Chapter 3:
Leo crouched beneath the faint glow of the Veilbloom Crown Nest, the satchel he recovered from Elias's decayed remains now strapped to his shoulder. Inside it, he had tucked away Elias's journal and a few scavenged supplies. The forest still pressed in with eerie silence, but his mind was focused.
He took a deep breath, recalling the final lines from the journal:
> "Stone-spined cliffs. Triangle with three dots. Sacred clay. Binding ash. Quartz..."
His Survival Instinct pulsed softly—a guiding awareness, honed since arriving. It helped him avoid unstable paths, silent predators, and misleading trails. Thanks to it, he navigated deeper northwest through the twisting Eldorian roots, stepping lightly around patches of sunken mud and thorny underbrush.
Eventually, he found it.
A jagged cliff wall jutted from the forest floor like the spine of some buried titan. And there, half-covered in moss, was the mark: a triangle with three dots, burned into stone.
"Bingo," he whispered.
He pushed through a curtain of vines and ducked into the hidden entrance. The interior was damp and cold, lined with tangled roots and flickering mushrooms. But further in, the tunnel widened into a shallow cavern.
His eyes scanned the chamber.
There—beneath a layer of ashen dust—was a deposit of thick, dark clay. He reached in with both hands and scooped it out. Cold. Dense. Sacred.
Near it, he found blackened soot clinging to fossilized bark. The smell of smoke lingered faintly even now.
> [Item Acquired: Sacred Clay]
[Item Acquired: Binding Ash]
At the far end of the cave, nestled under twisted roots and dimly glowing fungus, a pale quartz crystal shard jutted from the stone. It shimmered faintly with internal light—the same material described in the journal.
Leo reached forward and gently dislodged the shard.
> [Item Acquired: Quartz Core Fragment]
He cleared a space on the cave floor and laid everything out. With Elias's journal open beside him, he followed the instructions.
He shaped the clay into a crude humanoid form—short arms, round torso, stubby legs. Straw was woven through the joints, giving the body structure. The Binding Ash was smeared into the chest cavity and limbs, symbols etched into the clay surface by hand.
Then, gently, he pressed the Quartz Core Fragment into the golem's chest.
He paused.
Then whispered the words he had rehearsed:
> "By stone and spirit, by bond and breath—rise."
The Whispering Ring shimmered on his finger.
The sigils on the golem flickered.
Then—
A pulse.
The clay twitched.
It shuddered.
And then… it stood.
> [Golem Created: Clay Golem (Lv. 1)]
Leo blinked, stunned. He stepped back as the crude golem straightened itself, its glowing core flickering like a heartbeat. It tilted its head toward him.
Leo exhaled sharply, his knees weak.
"I… I did it."
The golem copied his head tilt.
> [New Skill Acquired: Golem Crafting (Lv. 1)]
[Title Gained: Golem Maker]
A second window blinked to life:
> [Status Updated – Leo Makjin]
Race: Human
Class: None
Title: Golem Maker
Level: 1
HP: 100 / 100
MP: 60 / 60
Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Vitality: 10
Luck: ?
Skills:
• Survival Instinct
• Golem Crafting (Lv. 1)
Leo looked at the golem. It was watching him patiently.
"You need a name," he muttered.
He glanced around the glowing stones, the woven straw, the soft rumble in the golem's chest that felt strangely familiar.
He smiled.
"Tarra," he said aloud.
The golem's core pulsed in response.
Leo slumped down beside the wall of the cavern, the cold stone pressing against his back. The adrenaline had faded, replaced by weariness and wonder. His hands were still stained with sacred clay. Tarra stood nearby—silent, steady, and loyal.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out Elias's journal once more. The worn leather felt heavier now. He flipped to the back pages and found a section he hadn't read before—notes written in a hasty, uneven scrawl:
> "The Old Ones spoke of a place… a nexus of elemental power… The Emerald Glade. They said it holds secrets… secrets the Council sought to bury. Ancient Golems… more than just clay and stone. Lifeblood… souls… forbidden arts… Find the Glade… uncover the truth…"
Leo's eyes widened.
"The Emerald Glade…" he whispered. "That's where we'll go."
> [Main Quest Updated: Legacy of the Golem Makers]
Progress: [2/3]
New Objective: Discover the Emerald Glade and unlock the secrets buried within.
Reward: +50 EXP, Lore Entry Unlocked – [The Forgotten Grove]
He closed the journal, resolve settling into his chest.
Leo stood. Tarra followed.
Together, they stepped out of the cave.
And into the world beyond.