The Golem Mage

Alec’s mind drifted in that direction because he knew Terran’s problem was clearly linked to a soul-related issue, from the pill’s description, he had a strong premonition that it might just work.

With that in mind, he reminded himself to discuss it with his master first and observe his reaction. If it truly had the potential to help, Alec wouldn’t hesitate to do everything in his power to restore Terran to his prime condition.

He believed that if Terran’s injuries could be cured, then his breakthrough into the Tier 8 mage realm was just around the corner, after all Terran issues been dubbed the Prince of Earth, not just for show or out of respect, but because of his exceptional potential, even if he acted like a lazy ass.

With that, Alec made a silent decision to reserve a place for Terran in his future plans—especially if the pill proved effective.

Looking at the number of Tier 7 healing pills he had received, Alec muttered, “So petty .”

It wasn’t entirely unjustified; as healing pills were considered top-tier treasures, rare and highly coveted, but he had hoped for a more bountiful yield.

Next among his rewards was a [Random Tier 7 Astral Spell Card]. From its description, Alec quickly understood it was an upgraded version of the random spell cards, as in the High-rank version.

Normal random spell cards were viewed by humans as one-use talismans, and when activated with mana, they tapped into the refined essence of a fallen lifeform to release a single, powerful technique that the being had learnt while being alive.

However, the spell chosen was always unpredictable—hence the name “random.”

In contrast, the Random Astral Spell Card went a step further.

It summoned the mental image of the high-rank mage whose corpse had been refined, allowing the summoned projection to follow direct orders for up to one minute, though it was also a one use card, however its potential was far greater.

Reading the description, Alec couldn’t help but shout “Good!”—twice, his excitement palpable.

The Random Astral Spell Card was without a doubt a massive upgrade from its predecessor.

And its effect and origin might not be as highly sought after by others, mainly because it resembled a talisman in function—just in a more advanced form, which would make others believe it had been created by a talisman master of high grade.

As for the fragments, Alec finally noticed a major difference: they weren’t like the typical low- or mid-rank fragments he’d collected before.

These high-rank ones came just in time when he had gotten a new tool linked to fragments, Alec probably felt it was likely given to him to make them more versatile, it was clear the system had taken into account how long Alec had hoarded his lower fragments without finding a use for them—until he eventually used the earth elemental own to fully equip the mages in his clan and some for the auction.

Still, that didn’t mean all the old fragments were gone. Alec still had several lying around, unused.

But now, the system had introduced a new tool—the [Annex Cube]—that made life a lot easier, as with the cube, Alec could fuse ten lower-rank fragments to create one higher-rank fragment (e.g., ten Tier 4 fragments could produce one Tier 5 fragment) by simply paying a small system point fee.

This new tool allowed Alec to finally put his excess lower-tier fragments to good use.

From Tier 7 upward, he could even choose whether to use the fragments to create standard equipment parts when gathered or exchange them for rare materials needed in specialized forging of spirit equipment sets.

The more Alec studied the feature, the more convinced he became that the system had specifically designed it to help him conserve his rapidly draining system points, which always seemed to vanish as quickly as they were earned.

However, his excitement dulled a bit when he saw the exchange rate for Tier 6 to Tier 7 fragments: a staggering 100 to 1.

That was when he fully understood just how valuable high-rank fragments were—especially considering their potential to be exchanged for rare forging materials.

He had initially thought about exploiting the new feature by converting a large number of Tier 7 spirit equipment fragments to purchase the rare resources required for crafting a specialized Tier 7 spirit equipment set.

But the sheer amount of grinding needed to reach that level quickly reminded him of his current reality—how broke and under-leveled he still was, and the pride of being a Tier 6 mage barely crossed his mind anymore.

He was fully aware of what he was about to face: the Tier 7 demonic beasts in the third level of the Beast Forest were likely a whole different breed, he could only imagine how even the weakest among them might possess battle power close to that of a Tier 8 human mage.

The thought alone stirred a mix of emotions in him—half nervous anticipation, half burning excitement.

He couldn’t help but imagine launching an attack on one of those beasts alongside all his golems.

‘Could he slay a Tier 8 demonic beast?’ He thought as the mere possibility brought him a sense of thrill he hadn’t felt in a while, he knew that the moment he succeeded in doing so, it would mark the beginning of his ascension.

Now that he had reviewed the first haul of rewards, Alec saw no point in dragging things out any further.

He stored the items in his space ring and summoned the suction force again with his right hand, dragging the next wave of swirling lights toward him at an accelerated pace.

[> Ding!]

• 5x Memory Card

• 50x Tier 7 Cultivation Pills

• 25x Tier 7 Mental Pills

• 10x Tier 7 Healing Pills

• 5x Random Tier 7 Astral Spell Cards

• 500x Tier 7 Humanoid-Type Spirit Equipment Fragments

The loot was just as Alec had anticipated.

It seemed Tier 7 hauls followed a consistent pattern, especially when the refined corpses belonged to the same race.

With that done, Alec glanced to the side and noticed that his mana pool had evolved to Level 6—and he could already feel it teetering on the edge of breaking into Level 7, all it needed was a final push.

A faint smile crept onto his face as he felt a strange sense of gratitude toward the Snow Lion Overlord.

It was thanks to his amulet absorbing the lion’s mana pool water—and a bit of its mana vein energy—that his own pool had advanced this far.

He had never imagined he could push his mana pool to this level so quickly, but even now, he felt no guilt about it.

To Alec, strength was all that mattered, and if he had to strip the Second Dimension bare to achieve it, he wouldn’t hesitate for a second.

After settling himself with a short meditation, he exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

Then, stepping toward the third door, he pressed forward into the swirling mass of light, letting the portal consume him.