Chapter 56: Golem

Maybe it was the excitement of the first attempt… Even by the next morning, while boarding the carriage to head to the Magic Tower, Constantine still felt dizzy, as if floating among the clouds. We must admit, the cleverness of the Blood Elf… but some things were still too difficult. Even though it was Constantine’s first experience with such tenderness, he only let her leave his room after an hourglass had been flipped over…

So, when the Old Steward himself brought breakfast, the young man merely responded with a knowing smile.

“I didn’t expect you to choose to go to the Magic Tower… I thought you’d choose to have another passionate entanglement with that girl… at least break through that final boundary…”

The wheels rumbled over the cobblestone road. The slight bumpiness made Constantine drowsy. But just before he drifted off to sleep, as the Gemstone in his hand flickered slightly, Hartdiel’s voice sounded in his ear.

“Such matters should be taken step by step. As for nurturing such things, you are far less experienced than… well, ahem… Although I acknowledge this curiosity as a male creature, Hartdiel, I must remind you. Your recent words, spoken from the top of the pyramid of Undead Creatures, are undoubtedly subversive.” Disturbed from his sleepiness, Constantine found it both funny and irritating. A moment of carelessness nearly led him to reveal certain truths, so he quickly cleared his throat and changed the subject.

“What I’m more curious about is your diligence in magical cultivation. Actually, given your status, why do you tirelessly pursue this kind of pure power? Didn’t the noble education you received tell you that with the authority in hand, even the most foolish Duke could easily crush a great warrior like an insect?” Hartdiel’s voice was calm and even, not revealing his true thoughts at all. Whether joking or mocking, it wouldn’t have much effect here.

“Hartdiel… this doesn’t sound like you… something a Lich, who would step into filth in pursuit of power, would say?” The corner of Constantine’s mouth lifted slightly as he gently twisted the emerald green Gemstone—this item he had invested great effort to create. According to the Lich, it had an effect superior to the previous one. Even an Archmage would find it hard to detect the presence of the Undead Creature hidden within. It even blocked some of the wearer’s connection to this world.

“A Duke can use his authority to easily kill a high-level warrior because their abilities, and the ways they exert them, are not equal… How many Dukes in the Empire actually hold real power? High-level warriors… that rank sounds intimidating, but on the Western Continent, those with such ability, openly or hidden, even if not eighty or a hundred thousand, there must be three to five thousand, right? If seeking the principle of equality, a Duke’s opponent should at least be an Archmage… Faced with the wondrous Arcane Arts, mobilizing an army might not necessarily achieve the desired result, isn’t that so?

“Moreover, the domains where the two exert their power are different… Throughout history, high-ranking nobles killed by assassins are countless, enough to fill carts and measures. What about the Emperors of various countries? The great tyrant of the past, Iron-blooded Emperor Galinca II, who claimed to have the strongest Royal Knights—did his authority represent the limit of power? Yet didn’t he also die by a small poisoned dagger? The one who killed him was a powerless attendant… In four hundred years, several Griffin Dukes probably died under mysterious circumstances, right?… But can you say that any assassin guild had power stronger than a noble Duke, or a King, to decide all matters on the Continent?”

“As for me, you should understand… For Connalyvis, I am not a qualified successor. I might very well… or I may have already become a stepping stone in this intricate network of power relations. But I don’t want to live a mediocre life like this, nor do I want to blindly become a sacrifice in the mutual strife of political powers. I want to live, and live according to my own will. That is why I need to cultivate my personal power.” Constantine spoke softly. At this point, it no longer seemed like a discussion with the Lich, but more like an affirmation of his own beliefs.

In fact, perhaps after gaining a certain level of power, Constantine’s distance to that seat on the Griffin’s back might become very close. But the young man found he did not particularly look forward to that future.

He never truly integrated into that scheming noble circle. That life of mutual contention was undoubtedly hard to adapt to, even for someone who had crossed worlds… Engaging in psychological and verbal battles with old and young foxes alike was too draining. And given Constantine’s awkward position, making a name for himself on the path of power seemed too difficult…

“Then… after gaining power, what is it you want to do?” The Lich asked, but his voice was soft, as light as a sigh.

So, what exactly was his own wish? Constantine was slightly stunned for a moment.

Every Human has desires. But that doesn’t mean desires are bad; they are a double-edged sword. Desires drive pursuit, and Human development cannot happen without them. Like the person who invented carriages because he was too lazy to walk. Everyone has desires, and everyone is selfish and narrow-minded. Self-interest reigns supreme. Hence, conflicts arise everywhere. This is the root of Human nature, and also the driving force behind Humanity’s rise.

So, what did he himself want?

“As for me, I have no interest in making others obey me, nor do I want to obey anyone else. Whether it’s a monarch, a powerful minister, or a heroic sage, they all seem like boring things in my eyes… If I had the ability, I’d rather travel across this Continent, see the sights of various places, and casually conquer a few pretty girls… do whatever I want. And of course, the best would be immortality, that would be the most free and easy.” After a long silence, Constantine spoke. A smile curled on his young lips. This wish seemed somewhat aimless, but it was the first thing that popped into his head when he thought of the word ‘wish’.

“I must say, achieving your wish… seems rather unattainable…”

The young man’s answer plunged the Amulet into a brief silence. A long while later, the Lich’s voice slowly sounded again.

“Spellcasters on the Continent often spend ten years pursuing power and knowledge before they might touch the throne known as Archmage… I myself became an Archmage when I was a sixty-eight-year-old man. The most talented Mage spent twenty-eight years reaching the same level… As for methods of immortality, I can think of many now… For example, becoming a Lich like me, or turning into a Vampire. But methods that grant immortality while also satisfying your lustful desires… I can only say there are very few. Pathetically few… Unless you can become an Apostle of a certain Deity. Then, at least until that deity falls, you would possess power and a long life.”

“An Apostle of a certain Deity…?” Constantine seemed touched by a certain nerve. After a slight pause, he sank into deep thought.

…

The barrier of the Magic Tower slowly closed behind the young man, revealing the pastoral Illusion inside as usual. Hesitating slightly, Constantine walked into the forest.

Vernal’s laboratory door was tightly shut. But before the young man attempted to knock, the house seemed to know of his arrival. The floor silently sank to form a staircase—after that Mage assessment, a line of dark red small characters had been added to the pendant hanging on Constantine’s chest, representing his identity as a Sorcerer. In truth, with Constantine’s ability to interpret text, he couldn’t decipher its meaning at all. But he knew its effect. He now had access permissions to at least one-third of the locations within the Mage Tower, including public laboratories, the use of experimental equipment, and even the casual use of some less important spell materials.

Now, it appeared this also included access to this laboratory.

Constantine’s target was the simple grinding wheel he had made himself, and that lamp that could melt metal.

However, after descending the stairs, he found that Vernal’s usually spacious laboratory seemed a bit crowded today—a colossal thing occupied most of the space.

At first glance, it somewhat resembled a legendary Giant, standing sixteen feet tall. Its huge body was slightly hunched, kneeling in the laboratory. But even so, at his full height, Constantine only reached just above its thighs. Its entire upper body was covered in thick iron armor like rock layers, extending over most of its head and face. Its arms, almost reaching the ground, and its bent spine made this thing far from Human in appearance—more like a gorilla, or perhaps, King Kong?

Then the young man noticed this didn’t seem to be the shell of a living creature—on its stone arm, thick as a beam, various Runes were inlaid with Adamantine and Mithril. The ends were things the size of battering stones, covered in iron spikes… Constantine couldn’t confirm if those were its hands, because there wasn’t a single finger on them.

A Golem?

Regarding Golems, Constantine had some general knowledge from a few books in the Duke’s collection. And since his last return, Hartdiel had systematically introduced this type of Mage weapon.

Golems were somewhat similar to robots on Earth, but due to their large size, they were generally extremely clumsy and slow-moving. Of course, their advantage was their bodies made entirely of solid matter, incredibly sturdy, and most Magic spells had little negative effect on them. Moreover, they completely obeyed the Mage’s commands. With such a large Shield for protection, a fragile Mage could confidently cast spells, undoubtedly greatly increasing offensive capability. And their large, sturdy bodies were excellent weapons for attack, often even replacing large siege equipment like Battering Rams on the battlefield.

Of course, these things had plenty of drawbacks. Besides being cumbersome and lacking intelligence, the biggest flaw was that they were too expensive to make!

In the Lich’s memory, he used Flesh Golems the most. Things made from preserved, treated corpses of the dead. Although they were the weakest type of Golem, under the conditions of the Undead War, corpses for making and replenishing them were practically everywhere, extremely convenient—but even so, making one still cost at least over ten thousand gold coins in various materials. As for higher-level Earth and Stone Golems, each higher grade doubled the production cost of the previous. As for Iron Golems… that was an astronomical figure.

A completed Iron Golem required at least about eighty thousand gold coins in material costs. This didn’t even include the Mental Power the Mage needed to expend to animate it later. Therefore, theoretically, the transaction price for a finished product should be around one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins… almost the price of a small city with complete walls. Truly something that could be called ‘city-toppling’. Even Hayton’s Mage Guild only used the next-level Stone Golems as guards.

And this expense wasn’t only financial… Even putting aside the high production cost, there was a key magical ritual for making a Golem. Failure meant starting over from scratch. Even if successful, the creator would lose a considerable portion of their vital energy, and some could even have their natural lifespan shortened. And even if successful, the body immediately became extremely exhausted, requiring a long rest to recover. This lost vital energy would then, through Magic, transfer into the Golem’s body, granting it mobility. The more powerful the Golem, the more vital energy it needed. However, these loyal protectors would accompany their masters for life. Because Golems had no capacity for thought nor speech, faithfully executing their master’s commands was their duty.

Therefore, Golems had always been a symbol of high-level Mages.

But now, such an object, city-toppling in value, appeared right before Constantine’s eyes.

“Really… ugly. Ultraman would probably be happy to meet such an opponent…? That would be his happiness…”

Circling the big thing twice, Constantine finally couldn’t help but touch his nose, making a sarcastic comment… This thing’s rough exterior and shape had no aesthetic appeal at all. Although the numerous Runes and several Magic Arrays etched on its shell added some mysterious flair, that gorilla-like appearance conflicted greatly with what Constantine had in mind.

“Puppets, Golems… and automatons, shouldn’t they all have overwhelmingly gorgeous exteriors? At least they should have a bit of a menacing aura. This thing is just too lame, isn’t it…”

“Pursuing gorgeous effects is indeed noble thinking. Practicality is the most important. This is for providing defense for those adventuring in the wild, so it doesn’t need to be too refined.” The voice of Archmage Vernal sounded from the side… At this moment, the Alchemist seemed wholly absorbed in a crystal bottle in his hand. Inside, a half-bottle of purple liquid bubbled and churned constantly, like a restrained monster trying to break free from earthly bounds. Regarding Constantine’s arrival, he merely grunted noncommittally.

“What’s beautiful might not be practical, but the pinnacle of practicality must also be beautiful…” Constantine retorted unceremoniously. He had completely lost the previous sense of terror towards this homebody Archmage. Going on an adventure with such a thing? While it would indeed be very safe, it was easy to imagine the multitude of troubles it would bring—being conspicuous was a minor issue. The wilderness environment was different from the city. What if such a large hunk of iron encountered soft ground like swamps? It would lose mobility without even having to fight. In Constantine’s view, the most suitable place for this big guy was the battlefield. In areas with dense targets, such a heavy thing could achieve maximum lethality.

Even putting aside the influence of terrain and environment, the weaknesses of this humanoid machinery were still significant. Constantine knew at least six or seven tactics that could effectively deal with them. However, on this Plane, there was no such technical support. And the high cost of Golems prevented them from becoming widespread on the battlefield, so few people thought about these tactics.

Of course, this giant thing wasn’t as bad as the young man’s evaluation suggested. On this Plane, such a Magic construct could play an extraordinary role at critical moments, especially excelling in charging and breaking through enemy lines.

However, these specifics didn’t prevent the young man from holding to his own opinions… He knocked on the thick arm, like a large pillar, and said sarcastically, “I dare say just a simple, smooth curve could significantly increase this guy’s speed. If you want to improve defensive ability, why not hang a Shield on him? And this arm… If you want to achieve a large attack range, wouldn’t setting up a flail be enough?”

But then, the young man’s gaze focused on the monster’s waist—behind a piece of removed armor on one side, an extremely intricate Magic Array was revealed. Fine metal wires and engraved lines formed countless symbols. Even without any magical energy infused, Constantine could still feel faint waves of power from it, as if reminding him that it connected to a certain corner of the Weave of Magic.

The degree of detail in this Magic Array’s depiction left Constantine in awe.

“If you refine the body, defensive capability weakens. How do you defend against large-scale attacks?” At that moment, a voice joined the conversation.

“Couldn’t you just fix separately made armor plates onto the main body, and then inscribe defensive Rune combinations on the armor plates?”

Constantine, still marveling at those Magic Arrays and Runes engraved inside the Golem and its pieces of gemstones, didn’t think much and replied casually, “One-time defensive spells cost less, especially in special moments… Hmm?” After saying a couple of sentences, he realized the voice that just posed the question wasn’t Vernal’s or Hartdiel’s. It was a crisp voice belonging to a girl.

When the young man’s gaze turned to the other side, he noticed there was already another presence in the laboratory… and it was actually an acquaintance of his… A little beauty of a Sorceress in a blue robe stood slightly bowed, as if seriously considering his opinion.