How Did This Even Work?

"Haa... Golem. Pick up those Mana Cores for me, will you? And could you tidy up around the broken bowl and desk a bit?"

After posting the photo on the Free Registry, all my strength drained away again. I crawled to my bed, left all the cleanup to the golem, and collapsed.

Since I had woken up so late, normally I wouldn't have been able to sleep until dawn... but maybe because I had overused magic, an overwhelming drowsiness washed over me. I really hoped I'd never have to go through this again. Not that things ever went my way.

Watching the golem patter around carrying a cardboard delivery box, I fell asleep within ten seconds.

"Ugh, what time is it..."

The next day. I woke up to dozens of comment notifications flashing in the corner of my vision.

"My body... seems fine. A dream... No, it's not."

Maybe I had hoped that everything I went through yesterday was just a dream, and that when I woke up, I'd be back to my ordinary daily life.

The massive Magic Stone blocking a corner of my room. The golem standing beside it, waiting for orders. The Magic Archive and the Free Registry. Cruelly enough, everything remained exactly the same.

I checked the clock; it was 7:00 AM. In the past, I would have celebrated, shouting, "Miracle morning!!!" Though, I probably would have just wasted time browsing forums until my lectures started anyway. Well, that part isn't much different from now.

I opened the Free Registry. It was time to reply to the dozens of comments waiting for me.

After briefly explaining last night's events to the people waiting for an update, I muttered, "Status window."

When I opened the status window, as expected, a massive amount of experience points had accumulated. At this rate, I might be able to learn all the spells available at Level 0. It would be great if I could use water, fire, or electricity. I could solve my water shortage, cook food, and charge my phone.

Ah. Since there are so many Mana Cores over there, maybe I can even aim to upgrade the tower's level?

While I was pondering this, an immense number of comments were already piling up on my post.

"I don't get why they're making such a big fuss over this."

I felt perfectly fine. In fact, I felt better than I did before my body changed. Waking up every morning used to be such a chore, but now I felt incredibly refreshed. No headache, no injuries anywhere.

But apparently, that wasn't normal.

Hmm.

"What I did was that extreme...?"

Just in case, I took a deep breath and tried to feel my mana. The sensation of abundant mana flowing through my veins. But something was definitely off.

My mana was recovering several times faster than it had yesterday. It felt as though the pathways themselves had expanded from having that massive amount of mana forcibly rammed through them.

"..."

Was I born with some special constitution? Like an abnormally high resistance?

I'm not becoming a battle mage!

Even if I really was some genius battle mage prodigy, I had absolutely no desire to do something like that again. Yesterday was just an accident. If I pulled another reckless stunt like that, I might actually end up dead.

Right. The very fact that zombies were swarming my room like this was the real problem. I needed to learn how to control my mana properly.

"Ugh, it reeks of rot outside..."

By the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way, I wanted to eat breakfast, but the stench leaking through the gaps in the door completely ruined my appetite.

"Could you clean up outside?"

I ordered the golem to clear the hallway, but the tangled pile of zombie corpses was far too heavy for it to handle. If even the golem couldn't budge them, there was no way a total weakling like me would fare any better out there. Honestly, even if I had the strength to clear it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had zero desire to step outside and touch a pile of rotting corpses. Absolutely not.

In the end, I had no choice but to postpone breakfast and proceed with upgrading the golem as I had originally planned.

First, I used my accumulated experience points to raise my Golem Creation spell to Level 5.

The required EXP for Level 5 is 24...

I had more than enough materials. There was plenty of Magic Stone to build a single golem. Even though I lacked other specialized magical plants or alchemical ingredients, I figured I could make do by crushing the abundance of Mana Cores I had.

Among the new knowledge that flooded my mind upon reaching Level 5 were methods to coat ordinary materials with Mana Cores and grind them down to make dye.

Well, time to get to work. I needed to finish this before I suffocated from the stench of rotting flesh.

I channeled mana into the golem's core, carefully separating it from the body. As I did, the golem's head slumped forward as if it had died. Once the core was detached, the magic circle I had drawn yesterday floated translucently above it. I secured the core onto the massive Magic Stone boulder, completing the preparations.

"Just wait a bit. I'll upgrade you in no ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time."

Perhaps because I had learned some of the basics of magic engineering, a core philosophy that ran through the entire discipline had settled into my mind.

Magic engineering is a magic born from the desire to have something else do your work for you.

Therefore, when drawing the magic circle for a high-grade golem, it was crucial to build the logic while focusing on what I desired.

"..."

To be honest, I didn't fully understand it, but...

I just want it to beat up zombies easily and carry lots of stuff.

My desires were simple. To achieve that, what I needed was output and durability. Higher output. A sturdier body.

I placed a Mana Core in a bowl, poured in a little water, and crushed it. With a soft pop, like a soft-boiled egg yolk bursting, the shell of the Mana Core ruptured, and the jelly-like mana inside flowed out.

I think they said this is because it's the condensed, solidified mana from a monster's body.

Stirring it slowly and grinding in a few magical ingredients would yield Mana Dye. Since the only magical material I had on hand was the Magic Stone, I ground up some of its stone dust and mixed it in. The mixture turned into a runny, jelly-like substance that shimmered with a faint blue light.

Now, I just had to use this Mana Dye to draw a larger, more intricate magic circle.

Hummm...

The mana flowing out of my body slowly seeped into the magic circle, expanding its scale. The runes I drew formed circuits that would convert that mana into raw power.

Did I draw too many Runes of Strength and Runes of Mana Storage?

I felt a bit uneasy, but once I guided the burning heat of mana radiating from the entire magic circle into each rune, one by one, just like yesterday...

The brilliant glow of the runes pulsed with an incredibly intense power, proving that it was undoubtedly a success.

"Now then..."

Finally, I took as many Mana Cores as I could from the box and slotted them into various points of the magic circle. Just like yesterday, a brilliant light burst forth, and the massive Magic Stone boulder slowly began to take shape.