Chapter 74: Golem Fusion
Ruby disappeared from my side.
No.
She had simply accelerated to such an extent that my eyes completely lost track of her movements.
The next instant, a deafening blast shook the entire auditorium.
"BOOM!!"
Ruby’s claws were already just inches away from Gael’s throat.
But at that exact moment...
A gigantic hand made of green energy appeared out of nowhere.
It resembled the claw of a monstrous creature, formed from countless Plant Element particles condensed until they had taken on an almost solid shape.
It shot out from the side and intercepted Ruby.
The two hands collided violently.
The shockwave made the air tremble.
The hair of the nearby acolytes was blown backward as chairs slid across the floor.
For a moment, I thought the two forces had reached a stalemate.
But I quickly realized they hadn’t.
Ruby’s black claws sliced straight through the green hand.
Like knives cutting through paper.
In less than a second, the enormous spiritual claw was reduced to dozens of glowing fragments.
My expression changed.
There was no blood.
No flesh.
Not even a physical structure.
The pieces of the hand simply burst into thousands of tiny green particles.
The next instant...
They completely enveloped Ruby’s arm.
Like swarms of insects.
Or seeds searching for a place to take root.
Ruby narrowed her eyes.
Without hesitating, she immediately retreated.
She shook her arm several times.
The green particles tried to penetrate her skin, clinging to it like tiny living vines.
She clicked her tongue.
— Tsk.
A dark crimson aura erupted around her body.
One after another, the particles were repelled, unable to remain in contact with her.
Only then did I raise my eyes to see who had done it.
Kalikol.
He stood right beside Gael.
His enormous black robe completely concealed his body.
Beneath the hood, two yellow lights shone silently.
One of his arms remained partially raised.
The countless green particles drifted slowly through the air, emitting faint buzzing sounds.
They looked like a swarm of fireflies.
Or bees returning to their hive.
They vanished into the wide sleeve of his robe.
As though they had never existed.
Silence fell over the auditorium.
No one dared to breathe.
Not Ruby.
Not Kalikol.
They simply stared at one another.
I discreetly looked around.
That was when I noticed.
The other two Level 3 acolytes had already risen to their feet.
Neither of them had said a single word.
But both were already in position.
If Ruby took one more step...
The three of them would attack together.
My eyes narrowed.
That was exactly it.
No fool survived long enough to reach Level 3.
Every one of those veterans was as cunning as a fox.
Ruby had appeared virtually out of nowhere and reached that same level in an absurdly short period of time.
Naturally...
She was regarded as a dangerous variable.
Without exchanging a single word, the three of them had formed an invisible barrier around her.
If she insisted on attacking...
She would be facing three opponents at once.
Ruby realized it as well.
She took a slow breath.
The small horns that had begun to emerge receded.
Her bloody aura diminished.
Without saying a single word...
She stepped back.
The tension vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Only then did I release the breath I had been holding.
I turned my eyes back to the floating screen.
The Red Mission was still registered under my name.
Nothing was going to change that.
I walked over to Ruby.
I gently took hold of her arm.
She immediately lost all of her aggressive posture.
For a brief moment...
She looked like nothing more than a wild cat allowing its owner to lead it away.
Without saying a word...
We left the auditorium.
Behind us...
I heard a thud.
I discreetly glanced back.
Gael had fainted.
Even under Kalikol’s protection...
Fear had finally overwhelmed his body.
If Kalikol hadn’t intervened...
Gael would certainly have died in that attack.
...
We walked side by side for several minutes.
Neither of us spoke.
Until I finally broke the silence.
— Ruby.
She turned her eyes toward me.
— Choose another mission.
— Choose an easier one.
— When I finish the mission I originally chose...
— ...there will still be time for us to tackle that Red Mission together.
She remained silent.
Then...
She smiled.
It was a small smile.
But a genuine one.
— All right.
— I’ll wait for you.
We stopped in front of my room.
Ruby remained standing there.
She looked as though she wanted to say something.
But...
When our eyes met...
She saw my smile.
A tired smile.
A bitter one.
A sad one.
The words died before they could leave her lips.
She simply gave a slight nod.
Then she turned around.
And walked away.
...
I entered the room.
I slowly closed the door.
The soft click of the lock echoed through the empty room.
I stood motionless for a long time.
Without thinking about anything at all.
What had happened today...
Couldn’t be blamed entirely on Ruby.
She had only reacted.
If I calmly analyzed the entire situation...
The conclusion was almost inevitable.
It had been planned.
Gael would never have had the courage to tamper with a mission of that importance on his own initiative.
No.
He was far too cowardly.
It had obviously been Kalikol.
My instincts told me exactly that.
Perhaps it was a consequence of the incident in the forest.
Because I had killed Heitor while he was fighting some Dark acolytes, but how could Kalikol possibly know that I was the one who killed Heitor?
Well, in the end, that didn’t really matter.
Conflicts among the powerful always destroy the powerless.
It was a cruel truth.
My new mission...
Was considered dangerous even for a newly advanced Level 3 acolyte.
Pseudo-Mages regarded it as a challenge.
For me...
A mere Level 2 acolyte...
It was practically a death sentence.
Joining that group as the weakest member was extremely dangerous.
Of course...
Ruby would certainly do everything she could to protect me.
I believed that.
But I also understood a simple reality.
She couldn’t fight for me forever.
Even if her feelings for me were genuine...
Even if she clung to me with that possessive and fierce nature...
That didn’t mean she would risk her own life for mine.
.
.
.
.
Some time later...
.
.
.
.
I followed the trail I already knew by heart, crossing the damp vegetation until I reached the forest surrounding the Tower.
The silence in that place was almost absolute.
Only the wind stirred the twisted branches and made the grass sway gently.
That was precisely why I had chosen that area.
Ever since the death of Brimy, the leader of the Mud Ghosts, and the massacre that had taken place in the previous days, that region had become almost completely deserted.
Without a leader to organize the colony, the few remaining ghosts wandered aimlessly, hiding in the deepest parts of the swamp.
No one would come to interrupt me.
It was the perfect laboratory.
Without wasting any time, I took the two summoning cores out of my bag.
One was small and yellowish.
The other was larger, heavier, and remarkably stable.
The refined core of the Giant Shark King.
I crouched down and simply dropped them onto the ground.
— Manifest yourselves.
Both cores vibrated simultaneously.
"Zuuummmm..."
A tremendous quantity of Earth Element particles began to gather from the surrounding area.
The muddy ground trembled.
The earth cracked.
The yellowish particles swirled around the cores like a vortex.
A few seconds later...
Two figures began to take shape before me.
The first was familiar.
The humanoid Mud Golem.
As for the second creature...
Even I had to raise my eyebrows.
It was a shark.
Not exactly identical to the original...
But astonishingly similar.
Its entire body was made of compacted mud mixed with crystallized Earth Element particles.
Its scales had been recreated one by one.
Its fins looked like blades.
Its enormous jaws remained slightly open, revealing dozens of hardened teeth.
It was somewhat smaller than the true Giant Shark King.
Even so...
It still looked like a machine of war.
I observed the two of them standing side by side.
The spiritual cores truly preserved part of the original creature’s identity.
I folded my arms as I reflected.
When I refined those cores, I hadn’t completely destroyed the imprisoned souls.
They had been erased as individuals...
But their instincts remained deeply engraved within the spiritual structure.
When the core gathered Earth Element particles to form a body...
Those instincts served as a template.
That was why every Golem was born bearing the appearance of the core’s former owner.
Since the entire body was composed solely of elemental particles controlled by the Mental Runes engraved into the core...
If I issued a sufficiently detailed command, either of them could completely alter its form.
Extra arms.
Wings.
Shields.
Weapons.
They could even assume a human appearance.
Anything was possible.
The problem...
Was the energy cost.
Every alteration continuously consumed mana.
The farther the new form deviated from the core’s natural shape...
The greater the mana consumption.
In other words...
It was a useful tool.
But not something I could maintain for very long.
I turned my attention back to my two motionless subordinates.
Just a few months ago...
I had been nothing more than an ordinary acolyte.
Now...
Two Golems silently awaited my commands.
It wasn’t much.
Ridiculously little.
But...
Every army begins with only a handful of soldiers.
In my case...
Two.
— Biochip.
— Display the complete report on the new Golem.
My vision was immediately filled with countless blue lines.
[Combat Report Complete]
[Unit: Mud Golem — Giant Shark King]
[Category: Pseudo-Summoned Combat Golem]
[Overall Combat Strength: Peak Level II Acolyte]
[Estimated Attributes]
[Strength: 16]
[Agility: 3]
[Vigor: 17]
[Mana: 8]
[Passive Ability]
[The Earth Is in the Air]
[Regenerates 10% of structural integrity and mana reserves per minute while in contact with the Earth Element.]
I let out a low whistle.
— Impressive...
It was exactly as I had imagined.
Its Strength and Vigor completely surpassed those of my first Golem.
Its Agility was still terrible.
But that was to be expected.
A colossus of that size would never be fast.
Its role was different.
To break enemy lines.
To serve as a shield.
To crush anything standing in its way.
While the humanoid Golem was versatile...
The Shark was a living fortress.
Two completely different combat styles.
Perfect for being used together.
But...
I hadn’t come here today merely to admire my creations.
Ever since the battle against the Giant Shark King...
One idea had refused to leave my mind.
What would happen...
If I forced them to coexist?
I slowly looked at the two of them.
— My Golems...
— Fight with the courage you inherited.
— Advance with the loyalty you received from me.
— Carve the path to victory...
The Earth Element particles around us began to vibrate violently.
The air grew heavy.
— Now...
— Obey my command.
— Fusion!
....
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