After achieving Stage three, Max found that the tasks that took so much of his energy to complete suddenly became... well, boring. His ability to control folds of reality transformed to the point where he could be considered the overlord over a small portion of space, the de facto king.
The number of folds he could control didn't increase in number after undergoing his Stage Advancement and remained at five, but that was more than alright considering Max's goals. Unless he was absolutely forced to, he wasn't planning on going through another Stage Advancement process. He'd already amassed the control over Mana that he wanted from being Stage three, so it wouldn't help him much if he increased his power once again. By any standard of measurement, Max wasn't talented- he understood that. He believed the only reason he succeeded in advancing his Stage was because of the machines that he developed and their help in manipulating Mana.
He didn't want to become powerful for the sake of ruling over others, which would necessitate the power of at least the Stage five-level, because who was he going to rule over?
The only allies he had within the entire Foundation were his creations, which included Angel and the small class of Artificial Lives he taught. But they were his friends too, so he could never consider ruling over them.
No, he desired power because he wanted to support the Foundation and eradicate the parasites feeding off Urok's greatness. Even if they had warmongers at the Stage five-level and some monsters that grew even above that, their strength would become meaningless with his mechanical army... as long as he completed it, of course.
'But it's not enough, not yet...' He mumbled while disassembling the scraps of machines sent to him by his supervising magical engineer, taking the valuable high-Class materials away to be refined and recycled in one of his projects later.
None of the materials he was given was stronger than Class six, so Angel was more than capable of acting as a forge and reforging the various metals and materials into easy-to-use ingots before storing them in the lab hidden below his workplace. While there still wasn't enough to create another golem on the same level as his strong companion, it was more than enough to augment the rest of the Artificial Lives with small yet powerful bodies. Of the fifteen total Artificial Lives, eleven of them had completed temporary bodies, while the other four had basic chassis to rest their energy cores inside.
Though it was painful to think about, Max had to be realistic about how many resources his goal would take up. First of all, he needed enough time to construct an army of capable mechanical soldiers while also somehow finding the space to store them, but even more important, he needed to decide if he wanted to make every mechanical soldier he built into an Artificial Life.
After spending so much time with Angel and his fifteen children, the line between biological life and artificial became blurrier by the day. Max never had kids of his own before the Program- hell, he'd only gotten to know a woman intimately after entering the Program- but he didn't regret his choice. The kids he had now were perfect in every way, and sometimes, they acted more 'human' than he did. His love for them came with a simple observation, one that he wished he didn't have:
The scale of the upcoming war was large enough that he'd be ignorant to think he could win without any casualties. So, if he did choose to implant an Artificial Life within every single one of the mechanical soldiers, not only would it take a lot of time, but it would also be akin to drafting soldiers guaranteed to die.
It would be murder.
Max had already killed before, (though not directly since it was Angel who had physically done the deed) but this was different. There wasn't any excuse or justification for his actions this time. He was going to launch a large-scale war against the Factions that imbedded themselves within the VPF, a war that, if all went well, would be over in an instant.
But in that instant, thousands of mechanical soldiers would be destroyed, along with the Artificial Lives inside them, if he did chose to gift them with life.
When he lay awake one night, incapable of sleeping with the weight of the battles to come hanging over his head, he thought, 'I won't do it. But, I do need a commander to lead them. Not Angel, he'll have to be in charge of something else... If I can figure out a way to enhance the processing power of my Artificial Lives- and maybe even create a connection between them- then maybe I can create a hive-mind like Artificial Organism. A single entity, that with enough power, can command all the mechanical soldiers.'
For a moment, he leaned towards giving his fifteen children with command over the mechanical soldiers to aid him, but he banished the thought as quickly as it appeared. No matter what, he wasn't going to expose his kids to the war. They were too young to understand the necessity of his actions, and the wrongness of it as well; he knew that they'd just support him no matter what he did, but for once, he wanted them to understand the effects his war would have on the regular members of the Foundation.
Angel's mental understanding of the universe and the people that existed within it grew by the day, but the Artificial Life was already much older mentally than Max's children because they killed someone hours within being 'born'. They perceived the universe as much crueler than the other Artificial Lives, which was why Max was so grateful that they still chose to follow him through his Foundation-cleansing plan despite their understanding.
One day, he asked Angel why he chose to stay with him. A Class six golem like themself would be welcome almost anywhere in the universe, especially if said golem was intelligent. The only risk was that Angel would have to be careful to not expose their true nature as an Artificial Life, but besides that, they'd be free.
[Who else would I follow? You gave me life- I can't repay that debt.] Angel pressed, confused why the issue of them giving their loyalty to him was such an issue.
Max sighed, "I told you, Angel, you don't owe me anything. In fact, if we were really debating the issue, then I think it'd be more appropriate to say that I'm the one that owes you. You saved my life, after all. If it weren't for you back when that bitch came in here to steal everything I had, then I'd be just a small stain on the long list of atrocities this organization has committed because of the Factions that divide Urok's work."
The Artificial Life looked appalled at the idea of a man of his genius being 'insignificant', the little metallic facial features he had bending with his growing emotions.
Upon doing some research into the matter, Max discovered that the Artificial Lives had the ability to manipulate the form of their bodies using the ambient energy in the environment. High-Class materials already had the ability to grow and change because of injected energy as well as ambient energy, and the concentration of Void energy combined with their 'racial' abilities enabled them to grow the bodies that he created for them into their 'ideal' living bodies.
In Angel's case, his form slimmed down into a more human appearance. His body became denser as it shrunk down to only two meters tall from their previous two and a half meters, and they no longer resembled a Warmachine because of how overtly large they were. They had human proportions, and if you ignored the massive wings hanging off their backs, then you might even mistake him for a living human if they chose to wear clothes... he didn't have genitals, so he didn't really need them anyway.
The devices that took place of their eyes still glowed with the ambient energy in the environment, but Angel had managed to gain firmer control over his body and was able to divert the energy he took in so that his body absorbed it rather than his eyes. Max, seeing the opportunity for improvement, took the principle from which he created the energy-compressing devices for his Stage Advancement and created similar devices to be assimilated into Angel's body. With those devices, they'd have access to a much larger pool of energy compared to before if they focused on stockpiling energy before assimilating it into their bodies.
It'd be better if Angel focused on increasing their combat power for the future battles to come so that Max wouldn't have to worry about them, and could then focus on expanding his army.
If he really wanted to end the Faction's control within the Foundation, he needed to destroy them all in a single moment with overwhelming power. His individual strength was nowhere near enough, even if he became a God- well, maybe not, Gods were just that powerful, but the odds of that occurring were so low that it wasn't an option- so he had to rely on his machines.
Before he could finish drawing up the blueprint for a long-range artillery-type machine that could support his close-range combatants, the sound of someone pounding on the door of his workshop interrupted his thoughts.
"Max! You in there? Come on, there's a VPF mandatory meeting for all members soon- did you not check your interface?!" The door opened after the woman lost her patience, and the gruff voice of his supervising officer grated against his ears. "Heavens, what the hell are we going to do with you!"
His supervisor, Bertha, wasn't the same supervisor who stole into his workshop and took his blueprints- that man got a promotion and was probably working in a larger facility by now, thanks to the powerful people who appreciated his 'work'. After that event, Bertha was the person who replaced him and was a genuinely nice person.
She had zero ambition and was perfectly content with her role in the VPF, which meant that she had no involvement in the Factions. As supervisors go, she excelled at her job. The magical engineers liked her positive attitude- Max included- and the power-packed into her short and thick frame from her Aura gave her the physical power to restrain them if they didn't perform well enough. As Warriors go, she was one of the nicest in the Foundation.
Bertha pat her large hands across his shoulders while Angel discreetly took advantage of his slender form to slink into the shadows and disappear into Max's secret lab. Thankfully, after going through his Stage Advancement, both his and Angel's senses became enhanced enough to notice anybody approaching his workshop, and thus have enough time to remove any evidence of their planning before they were noticed. Angel took the blueprint he was working on with him while he slipped away unnoticed.
Feeling the developed muscles on his back, his supervisor frowned and stepped back, narrowing her eyes as she took in Max's ragged appearance. She squinted and said, "You don't look like much with that terrible hair of yours, but... have you been working out? Something's different about you..."
After looking at him with eyes full of suspicion for a moment, she stopped and flashed a grin at him, her eyes sparkling. "Whatever you're doing, it's working good for you- but make sure to hide those muscles from the rest of the Foundation, 'k? Now, if you could just fix your hair and," her hand swept the air around her nose, "maybe even take a bath, then you might even be handsome!"
Max inwardly sighed in relief before slapping a smile on his face.
'Thank the Heavens, I thought she noticed my Stage Advancement. Even if she outranks me, it looks like they don't base a promotion off intelligence...' It was a rude thing to think, but those were his true thoughts.
"Yes, of course. I'll be out soon, so just give me a minute to get ready," is what he actually said.
"That's more like it! I'm looking forward to what an un-ruffled Max looks like!" Her fingers pinched his cheeks like a grandmother would before she pushed him back into the workshop and scurried out the door. If he paid close enough attention, he could almost hear the sound of her knocking on the doors of the other engineers and waking them from their self-entitled naps.
"Yeah.. see you."
[She seemed rather happy today, master. Perhaps you shouldn't disappoint her.] Angel's monotone voice failed to hide his excitement at the idea of seeing what his creator would look like when he was properly clean.
As if on cue, the sound of metal clacking on metal announced the appearance of his children as they peered at Max from the entrance to the lab, comically stacked on top of each other.
"Fuu..." He sighed into his hands while rubbing his head. "No! I won't do it! Bertha be damned-"
His children all gasped collectively, before one of them, Athena, stepped out and pointed dramatically at him.
[Father said a bad word! Father's a bad man!] Her words made Max's face collapse into a grin before he ran and scooped up his beloved children in his arms, smothering them with kisses.
Maybe it was because they were kids, but their metallic bodies softened after the Artificial Lives took control of them, and with his enhanced physique from the high-quality Mana running through his body, it was no trouble carrying all fifteen of his kids.
"Wait a second." Max froze as his actions made him realize something. His head whipped around to face Angel, and he asked, "Why are the kids up in the public workshop?"
If the Artificial Life had a face with blood and bones, it'd be pale with fright from the icy glare his master gave him. His Adamant wings curled into his shoulder blades before warbling and shifting into his blood-red metallic armor, the equipment protecting the Artificial Life from his gaze.
[I-I saw that Martha had already left, so I believed it was okay to let the kids get a breath of fresh air, master.] Their voice came out from underneath the dense armor, the Artificial Life uncharacteristically stuttering from their nerves. [They've been cooped up for so long inside the lab that I thought that seeing something new might be good for them.]
His friend's words made his heart pang. He knew that it wasn't good for a child to spend so much time in one place without having the ability to explore, but they're just wasn't any other option at the time. The laboratory that they all lived in was expanding at a steady pace by burrowing into the vast space inside the Void and building rooms inside, but for seventeen total inhabitants, it could get a little cramped. Especially for the kids, who, very much like biological kids, were full of uncontrollable energy.
Max turned his head and looked at the living machines bundled into his arms, all of their eyes looking hopefully into his. He sighed, and put down his children.
"Fine, just... don't go outside that door. I mean it!" His authoritative tone stopped Loki in his tracks before one of his many hands could reach the doorknob and the harsh facility that lay beyond it. "I trust Angel enough to leave you here, but if I find out about one of you trying to sneak out of here, forget leaving the lab until you're good and ready to take care of yourself!"
Even if the words left a bitter taste in his mouth, they were effective. The stern look on his face proved to the Artificial Lives how serious their father was. They'd only ever seen their father act seriously twice before- once, when Loki ended up in the middle of one of Max's testing for mechanical weapons that nearly hurt him, and another after a batch of valuable high-Class material ended up damaged by their playing.
Every one of those times, their father never yelled at them. He was stern, but he didn't press his anger into them. The only thing he did was try to get them to understand the importance of his work and why it was important to be careful in the lab that was their home. This was a shared space, which meant that none of them could get privacy. However, the lack of privacy didn't mean that they shouldn't be respectful.
Loki took one last, begrudging look at the door before slumping over and walking back to his siblings, his four arms dragging on the floor behind him. The scene would've made any other person's heart ache with sympathy, but Max was experienced enough with the little brat's antics that he was unfazed by his purple glowing puppy-dog eyes.
When the kids were settled, he pulled Angel to the side.
"If you hear anyone walking in the hallway- and I mean anyone- pull the kids back into the lab. If it's clear again, you can bring them out."
The living golem nodded solemnly.
"If there's not enough time, I'm giving you full control of the army." Max pulled out a black crystal from his pocket and patted it onto Angel's chest, the Adamant accepting the foreign material and letting it flow into their body. "Use it to blow past anyone and everyone. If you can hide the evidence, do it. Otherwise, if you can't hide yourselves, use the soldiers to escape. I'll find a way to wiggle through the Foundation's questions and meet up with you later."
No matter what, Mas was determined that no harm would come to his family, even if it meant that he'd have to leave the Foundation. His leaving would only disrupt his plans by a few years, but he could always come back.
[I won't let it come to that, master.]
"Let's hope it doesn't." He smiled and pat them on the arm.