Report
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 36: Golem Creation (2)
Plop—!
Shin Joonseok, holding a scalpel enhanced with the [Sharpness] spell, cut into the Masked Beast's corpse without hesitation.
The body had been dead for so long that it didn't even twitch, let alone bleed.
He sprinkled blue powder, made by grinding an F-rank mana stone, into the freshly cut gap and then...
[Magic Circuit Inscription]
He carved circuits into the stiffened muscles and bones.
"The efficiency increases by 12% when inscribing circuits with Arachne's thread."
"But the durability decreases by 37%."
"Then wouldn't the magic circuits not last long?"
"That would be the case for ordinary golems, but it's fine for the one I'm making."
A golem that automatically recovered even its magic circuits once 'memorized.'
That was the advantage of a Blood Golem.
"Connect the circuits only up to 10 centimeters above. If you extend them any longer, there will be a mana shortage."
"Understood."
Magic circuit inscription was the foundation of golem creation. In terms of construction, it was like laying the groundwork.
It was time-consuming and labor-intensive, but that's how important it was.
〔You speak as if you've personally inscribed magic circuits.〕
'I don't have the skill, even if I wanted to.'
〔If you had the skill, would you really do it?〕
'I'll think about it when that situation arises.'
Of course.
Magic circuit inscription was, to put it nicely, groundwork; to put it badly, it was pure manual labor.
It was simple labor, but even then, there was no room for mistakes.
Ugh.
Just watching it made his eyes feel like they were going to pop out.
Yoojin wasn't just watching idly either.
'Blue Slime's mucus, Twin-Headed Blood Snake's venom, and Wolf Turtle's shell.'
As he pushed the blue mucus into the black liquid, it bubbled up.
Large bubbles popped, and then smaller bubbles rose one after another.
"Now!"
When he put the Wolf Turtle shell, which had a hardness comparable to iron, into the venom, it lost its original hardness and became soft.
Yoojin stirred the melting shell and venom with an iron rod, mixing them together.
[Blood Poison] [Transformation] [Hardening]
When he stirred lightly with the iron rod, it moved smoothly, but when he gripped it tightly, it hardened.
Good.
So far, so good.
He could perfectly create something like this even without the necromancer class bonus.
〔It doesn't seem that difficult. You could have had the little humans do this.〕
'The Little Runts can't do this.'
〔Isn't it just putting them in a set order?〕
'The key to alchemy is timing and ratio. If anyone could become a great alchemist just by watching, everyone would be one.'
The temperature at which the catalyst was heated.
The order and timing when combining various catalysts.
Alchemy is a field where small differences lead to big results.
‘Don't say that anywhere else. You'll be called ignorant.’
〔How impudent! How dare you speak to me in such a manner!〕
‘Incompetent Constellation-nim. Don't you dare tell anyone you gave a blessing to someone as outstanding as me.’
Even after mixing all the poison, Yoojin's hands didn't stop.
After steeping the Luaim tree branch with liquefying properties, he boils it in the cauldron a second time.
[Liquefaction] [Maintenance] [Elasticity]
‘The preparations are almost complete.’
Just in time, Shin Joonseok also finished carving the magic circuit onto the body of the Masked Beast.
"I thought my eyes were going to fall out."
"You've worked hard. Your skill in carving the magic circuit without a single error is remarkable."
"Yeah, yeah."
Shin Joonseok replied casually and observed the golem materials Yoojin had prepared.
"To enhance each other's properties through combination alone, without any special catalysts. I can't believe such a mixing ratio exists."
"I'll tell you the ratio later, for your report. This is more important right now."
"Oh right. But, partner. What do we do now?"
"The golem creation process is largely divided into three parts."
Recognition.
Combination.
Activation.
"First, we need to make the golem's magic engine recognize the body."
"Then, isn't the magic circuit enough?"
Your understanding is quick.
He was already ahead, even though Yoojin had only said a few words.
Close to the correct answer, but Yoojin shook his head.
"That would be the case for an ordinary golem."
The corpse of the Masked Beast serves to fix the 'frame' of the Blood Golem to be completed.
A golem that uses blood as its flesh.
Considering its properties alone, it was closer to a summoned creature or spirit that calls upon a part of nature as a medium.
Clack!
"Bring it over here."
Two Armored Skeletons slowly entered the clearing, carrying a large engine.
MIS - 4.
The magic engine received for carrying out Madame's request.
[Using Flesh Control.]
[Using Bone Control.]
Crackle!
He made a large hole near the Masked Beast's heart and placed the magic engine.
"I'll leave the final adjustments to you."
"Yes."
As Shin Joonseok connected the magic circuit to the engine, Yoojin placed his hand on top of it.
[Using Enhanced Circuit Engraving.]
Bzzt!
A Legacy Skill chosen along with Golem Alchemy.
An ordinary magic circuit cannot handle the output of the magic engine.
"Shall we try starting the engine then?"
Thump- Thump- Thump- Thump—!
The golem's heart began to beat with a heavy sound.
Simultaneously with its activation, MIS - 4 sent the mana it generated straight to the enhanced magic circuit.
The moment the poison and solution permeating the circuit engraved with Arachne's thread encountered the engine's mana.
Whoosh!
It went up in flames with acrid smoke.
〔Khahahaha! You failed spectacularly.〕
‘Failed?’
〔Look. The magic circuit, which is like the golem's blood vessel, is burning, isn't it?〕
‘From what I see, it's not.’
Blue mana passing through the crimson flames.
As Arachne's thread melted, the circuit was engraved deeper into the Masked Beast's corpse.
The pre-soaked mixtures also naturally fused with the engine's mana.
"We've passed the first stage."
"The next one will be much easier."
Yoojin stretched his stiff neck from side to side.
＊ ＊ ＊
Three days passed.
The two men devoted themselves to golem alchemy, resting only minimally.
"Finally, I can see the end in sight."
"Truly. I've seen a new horizon of alchemy."
"My method is unorthodox. It's completely different from the orthodox method."
The alchemical knowledge recorded in the Ring of Darkness is not ordinary.
It's geared towards increasing the efficiency of necromancy.
While the basic knowledge is similar, as you delve deeper, it contains many elements that twist the concept of alchemy.
"The same goes for golems. You create them properly."
"Isn't it enough that I've learned a lot?"
A strange gleam flickers between his tired eyes.
Even while assisting Yoojin, wasn't he grinning as if he had been struck by some inspiration?
Seeing him internalize Yoojin's knowledge in real-time and reinterpret it in his own way gave him goosebumps.
'No wonder he became a great alchemist.'
I don't know how much more he'll grow with the knowledge gained from golem creation.
"Only the last process remains."
"Yes. Now we just need to activate it."
Yoojin checked the status of MIS - 4.
A defect unknown in this era.
He limited the output to prevent the 'Integrated Control Unit' from being damaged by excessive mana flow when the engine is activated.
'Good. There's no problem with the engine, so let's start.'
[Using Golem Alchemy.]
As Yoojin tapped MIS - 4, blue mana from the engine circulated through every corner of the Masked Beast's corpse.
Up to this point, the phenomenon was the same as when simply operating the engine.
"It will be a little different now."
Thump- Thump- Thump—!
The magic engine's output surged, and the Masked Beast's corpse shook violently.
As if an invisible hand were squeezing the corpse, its arms and legs twisted and spun like a pretzel.
This was caused by the pre-set catalyst, Strong Moss, increasing mana conductivity.
"P-Partner? Is this going well?"
"Yes. No problem."
"If we leave it like this, it seems like it will break down, unable to withstand the engine's output..."
"Think carefully about the name of the golem I'm making."
Blood Golem.
The Masked Beast's corpse is a 'frame' that fixes the golem's shape, not the main body.
When the twisted arms and legs shrank to less than 1/5 of their original size.
He sprinkled the shrunken body with the final ingredient prepared beforehand, monster blood.
"The blood isn't falling to the ground!"
"The golem has recognized that blood as a medium for its physical composition."
It was liquid but also possessed firmness.
The blood, which should have flowed down due to gravity, maintained the shape of the arms and legs thanks to the catalyst Yoojin had infused.
'If I sprinkle the Heat Sand at this timing....'
Yellow sand is sprinkled over the bubbling blood.
The sand solidified the monsters' blood into a human-like form.
As he continued to pour the crimson liquid over the fixed frame, it was reborn as a giant about 3 meters tall.
[Blood Golem has been created.]
A collaboration of necromancy and alchemy.
A golem that can only be controlled by a necromancer was born.
＊ ＊ ＊
Shin Joonseok cautiously circled the completed Blood Golem, his eyes wide with a mix of awe and apprehension.
"Can I touch it?"
"Be my guest."
Yoojin replied with a shrug.
"But don't come crying to me if you get poisoned."
"Yikes!"
Joonseok quickly withdrew his hand.
"Just a heads up."
Yoojin added with a hint of dark humor.
"That's Twin-Headed Blood Snake venom. You'll need an antidote within 10 minutes, or you can kiss that hand goodbye."
With a final, cynical smirk, Yoojin turned his attention to the Blood Golem, examining its status.
[Blood Golem]
Race: Golem
Rank: ★★★
◎ Stats
Strength: 230 / Agility: 180 / Health: 200 / Endurance: 200 / Mana: 150
◎ Traits
▷ Artificial Weapon [B] / Blood Flow Conversion [B] / Blood Flow Growth [B] / Blood Poison [B]
◎ Skills
▷ Gigantification [B] / Furious Charge [C] / Bowling Bash [C] / Blood Weapon [C]
◎ Special Notes
The more blood it absorbs, the larger it grows. Its combat power is determined by the quality of the blood that makes up its body.
〔What a pathetic sight. After three days of toil, aren't those specs a bit underwhelming?〕
'Take a closer look at the special notes, you Incompetent Constellation.'
〔How much stronger can it possibly get just by feeding it some high-quality blood?〕
'It'll reach 6 Stars.'
Yoojin asserted confidently.
The combat capabilities of a golem are heavily influenced by the materials used in its construction. This is particularly true for Blood Golems, whose power varies significantly depending on the type of blood they absorb.
'Right now, I've just used whatever blood I could get my hands on from 1 Star monster, but it'll grow stronger as it fights and absorbs more potent blood.'
〔You expect this golem to grow like an Eldritch Dragon?〕
'Not exactly grow but its power can increase significantly, limited only by the engine's output.'
The MIS-4 engine had a maximum output equivalent to a 6 Star rating. Even with rare metals like mithril, a golem powered by this engine would be capped at 5 Stars. However, the Blood Golem had the potential to surpass that limitation.
'Of course, that's not going to happen overnight.'
The blood of 1 or 2 Star monsters wouldn't be nearly enough. To reach 7 Star level combat power, the Blood Golem would need to absorb a tremendous amount of blood from equally powerful monsters.
'Monster blood isn't exactly in high demand, so it'll be tough to acquire.'
〔Still, wouldn't obtaining that blood significantly bolster your contractor's forces?〕
'Not necessarily. If I go overboard, the Blood Golem might stop obeying my commands.'
As the saying goes, too much of anything is just as bad as too little.
Besides, the golem had a rudimentary sense of self.
"Blood Golem, if you're awake, respond."
「Yes, Master,」
A grating, metallic voice rasped in reply.
Kronos, overhearing the Blood Golem's response, rattled his pocket watch in alarm.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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