It looked far more durable than any of the steel weapons used by the Gordons Clan combat Mage at the moment, a clear sign that Alec had poured a great amount of mana and concentration into its creation.

Paired with the equally sturdy shield he had forged, the mace and shield made the perfect weapons of war, which was why it was no surprise that the mace had effortlessly crushed the zombie’s head. 

Alec gave a small nod of approval, his eyes lingering on the weapon with quiet pride, as he reminisce on what happened the day he was helping Titan augment his weapon

[Wrath Spike Mace]

Weapon Level: 5 (Upgrade golem rank to upgrade)

+9 Strength

+5 Speed

+1 Endurance

A realization struck him after he was through, he could empower Titan’s mace using his mana alone, which clearly was a rare ability he had never seen replicated by others, because if truly other people could do the same, they would have abandoned traditional blacksmiths altogether and start forging their own weapons with mana, so he decided to keep this little talent of his a secret. 

Inspired by the idea, Alec had upgraded Titan’s mace and enhanced the shield as well, till he was able to raise them both to Level 5.

The results brought a deep sense of satisfaction, as Titan’s offensive and defensive capabilities had been raised to impressive heights.

[Guard Shield]

Weapon Level: 5 (Upgrade golem rank to upgrade)

+3 Strength

+12 Endurance

While the mace emphasized strength, the shield leaned heavily on endurance. Alec didn’t take it too seriously at first, as it had all started as a fun experiment, testing his ability to shape weapons with mana.

Yet somehow, it had resulted in having a golem capable of overpowering a zombie in the same Tier easily.

“It seems to have the power of a mid-Tier 1 mage,” many around him thought, amazed by the performance.

They were all wrong, of course, as only Alec knew the truth—Titan’s might didn’t come from itself alone but also from the reinforced weapons, and without the shield or the mace, Titan would lose most of its edge.

Still, the results were impressive.

“Wow, that’s so cool,” Arthur said, his eyes wide with admiration as he looked at Alec.

“We’re still on the battlefield, idiot—get off me,” Alec muttered, trying to shove Arthur aside after he had stepped around the seven level-zero golems surrounding him.

“You’re strong… I’ll train harder to catch up to you,” someone said.

Alec turned and saw Agnes, another dual Elementalist like himself and Arthur, beside her stood a figure clad in a cloak and mask, the sight reminding Alec of ninjas from the movies of his previous world.

“Who’s that?” Alec asked Arthur, realizing he had never seen the person before.

“That’s Gordon Knight,” Arthur replied. 

“I guess you don’t really socialize with the rest of the family, even though you’re the young master and leader of the younger generation. He’s like us—dual elements: earth and darkness.”

“Hmm. If he trains properly, he might become a strong asset to the family,” Alec mused.

“You never said that to me,” Arthur whined with a pout.

Alec, exhausted by Arthur’s theatrics, ignored him, he had just used his inspection skill on Arthur and was genuinely surprised by the results.

[Gordon Arthur]

Elements: Earth (mid), Metal (high)

Level: Tier One Mage (Low)

Battle Power: 70

Agnes, in comparison, only had 60 percent battle power, which meant she would likely lose in a direct clash with Arthur, that 10 percent gap would make a significant difference in battle between them as they were clearly still low rank mages.

As Alec finished analyzing their stats, Titan returned to his side. 

Its glowing red eyes still radiated danger, yet it stood calmly as if it hadn’t just decimated two powerful zombies.

The family’s archers eyed the bloodied mace in Titan’s hand with unease, nervously swallowing as they backed away slightly.

“Good job,” Alec praised, despite knowing Titan was only a golem.

To his surprise, the golem gave a small nod in return, displaying a level of intelligence and understanding uncommon for most golems.

Alec then turned his attention to the frontlines and noticed the warriors slowing down, fatigue evident in their movements. 

With the overwhelming number of zombies crashing into the south gate, Alec was sure that if something didn’t change soon, casualties would start piling up.

[Rock Golem]

Level: 0 (Unclassified)

Rank: Normal

Battle Power: 10

Alec surveyed the seven level-zero golems he had crafted, briefly considering the idea of replacing some of his clan members with these clay golems of his. 

After all, golems didn’t tire, they were formed from mana and only consumed his energy when self-repairing at such a low level.

“System, is there a way to help these normal-rank golems level up to one and gain the same powers as a lower-tier mage?” Alec asked, curiosity glinting in his eyes.

[x: Yes, there is. They must either kill a hundred level-zero lifeforms—like the weak zombies your family is currently fighting—or ten level-one lifeforms, the choice is yours.]

As the System’s response ended, Alec felt his mana drop by another 20 points, leaving him with just 70, he had been meditating to recover from the earlier drain, and thankfully, his regeneration had picked up pace

Perhaps it was due to the dense, blood-soaked battlefield, the high number of fallen zombies had thickened the surrounding mana, creating the perfect atmosphere for rapid energy recovery.

Still, Alec knew no one would be foolish enough to attempt a breakthrough amid such chaos, everyone remained tense and vigilant, focused solely on surviving the ongoing assault.

Scanning the battlefield, Alec realized that only the Tier One mages from his clan had joined the fight, there was not a single Tier Two mage in sight.

Arthur, noticing the shift in Alec’s expression, commented, “Seems like you noticed, huh?”

Alec gave a slight nod, it was now obvious: the weaker zombies were being used as training fodder to help the Tier One mages gain real combat experience.

Whereas, this fragment of the zombie army that had not been able to make it in time to the portal were the expendable cannon fodder the mental type zombie lead, their role was simple: wear down the human mages before the real threats among them attacked.

“I’ll handle this,” Alec muttered, determination hardening his gaze.

Arthur smiled faintly, proud to follow someone so resolute.

Then Alec channelled all his remaining mana into crafting spears using earth magic—even though there wasn’t much sand or loose ground nearby, he manipulated his mana, drawing from the earth’s elemental presence in the atmosphere to aid in forming his weapons.

This subtle yet advanced technique didn’t go unnoticed by his grandfather who was stealthy watching his grandson from afar, quietly impressed by Alec’s evolving mastery over mana.

But Alec wasn’t done after shaping the spears, he continued channelling mana into each one, reinforcing them with tightly compressed earth elements, effectively enhancing their quality and power.

Each stone spear now bore significant stats:

[Stone Spear]

Weapon Level: 5 (...)

+7 Strength

+7 Agility

+1 Endurance

The effort, however, came at a steep cost—ten mana per spear, which caused Alec to stagger slightly, panting from the strain, his vision blurring as he felt the dizzying effects of near-total mana depletion.

Yet when he saw the golems each grab a spear each, standing ready with eerie synchronization, he felt a rush of satisfaction. 

With these weapons, they were now as strong as semi–Tier One mages—just shy of the threshold—but far stronger than the unclassified zombies ahead.

While not yet true Tier One fighters, there were enough of them to cut through the horde with brutal efficiency, the spears alone had increased each golem’s battle power by 30.

“Attack!” Alec commanded, leaving Titan behind to defend him as his personal shield.

The golems surged forward, their heavy footsteps echoing as they overtook some of the weary warriors at the front.

“Make way for the golems! Fall back and recover your mana,” Alec shouted to his clan members. 

His calm but firm leadership surprised them, but they obeyed, retreating to safety while the golems rushed in to intercept the next wave.

Stab.

There was no finesse in their movements, just raw power and simple, direct execution. 

The spears punctured zombie skulls effortlessly, pulled out, and were driven in again as the golems repeated the motion without pause.

Over and over, they skewered any undead attempting to scale the wall, the rhythm of battle turning mechanical.

[Ding!]

[+10 experience gained from killing five Level 0 zombies.]