Throughout the day and night that followed the departure of the group of scouts, Isaac continued tirelessly to analyze the rune of logic in the garden, curious to discover its secrets. First lost by the complexity and density of information and instructions present in the nodes, he began to understand them one by one, then by group.
It was already dark when he decided to go and test what he had understood. In all, the Garden Logic Rune probably had a little over 3,000 nodes. Each node performs a basic instruction and is part of a group which itself is part of a "cluster".
Depending on the arrangement of the connections between the nodes, each node group performs a different function. The set of functions governs the behavior of their cluster. Groups and cluster have three kinds of nodes. Just like an artificial neural network, there are input, processing, and output nodes. Depending on the connection between them, the result obtained from a combination of inputs will be different and will follow a logic determined by the connections.
At first a little confused by the complexity of the rune, Isaac quickly remembered what he had learned during his years of studying computer science and how they had managed to reproduce a semblance of intelligence in computers through the study of a simplified reproduction of the human brain.
By deduction, Isaac understood one thing. The previous Admin had obviously used the same methods to simulate a neural network, here on a larger scale, with different functionalities.
With that figured out, he got to work and created a new prototype golem to test. For that, he decided to recreate a Gelom before starting to modify the rune of logic of the latter.
For an extra night and day, Isaac worked tirelessly on the rune which was already starting to get quite complex. In the course of his tests and experiments, he was able to obtain from the rune important functions for recognition and automation.
The first function of the rune of logic was exploration. As soon as the Gelom receives coordinates indicated by a distance and a directional degree relative to its current position and will move there. As a second parameter, it also receives a monitoring distance starting from the pointed position and creating a zone that the Gelom will have to monitor. Finally, it receives a time interpreted as the time during which it must stay and collect information on the monitored area.
In terms of information, the Gelom collects sensory data on surrounding and sensed mana movements. Their frequency, origin and origin as well as their intensity. In addition to this, the Gelom intermittently sends out waves of energy and allowing it to create a topographic map of its surroundings.
Once back, the Gelom then transfers all this data to the garden logic rune which will display them in the interface. While he would have liked to have done without the Garden Logic Rune, he couldn't really collect the data himself since there was too much of it for him.
Upon detection of waves of hostile alien mana, the Gelom initiates a retreat maneuver and will immediately return to its point of origin. He will try to avoid confrontation at all costs.
After completing these changes, Isaac decided to create four and assign them each the North, South, East, and West area of the garden before releasing them and creating a loop. They will do 10-minute rounds and return to drop off the data and return to patrol one minute later, time to recharge.
Automatically, the system updated and a new "Mapping" and "Reconnaissance History" feature appeared in the control panel, much to Isaac's surprise.
The work of automation was much more difficult for Reconnaissance Golems, but the task was much less difficult for Artillery Golems. He gave them simple functions, allowing him to give them a position to stand and an area to bombard with the power of the projectiles.
With that done, he set about updating the fifty artillery golems placed in a circle at the edge of the cliffs before finally feeling satisfied.
The sun was soon set and Isaac was standing in front of the system window, checking the latest data the Geloms had collected when a notification popped up in front of him.
[System] Unidentified entities on approach.
[System] Distance before arrival: 3km
[System] Estimated destination: Garden of Origins
[System] Location: Azimuth 20 ° E
A smile appeared in the corner of Isaac's lips as he read the notification.
"Finally !" he thought before starting to float in the air. Very quickly, he saw three black dots advancing under the rays of the setting sun behind them. They were on horses and despite everything, they were barely faster than the first to arrive.
"It must be the old ones," he said to himself, looking at them. He then assigned the Reconnaissance Golems to roam more distant and wider areas in order to detect any army or force that might be hiding. When finished, Isaac finally decided to go towards them, two three-meter artillery golems following him on either side.
It had been two days since they had left the village and despite the breaks they had taken, the old woman had not really taken the trip well. Initially energetic and active, she quickly grew weak and tired, forcing them to take a rest before setting off again.
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All the way they did ride and rest rotations, delaying their arrival before they could finally see the great formation in all its glory. The elder then looked up and a smile formed on her face.
- "It had been a long time since I had seen this beautiful spectacle" she declared in a hoarse voice.
The captain looked at her for a moment, a smile on his face, when a sudden shiver ran through his entire body. His hairs stood on the back of his neck before he came to gaze at the cliffs, narrowing his eyes.
The old one must have felt it, for now she was pointing her finger in the direction of the cliffs before finally speaking.
- "Kiril, stop here. Our host is coming to greet us."
Understanding what was happening, the captain motioned for the two guards to stop. They then stopped their horses in the middle of the plain before descending. Kiril got out first before taking the old one which gave him no resistance, still tired from the long trip. Once on the ground, her legs suddenly started to shake and she fell to the ground.
Seeing the old one on the ground, he then gave the horse to one of the guards and approached her with a hand on her back to reassure her and tell her to rest when the sound of two explosions suddenly sounded.
Lifting his head and turning his gaze to the source of the noise, he then noticed two huge golems in two craters, one to their left and the other to their right about twenty yards away.
"A trap ?!" he thought immediately, putting his hand down on his sword to draw it.
The other two soldiers immediately drew, but Kiril did not draw. Not because he didn't want to, but because the old woman's hand was resting on his. He then directed his gaze from the golems to the ancient one who nodded negatively.
Seeming to understand, he then instructed the two soldiers to sheath their swords. Reluctantly, they obeyed the order, gazing suspiciously at the golems. As the old one began to get up with the help of the captain, an intense light then swept across the plain already obscured by the darkness of the night, the sun having finished setting.
The four looked up in wonder and suspicion at the light, narrowing their eyes slightly as they got used to the level of light. Soon after, the light began to dissipate, letting them glimpse the recognizable silhouette of the long pointed ears, so distinctive of the elves.
Immediately, Kiril knelt on the ground and lowered his gaze before being followed by the two soldiers. The old one only looked down, leaning on her cane, before raising her gaze to better admire what was in front of them.
Immediately, the elder's eyes widened as she saw the robe worn by the elf and the aura that floated around him, her expression filled with wonder. "Magical clothes? An aura of protection? No mistake, Louis and the others were right. He's an elf and not just any. A powerful one," she thought.
She came to lower her gaze again in respect as the elf began to descend to the ground and put his bare feet on the ground. Immediately Kiril spoke.
- "We thank the Guardian of the Forest for his invitation and humbly come to answer it. I am Kiril Bult, garrison captain" he said, putting his fist on his heart.
It was a salute of honor described in many books. Although it did not have a definite origin, most books described this salvation as being common sense to all races. The knees on the ground showing respect, the gaze lowered in sign of submission and finally the fist on the heart to signify to his interlocutor that they came in peace.
- "I am Rita Greberg, elder of the village of Cram" continued the former immediately after and raising her gaze to observe the elf.
Kiril did the same and looked up at the elf, curious to study his reaction and what he was going to do. But both weren't ready for what lay ahead. Their eyes widened when he put his fist on his heart and looked down in a slight curtsey.
- "I'm Isaac ..." Isaac started before suddenly stopping. Should he give her her real last name? He didn't know what their reaction would be to the exotic name and decided against it. "I am an elf. Thank you for coming." The elf's deep, soft voice surprised them, especially since his voice seemed to echo in their minds.
In a few words and a few gestures, they were all already surprised. Why was he lowering his gaze? Why respond to their salvation? Was he not superior to them? Why was he pretending he was their inferior equal?
The elf then looked up at the stunned people and observed them. Emerging from their amazement, the old one continued the conversation and answered.
- "It is an honor for us to have been invited by Your Excellency." She paused before studying the charming and gentle face of the elf shining in the night darkness, a smile on her face. "Did you ask to see a village elder so you could ask him questions?"
Isaac was fed up with "Excellencies". At first he found it funny, but now his underdeveloped and shy ego didn't want it anymore. Nonetheless, he refrained from telling them. As far as he didn't know, they might take it badly, so he decided to leave it as it is and therefore endure for a little while longer.
- "Indeed," Isaac looked around, "but I would prefer that we go somewhere more serene. Could we go to the garden, please?"
Kiril wasn't really convinced or envious of wanting to go to the shrine. It was a bit like going straight into the mouth of the wolf. But all in all, they were already surrounded and at the mercy of the elf. So whether they were here or there, in the end, it was all the same. Just when he was about to accept, the elf resumed.
- "Hmm. No, all in all, I don't think that's a good idea. With the height, you might be uncomfortable. We'll stay here" he said looking towards the old one.
The captain stood still for a moment before looking at the old one, who hadn't changed her expression. The elf had finally changed his mind which made Kiril suspect that he had no predetermined plan. He could feel slightly more at ease, but remained suspicious again. "If he doesn't have a plan, that doesn't mean he isn't going to become hostile in the future," he thought.
As he was thinking, suddenly the elf then raised his hand upward before a huge white rune appeared in the sky above them. Those present watched in wonder and dread the rune before returning their gaze to the elf.
"What a power ... such a large rune and directly in the air ... The size of the inscriptions, it must be at least class 6 ..." Rita thought, returning her face to the elf. "Is he ... an Archmage ?!"
- "Lockdown"
Immediately, a slightly transparent white dome appeared around them, enveloping them entirely. As a result, five green runes appeared on the ground, creating five boulders. Silently, Isaac then stepped forward and sat on one of them before indicating the others to sit down.
- "We should be fine with this barrier. You can leave your horses, they won't be able to go very far," he said before watching them sit down one by one. Once they were all seated he looked at the old one and said. "Good! We can talk."