The Golem Mage

Bang!

A sharp sonic blast erupted, sending shockwaves rippling in all directions as the mage Alec had just scolded launched himself toward the stage, his right hand was outstretched, aiming for the five pill bottles placed atop the stone pillar.

The move had been so sudden and explosive that those nearby couldn’t react in time.

The newly appointed Patriarch of the Raiza Clan stood abruptly, ready to attack along with the high rank Mage as this was such a rare chance for disruption, but then he noticed something strange, the Gordons hadn’t moved.

Not the side guards Alec had positioned around, nor the two female mages beside Alec at the top of the stage, even Alec himself just stared blankly making the Raisa Patriarch suspicious.

From the corner of his eye, he could see that none of them so much as flinched, it was almost as if… they were waiting for this.

The high-rank mage, unaware of the danger, let a smirk curl across his lips.

His special ability is temporary invisibility, and once activated, within those few crucial minutes, no one could see him or stop him.

He was confident that the moment his fingers wrapped around those bottles, he’d vanish without a trace.

All he needed was one pill, and if it cured his infection, it would be worth the risk.

He planned to turn over the remaining pills to the City Lord, who would be grateful towards such gesture, therefore ensuring he got the political protection of the city lord who would be forced to protect him.

Should the Gordons try to retaliate, they’d be forced into negotiations by the city lord to collect compensation with the excuse that it would be a big disadvantage for the city to lose a high rank mage, and this would give him a bargaining chip to escape with only a penalty to pay for he pills.

He had thought of all the ins and outs, even the moves the city lord is meant to take, but before his hastily formed plan could succeed, the atmosphere shifted, the air thickened, mana saturating the surroundings as the illusionary forms of demonic beasts began to materialize.

Ten in total—each glowing in a different hue, each radiating deadly intent.

“Ehhhn—?” the mage gasped, staring upward in horror as the manifestations closed in on him.

This was the Talisman defence mechanism Alec had set in place, the random spell cards he had strategically deployed into the building had finally activated, triggered by a surge of mana that didn’t belong to a Gordons clansman.

Swish!

In an instant, the summoned beasts attacked, ten different forms struck at once, their elemental strikes converging on the Tier 7 mage.

Though he reacted swiftly, crossing his arms in front of his chest to defend, but the force of the combined assault was overwhelming, and the sheer impact flung him backward, faster than he had moved forward, causing his body to crash down on the Raiza Clan’s table with a deafening thud.

The Raiza Clan Patriarch, who had just risen to command an attack, froze in place, visibly shaken as he saw the mage coughing up blood, utterly defeated before him.

“As I mentioned earlier, any attempt to attack in here is prohibited, if anyone dares to break that rule, we won’t be held responsible for what happens to them.” Alec’s voice echoed coldly through the auction hall.

His words reminded everyone of the rules he had clearly stated before the first auction round had even begun, looking at the bloodied Tier 7 mage, no one could argue, he had brought this upon himself.

“Throw him out, would you,” Alec added casually.

Two Tier 5 guards finally moved, dragging the barely conscious mage away, from that moment on, he was blacklisted from ever participating in any Gordons auction again, assuming he even lived to see the next one.

The entire incident had unfolded so rapidly that many were still processing what had just happened.

Having spent so long inside the auction house, consumed by the thrill of bidding, they had almost forgotten the strange feeling they’d sensed upon arriving, that heavy pressure in the air, the undeniable aura of countless talismans layered across the premises.

Just like the Tier 7 mage, they too had forgotten the overwhelming energy that had stunned them at the entrance, until now.

A few of them tried to imagine themselves in the shoes of the fallen mage, even now, after learning about the talismans, many still couldn’t picture surviving such an onslaught.

The image of ten fierce demonic beasts charging forward, claws outstretched, was burned into their minds, and no matter how they envisioned it, they didn’t see a version where they came out alive.

“Is there a problem, Mr. Raiza?” Alec asked, turning to face the Raiza Patriarch, who was still standing with a blade in hand.

“Ehhhn, no,” the Patriarch replied with a forced chuckle.

“I was about to help apprehend the mage… but fortunately, you already had things well-prepared.”

He laughed awkwardly, doing his best to mask the truth, that he had been seconds away from launching an attack himself.

Because If someone a full realm above him had been dealt with so easily, without anyone even lifting a finger, what chance did he have? It was clear they had more than enough power to crush him without hesitation.

Twisting the narrative was his only option to avoid suspicion.

Luckily for him, Alec didn’t seem interested in digging deeper, he had already proven his point, that the Gordons were fully in control, regardless of the presence of Tier 7 mages, so the rest would think twice before trying something funny again.

“Well, apologies for that little disruption,” Alec continued.

“If you all don’t mind, let’s give a round of applause as Bailey Lanzt finally joins us on stage to help demonstrate the potency of the Undead Purge Pill, which I’ve claimed to be the cure for the zombie virus.”

The crowd erupted in cheers, louder and more excited than before, they were finally going to witness the pill’s effects first-hand.

Bailey Lanzt stepped onto the stage, loosening his clan robe slightly to reveal his infected shoulder.

The skin there was pitch black, laced with dormant green veins, a clear sign of the zombie infection, though his head was covered in white hair, But his chest was still firm and muscular, defying his age and showing the strength he still carried, only the left shoulder area looked saggy and decay due to the infection weakening him.

Seeing that Bailey was ready, Alec finally summoned the bottle containing the Tier 7 Undead Purge Pill from his space ring.

Since he had only refined one Tier 7 zombie at the moment, he possessed just five of those pills and for Alec they were far too valuable to be auctioned off, so he had reserved them strictly for personal use or for the future needs of his clan.

Just because he was willing to give away some of his lesser creations from the system didn’t mean he was foolish; Alec always kept the best for himself and the Gordons.

The auction was simply a strategy to stock up on more corpses, which could be used to craft additional resources for the clan before he returned back to the academy.

Without wasting any more time, he handed one of the pills to Bailey Lanzt, who stretched out his palm.

The moment the black pill touched his skin, his hand trembled slightly as he stared at the thin stream of green medicinal smoke rising from it.

“To being cured,” Bailey said before swallowing the pill whole, less than ten seconds after receiving it as he didn’t even bother much about the details around it he was just as eager as the rest of the crowd to know if he would be cured by the Pill.