the miracle happened.
A low rumble shook the earth. It wasn't an earthquake; it was the rhythmic thud of footsteps. They belonged to something massive—and there wasn't just one. Three sets of heavy footsteps were rapidly approaching.
The adventurers felt a surge of hope. While an intruder was usually a nuisance during a hunt, right now, they welcomed the chaos. The Goratels were clearly unnerved by the tremors. If the pack broke formation to flee, the party could vanish into the brush.
But the Goratels didn't run. Instead, half the pack broke off to intercept the source of the noise. While the adventurers' hope for a clean escape was dashed, the fact that their immediate enemies had been cut in half was a godsend.
"Everyone, we're making it out of here alive!" the leader yelled, preparing to rejoin the fray.
He froze, however, when a massive shadow suddenly loomed over him. It hadn't come from the trees; it had plummeted from the sky. This was the source of the tremors—a towering figure over three meters tall.
The leader’s instincts told him this was something far more dangerous than a monster. He wondered if it was a member of the Giant Race, but even they weren't agile enough to leap twenty meters into the air, perform a double-twist mid-flight, and stick a dramatic landing.
The real problem was the figure’s posture. It wasn't shielding the adventurers; it was facing them. It held no weapons, but it spread its arms wide as if to block their path.
The remaining Goratels didn't wait around to see what happened next. They bolted, clearly intending to leave the humans behind as bait. The adventurers hoped the giant would give chase, but their luck had run out. Two more shadows crashed down to the left and right of the first.
It was over. These massive figures were targeting them. Despite their weight, they were faster and more agile than any human. Seeing how easily they ignored the retreating Goratels, it was clear they were in a completely different league. The adventurers braced themselves, wondering if being crushed by these giants would be any better than being eaten by monsters.
Then, the three massive shadows spoke.
"Welcome. Would you care for a cold juice?"
"We also carry a selection of hot beverages."
"Simple snacks are also available for purchase."
The Fully Autonomous Vending Machine Golem.
This was the result of everyone getting a little too excited during our recent planning meeting. To be clear, it’s still mostly in the conceptual stage.
While we were discussing the idea, the Mountain Elves' to-do list kept growing longer and longer. I eventually proposed that they focus on invention and prototyping while outsourcing mass production to Village Five. That suggestion seemed to set them on fire. Lu and Tia got caught up in the momentum and designed a new set of Autonomous Magic Stone Circuits for the golems.
Autonomous golems have been a subject of research for ages, but they were always deemed impractical due to the sheer volume of materials required. Specifically, magic stones. Apparently, you can power one with fifty-eight mana stones from Forest Rabbits.
"We’ll need three more for the balance stabilizers," Lu noted.
The count rose to sixty-one.
"Lu, even with seven stones dedicated to the core processing unit, there’s still a noticeable lag. Should we swap those out for mana stones from a Grappler Bear or a Bloody Viper?" Tia suggested.
So, that’s seven fewer rabbit stones, but we’d need high-grade stones from a bear or a viper. Kuro and Yuki are currently protesting because they think using that many magic stones is a waste of perfectly good snacks.
For now, it’s just a plan. Actually building one would occupy the Mountain Elves for at least six months, and there are still various technical hurdles to clear. Solving all of them would likely take a year of dedicated work.
...I suppose if it’s only a year, it might be worth the effort?
No, I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s a nice dream, but let's put it on the back burner for now. In the end, the performance of the actual units will probably be lower than the "ideal" vending machine I have in mind. We’ve taken suggestions from the meeting into account, like having them sell food tickets.
Still, for the very first prototype the Mountain Elves build, I’m hoping for something that functions like a proper vending machine.
My obsession with vending machines started when the Mountain Elves began tinkering with the mana stones we acquired, but the real catalyst was my visit to the Royal Capital. I was stunned by the diversity of races there. I thought I was used to it after living in the Village of the Great Tree, Village Five, and Shashato City, but the capital was on another level. Seeing so many different people living together requires a lot of coordination and effort.
I don't intend to meddle in their affairs, but one thing did catch my attention: the language barrier. Most people use the common tongue, but some races and many children only speak their native languages. This severely limits where they can go and what they can do. Shopping is a struggle for them, and they often fall victim to scams. When I heard about that, the idea of a vending machine—an impartial, automated seller—came to mind.
It’s not something I can roll out overnight, though. That’s my "official" reason for pushing the golem project.
As for the "unofficial" reason...
It’s a way to deal with the children's sudden shyness around me. Now that Alfred, Urza, and Tiselle have gone to the Academy, the younger kids have become incredibly reserved. I realized that those three were the ones who always badgered me for treats or made requests on behalf of the group. With them gone, there’s no one to bridge the gap.
Nart is the only one who still talks to me normally, but apparently her parents, Gatto and Naci, keep scolding her for being too informal. I wish they wouldn't; I don't mind at all.
Regardless, it’s not good if the kids feel like they can't ask for things. I want them to be able to get food and drinks whenever they want without feeling like they're bothering me. The Vending Machine Golem seemed like the perfect solution.
Though, if I'm being honest, it's a bit of a cop-out. Instead of relying on a machine, I should be making a better effort to engage with the children directly. I need to reflect on that and try harder.
On a side note, someone suggested selling canned goods from the Sun Castle (Village Four) in the golems. Cans are durable and can hold both food and drinks, which makes them very convenient for automated sales.
However, we ran into two problems. First, you need a can opener. Since canned food is currently only produced in Village Four, can openers aren't in wide circulation yet. They only exist in places with ties to our village. You can use a knife, but that requires skill and often messes up the food inside.
The second problem is that the sharp edges of an opened can are dangerous for children. Because of those issues, the canned food idea was rejected.