First, Clover turned his attention inward to his soul space. As [Stone Puppetry] had evolved, so had its structure. Now, symbolizing [Lesser Golem Creation], the once simple and smooth moon-like crescent of river rock that had hung high in his soul had cracked. Out of the broken stone alongside its interior arc, deep shadows with an almost physical quality spilled out. From its bottom, a phantasmal blue thread of mana swayed like the tendril of a jellyfish, gently glowing in the darkness, casting the edges of the structure in a shade of blue.

If he focused on the thread, he could clumsily control its movements with some degree of difficulty. Easily amused, he played with the wire for a moment, though his experimentation didn't result in anything other than motion. Still, it was a mark of progress - it was the first time he had been able to so directly and easily affect the interior of his soul space.

Having familiarized himself with the structure, he rotated Mr. Cat in his hand, then whispered, “[Lesser Golem Creation].” The Skill slowly rumbled into action, draining his mana. Instead of immediately resulting in an outward effect like had been the case with [Stone Puppetry], the energy gathered as it flowed down the length of the thread in patterns and shapes he could not fully perceive, let alone understand.

At the end of the string, interlocking sigils and symbols piled together and overlapped to create a buzzing sphere of energy. The Skill prompted him, perhaps giving the only hint or piece of instruction he would ever receive about golem-making: to proceed forward, he had to create a core for the Golem - all other changes would flow out of it.

The System had been rather vague as to what exactly it would take to transform the sphere of raw energy into an actualized core, though it had left the impression that almost anything: an idea, a memory, or even a concept could serve as a seed to spark the process. He considered his options, practically paralyzed by the sheer amount of choices ahead of him.

The Skill pinged him; if he hesitated for much longer, the Skill would proceed forward without his input. As the clock ticked down, he decided to wait. There wasn’t any point in blindly leaping into the deep end. At least for the first time, he was satisfied to watch and take notes.

Inside the sphere, the System generated a blurry image of a disproportionate cat frozen in time at the moment before it leaped from a countertop. It clicked into place. The sphere rattled as the image and mana began mixing and compressing in an alchemical reaction, transforming into something entirely new. While this took place, from its interior, an intense pressure smashed against the delicate construct, shattering away the edges of the image.

Creating a golem's core was a violent event - it felt like it was trying to shake itself apart. A critical mass was reached, and the rumbling pressure intensified, further blurring the details of the image. After a moment of fumbling around, Clover realized that he could push back against the force with his will and that if he kept the picture clear in his mind, its quality would not degrade. However, by that point, it was too late - the balancing act was too difficult. The sphere shattered in a rain of half-formed magic and material.

"Damn it," Clover muttered as he opened his eyes. He had never failed so completely in magic before. If he had known what he had been supposed to do, maybe the result would have been different. As it were, he had essentially thrown 25 MP down the drain. The only consolation to his failure was that at least Mr. Cat was still in one piece.

Congratulations! Lesser Golem Creation has reached Level 1. +1 Skill Point.

"Did it work?" Ron asked with his eyes narrowed, appraising the sculpture's value as if it were a used car. "It doesn't look very magical."

"No, I messed up. [Lesser Golem Creation] is more hands-on than my other Skills; I wasn't expecting it."

More than just the unknown, the mental strain of splitting his attention between holding off the destructive forces involved in creating a golem core and simultaneously holding a clear image was almost impossible with his current capabilities.

Ron hummed. "I've been meaning to ask: back in the fight with the Old Golem and the Squirrels, how did you cast [Unstable Mana Bolt] without saying its name. I feel like a bad cartoon character having to scream out [Power Strike] every time I want to use it."

Claire wandered over, snacking on a bag of potato chips she had liberated from the gift shop. She offered him a chip, holding the bag's opening out in front of him. In the face of constant battle and mounting stress, it was easy to forget how hungry he was. In the last two days, he had barely considered his basic needs. He took a handful. She wrinkled an eye, then handed him the rest of the bag.

“Thanks,” Clover said, slightly embarrassed. Had he taken too many? When offered a bag of potato chips, what was the appropriate amount to take?

"In your soul." Clover shook his head, trying to find a good way to explain it. "When you close your eyes, can you feel a structure in your chest, almost like a button? Of course, it's not actually in your chest; it's in some space beyond the physical, but that's beside the point." Clover paused again, considering that maybe everyone had a different way of accessing their soul space.

Claire returned with two more bags of potato chips. Wordlessly, she gave one to Ron.

Ron considered Clover’s words, adjusting his collar. “When I close my eyes, I don’t feel anything, but I think I know what you’re talking about. When I use [Power Strike], something in my chest lights up the slightest amount - I can’t see it, but I can tell there is something there.”

Clover nodded, taking a moment to formulate a response. It was interesting to note how much their ability to perceive their individual soul spaces differed. When Clover focused on it, more than just sensing it, he could almost see it - Ron, on the other hand, could only perceive it while actively using a Skill.

Clover wondered what accounted for the difference.

"Your words are just a proxy for your intent. If you focus on the structure hard enough, you can activate it without saying a word - metaphorically, you can push the button in your soul with only your mind." Clover said with a smile, enjoying being an expert at something for once.

“I guess that makes sense,” Ron said. “How long did it take you to learn how to do it?”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“For [Unstable Mana Bolt], it didn't take too long - maybe a couple of minutes.”

Ron shrugged. "Alright, let's race then. If you can make a golem first, you win. If I can silently cast [Power Strike] first, I win."

An official race with no prize - Clover had always wanted to win one of those. "You're on."

"I'll keep watch. If I see something, I'll scream," Claire said as she leaned against the wall, snacking on her chips. From her tone, it was clear that she found their behavior questionable. However, she did not voice any complaints.

Before starting his second attempt, Clover opened his Status Screen; he had ten Stat Points to spend, five from the last Level of [Blank], and five from the System’s bonus for leveling quickly. Deciding to round out his Stats, he put one point into Strength and one into Agility. His muscles twitched, growing denser as they grew in capability.

Then, as the sensation faded, he put two Points into Perception and two into Dexterity. A cascade of energy flowed through him as the effects of all his Stats mingled, building on one another - no longer were any of his Stats stuck at zero. His vision sharpened, and his nerves twitched with electrical impulses as they became more robust.

Not waiting for the energy to die all the way down, he split his remaining Points evenly, putting two into Intelligence and two into Vitality. He grinned, enjoying the sensation of becoming superhuman. Each Point brought him a step closer to his dreams.

After distributing his Points, his [Status Screen] now looked like this:

Name: Clover Hills

Race: Human

Class: Apprentice Golemancer (Common) Lvl 5 - 0/1000

Shard:

HP: 202/230 (11)

SP: 97/110 (10)

MP: 156/190 (10)

Affinity: Bone - Tier 1 (Low)

Strength: 1

Endurance: 1

Vitality: 13

Dexterity: 2

Agility: 1

Perception: 2

Intelligence: 3

Magic: 9

Stat Points: 0

Skill Points: 5

Clover rotated the sculpture in his hand twice and then muttered, "[Lesser Golem Creation]."

He returned his focus to his soul space as a wave of mana drained into the dangling blue thread that hung below the Skill’s structure in a rush of strange sigils and symbols. He watched closely, trying to note any recurring patterns or sequences. Not understanding what they meant filled him with a sense of wonder and frustration, but there wasn't anything he could do about it; there wasn't anyone or anything to guide him.

If he wanted to progress, he'd have to settle for stumbling around in the dark.

In some ways, he preferred not having anyone to guide him. It was freeing to not be held to any standard - to have failure be the expected result.

With a crackle of power, the strange sphere locked into place, turning its interior into a blank canvas, ready for him to paint upon. He focused his will, and after a moment of hesitation, he placed the name Mr. Cat inside of it.

The words were tiny - only taking up a small fraction of the sphere’s interior space, and they were weak, not possessing the same hum of power a raw image had contained, but they served as an anchor - a foundation to build upon.

Vague impressions and streaks of color spilled out of the name, crystalizing into something more. He did not understand the underlying theory behind why it worked the way it did - but the System seemed adamant that a clear picture or unifying concept was needed to create a powerful core.

Following a combination of instinct and what he had observed, Clover manipulated the energy that spilled out of the words, piece by piece, crafting a picture.

While he held an image in mind for the finished product, it wasn't entirely correct to claim that he was fully in control of its creation; almost of their own accord, strands of color unraveled, sticking themselves onto the scene, adding and removing details, and his subconscious danced, spilling threads of context and emotion into the background.

Time ticked by, and soon, the sphere twitched, informing him that his time was running low; soon, a destructive force would wash across his scene and seek to destroy what he had built.

With a final flourish, he completed the image: a dapper cat in a three-piece suit, walking down a red carpet at some sort of award show. He had not had time to craft the background in detail, so, for the most part, it was empty - a boring and dull shell to house the main spectacle. All things considered, he was proud of it, though he did not know where the idea behind it had come from. He chalked it up to inspiration.

The sphere rattled as the image and mana began to mix and compress, transforming into something new. The force that attacked his creation last time came in a new form; instead of a blunt smashing force, this time, it manifested as flashes of light - clicks of camera that tore away and unbalanced the image wherever they gleamed.

Straining, Clover fought against the force; it was a losing battle. Even with his increased Stats, it was too strong; the flashes of light wiped away chunks of the background. Perhaps he had missed some crucial step, or maybe his image had been more ambitious than the one the System had created, thus inviting more opposition. Of which was true, he was unsure.

He narrowed the scope of his protection, only paying attention to the most vital aspects of the image. A headache brewed behind his closed eyes as his brain worked overtime. Past that, his soul itself began to rumble into motion as it too strained against the force.

Suddenly, the sphere stilled, and the corrupting force vanished. He let out a breath. All that remained of his once expansive image was a stylish cat and a red carpet that stretched off into the distance; the rest had faded to darkness.

The sphere cracked, shattering in a violent rain of blue motes of mana. Where the ball of mana once had been, a stone figure of a cat’s head now hung. He opened his eyes as he felt movement in his palm.

Mr. Cat's clay form shifted - a bowtie emerged from its neck, and its claws sharpened, growing slightly longer - where the material had come from, he was unsure. A small host of other minuscule changes occurred, shifting the sculpture to more closely match the image he had created in his soul space. None were as substantial as the previous two.

Congratulations! Lesser Golem Creation has reached Level 2. +1 Skill Point.

Congratulations! Lesser Golem Creation has reached Level 3. +1 Skill Point.

Scientifically, he poked the Golem. It was now as hard as a rock. Not a very high-quality rock, but still, it was a massive improvement. Clover pulled his hand back as he realized he didn't have to settle for a caveman-like system of measurement anymore. "[Appraisal]," he said under his breath.

Congratulations! Appraisal has reached Level 1. +1 Skill Point.

Lesser Golem: Mr. Cat

Durability: 50/50

Mana: 25/25

Traits: [Named Golem], [Red Carpet I], ?...