‘Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, But we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.’ – Aristotle

“Six months, Grim! Six fucking months of rabbit or vegetable stew! Not a cheeseburger, pizza, or mac and cheese in sight, and now we get to face fall harvest and winter is a small log cabin together. This just sounds like the absolute best time for me to make my power golem and then hand it off to Milly. I should have left and went to the nearest dungeon town! At least that way, I could have gone to an Artificer’s workshop, bought parts and built a combat golem to dive deeper in the dungeon.” Zach was placing around his log cabin that Milly and Andy had summoned after he had learned the Spell: Mend.

The log cabin wasn’t much bigger than 5’x 10’ room with a small stone fireplace set in the side of it. At least now he had a small chest, table with a chair, and a bed. He had used his magic around the village to help barter for these small goods. Scratching his head, Zach wished that this village had a bath house, because soon the river would be too cold for scrub downs. Grim on the other hand sat on Zach’s bed in his full form, looking at Zach wear a valley in the dirt floor.

“First off, most of the villagers have sod huts. So the log cabin you have is pretty nice, and after tonight’s summoning, we will be able to start inscribing wards into the walls to make sure we stay warm and comfortable. Next have you forgotten everything that Milly and Andy has done for us! Here take a look at your Character Screen!” Grim said with a wave of his hand.

Character ScreenTrue Name:Zachary Alan LeeRace:HumanLevel:4Exp till Next Level:76/800HP*:145Mana:223BodySoulSTR*:17INT:19DEX*:23WIS:22CON*:13CHA:12END:25LUCK:11*If creatures are smaller or larger then you stats may change depending on size during combat.Skills Appraisal Lv. 5 (13%), Arcane Inscription Lv. 7 (12%), Awareness Lv. 10 (22%), Camp Creation Lv.15 (15%), Core Creation Lv. 15 (68%), Core Creation Subskill Core Expansion Lv. 4 (16%), Foraging Lv. 2 (89%), Golem Creation Lv. 10 (53%), Golem Creation Subskill Imprint Skill Lv. 3 (12%), Light Armor Lv. 14 (35%), Mana Manipulation Lv. 24 (76%), Mana Reinforcement Lv. 16 (42%), Mana Theory Lv. 7 (14%),Observe Lv. 19 (83%), Sneak Lv. 5 (13%), Spear Lv. 23 (92%), Spell Imbuement Lv. 2 (10%), Running Lv. 28 (32%), Ward Construction Lv. 22 (39%) Spells Clear Air (5% Mastery), Clear Water (24% Mastery), Grow (45% Mastery),Light (35% Mastery), Mend (12% Mastery), Shape Stone (19% Mastery), Spark (35% Mastery), Summoning Grimoire (6% Mastery)EnhancementSilent Shadow

Zach dismissed the Character Screen, there were times when he needed to know how impressive he was, but now wasn’t the time. “So what? Just because Milly transferred a bunch of her Kotan Trials to me and I have been able to unlock a few doesn’t me a thing.”

Grim stood up and walked over to Zach, forcing Zach to stop and look down at him. “Listen, I get it. You have been eating a flavorless stew for half a year. Additionally, all you have been doing is training and helping out farmers in small ways. You aren’t rich, you don’t have an OP spell or skill, and you don’t have a harem of girls… but do you know what you have got? Courtney comes here to bring you that flavorless stew and has actually become a friend and perhaps something more. Milly has attuned you to all the elements and you have achieve the first level of cultivation in Life, Dark, Earth, and Fire. She had helped you increase your wisdom and intelligence with training, and has given you a place to stay. You are about to go out to your summoning stone and create a never before known type of Golem.”

“So how about you take a deep breath, realize that this tension is coming from a fear of failure and that you are getting worried about Courtney.” Grim said.

Zach grunted in surprised, “Cour..tney! I have no idea what you are taking about!”

Grim shook his head. “Sure… your right she’s just a friend and that even though she will reach her majority in a month and her family is asking for livestock for her dowry, you have no interest in any of it. So then let’s address the other issue you are afraid of failure and the unknown.”

Zach was about to tell to go fuck himself, and he thought about it. “Shit your right.” Zach said in a soft voice.

“OHHHHHH, I am right you say? It’s almost like we share a mystic connection and that I can read your inner feelings and thoughts...” Grim left what he said about Courtney unsaid. “So we have studied with Sentos and come up with the diagram for the summoning. We have written the contract and practiced our skills. We have created the core and imprinted the subskill Core Expansion. We have even created a a pedestal for eight cores of different mana types to fuel the City core… what did you call it again? A Pylin?”

Zach laughed, “It’s a Pylon.” What could he say he was a fan of Blizzard company and its products. Granted, he also knew that a Pylon was one of those large power line towers. Besides he didn’t think Telsa would complain, at least he hadn’t named the damn thing after himself. Zach let out a sigh, “Let’s do this, Grim!”

Zach went out of the cabin and walked around to the summoning stone. It took weeks for Sentos, Grim and himself to work out the pattern that was on the stone. Zach traced the large circle with three other circles set on the outside edges. The middle circle was called the Crucible of Mana. The runes about the circle were written to combine all the elemental forces and form the Golem. Sentos had told him normally there were four circle placed at the cardinal points, each one held a specific item of the golem. The chief point was supposed to hold the elemental that came through from their plane. Going clockwise, the mana core, contract, and golem’s body were placed in each circle. As the Artificer chanted the elements would combine and pull stats and energy into the golem.

However, they had to rework the entire diagram and runes to allow the body and mana core to be one and the same. Zach took out the mana core that he had imprinted the skill Core Expansion into the appropriate circle. Zach looked at the colorless gem that was now the size of a sparrow’s egg. Letting it settle for a moment, Zach thought about how the original mana core held nothing more than 80 mana. Then each day after he was able to expand the core by a few mana points per day. Now the core was able to hold 134 mana and was probably one of his most precious possessions. Looking at the double rune line circle, Zach went over to the next circle and said, “Grim, place the contract please.”

A blue window appeared with writing in English and something else. Sentos had described the language of the plane of Earth as the written word was made in the grains and breaks of stone. The contract offered protection and a place to cultivate for the elemental, while the city core would receive half of the creatures mana that could be regenerated. The deal was a fair offering for those elementals that were weak and scared of the ancient ones that roam their plane.

Zach went over to the last circle and placed his hands around the last stone making sure not to cover the lettering. Closing his eyes, Zach went to his mana pool. His island had transformed in the six months of practice. Though it had grown bigger in size as a natural consequence of him expanding his mana there were other changes as well. Tropical plants now grew in between hard rocks and fertile dirt. Light came from almost small blacken lava pools that cracked briefly and unleashed heat in spurts. Any plants that got close would often wilt and catch on fire. While the hard rocks seemed to cast ghostly moving shadows about the ground.

Looking around the island, Zach saw the large cave that now appeared next to one of the pools. Walking over to the cave, Zach saw the runes that he had cut into the summoning circle. This was the mystical representation of gate between the Plane of Earth and the world. Zach began to summon all the earth mana that was below him. The feeling of stinking deep into the earth came with a since that Zach’s body gained a steeled sense. Milly had explained to Zach that when cultivating Earth the sense of strength also came a sense of patience, and one had to be careful of those gifts for some cultivators had waited so long their bodies died of dehydration.

Zach began bringing up the earth mana up his body and thrusted it towards the gate. Rock, dirt, and sand began filling in the gate. Slowly the mess of earth, began to turn and twist. Zach focused on the words that Grim and he had gone over time and time again. “I bespeak the earth and those that dwell in it. I give back the mana that fills me to bring forth a creature willing to bargain. I seek a pact with them to in good faith and openness.”

The mess of earth kept turning, but with each rotation stones seemed to vanish along with the dirt. White and black sand seem to churn as a small blob of sand spilled out of the portal. It was no bigger than a golf ball and every once and a while its sides would spill over losing its shape. Zach felt the small sand elemental before him, its voice was like a squeak of emotion. Zach could feel its fear, it was a tiny elemental that had to hide in the crumbling stones between the giant pressure of greater elementals. Zach answered its fear with a calm sense of power allowing it to share a portion of his mind and body. The elemental felt slightly stronger as single thought became real in Zach mana pool. “Deal?” the sand elemental asked.

Zach focused on the agreement that Grim and Sentos had come up with, and as he did so the writing appeared on the swirling earth. The sand elemental moved back and forth looking at the agreement. Zach felt confusion for a moment and then a strong sense of being pleased came to him. Images of no longer hiding in sandy crevices came to Zach, along with the hope of one day becoming a large sand stone creature that could shift and scrap or crush its completion.

A blue screen appeared in front of Zach once the tiny sand elemental had given him the sense of being pleased.

Congratulations you have reached an accord with a Tiny Sand Elemental! The Tiny Sand Elemental has a mana pool of 7 and will be placed in a mana core of 134. It will continue to grow until its mana pool has reached 134… Skill Core Expansion has been imprinted on Mana Core. The golem will know how to expand its core and continue to grow. As per the agreement, the Tiny Sand Elemental will supply mana to the City Core at a rate of 3 mana per hour. As the elemental grows so will mana transferred. Should the Mana Core be destroyed the contract will be broken and the elemental will be given a total of 24 attributes from yourself. As part of your Artificier Class you receive one free golem creation. Would you like to use it at this time? If not 24 attributes will be removed from you to complete the ritual. YesNo

Damn, Zach thought, 24 attributes removed for a golem, and additional 24 if the core breaks. Zach went ahead and pressed ‘Yes’, and felt something drain out of him. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again he was back in the physical world. Before him on the stone summoning circle sat a brown glowing sparrow egg. Zach smiled at his first golem and slowly lifted it up in his hands.

Zach gently walked towards middle of the village and saw that everyone had turned out to see me place the villages first golem. The crowd parted before Zach showing him the giant stone octagon dais they had built. Milly had summoned a large stone pedestal that she had set the City Core on. At the point of each corner a smaller stone pedestal with Arcane Inscriptions guiding the mana to the City Core. In between the stone pedestals were stone chairs that the leaders of the village could sit at and interact with the Core.

Zach walked around the stone dais until he saw the Earth pedestal. With great care Zach placed the golem down on the pedestal. Cracking his fingers Zach summoned the spell of Stone Shaping. Zach’s mind focused on the Kotan Pattern, while his mouth and hands began to form mystical words and gestures. As he completed the first iteration of the words, the feeling of the stone around the golem came. Zach moved the stone around the egg making sure to cage it in a claw like grasp. Power began to glow down the Runes etched in the pedestal and came up to the City Core. As the last rune lit up a blue screen appeared to Zach.

THE WORLD SPINS ANEW! Know this with your creation of the First Mana Pylon the Gods and Goddesses have convened to review your creation. The Gods and Goddesses of Order have approved… The Gods and Goddesses of Discord have approved… The Gods and Goddesses of Good have approved… The Gods and Goddesses of Evil have approved… As all fractions have approved the Gods and Goddesses request that you make your plans public to all city cores. Would you like to make plans public?YesNo