The Golem Mage

Beatrice led the team into the house, their curiosity piqued by the shadow demon she had defeated using her human puppet.

As they entered, their eyes widened at the sight of the creature’s long dark wings, the horns on its head, its elf-like ears, and tusks resembling those of orcs protruding from its mouth.

It was a first for them to encounter such a ranking demon of the Abyss.

”Boss, do you think we could gain some sort of demon related power stone if we cut off the heads of those hell hounds outside?” Zephyr’s curiosity was palpable as he posed the question to Beatrice.

It was clear that Beatrice had more knowledge about demons more than anyone else on the team, it was as if she had faced them before, if not she was not supposed to have so much knowledge about them.

Zephyr couldn’t fathom how she knew so much, especially since this was his first encounter with a real Abyss demon.

”Yea, they actually come with attributed power stones that can help awaken the Black Flames of the Abyss, but it comes with a huge probability much lower than normal attributed stones, but Just imagine, if you all decide to sell off all the attributed stones you get from the Hell Hounds, I promise you it would fetch you more money than you could ever dream of.”

” It would provide enough money to help you all cultivate to the Mid rank with resources, spells, and other necessities to make your foundation stable,” Agnes said as she walked forward to examine the body of the shadow demon.

”What do you mean by ’we all’?” Jake Winchester asked.

”That’s because I have no interest in the profits that would be made off the Hell Hounds, I have something better, and that is the whole carcass of the shadow demon, What you guys don’t know is that a demon body is a treasure chest if you know your way around it, and by the time I’m done, I’m sure all my troubles will be worth the stress,”

Beatrice said as she tried standing up but staggered, with Zephyr who was beside her swiftly assisting her.

”Me using my earlier technique took a toll on me, you guys should clear up fast; we have to get to the Sweden City as soon as possible, I definitely don’t want our team to be the last to arrive,” Beatrice mentioned as zephyr walked her away as they all ignored the man they saved.

”You guys fought well, your coordination and the way you utilize your magic was so smooth, I don’t understand why you all still allow our commander to string you along and control your actions,” Jake said, and the rest of the team all laughed out loud at his statement.

That was until Zephyr’s footsteps could be heard from behind.

”You seem hell-bent on going against the commander, her powers don’t align with you; it’s clear, but don’t worry, when we get to the Sweden City, you are free to move out of our team and join another, all the points you gained while with us won’t be removed also, No one would ever make things hard for you,” Zephyr said.

”I still don’t get it, Why would you let her control you?, you are humans not her puppet, for God’s sake. Did you see that puppet that took down the demon?, It’s a human, How can I feel safe with someone like her being my commander?” Jake questioned.

”Well, unlike you, who came from a high-tier clan, we are all from low-tier and mid-tier clans, Some of us are even rogue mages, but we have been lucky to reach the Tier 3 Mage Realm and have a little talent to be accepted into the War God Mage Academy,” Zephyr explained.

”Many other mages like you that claim to be nobles due to your clan’s rank wanted to join Beatrice’s team, but she chose us instead, the ones you guys would not want in your teams. Look at all of us.

Before we met her, we were just a bunch of mages who practiced with our mana, we had no real combat awareness or battle skills, as we were never rich enough to even buy combat manuals we had to work hard for every spell book we got,” Zephyr continued.

”We were only talented in being able to manipulate mana, but we had no real skills until Beatrice became our commander and showed us our potentials through manipulating our bodies, Though she had never fought before, but due to controlling her puppets and reading a lot of combat books, she was able to understand all of us better,” Zephyr elaborated.

”She used us to our best potential, more than we would have ever achieved on our own, With time, we realized that our muscles got used to those movements and fights she had put us through like a muscle memory, we started fighting that way.”

”Even our spell casting became faster and better, she is the reason we are even this good, so you should respect her like everyone else in this team because she had not only taken missions but also trained us to be the best we can be, so you are free to leave when we get to the city, I promise no one is holding you back,” Zephyr concluded, turning to the rest of the team.

”Now, what are you all still doing standing there doing nothing?, We have work to do, go start carving out the heads of those Hell Hounds. Since the ones alive escaped back to the Abyss, the least we can do is gain from the ones we killed,”

Zephyr said, prompting the whole team to scramble to complete his orders.

--

It was finally the deadline day when all the teams were expected to meet at the Sweden City.

The teams were arriving, and at the gates stood both Lucas’s group and Beatrice’s group, displaying their badges.

The guards allowed both teams to enter, with someone leading them to their respective camps.

”You look like you’ve seen a demon with that expression on your face, If not, who could have been able to put a dent in your commander’s squad?” Lucas teased as he noticed that Beatrice’s team was no longer complete.

He wanted to boast a little since his team was still intact, crossing his arms and flashing a smug smile that made his left canine tooth poke out.

”Well, you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you,” Beatrice replied as they reached the housing area. Waiting for them at the center was Selene, just as she had waited for Pale’s team upon their arrival.

Luckily for them, someone in Beatrice’s team had a brother in the War God Mage Academy and was aware of the tradition of bowing to senior officers.

They all greeted her, narrowly avoiding being crushed by the huge weight of compressed water that would not burst upon impact.

When the Pale team that was peeping saw this, they were disappointed that both Beatrice and Lucas team had escaped punishment.