Upgrading the Magic Tower

I wanted to upgrade the Magic Tower, but contrary to my expectations, the system was cold and unfeeling.

When I tried to link Mana Absorption and Golem Creation, a message blocking my path popped up.

After searching around, I found out this was a common phenomenon when your Magic Tower rank was too low.

"Aw, man. Got my hopes up for nothing."

That explained why clicking on obviously advanced spells in the Magic Archive only showed a bunch of question marks for their Enlightenment conditions. Before, I thought I had to study some complex formulas or principles. I was glad that wasn't the case.

So all I have to do is raise the rank...?

Therefore, I decided to set my sights on farming slightly further away to upgrade the Magic Tower first. Conveniently, the golem had just returned from its task.

"Master, I have completed the task you assigned to me. I encountered a few zombies along the way, but they have been dealt with."

The golem reported in a businesslike tone as soon as she returned. It felt like I had just hired a personal secretary.

"Good job. And you don't smell like zombies anymore."

"Thank you."

"You fought well, too. I saw you."

I reached out and patted the golem's head.

"Do you have any other orders for me?"

As long as I kept feeding her Mana Cores, she would keep running. She didn't need to eat, sleep, or rest. Perhaps that was why she immediately asked for another command the moment she finished her work. I felt a little guilty given her appearance, but...

"Well, let's start gathering supplies like we did before."

I explained the target locations to the golem one by one. First was the Gold Jewelry Shop across the street. I needed gold to level up the Magic Tower.

"The other materials aren't hard to find, so once we get the gold, we can level up."

Next were the other units in this building and the neighboring ones. Originally, I had excluded them because breaking in quietly was difficult, and I was terrified of getting cornered by zombies or other survivors in tight, complex spaces. But now, tight spaces were actually an advantage. And we could just break through any door or window.

"Focus on looting food, tools, and clothes from there."

Next up were the Hardware Store and the Phone Shop.

"Look for tools in the Hardware Store. Also, check if there's any gold left in the Gold Jewelry Shop. At the Phone Shop, grab things like power banks and earphones."

Having tools would make it easier to pick locks or break things open. Maybe I could even repair broken items. I was a complete novice when it came to mechanics, but if I asked on the Free Registry, surely someone would know. There seemed to be dimensions with civilizations far more advanced than Earth's.

Power banks would keep my phone running for a long time. Even without cellular service or internet, a smartphone was incredibly useful with its clock, calendar, flashlight, calculator, camera, notepad, and countless other features.

Plus, if I had wired earphones, I could use the phone's built-in FM radio function.

As long as the entire country hasn't completely collapsed, surely there's a broadcast running somewhere.

The situation was an absolute mess, but that was likely because this area had failed its initial response and been abandoned. It was only the second day of the zombie apocalypse. There had to be a defensive line somewhere that the government and military were desperately holding onto.

Not that I can move the Magic Tower anyway, so it's better to hunker down here for the time being.

The next farming location was a large supermarket a bit further away. Looting aside, I thought a place like a supermarket might have traces of other survivors.

Though if even the convenience store wasn't looted, I doubt anyone touched the supermarket...

"If you find any traces of other survivors or notice any unusual zombies, make a note of it and let me know. Don't act too rashly. If things look weird, stop farming and just come back."

Honestly, I could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠always just remake the golem from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scratch. But rather than getting greedy and losing both resources and information, having her return safely was far more beneficial in every way.

And it'd be pretty terrifying if the thing I sent out never came back...

I ordered the golem to prioritize survival above all else. "Got it?"

Oh, right. I needed to give the golem a bag. The canvas tote bag I used back when she was a wooden golem was far too small now. I pulled out the backpack I used during my school days and handed it to her.

Watching a tall, mystically beautiful female golem sling a drab, oversized black backpack over her shoulder was a horribly mismatched sight.

Oh well. As long as the bag was comfortable and had plenty of storage, that was all that mattered.

"Alright, off you go."

The golem nodded and immediately opened the door to leave. Since she was only hitting the Gold Jewelry Shop this time, it probably wouldn't take long.

I should probably give her a name when she gets back. What would be good...? Is it better to just call her Golem? No, if I make another one, it'll get confusing.

"Should I just call her Unit 1...?"

Mumbling to myself, I settled for a late breakfast of an energy bar and a triangle kimbap. The expiration date hadn't passed yet, so it should be fine.

I had eaten more than my share of triangle kimbap back when I worked part-time at a convenience store during my freshman year. But in this state, even an unmicrowaved bulgogi triangle kimbap tasted delicious.

While eating, I opened my status window again to check the materials required for growth.

I was a bit short on Mana Cores since I had used quite a few to make the golem. But since they dropped constantly as long as we killed zombies, having the golem farm them would fill the quota of 50 in no time.

The gold would likely be secured if she succeeded in looting the jewelry shop. As for the Magic Stones...

"Sigh, man. I hope I don't cause another disaster trying to make these."

The scratches from the giant magic stone growing on my room's wall were still there. I really needed to learn how to handle mana more gently.

If all else fails, I guess I could just drop a tiny pebble into a tiny splash of water...

As a test, I filled a rice bowl with water and infused it with mana just like before. Sure enough, the water ended up with an excessively high concentration of mana again.

If I dropped a pebble in here, it would trigger another massive magic stone explosion. I ended up just drinking the water. I was feeling thirsty after eating anyway.

Drinking mana-infused water didn't do anything particularly special. It was just water, though it tasted quite refreshing.

"Alright, one more time..."

This time, as gently as possible...!

"..."

Not even close. The concentration was too high again. Realizing I couldn't figure this out on my own, I finally opened the Free Registry.

"..."

Yeah, fine, screw it. I lose. I'll just use a tiny pebble. Besides, everything that could be broken had already been broken yesterday.

After moving as much furniture and luggage as possible to clear some space, I picked the smallest pebble I could find and dropped it into less than half a cup of water.

Pop!

Despite my precautions, a chunk of magic stone larger than an average adult male materialized. This was easily 50 kilograms, maybe even over 100.

The problem was that I couldn't move it.

"I'll just ask the golem to move it when she gets back."

That was fine since the golem would be back soon. I figured I should probably learn an elemental spell like water or fire to boost my survival efficiency, so I decided to spend my free time browsing the Magic Archive. I also posted another question on the Free Registry.

As I spent some time scanning the list of spells, one incredibly useful-looking spell caught my eye.

Ah, if I had this, I wouldn't have to worry about noise at all. If I had this earlier, yesterday's disaster wouldn't have happened.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Of course the Enlightenment condition has to be ???.

In the end, it meant I had to raise the Magic Tower's level. I saw a few other useful spells, but there were many I couldn't learn right now.

"Once I level up the Magic Tower, I'm going to learn all of them."

While I was passing the time like that, the golem returned. She effortlessly pushed the magic stone into a corner, walked over to me, and set the backpack down with a thud.

"The gold jewelry shop had suffered severe damage from the zombies, so there did not seem to be much worth taking, but..."

Contrary to her words, the bag contained three one-kilogram gold bars.

"The safe was intact, so I broke it open and found these."

If the world were still normal, I would have been ecstatic about becoming rich. But in this city, gold was nothing more than shiny rocks.

Still, since I could use gold as a magical material, acquiring three kilograms of it was an excellent outcome.

"Additionally, I encountered a horde of zombies on the way and engaged in combat, obtaining seven mana cores as loot. I used one of them to repair my damaged outer shell, leaving six remaining."

And even Mana Cores. Coincidentally, combining them with the ones I already had brought the total to exactly 50.

"Great... Let's upgrade right away!"

I gathered the magic stones, one gold bar, and the box of mana cores together, then pressed the upgrade button.