Underworld - Sanctuary: A LitRPG Series, page 18
Wind Golem – Pure source of gas. Different gasses give the Golem different characteristics.
Fire Golem – Fire. What is fueling the fire will give the Golem different characteristics.
Ice Golem – Ice, Water, or Vapor. The different forms of water and the water’s makeup will give the Golem different characteristics.
Note: For more advanced Golems or Golems using other than base schools of magic, experimentation is required.
Level 3
Mana Cost: 4,850 (970 with bonuses)
Maximum Golems: 1
Last time I had the opportunity to work on leveling this spell, I had a quarter of the mana I now possessed, and my bonuses weren’t nearly as effective. It was time to really push what this spell could do.
There were a few things I considered doing first. Even though In the Buff had basically become a passive spell that cost no mana, I needed to find out how helpful it would be to channel further mana into it. The problem was that I didn’t want to cast it with too much mana, or it might be a beacon to bring the minotaurs here. I’d rather meet them on our own terms after we prepared Sanctuary to defend against them. There was no hurry. I’d save it for later.
Rock Giant Form had really come in handy when the time was right. Currently, it was limited in use because of the 30% Dexterity debuff, but if I could master the form, I should be able to cancel out the debuff entirely. It was a great defensive form and cost very little, so I might as well work on power leveling it as well. Besides, it might be exactly what I’d been looking for to fix another problem.
Pulling back my skeletal armor from both arms, I cast Rock Giant Form on my left one. Stone Skin stiffened my skin as my arm solidified internally. I pumped my arm up and down a few times to experiment with the slower movement. It felt like there was extra resistance, but it didn’t feel clunky. The full form only cost 500 Mana Per Minute with my bonuses, so limiting the change to my arm reduced the mana cost to approximately 80. Perfect. It was time to see if it could help me with my other problem.
I took a few solid breaths before gritting my teeth and willing Magma Fist to start to form.
Immediately, my stone wrist and hand began to heat up. Even as it started to glow, the pain I experienced was a shadow of what it had been without casting Rock Giant on my arm first. I silently cheered to myself for finding an easy and efficient way around the unwelcome, searing side effect of one of my most promising spells.
Even with Magma Fist and Rock Giant Form cast further up my arm, I had almost 4,000 Mana Per Minute still available. That left a lot of additional power leveling I could do.
For an additional 1,200 Mana Per Minute, I cast Fire Incubus Form just on my right hand. Normal Stone Skin, not a part of the Rock Giant Form, I cast on my head. The -50% Dexterity wouldn’t really bother me if it was only slowing down the muscles in my face. I needed to level the spell to get rid of its nasty debuff. It would be much cheaper to use if I didn’t need the growth in mass that the form produced.
The final form I decided to level was Hell Hound. I cast it just over my torso and legs, forcing it to keep my human shape, but the growth of the pitch-black hair still bothered me. Still, it was my most cost-effective Dexterity buff overall.
Coming to my feet, I had about 1,800 Mana Per Minute in reserve. Grabbing my first handful of iron ore, about 9 ounces in total, I cast Animation.
The ore rolled across the floor like a bunch of dice as my mana took hold of it. The nuggets spouted like blossoming flowers and joined into one. The rigid grey mold started to rise, giving birth to a nine-foot golem.
Iron Ore Golem
Level: 542
Health Points: 30,000
Mana Points: NA
Strength: 1,110
Dexterity: 400
Constitution: 1,200
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
I was happy to see the increase in strength. The only main drawback these minions had was that they didn’t get any stat bonuses for reaching the 1,000 mark. Hopefully, with leveling up, that would change. It was also still a maximum of 100 levels less than my personal level, giving more reason to advance it.
After checking the creature’s stats, I uncast it, letting it fall to dust.
There was very little skill required in what followed. Grabbing the required amount of ore for a max level golem, I cast it again. As soon as it had formed, I dismissed it and did it again. As quickly as I could, I cast Animate repeatedly. I counted eight bins of iron ore that were wider than my arms could hug and reached up to my gut. Even after an hour of casting only one of the bins was down to halfway full.
Despite the tedium, it bore results. Level 4 came after approximately ten casts. Level 5 was twenty casts and to reach level 10 I cast it fifty times after reaching level 9. Level 10 provided me with exactly the boost I was hoping for.
Level 10
Mana Cost: 4,500 (900 with bonuses)
Maximum Golems: 2
Single Golem’s Max Level is Equal to Caster
Multiple Golem’s Max Level is Equal to 50% of Caster
Finally, multiple Golems! It was also interesting to see that I could cast a single Golem that was equal to my own level now, but if I cast two of them, they would only be half my level.
My group peeked in a while later to check on me but didn’t interrupt. Each of them had further geared up, so it looked like the haul was a good one. I knew that they would share later, so I forced myself to shake off the call of loot for the time being.
I began experimenting with casting two Golems at a time. Their cost was equal to that of a single golem, but I got two smaller ones for the price of one. I also cast the single Golem equal to my level just to check it out and found it now reached ten feet high.
Casting two of the smaller Golems at once greatly enhanced my leveling speed and I flew through the 20s as fast as I had through levels 1 through 10.
Aeris brought me another plate of roasted cave swine with a stone mug of steaming liquid.
When I gave her a questioning look, she motioned for me to try it.
Taking a sip, I immediately recognized the hot drink as sweet tea with a little nutty taste. I looked at her in wonder.
“I don’t know what it’s called, but there is a plant that has tea-like leaves that they have been growing here and a root that is sweet,” she said, answering my unasked question.
“It really hits the spot. Thank you.”
She left me after that. I took bites between casts and kept at it.
Level thirty further pushed the practical uses of the spell.
Maximum Golems: 3
Single Golem’s Max Level is Equal to Caster
Multiple Golem’s Max Level is Equal to 60% of Caster
With the increase in the max level of my multiple Golems came a big increase in ore cost. I had emptied one crate and had just started the next one. It took 21 ore to cast three Golems at a time.
Level 40 came rather quickly thanks to my vast resources. Casting 4 Golems at a time was the only change. Leveling to 50 was a much slower process. It had only taken about three hours to get from level 3 to 40, but it took a full hour to finally reach 50. When I did, it seemed to completely unlock what the spell was capable of.
Maximum Golems: 5
Single Golem’s Base Level is Equal to Caster
Note: With additional ore, a Golem’s level is limited to the Caster’s channeling ability and the amount of mana provided.
Multiple Golem’s Max Level is Equal to 70% of Caster
Note: It is now possible to cast any number of Golems up to your maximum and control their level,
Golems are Now Capable of Following Simple Instructions Without Micromanagement
In every respect, Animation had just powered up. It was now possible to enhance my Golem with mana and ore. My Multiple Golems were now customizable. I could summon between 2 to 5 of them, instead of just the maximum number, and if I wanted them to only have 10% of my level that was now possible.
Hands down the greatest improvement was their ability to follow directions. That was a game changer.
As I began to level again, I ran into a problem. Animate was costing even more ore but was no longer leveling up quickly. After half an hour without making it to level 51, it was time to try a different approach.
Approaching the other bins of rare ore, I realized that the sheer number of combinations I could make with the different types of ore was insane. The max ore one of my Golems needed without channeling for further enhancement was 10 ounces. There were 6 rare ores available, not including some lesser ones like copper, tin, and nickel. I began by testing 9 iron and 1 blizzarine.
The single Golem rose from the earth with the same iron flare except it now had additional white streaks covering its body. It still stood ten feet tall, so the only obvious difference was its coloring. I was suddenly unsure how to test it. I doubted he had any ranged attack, but something had to have changed.
I gave a mental command to show me any special abilities it might possess, and the giant rock dude squatted down like a martial artist and flexed its fist in front of its face. Frost appeared over its knuckles in a thin sheet.
When I commanded it to show me more, it didn’t move. Still, there was more to it than before. Now it could give an enemy a chill before crushing it.
Casting it again with 2 blizzarines and 8 iron ore, an almost identical white-streaked Golem appeared except its ability to produce Frost was greatly enhanced. Moreover, Animate leveled!
I continued on, increasing the amount of blizzarine and reducing the iron ore until I cast one purely of blizzarine. Chalk white stone rose up from the ground as an Ice Golem. When I commanded it to produce ice, its entire fist was covered and above the knuckles appeared a razor-sharp set of jagged spikes.
Now that’s more like it.
I moved on to the next ore, firazite, and went through the same process. By the time I reached 10 firazite ore, I didn’t have to command the Fire Golem to activate its ability. It stood like a ten-foot coal with flames dancing over its entire body. In addition, by the end of the process, Animate had also reached level sixty.
Tundargite produced a metallic looking creature that was an Electric Golem. It was able to produce arcs of electricity between its hands and the floor. Aeroyst generated a Wind Golem that was deep blue with a smooth and curvy shape. It literally blew on me with its cold, gusty breath. Quagate was the most unexpected. The Earth Golem was twice as thick as any of the other Golems and seemed to have no other ability besides its size. Its HP was three times greater than the others. The last one was Biodite, a Golem of green stone that oozed green liquid at will. The substance was acid.
By the time I was finished with the tests, I had been power leveling for six hours. I had reached level 71 and my progression had greatly slowed again. Animation’s practical use had greatly increased to a point where I thought we would finally be ready to move on.
Maximum Golems: 7
Single Golem’s Base Level is Equal to Caster
Note: With additional ore, a Golem’s level is limited to the Caster’s channeling ability and the amount of mana provided.
Multiple Golem’s Max Level is Equal to 90% of the Caster’s Level
Note: It is now possible to have any number of Golems up to your maximum. Their levels are limited to the current maximum for multiple Golems.
Golems are Now Capable of Following Complex Instructions Without Micromanagement
Raising seven Golems, each at 90% of my level, I had the giant stone minions line up. It was starting to feel a bit crowded. These were basic Iron Golems and had 1,200 Strength apiece. They would be perfect for the job that I had in mind for them.
Peeking outside of the room, I didn’t see the others, so I commanded the Golems to head to the next room and wait by the carts. Since I didn’t see anyone I headed in the opposite direction. Entering the throne room, I saw the stream had mostly melted and was once again flowing into the next room. It didn’t bother me.
I came to a stop beside the dead Incubus. Before I forgot, there was something I needed to do.
Unsure what would happen to Magma Fist and Fire Incubus’s Hand, I cast Rock Giant Form to find out. As I grew, both of my hands remained the same size.
Standing twice as tall, with double thick arms, I gaped at the tiny hands attached to my body. Releasing both spells, my hands grew to the appropriate size and took on their stone texture.
Stone Skin was automatically deactivated. It had reached level 10 during the time it had been cast on my head but did not overlap.
Primordial Cat Form was proving to be difficult to level. I doubted Magma Fist would help it advance any further. Fire Incubus’s Hand had been a big help, though, getting Fire Incubus Form to level 6 over the time it was activated.
Looking down at the now small Incubus, I cast Skeleton Warrior’s Sword. A puny bone weapon appeared in my hand. Pumping it with mana, I made it grow. The handle expanded to one big enough for both my hands. With even more mana I directed the bone at the end to expand and stretch into a massive axe head the size of an imp.
I heaved the axe up with both hands and took a few practice swings. When I felt comfortable, I lowered the axe blade to the Incubus’s neck. I had no doubt that Mel would want this creature’s head.
Raising the axe and lowering it a few times for good measure, I finally lifted the axe up to my full height and leveled giant chop. With enormous glee, I watched as the head parted from its shoulders with a pop.
From the honeycombed room came a cry, followed by several worried voices. My friends came running a moment later with Aeris at their head.
Lifting my bone axe to my shoulder, I posed like a mighty lumberjack.
“What in the world!” Chris wailed.
Aeris and Travis, on the other hand, rolled their eyes.
“It’s cool, man,” Travis assured Chris.
“He’s looting him,” Aeris agreed.
“Loot?” Chris asked, unsure.
Releasing Rock Giant Form, I cast Stone Skin as I shrunk, and my Skeletal Armor soon covered it. I stepped over and retrieved Feuer’s head. Holding it up, I answered Chris’s question. “It’s a present for a friend.”
Understanding registered across his face.
***
We loaded the carts soon after. I didn’t trust my Golems to help with the loading except for the biggest, least delicate loads. They handled the large barrels of seeds and what was left of the rarest ores, but that was about it.
Most of what we loaded into the nine carts was food and seeds. The food consisted of primarily potatoes and a little bit of all the other vegetables that they had grown. There was also one filled with cured meat that had been sealed in airtight sacks of some kind. The other main portion of our meat was still moving.
There was a constant squeal of protesting piglets who were crowded onto two of our carts. Both carts had steel cages built over them with doors large enough for a full-sized Cave Swine.
The other two caged carts carried an adult Cave Swine each. One was male and one was female. As best as we could tell, they were young adults and in great health. Besides their physical appearance, it was the density of their mana I saw through the mana realm that convinced me. Their size pushed the limits of the cars for they both weighed about 1,200 pounds.
I had also taken a lot of the rare ore for myself since it had become much more valuable to me at Animate’s new level.
When presented with the loot the others had gathered, I was thoroughly impressed. There were numerous rare and unique level items. Anything from jewelry to armor to weapons. Much of the armor was too small for us to wear, but some of the unique items would grow to fit the owner’s size. Even if they didn’t though, Russ could likely deconstruct them.
The prize item I took was a Magic Bag. It only lightened the items inside by 30%, but it would be of great use. It wasn’t the only Magic Bag either. My group had found 11 of them in total ranging from 10 to 40% item reduction. Aeris got the highest percentage one, but everyone ended up with at least 25%. The rest of the bags we filled and placed on our carts.
I filled the remaining space in my bag with additional food stuffs.
Twelve hours after we had arrived, we started to leave.
Grabbing a wooden pole with each hand, I stood, lifting my cart at the front of the procession. It was filled with the smallest group of Cave Swine piglets. I didn’t trust my Golems to be as gentle as they should be with our future bacon. That was also why at the back of our train of carts, Travis and Chris were lifting the other cart of piglets. All kidding aside, they could be our future.
We were out of the dungeon and a mile away before Aeris stopped me. I issued the command and everything slowly rolled to a stop.
“I’ll be right back,” Aeris promised.
She took off in a flash, flying back the way we had come. No one was surprised to see her go. We had all discussed it before we left.
I took a moment to set down the cart and check the spells and forms that I was leveling. It required me to draw back skeletal armor, but everything seemed in place.
Chris and Travis were doing some power leveling of their own. They had asked that I not cast Heal on them during the trip unless they prompted me first. This way they could gain some stats the hard way during our travels by lifting the heavy carts. If I could have, I’d have joined them, but my passive regeneration from my Ascension made it impossible for me to work out.
Only a few minutes later, Aeris appeared above me in a gale of wind. The piglets behind me started to complain about being startled.
“Is it done?” I asked.
She gave me a firm nod.
I once again picked up my cart and gave the mental command. We started to move.
Before we left, we weren’t sure what to do with the locked-up Cave Swine and there was no way we could take them all with us. After we were safely out of the area, Aeris had flown back and let them out of their pens. It just seemed wrong to let them starve and there was no way we would be back this way soon enough to get them before they did.
