The Golem Mage

While Alec's recent achievements were the subject of discussion throughout the academy, not everyone was pleased by his return to the spotlight, after what he did in the Abyss Realm.

Biased seniors, who had previously dismissed Alec's survival in the Abyss as mere luck when he was first tossed in, were now scrambling to find fresh excuses.

Their reluctance to admit their own errors led them to claim that Alec's accomplishments were solely due to the help he received.

These individuals conveniently overlooked the fact that Alec had ventured into the Abyss even before reaching the Tier 3 realm and twice for that matter, proving them wrong once again.

Even if they were in Alec's shoes, being pursued by an army of second Dimension races with three Tier 4 mages as their protectors, they too would protest and would definitely not even make it out in one piece.

However, no amount of noise they made could overshadow Alec's growing fame.

As word of Alec's deeds spread throughout the school, he became famous beyond his wildest imagination.

Amidst this fame, Alec was still unaware as he had isolated himself, having just absorbed seven Nature Low Power Stones and achieved a breakthrough.

Sensing his breaking point diminishing, he hastened to wear the Arcane Lock Crown, enabling him to enter the (High) Tier 2 Mage Realm without emitting any noticeable Mana Fluctuation, as he didn't want his siblings to find out he had broken through that fast.

The accelerated pace of Alec's cultivation can be attributed to the assistance of the system, which facilitated faster absorption of power stones.

Unlike others mages who had to spend hours gradually drawing energy from the stones to fortify their cultivation and nourish their innate spells, Alec experienced a different journey.

However if other mages found a way to tried his method it came with limitations, as absorbing all the energy at once could potentially still impact the body, damaging the foundation in a long term as they would incur hidden injuries, that are hard to treat.

Alec could not fully grasp why his circumstances differed from others or why the system allowed his body to absorb such vast amounts of energy.

At times, he attributed it to his exceptionally strong soul, a result of absorbing the memories and residual soul of the previous Alec.

In fact, Alec felt that the awakening of his mental energy was somehow connected to his strong soul power though the Arcane Crown, played a big part of it, but he still felt without the double soul he might never have gotten the increase in mental stats.

Because if the double soul was not an element involved that would mean someone else would have found the method, mages were conjurers of magic and where not that stupid.

And Tier 6 mages at the peak who were struggling to break through to the next realm knew about this method, they would be willing to risk their lives everyday without Mana to wear it , hoping for a chance to step into the High Rank Mage Realm.

"Hmm, since I still have power stones left, I should strive to reach the peak of Tier 2," Alec thought as he continued absorbing the power stones.

After all, he had to hide in his quarters for a full twenty-four hours to prevent Agnes from finding out that he had worn the Arcane Crown again, so until he got rid of the crown in the next 24 hours he had to stay hidden indoors .

Elsewhere, a group of nine mages sat at a round table, their leader visibly angry as he threw things around.

"Boss, what are we going to do now?, Even Lucas has started associating with them, and there are rumours that he entered closed-door cultivation too," one of the mages said.

"A new senior just came out of the Abyss and reported that Alec and his group have amassed a fortune that could last them quite a while."

" They were said to be carrying a huge sack filled with power stones, and that doesn't even account for what they might have stashed inside their space rings," another mage added.

"If things continue like this, your name might be completely forgotten, and only Alec's name will be talked about in the academy,"

Another mage commented before the leader, Zero Pale, who swung his hand in anger, conjuring a huge ice sword and unleashing a gale of icy snow wind that froze everything in its path.

"Those bastards are no match for me. I'll gather a squad and dash into the Abyss Realm as well, leading a path of slaughter that will make all the students soon forget the name of Alec and his clansmen,"

Pale declared. However, as he finished speaking, he could sense hesitation and fear on the faces of those around him, almost as if he could smell it.

And the ones who had been pushing him the most to go against Alec, inflating his ego, were also the first ones to run when it got real.

"I see! No problem. It's not compulsory for you to come with me to the Abyss Realm, We are only family friends. Where is Kate?"

Pale finally asked, looking around and realizing that the one person who had always kept it real with him didn't even show up for the meeting he had organized.

"She's been training hard after hearing about the Gordon's achievements, She claims she won't be outdone by anyone in their group, even if she lost to Alec," another mage replied.

Pale suddenly realized that while he had been lounging around with his so-called group, acting like the chosen young masters of the heavens,

There were others who had been working hard to enter the next realm, At first, he thought his only rival would be Lucas Blade, who also came from an ancient clan.

But now, it seemed Lucas had buddied up with the Gordon clan, who looked down on him.

This only confirmed Pale's belief that he couldn't trust those honest, battle-loving Blades, he was even more wary of the cunning blades clan member.

What frustrated him the most was that Lucas seems to be on the verge of another breakthrough.

Both he and Lucas had entered the peak Tier 3 Mage Realm together, but they hadn't had the chance to fully test their powers.

If Lucas continued to make progress while he was slacking off, things would get truly difficult.

And If Lucas defeated him, Pale would lose all face in the academy.

Although his clan had no power in the academy, they would surely be able to hear news of what was happening, That much was certain as all ancient clan had informant in lots of places.

--

Pale made his way into Kate's house.

They served under the same master, so they lived in the same mountain peak.

As he reached the courtyard, he could already hear the sound of heavy punches landing on a wooden Puppet.

As Pale entered Kate's training courtyard, he saw her in tight-fitting training clothes as she relentlessly attacked the wooden puppets, overpowering their feeble attempts to keep up with her raging punches.

Even Pale was surprised by her barbaric way of training. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire

He could only imagine the amount of pain she must have been enduring as she struck the wooden puppet with her bare hands, without her gauntlets.

Her fleshly hands smashing into the wood showcased her determination.

She noticed Pale's arrival but chose to ignore him, continuing her training as beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks.

"I have a proposition for you," Pale finally said, realizing that she had no intention of acknowledging his presence.