The power of Keaton

“Is such a thing really necessary?”
Having finished a warm-up-like exercise, the steel giant extends its right arm.

“Oracleeee Drill!”

And suddenly, his right arm transformed!?
The metal right hand, similar to a human hand, had five fingers…
In an instant, it moved and twisted like a fluid… or maybe like a shapeless slime creature, changing its form.

If I were to compare it to something, it’s like a mounted spear Lance.
The entire lower right arm changed into a cavalry lance with a spiral groove engraved!

“That is Keaton’s main equipment.
He calls it the Oracle Drill.
Not only does it function as a drill, but by releasing nanomachines while rotating, it makes drilling more efficient and safe.”

“Yeah, I have no idea what you’re talking about!
Wait, it spins? Is that true?”

“Yes, it twirls around like ‘dori-dori.’”

“So, it spins around like ‘dori-dori.’”

While listening to Eve’s explanation and watching, I understand.
“It’s more of a ‘gyuiin!’ rather than ‘dori-dori’…”
The entire lower right arm transformed by Keaton starts spinning rapidly!
Indeed, this is not a primitive weapon like a mounted lance.
Is it called a drill? It’s a weapon I’ve never seen before!

“Here I goooo!”

Despite his large build, Keaton bends his knees deeply and demonstrates astonishing leaping ability!
In terms of a person’s vertical jump, if I were to do it, it would be around 50 to 60 centimeters at most.
However, Keaton’s leaping ability far surpasses his entire height!

After all, he effortlessly reached the ceiling of the large empty space where ‘Mamiya,’ who is about 30 meters tall, comfortably fits inside.
I can’t imagine how far he could jump without a ceiling.

However, what is astonishing is not just that he reached the ceiling effortlessly.

“Uwaaaaah!”

With a roar, Keaton plunged the drill into the ceiling, and his massive figure quickly vanished into the ground.
He was getting swallowed up.
However, he did not dig a hole.
Despite the entrance of such a gigantic figure, not a single clump of earth fell from the ceiling.

“With Keaton leading, there will be no excavation-related accidents.
We will carry out surface and subsurface development safely and securely.”

“I see, it truly is amazing…”

After hearing Eve’s words, my entire body shook…
As I looked at the screen where all changes had vanished, I tilted my head in puzzlement.

“So… um… what is it…
How should I go about monitoring his progress from now on?”

“It seems like you hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

She delivered emotionless, ruthless words.
Amid my disbelief at my very one-sided mistake…
Keaton was energetically completing his task.

“As I suspected, the soil is excellent!
As I dig this hole, I start to feel alive…!
Well, even though I am a robot!”

No one is watching…
With no queries in sight…
Keaton, with a dash of fashionable humor, was making progress on his long-awaited task.

With his beloved drill, he digs energetically into the ground!
After all, in the past, I was the one who renovated the entire area, including the underground, to seal the mothership ‘Mamiya.’
By recalling the memories stored in the artificial brain, it was easy to find the underground water vein.

“Confirming arrival at the underground water source!
I will now release the freeze and create a path to the surface.”

Shouting like that, he melts the frozen water vein treated by nanomachines and digs a vertical hole to redirect the overflowing water flow.
No matter how hard the ground or bedrock is, it doesn’t matter.
With his prized drill, he effortlessly crushes them like tofu.
At this moment, Keaton is like a missile charging through the earth!

For a brief moment, he digs deeper underground with a carefully calculated route to prevent ground subsidence…

“Chaaaarge!”

Finally, the pathway guiding the water flow reaches the surface. Keaton finds himself basking his entire armored body in sunlight, an experience he hasn’t had in over a thousand years.

“Heh, this is pretty good stuff…!”

With great speed, Keaton leaps into the air to a height of several dozen meters, muttering to himself as he glances back.
Unfortunately, while traveling underground, he gets covered in dirt…
Water gushes out like a giant fountain on the surface, providing the earth with much-needed moisture.

“Now, what kind of plants should I plant…?!”

As he hovered, emitting a plasma jet from the soles of his feet, Keaton pondered for a moment…
However, the thoughts of artificial intelligence are quick.
Having quickly decided on the plant seeds to plant, he aimed his altered right hand, now a drill, towards the ground.

“Launch the modified seed bullets!”

From the holes in the drill…
Countless seeds and highly concentrated liquid fertilizer are sprayed toward the ground…
The seeds, produced using advanced genetic technology, are artificial varieties…
Upon contact with the soil, they absorb water and nutrients, quickly develop roots, sprout, grow stems, and produce leaves.
Some grew into magnificent trees that would typically take years to mature in the natural world.

These are no ordinary trees…
On the sprawling branches, vibrant apples were visibly ripening.
Long before the Galactic Empire was established…
Even to Keaton and the others, it was a choice based on the mythological legends of Earth that have been passed down.

“How is it, Master?
Exactly thirty minutes have passed in real time!
Per your instructions, a five hundred-meter radius above ‘Mamiya’ has now turned into greenery!”

“Ah…!
Amazing… Amazing, Keaton!
Although the progress below ground went unnoticed, the result was astonishing!”

This is something I noticed when I discovered ‘Mamiya’…
It seems that I tend to forget my words when I get excited.

“To imagine such a rich underground water source existed in the Land of Death...!
And your skill in guiding it to the surface is truly magnificent!”

While not knowing how much time had passed, I tossed aside the card game Eve had taught me and pressed my face against the frame that showed the surface below.
Within the frame, although still muddy with soil, water gushes out like an oasis I read about in books, accompanied by grass, flowers, and apple trees taking root around it.

“Eve! Is this really happening?”

“Yes, the image captured by Keaton’s camera synchronized with the surface.”

“Huh…
Is it displaying what Keaton sees?”

“Yes.”

Her hair was shining in different colors…
To the stoic Eve, I inquire.

“If that’s the case, couldn’t we also observe their performance underground using the same method?”

“Only images of the ground and rocks would be shown in that case.
We could have shown images of the scanned underground layout, but I thought it would be hard to understand.”

“I-I see… I’ve troubled you.”

I nodded at Eve’s words.

“In any case, I witnessed Keaton’s abilities in action!
This is doable…!
I can make this happen…!”

I am shaking with joy while clenching my fists…
At that moment, a completely unexpected group was approaching us.