Chapter 61: Give me my milestone!
Unedited*
The perfect combination...
The students looked at the two tools in Lucius’s hands and then looked at him.
For a moment, they didn’t understand his words.
But after a moment of thought and silence, the eyes of all the students—and even the teacher’s—lit up.
"You..."
They couldn’t say anything to him.
"This was the plan all along. That’s why the first phase took us so long," he said.
And the second phase fit like a glove. It gave them the chance to create a tool that was simply too good. Not using it would be a crime.
When Phase 3 finally began, many people had high expectations.
Some wondered if they would ever see that famous Class E Agility Golem again.
Others wondered what Class F would come up with this time. Would they surprise them again?
Were they about to witness a historic moment?
And with unprecedented speed and astonishing skill, everyone watched as a massive Golem took shape in the Class F section.
They used almost all the materials they had... no, that they had created earlier!
Many tools from the "trash can" were put to use.
The Golem was about two meters tall, but it wasn’t fat. In fact, it was astonishingly skinny.
It was clad in fiery red armor, made entirely of iron. You could tell it was heavy.
In this regard, Lucius did the most work in Class F, followed by Clara, who also performed very well.
The rest of the students were only responsible for quickly creating more materials and transforming others, all of which were used in their entirety.
Despite all the work that had been done, when Lucius finally walked up to the microphone and said he was ready...
The stopwatch read 50 minutes and 34 seconds.
"T-this..."
Even the referee didn’t know what to do.
The judges were in shock.
Class E was too, though they seemed even more determined to complete their Golem.
Phase Two—the most difficult for those with specialized Golems—was already over. They were now at a stage they’d gone through many times before; this stage was easier than the previous one!
That’s why they hurried even more.
Many people had wondered why Class F’s Golem was so large, but as they made the final adjustments, many of them understood.
Those guys were making 100% use of what they had just created. Nothing went to waste.
The spear was placed in the Golem’s hand—not as an inserted tool, but as something that already belonged to it. That’s why no one could object to it.
And the support tool was around its neck, like a collar, to protect the Golem’s weak spot.
Many were eager to see the battle unfold, as it would determine who would advance. However, upon seeing the size of the Class F Golem and noticing that Class E was creating its legendary Agility Golem, they knew it was going to be a tough battle for Class F.
There is no worse enemy for such a large Golem than something that moves at inhuman speeds and is so small.
All the more so because Class E’s Golem is the one at the top of the pyramid of Golems in its rank...
Time is running out.
An hour had passed.
Just before the two-hour mark, the thirty students in Class E ceased their operations.
"It’s ready," exclaimed the leader of Class E.
"Go ahead," the referee said.
And this time, he didn’t step forward to test anything. Instead, a mechanism was activated above the coliseum, and the transparent glass chambers vanished from view, as if the earth had swallowed them up.
In a way, that was exactly what had happened.
"The battlefield for a Toolmaker will always be their workshop. This is your workshop. So I hope you can prove your worth," said the referee as he left the field.
Class E and Class F took their places where their respective glass halls had once stood, leaving the Golems right in the middle.
"My name is Diego Clark," said the leader of Class E. "I’m only saying this out of courtesy and in accordance with academic rules. I will win this battle," he declared.
"Lucius Asturias. I think you’ll have a great time as a Rank F." Lucius introduced himself with a chuckle.
"If you think you can knock me off this podium, then go ahead and try!"
"Podium?" Lucius scoffed.
The idea that a tiny step up in the rankings meant he was on a "podium" was laughable and truly stupid.
Lucius didn’t even want to talk anymore.
Seeing that the rivals were finally ready, the judges smiled with a hint of malice.
Two of them stood up and walked toward the Golems.
"The back of the head," said Lucius, pointing to the exact spot where the mana mark was.
"Chest," said Diego.
Both judges drew mana marks of the same rank—Rank E—to ensure a level playing field.
That guy...
"A chimpanzee mark on an agility golem... These judges really are cruel," someone in the stands remarked.
Although Class E was annoyed, it wasn’t a big deal. They’d already thought of everything.
On the other hand...
"A mana mark from a Heavyweight Elephant? Wow, finding that mark must have been difficult."
"But... those old farts are really cruel," complained another spectator. "We won’t be able to enjoy a good fight like this."
"That’s true. The Class F Golem is already gigantic and wears heavy iron armor. If you add a Heavy Elephant’s mark on top of that, it’ll be almost impossible to move that mountain."
"Although its strike will surely be deadly."
"Yeah, but it’ll never be able to land the blow."
"Well, that’s true, too. That must weigh tons."
"Tsk, damn old clunkers."
"Lucius..." Clara grabbed Lucius’s sleeve. "Will he be okay?" she asked.
She wasn’t the only one worried.
Lucius had a somber look on his face. He clearly wasn’t okay... or so they thought.
But suddenly he smiled happily. "Hehe, they’ve done us a favor. What do you think?"
"Huh? But..."
"It’s obvious everything will be fine. In fact, this is already settled. I want my milestone!" Lucius exclaimed, spreading his hands wide the moment the referee blew the whistle to start the game.
"Give me my milestone!"
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