The Golem Mage

As Alec tore open his clothing, he witnessed something being engraved on his chest in that very moment, leaving him in a state of confusion akin to receiving another tattoo. Meanwhile, the system spirit, observing from the side, wore a wild smile that strained its golem face as if pushed to its limits.

After about a minute, Alec finally realized the true nature of the image being etched onto his skin—it was an exact replica of the wolf cub he had awakened within his microcosmic universe.

Yet, this was no ordinary tattoo; as the image slowly forming on his chest seemed to convey a sense of life, giving Alec the impression that the small wolf being etched onto his very skin was alive.

In a groan of pain, Alec expressed his discomfort as the image of the wolf cub was completed, specifically when the back of the cub was being drawn, the process of the wolf cub drawing carried on for an additional nine minutes before Alec’s exclamations subsided.

Lying on his bed with his face down, Alec couldn’t help but feel grateful for the sound-blocking runes engraved within the walls of the rented inn room, the spells had successfully kept his loud shouts and cries from reaching the ears of his teammates.

Otherwise, they surely would have burst into his room, compelled to investigate the cause of his distress which he clear didn’t want.

Slowly rising from the bed, Alec examined his new tattoo—the depiction of the small wolf cub.

He stared intensely, shocked by the vivid sensation it emanated, almost as if the cub were truly alive, and then, to his astonishment, the tattooed wolf cub opened its baby eyes and let out a weak yawn.

This breath-taking scene caused Alec’s eyes to widen in disbelief as he struggled to comprehend the reality unfolding before him.

The tattoo of the wolf cub on his chest mirrored the beast he had witnessed revolving around the Devourer Bloodline symbol.

What added to the shock was the level of intricacy, as the teeth colour, the texture of the fur, and every detail appeared astonishingly lifelike, almost as if he could reach out and touch them.

The wolf cub peacefully closed its eyes and nestled against Alec’s left chest, sleeping soundly.

Despite his efforts, Alec couldn’t hide the tattoo, as it refused to retract into his flesh like the Spirit equipment set used to, it seemed that he was destined to bear the mark of the small cub, one that wagged its tail in excitement.

Alec couldn’t help but imagine how others would perceive his tattoo when they saw it moving on its own.

”This is even more incredible than I imagined, you have not awakened just any bloodline from the Primordial era; but you have awakened one of the emperor bloodlines from that era,” the system spirit exclaimed, bursting into laughter not caring one bit about Alec’s paranoid face.

However, Alec remained lost in his thoughts.

”Please, tell me there is a way to conceal this live wolf cub tattoo on my chest,” he pleaded with the system spirit, who regarded him as if he were mad.

”Unfortunately, I can’t assist you in that matter, the only way to lose a tattoo from the Bay of the Beast you devoured is to have them perish in battle,” the system spirit replied with a shrug of his golem-like shoulder, signifying Alec’s helpless situation.

Alec could only gaze down at the tattoo adorning his chest. He couldn’t help but feel that if he were back on Earth, anyone who saw it might mistake it for a yakuza tattoo, given its realistic appearance.

He couldn’t even come up with a proper answer if his clansmen were to ask him how he acquired such tattoos.

[ Status ]

Name: -

Race: Shadow Wolf (demonic beast)

Level: 1

Tier: Low Tier 1

Affinity: Shadow

Skills: Dark Slip

Compatibility: 10%

Staring at the screen in front of him left Alec in utter shock, unbeknownst to him, he had unknowingly used the analyse skill on the wolf cub tattoo, and he was surprised by what he had discovered the wolf had the potential to grow, eagerly, he opened his own status, curious to see what changes had occurred.

[Status Tab]

Name: Alec Gordons

Race: Human

Level: 72

Tier: 4 [High]

Experience till next level: 1,173,642 / 5,500,000

[Attributes]

Strength: 188

Agility: 165

Endurance: 180

Mentality: 21 (locked)

Mana: 35,000 / 35,000

Affinity: Earth (Peak) Sub: Gravity Manipulation, Fire (Peak) Variant: Black Flames, Devourer Beast Bloodline (1/4)(Low)

Skills: Intermediate Swordsmanship (lvl 1), Intermediate Blade Techniques (lvl 1), Golem Skill Assimilation (--)...

Available points: 17

System points: 578,210

Upon opening his status, Alec quickly noticed a glaring difference, the Devourer Beast Bloodline, which had previously displayed 0/4, now indicated ¼ after he devoured souls obtained from the shadow wolves and received the tattoo.

This meant he still had three spots left to fill with the souls of other demonic beasts.

He couldn’t help but feel that his body would soon resemble that of a member of a yakuza gang, but for now he felt he would have to wait until he could entered the Amulet world again to test his theories.

Another change that caught his attention was the addition of ”low” behind the bloodline that previously had no grade assigned to it.

Amusingly, Alec understood the reason why it was so: the wolf cub he had created was still a low-rank demonic beast, and in order to elevate his bloodline to mid-rank, he needed to fill all the spaces allotted for the bloodline and raise all the associated beasts of his to mid-rank.

Only then would his bloodline surpass its current low-rank status.

This newfound knowledge felt strange to Alec, although the system spirit had promised that everything would become clear to him after consuming a soul, he still found it difficult to believe the revelations unfolding before him regarding the devourer bloodline.

Summoning approximately seven souls from the space ring, Alec devoured them one after another while his gaze remained fixed on the tattoo.

He aimed to utilize the analyse skill on it, but to his astonishment, as he observed the wolf cub on his tattoo, he witnessed the cub open its mouth and draw the blue soul light Alec had swallowed into its small mouth.

This made Alec realize that any shadow wolf soul he consumed from now on would be instantly devoured by the shadow wolf cub.

In that moment, he watched as the body of the shadow wolf cub transformed from an ordinary cub to a young adult wolf, witnessing the growth brought about by his consumption of the shadow wolf souls.

[Status]

Name: -

Race: Shadow Wolf (demonic beast)

Level: 25

Tier: Low Tier 2

Affinity: Shadow

Skills: Dark Slip, Dark Claw Slash, Umbral Fangs

Compatibility: 50%

Alec observed the skills the wolf had awakened and realized that it was following the path of the other shadow wolves in the Beast Forest.

However, the significant increase in compatibility came as a huge surprise to him, and due to this, he could now sense a lot about the wolf on his chest.

Alec could no longer refer to it as a cub; as it had transitioned into a young adult wolf, and at this stage, he could feel its emotions.

”Stay still!” Alec commanded the now large wolf tattoo that had almost covered his chest to his abs, to his amazement, the wolf heeded his command and remained motionless, resembling an ordinary tattoo of a shadow wolf drawn on his chest.

”I shall call you ’Midnight’,” Alec said as he touched the surface of his chest where the wolf was, and he heard a low, rumbling growl inside his mind, as if the shadow wolf was expressing contentment with the name.

” Well you don’t have to stay still for now, but when I’m in the presence of others, you have to stay still,” Alec commanded, and he could see Midnight wagging its tail in response, Alec smiled as he checked Midnight’s status again, noticing a few changes.

[Status]

Name: Midnight

Race: Shadow Wolf (demonic beast)

Level: 25

Tier: Low Tier 2

Affinity: Shadow

Skills: Dark Slip, Dark Claw Slash, Umbral Fangs

Compatibility: 100%

Merely naming him had pushed the compatibility between them to its peak.

Alec glanced toward the system spirit, which still wore a smug look on its face, before he summoned the rest of his wolf souls he had acquired, He planned on devouring them all to see how far Midnight’s strength would reach.

Based on the information he had gained from the bloodline, he knew that the stronger Midnight became, the better it would be for him.