Chapter Seventy-One: New Knowledge (Please Recommend!)

Early the next morning, Lando stood expressionlessly at the laboratory door for half an hour. The door, which usually opened easily with a gentle touch, now felt impossibly heavy. Seeing that the appointed time with his mentor was almost upon him, Lando sighed in resignation and pushed the door open.

Upon seeing Lando, Otto greeted him with a grin, “The wind outside must be quite refreshing. Why else would you stand at the door for so long?”

Lando ignored the comment, his face unmoved. What else could he do? He’d chosen his mentor; now he had to accept it, tears and all.

Fortunately, Otto only teased him briefly before turning to the real matter at hand.

“After this period of study, you’ve mastered almost all the fundamental knowledge about arcanists. The successful construction of your magic tower proves you can apply what you’ve learned—although it was just the most basic kind of tower. Next, let’s move on to more profound knowledge.”

More profound knowledge!

Lando’s eyes lit up with anticipation. This was the arcane world he longed for; games and women paled in comparison.

“Now, we’ll learn… golem creation!”

“Golems?” Lando recalled the construction-type golems he’d seen when building the magic tower, undeniably impressive.

“Golems are the signature of the Silver Tower, the very foundation of our school. Before the Seventh Arcane Emperor, Eddison Cornett, ascended to his title, he was already a renowned master of golem creation. He designed and improved countless golems, transforming what were once single-purpose constructs into a complete system with a broader stage. Our sibling school—the Grey Tower—primarily preserves Eddison Cornett’s knowledge in this field.”

“When you journey outside and encounter members of the Grey Tower, if you ever need someone to take the fall, don’t hesitate to send them in. No need for embarrassment; you’ll most likely run into mimic golems anyway.”

Lando: “…”

“Well, though I myself belong to the Silver Tower, golem creation is a personal passion of mine. Let me show you my collection! Heh!” With that, Otto strode ahead.

Also?

Lando followed, his face darkening.

They walked to a corner of the laboratory. Otto waved his hand, and a vast corridor appeared before Lando, stretching seemingly without end.

On either side of the corridor stood golems of all shapes and sizes, leaving Lando awestruck.

Entering the corridor, he first saw three-meter-tall stone and iron golems, somewhat roughly crafted.

“Most of these golems here are my own creations. Well? Not bad, right?” Otto introduced them with pride.

Lando fell silent. Comparing his mentor’s hobby to his own antiques, he suddenly felt utterly mediocre.

As they advanced, the variety of golems broadened Lando’s horizons. There were infiltration golems no bigger than a fist, siege golems as massive as a hundred meters, household types, construction types, mounts, research golems—everything imaginable.

Further along, there were pure elemental golems. Lando saw a floating mass of water and, curious, asked his mentor if this counted as a golem.

Otto activated the water golem. The watery mass changed shape freely, morphing into various forms. Physical attacks were almost useless against it; it was nearly immune to water element, and highly resistant to others.

Otto separated a single drop for Lando to examine. Astonishingly, the drop possessed all the properties of the water golem!

“Mentor, is this composed of countless independent water golems combined together?”

“Yes and no. In nature, there exist unique species—individually weak and mindless, but when gathered, they form collective consciousness, sometimes surpassing even inherently intelligent life. Through studying them, we achieved many breakthroughs, including this elemental golem.”

Lando was filled with wonder.

Deeper in, functional golems became scarce, replaced by combat golems: star core golems forged from shattered stellar cores, super-energy golems made of special materials, and even bone golems crafted from the corpses of powerful beings.

Leaving the golem gallery, Lando’s face still showed traces of awe.

“In ancient times, golems were few and had limited functions. Now, they’ve evolved into a comprehensive discipline—there’s a golem for every circumstance. Thus, the Grey Tower school was born.”

“Mentor, I want to learn this!”

“Good.” Otto nodded with satisfaction.

Under Otto’s guidance, it took Lando only five days to craft his first golem.

A stone golem!

Human-shaped, about three meters tall, made from ordinary stone and thus somewhat rough in appearance. The requisite runes and circuits were inscribed; only the final step remained—activation.

Lando took a gemstone and embedded it in the golem’s chest, then infused it with elemental energy.

Traces of energy flickered across its body. Soon, the golem stirred to life.

Lando issued commands: walk forward, step back, stretch an arm, move a leg. Confirming that everything worked, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

Otto remarked approvingly, “Very good. Your basics are solid. No need to build more ancient-type golems; start learning the new system.”

“Yes, mentor!”

The so-called new system was the golem framework established and perfected by the Seventh Arcane Emperor, Eddison Cornett. The most basic mechanical golem, once slightly modified and programmed, became the household mechanical golem found in Lando’s dormitory.

And that was Lando’s next goal.

……

Time flowed quietly onward. One day, while Lando was assembling a golem in the warehouse, Little Grey reported a communication request from Toru. Once connected, Toru’s familiar voice came through.

“Master Lando, Uncle Moore said you have business to discuss with me?”

“That’s right.”

“When will you be available? Shall we meet directly?”

“This afternoon.”

“Alright, I’ll send a car to pick you up at the academy gate. The meeting will be in the Entertainment World; is that suitable?”

“That’s fine.”

After hanging up, Lando continued his work, only realizing later that he’d agreed to “afternoon” without specifying a time.

But such minor details didn’t bother him.

Around three in the afternoon, Lando arrived at the academy gate to find the Lightshadow 2000 already waiting.

The driver was the same silent one—Lando had spoken with him before, and he was the type who barely said a word, an ideal choice for the job.

Arriving at Entertainment World, Toru had been waiting on the top floor. He welcomed Lando into the executive conference room, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lando prepared to get straight to business.