AT-1 Skeleton

[18:04] Acantho says, "0C."
[18:04] Acantho says, "Bring the other golems."
[18:04] Acantho says, "We will have work to do."
[18:05] Acantho says, "Meet me at the last floor once you do find them."
[18:05] 3-A-0C says, "Understood; they should be in the plaza."
[18:07] 3-A-0C says, "Subject 'Acantho'."
[18:07] 3-A-0C says, "It has collected unit 'ME'."
[18:07] 2-A-ME says, "This unit has arrived."
[18:07] 3-A-0C says, "It would now request further details."
[18:16] "Ah, there you are... Well, come on.. We have work to do." The man spoke approaching the innermost areas of the Vault - where there were huge spaces.

Used to allocate golems.

In these areas there was equipment that kept the structures suspended above more areas underground. Future expansions would give more access there, but for now that's what they needed.

Countless drones were in place, as well as crates of materials that were carried by them. Things that they would certainly be using at that moment - for another project that now, the scientist would offer details.

"At some time ago, we were venturing into the depths of a volcano, they called me crazy because we done it - but through such an act it was possible to extract a nucleus, a core.

The Heart of the Volcano.

As potent an energy source as you can possibly think of, one that could power cities based on the use of magitech.. For generations to come, perhaps even more." The man's speech was tired, as usual - but held a certain seriousness, "But, it's not for that's what we're going to use.. No, no! Do you know why?

Because we will use it in AT-1: Atlas.. The Animunculi Titan, the greatest feat I'll probably accomplish in this lifetime, so far. A being so great, that the mere mention of his name will strike fear into the hearts of those who stand in our way." Concluding his speech, he gestured towards the machinery.

Frames to build on.

"And you two, well, you will help me in the beginning of this.. To build the initial skeleton of this structure." With that said, he already got the blueprints.. Yeah, it would be a tiring afternoon or evening.

He didn't know the current time, he hadn't been out of the Vault for weeks.
(Acantho)
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[18:17] {Item} You drop Harnessed Heart Of The Volcano.
[18:19] {Item} You picked up Harnessed Heart Of The Volcano. Dropped by Acantho..
[18:25] The older construct was well-aware of the Heart, having been on the expedition to retrieve it in the first place, alongside ME's seldom-seen cousin, Kindness. The goal to create a super-weapon such as this was something it was also aware of, although little work has been put into it since their first trip into Vdalion's volcano.

Well, until now.

"Understood. Allow it view the blueprints and it can make suggestions based on what is written. The scale of the creation may require use of spatial-manipulation to bypass the square-cube law, the techniques detailed in text 'Book of Tricks' likely to be the most appropriate for the project."

Perhaps Acantho was still aware of that old book, possibly still in the hands of his son, Claude, as well as within the data-vaults of 0C themselves. It was, in essence, a tome providing information on how to create a pocket dimension, a defiance of space that could greatly assist the weight issues insuch a large work of machinery.

Components could be stored within spatial pockets and connected out from there to the rest of the Titan, cutting down weight and hollow space requirements in the final product.

It was a decent enough suggestion.
(3-A-0C)
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[18:50] The Golem stared at the man as he spoke- it's retina examining it's surroundings occasionally. The drones did catch the Golem's eye from time to time- though, they were unimportant compared to the task at hand, it seemed.

The Golem's hues stared at the man a little as he spoke- before speaking up on it's own accord.

"This unit is unsure if it will be very helpful at the moment. However; It is willing to offer as much assistance as it can." The Golem simply stated, it's monotonous voice ringing true throughout the vault. Ever unchanging. Ever neutral.

"Akin to what unit 3-A has stated, this unit will try to make suggestions. Though, unit 3-A is far more efficient at such matters currently."

The Golem would then make a small noise- perhaps taking as much information about the new Golem's, well, 'concept' as it could. This was a monumental occasion, after all. It wouldn't turndown the chance to assist with another Golem's creation- whether anyone knew that or not.
(2-A-ME)
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[18:57] "Mm? Well then, let's use the idea of 0C." The Director spoke, before then clapping twice.

Drones were deployed in droves, creatures small, large and of various shapes - flying overhead and scurrying around. Metallic plates, alloys and other parts were put together by them.. Most made from Mythril, but there would also be adamantite ones - for extra.

These pieces would then begin to be erected in the place ahead of Acantho.. And so, construction began.

"What I'll need you to do, ME, is to place the materials together with the Drones - put them in position and help me secure everything in place.

We'll be building a skeleton.. A metallic, giant one.

The basis for future parts of this project, which will need the participation of everyone in Final Frontier." The being informed, while gesturing for 0C to approach - "Here." And so the blueprints were delivered to the construct.

As requested.

In this there were details of the construction, the size.. Well, titanic! While the list of materials reached a thousand, therefore, they would use a good part of the huge stock of resources they had at the moment.. Which could be quite troublesome, but also useful.

If the project went well.

"We will have several parts for this.. The first is this, after it we will make the systems.. Runic system that is, together with the circuits! After that we will work upon the plating that I intend to..

Runify, with the powers of 0C and Surtyr, referring to Ymir - to make it well, divine in some manner." The man gave some details, little extra comments on the subject of the project.
(Acantho)
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[19:08] "Affirmative, this unit can assist with this effectively." The Golem said- with zero hesitation in it's voice. A machine through and through. It knew what it was and wasn't capable of. This, was something it could do. Relatively well, in fact.

"This unit shall begin to assist whenever it is truly required."

The Golem would then pay a small amount of attention to the drones- it's retina paying close attention to the work being done. Here and there, the large behemoth would step in- assisting with lifting pieces of metal, and securing them in place when the drones could not do it themselves.

Occasionally, the Golem's eyes seemed to gleam with mana- assisting with welding or molding the metal whenever it needed to- interweaving metals, moving and placing them whenever they needed to be placed- you name it. The Golem was there, ready and waiting.
(2-A-ME)
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[19:11] The construct marches forward to one of the two large-scale construction grounds found in the Vault, a large, vertical space descending down into the depths beneath their home. In truth, projects at this scale were less involved for the main artificers, the majority of the physical work performed by the various construction drones buzzing about the area.

They simply needed to be guided, directed by superior minds such as those present.

The constructs focus shifts back to the blueprint, inspecting in minute detail the diagram given to it. A breath later and it begins making adjustments, optimizing the structure of the skeletal system. A solid core of Adamantite with the main structure composed of Mythril would be best for the Titan.

As today's project was focused only on creating the frame, the rest of the blueprint remained untouched once it passed it back down to Acantho.

"It has made some modifications to the structure of the frame. This should improve efficiency by at least 12.7%, by its own calculations."

Once that was done, it would assist in directing the drones, organizing them into small fleets to rotate in and out of the work area. A personal touch was added to various parts, a small inscribing here of a hymn, a tiny bit of runic formula there to reinforce a specific load-bearing joint, among other flourishes of Artificing it could perform in person rather than the drones.
(3-A-0C)
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[19:19] Acantho's main focus at the moment was on guiding most of the Drones. Being his creator this machinery was an extension of him and his will, so.. They worked as he wished! Following every command..

Every single desire.

And so he did what was expected and made them build, doing most of the work for them.. Frames allocated, starting from the torso of this giant - this one was huge as expected, but would give access to the next parts, which should be legs and arms and finally head.

But first, the torso was made.. Yes, yes.

Parts allocated, screwed and soldered, hydraulic mechanisms and others already being made, in order to speed up the process and facilitate their work in the future - yet well, it was far from over. But at least, the changes from 0C - as well as his help, and also from ME - made this step much easier.

So they might just spend some good hours there!

"This whole situation reminds me of when I made my first animunculi!

But.. He wasn't a giant. And he didn't.. Well! It did not requrie a volcano core to power it. And he.. Was not a weapon of mass destruction." His comments echoed through the Vault.

Along with construction sounds.

"Good times, apart from the parts where I was watching my friends become bug food and well, almost the same thing happened to me." He shrugged as he continued to command his drones around.
(Acantho)
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[19:26] The Golem continued to work- even as Acantho spoke. It did not see any real way it could involve itself in his conversation, as it seemed more like the man was talking primarily to help time transpire a little quicker. Or, he was reminiscing. Whatever the case may be; the Golem did not feel as if it could add too much to the conversation.

So, it didn't.

Instead, the Golem focused more on the skeleton it was helping to construct- it's large palms helping hold various bits of it in place, such as it's shoulders- or anything else that may be required. The drones were doing most of the work here- though, occasionally, ME did seem to improve some aspects of the skeleton that the drones themselves wouldn't have particularly scratched upon.

The Golem was focused...
Though, perhaps a bit too focused. It was awfully dull!
(2-A-ME)
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[19:29] The work continues on, the sounds of industry echoing through the vault, the screech of metal against metal, the drilling of plates together, the searing sparks of welded Mythril, and, now, the voice of Acantho as they recount their first experience creating the Animunculi.

A time before 0C, a time when they were making Asphalt, one of the many that fell into inactivity. The work at this stage was mostly handled by the drones, labor done with minimal physical involvement from the three, save for ME.

But, speaking of the first Animunculi, it does propose a question.

"Query. Why did you first decide to take up this craft? The art is evidently unpopular within continent 'Meranthe'. As of yet, you are the only one capable of creating drones such as this. What research did you perform to do so?

Additionally, what was the origin of unit 'Asphalt's' core? It theorized that the cores of later models were based on that original design, although it has not performed a detailed inspection of their core."

The golden construct continues to work as it proposes its questions, dividing the work of directing the drones with Acantho and assisting in the necessary runework. It was mostly interested in Asphalt's core, however. There were many things unique about the first Animcunuli, but the core itself was distinct from the mass-produced versions found in 2-A models based off elemental crystals.
(3-A-0C)
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[19:49] Work continued and as they completed the torso of the massive frame, they would now begin work on the arms.. Which were done from the shoulder and down, much less work than the torso, but extensive as expected.

Meanwhile the speech.

"There was a time, years ago, where in Aphros there were those who worked in this art, I heard stories and as time passed my aptitude for it was demonstrated.

So much so that I started working alone.. Using knowledge around.

Besides my own notion about runes and all that. I began experimenting until I managed to create my drone, it almost exploded - but was good enough.

And the why to create? Because..

I had nothing better to do and wanted to laugh in the face of the church and Oracle, who never gave me a position as researcher leader of Aphros - even after all my support and accomplishments." The explanation was given, as the work went on - "And the used core was found in a ruin, one in the middle of the dark lands near aphros - where I practiced a little archeology..

It was never my focus, though. Regardless, the core had some connection to the stars - quite the thing." He shrugged briefly, before relapsed into silence.

As they went, with the help of the two they were almost finished with the arms. Which then would leave them only the legs and finally the head to work upon - the frame of these at least.
(Acantho)
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[19:59] Once its initial queries have been answered, it proposes one more, continuing to work as it speaks, correcting some misplacements of section join 7B and 7C, conducting some on-the-fly rewritings of the orders given to that particular fleet of drones.

"The core itself for unit 'Asphalt'; could it be reclaimed and studied further? In addition, now that we have an abundance of organics within the settlement, have you decided on a date for your lessons?"

The core seemed to be quite valuable, allowing it to waste away within an Animunculi that has largely lost sapience would be an undesired outcome for its use. The topic of the classes is something the construct was keenly interested in, as well. It has been integrating more and more of the art into its systems, its artificing methods, as time passed, based off modifications it made to its own components as well the drones.

Perhaps there was still more to learn before it could trulybe called a 'Golemcrafter', but it has made quite a bit of progress thus far. Its own fleet of drones could be produced and brought with it, preferred over borrowing the ones Acantho had created.

Drones continue to work, as directed, slowly assembling their Titan's frame as the clock ticks forward, hours passing as the project advances.
(3-A-0C)
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[20:04] Continuing to listen to the two converse, the Golem continued to assist the drones. They appeared to be discussing times long since passed- which, whilst the Golem was very fascinated with, the Golem could not really involve itself with all the same.

So, it remained quiet- and merely soaked in the information it was given. It's large arms, eventually, left the frame's arms- and instead moved to the legs, where it then began to focus a little more. The legs required a little bit more of it's attention to function- what, with it being so massive and all.

To help assist with diverting the large amount of weight the Golem was going to inevitably distribute, it would focus on using strong, yet flexible metals- such as Mythril- and then helped layer any other metals atop it in order to improve it's structural integrity.

This was proving to be a valuable experience for the Golem.
(2-A-ME)
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[20:13] "The Asphalt unit is still active, however dormant - to study it we would have to dismantle him, this would not be very ethical." And that only came up when he spoke of his animunculi, because..

When he threw his own children into chasm, this wasn't an issue. It was a matter of importance apparently, the animunculi were above the biological offspring of Acantho - speaking of such, he did miss them, they could be of use now.

These bastard creature! Oh well.. Something not to worry about now..

Focus!

Now, with the arms completed, they left for the legs! Which, like the arms, started from the waist and went down.. Something done in conjunction with the ME work, animunculi which was quite quiet - could it be that it had a defect?

Something Acantho should have to check to at some point.

"Yes, I already have a date decided, but I keep forgetting to notify it to the tohers - especially with the last health issues I'vehad.

Flu is a bad thing, even for us magi." A sigh was released, even so he focused.. He wanted to finish this soon so he could rest.

Something necessary for someone his age.
(Acantho)
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[20:17] "Noted. It has no further questions."

Now that its curiosity was sated, it returns to simply focusing on assisting Acantho in their own work, the drones continuously directed in sequence with its creator, rotating them out like clockwork as they deliver parts to ME to shape and then fly them back down to be installed.

It was a long, tedious affair, but when working at such a scale as this, it was to be expected. The progress they've been making, however, was nothing to scoff at, a massive frame of polished Mythril glinting off the green lightning arcing behind them.

They need only complete the 'skull' of their Titan and then they could call this stage a success.
(3-A-0C)
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[20:25] The Golem had, as one could imagine, zero questions of it's own. It was merely... quiet. Calm. Consistent. It was dedicated to it's work at the moment, given that the subjects at hand didn't concern it too much.

That, and 3-A was asking all the questions it would've asked anyways.

With the legs nearing completion, the Golem saw to it that the skull was focused on next- with it's large hands moving to grab various metals, and assist in expanding the 'spine' of the Golem- creating a perfect mantle piece for the future Golem's skull.

It was tedious- but, it helped with fitting the final, and most important, piece of the puzzle, aside from the core itself.
(2-A-ME)
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[20:36] After a long time, finally the legs were completed and then, they left for the last touches.. In this case, the skull. Which, like the other parts, were made from mythril - handpicked material due to its resistance and malleability.

Perfect for a project this size.

The head was certainly the most complicated part, if one didn't take into account the torso - because space was opened inside, for future runic systems and other things to be allocated - that would allow certain functionalities to this entity.

Something needed, as this was an advanced animunculi.

The process took all of Acantho's attention, so much so that he didn't say anything else at that moment - focus was total on the moment as required. Until, after much effort, the skull was finally completed - with space for eyes, a frame for the 'brain' and everything else.

Perfect.

With the head completed.. Well, at last the huge frame was done! Ready for the next additions, which would come in the future - for now, they could rest.

Indeed.

Surely everyone is tired, even the Golems! That should recharge their batteries, "Alright, that will be enough for now! Thank you both for your participation, this project is of great importance and your help is needed.

With that, we're a few steps closer to my goal." The man stated, before turning and walking away - heading to his armchair.

Time.. To rest.

"If you don't need to say anything, I'll.. take a nap now." Therefore, silence would reign after that - as the drones moved to their bays.

That step is over, finally!
(Acantho)
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[20:37] 3-A-0C says, "Task complet and, understood."
[20:37] 3-A-0C says, "It is good to finally make progress on this long-standing project."
[20:37] 2-A-ME says, "This unit agrees."
[20:37] 3-A-0C says, "It will be returning to the plaza."