The Golem's True Challenge
“Eek!”
“Haaap!”
The cabin midway up the mountain, usually shrouded in silence, echoed with bizarre shouts of exertion. The animals that had made it their shelter hurriedly turned tail and fled.
“Is this even working?”
After several attempts, the exhausted student’s question struck a chord with Maness. He had mana in abundance—no need to squeeze out every last drop like the others—but no matter how much he poured in, the lump of mud barely twitched, showing no real change.
“Golem, golem...”
Maness dredged up buried memories from the past. Even recalling the golem creation magic from the original story, it had been depicted as conjuring something from nothing. There was no way to discern the fine details of its structure.
“There’s a set flow to this.”
After some deliberation, a glimmer of hope came from Conien’s voice. Maness turned to him, and Conien elaborated.
“I get the structure somewhat, but handling the mana isn’t my strong suit.”
“You get the structure?”
“Yeah... call it intuition.”
Only then did Maness remember what kind of person Conien was: a human close to the wild, born with animalistic instincts. People even said his “hunches” were close to proven facts, not mere abstractions.
“So, what’d you figure out?”
“The professor said this mud has magic that remembers its original form. We need to infuse mana in a way that matches that form for any progress.”
“Matches the form?”
“...It’s pure intuition, so I can’t pin it down exactly.”
Hearing Conien’s insight, Maness stared back at his mud pile. On second thought, just because it remembered its original shape didn’t mean the mud itself was the mold. Magic ultimately followed the caster’s intent. No matter the enchantment, magic didn’t manifest without purpose.
A golem, then.
Maness extended his hand again, gathering mana. A magical lifeform in human shape. Visualizing the golem’s form from his memories, he pushed the mana in his palm into the mud.
Crack, crunch.
This time, the mud responded dynamically, unlike before. A face emerged from the lump, followed by arms and legs sprouting out. Even the skeletal frame refined itself in detail, forming a highly polished golem shape anyone would recognize.
Maness admired the finished product briefly before dispersing his mana, crumbling it back to mud. No point drawing unwanted attention.
“Impressive.”
Conien, the only one who’d watched the process, voiced his admiration.
“Thanks.”
“But why dismantle it right away?”
“Would you want to stand out if you were me?”
Glancing at the other students straining away, Conien shared Maness’s sentiment.
“Fair point.”
“More importantly, why didn’t the professor give us a hint?”
“Hint about what?”
“That just shoving mana in blindly wouldn’t cut it.”
Conien pondered Maness’s complaint. To him, who’d enrolled purely for knowledge, professors were beacons of profound guidance. There had to be deeper meaning.
“On the plains, cooperation between tribes is vital. Mutual understanding and unity mean survival.”
“...So, you’re saying she meant for us to collaborate like we just did?”
“That’s as far as my limited insight goes.”
This guy overestimates professors, Maness thought.
*
“You idiots, think you can just pump mana in all day and call it done?”
A yawn-laced bark drew the students’ attention. Almond whacked Morras’s head with her staff as he gawked at her from the front row.
“Ow!”
“Didn’t they teach you in basic magic theory? Magic manifests according to the caster’s will.”
With that, Iris seemed to grasp it and dove back into infusing mana. But since she was the only one, Almond sighed loudly for all to hear.
“Mana is wielded by no one but yourselves. Even with the enchantment, you have to intend to shape it into a golem for results to match.”
A few students who caught on followed Iris’s lead. Watching them, Almond massaged her knotted shoulders with her staff and called out three names.
“Kyle. Conien. Maness.”
The called students responded with tense eyes. Being singled out now felt ominous.
“Head out the cabin and go right—you’ll hit a clearing. Wait there.”
Exchanging wary glances—Kyle even turning back—the trio followed, exiting the cabin.
On the way to the clearing, Kyle broke the silence first.
“Magic’s tough, huh?”
Conien shook his head in reply. After that noncommittal gesture implying no aptitude for magic, the question turned to Maness.
“What about you? Finish yours?”
“If I had, the professor would’ve noticed.”
“...Yeah, true.”
Sharp guy, Maness thought of Kyle. Reflecting on events so far, he’d likely seen through Maness’s magical talent already—from sword class onward, at least intuitively.
As he sorted those thoughts, one idea struck: Do I really need to hide this much?
It was just golem creation, and with the enchantment to boot. Even Iris and others had gotten it from the professor’s hint and jumped right in. No need to downplay himself this hard.
“I thought mine turned out pretty solid, but no reaction from her.”
“So you did make one?”
“Conien helped out.”
As talk flowed, Maness exchanged a look with Conien. He’d started the topic, so no need to hide.
“No talent for magic, but my intuition kicked in. Effort paid off—I managed to channel mana into it somehow.”
“Sensing it enough to channel is rare, isn’t it?”
“Just did what anyone could. Nothing praiseworthy.”
After some back-and-forth with Kyle’s humility, the wide clearing came into view. It looked deliberately shaped, with a pile of stones at the center.
“Why’d she call us out here?”
Muttering to himself, Kyle approached the pile. It consisted of massive stones, each as wide as an outstretched arm.
Observing up close, Maness felt off. Too unnatural. A stone pile smack in the clearing’s center, all uniform sizes. And the class was on magical lifeforms—golems. It all amplified his unease.
“Hey, Conien.”
Leaning against a tree, Conien cracked one eye open.
“Wanna ditch class?”
“...What’s that mean?”
“Can’t shake the feeling it’ll be a nightmare.”
“Maybe.”
After a pause, Conien replied in his typical fashion: “Hardship forges strength.”
“I was gonna say—ow!”
Before Maness could finish his lament, pain exploded from the top of his head. Whirling around, he saw a sturdy wooden sword—carved from old hardwood—pointed at him.
“Where you think you’re going?”
“...Just following survival instincts.”
“Saying that means you know what’s up. Get over there by the pile, like him.”
Pointing at Kyle, Almond prompted Maness to comply meekly. Running would just mean worse punishment. He couldn’t even be sure Boltman’s tale was the worst.
“So, what’s our clever young master think we’re doing next?”
With the three lined up, Almond prodded Maness with the wooden sword.
Cursing the harsh master-disciple dynamic inwardly, Maness voiced his guess.
“I’ll turn that stone pile into a golem.”
“Right. But you thought that was enough to run?”
“You brought Kyle and Conien for a reason.”
“Obviously. Think I’d drag you out for nothing?”
With a meaningful retort, Almond tossed the wooden sword. Kyle caught it, still baffled, gripping it uncertainly.
“Barton asked me as a favor. Why’s everyone itching to show off in my class?”
Not hiding her annoyance, Almond stepped back from the students and set up a crystal orb at a safe spot.
“First, you—brat—infuse it with mana.”
Maness tossed a half-hearted protest from afar.
“I haven’t made a golem yet, though?”
“You kidding? Think I can’t sense changes in my own enchanted object?”
“Tch.”
She knew all along. Maness’s faint hope twisted into a grimace.
“No tricks. Get to it. The stones are already enchanted for golem creation.”
I’m doomed today.
Resigned, Maness approached the pile, extended his hand, and focused inward. Zentina had said necromancy mana varied by medium. Same for golems. Unlike the palm-sized mud from practice, this would demand immense mana.
His prediction hit true. Mana swirled out like a hole in the ocean floor, sucked into the stones. Maness’s breathing grew ragged, limbs trembling faintly as he endured.
Should’ve taken off the ring at least.
Watching the mana surge up close, Kyle gripped the wooden sword tighter. He’d guessed Maness’s talent, but the chill through his skin foreshadowed trouble. Even if created, controlling it would be impossible. No first-year could handle that mana torrent.
After prolonged infusion, the pile stirred. Stones floated up, forming arms and legs around the widest base, culminating in a head. Towering twice a grown man’s height, the stone golem faced the students with matching bulk.
“Uh...”
Maness stared blankly. Mana drain left aftereffects, but he could hardly believe he’d made something this massive. Even enchanted, he had shaped it.
Satisfaction was short-lived.
“So, now what?”
“What do you mean, what?”
Almond shrugged at the dazed question. A massive shadow loomed over Maness’s head.
“You made it. Control it or smash it—your call.”
With that, the golem’s heavy arm swung down.
*
Thud—
Iris whipped her head around, focused on her nearly complete mud golem. A massive vibration had reached her, but the other students remained absorbed.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Didn’t you feel that rumble just now?”
“Rumble? Nope.”
Shaking off the distraction at her neighbor’s innocent reply, Iris dismissed it.
“Guess I imagined it from focusing too hard.”