Chapter 167 – Golems and Metamagic Techniques

Restoring the golem wasn’t actually laborious. After devouring a full barrel of Formal-Level biological flesh, Golem One’s body had completely recovered. However, considering the primary control soul to be used this time was female, Punk adjusted the form-solidification array to transform Golem One’s physique from a muscular governor’s build into that of a young maiden.

Simultaneously, Punk recalibrated the energy distribution density between the speed and strength arrays. While this would somewhat reduce the new flesh golem’s raw power, it would grant significantly enhanced agility.

With equipment like the “Anywhere Door” and “Walker’s Improved Ruby Shield” already providing robust defensive capabilities, Punk had ample protective measures. Thus, he desired the new golem to possess exceptional mobility for restraining enemies, rather than merely serving as a simple meat shield!

Beyond modifying the arrays, Punk crafted a set of female steel armor alloyed with mithril to serve as the golem’s skin. Ironically—this very mithril had been scavenged from the ruins of Bahanger’s workshop.

Clad in armor, the golem resembled a female version of Iron Man. Glimmering energy channels—impressive in appearance but functionally decorative—coalesced across the armor. The sole flaw lay in Punk’s mediocre smithing skills, resulting in slightly distorted armor plating!

Yet these cosmetic imperfections didn’t compromise functionality. In fact, without using Detect Magic, no one could discern this as a flesh golem from surface inspection. Should any foolhardy enemy mistake it for a steel golem and cast spells like “Rapid Corrosion” or “Magnetic Surge”… the outcome would be tremendously entertaining!

Finally, Punk carefully implanted the meticulously modified “Bilan Soul Core”—a week’s labor—into the golem.

Now, the newly born flesh golem should be designated Golem Two.

Observing the metallic-sheen Golem Two, Punk casually launched two Kinetic Cones toward it.

The instant it received the “Evade” command, the previously rigid golem instantly executed a light leap to dodge the lower projectile. As the second cone reached its waist, it fluidly arched into an elegant backflip, letting the buzzing Kinetic Cone graze past its torso.

Both pale violet Kinetic Cones embedded themselves into the basement’s stone walls, leaving Golem Two completely unscathed.

Clap clap clap!

Punk gently applauded, thoroughly satisfied with the new golem.

Golem Two’s physique was fundamentally crafted from the remains of two Formal-Level combatants—Bahanger and Kangkai—while its control soul belonged to Bilan, an Apprentice-Level mage. Consequently, both its physical attributes and soul responsiveness vastly surpassed the original Golem One’s capabilities.

Moreover, Punk faintly perceived that due to his alchemical limitations, neither Bilan’s soul nor the Formal-Level combatant corpses had reached their full potential. Theoretically, Golem Two could have been even more powerful!However, Punk was not someone who overestimated his abilities. He knew that with his current capabilities, this was the best he could achieve. Being too obsessed with perfection could easily lead to mistakes, so he was already quite satisfied with Golem Two as it was now.

After carefully inspecting the operation of Golem Two’s magic circle one last time, Punk draped a large piece of burlap over his new “partner” as a makeshift robe. He ordered Golem Two to stand aside, then silently activated the System in his mind to begin analyzing the golem.

The System quickly identified several new abilities of Golem Two!

“Ding—Analysis of Golem Two’s New Abilities”

1. Metal Armor: The creator, Punk Cyan, equipped the flesh golem with a set of female armor. Due to the addition of a small amount of mithril in the armor, Golem Two now possesses a certain degree of corrosion resistance.

2. Combat Awareness: By using a higher-level Apprentice-Level biological soul, “Combat Instinct” has been upgraded to “Combat Awareness.” The golem’s combat capabilities have improved, and it now possesses preliminary thinking abilities.

Note: Since the soul core of this golem was modified from the soul of an innocent, good-aligned girl, Golem Two has reduced resistance to good-aligned mind-affecting spells but enhanced resistance to evil-aligned mind-affecting spells!

1. Sturdy Golem Body: Due to the creator’s use of a Formal-Level corpse to repair the golem, Golem Two’s body has been upgraded from “Eerie Golem Body” to “Sturdy Golem Body.” While retaining its original abilities, its resilience has been further enhanced!

Potential: If the creator’s skill level improves, this thing might have a chance to be upgraded to Master-Level, but that’s about it!

“Excellent! The golem’s repairs are now complete. Not only has my strength returned to its peak, but it has even improved. It’s time to move on to the next phase of my studies!”

Puck happily ordered the golem to stand behind him. With the golem matter settled, as a level-twelve Formal-Level mage, he needed neither rest nor celebration. He was already eager to dive into his next research project.

After hastily munching on some dry rations to fill his stomach, he planned to seriously study one of his only three metamagic techniques—Mana Compression!

The principle of the “Mana Compression” metamagic technique was essentially cramming two or more units of mana into a single spell model. By increasing the total amount and density of mana, the spell’s power was enhanced!

Of course, compressing mana required energy expenditure. Under normal circumstances, compressing one standard unit of mana consumed two standard units of mana. This meant that “Mana Compression” would always be an energy-intensive metamagic technique.

But as the saying goes, a flaw cannot obscure the splendor of the jade. Punk had personally witnessed its power. After using “Mana Compression,” the magic he cast increased in power by threefold. A simple “Kinetic Cone” could achieve lethality comparable to “Inflict Greater Wound,” tearing half of Kangkai’s body into shreds. If “Mana Compression” were applied to a more advanced spell like “Kinetic Crush,” the spell’s power might even reach the level of a Master-Level spell.Even though the use of “Mana Compression” consumes a massive amount of mana, it does not hinder it from being a formidable finishing technique. Punk had reason to believe that, after mastering “Mana Compression,” his full-power strike would become a nightmare for many professionals of the same level. Even a Master-Level expert could potentially be injured if they were careless.

Despite the immense power of this metamagic technique, Punk did not blindly indulge in optimism. Although he could now employ this method, being able to use it did not equate to having learned it, and even learning it did not guarantee proficiency. At present, Punk was at a stage where he could not even be considered to have truly learned it.

Most importantly, an unmastered “Mana Compression” held no practical combat significance, and the reason was simple—it was far too slow.

Take Punk’s battle with Kangkai as an example: from activating “Mana Compression” to successfully releasing the enhanced Kinetic Cone, a full five seconds were consumed. Frankly speaking, it was only because Kangkai was immobilized at the time—otherwise, five seconds would be more than enough for a ranger to kill a mage dozens of times over!

Therefore, Punk’s immediate first goal was—to master the use of “Mana Compression”!

Please subscribe and add to your collection~

(End of Chapter)