Wizard: I am a goblin

Chapter 54 The Leap of Faith

Geb looked at Belle in disbelief, then at the golem, then at Belle again, then at the golem again.

"You...you operated this thing?"

“My specialty is manipulating language through golems,” Belle said. “Although I can’t create golems yet—that would require at least a fifth-circle spell slot, and it’s extremely expensive.”

"You bastard..." Geb muttered.

Belle looked at him nervously: "What's wrong?"

"It's still somewhat useful!"

The goblin was overjoyed and scurried around the golem's feet, banging and tapping on it.

"I never expected that a wizard apprentice like you could control something so big."

The girl, suddenly praised, scratched her head a little shyly. "Actually, my only outstanding subject is Ancient Sage Language; my other subjects are just average. Professor Imington specially promoted me to be his apprentice, specifically to maintain his golem workshop—and I'm not bragging, but I can write hundreds of lines of golem runes in one night. Even the professor praised me for being diligent and hardworking!"

Good heavens, top-notch bull and horse.

Geb complained, "No wonder this guy was able to become a wizard apprentice; he's being used like a tool."

However, I need such a tool right now.

There's a golem here, so the last piece of the puzzle is complete!

Golems, stone blocks, suspended crystalline ether, and portals that need charging.

Use the golem to move the stones and build a structure. Then, have someone climb up the structure to obtain Crystal Ether, and use the Crystal Ether to power the portal.

"Belle, could you design a rune sequence that would allow the golem to move the stone to a specific location?"

"A piece of cake. But you need to plan the order and structure of the stones in advance—once the rune sequence is activated, the golem won't stop, and if you want to correct it, you'll have to start from scratch," the girl said.

"Hmm...that makes sense. Every time Fang Shi moves, the initial position changes—the runes have to be rewritten."

"...I won't complain about having too much work, but if it turns into a dead end, it will be difficult to handle. Although the golem is powerful, its strength is limited; it can only move one stone at a time."

Geb nodded. He instructed Belle to command the golem to lift him onto the top of the creature's head, then, clinging to the golem's head, he observed the Stone Matrix from above.

The simplest way is to stack the stones into a pillar—but then there's no foothold, so you can't climb up.

The octahedron hovered about thirty meters in the air. Gebu imagined it for a moment; thirty meters was about ten stories high—it was a bit terrifying. This pillar-like structure would collapse if there was even the slightest deviation.

No.

So, how about building a pyramid?

Gebu imagined building a pyramid on a platform with a diameter of thirty meters, with the top reaching a height of thirty meters—it wasn't impossible, but the slope would be a bit too steep.

My middle school geometry knowledge from my past life came flooding back... Ah, what painful memories.

The problem with the pyramid construction was the lack of materials—there weren't enough square stones on the platform.

"Can it be made hollow?" Gebu wondered.

That won't work. The golem needs to find a foothold first, otherwise the stone blocks on top can't be piled up.

Moreover, structurally, the hollow pyramids always seem precarious, and intuitively, one feels that they cannot be built and will collapse.

Hmm... Let me think about it again, let me think about it again, there must be a solution.

Geb turned around, sat cross-legged on the golem's head, closed his eyes, and massaged his temples.

Hollow, structure, pyramid...

"We can design a structure like this," Geb thought.

There is an 8-decimeter gap between two adjacent square stones, so that the second layer of boulders can be stacked directly on top of the gap, with the bottom boulders supporting it on both sides, each side with a 1-decimeter edge—the square stones are sturdy enough that the added edges can support them.

The advantage of doing this is that it increases the base area while saving materials as much as possible.

It's like stretching the pyramid open, which indirectly reduces the slope of the pyramid, making it easier for the golem to climb up.

Based on the number of stones on the platform, if all of them were piled up in this way, the height would reach 5 meters—too short.

This is because the base is laid out too far apart. The fourth layer is 4x4, and the fifth layer becomes 5x5. The higher the number of layers, the more stones are needed for the bottom layer.

Hmm... a 4x4 base is sturdy enough, no need to make it that wide. Once you get to the top, just replace it all with 2x2 bases, and for the last few meters, just replace it with a single, solitary stone. In this way, the final result will be a spire with a 4x4 base at the bottom and a top that gets narrower and narrower.

Once it reaches the top, the golem can't go any further, so the maximum height of a tower built this way is about 12 meters...

18 meters away from the crystallized ether...

Gebu thought for a moment, what other options were there?

There aren't enough stones, and there are no other objects on the platform that can be used.

He looked at the golem beneath him.

Oh right... and this guy too.

Geb's gaze shifted from the golem's large hand to the crystal suspended high in the air, and then back to his own feet.

There was a line of text engraved on the golem's hand.

【Saltu Fidei】

Geb couldn't understand the writing, but he seemed to know the final answer to the riddle.

The goblin didn't like the answer, but he had to do it.

"Belle, follow this order and have the golems build into these shapes..." Geb said to the girl in the pointed hat, "...and then, I want to try this..."

-----------------

Several hours later, the stone obelisk was completed.

Belle looked at the golem and Geb standing on the top of the tower with some worry. They were still eighteen meters away from the octahedron, which was about the height of a six-story building.

A six-story building can't compare to this white tower that pierces the clouds, but it's enough to kill a hundred goblins.

"Watch out, Geb!"

Geb sat on the golem's shoulder, looked down at the tiny girl below, and gave her a green thumbs-up.

The goblin turned to look at the crystallized aether.

What is the path of a wizard?

Geb had pondered this question late at night.

It is about overcoming one's own nature.

It is the spirit of perseverance.

It is rational thinking that involves observation, analysis, and then action.

However, after accomplishing everything mentioned above, one last thing is still needed to truly break through that ceiling and complete the breakthrough from mortal to wizard.

The moment Geb saw a corner of the Book of Sand in the half-elf's arms, he made a decision that would change his life forever.

A narrow escape from death.

Nine deaths are predetermined, but one life is about defying fate.

If you are content with mediocrity, then do not embark on the path of a wizard—this path is so perilous: how many mountains to climb, how many rivers to cross, how many things to sacrifice, before you can see the dawn at the end.

When fate places its will in your hands, do not hesitate. Only the bravest can take their destiny into their own hands.

Yes, the final answer to this trial is also the last necessary step to becoming a wizard:

【Saltu Fidei】

It was a fearless leap of faith!

"Come on! Throw me!"

Gebu looked up at the sky and roared.

The golem, expressionless, grabbed the goblin and hurled him straight at the crystalline ether!