A month went by, and the hideout made insane progress.
It now had eight floors with all kinds of facilities. My golem teams had grown to ten, and we'd found a second set of dungeons, this time orc-themed. My golems averaged around level 70. Martimer was the highest, at 85. I was at level 71, and the main reason I'd leveled so fast was that I got experience from every single golem I had.
In other amazing news, Martimer, Torva and I all upgraded our classes to epic.
That one deserves the full story.
It happened while I was grinding out my monster legion.
I'd made horned rabbits by the dozen at that point. Small ones, about the size of a house cat, with a single spiraled horn. I'd send them out in batches, evenly distributed among the golem teams, and they did exactly what I'd imagined: looked adorable right up until something tried to eat them.
One evening I was on rabbit number forty-something and got sloppy. I measured the frame wrong and doubled it. Then I doubled it again, because I'd copied the wrong number from my notes. By the time I noticed, I had the skeleton of a rabbit the size of a dire wolf on my table.
I should have started over. It was late, the materials weren't cheap, and the frame was clearly a mistake.
Instead I sat there and looked at it. It was a ridiculous thing. A rabbit that size wouldn't be cute, it would be terrifying. Its ears alone were as long as my arm. And for some reason I couldn't stop thinking that if something that big still decided to be gentle, it would be the most loyal thing in the world.
So I finished it properly. I gave it a thick mane around the neck and shoulders, and long, heavy back legs for leaping. I spent most of the night on the fur alone, carving thousands of fine grooves into the metal so it would catch light like real fur.
When I set the ego, I thought about Torva. About how she works for days without stopping, and how someone ought to be standing next to her while she does it, watching her back.
When its rarity was decided, the rabbit's skin flushed from gray to a deep crimson red, and its eyes went pitch black.
[An epic-rated growth-type golem with a growth-type class has been produced. All stats rise by +10, and reputation throughout the continent permanently rises by +50.]
[Growth golems with classes created: 5/5]
[Something special has happened. The class 'Golem Maker' has been upgraded to Epic rating. Golems with classes can now grow up to Unique rating.]
[Requirement for the next rating: create 15 unique-rated golems, at least 6 of which must be growth types.]
The rabbit hopped once, very carefully, off the table. The floor still shook. Then it put its huge head on my knee and closed its eyes.
I named it Crimson, for obvious reasons. I'd tell you whether Crimson is a he or a she, but I genuinely did not decide, and the rabbit wasn't telling.
Another great thing about Crimson and the dire wolves: they can serve as mounts. I assigned Crimson to guard Torva whenever it wasn't out hunting to level up, since every one of my named golems already had a rare dire wolf mount guarding them. The first time Torva rode Crimson to the dungeon, Crimson came back looking so proud of itself that I had to give it a second round of pets just to calm it down.
The bad news about the upgrade was the requirement for the next one. Fifteen unique-rated golems, and six of them growth types!
I hadn't made a single unique golem yet, and this damn class expects fifteen?! No matter. I just have to keep grinding until it happens. Full focus, full determination. At least my golems can still go one grade higher than me, by upgrading their class or themselves.
Martimer and Torva won't have that problem. They'll probably reach unique in their classes within the next few months at the earliest and by the end of the year at the latest. The reason is simple.
Martimer just has to keep absorbing more powerful monsters and making strong undead from her fallen enemies, and she progresses fast. Since she runs dungeons 24/7, it's only a matter of time.
Torva just has to keep watching Grid and improving her blacksmithing. I say 'just watch Grid' because of the notifications I keep getting whenever she learns something new from him.
[Your golem 'Torva' has received new enlightenment by watching the user 'Grid's' blacksmithing. She will grow faster the longer she observes superior techniques.]
Martimer also earned a title, 'Mad Hunter', for running dungeons for two weeks with barely any breaks besides head pats and the occasional chat with me. It grants her an extra 10% strength and vitality, so she's very hard to damage, let alone defeat.
It boggles my mind that Satisfy has such absurd titles, when the capsules from the different manufacturers all stop players after a certain amount of playtime. Maybe these are titles only NPCs can earn? I'm not sure.
I checked on Piaro throughout the month. Torva had built him a few more cameagle companions besides Duke, so my swordsman-type golems could watch him too. Oh, I should mention that I got the swordsman golem production method from a random player, after realizing I didn't have it.
The enlightenment they got from watching him was so absurd that all ten of my swordsman golems upgraded their class to rare without being growth types! They broke through just from watching him. From what I can tell, they'll probably become White Swordsmen soon. If they reach Great Swordsman and match Piaro's skill with the sword, they might break through to Sword Saint!
I shouldn't get my hopes up, though. I honestly don't expect any of them to get that far. Piaro is on the border of becoming one himself, and his skills are absurd. All I can do is hope one of the ten makes it. I'm fine with a bunch of Great Swordsmen.
The crazier change was Duke. He spent the most time with Piaro, and from what I could tell, he was the closest to him. Duke reached epic rank and became the highest-level golem I had, at a staggering level 150.
He also evolved into a new type of golem: the 'Skydraft Cameagle'.
The evolution gave him combat abilities on top of his usual observation. He's also incredibly fast, like a cheetah in the sky, or a car that tops out at 140 mph. He's great at clearing mobs whenever Piaro goes out to hunt for food, or 'so I don't dull my blade', as Piaro would say.
Still riding the learning train, all my basic-class golems, the assassins, archers, guardian knights, spear knights and so on, were learning from their counterpart in the Tzedakah guild. Tzedakah only has 17 members, but they're among the elite of the player base, and I don't have access to better players or NPCs to observe yet.
I lightened Torva's workload by making seven blacksmith golems for her to lead. They easily kept up with gear for every golem team.
I also set a policy. Any golem that achieves a huge breakthrough in its class, or brings a substantial change or reward to the golem community, gets a name, plus endless head pats at its leisure. In moderation, of course.
Examples would be upgrading to a unique class, or finding an important figure with a class I don't have a method for yet, or one my golems could observe to teach the rest.
The reason 'endless head pats' made the list is that even Satisfy apparently thinks I should be doing it. I got a title.
Title: [Father of Head Patting]
When head-patting a target, there is a 100% chance the target will feel extreme comfort and relaxation.When head-patting a target, there is a 40% chance of boosting the target's stats by 5% for six hours. Stacks up to four times.Targets will feel an instinctive need for more head pats, regardless of how many they've already received. The more sessions they receive, the more they'll want.There is a 5% chance per session of increasing the target's production rate by 10% if it has a production class, or its attack and defense by 15% if it has a combat class. Both can apply if both are applicable. Lasts 8 hours. Cooldown per target is one day.
Honestly, this title is absurd, and I have no idea how I got it.
Because of it, I give every golem head pats every day: female, male, androgynous or animal. Some get more than others, but I won't say who, just in case my golems can somehow read my thoughts. In the two and a half months since I got this class, my golems' leveling speed has become monstrous because of these buffs. Even with the time limits, every time I log on, I head-pat everyone before I get to work.
I've made a good amount of money too. My golems are high-maintenance, but they still bring in tons of gold. Outside of the occasional materials, furnishing the rapidly growing hideout, and trinkets for some of the golems, I keep everything that's left. I make around 2,000 gold a week, not counting dungeon equipment drops, which I have assassin golems auction off for extra gold, since my blacksmiths already make all the gear we need.
That reminds me. I need a jewel crafter, so I can give my golems accessories with options and better stats. Finding one could be a good motivator, too.
"Hey, everyone! Sorry to bother you while you're working hard, but I'm issuing the golem community's first quest! Whoever finds me a jewel crafter of intermediate rating or higher gets endless head pats for three days, redeemable any time!"
After I said that, my golems went into a frenzy. The competitive glint in their eyes was borderline insane, but I let it be, since they'd never hurt or hinder each other anyway.
Shade: "Those are your words, Master! Don't take them back when I return with good news!"
That was the most words I'd ever heard Shade say in a row. Her face didn't move once.
Torva: "I'm participating as well, and you had better let me sit on your lap, Praetor! I won't accept it otherwise!"
That was the moment every golem who wasn't Shade, Martimer or Joul realized they had never gotten to sit on my lap while I patted their heads.
If looks could kill, Torva would have been recalled to my inventory on the spot. She didn't shrink back. She stood there proudly, like it was some kind of achievement.
A few minutes later, everyone dispersed. They decided to search for a jewel crafter only around the times I rested, aka logged off.
Something sad I discovered: even though I was now the same rating as Euphemina, I still couldn't make a golem from her class because of the huge level gap. That would go away once my class reached unique, regardless of level, but I'm nowhere near that, since I still haven't made a single unique golem or a golem with a unique class.
Thinking about it more, I wondered whether my current golems upgrading to unique classes would count. Probably toward the growth-type part of the requirement, but not the rest.
When Agnus heard I'd upgraded to epic, he wanted to offer himself up, since he has an epic class. Then he learned about the level requirement and just told me to level faster.
He also told me about a target worth observing: Yura. He'd run into her recently, and apparently she works for the Yatan church. I sent a cameagle to Agnus so he could direct it to her. She'd be a good teacher for my mage golems, and I could make a production method from any classes she gets in the future.
Agnus would tell her it was a pet that chooses its own owner, so the cameagle could get close to her. I doubt Agnus would physically interact with her, though. He'll probably just message her and send the cameagle her way. Either way, I've got another target to observe.
Then Torva asked me to see what Grid was doing. At first I wondered why, since he was probably just making another low-rated item, or maybe an epic one. I almost choked when I saw the sword he'd forged.
[Sword of Self-Transcendence]
Rating: Legendary
Durability: 365/365 Attack Power: 356 Attack Speed: +6% Accuracy: +10%
Attack and Defense Rate: +10%
Deals an additional +200 damage with each attack.The skill 'Perfect State of Self-Transcendence' will be generated.
A sword made by a craftsman with great skill and potential, but lacking experience and reputation. He abandoned all thoughts and desires and concentrated only on his skills. The craftsman doesn't realize it himself, but he has completed a sword that has never existed in this world before.
User Restriction: Level 160 or higher. More than 950 strength. Advanced Sword Mastery Lv. 2 or higher.
Weight: 400
[Grid's POV]
A notification and a title reward popped up in front of Grid, surprising and bewildering him at the same time.
[A legendary-rated item has been produced, so all stats have permanently risen by +25, and reputation throughout the continent has risen by +1,000.]
[The title 'First Legendary Item Maker' has been acquired.]
In that moment, a small realization came to him: he wasn't the only one who could craft legendary items. But his current situation, and Khan, pushed the thought to the very back of his mind, to be looked into some other time.