The Golem Mage

Terran knew that Elder Alfred wouldn't have come to see him without expecting some benefit, so when the mention of buying wine arose, Terran erupted into laughter.

"You do realize we still owe the Tavern a heap of magic crystals right?, are you trying to get us to work off our debts with manual labour?, Because I'm still very much broke, and if I'm broke, you're even broker than me," Terran remarked, pushing the stone high with the top of his legs and leaping to grab it, only to have his legs give way upon landing.

"Is that any way to speak to your elder? Well, for your information, the list of students drafted into the academy's team has been updated, and guess what?, Five of your disciples have made the team," Elder Alfred announced. Terran, was initially shocked hearing such news , before bursting into laughter.

"Those kids didn't let me down, I'll be able to restock my reserve of wine gourds again!" Terran exclaimed.

"And I'll get a couple too," Elder Alfred added.

"Hush, I won't do any such thing, Don't think I forget, you still have Beatrice , and she must have secured a place on the team because she is close to Alec's level, All my training with those boys paid off!" Terran asserted, to which Elder Alfred snorted.

"What training paid off?, We both know you didn't teach those boys a thing, You're no different from a public instructor to them, just adding a little gift here and there due to your financial state."

" That's why I suggested exchanging students back then, By now, I would have taught those boys more than you, and they might have truly excelled, their talent is being wasted just by being on your peak," Elder Alfred retorted, firing back at Terran.

"You, lazy old man, claim to want to teach students, but you're only interested in the rewards I'd receive for having over five students on the academy team. Nothing else!" Terran retorted.

"You're not worth a gentlemanly discussion. I'm out of here," Elder Alfred declared as he stood up, only to then turned back to add,

"You do realize that your disciples have been fortunate to avoid a confrontation with Orion, but his luck won't hold out for long, you need to have him cancel this death match, he has shown so much potential, and it wouldn't be right if another talented mage under your tutelage were to perish."

"Pity your mental health and persuade him to cancel it, If he perishes, I fear the cracks in your mental Image will be completely shattered as you wouldn't be able to survive such heart break!" Elder Alfred warned.

"Don't worry about me, old man, besides, Alec won't lose, that guy hasn't shown his full strength yet, what's Tier 5?, I know that when he unleashes his full power, there won't be a match for him below the Tier 6 realm," Terran boasted with a smirk.

"Hmm, you're still too proud to see reason," Alfred remarked, not believing a word Terran said.

He felt that Terran was purposefully concealing his troubles, and he concluded that Terran was beyond help.

Terran haven't been able to summon his mental image anytime he fought again, as there were numerous cracks on it due to the soul injuries he had sustained to his mentality after his last disciple's death.

As Elder Alfred walked past the walls again, this time he didn't merely phase through as he left in anger; as the brick started to float out of position after Alfred had passed through.

"That grumpy old man, use the door!" Terran muttered.

–

Alec and the team had finally traversed the Gobi Desert and were now camping in a forest.

With Endrick's help, they quickly fashioned tents from leaves for everyone.

Pale was visibly missing a tooth, as the fight with the sandworm hadn't gone as badly as he had anticipated, but he had been struck by the creature's tail, leading to his current predicament.

"I have a gift for you," Alec said to Beatrice as she was about to enter her tent, she furrowed her eyebrows before signalling for Alec to come inside.

Upon witnessing this, Arthur's eyes bulged, and he looked around, realizing that only Pale seemed to have noticed their actions., as they both stealthily moved toward the tent and pressed their ears against it, hoping to catch any tidbits of conversation.

The other mages regarded them with varying expressions, and Agnes shook her head at Arthur's behaviour.

Although Arthur might still be distant with them, at least he was beginning to act more like himself.

Inside the tent, Alec presented a pair of intricately designed hair rings to Beatrice. Slowly, her cold demeanor softened upon seeing such beautiful accessories.

"I've never done it before, so you'll have to be the one to put them on yourself," Beatrice said with a smile as she turned.

"No problem," Alec replied as he moved closer to her and attempted to help her pierce her ears, as she had never worn earrings before, he hadn't realized that she didn't wear earrings; he simply thought she didn't have any on, so he had purchased them from a store in the Sweden city as they were leaving and had been waiting for the right moment to give them to her.

"Ouch, it's painful. Put it in slowly, don't rush, Look, now I'm bleeding," Beatrice exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I'll push it in slowly," Alec assured her.

As Arthur and Pale, who were outside, tried their best to eavesdrop, they began to make lewd faces, attempting to imagine Alec and Beatrice engaging in intimate activities.

"That boy is a monster, drilling that cold-faced puppeteer girl," Arthur whispered, but the conversation inside the tent abruptly ceased.

Arthur and Pale then attempted to move to the front of the tent, pressing their ears against it in hopes of hearing any tell tale sounds, but Alec opened the tent, causing both of them to stumble embarrassingly inside.

Arthur nervously laughed as he gazed at Alec and Beatrice, who were still fully clothed.

"Sorry, I thought you guys were... um, well, never mind," Arthur stammered as he flee with the chance he got, he sprinted away, leaving Pale to face a seething Beatrice.

Pale also tried to make a hasty retreat, but he was too late now, as Beatrice caught him by the ears, venting all her frustrations on him for spying on her.

After resting for a while, they continued their journey.

Another day of walking brought them to the first city they were supposed to visit, they passed through the opened city gates and entered, only to realize that a number had appeared above each of their heads, displaying a countdown time of 1:00:00.

It was a mysterious occurrence, as a time anomaly perhaps, as the gates behind them suddenly slammed shut without warning.

"Welcome to the enigmatic City of Time," a voice resounded, echoing through the eerie surroundings.

"Here in the City of Time, all inhabitants are compelled to partake in a deadly game called Race to Death, you now have exactly one hour to complete your objective, and I assure you, failure to participate will result in your demise once the hour expires."

"So, enjoy yourselves and remember, only the winners of the race will be granted a way out of the city, those who participate but fail to secure a top three spot will be trapped in a temporary time freeze until the next challengers arrive," the voice continued, its tone carrying a note of finality.

"Once you reach the top three, you will earn the privilege to leave, Now, if you don't mind, your time begins now," the voice concluded.

[59:59]

And with those words, the one-hour countdown commenced, Before them stood a colossal game capsule, emblazoned with the title "Race to Death." Just by its appearance, it was evident that this was the game the voice had beckoned them to play.

"Spread out and use the next twenty minutes to gather any information you can about this game, no matter what happens, I expect all of you to reconvene here after twenty minutes!" Alec commanded, scanning the desolate cityscape anxiously.

This city posed as their first test: the test to vanquish the elusive Chronomancer.

However, despite their efforts, the Chronomancer seemed to be nowhere in sight, casting doubt upon Alec's decision to partake in the game.

Yet, if they failed to discover any leads within the next twenty minutes, Alec would have no choice but to embrace the perils of the game as it seems to be the only lead to get the Chronomancer.