Maximum Output, Beautiful Golem
“...Huh?”
As the light faded, a girl emerged.
Her hair, a refreshing sky-blue that mirrored the glow of a Magic Stone, cascaded down to her waist.
A beautiful girl with a slightly stiff expression, her body softly enveloped in skin that emitted a strange, subtle radiance.
Perhaps it was because I had used a bit too much material?
Her newly fashioned body looked nearly twenty centimeters taller than me.
For a woman, she was definitely on the taller side.
And...
Why on earth does a golem have breasts?
Moreover, though I had no idea what principle was at play, the skin covering her body was incredibly soft to the touch, just like a real human's.
As I stood there in shock, the golem answered as if she had read my mind.
“This is a mana sheath designed to ensure high physical durability.”
S-she can talk?!
“And these are auxiliary organs meant to assist the core's output.”
This thing—no, her. What was I even supposed to call her?
Regardless, the golem pointed to her chest as she spoke.
And she wasn't lying.
There they were: 'auxiliary output organs' perfectly scaled to the number of Runes of Strength I had crammed into the magic circle.
“Is that how it works...?”
To make matters worse, the only thing covering her 'skin' was a single, thin, high-cut leotard that looked straight out of a sci-fi manga.
I had absolutely no idea where to look.
“U-um... could you put this on?”
I scooped up a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans from a pile of clothes in the corner of my room and held them out to her.
“...”
But the golem didn't take them.
Instead, she smoothed down her outfit of pure mana, and it began to shift in shape.
A frilly, ballet-esque skirt materialized over the leotard, and decorative accents bloomed across her chest and arms.
A shower of white light particles accompanied the transformation, making it look suspiciously like a magical girl sequence, but still.
“...Well, she is pretty.”
Honestly, she was so exactly my type that it was actually embarrassing.
Did magic reflect the caster's ideal type or something?
Embarrassing appearance aside, I could feel an immense surge of mana pulsing deep within her body.
It made sense, considering she had absorbed all the mana from that massive Magic Stone into her Rune of Mana Storage, which was then amplified by the Runes of Strength.
Though her organ efficiency doesn't seem that great.
If I had cared about efficiency, I would have engraved a Rune of Mana Efficiency instead of a Rune of Mana Storage.
But that wouldn't have given me the absolute maximum firepower.
To face those crazy zombies in close combat, half-hearted strength won't cut it.
A golem's fuel was a Mana Core.
Since there were plenty of zombies out there to drop Mana Cores anyway, a slightly higher fuel consumption rate was a perfectly acceptable trade-off.
“What's your mana consumption rate?”
“I will likely require one Mana Core for every full day of activity.”
“Can you handle the zombies?”
“As long as I am not overwhelmed by sheer numbers all at once. If I utilize the terrain, I foresee no issues operating in this vicinity.”
“Really? Is that so...”
This meant I was no longer limited to just shuttling back and forth between my apartment and the Convenience Store. We could actually venture out, search different areas, and farm resources.
“So please, do not drape me in garbage-scented rags again. I will perform much better.”
Ah.
She really hated that, huh...
“Well, let's run a performance test first.”
I began issuing various commands to the golem.
I was terrified that ordering her to do something too extreme might break something or cause her to collapse, triggering a second disaster.
So, I started with the basics.
“Sit. Stand.”
With a look of profound humiliation, the golem dropped into a squat.
“U-um... is it truly necessary to test such trivial actions?”
This girl. Just because her AI got a little upgrade and she gained the power of speech, she was already getting sassy.
But I was the master here.
Just because she looked like a pretty girl didn't mean I was going to cut her any slack.
“No Mana Cores for you then.”
“My apologies. It was merely a joke.”
No matter how much she grumbled or resisted, she could never betray my commands. That was how she was built.
Golems were bound to their creators.
In a way, having a strong sense of self was actually a good thing.
It proved that her installed AI was exceptionally high-performing.
Alright.
Time for a combat test.
But there was one thing I had to ask first.
“How much do you weigh?”
“I believe I weigh approximately 160 kilograms.”
As expected of a creature whose primary material was stone, she was much heavier than she looked. Around 350 pounds.
Well, weight equals power, so it wasn't a bad thing... but I still needed to check if she retained the agility of her wooden golem days.
“Do a flip.”
Whoosh.
The golem executed a flawless backflip and stuck the landing on my bed like an Olympic gymnast.
Her nimbleness made it impossible to believe she was a 350-pound heavyweight.
Next up: attack power.
“Punch the air. Gently, so you don't break anything.”
Thwip-thwip-thwip!
The moment the words left my mouth, the golem slipped into a boxer's stance and threw a rapid succession of light punches.
They were lightning-fast jabs thrown with minimal effort.
Yet, the sheer destructive force behind each strike was staggering.
“Whoa!”
The air itself rippled from her punches.
The resulting shockwave was strong enough to blow the blanket off the bed and make me lose my balance standing behind her.
“Is this sufficient?”
the golem asked.
I nodded.
It was more than sufficient. It was overkill.
“Alright, go out into the hallway and clear out those zombie corpses. And remember to keep it quiet.”
Unlike me, she wasn't human, so she wouldn't feel any disgust no matter how many rotting corpses she had to handle.
“Understood.”
Screeech—
The door groaned open with an annoying screech, the hinges likely slightly warped.
The golem stepped out into the foul-smelling corridor.
While she was busy, I logged onto the Free Registry.
Now that I had upgraded my golem, it was only natural to go show her off.
Ah, beautiful lol.
I scrolled through the forum with the faint, rhythmic thuds of zombie disposal echoing from the hallway as my background music.
So, it was a proven fact that magic reflected the caster's subconscious preferences.
I should try that out right away.
I had just learned that raising two spells to Level 5 unlocked a brand-new system feature.
Who is this weirdo?
It felt like I was being stalked by some obsessive internet stranger.
Thud! Thud!
Just then, the sounds of a struggle echoed from the first floor.
Peering out the window, I spotted two zombies and my golem.
It seemed that hauling heavy corpses around was bound to make some noise, no matter how quiet she tried to be.
Drawn by the sound, the zombies were now attacking her.
The golem utilized her tall stature and long legs to her advantage, using nimble footwork to maintain her distance as she fought.
No matter how fast, strong, or surprisingly intelligent these zombies were...
They were still no match for a golem equipped with genuine physical power and a high-functioning AI.
Crack!
Deflecting a zombie's lunge with a casual lift of her leg, the golem concentrated mana into her right fist. She unleashed a punch so powerful I could feel the shockwave even from my window.
The zombie tried to block, but it was utterly futile.
Unable to withstand the overwhelming force, the zombie's head shattered completely as its body was sent flying across the parking lot.
Since the golem's seemingly soft skin was actually a sturdy defensive barrier woven from pure mana...
Her combat style revolved around safely blocking enemy attacks before seizing the perfect moment to crush them with a single, devastating blow.
“She fights well.”
I put the forum aside for a moment to watch the rest of the fight unfold.
The golem even showed the tactical wit to lure the zombies to a nearby empty lot before finishing them off, preventing any extra aggro from being drawn to my building.
I hadn't even ordered her to do that.
She was incredibly reliable.
No need to worry about her.
With all the zombies dealt with, the golem returned to her manual labor.
I opened my magic window to check out the Magic Modification system the commenter had mentioned.
Would you like to enhance your spell?
Mana Absorption: If centered around a caster or medium with sufficient mana, the spell can be cast anywhere.
Experience points will be consumed.
[YES] / [NO]
At Magic Tower Level 0, spells can be enhanced up to a maximum of +5.
First, I enhanced Mana Absorption to Level 5 to unlock Magic Modification.
Ah, so this is where the location restriction gets lifted!
I had absolutely no intention of leaving the Magic Tower anytime soon, so I didn't really know what practical use that had right now, but still.
And just as the commenter had said, a new system interface appeared alongside the achievement notification.
You can study and utilize the principles of one spell to modify another. This is the first step toward founding your own magical school.
Only spells of Level 5 or higher can be used for modification.
So...
If I played my cards right, could I use this to create a golem that could cast Mana Absorption on its own?
