Chapter 0094: The Rampaging Giant Ape

This was a masterpiece of art, enough to overturn everything a dollmaker ever knew! The brilliant main crystal core was nearly transparent under the bright light, its irregular surface etched with an intricate web of magical runes as fine as spider silk, resembling the veins and arteries of the crystal itself. As the elemental energies around it trembled, faint golden arcs of electricity began to appear, dancing ceaselessly over its smooth, lustrous surface.

With each circuit they made, more and more stray lightning elements from the surrounding space were drawn in, making the golden arcs grow thicker and interweave into a continuous field. Eventually, a crackling, dazzling storm of lightning began to sweep around the main crystal core. Though not especially powerful, the condensed and refined aura it radiated was enough to make one shudder inwardly.

Grimm pinched the main core between two fingers, growing ever more fond of it the longer he looked; his heart surged with boundless pride. This main core was the key to constructing the Lightning Giant. To make room for more tempering and enhancement arrays, all the energy-absorbing, storing, and shaping arrays had been relocated to the other five wind-elemental cores. Yet even so, once the main core was exposed to the air, free lightning energy was irresistibly drawn in, leading to the strange spectacle before him.

With a casual motion of his right hand, Grimm dispersed the chaotic lightning energy. He rested his hand against his forehead, silently connecting with the consciousness imprint deep within the core. Truly, of all the enchantments upon the main core, this consciousness imprint was the most vital. Through it, Grimm would one day command the Lightning Giant.

Smoothly, his mental power slipped into the consciousness imprint, resonating with the sliver of will left inside. Once this ritual—almost like an anointment—was completed, the imprint array was activated. From this moment on, no one could wrest control of it from Grimm.

Naturally, this was a necessary step for any personal golem. Golems or puppet creatures crafted by dollmakers, however, often required a change of operator, so their consciousness imprints were usually replaced with rune controls. The dollmaker would forge the control rune into a token or amulet for easy carrying and transfer, then sell it openly. Anyone holding the rune could command the golem or puppet beast.

In this respect, golems were far less “loyal” than personal constructs.

Elated, Grimm had just returned to the entrance of his quarters when he ran into Mary, dragging her weary body home. Though her red dress hid much, the multitude of terrible scars on her body remained clear, and even her delicate, pretty face was crisscrossed with freshly torn wounds.

“What… what happened to you?” Grimm had been busy with his construct these past days and hadn’t paid attention to Mary’s comings and goings, so her battered state greatly shocked him.

“Hmph, just a few scratches. That bastard took worse! If it weren’t for the fact that it’s helping me master combat magic, I’d have drained it dry by now!” Mary spat, waving her hand furiously, her curses bitter and sharp. Though she sounded fierce and indomitable, Grimm, well familiar with her temperament, could easily guess she had lost the fight.

“Mary, you’ve been heading into the Crela Mountains a lot lately. Can you help me find a suitable opponent for a test? Preferably someone of adept rank, and trustworthy enough to keep a secret,” Grimm ventured hesitantly.

“So your Lightning Giant is finished?” Mary’s eyes sparkled.

“It is! But I haven’t tested it yet, so I’m not sure how strong—”

“Excellent! Come, help me take revenge!”

Mary, who had been burning with the flames of vengeance amid her recent hardships, had never before considered rallying allies to gang up on an enemy. But hearing Grimm’s request, she forgot all about tending her wounds and dragged him out of the wizard’s tower on the spot.

Completely ignoring the strange looks from the apprentice wizards around them, Mary burst out of the tower. With a flourish, she transformed into a giant vampire bat, seized Grimm by the shoulders, and shot into the sky.

By now, dusk had fallen; the darkening sky was streaked with the last fiery traces of clouds. In the distance, the Crela Mountains reclined at the horizon’s edge, like a sleeping giant beneath the deepening heavens.

Mary’s course led straight into the heart of the mountains.

Ever since she’d drunk Alice’s blood, Mary’s strength and constitution had improved by leaps and bounds. Once, carrying Grimm aloft was a struggle, forcing her to skim just above the treetops. Now, as she beat her leathery wings with effort, she carried Grimm nearly a hundred meters into the air, darting forward like an arrow.

A damp, chilly night wind lashed Grimm’s face, so fiercely it was almost impossible to keep his eyes open. He was forced to don his gnome engineer goggles again, which at least made things more bearable.

With the goggles’ night vision, he looked down and saw, at the forest’s edge, long lines of torches snaking toward the wizard’s tower. These must be the daily expeditions venturing deep into the mountains to hunt magical beasts and search for witch herbs.

Grimm was still pondering this when Mary, with him in tow, swept across the night sky and over the heads of the adventurers below.

The sky wasn’t yet fully dark, and someone on the ground must have noticed the strange shape overhead. At their shouts, a few leaders craned their necks to look upward. But before they could spot the black speck blending into the twilight, Mary had already plunged into the depths of the forest.

The place Mary sought was more than seventy miles from the wizard’s tower. On foot, it would take half a day to cross the forest, but to Mary, it was a mere forty-five minutes’ flight.

They arrived at a small hill near the high mountains. Mary landed with Grimm, slowing as they descended. Atop the hill was a clearing about half the size of a football field, overgrown with wild grass and shrubs, but trampled and battered, as if trodden by countless feet.

She tossed Grimm carelessly onto the grass. With a burst of red mist, the vampire bat form evaporated, and Mary in her red dress stood there once more.

“Torrell, you bastard, get out here! Mary in Red has come for revenge!” As soon as she regained her human form, Mary planted her fists on her hips and shouted. Her sharp, piercing voice echoed through the dark forest, reverberating in the distance.

What on earth was she doing?

At that moment, Grimm was utterly bewildered, finding Mary’s theatrics deeply amusing. He’d heard she was always looking for worthy opponents to hone her close-combat skills, but even so, wasn’t it overkill to come to such a remote forest? What could she possibly find here besides wild beasts and magical creatures? Surely her usual sparring partner wasn’t a monster!

Shaking his head with a wry smile, Grimm was about to stop Mary’s antics when, with a low sigh, a tall and powerfully built figure emerged from the woods, stepping into the clearing.

Above, the black clouds shifted, and a silvery moon broke through, casting pure moonlight on the newcomer.

He was a robust, well-proportioned man, his eyes a dark green, his face cold and stern, dressed head-to-toe in green armor—clearly a formidable close-combatant. At first, he wore a mild, friendly smile, as if he meant to talk things over with Mary. But upon realizing she wasn’t alone on the hilltop, his expression turned cold and sharp. He stared at Grimm from afar, silently sizing him up.

“Torrell, I’ve told you before—if you want me as your woman, you’ll have to defeat me fair and square! Today I’ve brought you an opponent. If you can beat him, I’ll grant your request! Is that not a fair deal? Surely you’re not afraid of a mere intermediate apprentice?” Mary declared, hands on hips, brimming with confidence, oblivious to Grimm’s bemused expression.

Since when did Mary have a suitor? From the look of him, he was also a wizard apprentice, though why he lived in the wild was a mystery. As for his strength…

Grimm couldn’t help but frown.

The man’s spiritual energy was odd, but the feedback from his chip confirmed it: this was a true adept, just below a full wizard.

As Grimm studied him closely, the green-armored man was also assessing Grimm.

“So this frail little thing is the man you keep talking about? His spiritual aura is a mess—probably boosted by drugs. What could you possibly see in such a weakling? Could he even withstand your soul-draining kiss? With that scrawny frame, would he survive if you took a few sips…” The more the man spoke, the angrier he became, his fury mounting with each word.

Oh dear, a jealous rival had appeared! No, nonsense—hardly a rival, since his relationship with Mary was at best a flirtation, nowhere near a romance.

Grimm grinned oddly at the green-armored man, but before he could respond with a quip, something extraordinary happened.

The man’s body began to expand and swell, stretching his armor until it creaked and groaned. Coarse black bristles burst from beneath his skin. His face jutted forward and twisted, two sharp fangs protruding from his mouth. Most striking of all were his eyes—two dark green orbs, growing brighter and brighter until they outshone the silver moon and weighed oppressively on Grimm’s heart.

In less than five breaths, the green-armored man had transformed into a frenzied giant ape, over four meters tall and powerfully built.