The Golem Mage

Eventually, the night dragged on as the mages of the Gordons Clan who hadn’t joined the earlier battle busied themselves, moving wine and supplies in preparation for the celebration ahead.

It was tradition in the Gordons Clan that whenever a mage advanced to a new realm, they were to celebrate the breakthrough with loved ones and officially register their new realm at the Clan Hall the following morning.

This helped the Elders and the Patriarch track the steady rise in the clan’s strength, but tonight was anything but ordinary, over nine hundred mages had broken through whether it was to a new realm or a small breakthrough in the same realm all would be celebrated tonight as all logistic duties like recording the new realms was pushed to the next day.

Some from the main bloodline, others from mixed bloodlines, and even a few enforcers the clan had taken in over the years.

Yet, none of that mattered tonight, the entire clan was uniting in a single celebration, preparing to honour a night that would be remembered for years.

Even Alec, who had been intent on sleeping off the exhaustion of his breakthrough, had been dragged out of his room, his rest cut short, as he found himself accompanying his master, Terran, toward the heart of the inner region, the largest open space in the clan’s domain, which is now designated for the grand celebration.

As they walked, Alec caught sight of the three restrained mages in black, rune-etched chains being led away by the Fifth Elder, as he made a quick request to speak with them later from his grandfather, his request meant don’t kill them yet.

“I honestly didn’t expect to see you here, Master. Is there a reason you’ve come to my clan?” Alec asked as soon as he had the chance, his hands casually clasped behind his back.

“Simple, that old man was worried his investment wouldn’t pay off… or worse, you’d up and disappear before delivering. I’m here to make sure neither happens.” Terran replied without missing a beat, his face unreadable.

Alec raised an unimpressed brow, his expression practically dripping with skepticism.

Terran sighed.

“Okay, fine, you caught me. He’s worried someone might take a shot at you and try assassinating you… so now I’m here. Your master, downgraded to your bodyguard.”

“Seriously, I’m shocked that old man’s even more worried about you than I am, making me wonder why. I’ve been hanging around all this time, waiting for you to get yourself in trouble so I could swoop in and save you like some damsel in distress, but you didn’t give me the chance,” Terran teased, shaking his head.

“From what I’ve seen, it’s clear you’re not the kind of mage who’ll be needing my help anytime soon, considering you have strong elders, and you’ve even started learning how to properly handle high-rank enemies… and that’s progress I’m proud of as your master.”

He glanced over at Alec, who only shrugged, truthfully, even Alec didn’t fully understand what had pushed him to act the way he did during the last Blood Moon War, he just knew that after managing to slay that Tier 7 agility-type zombie that was sent after him, a sudden surge of power coursed through him from who knows where.

In that moment, facing Tier 7 mages didn’t seem like an impossible hurdle anymore, especially with both Titan and Legion at his side to cover him if things spiralled out of control.

“I just did what felt right in the moment, most of the time, I was just keeping an eye out for my clansmen.”

Terran nodded as though he understood exactly what Alec meant.

“Well, since it looks like you don’t really need my help, I’ll be heading back to the academy soon, things are about to get lively with my master finally returning, and trust me — I don’t plan on missing any of it.”

At those words, Alec immediately pictured the Academy’s legendary veterans, those who’d fought under the War God Mage Academy’s banner across countless battlefields, finally returning back to the academy, the thought of how many powerful mages would be gathering there made him sigh internally.

He could already sense trouble brewing, with shameless challengers likely to show up, all eager to test themselves or gain a bit of fame by going after him who would be resuming not as a fresher but as the crowd strongest second year mage.

“Ahh… what a drag,” Alec muttered under his breath as the mental image of those inevitable confrontations crossed his mind.

Terran glanced at him, puzzled by the sudden change in his mood, clearly unaware of what was going through Alec’s head.

“Before I forget — help me deliver something to Old Man Alderic on your way back,” Alec said as he sent a strand of mana into his space ring, about to retrieve the pills he’d set aside for Old man Alderic as part of his deal with the old dean of the War God Mage Academy.

But before he could even finish, Terran had already started grumbling.

“Who’s the master in this relationship, really? Because I swear, it’s starting to feel like I’m just a figurehead,” he complained.

“I came here dispatched as your personal guard, can you imagine the insult? Though, as much as that rubbed me the wrong way, I didn’t make a fuss since it was a direct order from Old Man Alderic. And besides, you’re my prized disciple. I couldn’t just ignore that.”

Terran went on, waving his hand dramatically.

“But as you know, somewhere along the line I realised you didn’t even need me in the first place, so I decided it was best to slip away quietly. And now you’re trying to turn me into your delivery boy on top of it. Alec, be honest, do you even have a shred of respect left for your master?” he teased, but Alec didn’t even flinch at his rant.

Without a word, he tossed a small sack toward Terran, who caught it easily with one hand.

“In that little sack you’re holding,” Alec began,

“There’s three hundred Tier 6 cultivation pills I promised Old Man Alderic. And because he was nice enough to throw me some Tier 5 corpses last time, I decided to return the favour too and added a hundred Tier 5 cultivation pills, twenty-five Tier 6 healing pills, fifty Tier 5 healing pills… and my regards, now, you could choose not to deliver them if you’re feeling rebellious, but when I meet him next, just know he’ll figure out who held up his package.”

As Alec spoke, he didn’t even realize the storm he’d just stirred up with those words, as Terran was shocked he was holding on to something so precious.

It was obvious Terran had long heard about the working profession specialists hidden among the Gordons, it was, after all, the only way thing the academy could think of after they had failed to trace how Alec got his hands on the high-grade pills and spirit equipment he’d used during the inter-academy competition, which definitely didn’t come from the academy.

So when Terran arrived at the Gordons Clan, he’d quietly made an effort to get close to at least one of the master alchemists.

But no matter how discreetly he asked around, no one gave him a straight answer, and knowing how secretive the elders were about most matters, he didn’t dare question them directly.

Yet here Alec was, casually tossing a sack packed with precious pills like it was a bag of snacks, and doing so with such indifference that Terran almost felt his jaw hit the floor.

He’d been in the clan for days and still had no clue who the elusive alchemist was, and right then, Terran decided it was time to stop poking around and leave before this bizarre clan warped his mental state any further.

“Alright, alright — calm down. There’s no way I want to end up on that old man’s blacklist. I’ll deliver the pills,” Terran finally managed to say, forcing a harmless smile as he watched Alec’s nonchalant attitude about something most mages would fight a small war over.

“Privileged kid,” Terran muttered under his breath, silently lamenting Alec’s ridiculous luck at having an experienced alchemist as a clansman.