The Golem Mage

The next day arrived swiftly, and the entire War God Mage Academy team went out to watch the final loser-bracket match.

The day before the Grand Dean had released his mental senses without restraint, the moment he realized that Alec had escaped, he knew this action of his would definitely offend many powerful figures, mages of every kind who had gathered in the capital to witness the Origin Tournament, but he found that he didn’t particularly care what any of them thought.

All that mattered to him at that moment was finding Alec.

Yet no matter how he searched or from what angle he probed, Alec’s aura seems to have completely vanished from the capital.

Coming to terms with the fact that he had lost sight of the most talented mage in his academy team, one that he had personally placed under watch, the Grand Dean couldn’t help but feel cheated.

For a moment, he considered blaming Terran, but he quickly dismissed the thought, because even before entering the room, even he himself had been convinced that Alec was still inside due to the mental clone.

If anything, this only proved that Alec was far too clever for his age and his realm, the realization that Alec had managed to deceive even him made the Grand Dean certain of one thing: the boy still possessed many secrets he had yet to uncover.

After settling his thoughts, he immediately sent Terran toward Estonia City.

However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the capital’s space axis was unable to connect to Estonia City’s own, this could only mean that something was wrong with Estonia’s teleportation array.

The news made them even more suspicious, with no other option, Terran was forced to travel by avian mount, as it was the fastest available means of transport to reach Estonia City as quickly as possible now that the Estonia teleportation arrays were down.

All Terran could do was pray that he arrived before Alec got himself into serious trouble.

The primary reason the Grand Dean had sent Terran to Estonia City was simple: to use the name of the War God Mage Academy to secure Alec’s freedom if he was captured.

Given what they believed at the time, they felt that the Gordons Clan would fall in this battle against the forces the city lord had gathered and that Alec alone would be powerless to change the outcome, so this was a necessary precaution.

If Alec became a captive, Terran was authorized to use force if needed to break him out and bring him back.

And despite the War God Mage Academy reputation as a neutral institution, the Grand Dean and all elders under him are permitted to act when the life of one of its own was threatened.

And with Alec’s situation looking likely to fall under that state, that clause alone was enough to give them a justified excuse to attack without inviting retaliation from other great powers.

_ _ _

While the Grand Dean and the rest of Alec’s inner circle were consumed by worry after discovering his disappearance, Alec himself was calmly counting his gains from the war.

He sat in a corner of the clan inner region, surrounded by collapsed houses, shattered walls, and streets soaked in blood. Corpses lay scattered everywhere. Beside him stood Titan, Legion, and Oni, silent and imposing, while the Gordons mages around were stealing glances at them.

Alec was bare-backed, his tattoos fully on display, sitting atop a cracked stone slab, he raised his left leg and rested his left arm on his knee, the white-and-black Fenwolf tattoo coiled around his forearm, while the Sangurion Bat spread across his back in dark crimson lines.

The drake tattoo rested along his lower back, winding forward toward his abdomen, giving him the unmistakable image of a hardened yakuza, one still in the process of completing his ink.

Not far away, George watched his grandson in silence, deep in thought.

He should have been overseeing the relocation of corpses and the reorganization of the destroyed inner region, yet he found himself unable to pull his focus away from Alec.

He wasn’t the only one harboring questions either, but the others kept their distance.

In the end, George stepped forward, while Alec lifted his head, and met the gaze of the old man towering over him, with hands clasped behind his back.

“Brat, we need to talk!” George said.

Alec chuckled, before rising to his feet, and followed behind his grandfather as they headed toward the back mountain. Before leaving, he made sure to hand over his remaining duties to the First Elder, while Alec left his golems behind for those who wanted to stare.

_ _

The moment they reached a quiet clearing, the Patriarch turned to Alec and smiled.

“I haven’t seen you in a long time, and yet you’ve already grown stronger than me in such a short span, I’m relieved.” George said.

“You make jest of me old man, all I’m today is all because of Grandfather’s teachings,” Alec replied, clasping his hands forward in respect.

Seeing Alec behave so politely, without shamelessly taking all the credit the way he usually did—George decided to play along, as he took a dramatic step back, with his face contorting into exaggerated shock.

“Is that really you, Alec, or has someone else possessed your body?” he asked theatrically.

“Old man, it’s me,” Alec replied tiredly, clearly not in the mood to indulge him.

“On the contrary, I’m starting to wonder if this is you. You’re acting all dignified and reserved—nothing like yourself. I guess it’s because my golems have finally caught up, and they’re the ones who truly deserve the title of the Gordons Clan’s Big Three.” Alec continued,

“You little brat,” George said, knocking Alec lightly on the head.

“Ouch! What did I do to deserve that?” Alec asked, genuinely confused.

Though George sounded like he was scolding him, the smile he struggled to hide in his eyes told a different story.

“Your mother would have been proud of the man you’ve become,” George said softly.

Alec immediately fell silent, the subject of his mother was something George rarely spoke of, as it carried too much pain for him, all because of the fact that it reminded him of the daughter he had lost.

After a moment, George broke the silence.

“When are you heading back?If I remember correctly, you’re supposed to be competing in the Origin Tournament.” he asked.

“Yeah, I’ll leave after we settle everything here” Alec replied.

“There’s no need for that. We’ll handle everything that needs to be done here, occupy the City Hall mansion and repair the Space Axis fast enough, so you can return as quickly as possible.”

“It’s only after the Blood Moon War that the Northern capital will have the time to properly judge what happened in Estonia City. For now, they simply won’t have the manpower to bother with us.” George said firmly.

He tightened his grip on Alec’s shoulders, his gaze sharp and serious.

“And there’s something you must understand,” George continued.

“No matter what happens, you must never—never—lose. You have to secure a position in that tournament. The higher, the better.”

The intensity in his tone made Alec frown, the old man’s behavior felt unusual, almost as if he knew far more than he was willing to say.

Looking at his grandson, the Gordons Patriarch felt a deep sense of satisfaction, he knew Alec must be hiding secrets, as no one could make such terrifying progress without them, but he also understood that every prodigy who outshone the rest carried secrets of their own.

So he clearly wasn’t so selfish as to pry into them.

What he did know, however, was this: it was now his responsibility to silence any talk about Alec’s true strength, especially the real capabilities of his golems and their ability to summon other golems.

To George, that has now become a clan secret of the highest order.