The Golem Mage

The moment the pill settled in Alec’s stomach, a surge of energy erupted from deep within, rising rapidly toward his head.

He was still trying to process the sensation when a new system notification appeared before him, and he swiftly shifted his attention toward it.

[+50 Mental Stat Points]

Alec’s eyes widened in disbelief, for the longest time now, he had tried everything to raise his mental stats—even slightly—but he had only seen little progress. Now, after taking the mental pill for the first time, he was experiencing more growth than he had ever achieved on his own.

However, the effect wasn’t without its price, as the rising energy reached his brain, Alec’s eyes snapped shut, and an intense pain exploded through his head—like a dozen mini detonations going off behind his skull.

It felt as though countless needles were stabbing into his brain from every direction.

Even with his eyes closed, he began to perceive his surroundings through strange, blue-tinted three-dimensional images forming in his mind, it was as if he could still see everything—even in complete darkness.

The excruciating process lasted for about fifteen minutes before the pain gradually faded, but the moment relief came, Alec’s consciousness slipped away, and he fell into a deep, involuntary sleep.

—

Finally, the day arrived, the day the War God Mage Academy team was set to travel to the capital to compete for a spot in the Origin Tournament, yet throughout this entire period, no one who resided in the Terran peak had seen Alec for quite some time now.

They assumed he had entered another state of secluded cultivation, though it was unlike him to miss something so important.

When the dean arrived to gather the team and noticed Alec was the only one missing, he decided to scan Alec’s room using his mental senses.

Unfortunately, in the next second, the dean’s expression shifted to one of surprise, as not only had he been unable to penetrate the small house Alec resided in, but his mental probe had actually been bounced back toward him.

Though he easily deflected the rebound, as he had not used his full strength in the earlier probe, he was also taken aback by how rapidly Alec’s mental powers seemed to be developing.

He knew all too well that every mage eventually encountered a bottleneck in their cultivation, even the most gifted geniuses typically hit a wall at the peak of the Tier 6 Mage Realm, it was because at that stage they began cultivating their mental strength—seeking breakthroughs to elevate their mind-set to the level required for advancement.

As only by reaching equilibrium between mentality, mana accumulation, and a stable foundation could they ascend to the high ranks.

But mental development had always been the most difficult path, even after years of magical evolution, few human mages had reached the high ranks compared to the warriors of the second dimension, primarily due to the immense difficulty of cultivating mental strength.

Still, the dean had always suspected Alec possessed latent potential in this area, however after sensing the growth of Alec’s mental abilities after a short time, he realized he may have underestimated him all along.

At that very moment, as the Gordons and the rest of the team stood at Terran’s Peak watching the dean’s puzzled expression, they suddenly heard a faint creak.

And all eyes turned to the entrance of Alec’s room.

There stood Alec, finally emerging, with a cloth wrapped around his eyes, completely covering his vision, and the brace-like device clung to his arm and legs—while crackling with small arcs of electricity as it continued its job of suppressing Alec’s realm.

Seeing him in that state, the group instinctively winced, wondering how painful the experience of constantly shocked by lightning must have been, though countless questions swirled in their minds, none of them spoke.

For now, they let the moment pass in silence.

“Which day is it, really?” Alec asked, a small hint of concern on his face, as not only could he sense the presence of the dean and the rest of his team, but he could practically see them.

Though lacking in colour, as the pulsating blue light that now replaced his vision when his eyes were closed clearly outlined their forms in front of him, that was when it hit him—he had probably been asleep far longer than expected.

He guessed maybe a full day had passed… but he never imagined how much time had truly slipped by until Pale replied.

“The day we go kick the butts of the Royal Mage Academy guys.” Pale answered with a nervous tone as he was wondering why Alec was asking such a question.

With that, Alec’s suspicion was confirmed—he had slept for at least nine days straight after taking just one pill.

Without saying a word, he quickly brought up his status tab in his mind—and it loaded without issue.

[ Status Tab ]

Name: Alec Gordons

Race: Mid Rank Human

Level: 101

Tier: 6 [Low] (locked to Peak Tier 5)

Progression to Next Level: 40.9%

[ Attributes ]

Strength: 260

Agility: 330

Endurance: 246

Mentality: 80

Mana: 100,000 / 100,000

Affinity:

Earth Manipulation II: Gravity Control, Sand Control

Fire Manipulation II: Magma Control, Black Ashes

Special Abilities:

Devourer Beast Bloodline (2/6) – Low

Skills:

Intermediate Swordsmanship (Lv. 5), Intermediate Blade Techniques (Lv. 5), Intermediate Scythe Techniques (Lv. 5), Golem Skill Assimilation (–)

Available Points: 27

System Points: 15,876,679

As Alec reviewed his status, the dean stood a short distance away, quietly observing him with visible surprise, though he had only used a single strand of mana earlier to probe Alec—believing he might be in secluded cultivation like he had been told, however now he was using his full mental strength to scan him.

Alec hadn’t noticed yet, for two reasons, he was too focused on inspecting any internal changes in his body, and the dean possessed a far more refined and subtle mastery over mental energy than he did.

What truly shocked the dean, however, was what he saw through his mental vision, Alec’s mental presence had expanded outward in every direction, covering a wide radius of nearly 80 meters, with Alec at the center.

This was a feat most peak Tier-6 mages wouldn’t achieve even after a year of focused cultivation, yet Alec—who had only just solidified his entry into the Tier-6 Mage realm, was already displaying power reserved for Peak Tier 6 veteran mages on the brink of entering the high ranks.

The dean realized that if Alec ever reached the peak of Tier-6, he might not need the usual years of consolidation and experience before attempting to ascend into the high ranks.