When I got back, Torva had already made a sword. It was only normal rating, but usable for now, and she was already working on another one. I didn't want to break her concentration, so I gave Martimer her clothes and sat nearby, watching Torva work and listening to the melody her hammer made on the anvil.
One thing I noticed her class didn't have was the auto-production button other blacksmith classes come with. That meant she had to craft every item manually. That was perfectly fine. She seemed passionate about it, and golems have infinite stamina anyway.
After a while, Agnus arrived with the small army of undead he was building. I had to stop him from making too much noise so he wouldn't ruin Torva's concentration. He sat beside me and started examining Martimer and Torva. Eventually, he sent a whisper rather than speak out loud.
Agnus: Hey Daz, can you show me these two's status? I'm really curious.
Daz: Sure, I'll show you. Just don't faint or get too surprised.
Agnus: Bro, there's no way that you could...
Before he could finish, I showed him both statuses, and his eyes went wide. He stared hardest at Martimer's. He could already guess how good Torva's class was, since it was based on a legend.
Agnus: Who did you base Martimer on, Daz? I don't know any user with a hidden class that fraudulent.
Daz: I made it myself.
Agnus: Sorry, bro, could you repeat that? I think I'm going blind.
Daz: I said I made it myself. I used the Golem Creation skill, and when I chose 'necromancer' as the type, my title triggered some kind of hidden effect.
Agnus: .....Have her absorb one of my stronger skeleton warriors.
Daz: Wait, don't you need those? Didn't you work hard to grow them?
Agnus: It's fine. Just have her absorb one for now and let's see what happens.
I asked Martimer to do as Agnus suggested. She walked over to his skeletal warriors and examined each one. She settled on the second most powerful of the bunch, wearing armor that looked like a weaker version of a death knight's.
When she used her ability, the skeleton was engulfed in purple light and flew into Martimer's body. The equipment it had been wearing clattered to the ground. She didn't visibly change, but the system notification almost threw me off the bench.
[The golem Martimer has absorbed the Skeletal Knight owned by Agnus. The Skeletal Knight was level 130, so a portion of its experience and stats have been absorbed. Martimer has leveled up to level 45 and has gained +50 in every stat as a bonus on top of the stats gained through leveling. The Intermediate Sword Mastery skill has been obtained. You have leveled up to level 15. Martimer's assimilation timer is one month. Stats will be added gradually over the assimilation period.]
Just as I finished reading, Torva finished her sword and looked happy, so I let my excitement out.
"Screw it, I'm breaking my rule. Holy SH*****."
Agnus was surprised I'd cursed after so long. Martimer laughed. Torva just smiled with the sword in her hand before going back to work on a sheath.
"Agnus, Martimer leveled up to 45 and I leveled up to 15! She gained +50 in every stat and the sword mastery skill. This is absurd!"
Agnus went quiet for a while after that short but informative explanation. Then he spoke up.
"From what I can tell, the Frankenstein class needs to keep absorbing and creating creatures and undead to compete with other classes of the same rating. It being a growth-type class makes that even better. Sadly, she's restricted by your class, so I think I came up with a solution to your Golem Understanding problem.
"What you need is some kind of observer golem. Use that last Golem Creation slot to make a golem that can literally act as your eyes, your ears, and maybe even your voice."
I thought it over for a while and decided it was the best solution. I could probably send it to follow the more powerful players from a distance. Maybe, when it gets to a higher level, I could even have it observe Kraugel and get the sky above the sky as a golem.
As I thought about that while working on the design, I wore a dark smile that didn't go unnoticed by those around me. They decided not to say anything about it.
When Torva finished the sheath, she passed the sword to Martimer, whose eyes bulged at what she was looking at. She let Agnus and me see it too, and I couldn't believe this was only the second sword Torva had ever made.
[Oliburn]
Rating: Rare
Durability: 346/346 Attack Power: 230–300 Defense: 22
Strength +7There is a low probability of inflicting 'Oil Burn', dealing 0.5% of the target's maximum health in damage every second for 3 seconds.There is a very high probability of activating the 'Triple Flame Slash' skill.
Created by a blacksmith who has glimpsed the path of the legends, with a determination that rivals her master's. Because of what the sword is made of, it is always hot and can easily burn anyone who touches it.
User Restriction: Level 40 or higher. Basic Sword Mastery.
Weight: 100
"!"
"!"
"!"
All three of us were thoroughly surprised by the absurd stats on a sword with such a low level requirement. I patted Torva's head without thinking anything of it and congratulated her. She seemed happy. I patted Martimer's head too, so she wouldn't feel left out.
Agnus stayed a little longer than he needed to. Torva had gone back to her anvil, and Martimer was testing Oliburn's weight against a practice post. Agnus watched her for a long time.
"You made her look like me," he said.
"Like your twin sister, if you had one. I figured it'd confuse anyone who saw her with your undead."
"Cindy always said I'd have been a pretty girl." He laughed, but not really. "She'd have liked her. She'd have liked both of them."
I didn't have anything good to say to that, so I didn't say anything. I just bumped his shoulder with mine, the way we used to when we were kids and Dad was yelling about something. He bumped back.
"Thanks for the skeleton," I said.
"Thanks for the lawyers."
Then he stood up, gathered his undead, and left to continue his quest. He'll probably be gone a while, but that's fine, since I'm still low-level and don't have many golems yet.
I sat back down on the bench while Torva kept crafting armor for Martimer, so I could take her to hunt some lower-level mobs afterward. Meanwhile, I used Golem Creation, hoping this golem wouldn't be limited.
"Golem Creation."
[What type of golem would you like to create?]
"An eagle."
[Have you decided?]
Looks like this one didn't trigger any alarm bells with the system. That's good.
"Yes."
[Please design the item.]
Just like when I designed Martimer, a blank screen with a blueprint layout appeared in front of me. I made it just like an eagle, but I made the whole body gray except the head, which I made black. I gave it sharper talons and black eyes. I also shrank it so it could hide more easily. When I finished, another prompt appeared.
[Please describe the characteristics of the 'Eagle' golem.]
"The eagle golem is made to serve as the eyes, ears and voice of its creator, so it can share its senses with its creator. It's innately stealthy and can easily blend into any environment. After staying in an environment for a while, it can change the color of its skin to match. It can soar high into the sky at high speed, and it has amazing vision, day or night."
It wasn't much of a description, but it would do for now. I just needed something that could stealthily follow anyone I wanted to watch and let me use Golem Understanding on them.
[Please name the golem.]
I probably shouldn't name it anything too obvious, in case someone manages to observe it. It can't be anything too far off, either. Got it!
"Cameagle Golem."
After a short wait, the eagle's information appeared.
[Cameagle]
Rating: Rare
Durability: Equal to health
Base Health: 150
Can blend into any environment after staying in it for a period of time, depending on the environment and how far it is from its current camouflage.Can share sight and hearing with its creator using the skill 'Limited Senses Sharing'.Can use the skill 'Voice Modifier' to let its creator speak through it.Can use the skill 'Swift Retreat' to greatly increase its speed while escaping in flight.Can use the skill 'Intermediate Stealth'. This skill is upgraded by one grade when combined with the 'Camouflage' skill.Gains experience depending on the level of the target it observes.