The Golem Mage

621: Preparation 3.

621: Preparation 3.

They all followed Alec into his room as he locked the door behind them, ensuring it was secured properly.

He then instructed them to sit down, forming a semi-circle with him at the center.

“What I’m about to show you, or where I’m about to take you, has to do with one of the special abilities I’ve awakened, because of how powerful I find this ability, I’ve kept it a secret all this while.”

“But now, you are my only family here in the competition and you need my help, so I don’t think this is the time for me to hold back on any of you, just know that my ability must remain a secret; it should never be disclosed by any of you.”

“Because the day that happens, it means you’ve betrayed me, and I will cease any form of relationship with you, is that clear?” Alec asked, his seriousness palpable as they exchanged shocked glances.

After considering his words and the gravity of how he described his powers, they composed themselves, realizing they had no reason to betray Alec.

He was family.

Once they confirmed their loyalty with eye signals, they turned back to him.

“We understand you loud and clear.

Your secret is our secret, which means it’s safe with us,” Brandon declared, as he was the first to voice his thoughts.

As he placed his right hand across his chest, as if taking an oath, to emphasize their commitment not to betray Alec by revealing the secret he was about to share with them.

“You should know by now that we are your generals,”

“You yourself said it—how could we be the ones to betray you?

We’ve come to ask for your help because we feel we’re not meeting the standards to stand by you and support you, if we, the ones you call your generals, can’t do that, then we’ve become completely useless.” Arthur said, delivering a long speech while playfully echoing the words Alec often used in their early days together.

When he used to call Both Brandon and Arthur his reliable generals, and while Brandon caught the humour in Arthur’s words and smiled, Agnes and Knight looked utterly confused.

Nevertheless, Arthur’s speech seemed to strike a chord with Alec, who finally smiled back.

“You’ve spoken well, what kind of leader would I be if my generals couldn’t improve?

Prepare yourselves; I’ll begin now,” Alec declared, a new determination settling over him.

When Alec told them to get prepared, it felt like a rush, and they all straightened, their expressions growing serious as they awaited his next move.

Suddenly, a small crack appeared behind Alec, catching them off guard.

Agnes gasped, covering her mouth with her right hand as the rift in space widened just behind Alec’s back, the crack continued to expand until The branch of the Primordial Tree, which Alec had intentionally left free, began to stretch out from the void.

The four of them sitting across from Alec stared in disbelief, as they quickly realized that the branch seemed to be connected to Alec, like an additional arm at his command.

It just wasn’t physically attached to him; instead, it sprang from empty space, giving it a shady, suspicious appearance.

However, trusting their leader, they resolved to give this new development a chance.

“Okay then, here we go!” Alec exclaimed as he focused his mind, sending orders to the branch.

Almost instantly, as he relayed his wishes, the branch moved closer to those sitting in front of him.

Shock washed over their faces; Knight instinctively wanted to jump back, but Agnes placed her hands on his shoulders to hold him in place.

She knew how nervous Knight could get in situations like this, and since Alec was trusting them with an ability they had never seen him use before, she was determined to place her trust in him as well, despite how eerie the Black tree branch appeared.

Puchi!

Alec watched as the branch sprouted four smaller sub-branches and shot them toward Brandon, Arthur, Knight, and Agnes.

In an instant, they all collapsed to the ground, sound asleep.

Seeing this, Alec also closed his eyes, surrendering himself to the sweet embrace of darkness.

The gang all felt their consciousness being dragged out of them as they were all transported to the Amulet World.

When they appeared, they found themselves standing right in front of the Primordial Tree in all its glory.

The sight caused them to step back in fear, realizing that the long branch responsible for bringing them there in the first place was just a small part of the massive tree looming before them.

Their fear intensified as they noticed the multiple demonic beast corpses littered around the tree’s roots, making the already imposing presence of the tree feel even more alive and menacing.

They instinctively felt that any sudden movement might provoke the tree to attack.

Confusion spread among them while they decided to survey the dark void of space as Alec had not informed them of anything, his voice suddenly broke through.

“Welcome to my Amulet World!” Alec announced, appearing behind them and prompting them to turn around in surprise.

“Right now, you are all at the Tier 4 Mage realm, while this is a significant achievement for first-year students, I understand that you might not be entirely pleased about being designated as second team figures in the inter-academy competition,” Alec began.

“However, I do believe you are in no way inferior to those other mages from the larger clans who possess both talent and abundant resources to enhance their cultivation.

“

“ Let’s be honest: cultivating a mage faster than their peers often requires substantial financial backing.”

“It’s clear that we don’t have that, but I have something even better, a battle zone that will hone your skills and help you reach the next realm quickly, given that you’ve all taken the cultivation pills I gave out, it means your bodies should be refined enough to handle the challenges that life-or-death situations will present which would stimulate your fast cultivation speed.”

“Now, if you don’t mind, float towards that first door!

Once you enter, remember that except for each other, every beast inside is your enemy.

Don’t be tempted to show mercy to even the meekest-looking creatures; they are capable of killing you if you expose a weak point,” Alec commanded, pointing at the first door of the Beast Forest while providing them with crucial insight.

“Thank you, Alec!” Arthur called out as they moved toward the door.

“Just survive!” Alec replied, swatting his hands, which propelled all four of them through the first door.

–

Once they disappeared, Alec found himself compelled to communicate with the system spirit, which manifested as a small blue form once again.

“Why do they get to keep their clothes, will I still get here in nothing but my underwear every time?” Alec questioned, with a perplexed expression.

“The process is confusing for me too,” the system spirit explained.

“But if I had to guess, I think it’s because the Primordial branch brought them here, while you as the main owner, you can arrive here purely on your own, without any external factors.”

Alec sighed in relief, he was genuinely glad they had all been focused on the tree when he appeared; giving him a chance to quickly summon his Salamander armour set to cover up, knowing that otherwise, the situation could have become quite awkward.

With that thought put aside, he turned his attention back to the first door as new concerns began to brew in his mind.