'It turns out that what's inside is not just information but a relic.'
The power that had long prevented the conquest of the Kalton Mountains was now on the verge of falling into his hands.
'I must not let Helios know.'
No matter what, he was the authority on teleportation magic, so he wouldn't look kindly upon it being revealed in any way.
He had no choice but to hide it as much as possible.
"Is there anything else to research?"
"There might be more if I dig deeper. But I don't think it's the right situation for that…"
Kaitlyn was aware of Reed's situation as well.
Reed knew that she was aware of it and was yielding to him.
"If you want, you can finish your research first."
"No. It's an opportunity given by the Tower Master, and taking it back is also up to the Tower Master's discretion."
"I won't feel comfortable if that opportunity turns into a failure…"
"Don't worry, not all of the research will turn into a failure. At least I've already completed a model that will help you, Tower Master."
"A helpful model?"
"I'll tell you later. But we'll probably need a lot of magnesium."
"Isn't there already an abundance of it?"
They even set up a separate magnesium farm in Barchan Union, and there were no major supply issues.
Rather, it was too much piled up for just researching a single gauntlet.
Reed found it strange that she said they needed more.
Then Kaitlyn smiled bitterly.
"We'll need more than that. We need to create something similar to a human."
"A human?"
"Since it needs to be a similar size to the Tower Master… Yes, we'll need more."
Kaitlyn nodded her head while roughly estimating.
Was she planning to create a suit? He asked her, curious about her intentions.
"What are you planning to make?"
"A kind of doppelganger."
"A doppelganger?"
"Someone who looks identical to the Tower Master, fighting on behalf of and alongside you… I'm thinking of creating a doll like that."
Just by her words, it seemed like some kind of dummy body.
"So, if I'm not trying to create a humanoid life form, there's no need for further research. Instead of something that can move autonomously, it's better to have a life form that moves according to Homunculus or the Tower Master's will."
As she talked, Kaitlyn was visibly excited.
Since the blocked path had been cleared after transcending, Kaitlyn must have been both surprised and delighted.
"Let's take out that relic then."
"Understood."
Kaitlyn immediately prepared her chisel and hammer.
Reed watched her work.
Kaitlyn placed the chisel on the yellow sphere that corresponded to the golem's brain.
And she began to gently tap on it.
The delicate treasure jar slowly split along the pointed chisel's position.
***
Escolleia Magic Training Room.
In the early dawn, when even the sun hadn't risen, the training room was filled with vibrations and loud noises.
"Phew…"
After an intense battle, Dolores caught her breath and looked around.
Traces of fire, electricity, and earth magic.
Wooden arrows and broken wooden swords.
And dolls made of white wood were scattered around.
Cold ice was stuck to various parts of their bodies.
The shapes were diverse.
There were sharp, pointed ice shards, as well as blunt, bullet-like ice fragments.
And there were also shards that pierced the wooden dolls from within their bodies.
Dolores checked the results of her practice.
[Mana Doll]
Grade: S
Number: 20
Class: Random
Practice Result: Excellent
Practice Time: 00:08:42
An S-grade magician has a basic "Magic" level of 5, and a swordsman has a "Swordsmanship" level maintained at 5.
Those who achieve the highest in each field are S-grade.
Dolores had annihilated all of the S-grade in a bloody battle lasting about 9 minutes.
'It's not enough.'
She recalled her fight in her head and mentally repeated the lacking points.
Dolores granted mana to the mana dolls.
The white body trembled and then returned to its original form, standing up from its place.
And she made the 20 dolls surround her again.
From swordsman to magician, these training dolls store various information so that they can simulate as desired.
When set to random, there are over 2,000 possible attack patterns.
Dolores wasn't fighting to memorize those patterns.
It was about honing her instincts so she could fight spontaneously.
What should she do if swordsmen rushed her at the same time?
How should she react when long-range magic and arrows were fired simultaneously?
She trained to respond reflexively rather than being held back by her thoughts.
'That man was stronger.'
She hadn't fought much, but she could feel his strength.
She had to overwhelm him.
To prevent that man from seizing an opportunity, Dolores had to become even stronger.
'Even if I don't get stronger, I can't let myself be held back.'
Being held back was the worst-case scenario.
If, by any chance, she were to be captured by that man and Reed had to give up something...
She shook her head.
She didn't even want to imagine it.
So, she silently controlled the mana dolls and continued her training.
Creak-.
The sound of the door opening.
Dolores turned her head.
It was a man she had never seen before.
"Sorry, but I'm still using this place."
Thinking he was a worker coming to clean in the morning, she said so.
However, he didn't respond or step back.
Feeling annoyed but trying to be as polite as possible, she turned her head again to warn him.
"I'm using it right now, so can you clean up later—."
Dolores couldn't finish her sentence.
The man was pointing his staff at her.
He stared intently at Dolores and recited a magic spell.
""Lightning Spear"."
A magic circle manifested from the staff, and a purple lightning spear flew towards Dolores.
The flash of attack that couldn't be caught even with her reflex speed struck her chest directly.
