“The geothermal generators seem to be running fine, the power storage is almost full. Glad I told them to create that power plant earlier. My workshop won’t be able to handle all this magical energy, at least not until I finish this project…”

There was a geothermal power plant being created and assembled by both the Dwarven Union and the Builders' Guild. The dungeon was filled with free heated energy that they could easily harness. This level of power generation was far beyond what the small energy facilities in Roland's workshop could handle, as they had been designed with wind turbines in mind.

“Now then, I guess it's time to test this one, I sure hope this works…”

Roland stared at the cracked orb that previously sat on his workbench. Now, it was encased in a metallic sphere and connected to numerous heavy-duty cables. Right next to it was another similar structure, many times larger. This was to become the supercomputer of his pseudo-mage tower. First, he needed to copy over all the data from the monster core into this new vessel and then work out the kinks to get it running.

It had already taken him a whole week just to assemble this runic contraption, and he hadn’t even started the main task. The sphere that would become the pseudo-mage tower core looked like a complex network of interconnected runes and metallic filaments, arranged in a honeycomb structure. This tower core was quite different from his previous, bulkier creations. Its interior was filled with a lot of empty space, and the filaments were rather thin and fashioned mainly from etherium.

There was a main reason for this design choice: the thinner metal lining allowed for significantly faster functionality. The delicate filaments and the open structure were crucial for optimizing the speed and efficiency of magical energy transfer and data processing. This design would enable the supercomputer to perform at unprecedented speeds that were essential for the complex calculations and magical operations Roland had planned.

It somewhat went against his old knowledge where it was unfeasible to make something that his runes wouldn’t burn and deteriorate. However, this was only true for artifacts that were meant for battle. Something like this runic core was not meant for combat or to be moved around. Thanks to its stationary use, it was possible to create a sort of resonance between the runic components and traces. This resonance would keep them from burning through the metal and allow it to reach a certain magical wavelength. As long as it remained inside of the core, it could in theory work indefinitely even for tens or hundreds of years without corroding the etherium alloy.

“At least that’s the theory… It doesn’t always work out…”

Roland glanced to the side of the room where a few melted-through honeycomb shapes could be seen. He had spent a few days trying to assemble theory into practice, resulting in several failures. Yet, each failure brought him closer to the optimal design. Roland sighed and wiped his brow. The room was stifling hot, partially from the nearby power unit that was assembled to directly power the workshop core.

Roland took a deep breath, calming his mind. This was the most crucial part of the process. If the transfer failed, he would lose a valuable source of data and be set back by weeks, something he couldn’t allow. He carefully connected the main conduit between the cracked orb and the new core, ensuring the alignment was perfect. The runes along the conduit started to glow and magical vibrations could almost be felt in the air.

“Here goes nothing…”

With a final check of all the parameters, Roland activated the transfer sequence. The magical energy flow began as a slow trickle and the cracked orb emitted a faint light. Gradually, the light intensified, and the filaments of the new core started to shimmer. The data transfer was happening at a molecular level, with the magical essence being carefully copied and imprinted onto the new vessel, which in a sense would become something similar to artificial intelligence.

The process was painstakingly slow, but Roland didn’t dare to rush it. He monitored every fluctuation, and every pulse of energy, making minute adjustments to keep the transfer stable. A large monitor had been assembled on the side which presented him with a lot of raw data. To most people, it would look like gibberish but to someone who had mastered runes, it was similar to programming language. Then suddenly, the symbols on the screen became chaotic and it started flashing red.

“Shit…”

Something had gone wrong and Roland quickly used his mana senses to examine the problems. His multiple minds went into overdrive as he tried to pinpoint the bug that had arisen. If he failed now, all his efforts would be in vain, and both the monster core and the central tower piece would be destroyed.

“Come on, come on, the math should have been right, it has to work…”

Roland muttered to himself while spreading his arms out forward. His control over the runes was immaculate, but even he could make mistakes. He spread out his control and tried analyzing the problem before a meltdown of the core could start. There was a lot of magical energy gathered here, and if it reached a critical point, the whole workshop could collapse in the ensuing explosion - something he could not allow to happen.

He focused intently, his mind racing through potential solutions. The runes glowed with an intense, pulsating light as he carefully monitored the energy flow. He adjusted a few of the metallic filaments, hoping to stabilize the core but it continued. Then he focused on the monster core which seemed to actually be the problem, it was crumbling on itself.

“The core can’t handle the magical energies and is crumbling…”

His eyes focused on the monster component of the experiment. He had assumed that this piece would last a bit longer, but that seemed to be a mistake. It was a component he was the least familiar with, but luckily, he had spotted the problem quickly. All the runes were working fine, so he needed to focus on supporting the monster core and not let it crumble before the process was over.

“I’ve had enough of everything exploding, just be a good core and stay stable…”

Slowly but surely, the energy levels began to balance. The once erratic pulses of light in the runes started to synchronize, forming a steady rhythm. Roland let out a sigh of relief, but he knew he couldn't afford to relax just yet. He continued to nourish the core with his own magical energies which were in tune with it. If he had attempted this process with any other monster component it would have certainly failed. However, the Lich core that had been saturated with his mana pattern reacted quite favorably.

Once the immediate threat of a meltdown was averted, Roland took a step back to reassess the situation. The transfer of data had finally finished and the core that was once the Lich finally crumbled into dust. It seemed a bit strange to see it vanish while its essence was transferred into the new mage core, in a sense it was quite poetic or at least that was what Roland was feeling.

“You better not try to kill me though…”

This process remained nerve-wracking. The monster, known as the Purgatory Lich, had once tried to kill him, making his current endeavor of copying its core into the mage tower system quite reckless. It would have been safer to create the tower spirit from scratch, but that would entail fully programming it himself, a task he wasn't entirely familiar with. Perhaps with Arion’s help, the project was feasible, but it would likely take him several months to achieve the same effect.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Fortunately, he wasn't restoring the monster to its former self. All the data was merely a copy, and the core that made up the monster would remain unused. Many parts of the monster’s core were left untouched, deemed potentially dangerous. What he sought were not the Lich’s personality traits, but its capacity to reason and follow commands. This new magical AI would eventually become a distinct entity. Yet, for now, numerous barriers were in place, restricting access to much of its potential. He couldn't risk this new creation becoming truly sentient and viewing him as an adversary, as it had done in the past.

“That gave me a scare.”

With the data transfer completed and the core stabilized, Roland could finally move on to the next phase of the project. After sighting yet again he began integrating the copied monster essence into the supercomputer and the creation of the main operating system was now underway.

Roland leaned more towards engineering than software development, and he wished Arion was around to handle this task. However, entrusting the creation of a magical tower to others was a risky move. There were always possibilities of errors or other magicians inserting backdoors for later use. While such concerns might not arise with Arion, Roland still needed to understand precisely how this new artifact functioned. If he did not, then he could not really call himself a proper Runesmith anymore.

The buzz of machinery filled the expansive chamber, signaling the stabilization of the process. Finally, the most fundamental part of the mage tower was in place. Though the artificial spirit serving as the core of his pseudo-mage tower remained dormant, Roland intended to activate it within another week's time. This would afford him approximately one more week to assemble the teleportation gate, and perhaps he wouldn't have to tackle everything alone.

“Bernir’s prosthesis is working fine, perhaps he might be able to help me out from this point forward.”

Congratulations you have gained a level.