April 3, 3901.

On the shore of Lake Tosmo in the Shoro Kingdom, a major construction project was underway.

<.

"Hmmm, let's increase the power a little more ......"

Jin, the third generation <> who commissioned the work, muttered to himself as he watched the construction workers trying to move the large rock out of the way.

What they are using is <.

In other words, they are power suits or power assistants for construction.

Since it is not a suit of armor, the operator does not enter the suit but rides on the back of the shoulder.

It stands 2.5 meters tall and weighs about 600 kilograms.

It has three legs for stability.

The reason why it has three legs instead of four is that the basic control system for grounding the legs can be simplified.

There is no head, and the pilot's upper body is placed at that position.

A guard bar is attached to protect the operator's head, so that a direct hit from a steel frame will not cause any damage to the operator's head.

The robot is about three times stronger than a human, making it suitable for heavy-duty work that does not require precision.

"Oh, I like this one."

"It's just a prototype, but it's working great.

"It was hard to handle at first, but once you get used to it, it's nothing to worry about."

The controls are loosely connected from the elbows and knees down to the fuselage.

Precise movements are therefore impossible.

The hands are mitten-like, with no fingers, so they can barely grasp an object.

In other words, he can only raise and lower his arms and grasp and release objects.

However, this is still sufficient for lifting stones and carrying building materials.

Its walking speed is about the same as that of a human being, so it will not run out of control.

This is the result of the efforts to develop a specification that would not be diverted to military use.

Jin lent five such <> to construction sites free of charge.

Ostensibly for the test operation of new magic tools, but in fact to improve the efficiency of the construction work.

The reason for this format, as mentioned earlier, was to make it difficult to divert the equipment to military use.

<<><

<<

The specifications are as follows.

Jin thought that it would have to be modified to the extent that it would be almost a different machine to be used in battle.

In addition, by simplifying the structure as much as possible and using inexpensive materials, the cost can be kept at about 50,000 dollars.

In Japanese yen, the cost is about 500,000 yen, which is less than the price of a mini-car.

However, if a technical fee is added, the price increases about three times as much as the original price. That is, 150,000 dollars, or about 1,500,000 yen.

Since the price was about the same as that of a high-class mini-car, Jin thought that it would not be impossible to introduce the system.

In fact,

"I want one of these at my place, too.

"Yeah. This is nice!"

"I'd like to have one of these at my place, too," and "Oh, this is nice.

Jin has told them that he cannot sell them because they are prototypes.

I also told them that if they pointed out any defects, I would give them priority in mass production, so each of them tried various things.

The best (worst?) 3 are as follows. The best (worst?) 3 are as follows.

1. a little more power is needed.

2. slow movement speed. 3.

3. Mana cell exchange is troublesome.

All of them were enough to make Jin think, "But, but, but, but....

"But I don't think it's a good idea to increase the performance too much. ......"

Power can be increased tenfold or more if you don't mind using muscular materials, but the skeleton will not be able to sustain it, and it will be difficult to control, which in turn leads to higher costs.

The same applies to the speed of movement.

"<>, you can use two of them in parallel or ......"

Jin decided to give in to the idea that some users might be able to modify the manacelles by themselves.

<<> is like a dry cell or a rechargeable battery, so to speak. They can be filled with mana using a mana server.

The operating hours can be extended by increasing the number of units mounted ......, but we do not intend to make the whole day ...... 12 hours of actual working hours at all. .

< to prevent that from happening.

* * * * * *

Jin checks and maintains the <> after a day's work.

"Is durability a problem?"

The robot was designed to be handled roughly because it is used for civil engineering work, and although there are minor scratches, there are no scratches or dents that would affect the operation of the robot.

Wear on joints and sliding parts was also within expectations.

After having fully serviced the five <> units, Jin began to think about what to do about the problems that had been identified.

"As for the power, we can easily increase it by 1.5 times."

Since he had only used less than half of its original potential, Jin thought that it would be possible to double its power by rewriting the , but since he was concerned about the strength of its skeleton, he decided to keep the power at 1.5 times.

"Let's keep the movement speed as it is."

The three legs are easy to balance statically, but difficult to balance dynamically.

Rather, since the <> of walking on three legs was still incomplete, it was dangerous to increase the speed without care.

The control is easy, but it is taking time to determine the various parameters since this is the first attempt.

"<> I guess we should use two of them in parallel.

If they work for two hours, they can be replaced during breaks.

"It might even improve the working environment.

It would be easy enough to do that.

Reiko, help me.

Yes, Father.

Jin and Reiko could remodel 5 machines in 10 minutes.

"That's it. Let's have them try it again tomorrow.

Jin looks at the remodeled > and mutters in satisfaction.

Reiko questioned him.

"Father, even if you didn't go to the trouble of building these things, I think <> could do the work of more than 5 units by himself.

"Yes, that's true. But in this case, the purpose is to promote the local community, raise the level of technology, and stimulate the economy.

"Is that what you mean ......?"

Jin nodded.

<, Jin was beginning to think that the goal should be to spread the magic technology widely.

"The <<2nd generation>> had the aspect of showing advanced technology and training a limited number of specialists."

But that has been nullified by the <>.

"It may not be a simple thing, but I think that by not only fostering experts but also spreading it widely, the tradition will not be broken so easily.

"I understand."

I am still not sure if this will work out as well as Jin thinks it will.

However, Jin began to think that he would try to do all he could.