I remembered a book I had read. According to it, there were two explanations for the origin of these creatures. One stated that they were failed experiments of a mage, while the other described them as a subspecies of humans.
However, both versions agreed on one point: these Beast-Demons were extremely savage and cunning.
"Weren’t they always confined to the Desolate Lands of Despair? Why would they be wandering around here? And attacking acolytes, no less? Have they joined forces with the dark acolytes? This is practically an open provocation!"
I frowned, intrigued.
"The brains of the Beast-Demons are underdeveloped. Who knows what they could be thinking?" Charlotte commented. "But they never dared to provoke Mages before. Otherwise, they would have been wiped out long ago."
She was right. Whenever the official mages of the Tower went out, they encountered no obstacles in their path, nor did any strange incidents occur. It was as if the Beast-Demons had hidden in advance.
And yet, they attacked acolytes with full ferocity whenever they saw one. A typical case of preying on the weak while fearing the strong.
"This won’t last long! Kenny is the apprentice of a powerful professor who is known for protecting his reputation and not tolerating failures. He will definitely take action!" Charlotte stated confidently.
The Tower of Sun Mountain had never taken measures against these beings because they were too weak to pose a real threat to official Mages. On the contrary, their presence gave acolytes an opportunity to hone their battle skills. But now, the situation had changed—several apprentices with 5- to 4-star talents were dead.
Even so, something felt off. Why had these Beast-Demons suddenly appeared near the Tower? Coupled with the Mushroom incident, it seemed like something bigger was happening behind the scenes.
"I’m not the only smart one in this Tower. If I noticed this, others must have too. So why are there still no rumors?" This thought unsettled me.
I shook my head and looked at Charlotte. "Did you bring the map?"
She nodded and pointed to her dress lying on the floor. "Yes, it’s in my dress."
...
The next day.
...
After finishing my routine with Miguel, I went to have lunch while thinking about many things. Maybe I was getting a bit anxious, but nothing that could harm me. I grabbed a piece of magical horse leg and started eating. The meat was tender.
"Magical horse meat is really delicious."
A voice sounded, and a young man in a white robe sat beside me.
"Oliver?" My eyes widened.
["Beep!"]
["Name: Oliver"]
["Gender: Male"]
["Age: 15 years"]
["Level: 2 Acolyte."]
["Race: Human"]
["Strength: 1.90"]
["Agility: 2.70"]
["Vitality: 3.10"]
["Spiritual Energy: 5.0"]
["Low-grade magical artifact energy waves detected from the target’s body."]
["The target is classified as dangerous!"]
The Virtual Lab’s scan appeared in my mind.
Oliver’s spiritual power was the highest among the acolytes, and even his vitality had increased after constant exposure to radiation. Normally, Mages intentionally enhanced their vitality to prepare for future bodily transformations.
Now, Oliver’s spiritual power was greater than mine. He also carried a magical artifact, but no one knew for sure about his battle experience.
"Calculate my chances of winning if I were to fight Oliver!"
["Simulation initiated."]
["Without the mechanical armor"]
["Success rate: 60%!"]
The Virtual Laboratory provided the data.
"Just a little over half. It seems the power of a magical artifact is no small thing. Oliver won’t be an easy opponent either."
["With the mechanical armor"]
["Success rate: 100%!"]
["Before he could activate the artifact, the machine gun’s bullet would take him down effortlessly."]
I almost smiled upon seeing the laboratory’s notification. After all, it was rare for an acolyte to possess magical shields.
After the Virtual Laboratory scan, I understood a bit more about Oliver’s strength.
I was considered the most battle-experienced among level 2 acolytes. As long as my opponent didn’t have a magical artifact, my chances of victory were extremely high.
Oliver possessed a magical artifact, but it was still slightly inferior to mine. This meant his combat power was lower than mine. Even if he had some battle experience, it didn’t seem to be much.
Of course, these were only rough estimates from the Virtual Laboratory. In reality, many factors could influence the outcome of a battle.
"Oliver, I haven’t seen you in so long!" I greeted.
Naturally, he had no idea that I had analyzed his stats in just a second. Adjusting his robes, he sat beside me.
He revealed his pale white face as he raised his arm to grab a spoon and sip the soup from his tray.
"I’ve been a bit distant from social interactions. Ever since I started following Marcelina, she hasn’t left me alone. My schedule revolves around… meditation, experiments, and studies!"
Oliver chewed the chunks of meat in his soup, looking satisfied.
"I heard you’re doing quite well under Miguel’s guidance!" he suddenly said.
"It’s all right. Basically, I’m preparing devices and exchanging them for resources."
I responded extremely modestly.
"However, you’ve been occasionally talking to Liam. Are you planning to join that bastard’s side?"
Oliver suddenly smiled, but a cold glint passed through his eyes.
I was momentarily speechless. I never thought that the conflict he had with Liam on the airship was still ongoing. But then I remembered that, at the end of the day, I was still in the body of a 15-year-old boy.
"We all know each other. That poor wretch came to me asking to join his group on a trip outside the tower, but I refused. After all, I don’t need to associate with useless paupers!"
As soon as I finished saying that, I smiled at Oliver.
Although I wasn’t afraid of him, I still thought it was best to avoid trouble whenever possible. So, I embodied the personality of a rich and arrogant engineer, something that matched Oliver’s type of character.
Oliver gave me several looks, and the Virtual Laboratory informed me that my brain waves had been scanned multiple times. It seemed he had indeed used a spell to verify if I was telling the truth.
After a while, he smiled brightly.
"I think highly of you! Smart! Prudent! Sticking with Liam and the others will only drag you down. Only by joining a higher circle of friends can you gain more resources, glory, and even life itself!"
He then stood up and, with an indifferent tone, added:
"Let me give you some advice... The school is no longer safe. Run while you still can."
"What? Can you clarify that?" My heart tightened as if I had grabbed hold of a loose thread leading to something bigger. I asked hurriedly.
However, Oliver only smiled, walking away without even looking back.
I remained seated on the bench, somewhat lost in thought over his words.
"Acting all mysterious, like some great mastermind, trying to convince me to join him… Is this even fun for him? Does he really think he’s the main character of a novel?"
However, Oliver was a 5-star acolyte and was considered one of the most likely to advance to Mage. He could definitely obtain information faster than I could. I feared that something was indeed happening.
My expression darkened. "I knew the situation with the other towers would get worse..."
Wasting no time, I went to some alchemy shops and bought potions—some to remove odors, others to alter air composition, and others with various effects.
I needed to strengthen myself as much as possible. Mastering the golem was the most obvious path forward. After that, I would focus on engineering and, finally, find a quick way to leave this tower within the month.
Later, in the dark, I took out the newly created Mud Golem from my waist pouch. The core, the size of a thumbnail, glowed faintly with the shimmer of earth elements. The four energy nodes carved into it could continuously absorb the surrounding Earth element, converting it into usable energy and storing it for future use.
Of the four energy nodes, two were lit, indicating that it was 2/4 charged with the mud element—or wet earth—which would be enough to run some tests.
I tilted my head and listened attentively for any movement outside my room. Then, carefully opening the door, I slipped out.
At that hour, most apprentices were already asleep. As a result, I encountered no one on the way.
Fifteen minutes later, I was already walking along the rocky trail outside the tower—a familiar path.
The fierce battle between the acolytes had exterminated many of the demons in this swamp. As I walked and saw the scattered corpses, a rare feeling of pity surfaced in my mind.
Although these demons appeared terrifying and malevolent most of the time, when faced with acolytes willing to kill and die, they became nothing more than trembling cattle, unable to resist the oppressive might of the sorcerers.
Perhaps, in their eyes, we apprentices were the real monsters—far crueler than them!
Moving quickly along the trails, silently and with my alert chip at maximum, I soon arrived at my chosen testing ground: the Muddy Swamp.
Luxiria was dead. Lity took her head as a prize since Luxiria could be sold for a large sum. Now, the mud demons were leaderless, which made this the perfect time to train here.
I stopped firmly at the edge of the Muddy Swamp, five steps from the filthy and stinking lake. I could vaguely sense the faint spiritual waves of three mud demons hiding beneath the muddy water.
Without hesitation, I tossed the Mud Golem’s summoning core to the edge of the lake. As the light yellow core touched the mud, a faint vibration reverberated from it.
"Buzz~~"
Guided by my Spiritual Energy, no activation spell was needed. Immediately, a large amount of yellowish, earthy smoke began to spread around the core. Driven by strange forces, the mud on the ground began to twist, quickly molding itself into a humanoid shape.
I closed my eyes and connected with the mud, sensing the core I had created. Slowly, the creature began to form around it, positioning the core in its chest.
When I opened my eyes, I examined the being in front of me.
I was trusting that this Clay Golem would change my fate!
....
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