Elias exhaled, stepping closer. He placed his palm against the core’s exposed surface, feeling the dormant power within. "Now, I bring it to life."
A pulse of mana slowly seeped into the core, refilling what it had spread along its circuits and sub-cores. “You see, all my previous golems were built for house chores.” He continued. “They had the best possible materials and the most refined cores I could manage at my level.”
Another pulse. This time, more controlled—his will stretching outward, gripping every particle of mana inside the core.
“But even with all that, they were built with simple commands and dexterity in mind—because I could afford to.”
His breath stilled, the mana stopping their flow along with it. Then, with another force of will, it started to condense.
Symbols began to take form.
They didn’t appear so much as they assembled, weaving themselves into place according to his commands. Faint at first—almost imperceptible—but then more defined.
The very language of the universe.
Runes that held the very fabric of reality in each stroke.
Albeit, their lower tier versions.
The golem’s body reacted. Its circuits, once dormant, began to hum—faint traces of light flickering within the carved pathways.
“Now… I can’t.” He paused, preparing himself. “For this, I need something that can fight.”
With one more wave of will, he guided each rune into their rightful places—locking them in each position.
“[Imbue].” He said, activating his skill.
A basic Intelligence rune snapped into place at the bottom part of the core—granting it a rudimentary level of understanding.
Next came the runes for mana Flow and Retention on the left and the right sections—for efficient mana circulation and regulation.
Lastly, for now at least, was the Binding rune at the top—binding the golem solely to his will.
The moment all four snapped into place, a ripple spread outward—resonating with reality. The once unmoving golem trembled.
Then—
|Ding! Golem core attempting to bind with you! Do you accept?|
|Yes/No|
“Yes.”
|Ding! Acknowledged!|
|Ding! Incomplete Golem detected! Do you wish to name it Primus Vindictus anyway?|
A smile crept up on his face. “Of course!”
|Ding! Primus Vindictus has been registered as a named construct!|
|Ding! Your Control stat has decreased by 3300 points!|
|11 550 => 8 250|
Elias barely acknowledged the notification, his focus locked on the connection settling into place.
It wasn’t just a bond—it was a claim. A weight that tethered the golem to him, sinking deep into his very being. Not heavy, but present.
The core pulsed in response. Once. Twice. A slow, methodical rhythm, like a heartbeat trying to find its pace. Each one making the golem tremble more and more until… it stopped.
“Why did it stop?” The Matriarch asked.
“Just give it—”
Before he could finish the sentence, the golem moved.
The stone groaned as Primus straightened, shoulders rolling, fingers twitching. The circuits running through its body pulsed in turn, mana flowing with greater ease—yet something was still missing.
“Its eyes are still dull.”
“Yes, yes.” He chuckled.
Without wasting any more time, he went on to apply a Coordination rune on all the limbs. While also adding Stability runes to the legs and the arms got the runes of Acceleration—leaving each of them with one slot left.
Then he turned his sights to the eyes.
Because Primus had an Intelligence rune—even if only basic—he could get away with not inscribing it with a Recognition rune. Instead, he opted for the usual Vision rune along with Synchronization.
‘This should make them more in sync.’
Then, it tried to test itself.
At first, its steps were slow, deliberate—each movement testing its own weight, its own balance. The stone beneath its feet trembled, but it did not falter. It was a process of understanding.
It turned its head, scanning the clearing. Its glowing eyes flickered, the circuits around them adjusting, adapting. It paused for a moment on the Matriarch and on some of the bigger chucklers, but continued on.
Each movement was smoother than the last. More refined.
Then, it took a step forward. One with more weight. More purpose.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
It took another step—this one faster, more fluid. The mana within its limbs pulsed in time with its motion, reacting instead of just flowing passively.
Elias exhaled. ‘Good.’
“Why does it feel…”
“Off? Yeah, it’s still not complete.”
With calm, measured steps, he slowly walked toward Primus.
He placed his hand against its broad chest, right over the core. Their connection flaring into existence, strengthening as he made physical contact.
With a surge of his will, he materialized one massive rune above the core.
“Harmony.”
The Harmony Rune floated above the core, glowing with raw, condensed mana. But he knew that wasn’t enough.
Not for this golem.
His fingers curled. “Break.”
The rune shattered, splitting apart into seven fragments. Each one still pulsing with mana, but now separate—yet somehow still connected.
Desippe took a step forward. “What are you doing?”
Elias didn’t answer. His focus was locked onto the fragments, on the delicate web of connections still lingering between them.
Reaching out to the first and largest fragment, he guided it to the center of main core. It was almost easy how it just slid into place. But when it did, the four other runes in the core immediately started spinning, revolving around the harmony rune.
Then, he placed each of the fragments in the sub-cores—every time, the next was easier than the last.
And the moment the last fragment slid into place, the entire golem shuddered.
The mana coursing through its body didn’t just flow—it surged.
He felt it through their bond—the circuits inside Primus’s frame, once working independently, now clicked into perfect synchronization.
Each Harmony Rune had adapted. Each had found its place. And now, they were—
|Ding! All Harmony runes fully integrated!|
|Ding! Golem efficiency increased by 34%!|
|Ding! Congratulations! Primus Vindictus is now complete!|
|Ding! [Material Shaping] (R) has leveled up!|
|37 => 38|
|Ding! [Focus] (R) has leveled up!|
|38 => 39|
|Ding! [Imbue] (UC) has leveled up!|
|1 => 3|
|Ding! [Mana Manipulation] (UC) has leveled up!|
|21 => 22|
|Ding! [Mana Sight] (UC) has leveled up!|
|22 => 23|
|Ding! [Mana Efficiency] (UC) has leveled up!|
|1 => 2|
|Ding! [Rune Optimization] (UC) has leveled up!|
|15 => 16|
|Ding! [Handicraft] (UC) has leveled up!|
|16 => 17|
Elias let out a slow breath, his grin lingering as he absorbed the weight of his progress.
It had been a while since he’d leveled up this much from a single project. The rush of notifications had been satisfying, but even more satisfying was the reality standing before him.
Primus Vindictus.
Not just functional. Not just powerful. Complete.
The golem stood perfectly still, but he could feel it through their bond. The subtle hum of mana, the synchronized pulsing of each core, the precise way its weight settled into the ground without waste.
He didn’t need a system notification to tell him.
This was a success.
Desippe stepped forward, arms crossed, her sharp gaze sweeping over Primus. “Alright,” she said. “You’ve been grinning like an idiot, but is it actually done?”
He exhaled, cracked his knuckles and gave them a shake for good measure. “Yeah. It’s done.”
TA TA TA
The sound of stone hitting stone echoed as they noticed Primus shaking its hands too.
“Desippe’s eyebrow twitched. “…did it just copy you?”
Elias blinked, lowering his hands. Primus stopped, its movements perfectly synchronized with his. No delay. No calculation. Just instinct.
“Guess so…” He said, tilting his head in thought. “It’s not supposed to be able to do that… yet.”
“Then what do you think happened?”
He paused.
“…”
“…”
“If I had to guess…”
“Yes?”
“Wait. I can actually just check its stats to find out.”
And when he did, he was shocked.
Primus Vindictus – [Rubble given purpose]
- Forged from the shattered remains of Haven 43, where walls once stood to protect but fell to ruin, Primus Vindictus rises—a sentinel of vengeance and rebirth-
Core Type: Pure Mundane Diamond
Efficiency: 134% (Optimized)
Synchronization: 100% (Harmony Achieved)
Bound to: [Elias Stone]
His breath hitched. ‘100% Synchronization?’
That wasn’t supposed to be possible—not with the level of his skills, not at his Tier, and definitely not with a mundane core.
Desippe stepped forward, arms crossed. “What does it say?”
He barely heard her. His mind raced, piecing together every rune, every circuit, every surge of mana he’d used. He had optimized it, sure—with his [Rune Optimization] skill passively affecting all his work—but not to this degree.
‘What the fuck happened?’
Elias scrolled down, looking for any discrepancies, any hint at what caused this anomaly. Then he saw it.
Resonant Trait Discovered: [Echo of Will]
A resonance born from a remnant will, loss, and purpose. Through creator and construct, understanding is forged beyond simple commands.
- Control efficiency increased.
- Intelligence increased
His fingers twitched.
He read the trait description again. Then once more.
Desippe leaned in, eyeing him carefully. “Well?”
He didn’t answer immediately. His thoughts raced, replaying every step of Primus’s creation, every rune, every command. He hadn’t built intelligence into it—at least, not beyond what the system allowed. He had only added the basic Intelligence rune.
Elias scanned the trait again, trying to understand how it happened.
Then it hit him.
‘Remnant will?’
He thought of the ruins—the ruins that he assumed were just destroyed because of the centuries of neglect.
‘Something must’ve happened there.’ He thought. ‘Remnant wills only appear when—’
His head snapped to Primus’s eyes when it clicked in his head.
“Primus.” He paused, thinking about what he wanted it to do. “Raise your arms to the side and imitate a windmill.”
The golem immediately obeyed without a second of delay—lifting its arms horizontally and stopped. It stared at him blankly, as if waiting for further commands.
Letting out a breath of relief, he relaxed somewhat. “Thankfully, it shouldn’t have inherited any memories from the will.”
“Hmmm?” Desippe voiced from beside him. “Why would it inherit memories?”
“…”
“And why would you test it in that way? What even is a windmill?”
“It’s just a simple test. If it had spun its arms—if it had even spun its whole body around—then I would’ve known that it had at least an inkling of what a windmill was.”
“…which would mean it had memories from somewhere else?” She asked.
“Yes.” He said. “The only reason I know about Heaven is that I admired one of the products of this planet.”
“Products? There shouldn’t be any products from here, no?”
“Well… I meant the champion candidate—” Elias caught himself. ‘Shit.’ A glance at Desippe’s face told him nothing.
“I apologize. You mentioned your parents were killed by them.”
“…”
“I—”
“No need.” She said, letting out a breath. “It is normal to lose family in this world.”
“…”
“Besides, why do you think the clan didn’t just bury you underground or something?”
Elias blinked. That was… blunt.
“I doubt that your regeneration would save you from that.”
“…because you want me to do something for you?”
“Well, yes. But other than that, we respect strength.”
“You do know I’m barely Tier Two, right?”
“We do indeed.”
“And?”
“You like that word, don’t you?” She grinned. “We don’t only respect one type of strength.”
“I’m still lost here…”
“I meant your resolve.” She said. “We were hunting you with an overwhelming advantage in numbers. Yet you fought.”
“I mean… I can just regenerate…”
“Didn’t seem like you blocked any of the pain, though.” She said with a deep look at his eyes.
It made him shiver—making him feel vulnerable.
“Anyway,” Desippe broke eye contact and turned upward. “with your preparations done, we can now begin with your mission.”
Elias exhaled, forcing away the lingering unease. “Alright. What’s the mission?”
She turned toward him with a wide grin. “Something painful.”