The Golem Mage

While this was happening, the red tree stood about two hundred meters away, shivering as it observed the chaos unfolding.

After sensing Alec's presence, it had dispatched its most mobile units—the Treant Warriors—to pursue him, unlike most of the plant race, who suffered from limited mobility, the Treant Warriors didn't share that weakness, making them ideal for tracking Alec.

As they followed his trail, they realized it led to a mine guarded by lion demonic beasts.

So they sent word back to their master using a unique sound transmission, and after that the red tree teleported over by channelling its connection with the Treants to cross the distance.

Upon arrival and seeing the lion demonic beasts made the red tree hesitate, even though it burned with the desire for revenge, it understood these lions were part of an overlord pride, and no matter how much it wanted to attack, it couldn't be sure its Divine Tree Overlord would risk clashing with the Snow Lion Overlord on its behalf.

As it wrestled with its decision, Damien appeared. Even from a distance, the red tree could sense that Damien was far more dangerous than anything it wanted to challenge.

"Damn it, is this how I lose my chance for revenge?" the red tree lamented bitterly, but it still couldn't bring itself to leave.

Though unable to reach Alec, whose presence it could still sense deep inside the mine, it resolved to stay and see how events unfolded.

—

While all this was happening, Alec had finally drilled his way up just inside the mine.

As he carefully poked his head above the surface, he realized the mine was completely empty as there was no sign of life nearby, the sounds of intense battle echoed from outside, and the shockwaves radiating inward made it clear the ones fighting were all high-ranking powerhouses.

He couldn't tell if the gods were favouring him or just playing tricks, but the fact that such chaos erupted right as he and his team came to rob the place felt too perfectly timed to be coincidence, moving cautiously, Alec emerged from the hole, careful not to let his mental sense or aura leak out. For now, none of the beings outside had noticed them; all their attention was focused on the battle ongoing.

If he so much as let his presence slip, any one of those high-ranking lifeforms would immediately detect him.

Alec silently thanked whoever had stirred up trouble with the lions, because if he and his team had surfaced while those Tier 7 powerhouses were still standing guard inside, stealing anything would have been impossible.

He quickly whispered the warning to Arthur and Brandon still below, making sure they understood that even the slightest release of their aura could spell disaster, once he was sure they got the message, Alec fully emerged and took a moment to scan the area they had breached into.

The cavern was dim, yet softly illuminated by the natural glow of the power stones embedded in the walls—stones as large as small boulders. When Arthur climbed up and laid eyes on the scene, his jaw dropped.

Just the thought of turning over one such stone to the academy and receiving an immense sum of magic crystals or student credits was overwhelming, but when he turned and saw hundreds more lining the walls, his instincts nearly betrayed him as he almost shouted, "We're rich!"

Fortunately, Brandon had anticipated Arthur's reaction, clamping a hand over his mouth just in time.

Alec shook his head at the scene, giving Arthur a look like he was some starstruck villager, truthfully though, even Alec himself had been momentarily stunned by the sheer scale and quality of the mine.

As they quietly marvelled at their fortune, their gazes finally settled on something else—at the center of the dimly lit cavern lay what appeared to be a pool, its presence drawing their full attention.

"Alec, tell me you're seeing that!" Arthur whispered urgently, swallowing hard as he stared at the pool glowing with an ethereal bluish hue.

"Yes, I see it. That's a mana pool—not just any mana pool, but one powerful enough to aid even Tier 7 mages. I'm guessing those lions have been taking turns soaking in it, which explains why so many of them reached Tier 7," Alec whispered back, eyes fixed on the pool.

"Damn, and here I was thinking we hit the jackpot with those power stones, but this pool? I've been so short-sighted. Alec, you really are a treasure magnet. I swear, I'll never doubt you again," Arthur said, trying to butter him up, though Alec didn't even glance at him.

"But we've got a problem, the rock circle around the pool is part of its mana vein, and it runs deep underground. There's no way we can dig the entire vein out before those outside realize something's happening." Alec muttered.

"Ugh, this is ridiculous. After all this stress, we might not even be able to take the whole pool," Alec added, his voice low, clearly frustrated as his mind raced.

The longer Brandon and Arthur listened to him, the more concerned they became for their own sanity.

"Err, Alec, we obviously can't take everything. Let's just grab what we can and get out of here, don't forget there is still the academy" Brandon urged quickly, hoping to stop Alec's greed from spiralling into disaster.

Miraculously, his words seemed to snap Alec out of it, as Alec swiftly summoned a pair of pickaxes and handed them over.

"Screw it. Grab as many power stones as you can and fill your space sacks. I'll handle the pool," Alec ordered as he summoned his golems.

The golems appeared instantly, and Alec handed each of them pickaxes as well, commanding them to summon their own minions and start mining without delay, on the side, Brandon and Arthur couldn't help but wonder if Alec had planned all of this from the start and simply dragged them along, because they couldn't comprehend why any sane mage would keep that many pickaxes inside their space ring.

Unfortunately, they'd never know the truth: Alec had only recently come up with the plan while brainstorming how to maximize his haul from the mine, luckily, he had the system store, which provided him with all the necessary equipment.

So while it looked like he was pulling them out of his space ring, that wasn't exactly the case.

"What happened to not summoning your golems because you wanted to experience pressure?" Arthur couldn't resist throwing a snide remark as he grabbed a nearby power stone and started chipping away.

Fortunately for them, the ongoing battle outside was loud enough to drown out the noise of their pickaxes clanking against the power stones as they worked to pry them free.

"Forget pressure—for now, money's more important. I'll think of another way to pressure myself that doesn't involve not summoning my golems," Alec shouted back as he dipped his hand into the pool at the center.

The moment his hand touched the water, a suction force activated, as the amulet around his neck glowed faintly, and Alec could feel it swaying on his chest as though savouring a satisfying meal.