Searching for the Golem Heart

"Old Saldean?" Shawn noticed something and called softly.

Old Saldean quickly wiped away his tears and forced a smile. "Come, Shawn. I'll teach you..."

The day passed just like that.

The Harvest Golem was much simpler than Shawn had imagined.

To be precise, this world's technological level was far below Earth's, roughly equivalent to the dawn of the Second Industrial Revolution. It only seemed so wondrous because Arcane Energy existed; crude machinery could do things that even Earth's most complex machines couldn't.

Aside from its limbs and torso, a Harvest Golem had only one other component: a "Golem Heart," which was also its most important part.

All of a Harvest Golem's energy, programming, and intelligence depended on its Golem Heart. Without it, the golem couldn't function at all.

The Golem Heart had been passed down from Old Saldean's father. It couldn't be copied or replaced, and if it really broke, Old Saldean couldn't repair it either. Only problems with the Harvest Golem's limbs or torso—damage, broken mechanisms, rust, and the like—could be fixed.

For Shawn, a graduate of an engineering program, it wasn't all that complicated.

After a full day's work, Shawn had mastered how to repair a Harvest Golem. It was no exaggeration to say that, given a Golem Heart and enough materials, he could even build a new Harvest Golem.

But with only the Golem Heart, Shawn's current knowledge wasn't enough to understand it, let alone make one.

When he opened his status screen, a new skill had appeared in Shawn's skill list.

"Engineering, Beginner."

Beginner Engineering let him make a few ordinary little trinkets. Shawn didn't care much about that.

His biggest gains today were learning how to repair and control Harvest Golems. That meant Shawn now had a formidable source of combat power.

To Shawn's surprise, the Space Garrison had generated a quest.

"Side Quest: Golem Heart."

"Objective: Obtain ten Golem Hearts."

"Reward: Small Building Blueprint [Golem Factory]."

After dinner, Shawn lay on his bed with one leg crossed over the other and one arm behind his head, eyes closed as he pondered.

"Ten Golem Hearts?"

Shawn rubbed his chin, closed his eyes, and silently considered the matter.

Westfall had at least five or six farms, each with several Harvest Golems. And aside from those on the farms, there might be Harvest Golems scattered elsewhere in Westfall. Altogether, there should be at least fifty. That was no small number.

But those Harvest Golems guarded the farms. Without them, the farms might not be as quiet and peaceful as they were now. Shawn wouldn't dare touch a single one. Old Saldean would be the first to tear into him.

Maybe he could look for Harvest Golems out in the wilderness?

Westfall was huge. Searching the whole region would probably take him at least several months, and he didn't have the time, energy, or strength for that.

"Isn't there any other way?"

Shawn thought it over, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Right! The quest asks for Golem Hearts, not intact ones! Surely some Harvest Golems must have broken down over the years. Maybe I can turn in the hearts from those scrapped golems too?"

With that thought, Shawn quickly got out of bed and went to find Old Saldean.

"Old Saldean! Old Saldean!"

Shawn pounded on Old Saldean's door.

After quite a while, Old Saldean finally opened it, looking displeased. "Shawn! Why are you shouting instead of sleeping? What do you want?"

Shawn caught a whiff of a pungent smell coming from the room. The same old scent, the same old formula. Then he saw Old Saldean's disheveled clothes, his tousled hair, and his flushed face. In the dim depths of the room, he could make out a bed—and Thelma Saldean's figure on it. Shawn's face turned bright red in an instant.

So Old Saldean and his wife had been playing a little game of making babies, and Shawn had interrupted them? This was so embarrassing!

No wonder Old Saldean was in a bad mood! Anyone would be unhappy if this happened to them!

But since he'd already disturbed Old Saldean, Shawn swallowed his embarrassment and said, "Um, Old Saldean, I learned how to repair Harvest Golems today, but I still can't figure out the Golem Heart. Could you give me one to study? It doesn't have to be intact. A scrapped one would be fine..."

Shawn's voice grew weaker and weaker. His confidence and courage deflated like a balloon and vanished into the howling wind... Wait, where had the wind in the room come from?

Old Saldean shot Shawn a look, but his mood improved a little.

So the boy just wanted to study the Golem Heart!

Remembering Shawn's performance that day, Old Saldean grew excited.

It had taken Shawn just one day to learn how to repair Harvest Golems. The boy was a genius when it came to Engineering! If Old Saldean introduced him to the engineers in Stormwind City, or to the Mason Guild...

At the thought of the Mason Guild, Old Saldean's expression darkened. He lost interest in the idea and casually said, "The scrapped Harvest Golems are piled up in the warehouse to the east. Go look for one yourself. But don't get your hopes up. Only an Engineering expert can figure out a Golem Heart..."

Before Old Saldean could finish, Shawn happily dashed off, leaving him staring in astonishment, his words unfinished. "In a couple of days, come with me to Goldshire. I'll introduce you to an engineer there as an apprentice..."

Shawn had no interest in becoming an Engineering apprentice with no future. His dream was to become a mage whom everyone adored and every flower bloomed for.

Shawn reached the warehouse to the east, opened the door, and found the scrapped Harvest Golems in the faint starlight.

The three-meter-tall Harvest Golems stood out in the warehouse, like the giant robots from legend.

And yet...

Why were there only two?

Shawn's eyes widened.

He'd never imagined that only two Harvest Golems had been scrapped over all these years. After thinking it over, he figured it was probably because Old Saldean knew how to repair them.

Whenever a Harvest Golem developed even a minor problem, Old Saldean would fix it. That greatly extended their service life. It made sense that only two had been scrapped over all these years.

But that meant Shawn's hopes had been dashed.

With no choice, he dug out the two Golem Hearts and put them in his Spatial Pouch. Shawn shook his head. "Looks like I'll have to search the other farms. Hopefully, more of their Harvest Golems have been scrapped. Otherwise, this is going to be a real problem."