After finalizing the plan, Isaac rewatched Space Emperor! Against All Odds! once again, refreshing his mind about its plots and the characters present in the Heavenly Tower.
Even with the help of the hyperbolic time chamber, a technology capable of slowing down time inside an enclosed room, it still took him ten days to finish everything.
The Space Emperor series had nearly two thousand episodes, after all.
“What a blast!” said Isaac after leaving the hyperbolic time chamber. “How nostalgic. It really reminds me of my childhood.”
[Welcome back, Admiral.]
[Do you wish to have some refreshments?]
“No, later. My body’s still full of adrenaline after seeing the finale of the movie. It really deserves to be a classic. Duke Valcres was sooo~ cool!”
Including the time when he was just a kid, this was the fifth time he’d watched the entire movie, and Isaac still couldn’t get enough of it.
When Duke Valcres, the guardian of the first floor of the Heavenly Tower, died at the end of the series to protect one of the participants, Isaac shed rivers of tears.
The character development of the duke, who used to be murderous and cold-hearted, really moved him. For Isaac, the Duke was probably the greatest villain to have ever been created in a movie.
“Ah, damn it. What should I do? I’m so excited….”
The prospect of recreating the Heavenly Tower in this world genuinely excited Isaac.
Of course, in order to recreate the Heavenly Tower, he needed to recreate the characters in the movie, too.
“The first character I should create is him, of course.”
And the first character that came into mind when creating the first floor of the Heavenly Tower was Duke Valcres, the Constellation of Blood and Slaughter. A depraved, fallen noble, punished by the Gods to oversee the first floor as atonement for the sins he’d committed back when he was still a mortal.
Although the Duke was one of the most hated characters in the movie due to his wickedness and cruelty, he was Isaac’s personal favorite.
For Isaac, there was nothing more romantic than an evil villain giving up his life to protect a Tower participant he grew fond of.
“He may be an evil bastard, but he’s a charismatic bastard. Hehehe. If that even makes sense?”
The System AI found Isaac’s smile creepy, but it didn’t comment on it.
“System, show me all of the golems available currently.”
[Even the deactivated ones, Admiral?]
“Yes. Include even the combat and guardian golems.”
[Affirmative.]
A second later, a diverse list of holograms appeared before Isaac. It showed the seven hundred golems remaining in Aravark.
“Hmm… maintenance golems won’t do.”
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“Although they should be enough to handle the primitive humans on this planet, it wouldn’t do Duke Valcres justice if I used them for his model.”
“In terms of games, what I’m doing now is trying to create an NPC to manage the tower.”
“The golem should be capable of drawing out even a portion of the original Duke Valcres’ power.”
Isaac fell into deep thought.
There were only nineteen combat golems remaining in the ship, each of them guarding key areas like the Specimen Room, Cryonics, Medbay, etc. If he decided to use one of them to create Duke Valcres, it would leave one of those key areas defenseless.
This would not have been a problem if the vast majority of the golems hadn’t been destroyed during the fleet’s fight with the space pirates. But alas, resources were currently limited.
“But Duke Valcres deserves to be created using a combat golem as the base. That should be the minimum. Should I do it?”
Isaac pranced around the hallway. And outside the hyperbolic time chamber, he spotted the unmoving golem that served as the room’s guardian.
Even among the combat golems, guardians were special.
The golem was a faceless humanoid standing nine feet tall. It had two arms and a tail on its back. After being deactivated by the System AI before, it was currently kneeling on one knee.
It was well-known that the golems guarding the hyperbolic time chamber, the cryonics, and the control room were the strongest. Their strength could not even be compared to mere combat golems.
“System, I’ve decided.”
Isaac pointed at the unmoving golem kneeling next to the entrance to the hyperbolic time chamber.
“Use that golem as the base to create my beloved Duke Valcres.”
[Affirmative.]
The eyes of the golem glowed. Slowly, without a sound, it stood up.
Isaac approached the golem. Due to the height difference, Isaac had to look up.
“From now on, your name is Valcres.”
A mechanical voice rang out from the golem’s mouth.
“Understood, Admiral Isaac.”
“Using your body as the base, we’ll recreate a fictional character. I will entrust you with the task of embodying my favorite character. The System AI will remodel your body. And, of course, we’ll provide you with ample energy to complete the tasks given to you perfectly.”
“Understood, Admiral Isaac.”
Isaac rubbed his chin. “Hmm… the response is still too stiff. System, can you do something about this?”
[Do you wish to incorporate the data gathered from Space Emperor! Against All Odds! into that golem?]
“That’s possible?”
[Yes, Admiral. But since the processor of the golem isn’t as advanced as the ship’s system, it will take some time to complete this assignment.]
“How long would it take?”
[To flawlessly recreate the character of Duke Valcres and install it into Guardian Golem 85H-UQ23, we would need fifteen days.]
[Also, in order for the Guardian Golem to display even a portion of the real Duke Valcres’ strength, consumption of 0.65% energy will be needed.]
Fifteen days was a short period of time for someone like Isaac. What worried him was the energy consumption needed to create just this character.
Although 0.65% may not seem much, that much energy would probably be enough to blow an entire city in this world into ashes.
“That’s a lot of energy,” muttered Isaac, a bit hesitant after learning the costs required to recreate his beloved villain.
[That is already the bare minimum required, Admiral. If we stick true to the plot in the movie, it will take 45% of the ship’s total energy to recreate the strength of the real Duke Valcres.]
“I know. Haaahh… fine.”
“System.”
[Yes, Admiral.]
“Do it. I am granting you permission to utilize 0.65% of the ship’s energy to create Duke Valcres.”
[Affirmative.]
Controlled by the System AI, the guardian golem started walking toward the direction of the Laboratory.
[Beginning body reconstruction.]
[Base body: Guardian Golem 85H-UQ23]
[Model: Duke Valcres of Space Emperor! Against All Odds! movie]
***
While the System AI was reconstructing the guardian golem’s body to create Duke Valcres, Isaac proceeded to the creation of the first floor of the Heavenly Tower.
The first floor was an ancient castle where Duke Valcres and his servants lived.
“Hmm… where should I create that castle?”
Isaac planned on installing warp towers in various cities — no coercion to enter them as per the Federation’s law, of course – and use them to transport the primitive humans to the first floor.
Therefore, the castle needed to be massive. It should have enough space to accommodate thousands, maybe even ten thousand people at once.
“No, a man should dream big.”
Isaac discarded his initial idea of creating a castle capable of accommodating ten thousand people at once.
“Let’s make it so it can accommodate a hundred thousand people inside. Who knows, maybe the tower will become popular one day, and the primitive humans will decide it’s safer to live in there.”
“Well, it’ll be up to my beloved Duke Valcres if he’ll allow them to stay in his castle for that long in the first place. Hehehe~”
“System, show me all areas in this world where we can build an ancient, massive castle. It must be huuuge! It must be snowing all year round! And there should be ferocious monsters outside, so the primitive humans will be hesitant to go out. Ah, make sure it has no nearby human settlements, too.”
[Affirmative.]
[Showing all available areas that fit the Admiral’s requirements.]
Soon, several holograms of potential locations appeared before Isaac.
“Hm… this one. Where is it located?”
[This is an area at the far north, Admiral. The location is at the peak of the highest mountain, and there are no human settlements within 5000 kilometers.]
The location was so high they could see the clouds below them.
“And the monsters?”
[Our drones spotted several frost drakes living in the area.]
[Should we eradicate them, Admiral?]
Isaac shook his head.
“No, it’s fine. It’s better this way.”
Isaac felt it was the perfect location to create the ancient castle, the first floor of the Heavenly Tower.
“System, I want you to recreate the Duke’s castle in that area.”
[How large do you want the castle to be, Admiral?]
“Make it at least half the size of the one in the movie.”
This way, it would be able to accommodate even a hundred thousand people in the event that the tower became really popular on this planet.
“And don’t forget about the traps and the secret passageways. Make sure to incorporate all of the castle’s quirks, understood?”
[Due to the distance and the scope of the project, this would take 50 days to complete.]
[Do you wish to proceed?]
“Yes. Do it.”
[Affirmative.]