Chapter 30

"Hey Cary, I brought something for yo—" Entering Cary's cabin, I was met by the sight of nearly a dozen faceless mannequins standing around as Cary moved from one to another, inspecting each and checking things off on her clipboard.

[Monkey (Modified Crystal Shard): Lv 5]

That was the standard status of each mannequin, with the only differences being the names, which ranged from prey animals like gazelles to predators like tigers.

"Oh, Duke, welcome! What brings you here?" Noticing my presence at the door, Cary dropped what she was doing and came to speak to me, seeming happy to greet me.

"I've got something new for you to study. Also, when did you find the time to modify the rest of the crystal shards?" I asked, curious about her progress. Cary wasted no time in explaining that after modifying the first three, it became trivially easy to modify the remaining 22—though half of them still needed bodies.

"That's great news, Cary! With this, we should be able to clear missions more effectively!" I was amazed at how the old woman had managed to create what was easily the guild's strongest weapon. If each of the golems could be equipped with rare or even uncommon gear, we could have an army at levels 20–35. Even more impressive, Cary mentioned that with further study, she could start manufacturing crystal shards in larger numbers.

"Calm down," Cary chuckled. "It's mainly thanks to my new skill I got after we passed level 10, [Hands of the Artificer]. It basically improves everything about my crafting—steadier hands, keener observation. If it weren't for that, I'd still be working on the fourth one." Hearing Cary's humble explanation, I nodded and handed her the Desert Glass.

"Hmm," she hummed, taking the item. I watched as she examined the Desert Glass and placed it on her workbench, inspecting it closely with a variety of handheld tools. After a few minutes, she exclaimed, "Aha!" as if she'd discovered something.

"This is interesting. It contains the ability for psammokinesis, along with minor forms of kinesis like wind. But it also has a structure similar to that of a human brain." Hearing Cary's words, I was amazed at how much she could discern from a simple inspection.

"This is fascinating," she continued. "Sadly, I can't treat it like the previous shards. Unlike them, this gem still contains a mind, though it seems... muddled."

Hearing Cary's observations, I wasted no time confirming her findings and asked, "You're right. This gem is a corrupted version of a normal gem. It has the ability to manipulate sand to build things, and it's also a corrupted version of the crystal gems. But more importantly, is there a way to 'unmuddle' the Desert Glass?"

Cary's fascination grew as she asked me a few more questions over the next half hour, though I made sure to avoid certain details to prevent either of us from getting struck by lightning, like last time.

"Anyway, later, Cary. Please take good care of the Desert Glass." Waving goodbye, I left her cabin/workshop and headed toward the training grounds. I'd been slacking on my own training lately, and my proficiency was barely higher than Richie's at this point.

"Hey, I wanted to speak to you." Before I could get far, Melinda appeared, cutting me off. Her usual serious expression was intact, and her clothes were a bit messy, showing she had been training not long ago and was probably on her way to her cabin to shower and rest.

"What's up?" I asked, meeting the duelist's gaze. I noticed a piece of paper clenched tightly in her hand as she came within arm's reach.

"I wanted to discuss the way the guild is being run and propose some improvements." Hearing her words, I didn't shoot her down immediately. Despite our rocky first meeting, I still considered everyone's opinions important. I listened closely, waiting for her proposal.

"I suggest you start paying everyone and begin organizing the guild into parties." Nodding, I let her continue. Her voice grew more compelling as she switched to a businesslike tone, reminiscent of how she acted when she was first summoned.

"I've spoken to most of the people in the guild, and about four of them were supporting someone before their death. Luckily, no one's too worried, as their families have other support systems, but paying the guild members a small fee—100, or even 50 gold—would do wonders for morale. They would have something to send home." Taking a breath, Melinda handed me the papers she had been holding. They contained possible party configurations, and the one labeled "most optimal" had Lily, Noah, and Olivia taking leadership roles. Honestly, I liked it, so I stored it in my pocket for later.

"Thanks, Melinda. I forgot to ask, but what did you do before you were summoned?" My question seemed to surprise her as she was preparing to leave after seeing me look over the paper.

"I was an assistant for the CEO of a pharmaceutical company," she answered plainly. Given her professional demeanor and the expensive clothes she was wearing when first summoned, it made sense. With that, I quickly moved on, heading off to train with Reinhardt, whose token I had gotten back from Richie.

"Thought you got scared for a second. Glad to see you're still ready to take a beating." Hearing Reinhardt's mocking tone, I didn't do much but summon my double-headed axe, placing delayed strikes in the air, trying to disguise it as me loosening up. I decided to ask a question instead.

"Do I have the face of a coward?" My question was met with Reinhardt's playful tone as he hefted his heavy blade onto his shoulder, charging it with increasing amounts of gravity mana, causing it to visibly glow with purple energy.

"A coward's face is their back, and since I don't see yours, I guess you're not one!" Reinhardt's words made us both burst into raucous laughter. But soon, we got serious, our focus becoming razor-sharp as we locked eyes, ready for the fight.

Like that, my training began, only stopping hours later when I noticed Owen and Jerome lurking in the shadows of the tree line, their gazes filled with amazement. I approached, wiping the sweat from my face as I greeted them.

"Owen and Jerome, right? What brings you here?" I asked, observing the two. Jerome had pistols holstered at his waist, while Owen had a sword hanging at his side and a metal round shield strapped to his back—both crafted by Samuel.

"We were just wandering around when we heard you training. It's nice to meet you, Guildmaster," Jerome spoke first, his voice polite, though his eyes were focused on Reinhardt, who stood silently in the clearing where we had been battling. Jerome's eyes seemed to glow with admiration.

"Glad to meet you both. Since you're here, how about you show me your skills?" My sudden request surprised them, but they quickly nodded, excited. Owen, a slightly overweight young man, stepped forward, gripping his sword and shield.

"Um, sure. Can we fight together though?" Nodding in agreement to their request, I found a comfortable spot nearby and observed the two newbies facing off against Reinhardt, who seemed to be contemplating how much strength to use.

"START!" I called, signaling the beginning of the duel. Owen charged forward, holding his shield high to cover most of his upper body, his sword ready as he approached Reinhardt. The undead knight prepared to strike, raising his blade, but was interrupted as two beams of blue light shot from behind Owen. Jerome's precise shots forced Reinhardt to block, giving Owen a chance to close in. He used his shield to bash against Reinhardt, attempting to knock him off balance.

"OW!" Unfortunately for Owen, Reinhardt was a skilled knight, and with little effort, he delivered a side kick to the young swordsman's calf, causing him to lose momentum. Taking advantage of this, Reinhardt pushed Owen away and attempted an overhead swing with his blade. But before he could land the strike, another attack came from Jerome. This time, the bullets seemed to contain some form of wind energy, whistling forward faster than a blur.

SCRRRRAAAAAAPPPPPPEEEE

Reinhardt reacted swiftly, raising his gauntleted hand in the path of the two wind bullets, blocking them as they scraped against his armor before fizzling out. Owen didn't waste this opening and swung his sword toward Reinhardt's exposed side.

"Huh?" Owen was confused. Instead of the sound of metal clashing, his sword hit nothing—Reinhardt had disappeared. Just as Owen was about to look around, he heard Jerome fire more shots, this time hitting something behind him. Spinning quickly, Owen raised his shield just in time to block a powerful attack from Reinhardt, but the impact sent him skidding backward, his arms going numb from the force.

"Good block," Reinhardt complimented, once again blocking the wind bullets flying toward him, this time using the flat side of his blade.

"Nice use of openings, but you made yourself too much of a target," Reinhardt said. Purple energy pulsed from his raised hand as he increased the gravity around Jerome, causing the young man's afro to flatten almost immediately as he collapsed to the floor, unable to move.

"You could've gone a bit easier," I said, standing up and signaling the end of the fight. I helped both teens to their feet and waved them off as they left, promising to train with me tomorrow. The thought made me smile. After turning Reinhardt back into his token form, I headed to my cabin to review and seriously consider Melinda's proposals.

- - - - - - - - -

Anyways Golem army am I right Carys starting to scare me

also yes I did bump the number of shards but lets just use the excuse that Cary had separated the bigger pieces to make better sized pieces.