Chapter 0030: The Choice of Path 2

The path of the Bloodline Sorcerer was fraught with difficulty and held grave dangers for the future, so Grim could only cast it aside with a heavy heart. That left only the Rule Sorcerer and the Arcane Sorcerer as possible choices.

Of the two, Grim’s preference lay undoubtedly with the Rule Sorcerer. The thought of those world-shaking elemental spells, the fierce magic that could alter the heavens and earth, and the sinister, dreadful curses, made his heart race with anticipation. He longed to possess a signature spell that would mark his own pinnacle as a sorcerer.

Yet, the path of the Rule Sorcerer was also the hardest one to exploit with shortcuts. To ascend to the peak of the sorcerer’s system, one must progress step by step, meticulously refining their own elemental magic affinity, and gradually comprehending the essence of the world’s laws. Only when one becomes a master over the rules themselves can they proudly claim the title of Rule Sorcerer.

But such mastery was something that only happened after the seventh tier.

Without the chip, Grim would never have chosen this path, for it meant he would have to dedicate countless hours to meditation and elemental refinement. Many elemental sorcerers, striving for deeper elemental affinity, would even attempt to transform their bodies into pure elemental beings, regardless of the risk—even if it meant becoming a creature of pure element.

From every angle, the Rule Sorcerer was undoubtedly the true path for sorcerers and the most likely way to reach the summit of the system. With the chip’s guidance, Grim had no reason to hesitate—this was the path he would choose.

However, before he grew strong enough, Grim needed to find ways to compensate for the gap in his early-stage power; otherwise, how could he stand out amidst the fierce and brutal competition among apprentices?

With the main path of Rule Sorcerer set, Grim decided to also dabble in some aspects of the Arcane Sorcerer. The most promising avenue to boost his abilities at present was surely the “Handbook of Constructed Creatures” he had acquired earlier.

“Chip, how is the data collection and analysis on the ‘Handbook of Constructed Creatures’ progressing?”

“Beep. Sorcery text ‘Handbook of Constructed Creatures’ has been fully integrated... Data has been optimized and adjusted, with ineffective content removed. The types of magical constructs currently compatible with the host have been listed...”

Grim’s eyes lit up as he listened to the chip’s report.

“Send me the data, quickly!”

Buzz... As the stream of data flowed, Grim closed his eyes tightly, silently absorbing a new body of sorcerous knowledge that had suddenly appeared in his mind.

More precisely, it was an inventory list.

...

Earth Construct.

A basic construct creature powered by a magical core to drive earth elemental combat.

Estimated attributes: Strength 11, Agility 4, Constitution 13, Spirit 3

Innate abilities (active): Tremor (minor), Earthen Throw (single target), Earth Spike (10-meter radius)

Innate abilities (passive): Earthen Regeneration (regains 5 life per minute in areas rich in earth element)

Magical immunities: Curse immunity, puncture and slash immunity, strong acid immunity, earth element immunity

Materials required: Earth-element magical core (advanced apprentice level)

Required knowledge: Basic construct creation techniques, basic rune etching, node circuit energy transmission, elemental life infusion, will imprint control system

...

Acid Construct.

A basic construct creature powered by a magical core to drive water elemental combat.

Estimated attributes: Strength 8, Agility 7, Constitution 10, Spirit 5

Innate abilities (active): Acid Spray (single target), Acid Swamp (20-meter radius)

Innate abilities (passive): Water Elemental Regeneration (regains 5 life per minute in areas rich in water element), Water Walking

Magical immunities: Curse immunity, puncture and slash immunity, strong acid immunity, water element immunity

Materials required: Water-element magical core (advanced apprentice level)

Required knowledge: Basic construct creation techniques, basic rune etching, node circuit energy transmission, elemental life infusion, will imprint control system

...

The chip’s list was extensive, but after removing entries beyond Grim’s current abilities, only these two optimized basic constructs remained.

Yes, the chip recommended constructs, not golems.

In overall combat power, golems with fixed bodies were stronger than summoned constructs. But given Grim’s meager resources, it was unrealistic to expect him to gather enough materials for a golem.

Consider the simplest clay golem. An eight-foot-tall, six-hundred-pound clay golem, sculpted entirely from soft clay, would require 9,000 gold coins for the raw clay alone, not counting the cost of crafting. To purchase a finished clay golem, the base price was 21,000 gold coins.

In contrast, the constructs described by the chip could be made far more cheaply, requiring only a magical core of advanced apprentice level as material. Even factoring in the needed sorcerous knowledge, the total cost could be kept under 7,000 gold coins.

This difference in cost would make things much easier for Grim.

He could not make the Acid Construct yet, lacking a suitable water-element core. But the Earth Construct was ideal, for Grim had recently acquired a head from an earth-element magical creature, perfectly suited as an earth construct’s core.

With this in mind, Grim quickly moved to the wooden shelf in the corner of his room.

On a wooden tray rested a large glass vessel, covered in black cloth, concealing its contents.

Grim gently lifted the cloth and leaned in, silently gazing at the floating head of Simba, suspended in a pale yellow solution. Sensing Grim’s gaze, the muscles on Simba’s head twitched faintly, and a weak soul consciousness pleaded for mercy.

The heavy scent of a strong preservative, much like formaldehyde, filled the room.

Creatures like the Hag were peculiar aberrations, not quite undead, so their organs needed careful handling and preservation after removal, or their usefulness would rapidly decline. Grim had not personally harvested Simba’s head, but Alice, clearly a practiced advanced apprentice, had preserved it expertly, even managing to bind Simba’s soul within.

Grim could not say whether Alice had intended to torment Simba later or had other plans, but now the bargain fell to him. As for the missing heart, he found little reason to complain.

To maximize the benefit from this head, Grim had borrowed a complete set of cranial dissection tools from some apprentices skilled in anatomy.

To keep his work secret, Grim had set up his laboratory within his own abode.

Half an hour later, he finished all preparations. Standing before the operating table in a specially made white coat, Grim had just fished Simba’s head from the solution, which now lay flat, eyes glaring in fury, cursing the perpetrator.

Having accepted his fate as a sorcerer, Grim was mentally prepared for vivisection and biological experimentation. Though it was his first such operation, his mind was calm and focused.

Ignoring Simba’s curses, Grim instructed coolly, “Chip, perform a deep scan of Simba’s head.”

“Beep. Task established... Scan commencing...”

A bright blue glow began to flicker in Grim’s eyes as a unique mental frequency pulsed onto Simba’s head, probing every inch for hidden secrets.

Wild magical creatures, with their potent life force and strange innate abilities, formed a protective energy field that made it difficult for Grim’s elemental vision and mental insight to penetrate their bodies and uncover their secrets.

But Simba’s head, now devoid of all resistance, was nearly drained of life energy, leaving no force to shield it from Grim’s scrutiny. Using multiple detection methods and mental scans, Grim quickly constructed a three-dimensional visualization of Simba’s head in his mind.

Encased within the tough skull lay the withered brain, and all the internal organs—cerebrum, cerebellum, brainstem—were clearly revealed to Grim. Within the shriveled brain matter, a translucent yellow crystal the size of a fingertip appeared, shining in his perception.

As expected, Simba, as the Hag leader with mastery over elemental abilities, had developed a special magical core at the heart of its being. For Simba, the heart, brain, throat, and abdomen were no longer vital organs; as long as the magical core and soul consciousness remained, any physical damage could be repaired.

Without hesitation, Grim plunged a sharp scalpel into the crown of Simba’s skull. As the bone cracked, foul purple-black blood spurted out, staining Grim’s coat, though he paid it no mind. He deftly shifted the scalpel’s angle and direction, using a hammer and chisel with care to break apart Simba’s skull.

Under the bright glow from a dozen large tallow candles, Grim stood sweating before the table, the sound of hammering and chiseling echoing as he slowly cracked open Simba’s head.

Finally, in the flickering candlelight, Grim pinched a translucent yellow crystal with a faint earthy scent, holding it up to the light for careful inspection.

At that moment, the chip’s prompt sounded in his mind.

“Beep. High-energy magical core detected—type: earth-element creature...”

A genuine smile broke across Grim’s blood-stained face.

He now had the core to make an Earth Construct!