Vieren was quite humored with Luminous. He wanted to use magic, but the kid couldn't focus on a book for more than 2 minutes… Not even a coloring book. "Luminous, do you really feel like changing what you're doing every five minutes?"
Luminous put his jump rope down and looked at Vieren. "No… I can settle…" He huffed, "But I get bored." He put his jump rope away and pulled out some small truck toys.
"At least you put your stuff up." Vieren sighed. He had no idea how he was going to teach this kid magic. Or how anyone would. The town had taken to spoiling Luminous with as many toys and snacks as they could. Well… everyone except for the master. He was busy doing who knows what…
Ever since changing to Vieren's care, Luminous had a few new things added to his life. He was allowed to go outside of the town once a week for one hour. Vieren had to be present at all times. He was given plenty of new toys from the towns people when they returned on their trip. He could keep them as long as they did not break. He got to try a ton of new food. While he did take liking to pork, there were some foods he didn't take to fondly of. Namely most things green. However, he loved to eat sweets. Vieren had discovered Luminous had quite an impressive sweet tooth. He would have to make sure he gave him small portions or else Luminous would eat until he was crying… and he would still eat.
"Alright go sit down, Luminous. I'll have your food set up in just a minute. I didn't make any greens this time, just carrots." Vieren said out loud in his small room area.
The "table" was possibly the best table in town, but it was still small. Most others used their desk, as their table was nothing more than a piece of wood on the ground. At least the two of them had theirs slightly lifted off the ground so dirt couldn't get in it.
When eating, Vieren always found Luminous's table manners odd. He ate with his mouth shut, he didn't shove his mouth… but… he always had to eat everything one at a time. He would start with the side, usually a vegetable, then eat the main course, then drink his drink. He never changed what he was eating until it was done. "Why not mash it up a little? It taste great!"
"It taste weird" Luminous responded.
"It's all going to the same place anyway, Luminous." Vieren sighed. "Alright, I'm going to clean the dishes, then make desert, so try not to fall asleep."
Luminous walked over to his chest of toys and pulled a few out. He started slamming his small robot toy on some blocks he set up to be buildings. "Oh no! The megabit is back!" he said as he pulled a doll out, "We've got to stop it before it wreck the town! Auughh—Oh" Luminous put the robot down and put all the blocks up after realizing he had already knocked them all down. "Ahhhhh!" He picked up where he had left off.
Vieren laughed a bit to himself. "Luminous, Megabot has wrecked the town three times this week, does he take a break?"
"No!" Luminous yelled, "Megabot is bad! He scares the people and makes them run away! He doesn't ever take a break!"
"Does anyone ever get hurt?" Vieren looked at Luminous carefully.
Luminous thought for a small bit. "Uhh… No…" He stalled out, "I don't think he would be mean enough to hurt people. He just wants to scare them."
Vieren chuckled. Clearly the kid had a small grasp on what a "bad person" was like. Being surrounded by people that cared for him and stayed cheerful in his presence made it a difficult concept. "I hope you never realize what real bad is, kid." Vieren thought to himself. "Alright, dishes are done. Let me grab some snacks and I'll be right back at the table."
Luminous nodded and started to put his toys up. "Oh… Okay."
He ran back to the table and sat down. Vieren brought a small plate of cookies with a small amount of milk. "Alright, here you go."
Luminous didn't even wait for a second to grab a cookie and start eating it. "Vieren, are you gonna eat any?"
Vieren waved his hand, "Not tonight. My teeth are actin up."
"Teeth acting up?" Luminous repeated. "How is that possible?"
"I didn't have the best of hygiene as a kid. It comes back to haunt me when I'm older." He laughed. "Alright, I have a bit of errands to run in the morning, so I may not be here when you wake up."
Luminous nodded quietly.
"Don't worry, I'm still in town, just have a few things to do. I'll try to get them done fast so I can be back for breakfast, okay?"
"Okay!" Luminous grinned.
Even though the mood in this room was cheerful, elsewhere, it was anything but. The Master was thinking long and hard about what the next step could be for Luminous. He clearly was not old enough yet to train in magic. He did not want to waste time either. Luminous was left with a grand destiny ahead of him, and the master felt that Luminous would be the only way they could ever regain any of their face back. "He's far too young…" The master stated to himself, "And if 'he' comes back, he'll sense the barrier in an instant. I'm even sure if it will hold up against someone that knows about it." He told to himself. "But what else can we do? This child is possibly the most important figure in our town, and we can't even teach him how to defend himself yet!" He threw his head against his desk and thought a bit more. "This job is stressful…" He told himself. "I should find myself a date one day."
The next day, Luminous woke up early to get some free time to play on his own. With Vieren gone, he could be as loud as he wanted. He set up a few books like tents and his regular blocks. "Oh no! Megabot is back again!" Luminous yelled out, "He's going to wreck everything again!" He started to knock over books and blocks with small noises of people yelling. He ended up having a bit too much fun and ended up knocking their table over. "Uh oh…" Luminous told himself. Around that time, Vieren walked in and saw the mess. He let out a small sigh before laughing. "I had a feeling you would pull something like this." He said in a slight despaired tone. "You didn't break the table, did you?"
Luminous shook his head quickly. Vieren walked over and inspected it. "Looks fine. Just needs to be set up again." He said as he started putting it together again. "Wanna pick up those books?"
Luminous quietly began to pick up the books carefully. He would pick two up, set them on the shelf, them run back for more. As he was busy with the books, Vieren noticed Luminous's robot toy. Its leg had snapped off. "Oh no…" He said.
"What?"Luminous asked with great fear, hoping it wasn't the table.
"Your Megabot's broken." Vieren sighed. "Here let's see if I can…" he picked it up and the leg fell off completely. "Oh…"
Luminous ran up to the toy, "Ah? Are you sure it can't be fixed?!" He said with teary eyes.
Vieren sighed. He didn't like to keep junk around the house, but this was Luminous's favorite toy. "We can't keep it around the house… it will just take up space."
Luminous began to cry, "It can just stay in the toy chest!"
Vieren rolled his eyes a bit, "Alright, how about this. I'll go and see if I can get you a new one today, alright? If I can, we toss it. Deal?"
Luminous quietly nodded.
"Let's get some breakfast first. I'm making pancakes." Vieren cheered.
Luminous's eyes glowed a bit, "With syrup?"
"Plenty of it!" Vieren chuckled.
The two sat down and enjoyed their breakfast. Vieren found a good chance to leave after Luminous fell back asleep. He woke up so early that he couldn't stay awake after breakfast.
"This is going to haunt me tonight, but…" Vieren set Luminous up in his bed. "Here you go, Luminous. Sleep tight."
Vieren made his way towards the master's dorm. He let out a slight knock and waited for a response. This was going to be silly, but in the end, if it made Luminous happy, it wouldn't be that bad.
"Yes?" The master opened the door.
"Ah, heya pal! Been awhile!" Vieren laughed out.
"Shouldn't you be watching Luminous?" The Master bluntly stated.
"Ahh, he's sleeping. Woke up a bit early and went back to sleep." Vieren confirmed, walking in. "But hey, I have a bit of a question…" He brought out the broken robot toy. "Luminous broke this and he really likes it…. Sooo… I was wondering if maybe we had any spare funds I could use? I know we're limited and we're supposed to buy books and materials with it, but even a small amount would."
The master looked at Vieren and then the toy. "How did that child break a toy like this?"
"Well… he kicked the table over with it." Vieren laughed, "I'm pretty sure he was holding it wrong or something, it's usually pretty sturdy."
The master looked at the toy and began to think about the situation. "The child… broke… a sturdy toy…" He sighed. He really didn't like it, but he couldn't muster up the ability to say no… "Give me a moment." He walked over to his desk and began to shuffle papers around. Suddenly, he stopped though. "That's it!" he snapped his finger.
"Huh? Vieren asked.
The master walked over and picked the broken robot toy up, "You said these toys are sturdy, yes? How good would they be with an upgrade?"
"Upgrade?" Vieren repeated, "I'm afraid you lost me, buddy."
"This… this could be what we need!" He snapped his fingers, "Vieren! Quick, what's a good weapon beyond magic?"
Vieren rubbed the back of his neck, "Uhh.. I dunno… swords?"
"Swords…swords, swords, swords, swords…. They make toy swords, yes?" The master asked.
"They'd be crazy not to!" Vieren answered, still not clear of where this was going.
"Good. This is good!" The master stated, "Vieren! You know how these things function to an extent! You and I are going to make a robot from this and we'll make it into a security guard!"
"WHa—what?" Vieren shook his head, "Master, you are wise, but these are toys, not living things! They can't guard us from anything!"
"Typically, no. But with a bit of magic, they can do whatever we want for them to do!"
Vieren stood speechless. "Are you really going to use good magic on toys?"
"Exactly. I'll give you the funds for a new robot for Luminous. Pick up another one for us to use and a couple of toy swords and such. Make sure they are good quality."
"Why not a real sword?" Vieren asked.
"Do you honestly trust an experiment with a real blade? If you pick up one that's good enough, it should work fine to fend off anything basic along with the barrier."
"Alright, alright." Vieren shrugged, "Jeeves, it's like we've gone to the loonies suddenly."
The day slowly went by for the Master, and Luminous, whom had woken up and ended up over at the master's house.
"What's all these weird things for?" Luminous asked.
"We're making a robot." The Master stated.
"Ah! A real one?!" Luminous gasped out in shock. He looked at the pieces again and looked back at the master, still in shock with the answer.
"Yes. A real one. It will not be a toy." The master informed the child. "So do not try to play with it. It will be much too big anyway…"
"How big is it gonna be?" Luminous asked.
"About two or three of you. Fairly large."
Luminous gasped again. He had never seen a robot that big before! "That's so cool! Is it gonna have a name or something or?"
"No name yet… We will get there when it is complete. Now Luminous, I have to focus. This is very tedious." He said turn back to the small crystal he had on his desk.
Vieren would not return until later that evening for dinner. The master was already making some of his infamous potato stew, which Vieren figured he'd just give Luminous a good desert to actually fill him up later. "Here you go, Luminous. It's the latest model, so be careful."
Luminous looked at it and jumped up and down with it, taking it to a small corner in the room and played with it.
"Did you get the parts I requested?" The master asked.
"Yes… Yes I did." Vieren said as he unloaded all of them from the bag. "I still don't see how you're going to make this work."
The Master wasted no time. He snapped his fingers and started to take a look inside of the robot toy. "Let's see what makes this thing move, shall we?" He looked carefully. He moved over to his own scraps and began to move them around similarly to the toy. "If I move this here and this here…" he muttered to himself.
Vieren ended up taking Luminous home for a short bit before returning and spending the entire night with the master as he moved back and forth between the toy and the robot. He was actually quite skilled in his movements and observations. Something that really showed Vieren why he became the master after that day. He may be foolish when it came to dealing with people, but the man was smart.
After some time, Vieren would have to leave and care for Luminous, then come back to help the master out as his assistant. It took a good three days of trial and error, but the set up was eventually completed. Although he wiring was the same in the robot, certain parts were taken out and placed in the real one. They were much too hard to replicate.
"There…" The master sighed out, "That should do the trick." He looked at it, "but it functions nothing more than a fancy decoration at the moment." He told Vieren. "We shall need…" he went to his desk and picked up another small crystal. "This."
Vieren looked at it. It seemed a bit different from the light crystals that emitted light and a soft barrier around their village. "What is it?"
"It's a special sort of magic." He started up, "It's basically meant to ensure that the robot becomes aware of what it supposed to do."
"So…" Vieren rubbed his neck, "You mean play god?"
"Not at all!" The master shook his hand, "It will not function unless given orders. Only under orders does it exercise will. And its will is bound to those orders. Simple really."
"If you say so…" Vieren said as he watched the master place the crystal in the robot.
There was a clunking noise at first… Then a thud… Then another clunk. It was followed by a small whirl sound that slammed on the dirt and…
"Greetings." The robot spoke in a mechanical voice.
"It works!" The master spoke with a cheer.
Vieren blinked. He couldn't believe his eyes! The master really brought a robot to life! From toy parts! He got up and took a good look at it. "It's… really functioning…" He said to himself.
"Awaiting name and purpose." The robot stated in a typical monotone voice.
"A name? Huh…" the master rubbed his neck, " I have a purpose but not really a name…"
Vieren looked at the robot and thought for a bit. "How about…. Sentrobo?"
"What?" The master cringed.
"You know… serenity, for peace and calm…. Robot… Sentrobo!" Vieren moved his hands trying to explain.
"It's a stupid name, but it's better than nothing." He sighed, " You are a ….. Sentrobo…. And your purpose is to protect our home town from outsiders…"
"Affirmed." The robot stated. "State location needed for guard point."
"Uhh…" The Master stalled again, "The entrance of town. Vieren, show him the way…"
Vieren nodded and stood up, "Just follow me little fella, I know the spot."
As Vieren escorted the robot out, the Master called out. "You… wouldn't mind helping build a few more of these, would you? I know the process, so I can teach you…"
Vieren rubbed his chin. "Will Luminous be okay?"
"He can bring his toys over if he wants." The master rolled his eyes. "I would prefer we get him reading soon though."
Vieren laughed, "Alright, one step at a time. I'll help you." He said before turning around and escorting the robot out.
It was a nice feeling. The sentrobo was something simple added to the town, but a few would make nice guards. He could only hope it would stay safe for a much longer period of time… hopefully long enough for Luminous to defend himself.
