In July 1997, a game was released in Japan.
This game, created by Brom Software, known for developing the sequel “Black Soul,” hit the market with the intense catchphrase: “This body desires struggle. Primitive memories, steel prison.” It introduced a new genre — the mechanic action game — that was unheard of at the time.
The game’s structure was simple.
Players became mercenary pilots of giant robotic mech weapons, completing missions, earning money, and purchasing new parts to build their own robots.
However…
It was a minor genre of mechanic action games.
The control interface was complex.
There were complicated proper nouns.
With every condition that a difficult game should meet, many people thought this game would obviously fail.
But it survived.
Becoming a beacon of hope for the rare mechanic game genre, its complex controls turned into a challenging element, and its convoluted terminologies became its unique identity, securing a small but solid fanbase of dedicated users.
Eventually, it spawned six numbered series and, including side games, a total of 16 series, making it a substantial income source for Brom Software.
This is the hope of mechanic games,
Satisfying the “masculine dream” of countless men,
And after 25 years, proving that the spring of mechanics has arrived with over 3 million sales.
That game is “Metal Core.”
I first encountered this “Metal Core” while translating its Korean version, “Metal Core 3.”
Falling in love with the sight of heavy robots moving, I ignited the “masculine dream” and dove into the game.
After clearing all the missions, acquiring various parts, and challenging the arena while building my own robot, I finally arrived at the meta of “extreme lightweight blow.”
The meta involved maneuvering the lightest Metal Core possible to approach and finish the game with a single “File Bunker.”
Naturally, it was fast due to extreme lightweight engineering, but with the defense drastically lowered, getting grazed meant death.
But that was okay.
I was also someone who had joined the “Panty Squad” in “Dragon Hunt” and “Black Soul.”
The attacks from hefty robots were just too slow for me.
…Only in my younger, greener past life, though.
Getting back to the point, the moment I saw the piloted golem at the Magic Fair, I felt it was destiny.
It was my fate to create “Metal Core” in this other world.
*
“So, you bought that to create something called ‘Metal Core’?”
Sylvia said while looking at the Mark Boltrushian Alterion No. 12 golem in the outer warehouse of the Irene School.
When I mentioned I wanted to buy the “Mark Boltrushian Alterion” at the Magic Fair, the mage who created it, Tetric Rubel, told me:
“This is not for sale. There are still many issues to resolve. I want to receive investment to complete this.”
“Then I’ll invest!!”
He took a step back at my words.
It seemed he was flustered, having never seen such a reaction before.
It reminded me of my old engineering student days.
“O…oh… so suddenly!? It’s a bit strange for you to say this, but may I ask your reason for wanting to invest?”
“Because I like golems (robots)!!!!”
In front of me was a golem being operated by a person! Mechanics!! Robots!!!
It would be unmanly to let this pass by.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I expressed my true feelings, and Tetric, seemingly moved to tears, responded, his afro hair shaking.
“Oh! You seem to know a thing or two!!! I’ll accept!”
“Since it’s come to this, let’s do the research in our city! Hahaha!!!”
“Oh! Thank you so much!!!!”
Thus, I returned to Irene Land with Tetric and the “Alterion.”
Reflecting on the past, I cautiously said to Sylvia.
“Well… I actually said I’d invest.”
“100 billion gold, I assume?”
“Yes…”
“In one payment, right…”
“That’s correct…”
At that moment, Sylvia shot me a piercing look sharper than ever.
And rightly so.
100 billion gold is no small amount, even for the wealthy, especially since I already splashed 100 billion gold for the new game school support project.
Our school’s finance minister was less than pleased with this sudden spending spree.
“Did Sora or Irene say anything?”
“Well, Sylvia…”
“Sylvia, the thing is…”
The two of them were initially negative.
But the moment they hopped onto the “Alterion,” their expressions changed.
Understanding the fun of the piloted robot, they enjoyed the golem for 30 minutes, and by the end, they promised to discuss it with Sylvia when it came time to sign.
“It looked awesome…”
“It seemed fun…”
In other words, both my master and Sora ultimately fell for the fun.
Sylvia rubbed her temples as if she was getting a headache.
“Really, it’s been ages since I’ve had a headache. So, besides game development data, what else will this piloted golem be used for? Combat? Or construction?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet…”
“…………”
“Come on! Just joking! Once it’s completed, it will definitely be useful for combat and construction, just like you mentioned, Sylvia!! Of course!!!”
Golems can typically only be summoned and manufactured by wizards.
Plus, since they consume a lot of magical energy, they weren’t suitable for large-scale operations like imagined robots.
However, if we solve all this, it could become an industrial magical tool, akin to an excavator.
I definitely didn’t think of this on the spot.
Sylvia, looking at me, sighed as if I couldn’t be helped.
“Haah… Fine. Since this is Yuren’s project, I believe it’ll yield some good results. Just please consult me before you invest such a large sum next time. Got it?”
“Got it! Thanks! Sylvia, I love you.”
Smooch! Smooch!
I hugged Sylvia and gave her a kiss filled with sincerity.
Her cheeks turned red like it did on our first kiss while she avoided my gaze, saying:
“Uh… Really! Only at times like this♡”
Personally, I love how flustered Sylvia gets from this unexpected skinship.
Breathing in her scent, I remembered a saying I learned from an unknown married senior in my past life.
‘It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission,’ thank you very much!
*
Tetric Rubel
At the age of 26, boasting black afro hair, glasses, and dark skin, he is known as an eccentric golem mage in the Magus Society of the Yura Republic.
Since childhood, he has had strange dreams.
They were of a world made of glass and white stones.
In this place that resembled a future city, there were steel golems.
The golem, appearing to be made of steel, was not of one or two types.
Some were human-sized while others were as large as mountains.
Some had lions etched into their chests, while others held guns in their hands.
The commonality was that all of them were piloted by people and fought against enemies to protect them.
After repeatedly dreaming that dream as a child, Tetric developed a passion.
It was to create that steel golem from his dreams with his own hands.
However, realizing that dream was not easy.
Research on golems had mostly concluded at that time.
Golems originally began with the moving stone dolls created by demons.
The demons would create golems by processing the souls of deceased kin to make magical cores.
But souls are the essence of life and self.
They couldn’t be easily processed, nor should they be.
In the end, mages created faux souls resembling their own to make magical cores.
Of course, the performance was vastly inferior to that of golem monsters, and they would stop functioning if far from the caster.
Fortunately, magical engineering runestones allowed for a bit of autonomy, so they could function without the caster, but many issues remained.
First, the larger the size, the exponentially more magical energy it consumed.
A small one could last for a day, but at human size, it would only last half an hour.
With a standard slime-based magical core, it would expend all power in 30 minutes.
Also, to perform movements similar to humans, a lot of joints were necessary.
The problem was that creating such intricate bodies from metal would cost an exorbitant amount.
This limited current golem development to a magical servant roughly the size of a 3-year-old child.
To create a piloted steel golem, Tetric spent over a decade conducting research.
He rebuilt the theoretical framework for golem magical cores and created a piloted golem of a manageable size.
In the process, over ten prototypes were developed, and after ten years, he created the Mark Boltrushian Alterion No. 12, a piloted golem about 3 meters tall, operational for around 30 minutes.
“This is the history of the Mark Boltrushian Alterion No. 12’s development so far.”
“So, the rise of magical consumption with size and body design is currently the biggest hurdle.”
“Oh! Indeed, it is. To allow for a human pilot, a certain amount of space is needed, but increasing the size drastically raises magical consumption. Conversely, if it gets smaller, a human can’t fit.”
“Then let’s first tackle the problems at hand.”
Hearing Tetric’s words, I contemplated the future development plans.
The issues to resolve felt monumental.
But conversely, solving these could lead to the creation of robots.
Robots I could pilot!!!
When my enthusiasm erupted, Julia quietly raised her hand.
“Hey, Yuren, I have a question.”
“What is it, Julia?”
“Must we really hold the meetings behind this black glass?”
We were currently in a circular conference room.
Thick curtains were drawn, darkening the space, with a black glass panel marked with numbers in front of attendees.
“Golem (robot) meetings are simply done this way.”
“Oh! That’s right, Julia, it’s the norm.”
“I’ve never heard of that norm!!!”
There’s an old saying that goes:
If one person does something strange, it’s ‘anomaly,’
But if two people do it, it’s ‘norm.’
We were the two people.
