Improving Quality of Life
I spent a long time rummaging through the Magic Archive. After digging around, I found myself fiddling with the enhancement button for Golem Creation.
Golem Repeater
A repeater that distributes control over golems designed for specific purposes.
Enlightenment Conditions: Flow Induction (Satisfied), Auxiliary Expansion (Satisfied), External Mana Storage (Satisfied)
Expanded Multi-Element Magic
By applying the basic elements of multi-element magic, you can also use magic of other attributes.
Enlightenment Conditions: Mana Element Manipulation (Satisfied), Mana Manipulation II (Satisfied)
Out of the spells I found in the archive, I picked two that looked useful and learned them. One was a spell that could increase the limit on the number of golems I could control. The other was the multi-element magic that would let me handle a wider variety of attributes.
With the remaining experience points, I poured everything I could into enhancing Golem Creation. Even after dumping it all, the enhancement stopped at level 8.
Magic enhancement really has terrible cost efficiency.
The amount of experience required for each additional level kept multiplying by twelve, so even with everything I had, I couldn't push a single spell all the way to level 10.
Besides, dumping a ridiculous amount into one spell didn't seem to make it overwhelmingly stronger. The jump from level 1 to levels 3 through 5 gave excellent value for the cost, but after that...
Everyone gets slightly different special effects. They say something happens when you reach level 10, but honestly, it might be better to learn more spells instead.
This big sis has been here for decades. Normally, if you take your time researching, reaching 2nd-grade growth takes months. The fact that you did it in just a few days is already ridiculous. I understand you don't have the luxury to grow slowly, but it's still good to push one or two of your main spells to level 10.
Push one or two to level 10?
Hmm. No matter how good the reward at level 10 was, it might be smarter to fill out more cheap, high-value spells from levels 1 to 5 if I wanted to get stronger right away. That would make me a total jack-of-all-trades, though.
The only problem was that my spell slot limit might not be enough for that. I decided I'd push Golem Creation to level 10 first and think about it afterward.
"Come here for a second."
After roughly checking the details of the new spells, I realized that unlike that insane alchemy, these didn't seem particularly difficult. Let's handle them one by one.
I sat Dayeon down and passed on a few spells to her: Golem Creation and the two basic alchemy spells. Just explaining the theory and guiding her through practice took up almost the entire day.
In the meantime, the golems continued rummaging through nearby buildings, steadily gathering supplies. Because they kept bringing back all sorts of things I'd never seen before, my room's storage area had turned into a general store that seemed to have everything except what it didn't.
The main culprit was Unit 2.
"Wouldn't we start farming someday?" she'd say, dragging back farming tools and all kinds of seeds. She found an accessory shop, changed her own clothes into a dress like something from old European nobility, and came back wearing a ribbon craft pin.
Once, she smashed open a claw machine and brought back a lesser panda plushie.
"I thought it might help calm Master's mind and body."
It did seem a little like hoarding syndrome, but since the storage space was huge, I didn't bother stopping her.
"Waaah... it's so cute."
My disciple really liked the doll Unit 2 had brought back. And aside from the ribbons and decorations, the items weren't entirely useless.
"It appears there are still no survivors who have secured firearms from the police station."
"The large supermarkets have already been completely destroyed by zombies, so there isn't much usable material."
"We have brought medical supplies from the pharmacy. Please be sure to follow the dosage instructions and precautions when using them."
The useful scouting and gathering was handled so perfectly by Unit 1 that Unit 2 only needed to provide good support to pull her weight. There was also the chance she might stumble across more survivors while poking around randomly.
"Aren't you hungry? Let's have dinner."
"I'll cook. You rest."
That evening's menu was a military stew meal kit the golems had scavenged. Our talented disciple, who had six months of part-time experience at a PC bang and three years of home cooking under her belt, could now even use multi-element magic. So handing the cooking over to her was the obvious choice.
"It's nice not having to worry about the gas or water."
The stove and water supply didn't work, but she could create fire directly and make water herself.
"Can I use some of the ingredients here?"
"There's more than enough for the two of us, so feel free to use whatever you want."
She complained that the ingredients in the meal kit weren't great, so she pulled out vegetables and other supplies we'd stockpiled nearby and started preparing them herself.
In the meantime, I began examining the elements included in the Expanded Multi-Element Magic.
"What on earth do lightning and grass have to do with each other?"
It was a bit strange, but the explanation was that if you properly wove together the mana flows contained within the existing elements, you could use ice, lightning, wind, light, and even shadow attributes.
The mechanism for increasing power through synergy didn't work particularly well, and the base power was even lower than the already mediocre five existing elemental magics.
Still, just being able to handle these elements was an enormous benefit.
I gathered the perishable foods into the food delivery boxes the golems had brought and froze them solid. I had no idea how much longer this would preserve them, but it was better than doing nothing.
I also tried using lightning magic to charge electronic devices. There was a sharp crack, and when I tested it on a spare digital clock, it exploded.
I'm probably going to need to bring in an expert for this.
While I was doing that, a delicious aroma and the sound of bubbling began to drift from the gas stove.
"It's ready!"
The completed meal was two servings of military stew.
"I added a bit more blue ham and some minced garlic."
She set the pot and two packs of instant rice on the neatly cleared table and called me over. I'd moved the notebook I'd been studying magic in slightly aside, just in case any broth spilled on it.
Come to think of it, if I collected these later, wouldn't they basically become grimoires? While theory wasn't all that important outside of a few fields like alchemy, they might still be useful to show new people when they struggled.
The military stew was delicious. Sure, it was just a meal kit boiled with a few extra ingredients, but eating it with kimchi and rice made it taste like absolute heaven.
"Thank you. You cook really well."
When I praised her, she beamed like a child.
"This makes it feel like the world didn't even end..."
Taking classes, studying, and enjoying a dinner someone had made themselves. It really did feel like the daily life of an ordinary college student.
Our food supplies were increasing, and the situation had improved a lot in just a few days. I wondered how far I could go with this ability.
The golems were now gaining real combat experience, and the tower itself had developed fighting strength, so regular zombies weren't much of a threat anymore. But if a special zombie with a bad matchup appeared from somewhere, we'd be in immediate danger.
Just like the radio said earlier, apparently there are flying zombie bombers or something in Seoul.
Maybe I was worrying too much. I knew it wasn't good to tremble over things that hadn't even happened yet... but flying zombie bombers were honestly terrifying.
While I was fishing out pieces of ham with that thought in mind, she asked,
"By the way, why do you speak so formally to me, Wizard?"
"It's just..."
"Just use casual speech. Are you going to speak formally to all the other survivors you find too?"
That had been the plan.
"I don't know how old you are, Wizard, but..."
She said that since I'd be the only one who could take on the leader role even if more people joined, it might be better not to be too nice to everyone. I thanked her for her concern.
But I wasn't sure if it was a good idea for someone who looked like a child to go around speaking casually to just anyone. It wasn't like I was actually thousands of years old like some manga character.
Plus, I wasn't particularly good at socializing. If more people showed up, I'd probably leave the handling to the golems or just click on telepathy and messenger from my bed.
"That's a shame..."
For some reason, she seemed disappointed.
After we finished eating, I sent her back up to the fourth floor.
"Practice alchemy with whatever mana you have left. If it seems like it'll work, come back and try making a golem. The materials should be things like Mana Stones or Mana-infused Iron."
I examined the Golem Repeater spell. At level 5, it could control three low-grade golems. It wouldn't work on powerful golems with advanced artificial intelligence like Unit 1 or Unit 2. It seemed I'd have to compromise on either strength or intelligence.
Still, they should be more than enough for housework and scavenging in the area.
"Let's see..."
The materials were Mana-infused Iron, Mana Stones with precisely engraved magical circuits, and specially crafted containers designed to store mana.
If I was going to make this and produce several mass-produced golems, it looked like I'd be working all day tomorrow.