Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Golem's Core and the Dream of the Flying Ship
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I had no idea how we'd made it through the passage. When I came to, my three disciples and I were sprawled out at the lowest of the three peaks in the Muradin Mountains.
"Where..."
"You made it through? Master. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Ughhh..."
I rose to my feet and scanned our surroundings. None of us were missing, and all our belongings were intact. The magic itself had been stable, but every memory of crossing the passage had been wiped clean.
'Giant species...'
An unexpected variable had intruded on the completed spell. My memories blurred after the colossal beast appeared. Its massive body parting the clouds like a knife—that was my last clear recollection.
"Everyone okay? No injuries?"
"Yes... I'm fine."
"Nothing missing from my stuff either."
"My last memory is all fuzzy..."
Like me, my disciples seemed unharmed. That's when I noticed it: beneath where I'd been lying, an unfamiliar rune was etched into the ground. The tiny fragment of mystery it held immediately seized my gaze.
'This is...'
I understood it the moment I saw it. The mystery embedded in the rune resonated perfectly. Pure and raw. It felt slightly different from modern runes. I couldn't fathom how long this rune had existed here. A straight downward stroke, then faintly lifted and crossed horizontally. It resembled a bizarrely twisted letter X.
'Serenity...?'
It embodied a mystery that calmed everything around it. No compulsion—just an inducement of that feeling. A strange sensation, like someone softly smiling and speaking to you.
"Master? What's that..."
Olbern was the first to show interest in the unfamiliar rune. She hurried over, tilting her head as she peered intently at the marking in the dirt.
"It's a rune form I've never seen. The fact that it's holding mana and glowing means the magic is manifesting properly, but..."
"Serenity."
"Huh? Serenity?"
As I answered Olbern's question, I looked up at the sky. Nothing there. Just a clear expanse of blue with a few small clouds drifting lazily. That's how it would look to ordinary eyes.
Mine saw differently. Eyes etched with blue starlight. The gaze of Arcana, which detected all mysteries, spotted the massive traces lingering in the heavens.
The natural mana that filled the sky was in disarray. Like a snake's trail across a sand dune, the giant species' presence was unmistakably etched there. Suddenly, I recalled a speculative note: perhaps the rune had been a means to communicate with the giant species.
'Lem Drain...'
Not a name for a single entity. It was the term encompassing all colossal lifeforms that crossed over from other worlds. Records of sightings varied, as did the names attached to them.
"D-Did you see something in the sky?"
"Faint traces... Something was there. Right?"
Durel answered Olbern's question. Having focused on training during our days in that other world, he'd fully integrated Arcana into his own magic. Not to my level, but the golden stars in his eyes softly scattered their light.
"Something was there, yeah. Not anymore."
I nodded in response. Without doubt, that enormous presence had been up there. I didn't know when it vanished, but it must have crossed over with us from the other world.
For a brief moment, it felt like a dream. Everything from that world seemed so distant, dreamlike. But it was real. My disciples' elevated realms and the weight of the spellbooks I'd tucked safely away reminded me of that.
Time didn't flow differently in that other world. We'd been gone about a week. Nothing special had happened in our absence. As mere travelers—and in Olbern's case, a peculiar old eccentric—no search parties had been formed for our disappearance.
After returning to the capital city of Tenern, Olbern sorted through all her assets and research materials. She sold everything except a few materials she could carry, donating the rest to libraries or research institutes.
From now on, it was family business. Naturally, we helped.
"This is the last of the materials."
Olbern spoke as we exited the massive library. Her expression was complex—relieved yet a touch wistful. She kept glancing back as we walked along the path.
"You sure you're okay with this? You could've kept more."
"We're heading out on a long journey. Can't have too much baggage. I'm fine. Besides, I've got most of it memorized anyway."
As she answered, the petite dwarf girl adjusted the bag on her shoulder. What remained from the trove that had filled her grand mansion was a mere fraction. Everything she'd taken fit in that small bag.
At that moment, a human boy and a Dracain man emerged from inside the library. Durel and Simo.
"Handed everything over."
"Let's grab some food. I'm starving to death~"
With the group assembled, we found a nearby restaurant. After everyone sat and ordered, I poured cold water from the pitcher on the table and spoke up.
"Olbern."
"Yees?"
"I need a golem core. Know where to buy one?"
"A golem core...? Don't tell me you're making a new golem!"
"Looks like it. The old one got left behind."
I nodded. Even now, the turtle golem might be wandering that other world. Or perhaps discarded somewhere, unable to activate.
"Then we should head to a golem workshop. Luckily, a few golem artificers live here in Tenern, so it should be easy to get one."
"You got your Wolf Queen from there too?"
"Yep! Bought the core and designed the internals myself."
After a satisfying meal, we followed Olbern to the golem artificer's place. It was in the heart of the capital, enormous in scale. It looked like a research facility merged with a storefront.
Entering behind Olbern, I spotted countless cores on the display shelves. Small explanatory tags sat below, but they were in Dwarvish, so I couldn't read them.
"Welcome! Looking for something specific?"
Surprisingly, the clerk who greeted us was human.
"Here for a core..."
I replied to the clerk while glancing over the shelves. Plenty of pretty cores on display, but none caught my eye. They were small, and pricey to boot. Something half the size of my fist went for over twenty gold.
"Got anything bigger?"
"Bigger...? What functions do you need?"
"Functions don't matter. Just size."
"Ah...! Planning your own design, eh? Got it. This way."
The clerk led us to another showroom. This one held cores sorted by size inside transparent glass cases, no descriptions attached. The core from my turtle golem had been a bit larger than my fist.
"Hm..."
The price skyrocketed exponentially with size. Replacing my old one would cost a whopping seventy gold.
I could cover it by selling the platinum we'd earned as a reward from the kingdom. Still, it gave me pause.
'Were cores always this expensive...?'
If I'd known, I'd have searched harder for the turtle golem. No helping it now—it was gone. After a moment's hesitation, I reached into my pocket for my leather pouch. That's when, not far from the showroom...
A dwarf appeared in a narrow corridor, pulling a large cart. On it sat a box with several sizable cores rolling around inside.
"What's that?"
"Oh, those seem to be flawed designs. Can't sell 'em as products, so he's carting them off for disposal."
"Disposal?"
"Golem cores are made from mana ore. Flawed ones get ground into mana ore powder."
"Can I buy those separately?"
"Hm...? You want the rejects? They're not for sale, so I can't promise..."
The clerk tilted his head in confusion at my question. But my resolve didn't waver, so he eventually nodded and approached the dwarf with the cart.
After some back-and-forth, the dwarf approached me with a puzzled look.
"You want to buy flawed cores? That true?"
"If they're way cheaper than regular ones. You're just gonna grind them into powder anyway."
"Sure... They're worthless as products, so we could let 'em go cheap, but..."
Price haggling, then. I lightly shook the leather pouch in my hand.
"How much?"
"Er... You want all of 'em?"
The dwarf gestured to his cart. Three cores total rolling around. The largest was the size of my head; the next matched the old turtle golem's core.
"How much for the lot?"
"Well... Twenty gold sounds fair..."
He glanced slyly, gauging my reaction. Definitely a steal compared to regular stock. I looked to Olbern, who stepped forward. To fool onlookers, she was disguised as an old man.
"Hey now! You call that a price?"
"Ahem..."
"No conscience. You're powdering them anyway. Ten gold for the lot."
Olbern fished ten gold from her pouch and held it out. The dwarf, who'd been watching us, feigned reluctance and took the coins.
"Fine, can't be helped..."
Deal done. Quick-thinking Durel and Simo stepped up to bag the cores.
As we left the shop, Olbern hurried after me with a question.
"Master, why'd you buy those? Cores with preset designs can't be reused—they're pointless."
"Can't be reused?"
No way. The old turtle golem had been a refurbished antique too. This would be no different. I held out my hand to Simo, who promptly placed a core on it.
Hooooow—
The core began emitting a hazy glow. I'd done this before. It wasn't hard. Mysteries swirled once more.
The core on my palm shone blue. A new core, identical in structure to the turtle golem I'd left in that world, was complete.
The birth of the new turtle golem.