Guardian of the Mine

Of course he confirmed it. He could finally open his own private space. He had always thought he did not have one, but it turned out it only unlocked at level 10. Now he could finally be considered a qualified professional.

After he confirmed it, he felt white light shining down over him. Like every time he leveled up, it felt incredibly comfortable. In the space within his consciousness where the Book of the Dead was kept, something shaped like a grid appeared. With a light tap, it opened. Sixty-four small compartments, eight across and eight down, appeared before him. So this was his storage space.

Unable to wait, he took out the Mine Contract and placed it inside. Sure enough, it rested securely within the space. With a thought, he took it back out. It was unbelievably convenient. "Hehe, not bad. I can finally live decently. I won't have to worry about starving or dying of thirst in the wilderness anymore." Li Shaolin immediately remembered his days by Stone Stele Lake and nearly burst into tears.

After his excitement faded, he suddenly remembered the enormous golden-named golem. How had this thing come into being? And weren't golems only supposed to be limited to one? What was going on? Thinking carefully, he had summoned a total of three golems. The first had been smashed apart by Hogger, the second had gotten lost, and the third was right beside him. It looked like this was the lost golem, and it had apparently returned to the mine afterward. But how had it reached level 17?

Wait. Created from the blood and souls of all things... Could that mean the tens of thousands of Kobolds in the mine? Those Kobolds had all been slaughtered at once when that Death Knight summoned the Ghoul Legion. Blood had flowed everywhere, and corpses had carpeted the ground. Later, he remembered adventurers mentioning at the inn that not a single corpse had remained. Could they have been absorbed by the golem? And after absorbing the vital essence and blood of over ten thousand creatures, had it undergone a mutation?

With that suspicion in mind, he gave the golden golem a command to walk. Yet it remained completely motionless. Then a faint thought reached his mind: Master! It seemed this golem could no longer fully accept his control—or perhaps it could no longer form a mental connection with him. Could it have developed thoughts of its own? Still, it was fine. At least it still recognized him as its master and had no intention of rebelling. Right, he should ask that thing in his consciousness. It seemed able to answer questions. Although he had no idea how it existed in his mind, it did not seem capable of emotion or comprehension. It was like a machine. Could it be his computer? Or perhaps Buddha had arranged for it to answer his questions? He entertained the malicious thought.

"Hey, are you there? Sorry for the trouble, but I have a question!" Li Shaolin shouted in his mind. He shouted twice, but no one responded. Strange! Whatever, he would just ask directly. "Do you know where this golem came from? How did it evolve into gold? Can a golem betray me?" When he reached the third question, that deep voice sounded. "Your summoned creatures can never attack you, betray you, or disobey your commands."

"Hey, hey," he said quickly when he finally got a response. "Then do you know why he won't obey my commands?" But it was like a stone sinking into the sea. No matter how he called out, there was no further reply.

"Could that guy only answer certain fixed questions?" Li Shaolin felt miserable, but at least he had confirmed that the golem could not rebel, which put him at ease. Perhaps he could not command it because his level was too low or something. Maybe the problem would be solved after he leveled up. Sigh, this guy's combat power looked terrifying, but he could not store him in the Book of the Dead. What a waste.

Then an idea struck him. Why not have this guy guard the mine? He beckoned to the Golden Golem, signaling for it to come over. Sure enough, it could understand his gestures. The mud beneath its feet squirmed, and without making the slightest sound, it arrived at his side. He pointed at the ground, telling it to lower itself. The golem seemed to misunderstand him. Its body actually softened and collapsed into a puddle of mud, which spilled across the floor and merged with the earth in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace behind.

"I didn't expect this guy to have a move like that!" Li Shaolin was overjoyed. If he could control it, this would be an incredible trick for ambushes and killing people. It was awesome. He tried calling out to the ground, and sure enough, the golem slowly emerged again. It could actually understand his words.

After trying to communicate for quite a while, he finally figured it out. This golem could only understand simple commands. It could not form a mental connection with him, much less speak or communicate proactively. Its only thought was "Master!" Its intelligence was roughly that of a three-year-old child. What he did not know was that the golem had gained even this tiny bit of intelligence because it had absorbed the blood essence of several professionals who had been killed in the mine. That was how it gained a trace of wisdom. As for how the golem had mutated, surpassed the limits of summoning, and come to exist independently, that involved a tremendous secret. How could it be as simple as absorbing the blood essence of all things?

Since he could not take it with him anyway, why not let it guard the mine? First, having one of his own here would put his mind at ease. Second, it would serve as a warning to the Stonefield Family and keep them from trying anything foolish. Once he made up his mind, he had the golem remain here while he went out to speak with Homor.

He put away the golem and the Skeleton Warrior, then followed the path out. By the time he reached the mine entrance, it was already noon without him realizing it. The miners were eating lunch. Groups of people sat on the ground, holding dark bread and drinking pumpkin soup as they ate, discussing things from time to time. The big fellow Homor was eating the same thing, without the slightest air of a supervisor. When he saw Li Shaolin come out, he gave a simple-minded grin and hurried over. "It's lunchtime. Would you like something to eat? There's better white bread over there. Old Homor is used to this stuff, hehe." He raised the dark bread in his mouth, looking a little embarrassed.

"Sure. Just get me two loaves of bread. I'll take you into the mine to meet someone," Li Shaolin said.

Homor smiled and turned into a nearby wooden hut. Seeing how politely their supervisor treated him, the workers assumed Li Shaolin was some high-ranking member of the family. They all moved aside, afraid of offending him. Of course, Li Shaolin had never even been a minor official, so he naturally had none of that arrogant bearing. Homor soon came back out carrying two fragrant loaves of white bread and a small flask of water. "So, shall we go now?" he asked with a chuckle. It seemed this fellow was impatient too.

Li Shaolin took the bread and began chewing as he led Homor into the mine. Along the way, the seated miners greeted Homor one after another. He seemed fairly popular. "Lord Li, do you have another servant stationed here? Why is he inside the mine? You should have him come out and eat with us." Homor was not surprised that someone else was present. Since their two families were working together, it was only natural for the other side to send someone over. But there was no point in entering the mine right away, was there? Work had not even begun inside yet.

Li Shaolin smiled without explaining. "You'll understand once you go in."

The two soon arrived at the place where the Golden Golem had been, but it had already dispersed into the earth. There was no telling where it had gone. Li Shaolin called into the mine twice, and echoes immediately spread through the tunnels. Homor was puzzled. What was his lord doing? There was not even a bird in this place. Why was he shouting for no reason?

Just as Homor was wondering, the earth on the ground slowly began to gather, as if drawn together by some force. In the blink of an eye, it formed into a giant with green skin over three meters tall, appearing before them. Its sharply defined muscles were filled with explosive power. Even a casual swing of its arm probably possessed unimaginable destructive force. Homor felt his vision go dark. He hurriedly tugged Li Shaolin's clothing and shouted, "Watch out!" At the same time, he stepped in front of him.

"Uh, you don't need to worry. This is the person I brought you here to meet." Li Shaolin saw that Homor had misunderstood, but he admired the man's courage. Homor had actually dared to face the Golden Golem directly, so he quickly explained.

"Him? A monster?" Homor gaped in shock, completely confused.

"You know I'm a mage, right? A friend helped me summon this earth elemental servant using the power of the earth. It isn't a monster," Li Shaolin said.

"Hehe, Old Homor doesn't understand that profound stuff. If you say so, then it is so. It won't be dangerous, right?" Although the Green Earth Giant merely stood there quietly after appearing, Homor was still worried.

"Yes, this earth elemental can understand human speech, but it cannot speak. I want it to help you watch over this mine. What do you think?" Li Shaolin asked.

"Helping is no problem, but will it listen to me? And wouldn't it be bad if the workers saw it?"

Li Shaolin thought for a moment. "I can have it listen to you, but it cannot leave this mine. Normally, it will turn into flowing mud and guard the mine, so the workers will not notice it. But you must promise not to tell anyone else, except your family head, of course." It would be fine to fool ordinary people with the golem, but if some high-level mage or similar person noticed a flaw, it would be troublesome. Of course, unlike the Skeleton Warrior, this thing was formed from pure earth power, so there should not be much of a problem.

Homor nodded. "Then that's fine. This mine is enormous. With it guarding the place, I can save myself a lot of worry. Don't worry, your words are the family head's words. I won't tell a single person."

After discussing things for a while longer, Li Shaolin called the Golden Golem over and had it familiarize itself with Homor. At the same time, he gestured for it to obey Homor's words. As expected of something condensed from the essence of all things, it quickly understood what he meant without requiring much effort.

After ordering the golem to disperse into mud and guard the interior, the two quickly left the mine. Outside, the workers had already resumed work. Just then, Homor tugged at Li Shaolin's sleeve and said, "There's something I want to tell you about. It concerns the Makrolen Family."