The resulting golem looked nothing like Theo had expected. The golem had remained in a humanoid form for only a few moments before shifting. It had instead taken on the shape of a large metallic cone, with the lodestone the alchemist had embedded inside resting on the top. He took a few tentative steps through the main gate and did his best to determine if the machine would either explode or lash out at him at any moment. When nothing happened, he came closer, running his hands over the surface and looking up at the 20-foot height of his creation.

"What is that?" Zephyr asked, getting closer and tilting his head from side to side as though a new angle would give him new insights. "Did you make a building? I thought you were making a golem to help me defend this place."

The Golem rumbled. A fire was visible within the structure itself. There were gaps here and there, but Theo couldn't make out anything that was happening inside. He could only see the light.

"I was trying to make a Golem, but this is something different," he said, pressing his hands against the warm surface again and summoning the system message.

[Celestial Metal Golem Hive]

[Alchemy Construct]

Level 500

Golem Hives function as production and control points for golems. The hive may produce and control a number of golems based on the imbued willpower of the creator. Created golems may be constructed from any metal material.

Containment Core: [Alchemically Treated Azrugium Cage]

Medium: Unobtinium

Alchemy Slates: [Evolved Mana Construct]

Power System: [Atmospheric Siphoning (adaptive)]

Siphon System: Adaptive Native Siphoning

Additional Modifications: [Fire Construct], [Hive System], [Signaling Lodestone]

Theo stood dumbstruck as he read and reread the description of the golem he had created. There was too much information to process at once. The most important thing to note was that it had changed itself to be something entirely new instead of being a regular golem. It had become a hive that was cause for concern, but the prefix on the name was even more concerning. It was "celestial." Seeing as the most advanced golem he had crafted so far was a Greater Golem, this was a big deal.

"It evolved the mana system I gave it," Theo said, scratching his head. "I didn't know it could do that. Creating the mana siphoning system is a pain in the ass, so we typically don't do it."

"Sounds like a good thing to me," Zephyr said, having obviously inspected the golem. "It says here it can make little baby golems. That's pretty cool. You guys got a big pile of metal I can borrow?”

"I think it's drawing from some reserve metal inside it, but yeah, I've got a whole stack of ingots it can use."

The alchemist dug through his inventory and took whatever metal he had been holding onto. He found a spot on the hive that was clearly made to accept ingots and tossed everything inside. That caused the hive to seethe with magical flames. Tresk was somewhere nearby, watching from behind something solid as the hive did its work. Theo observed everything the hive did, making note of the magical and physical forces going on within. He was certain. It was making a golem.

“Make some space,” Theo said, gesturing to the front of the hive. The metal was parting, making way for a fresh golem.

Lumbering from within, a golem stumbled out into the courtyard of the castle. It was a lot bigger than Theo had expected, coming in at half the height of the hive itself. He approached it without fear, placing his hand on the newly created golem and inspecting it.

[Celestial Alloy Golem Soldier]

[Alchemy Construct]

Level 250

Metal golems are excellent at combat. Hive Soldiers are bound to their hive and are able to operate in an area around the hive based on the associated willpower. When low on power, or too damaged to operate, this golem will return to the hive for maintenance.

Containment Core: [Alchemically Treated Drogramathi Iron Cage]

Linked Hive: Unnamed Hive 01

Status: Awaiting Orders

Even at half the level of the Hive, this soldier golem would be a force to be reckoned with. Theo read through the description, noting the differences between normal golems and it. There was no mention of a power system or other modifications. It simply declared that it was linked to the Hive and that it was awaiting orders. The alchemist reached out to the Hive itself, imparting something of a series of instructions. He wanted the Hive to manage the area in a defensive capacity. He didn't want to have to give it a series of finite instructions, instead preferring that the Hive make the decisions for him. Were his suspicions true? The golem, which had just been created, stood at attention for a moment and then lumbered towards the main gate. The high level of the Hive itself meant that it could make rational decisions on its own, perhaps bordering on some kind of sentience.

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“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Tresk asked, coming up alongside Theo and slapping his butt.

“Yep. Golem army,” Theo said with a nod. “Infinite golem army, if we set it up right.”

“You two planning to take over the world?” Zephyr asked with a nervous chuckle. “I think that goes against my orders.”

“Nah, we already have two worlds. Don’t need another,” Tresk said. “What we do need is a way to make up for Fenian’s lacking presence. Homie just up and leaves, so now we have to replicate his combat prowess.”

Theo looked back to the hive, almost feeling a sense of recognition from it. “Think you can do it?” he asked, imparting some of his will on the hive. He felt it send back a confirmation. “I asked the hive to produce various troops, not just the big lumbering golem-style ones.”

"Oh sweet, my platonic life partner is talking to a chunk of sentient metal," Tresk said. "Sounds like a light novel title."

"At least it isn't sapient," Theo said. "It's more like some kind of artificial intelligence. I don't really know how far it goes, but this would be very interesting to experiment with. I didn't even expect the hive to appear, but I think it can work on a versatile number of platforms for the resulting golems."

"Yeah, but what if it becomes sapient?" Zephyr asked. "I feel like you're the kind of guy who doesn't think before he does stuff. You need to consider the implications. Does this thing have a finite power source? I know it has a finite amount of resources, but is it possible this thing could go off on its own and find metal to self-replicate infinitely?"

At that moment, Theo realized that Zephyr was a man who had seen war. He was a member of the Warriors of the Shard and had fought Kuzan back in the day. This revealed that during Elrin's time, they dealt with world-ending scenarios such as this. The one thing that set this apart was that Theo's will over the hive was absolute. The hive couldn't do anything that was outside of his willpower, which was, in a way, a reflection of the alchemist himself. He thought of it mostly like a copy of his desires and motives, but it was still something important to consider before creating an infinite army of golems.

Theo slipped his will into the hive yet again, setting definite restrictions.

“Those are valid concerns,” Theo said. “I’m putting… what would you call it? Rules. I’m putting rules into the hive that I doubt it can disobey.”

“Good idea,” Zephyr said with a wink. “As much as I love the Terminator movies, I’d rather not see them become reality.”

The group watched as the hive produced 10 soldiers over an hour. They varied in size and function, ranging from the hulking form of regular golems to ones that were far more delicate. Each one had a role in combat, from scouts to guards, but they were all similarly linked to the hive through a strand of willpower. The smile that spread across Zephyr's face when the hive plunged metal tendrils into the ground was annoying, but Theo had to recognize the man's foresight.

"It's going underground to find metal," Theo explained, "which means you were 100% correct, Zephyr."

"I know I am. You don't have to blow smoke up my ass about it. The checks you put in that thing will prevent it from replicating infinitely, right?"

Theo nodded. "I gave it a maximum number of golems and a range in which it could operate. It can only do actions that help it defend this location. If it goes outside of that protocol, it's supposed to recycle the soldiers it has created. And most importantly, notify me."

Tresk clapped her hands together, gaining the attention of the others. "So what applications are we thinking of? A general defense force for remote locations or a primary fighting force on the mortal plane? Come on, I want ideas.”

Theo cupped his chin, thinking about the best use for this thing. Tresk was right on the money when she said it would be best used to defend remote locations. In a place like Broken Tusk, they wouldn't need an army of golems. Well, they already had an army of golems and the incidences of attacks had reduced to almost zero. Instead, he wanted to put one in each throne room, including the one in Khahak.

“I want one in every throne room,” Theo said. “And any other remote location we’ll need to defend.”

Tresk scratched her chin as she thought. “What about Leon’s place?”

“I don’t think so,” Theo said. “Something tells me he won’t appreciate these things.”

“Speaking of… How strong are they?” Tresk asked.

Theo sent a mental signal to the hive. One golem, the smaller and faster ones, turned to Tresk and raised its bladed arms. “You can kill it, but it won’t kill you. Have at it, ya little murder goblin.”

Tresk screamed with glee. “Thanks, Dad!”

Testing the strength of the spawned golems was important. Of course, Theo wanted to know how strong a level 250 golem was compared to Tresk's own strength. The fight went about as he expected. If the marshaling fought at a fraction of her power, it stood a chance. But she was simply too fast and strong for it. Unlike the instructions he had given her, she didn't kill it outright. Instead, she seemed to be teaching it how to fight properly. The pair clashed, jumping through the air and causing a shower of sparks to land on the icy ground below.

Theo had trouble not appreciating the aptitude of the golem. It was far better than the ones he had created before, especially the ones he had made for combat. Those old model golems were really only good at apprehending very slow things. This one performed a dance of death that would put most adventurers at Level 100 to shame. It was hard to imagine a living mortal who could stand toe-to-toe with this thing. Which made Zephyr’s warning real in the alchemist’s mind.

“I feel safer already,” Zephyr said. “Wait, do I even need to stay?”

“Can you disobey Meya’s orders?” Theo asked with a wink.

“Nope, she’ll kill me. I’m just bored. And lonely,” Zephyr said.

“Now you have some metal friends to play with,” Theo said, patting the man on the back. “Cheer up. Gives you lots of time to practice your Celestial Cultivation.”

“I’m not even gonna ask why you know that phrase,” Zephyr said. “But I guess this means I can head to town for supplies.”

“Assuming there’s a town to head to. I know this place looks like the old Iaredin, but it is mostly on fire.” Theo shrugged. He couldn’t think of any place on the planet that wasn’t war-torn.

“Then I can go fishing,” Zephyr said. “Somewhere sunny. Like Yoh’til.”

Theo nodded in agreement. “If you can teleport, I’d say go for it. So long as you can keep an eye on this place.”

“Come on. What mage worth their weight can’t cast a simple detection spell? Although, I’ll have to configure it to ignore a bunch of Level 250 golems… Hmmm…”

Theo smiled, dragging his gaze back to Tresk and her fight. His smile turned to a frown when the Metal Golem twisted in the air, pushing off against nothing and almost catching the marshling in the chest.

“What do we do with our problems, Zephyr?” Theo nodded toward the man. “That’s right. We ignore them.”