Mutagen

Day 194 - 9:21 AM - Mountain Base, Mount Malabito, General Nakar, Province of Quezon

Two more days of arduous and meticulous adjustments and replacements, Mark finally said that the three golems were ready.

At this moment, Mark was leading the three girls into the subdimension of the Night Everred Spirit Tree. Together with them were Mei, Odelina, Jaeya, who was carrying Theodore, Emika, and the four people involved in the creation of the three golems.

The people they passed by greeted the group, being the leading figures of the base. Those greetings, however, were filled with curiosity and confusion. 

None of these people were in the know of what Mark was doing at the moment.  And even more as to why this group was gathered right now.

All they knew was that their mysterious leader was working on something.

The group soon arrived at the base of Chiyo, the Night Everred Spirit Tree, and the portal opened, welcoming them as soon as they arrived.

As usual, the portal of a Pure Spirit Tree and its subdimension was mysterious. Even though the Major Dimensions of Earth already fused, it was unaffected aside from the fact that its other side, the door that was supposed to go to the [Spirit Dimension], turned into a pitch-black portal that who knows would go where.

In the meantime, Mark told Chiyo not to open that portal in any case. After all, who knows where it would lead to or if it would have any effect on the Spirit Tree.

Entering the portal, the three girls walked first by Mark's urging. After entering the subdimension, it was the three girls who saw the things that waited inside first.

When they saw the rabbit and the dog golems, Abbygale and Miracle's eyes went wide.

Abbygale might be a [Cat Mutator], but in fact, she was quite afraid of cats and more of a dog person. It was the very same reason why she asked Mark to take Laelaps as a pet when they saw it. Her fear of cats was reasonable, though, as her hostile grandmother was a cat owner, and that very same cat bit her. To say, that cat contributed to the death of Abbygale's mother. After all, they were caught in the middle of the apocalypse while bringing Abbygale to a hospital because of that bite. Well, while a dog person, Abbygale did not seem to like wolves or any wild kind of dog for some reason.

As for Miracle, it was no news that she liked rabbits.

When the two saw the animal golems, they could not help but look at Mark. Even the calm Abbygale had her eyes filled with anticipation. They knew that Mark was making the golems for them, but they had no idea what he made them look like.

"Go on," Mark said. "Gale, the dog hybrid is called Cavall. She's yours. And Miracle, yours is the bunny, Inaba."

Getting Mark's go signal, the two little girls ran off to meet their new companions. On the other hand, it seemed that the two golems also recognized their masters without problems. Their cores absorbed the blood of the two little girls, and there was no way that they would fail in this one.

When the two girls arrived in front of their golems, the golems behaved like tamed animals. Rubbing their faces on the hands of the girls, making them even happier. It was just how Mark programmed the cores of the two. As they were modeled as animals, they should have the same behavior.

It was wonderful to see the two happy. It was even funny since Miracle was smaller than her rabbit golem. But instead of being afraid, she happily climbed up its back, 

And lastly, Iola. Given that the two animal golems were for her younger sisters, the one left was the female golem, staring at her and waiting for her to approach.

Iola could not help but look at Mark in confusion. Although she did not mind what kind of golem her father would make for her, she did not expect to make a humanoid, not to mention the golem being something cute-looking. Her crystal eyes were even more interesting to look at. Considering that her younger sisters got golems modeled after animals, it would not be surprising for hers to be the same.

"What's wrong?"

Mei asked, seeing Iola's confused looks.

"Why a beautiful girl?"

Iola asked, making everyone turn to Mark. In the first place, no one knew why she chose a humanoid and something that looked too human. Not to mention, the golem, although she was not as beautiful as Mei and the other good-looking people in the base, she had some sort of surreal cuteness in her appearance. Maybe it was her crystal eyes, but it was kind of hard to pinpoint the reason.

That aside, the golem was also wearing something akin to french maid clothing, but just not made of cloth but metal.

And as Mark was questioned, Mark shrugged as he patted Iola's head.

"Don't you like that old anime where girls turn into weapons?" Mark said. "You even rewatched a few episodes yesterday."

At those words from Mark, Iola's confusion in her eyes turned into sparkles as she turned towards her golem in anticipation.

"Really?"

Iola turned back to Mark, asking for confirmation.

"Well, it's not as magical as the anime," Mark replied. "Also, not just a weapon. Maybe we can call it more a power armor instead."

Hearing Mark's reply, Iola followed her younger sisters and approached her own golem. Even the mature Iola could not hide her excitement, hearing what her golem was.

"Even if she's mature, she's still a child."

Odelina said, looking at Iola. Mark and Mei could only agree. Sometimes, it made the two worried about Iola. Keeper's memories made her too mature for her age. It kept her away from interacting too much with other children. Seeing her behave like a child of her age was refreshing.

Iola approached her golem. The two stared at each other. As the golem recognized her master, she bowed slightly, as a servant would do.

Then, Iola realized.

"Papa! What's her name!"

Iola called out something that Mark did not tell her yet.

With that excited tone, everyone in the group could not help but smile. Iola did not even realize how she was behaving at the moment.

The group approached.

"Brynhildr," Mark answered Iola's question. "It might be quite hard to pronounce. You can also call her Hild."

"Hild?"

Iola said, looking at her golem. And in response, Brynhildr looked at Iola, lilting her head. It made Iola pretty confused, though.

"That's how she asks if you need something," Mark said. "Unfortunately, we haven't found any [Magic Circuit] for voice emulation, so she can't speak. It's the same for Inaba and Cavall. But not being able to make noises can't affect their capabilities."

Mark then patted Brynhildr's shoulder and spoke to Iola.

"Aside from being a weapon, you can treat her as your personal servant. You can do simple stuff for you like carrying things."

Iola listened to Mark. But in her expression, she was more eager to hear about Brynhildr being a weapon.

"Wanna try it out?"

Mark asked, knowing what Iola wanted.

And in response, Iola nodded fiercely.

Mark shrugged as he made the rest of the group stand back. Abbygale and Miracle also joined in with their new pets tagging beside them. As it looked, there was no need to teach the two how to handle their golems. It was like taking care of pets, anyway. Just more intelligent than regular animals, however, and were capable of understanding human commands.

In front of everyone, Brynhildr and Iola stood, waiting for Mark's instructions.

"Iola, tell her [Execute 3]. Then stand on the stepping plates and place your hands on her back where the shoulder plates should be."

Mark told Iola.

Iola was confused about the stepping plates that Mark mentioned as she could not see one. However, she still followed Mark's instructions.

"[Execute 3]." 

Iola commanded Brynhildr.

At the given command, Brynhildr made her move. The female golem seemed to have kneeled down. However, it was not just simple kneeling. From her knee to her foot, it began transforming. Plates of metal moved around, opening her calves and revealing a pair of flat plates.

Here, Iola understood that it was the stepping plate that Mark mentioned. And as instructed, Iola stepped on the plates and placed her hands on Brynhildr's back.

But then, nothing happened. It made Iola turn to Mark once more.

"[Form Valkyrie]."

Mark said.

Copying Mark, Iola said the same.

"[Form Valkyrie]."

And as Iola gave the command, Brynhild transformed.

Iola panicked a bit as both her hands were suddenly stuck as the shoulder plates deformed.

"Don't move," Mark said. "It's part of the process. Just let it move and follow."

Hearing Mark's voice, Iola stopped struggling. She then let Brynhildr move her hands, arms, and even feet.

Everyone watched the spectacle that only Mark had seen before. Even the four that helped in making the golems did not see this one as Mark kept it secret. Not even Annica that was helping see the [Magic Circuits] work. All she saw were the parts and not the testing.

Before their eyes, the female golem, Brynhildr, transformed. They noticed that her entire body was turning inside out. Some of the mechanisms even folded and flipped, revealing her hollow inside.

Finally, Brynhildr's face split into two, moving towards the side like a sliding door.

At the process of transformation, Iola's body appeared to be being encased into Brynhildr. Her arms and legs became Brynhildr's too.

By the time she realized, she was wearing the very same golem that kneeled in front of her like a high-tech mechanical armor.

And as finishing touches, Iola's face fitted into Bryhildr's head that turned into a helmet.

The process lasted about thirty seconds. In the end, everyone was looking at Iola, who now looked like a mechanical valkyrie, holding a sword.

Iola could not help but feel strange and excited at the same time.

Moving her hands, or rather, the mechanical hands that did not belong to her, it felt odd. Even more strange was that even though she was wearing what was supposed to be a heavy thing, she was not feeling anything at all. It was as if the new armor was nothing but an extension of her body.

"How does it feel?"

Mark asked as he approached.

"I feel odd."

Iola replied.

"Well, it's the first time you used it," Mark smiled. "You will get used to it with practice."

Then, Mark added.

"Remember the command? [Form Valkyrie]? In this form, you can float about a foot above the ground. The speed is not that fast, though. Also you can only fly for a minute for the whole day. Power is quite a problem. Still, why not try it?"

"How?"

Iola asked.

"Just think of it. The helmet you wear right now should be able to sense your mental signals and send them to the core. If you need to command Hild in this form, just say it with your mind."

Iola nodded and thought of floating.

And as her thoughts were transmitted, several clear plates extended behind her back and released light.

This scene was quite familiar to Ilia and Chimetrice. It was the very same circuit that made their floating vessel fly.

There, Iola could be seen hovering from the ground. It just lasted some time, however, as Iola almost lost balance and fell to the ground.

Mark created an amazing thing for Iola, but it would take some practice and effort to fully utilize it.

Everyone surrounded Iola, looking at Mark's unique work. At the same time, Miracle and Abbygale asked if their golems could do the same. Unfortunately, there were dejected when Mark said no.

In the first place, the two were already above human standards in terms of physical abilities. Making them similar golems would just hinder them instead.

However, their dejection did not last long as Mark taught them the other capabilities of their golems.