Broka 19 9,201
He was a boy
He was Kytaligan, a K’gan and part of the noble line of rulers. There were other noble lines but the empire was that of K’gan and despite being no more than eight Kytaligan was surely the best of them.
He lived in Kolo Gano, a city of awe and majesty. The buildings were placed in dense layers and honeycombed between each other, making up and comprising the sprawling landscape. People flew with magic or devices about the palace. The K’gan palace was a spire that was central in the city and the highest point of everything. The banners of K’gan flew from the sheer walls of the palace, a white raven on a deep purple field.
He was a smart child. Well spoken yet constantly misunderstood. The children, both noble and common, did not like to play with him. He said mean things, but only because they made him say those things. He had no friends, so he learned to make friends.
He was fourteen and had created his first golem. His mind marveled at the slow ponderous thing as he simultaneously began to review the process. He had a friend now.
It had been a simple thing to create the golem. Finding the reservoir of the mana cores and configuring it into the element you wished.
Then you breathed life and the world provided shape. Drawing its body from the environment and imbuing its life with your own until it took form and awoke. A natural expression of artificial life.
Kytaligan and his golem did everything together, and spent all their time together. It was a friend but also a tool and the golem demonstrated its prowess many times. Kytaligan was K’gan, there was no punishment for its demonstrations.
It was not until a more senior member of their line brought him that punishment did Kytaligan grow further. His trusted golem was smashed to bits, and Kytaligan thoroughly beaten. His one trusted friend was but a toy in the face of such power.
So Kytaligan created another. Seeking to create a companion that could protect itself from anyone who dared hurt them. He pushed his craft further and added a fire blossom tulip as a rare reagent. The second was a humanoid capable of becoming molten in nature.
His third was a wind elemental that could draw the breath from the lungs of his foe.
The fourth was a pearlescent floating gem that intercepted and protected him from attacks.
The fifth he could not control. After he destroyed it his prompts told him he had exceeded his maximum allowed subordinate control. He was but an apprentice in the arts and his wisdom was too low and could only control up to two summons.
Still, Kytaligan paid that senior member a visit and returned the beating. His golems, now proving too dangerous to contend with. Victory felt… good. He no longer looked at his golems like friends anymore, they were unintelligent automatons, lacking a true soul. The golems were a means to an end, and Kytaligan craved that power he just exerted.
He pushed his craft and enlisted the aid of other powerful crafters, his skill and wisdom rose and so did his subordinate slots.
He created golems for others, grand creations made from materials gathered from all across Zonah. The nobles of K’gan wanted the best and Kytaligan had made strides further than all before him. Having one of his golems was considered fashionable and smart.
Then war broke out when the aelfs from the north brought their hynyk hordes and attacked the realm of humans. When the Emperor conscripted him to build war machines Kytaligan nearly cheered at the lucky turn of events. Despite their quality and rarity he had been stagnating with the of the enhanced nature of the materials available to him currently, with access to the superior treasures of the vault of the empire he would be able to progress even further. And so he did, evolving his skill further, gifting his golems the ability to level alongside their owners.
The new creations he wrought were paired with the strongest combat classers the empire had to offer. At first it only slowed the inevitable as the march of the homunculus humanoid dog people was nigh unstoppable, but his creations became more and more potent, his perks more and more powerful. The golem’s function more and more considered. The killing potential of each iteration slowly increased and they all grew in levels.
Until one day his masterpiece was created. A looming giant, not transmuted from the surrounding environment but artificed from the intentional workings of the mind. Its twenty meter shell was made from the most magically potent alloys they had access to and was inscribed with the accumulated knowledge of his entire professional line. It was a clockwork man of precise gears and mechanical advantage, something greater than nature. Artificial superiority.
They brought false life to it. The construct stood. It stared down at Kytaligan, its father, its creator. It’s master.
It was the guardian of Kolo Gano and the hynyk hordes broke like waves upon the great golem that stood like a mountain. Its great armaments laying waste to the soulless hordes of the dog legged mongrels. It grew stronger and stronger with every attack it repelled.
How could he surpass this?
What power could he leverage? What material would be strong enough? What reagent esoteric enough?
He knew he must build something for himself, it was the only way to create the proper vision. A vision that would push him to new heights. He would strive to solidify his legacy. He would grasp eternal life.
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***
Six sat in his cave, the grimoire was glowing a bright yellow in his hands, it was weightless and soon dissolved like fireflies extinguished into nothingness.
Skill increase: Enchantment - Journeyman - 58
Apprentice Skill Evolution triggered
Existing choice detected
Evolution choice imprinted: Golem Enchanting
Golem Enchanting: While performing golem type enchantments, each skill level provides a 1% increase in enchantment stability and a 0.4% reduction in mana costs
Current increase: 58%
Current reduction: 23.2%
Technique choice awarded.
Journeyman Skill Evolution triggered
Existing choice detected
Evolution choice imprinted: Golem Genesis
Golem Genesis: Golems created by this user can be given the ability to gain experience and level, this increases the initial creation mana requirements by 20%.
Technique choice awarded.
You gained 100(+15) experience points for reaching Apprentice status in Enchantment.
You gained 500(+75) experience points for reaching Journeyman status in Enchantment.
Six shuddered a breath and sat up, cracking his joints in a dozen places. His mind buzzed and he rubbed the drool off his chin and came away with some blood. He patted his face and discovered his nose was bleeding, or had been bleeding.
He could see the furrowed brows of concern on Nibbler's face. She rubbed her hands anxiously. Six gave her a few reassuring scratches. He was ok now. He checked the combat logs.
You have been afflicted with mana saturation for 1 damage (516/517)
That continued on for pages, Six saw that he healed a bit, the number jumping back here and there. He ended up losing a little over a quarter of his health but it was steadily replenishing.
The book had represented a wealth of professional knowledge and Six had many ideas running through his head. He understood what the configured earth cores were now and how to properly utilize them and much of the other materials he held. This knowledge also brought forth a reprioritization of goals. He needed to get to level ten before he attempted anything significant. The perks that the Golem Enchanter class would allow him to access would be crucial for the proper development of the potential golems his mind was awash with.
He had always been afraid of autonomous killing machines.
There was also the more general enchantment knowledge he had access to, how to imbue a spell into gems, how to inscribe runes onto items. Not to mention knowledge of Kytaligan’s rune library and the arcane circuitry behind the craft.
He knew that whatever that thing was in the Ley Nexus, it was powerful. He could not analyze it, and the last creature to have rejected his Analyze skill was deadly by far. Yet, he was confident that with proper preparation he would prevail.
According to his knowledge he should be able to support three subordinate golems, one for his innate wisdom and two because of his advanced ranks in Enchantment.
What he needed were life based golems. Kytaligan had no affinity for anything other than earth and his knowledge did not include how to tune force mana to anything other than earth using contracted enchanters to perform the elemental configuring but Six had been thinking about this and believed he had a simple solution. He didn’t want to choose the awarded techniques just yet because his final choices may depend on his solution
After feeding Nibbler, he sat in his cave experimenting.
He gathered mana within himself and began the process of transforming it into earth mana, he tuned the mana to the earthen resonance in preparation of using it but Six did not stop. He continued to push the resonance beyond and slowly sought a new note, gently seeking until he was presented with a prompt.
Skill gained Fire Magic - Initiate - 1
Allows users to form minor fire magic constructs. Each level provides a 0.5% increase in spell effectiveness and a 0.25% reduction in mana costs. Current increase 0.5% Current reduction 0.25%
Spell awarded for gaining the Fire Magic skill
Spell: Ember Spark
Rank: Minor
Cooldown: 2s
Range: 80m
Casting Time: Instant
Duration: Instant
Mana Cost: 20 mana
Effect: The user conjures a small, glowing ember in their palm. Upon release, the ember swiftly flies towards a target, igniting upon impact and causing a small burst of flames.
He had found a new note, something that was a new part of his repertoire. This discovery was subsequently rewarded by the system
Well shit, he honed his memory on that new resonance and learned it. He searched again and in pursuit of that arcane octave he was presented with more prompts.
Skill gained Fire Magic - Initiate - 1
Skill gained Light Magic - Initiate - 1
Skill gained Dark Magic - Initiate - 1
Skill gained Death Magic - Initiate - 1
Skill gained Life Magic - Initiate - 1
Skill gained Air Magic - Initiate - 1
Skill gained Water Magic - Initiate - 1
Skill synergies detected, merging skills,
The skills Earth Magic, Fire Magic, Water Magic, and Air Magic have been merged into the skill: Elemental Magic - Initiate - 3
The skills Light Magic and Dark Magic have been merged into the skill: Diametric Magic - Initiate - 1
The skills Death Magic and Life Magic have been merged into the skill: Cycle Magic - Initiate - 1
He lost levels in Earth Magic but the consolidation of multiple skills into one would eventually lead to multiplicative scaling of power. Also, while the merging of the skills did not directly provide anything, each singular discovery brought a reward.
He checked the new spells for each resonance he attuned to.
Spell: Luminous Beacon
Rank: Minor
Cooldown: 10s
Range: 10m
Casting Time: 6s
Duration: 1 hour
Mana Cost: 30 mana
Effect: The user conjures a radiant orb of light that hovers in mid-air, illuminating the surroundings with a soft, gentle glow. The orb can be directed to follow the enchanter or placed at a specific location to serve as a guiding light.
Spell: Shadow Veil
Rank: Minor
Cooldown: 10 minutes
Range: Melee
Casting Time: 10s
Duration: 5 minutes
Mana Cost: 40
Effect: The user weaves shadows around themselves or a target, creating an ephemeral veil that shrouds them in darkness. While active, each level in Diametric Magic improves concealment by an additional 2.5%, making it harder for others to see or notice the affected individual.
Spell: Soul Tether
Rank: Minor
Cooldown: 1 hour
Range: 10m
Casting Time: 3 minutes
Duration: Channeled
Mana Cost: Variable
Effect: The user establishes a temporary connection with the essence of a nearby deceased being, forming an ethereal tether. This tether allows the enchanter to glean fragmented memories or residual knowledge from the departed, gaining limited insight into their past experiences. Scales with Wisdom. Each level in Cycle Magic increases Soul Tether control by 0.75%
Spell: Vital Surge
Rank: Minor
Cooldown: 10s
Range: Melee
Casting Time: Instant
Duration: 1 minute
Mana Cost: 50 mana
Effect: The enchanter channels their life-affirming magic to invigorate and revitalize a living target. With a touch or a gesture, they infuse a surge of life energy, promoting accelerated healing and restoring vitality. Heals for 30+(10*Cycle Magic Level) HP over 1 minute.
Spell: Zephyr’s Embrace
Rank: Minor
Cooldown: 1 minute
Range: 80m
Casting Time: 5s
Duration: 5 minutes
Mana Cost: 80 mana
Effect: The user harnesses the power of the wind, summoning a gentle breeze that surrounds the area or target. The breeze brings refreshing and invigorating sensations while providing subtle benefits related to air manipulation. While active, each level in Elemental Magic improves Movement Speed and Dexterity by an additional 0.25%.
Spell: Nimbus Drizzle
Rank: Minor
Cooldown: 2 hours
Range: 2km
Casting Time: 50s
Duration: 30 minutes
Mana Cost: 90 mana
Effect: The User invokes the power of rain, causing a gentle drizzle to fall from the sky. The Nimbus Drizzle spell creates a 10*10m localized area of rainfall, offering various benefits related to water and moisture manipulation.
Well shit. He liked having options.