In the next dungeon, NSLICE-00P decided to test something new, so Melion was bouncing around next to her. Several mini drone-golems buzzed in the air around them, moving as Melion commanded.

“Diagnostics complete, all units reporting all systems operational. Query: Is CELIU-MV-Melion ready for dungeon integration or termination routine?”

Melion bounced again.

“Yes, Master! I can’t wait!”

Melion’s work had begun to bear fruit, and the first models were now ready for combat testing. NSLICE-00P and Melion stood alone with the drones, with all the rest of her subordinates and friendlies now waiting in either the hangars or the new world. The pair entered into the dungeon, with the drones flying after them.

Inside the dungeon was a rocky cave. NSLICE-00P searched for and located the nearest thermal and mana signatures indicating life, and moved in that direction. It was not long before they arrived, finding a Mangy Wolf monster.

“Command: Please initiate drone strike tests.”

“Yes, Master!”

At Melion’s command, one of the drones flew forward, its optical camera turning to face the wolf, which hadn’t yet noticed the flying machine. The drone’s mana-core then pulsed, sending a surge of mana through its hull. Glowing lines appeared on the surface, revealing geometric patterns on the drone’s hull.

And then a Light Beam fired from the drone, striking the Mangy Wolf. It pierced straight through the monster, which fell and vanished without a sound.

“Observation: Test appears to have concluded. Request: Please report Aesdes system results.”

“Yes, Master! I got the notification and experience for the kill! It looks like these count as equipment!”

“Acknowledged. Analyzing test results…”

NSLICE-00P and Melion had gained a lot of data to work with in recent times. Ateia and Taog had discovered a skill to cast magic through physical weapons (which was dutifully observed and recorded by their cybernetic components), NSLICE-00P created improvised anti-mana bombs utilizing physical energy channels to mimic magic circles, and had fully scanned military grade enchantments from Dux Augustalis’s stolen fleet. That combined with the theoretical knowledge she had gained from her time in the library and from the Grimoire of Arofinas Leolar, along with Melion’s own experience with golems and enchantments. As such, it did not take them long to carve a Light Beam spell into a drone’s hull.

And so NSLICE-00P and Melion created their first weaponized drone-golem.

NSLICE-00P and Lilussees had already used the drones to cast ritual magic, but that was merely using the drones as mana batteries. It was a different matter altogether to have the drones cast their own spells. It turned out that golems had trouble casting spells that are not carved into them, as they lacked a full sapient’s ability to control their mana and form external structures. This, in turn, also applied to the drones, since they had no mechanical parts that could manipulate mana either.

It was possible for NSLICE-00P to take control of a drone-golem’s mana and shape it herself. But this added an extra-layer of difficulty to the cast, and used up the mana the drone needed to operate itself, causing it to deactivate until its mana regenerated. A spell that required too much mana could even burn out the drone’s core entirely. Ultimately, it was less efficient than casting the spell herself, particularly with her Farcasting skill.

But NSLICE-00P and Melion had found a simple way around that issue by building the magic circle directly into the drone’s hull via energy channels, with some inspiration from the Empire's warship armaments and Taog's Spellstrike skill. All the drone had to do was direct mana into the channels and the spell would activate on its own. And the use of Mana Iron in the energy channel’s construction made them even more efficient at the job than NSLICE-00P’s own.

The mana issue was resolved by Melion creating this drone mostly from scratch. They had used a more powerful core than the NSLICE-00P’s summoned drone-golems possessed, such that it generated excess mana that could be used for the spell. A beneficial side effect was that the spell was significantly more powerful than the ones cast by NSLICE-00P’s summoned drones. The targeted level 1 monster never stood a chance.

And so NSLICE-00P now had drones with spells as offensive armaments, such that they did not require resupply after a strike or else large bulk to carry ammunition.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

But NSLICE-00P and Melion’s tests were not done. She and Melion moved near the next monster she detected.

“Command: CELIU-Snuan, please initiate drone-command protocols.”

Snuan’s ears fell against her head as NSLICE-00P’s attention turned to her. The recently upgraded cyborg rat was waiting on standby inside the small Monster Hangar.

“A-As you say-command, Boss-Queen.”

Snuan attempted to do as NSLICE-00P had showed her previously, and linked to one of Melion’s drones. Melion ceded control to Snuan. She narrowed her eyes.

“G-Go left, dumb golem-thing! T-The other left!”

The drone wobbled and swayed from side to side, but eventually Snuan got it to fly forward and into position.

“L-Let’s see…h-how do I get this golem-thing to attack-cast again?”

NSLICE-00P helpfully created and illuminated a “Fire” button on Snuan’s UI. Snuan blinked.

“W-What is this strange light-thing? Fire? No, I thought-believed we wanted Light Magic, yes yes.”

NSLICE-00P changed the text on the button to “Cast Light Beam.”

“Oh, there it is!”

Snuan selected the option and the drone lit up.

Snuan hadn’t actually aimed the drone, but fortunately NSLICE-00P had contributed some built-in aiming protocols for the drones, so it adjusted its own position before the Light Beam fired. Another wolf monster perished.

Snuan went completely still.

“I-I…leveled up?!”

It appeared the test was a success, on multiple levels. First, Snuan had been able to take command of the drone through the NSLICE network, even from within the Monster Hangar. Next, the drone’s firepower had not been impacted by Snuan’s own skill levels or mana density. In fact, NSLICE-00P had chosen the Contracted rat monster as the individual with the lowest skill levels, mana density, and familiarity with NSLICE technology among her subordinates for that very reason.

And as a bonus, the kill had been credited to Snuan.

It appeared the Aesdes’ system would allow for drone warfare after all.

NSLICE-00P and Melion cleared the dungeon after that, testing several more drones with different spells, all to great effect. Snuan leveled up several times, and even acquired a Golem Command skill.

Unfortunately, the dungeon master had chosen to attempt an ambush on NSLICE-00P as she walked into the core room, so she ended up terminating them. She considered assigning a subordinate as the dungeon’s master, but ultimately decided to absorb it. This dungeon was a small one that wouldn’t contribute much XP, and wasn’t in a particularly strategic location. Even if it was, she already had the Shining Forest nearby, so she didn’t particularly need an entrance to her world here. So it wasn’t worth assigning or summoning a subordinate who would have no experience in dungeon management in any case.

You have absorbed a dungeon core (Wolf Den)!

Gained 5 status perk points, 5 dungeon perk points!

Dungeon Affinity: Beast has strengthened slightly!