Up close, Clover stared into one of the museum's glass windows, using it as a mirror. For a moment, he almost didn’t recognize himself. His skin had regained a bit of color, turning to a healthier shade, and his muscles had bulked up a noticeable amount, becoming more defined.
As a whole, he looked more vibrant - healthier. It was the sum total of a hundred different small changes. It was progress.
Vainly, he tilted his head from side to side, looking at himself from different angles. Well, vain wasn't the right word. He knew he wasn't the best-looking guy; really, he was quite average. Maybe he could be considered slightly above average if he got a fashionable haircut - something other than the messy blob of hair he currently wore.
No, what drew him to his reflection was an odd mismatch between his expectations - the memories he held of how he looked - and reality that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. For some reason, upon first seeing his reflection, he had been struck by an odd incongruity - he had thought he had been taller and that his hair had been a different shade.
He chuckled, then left with a more upright and confident posture than before, wheeling back to where Ron had busied himself with tending to the fire, slowly rotating the squirrel meat.
He didn't know what Stat would make him taller, but maybe he'd focus on that one after he'd cured himself and learned to walk again.
“How’s the meat going?” Clover asked, taking a whiff of the meat from a sanitary distance. To his surprise, it didn’t smell bad. If anything, it smelled like chicken.
“Good, I think. I’ve never cooked a Two-tailed Squirrel before, so I don’t know how long I should keep it on for,” Ron said as he sprinkled a light layer of salt on the meat. Clover had no clue where he had found the ingredient - maybe he had brought it with him.
“Well, it looks good to me. Keep doing what you’re doing,” Clover said.
Ron chuckled. “I will. I will.”
Claire shuffled over and handed them each a partially filled bottle of glowing liquid. "Tell me which one is better - I tried a new technique," she said, threading her fingers together as she watched intently, waiting for their reactions.
Clover took a small sip, not completely over his fear of drinking suspiciously glowing liquids yet. A cold current of power ran down his throat, transforming itself into pure mana. "It tastes better than last time," Clover said. He finished off the somewhat pleasant minty drink. If it tasted a bit milder and a bit less like mouthwash, it could have qualified as a rare soda flavor. "It gave me 21 MP - a bit less than last time."
“27 Mp,” Ron said, suppressing a shiver as he swallowed the last of the mana potion.
“So temperature has an effect," she muttered to herself.
They talked for a while longer, cementing their plans for the rest of the day. In the end, they decided that they'd continue their assault on the Monster Nest in about an hour and a half once they had finished up their projects and recovered their stamina.
Clover wheeled backward a bit, giving himself space to work, as an idea as to how to fill the time struck him. He'd make another Golem. Not to say that his current loadout of Golems was weak - they weren't, but looking over their Traits had reminded him of the usefulness of the triceratops Golem.
The utility of having a big and durable Golem to tank all the incoming damage couldn’t be overstated. While the glow-in-the-dark Golem was useful, he knew that if he continued to expose it to danger, it would be destroyed soon - a fate he certainly wished to avoid. Its ability to act as a mobile lighthouse was something he wanted to preserve.
It would be for the best if he replaced it with something more durable. He scratched his head, thinking of all the different designs he could go with.
He could experiment with trying to incorporate new materials. There were plenty of trees around that he could easily make use of. While he wasn't sure if [Lesser Golem Creation] would even work with the material or what sort of effects it would have if it did, he suspected that it would be worth a shot. He wasn't limited to wood, either. There was plenty of glass and dirt around, too.
Though, he sincerely doubted that dirt would result in something useful.
Clover tilted his head back and forth, slightly shaking it, trying to promote blood flow to his brain. He peered into the bag of materials and items he had collected. Inside, he had quite a few jewels and gemstones. The idea of using them excited him.
As for the overarching form of the Golem, he wasn’t sure yet. He could go back inside the museum and turn another statue into a Golem. That’d be a simple and easy solution, but it didn’t appeal to him. He was confident he could make something better than what the museum could offer.
He contemplated what sort of animal he should model his Golem off of. The first to cross his mind was a rhino. It was big and durable - practically a walking tank, according to a nature documentary he halfway remembered watching. He generally liked the idea, though its one fault was the lack of options such a design would entail. Rhinos weren't good for much other than charging enemies and getting hit by them - a useful combination, to be sure, but not optimal. He could think up something better.
Next, he considered making a lion. Widely regarded as the king of the jungle, they were fast and agile. While this option would likely be considerably more maneuverable, it would likely lack the sheer mass and durability of the rhino.
He paused, his brain itching as his increased Intelligence Stat brought a fact to the forefront of his mind: the lion wasn’t the real king of the jungle.
Elephants generally didn't live in jungles, but neither did lions. When the two fought on even terms, it was more often than not the elephant that came out the victor. He smiled, enticed by the idea; some part of it appealed to him on a subconscious level. Not only would the size of the Golem naturally lead to a high Durability score, but the flexibility its trunk would bring would be invaluable - with it, the Golem could take a wider array of actions.
Briefly, he considered a few non-animal-based designs as well. Different sorts of geometric shapes, like a sphere or whatever the 3d version of a hexagon was, could result in something cool. However, he shied away from those sorts of designs, at least for now.
Animals had stood the test of time; evolution had carved their designs to be effective and efficient. If he modeled his Golems after them, they'd be guaranteed to work. Other more esoteric designs, while intriguing, weren't as likely to work immediately.
When he had time to experiment in the future, he’d branch out. But now, as he was under a time crunch - he only had time to make one Golem before heading back into the museum, he didn’t want to take the risk of landing on a nonsensical design.
He placed his hand on the ground and activated [Minor Tactile Terrakinesis]. A tug pulled at his muscles as a spire of concrete began to slowly rise out of the ground - the durable foundation for what was to come. He twisted his hands, molding the material, gathering more of it as he formed four thick legs.
Congratulations! Minor Tactile Terrakinesis has reached Level 13.
Now, as the Skill had gained Levels, the concrete moved faster under his will. Compared to when he had first got the Skill, his speed had easily doubled, and it wasn’t nearly so difficult to move the material in smaller batches.
He moved his arms, a mix between a conductor’s and a sculptor's movements. The concrete flowed smoothly, stacking upon itself in arcs. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make the Golem to the actual scale of an elephant - [Lesser Golem Creation] wouldn’t work on a sculpture that large, and time constraints held him back.
In his head, he outlined the elephant’s structure, settling on a final size of roughly waist height.
Not bothering overly with the details yet, he continued to shift the concrete, finishing the formation of the Golem's legs. Then, without stopping, he cleanly transitioned to constructing the sculpture's thick midsection.
Congratulations! Minor Tactile Terrakinesis has reached Level 14. +1 Skill Point.
Congratulations! Sculpting has reached Level 21. +1 Skill Point.
He paused halfway through as inspiration struck him. He wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, pulling a spikey chunk of amethyst from his bag. It was vaguely spherical, constructed of a number of smaller tiny crystal protrusions.
He wedged it inside the sculpture's half-completed chest, then called forth two more pillars of concrete, using them to bury the purple crystal. It was a long shot, but he hoped that including the amethyst in the Golem's design would net it an additional Trait.
In a haze of focus, he pressed forward, losing track of time.
Congratulations! Minor Tactile Terrakinesis has reached Level 15.
Congratulations! Minor Tactile Terrakinesis has reached Level 16. +1 Skill Point.
Congratulations! Sculpting has reached Level 22. +1 Skill Point.
Before he knew it, he had finished the bulk of the sculpture's body. Only its facial area remained incomplete.
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He glanced over at Ron and Claire. They were still working. Clover blinked back an expression of surprise, shocked by how quickly he had worked.
The combination of his increased Stats, Skill Level, and general experience drastically increased the rate at which he could work and Level his Skills.
He retrieved a chunk of clay, the last bit of it that remained in his bag, and then when he had formed the elephant’s face out of concrete, he added clay to its trunk, hoping that the addition would give it a greater flexibility in the area.
Briefly, he considered if it was possible to somehow fuse the abilities and Traits of two Golems together. The flexibility and stretching ability of the many-handed Golem would pair excellently with the trunk's concept. Equally amused and disturbed, it occurred to him that with [Minor Tactile Terrakinesis], he could "weld" the two Golems together. He didn't have the slots to make an idea like that work at the moment, but in the future, he'd give it a shot.
As a tired ache set in his muscles, he finished.
Congratulations! Minor Tactile Terrakinesis has reached Level 17.
But, his work was not done. As the sculpture was now, it was merely a rough draft. He went back over the Golem a second time, adding details and smoothing over its overall design and structure.
He pressed his finger into the sculpture. Aided by his Skill, he was able to push back the concrete, forming exterior folds and wrinkles across its legs. Down below, guided by a distant memory, he crafted their feet, carving out individual toes in the pad.
Congratulations! Sculpting has reached Level 23. +1 Skill Point.
By no means was he an expert on elephant anatomy, but to the best of his ability, he tried to recreate the details. Finally, after a mind-numbing amount of repetitive work, he finished. In reality, it couldn't have taken too long, but aided by his increased Intelligence, Perception, and Dexterity, time had seemed to pass slower than he was used to.
He tapped his fingers against his knees, unable to feel the impact. There was only one thing left to do now before he used [Lesser Golem Creation. He had to give the sculpture a name. [Named Golem] was too powerful a Trait to pass up.
Keeping the principles of Identity and History in mind, he ran down a long laundry list of serious and meaningful names. Each of them had no effect. Or at least, none made any obvious difference.
After throwing out what had to have been at least 59 names at the Golem, he said, “Come on now, don’t be like that. If you don’t cooperate, I’m going to give you a stupid name like Tragedeigh or Zayler.” The sculpture did not respond to his threats. Claire looked over, quirking an eyebrow as he continued to ramble out names at the inanimate elephant. “Oh, yeah; how about McKhynleigh? That’s not even the worst name I can think-up. I can do this all day.”
In reality, he could not do this all day. Quickly, he ran out of names, both stupid and reasonable ones. With an empty mind, he spoke, not knowing what words would come from his mouth next. “Bob the Elephant. That’s your name. It’s a simple one but a good one - trustable and dependable. There’s never been any famous criminals named Bob. Come on, work with me here.”
Somehow, his plea worked. The words took root in the sculpture, subtly providing it a palpable air of magic.
Congratulations! Sculpting has reached Level 24. +1 Skill Point.
He smiled, exasperated but excited. "[Lesser Golem Creation]."
Inside his soul space, an empty sphere of potential formed, blank, ready for him to create the seed from which the Golem's core would sprout.
While he had worked on the sculpture’s physical form, he had concocted two ideas that he could potentially use as the base for an image. They were both enticing for different reasons, so perhaps overly ambitious, he decided to pursue both. There was more than enough space within the core for two images.
First, he manipulated strands of light, recreating the spherical amethyst crystal he had placed at the Golem’s center. Then, taking a detour from reality, he imagined deep purple arcs of energy flowing out of it, empowering the surrounding stone. It was a simple concept, but it was hard to execute, both from a creative and technical standpoint.
After manipulating the image and fiddling with the details for some time, he was finally satisfied. It wasn't the greatest image of all time; he could certainly do better if he gave himself more time, but he was hitting the point of diminishing returns. It was good enough. No, it was good.
Recreating what he had seen the System do, he formed a hardened edge around the image, creating a glass shell to protect it. His intent flowed into the blank canvas, influencing it.
Once he had finished creating a protective bubble around the image, the strain of maintaining the image greatly decreased.
Internally, he could feel a timer ticking down with each passing second - he knew that he had used roughly a bit less than half of his time. His increased Stats and Skill Level had greatly increased the amount of time he was given to paint within the core, but it still was not infinite.
He cracked his knuckles. Now, it was time to get down to business. Now, it was time to do the hard part.
In a neighboring region of the canvas, he carved out a section to work with. Then, he recreated Bob the Elephant's concrete form, placing him in an empty field of grass. Guided by instinct, he intuitively formed a conceptual link between the two images. The core didn't fight his efforts. If anything, they aided him. After all, the two scenes were one and the same - two different views of the same whole, one from the inside, one from the outside.
Through the darkness, a faint line of light formed between the two images, binding them together.
Next came the hard part. The System had led him to believe that memories held power - he wanted to test that theory.
Clover thought back to the summer he had spent in the hospital. Vividly, he could remember looking out the window each day as the sun rose, watching it rise through the sky and then fall, giving rise to the moon. At the time, it had felt like the world was passing him by - that everything was changing around him, and yet he always remained the same - alone and sickly.
Emotions bubbled in his chest as he attempted to compress the memory, or at least the core parts of it, into the Golem's core. At first glance, it wasn't the type of memory that he thought would strengthen the Golem, but with a bit of a change of perspective, he hoped to channel it into an enduring sort of power. The world could crumble around the Golem, and time could take its toll - the sun and moon rising countless times - but at the end of it all, Bob the Elephant would still be there - still standing, the same as it always had.
He strained, trying to force the memory to cooperate. Finally, as he had begun to doubt whether it would work, and he neared the end of the time he had available, something popped into place.
The sun, a bright ball of fire, appeared in the scene, arcing through the blue sky above at a visible pace. A few seconds later, it hit an invisible limit and disappeared. In its place, the moon, bright and full, appeared, tracing the same arc the sun had paved through the sky.
Through no effort of his own, the cycle continued.
Clover grinned. Today, he had discovered something amazing - practically a cheat. By incorporating a memory into the core, the image would come alive, animating itself. There was no guarantee that the visually impressive display would result in a strong Trait, but he was optimistic.
Using the brief remainder of his time, he formed a shell around the scene. As he finished, the two images neared each other as if pulled together by a magnet. Clover felt that he could affect their arrangement, and he had the sneaking suspicion that the relative positions of the images could have an impact on the end result. Once again guided by instinct, he stacked them on top of each other, clumsily gluing them together.
Before he could arrange them perfectly, the sphere began to shake. The ticking hand of a clock rang out from within his soul, each strike bringing with it a hammering force that would slam into the shells protecting his images, threatening to break them.
He tensed his jaw as he tried to fight them off. They were stronger than anything he had ever faced before - multiple times stronger. Hopefully, it was a sign that if he succeeded, the Golem would be powerful. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that the trial he was about to face was stronger than it should have been - the difficulty didn't line up, even when he took into account the ambitious changes he had made.
Spreading his focus to its utmost limits, he fought back against the destructive force with his will.
Within the shells, Clover noticed that as the sun and moon chased each other through the sky, playing an eternal game of tag, time began to pass within the image. The grass grew rapidly, and moss began to creep up the sides of the concrete Golem. Unmoving, Bob the Elephant remained standing, its core materials unaffected by the passage of time.
Clover increased his efforts further as a crack spiderwebbed its way through the protections he had built. Soon, they would fall.
As the invisible force continued to hammer away to the ticking tune of the clock, slowly growing stronger, they took on a physical appearance - globs of darkness that looked like frozen spheres of black lightning. They were unnatural in their power, far ahead of the curve of what he should have encountered.
The barrier he had constructed shattered into a thousand pieces.
With each following impact, cold arcs of pain lanced down his spine and through his chest like bolts of lightning.
The System urged him to drop the Skill, almost forcing him to do so, but he persisted, ignoring its call.
Panicking, Clover pulled from within his soul space, lashing out with all he had, resisting the corrupting influence. Something, broken and dense, shifted within him, intercepting part of the damage on his behalf. He strained his abilities to their utmost limit.
Try as he might, he wasn’t strong enough. The globs of frozen lightning landed upon the outer layers of his images, eating away at them, batting away his attempts to repel them.
He coughed, the timing terrible, his concentration broken. Inside his larger image, the sun and moon reversed their course, seemingly flowing backward in time.
While he was distracted, trying to force himself to recover from his coughing fit, further damage wrought itself across the images, threatening to destabilize them.
He knew he just had to hold out for a bit longer, but with his foothold shattered, he didn’t know if he could do so.
Paired together, his images teetered on the edge. One significant impact would be enough to start a chain reaction that would lead to their destruction.
Three bolts of lightning struck out toward his images, their movements slow but confident. They were the last of the assault - the last he had to endure - no more followed at their backs. He split his attention, pressing his will against them.
He succeeded in destroying one and slowing another. However, the third continued unimpeded. His consciousness wavered as a surge of pain crept up his back, and a spinning sensation muddied his senses. He wouldn't be in time to stop it.
Once more, something shifted in the recesses of his soul.
Suddenly animated, Bob the Elephant, the concrete elephant, tilted its head, swinging its trunk toward his direction. It charged forward, intercepting the black sphere. The two clashed, and somehow, in an even stranger turn of events, the elephant prevailed, bursting the black sphere without sustaining any damage in the process.
"Huh," Clover muttered in confusion as the sphere stopped shaking. Moments later, it shattered, revealing a miniature replica of the elephant that hung peacefully in his soul space.
Exhausted, he opened his eyes, the world spinning slightly as the magic took root in the sculpture's amethyst core, anchoring itself to reality.
Absently, he wiped the space below his nose. His hand came back red.
Congratulations! Lesser Golem Creation has reached Level 11. +1 Skill Point.
Congratulations! Lesser Golem Creation has reached Level 12. +1 Skill Point.
Congratulations! Lesser Golem Creation has reached Level 13. +1 Skill Point.
Congratulations! Lesser Golem Creation has reached Level 14. +1 Skill Point.