Chapter 65: Testing my golem’s powers
I observed my creation in silence.
It didn’t have a face in the true sense of the word.
Only small protrusions marked the places where eyes, a nose, and a mouth would normally be.
There was no expression.
No emotions.
From a distance...
It looked like a completely bald man wearing crude yellowish leather armor.
I tilted my head slightly.
If I put a cloak over that body...
During the night...
It might even fool someone.
Long enough to set up an ambush.
Not bad for a first prototype.
I extended my hand.
The Golem moved immediately.
It obeyed exactly as the Mental Imprint System had been designed to.
The most curious part...
Was the way it moved.
Although its body was heavy, its footsteps made no sound at all.
The mud beneath its feet was barely disturbed.
I looked down at the ground.
No footprints.
No deep impressions.
Only a faint concentration of the Earth element remained along the path it had taken.
It was almost as if the ground itself accepted it.
I slowly approached.
Extended my arm.
Although it was composed of mud, the constant compression of the Earth element made its structure far tougher than it appeared.
I drew a small dagger from my waist.
Without hesitation...
I struck its side several times.
Tac.
Tac.
Tac.
The blade managed to penetrate only slightly.
Small cuts appeared.
But almost immediately, a yellowish light flowed through the damaged area.
The mud shifted on its own.
The wounds disappeared as though they had never existed.
I nodded slowly.
Good regenerative capability.
In practice...
Its defense was comparable to that of an acolyte specializing in body reinforcement.
It wasn’t extraordinary.
Nor was it anywhere close to the absurd durability of a Stone Golem or an Iron Golem.
But...
Its regeneration made up for much of that difference.
It was a soldier capable of remaining in combat for a long time.
I began walking around it.
Observing every detail.
Then I stopped in front of it once again.
It still seems too small.
I wanted something more intimidating.
I decided to experiment.
—Increase your size.
The Golem obeyed.
Its body began to grow.
Its shoulders broadened.
Its arms lengthened.
Its legs became enormous.
For a few seconds, I thought it would work.
But I soon noticed the problem.
The mud became less and less dense.
Its solid consistency gradually disappeared.
By the time it reached approximately four meters in height...
My Golem looked as though it were made of gray mist.
Its body had lost almost all of its solidity.
It was practically a gaseous mass of the Earth element.
—Biochip.
—What happened?
[Bip!]
[Insufficient magical energy to maintain structural control over this quantity of mass.]
Then I understood.
The problem wasn’t the amount of mud.
It was the core.
The spiritual core I had used possessed a capacity equivalent to that of an advanced acolyte.
Its control limit was around ninety kilograms of the Earth element.
That was an absolute limit.
If I spread that same amount over a larger body...
Its density would decrease.
And naturally...
Its durability would also drop dramatically.
The Biochip displayed another piece of information.
[Ideal height calculated: 2 meters.]
[Maximum density achieved.]
That size hadn’t been chosen by chance.
It was the best balance between weight, durability, and mobility.
I let out a sigh.
—Return to your previous size.
The Golem slowly shrank.
The mist condensed once more.
A few seconds later...
Its solid body reappeared.
Now it was time to test its abilities.
The first was a weakened version of Earthquake.
I ordered it to begin walking.
The moment it took its first step...
The ground shook violently, and I nearly lost my balance.
Rumble~~~~
Violent shockwaves spread through the earth around us.
The vibrations were quite powerful; if caught off guard, they could easily knock someone off their feet.
I imagined a group of enemies surrounding my Golem.
All of them would be thrown off balance before they could even attack.
Against medium-sized creatures...
The ability still had some usefulness.
Against enormous monsters...
Practically none.
I nodded.
It was acceptable.
Then came the real test.
—Bring me those three Mud Ghosts near the lake.
I casually pointed toward the lakeshore.
My Golem immediately set off.
A few moments later...
The three demons came into view, chasing after it.
They growled.
Hissed.
Moved in a completely disorganized manner.
The difference between them was glaring.
When the first one lunged...
The Golem remained motionless.
Claws scraped across its chest.
Bites struck its arms.
Nothing.
The marks simply disappeared as its regeneration took effect.
Then...
My Golem attacked.
Pow!
Its fist struck one of the demons with crushing force.
The creature was hurled several meters backward.
It barely managed to get back up.
Before it could react...
My Golem extended one arm.
Grabbed it by the neck.
Squeezed.
Crack.
A sharp snap echoed across the swamp.
Then...
It threw the body away.
While the demon was still spinning through the air...
My Golem slowly raised one hand above its head.
The mud condensed.
Solidified.
Transformed into a long spear nearly a meter in length.
Whoosh!
The weapon sliced through the air.
It pierced completely through the Mud Ghost’s body.
The creature was pinned to the trunk of a tree on the lakeshore.
Even then...
It continued struggling.
Its vitality was astonishing.
My Golem simply formed another spear.
Threw it again.
Pow!
This time...
The tip pierced straight through its head.
The body finally went still.
Meanwhile...
The two remaining Mud Ghosts had leaped onto its back.
They bit.
Scratched.
Growled like desperate beasts.
My Golem merely extended both arms behind itself.
Grabbed one in each hand.
Tore them off its own body.
Then violently slammed them into the ground.
The creatures tried to get up.
They couldn’t.
My Golem slowly raised both arms.
Earth energy flowed through its circuits.
The very next instant...
Dozens of earth spikes erupted from the ground beneath the two demons.
Crash!
The mineral spears pierced through their bodies from below.
They were left suspended in the air.
Impaled.
Motionless.
Silence returned to the swamp.
...
Throughout the entire battle, I remained still.
There was no need to interfere.
[Combat Report Complete]
[Mud Golem]
[Classification: Pseudo-Summoned Combat Golem]
[Overall Combat Strength: Level II Acolyte]
[Estimated Attributes]
[Strength: 12]
[Agility: 4]
[Vigor: 14]
[Mana: 7]
[Active Skills]
.
.
.
[Earthquake (Weak)]
[Radius: 5 meters]
[Effect: Excellent against small creatures.]
[Moderately effective against medium-sized creatures.]
[Minimal effect against large creatures.]
[Cooldown: None]
.
.
.
[Mud Mass]
[Type: Single Target]
[Physical Damage: 12]
[Earth Damage: 7]
[Range: 5–80 meters]
[Cooldown: 3 seconds]
.
.
.
[Earth Spikes]
[Type: Area]
[Effective Area: 10 × 8 meters]
[Physical Damage: 7]
[Earth Damage: 5]
.
.
.
[Passive Skills]
[The Earth Is in the Air]
[Recovers 7% of health and mana per minute in regions rich in the Earth element.]
So this is its true capability...
In theory...
My Golem was only comparable to a Level II Acolyte.
Its offensive attributes were far from extraordinary.
Especially when compared to those of a true combat specialist.
But...
Statistics alone didn’t tell the whole story.
The Golem felt no fear.
It never hesitated.
It made no mistakes out of nervousness.
It never wasted energy.
Much less did it retreat because of injuries.
Its constant regeneration also completely changed its combat evaluation.
While an ordinary acolyte had to protect their own body...
My Golem could simply keep advancing.
In practice...
Its performance in battle was much closer to that of a Level III Acolyte than its basic attributes suggested.
I continued analyzing the data.
According to my studies, an offensive spell cast by a Level III Acolyte normally dealt somewhere between twenty and thirty points of damage, depending primarily on the quality of the caster’s Magical Power.
Meanwhile, defensive barriers of that same level could withstand approximately thirty to forty points of damage before breaking.
That meant...
On its own...
My Golem would have great difficulty defeating an opponent of that level.
Its attacks simply weren’t powerful enough to quickly break through a well-constructed magical defense.
But...
I had never planned to fight with only it.
A smile slowly spread across my face.
My Golem was only one piece...
And soon, I would have an army of Golems.
...
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