After Julius was reluctantly driven out, Helos wasted no time and headed straight for the library.
After rummaging through the shelves for a while, she really did manage to find a few books about golems.
Each one was so thick it could kill someone if dropped, but the girl still managed to haul them all back to her workshop.
She tossed the books onto the workbench, brushed the dust from her hands, and eagerly pulled off the canvas covering the golem’s remains.
“Alright — let’s see just how you’re put together.”
The covers of the books were already yellowed, clearly having gone untouched for ages.
Inside, the pages were filled with esoteric diagrams and hasty annotations.
Helos hunched over the pages, pen in hand, every now and then measuring against the golem’s chest cavity and arms.
“Hm… The golem’s drive mechanism still mainly relies on the magic circle engraved inside its body.”
“Because they lack a will of their own, they have to depend on the caster’s magic and instructions to operate.”
“As for these externally damaged limbs and armor…”
Helos glanced over the remains, tapping her chin lightly, “Remaking those parts isn’t hard. Any regular blacksmith could do it.”
“The real problem is, as expected, how to attach the remade parts and, more importantly, how to get it moving again.”
Helos straightened up, walked to the golem’s remains, and bent down to peer into the open chest cavity.
On the damaged inner wall, the remnants of magic circles could still barely be seen.
But she had no idea how these arrays actually functioned—after all, she had never possessed magic herself.
“As I thought, there’s no way I can handle this part alone…”
She muttered quietly.
So, she had no choice but to fall back on her own area of expertise.
Helos took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began leafing through Ultimate Alchemy.
Even the introductory chapters already covered an overwhelming breadth of knowledge—just a glance was enough to make her scalp tingle.
Trying to find a usable alchemical technique in this kind of knowledge repository was, as one might expect, no easy task.
But Helos had no other options; gritting her teeth, she forced herself to search, page by page, in her mind.
Time passed in silence. She didn’t know how long it took before a strange technique finally caught her eye.
[Alchemy: Reconstruction]
Helos’s pupils contracted in an instant, her gaze suddenly brightening.
The description of this alchemical technique was as concise as could be:
[Can restore damaged parts of an object, but cannot generate what is already missing.]
“Isn’t this made for it?!”
The girl couldn’t help but curl her lips, a smile almost spilling out.
As long as she could use this to repair the remains and restore its form, even if it was missing an arm or a leg, it’d be far better than a pile of scrap metal.
“Alright, I’m counting on you for step one.”
She murmured softly, slowly opening her eyes.
The light of the workshop came into view once more, and her gaze locked firmly on the golem remains standing silently before her.
Helos took a deep breath, braced her hands against the workbench, and her fingertips trembled slightly.
However, even though she’d found a solution, this was still her first time attempting “Reconstruction.” What would happen—she had no idea.
“Calm down, calm down.”
She whispered encouragement to herself.
Her gaze returned to the golem’s damaged chest, those shattered engravings and cracked metal like an unfinished puzzle radiating a sense of lifelessness.
Helos raised both hands, closed her eyes, and focused her mind.
The lines of the technique appeared sharply in her consciousness, and she muttered the key words as if reciting an incantation.
In the next instant, she felt something stir in her chest.
Alchemy danced before her eyes like lines of code.
Those arcane runes swirled around the golem, flowing along its body, transforming into invisible waves.
The fine cracks on the remains’ surface seemed to be smoothed by an unseen hand, emitting faint clicking sounds.
The fractured engraved lines within the chest gradually reconnected, the broken markings joining bit by bit.
“Did… did it work?”
Helos held her breath, as if afraid any movement might disrupt the process.
After a moment, the golem’s form finally regained much of its integrity before her eyes.
Although it still lacked a large number of external parts and some of its outer shell, those areas that should have been completely destroyed were now at least roughly intact again.
At the very least, it now looked like something.
Helos swallowed hard and collapsed into her chair.
She looked at the golem, still incomplete but much restored, and a proud smile slowly curled her lips.
“Mhm, with this, I’ve finally solved a major problem.”
Helose murmured softly, though her gaze was growing serious once more.
“But the matter of powering it… Magic is still an unavoidable hurdle.”
She slowly stood up, walked to the shelf, and took down a wooden box she hadn’t opened in ages.
With a soft click, the lid opened, and ten pure white mana cores lay quietly inside, like gems long asleep.
The girl stared for a moment, her eyes gradually filling with resolve.
“Looks like I’ll have to rely on you.”
She knew very well: if these mana cores were processed through alchemy, they could be directly embedded into the golem’s body.
In theory, they could serve as a stable source of magical power.
But a new problem arose immediately.
First, if the mana core replaced the caster in powering the golem, then who would control the golem?
Second, would her [Silent Oath] suppress this golem as well?
After careful thought, Helos decided to try anyway.
After all, even if the golem went berserk, in its current battered state it probably wouldn’t even be able to stand.
Helos relaxed a little, reaching into the box to take out a mana core.
The pure white core shimmered softly in the light, like a heart brimming with endless energy.
With a mix of anticipation and unease, the girl walked to the golem, her gaze settling on the repaired magic array deep within its chest.
“Alright, let’s give it a try.”
She murmured, gently pressing the mana core to the damaged chest.
Guided by her fingertips, Helos activated a basic technique.
[Alchemy: Fusion].
A series of halos appeared on the core’s surface, slowly seeping into the metal like liquid and gradually merging with the engraved array.
The previously dim lines within the chest lit up, as if a faint pulse was throbbing within.
“Did it work?”
Helos didn’t dare blink, staring intently at the golem.
But the engraved magic circle only flickered weakly twice, then faded into darkness again.
Helos let out a breath, her shoulders drooping.
So it wasn’t that simple after all.
She bit her lip but didn’t give up; instead, she immediately changed her approach.
To find the issue, she called up the [Analysis] technique in her mind.
In the next instant, a striking line of text appeared in her vision:
[Insufficient mana core output, and magic power is being abnormally suppressed. Please increase the power supply and try again.]
Are you sure this isnt magic?