Gilgamesh took the time to carefully craft a vision for his new mount. Being that a serpentine form was best for a fast Lancer, it would also stand to reason that it made for the best mount. That said, there was an issue.
Unlike with a vanguard, his own body was a limitation in this case. He would never be able to handle the turbulence of a snake mount, which would invalidate the entire point of one.
Gilgamesh considered incorporating a throne within its design, but he was not especially keen on another chair either. He scanned through the list of golems once again, but found nothing that inspired complete confidence.
“It would be better if I could just take naga form…”
Just as that casual thought occurred to him, Gilgamesh received a jolt of inspiration, and his vision solidified. Quickly, he found a golem called a Snake Tail, a Sentry type that would half-swallow a person and latch onto them at the waist, leaving them with a moving lower half.
“How vast this Tower is that someone already thought of it…” Gilgamesh mused.
He studied its array so that he could adjust its size to hold him firmly, and just as with the Steel Naga, he maximized its Attributes purely for direct control.
[ Snake Tail - Golem (Low Grade) ]
Attributes:
Strength - 10
Agility - 100
Vitality - 10
Perception - 0
Force - 0
Spirit - 5
Control - 25
Willpower - 0
Features: Rush (bronze)
Material: Clay (inferior)
Mana Capacity: 50/50
Consumption: 4 motes per minute
Recovery: 0.1 motes per minute
[ Rush ]
‘Increase movement speed twofold in a straight direction for a brief moment.’
Vitality needed to be 10 so that its Form would not crumble, and Control needed to be 25 so that it could use its Feature, but Gilgamesh put nearly everything else into Agility. 10 went into Strength because, together, he and the golem itself weighed just enough that 5 Strength was insufficient.
Still, 100 was a large number, and Rush would doubled it's speed to an quivalent of 200. That was high enough that the Hard Mode Training Dummy would no longer be able to easily overwhelm him.
Its appearance was somewhat unusual, that of a large deformed snake. Its head and mouth more resembled an eel of the deep, and it had no other features to speak of.
Gilgamesh had it swallow half of him and close its mouth down on his torso. After a few easy motions, he tested its movement more vigorously with the experience he had gained from wielding his snake designs.
“Faster and more nimble than the Roaming Throne. It also gives me a higher vantage point. Although that does also leave me more exposed.”
[ Mana Insulation has reached level 2. Rewarded 2 Attribute Points. ]
[ Mana Connector has reached level 2. Rewarded 2 Attribute Points. ]
[ Golem Peerer has reached level 3. Rewarded 2 Attribute Points. ]
Gilgamesh felt his mana withdraw just a little more completely within him and the connection between his golems strengthen.
[ Perception: 25 -> 30 ]
[ Spirit: 60 -> 61 ]
Gilgamesh chose to raise his Perception just barely high enough to track the Hard Core Training Dummy's speed when it used Charge, but that was the last time he intended to raise anything other than Spirit for the rest of his time in this Trial.
[ Gilgamesh - Hero (Iron Rank) ]
Attributes:
Strength - 2
Agility - 7
Vitality - 10
Perception - 30
Force - 3
Spirit - 61
Control - 45
Willpower - 14
Traits:
Incomplete Stigmata (???), Master Golem Core lvl. 4 (silver), Passive Meditator lvl. 3 (bronze), Golem Peerer lvl. 3 (bronze), Mana Insulation lvl. 2 (bronze), Mana Connector lvl. 2 (bronze),
Material: Clay (inferior)
Mana Capacity: 493/610
Unalloted Attribute Points: 0
“Mana Insulation and Mana Connector leveled more quickly than the other two Bronze Tier Traits. Is that because of how they pair?” Gilgamesh deduced. “Both are used simultaneously and naturally conflict with each other, so logically, using mana trains both. I will always be using mana during this Trial, which means they should progress quite significantly.”
Gilgamesh’s Golem Peerer Trait finally advanced as well, an intentional result of always having his golems active. The strain on his mind was no longer a major issue, as it would only take a quick sparring match to heal from.
Gilgamesh looked out at the three golems active. “Shifting Sand, Steel Naga, and Snake Tail. These three are likely the best I can do against an opponent in single combat. But what about what comes after this Trial…? I need more sets of formations.”
Gilgamesh contemplated.
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“I need three more formations. One for Defense, where the priority is to outlast and survive the enemy. Another for Escape, to successfully flee at all costs. And the last should adhere to a Balance of the other strategies. A set of golems that will allow me to fight well against multiple enemies for as long and as efficiently as possible.”
“That one will be most important, and the one I will use against those whose abilities I am unfamiliar with. It should favor strength and survivability equally.”
For his Defense formation, Gilgamesh decided on Shifting Sand, Snake Tail, and Sentry Ball. Shifting Sand would serve as his main shield. He would not trust Floating Shield at this stage of the trials, even an altered one, as it was too slow and not nearly durable or fast enough. Snake Tail was still his fastest and most agile mount, so naturally it would take a place here.
[ Sentry Ball - Golem (Low Grade) ]
Attributes:
Strength - 10
Agility - 75
Vitality - 25
Perception - 0
Force - 10
Spirit - 5
Control - 25
Willpower - 0
Feature: Knockback (bronze)
Material: Springtide Sap (inferior)
Mana Capacity: 50/50
Consumption: 3 motes per minute
Recovery: 0.1 motes per minute
[ Springtide Sap ]
'The dried sap of a Springtide Rubber tree. A pliable and elastic substance that reflects blunt impact to a slight degree.'
For his final golem, he went with a Sentry Ball. But rather than a durable body of steel, he chose something called Springtide Sap for its Material. Gilgamesh had been confronted with the dilemma of whether to prioritize its Agility for greater speed or Force for a more potent Feature, and decided to have both.
As he hoped, its solid rubbery sap form gave it a natural knockback effect of sorts, which combined with the actual Feature for a greater result. As opposed to the roughly 2 yards from before, it now knocked his Shifting Sand back over 3.
For his Escape formation, he chose Shifting Sand, Snake Tail, and Bombers.
[ Snake Tail - Golem (Low Grade) ]
Attributes:
Strength - 10
Agility - 85
Vitality - 10
Perception - 10
Force - 0
Spirit - 25
Control - 10
Willpower - 0
Material: Clay (inferior)
Mana Capacity: 250/250
Consumption: 4 motes per minute
Recovery: 4 motes per minute
Gilgamesh turned this Snake Tail into a Juggernaut type to enable it to work for as long as needed. For this same reason, he also gave it the normal Perception.
The only reason he would use this is if he had no other option, and an escape mount is useless if it, or he, ran out of mana before he could actually escape.
Shifting Sand would be used to throw the Bombers to hinder his pursuers and also defend him from attacks if necessary. As for the Bombers, he crafted a wide variety of types. He already had a fair stock of Normal, Fire, Lightning, Wind, Frost, and Acidic Bombers, so he opted to craft a few new ones.
Glue Bombers would spread a fast-drying adhesive over its range to hinder whatever was caught within. Flash Bombers emitted a light extreme enough to temporarily blind enemies. And Bang Bombers caused a thunderous sound to deafen their ears.
None possessed combat potential that amounted to anything more than a dirty trick, but they would certainly prove useful. Especially when he adjusted their Attributes.
[ Bomber - Golem (Low Grade) ]
Attributes:
Strength - 0
Agility - 0
Vitality - 10
Perception - 0
Force - 100
Spirit - 15
Control - 25
Willpower - 0
Feature: Self Destruction (bronze),
Material: Clay (inferior)
Mana Capacity: 150/150
Consumption: 3 motes per minute
Recovery: 1.5 motes per minute
[ Fire Bomber - Golem (Low Grade) ]
Attributes:
Strength - 0
Agility - 0
Vitality - 25
Perception - 0
Force - 85
Spirit - 15
Control - 25
Willpower - 0
Feature: Self Destruction (bronze)
Material: Fire Clay (low grade)
Mana Capacity: 150/150
Consumption: 6 motes per minute
Recovery: 3 motes per minute
[ Self Destruction (bronze) ]
'Destroys the golem's core to cause an explosion of raw mana.'
Magnitude: 2.5
Mana Cost: 100 motes
As for his Balanced formation, Gilgamesh was at a loss.
Initially, he had opted for a physical ranged attack much like his Bolt Viper. Something simple and effective to bother opponents preoccupied with his Shifting Sand. However, the problem with archer-like golems was that they needed both Agility and Force, which limited the potential of either their speed or the power of their attack.
But a normal Dragoon golem had its own fatal disadvantages. High Force would make its attack useful, but its aim would be too slow to matter against strong opponents.
Even if he distributed the Attributes of either option as best he could, the result would not meet the standard he needed. Gilgamesh mused some more, and he thought of a solution.
“If I cannot fix its design, then I should focus on the magic itself.”
He recalled the curving bolt the elderly woman had used against him in the arena. Gilgamesh searched for a golem with such a Feature and discovered its name. Magic Missile.
But that still left one problem to solve. It would not be able to keep up with his other golems on its own. Levitation would solve the issue, but Low Grade golems are only able to hold a single Feature.
“I’ll need to attach it to something.” Gilgamesh thought. “It cannot be Shifting Sand. Myself? A crown, or pauldrons, maybe? No, the pain would distract me from the fight. It should be a fixture on the Roaming Throne.”
With a vision in mind, Gilgamesh searched the guidebook and found what he sought. First, he broke down his Naga and activated a Roaming Throne to measure the dimensions of its chair.
Then, with his Snake Tail golem still attached, he took out a ruby sphere and carved the array of this new golem perfectly on his first attempt. He conjured it at once and a hollowed chunk of wood with the carving of a strange face fell into his hands.
[ Wooden Totem - Golem (Low Grade) ]
Attributes:
Strength - 0
Agility - 0
Vitality - 10
Perception - 0
Force - 90
Spirit - 25
Control - 25
Willpower - 0
Features: Magic Missile (bronze)
Material: Wood (inferior)
Mana Capacity: 250/250
Consumption: 3 motes per minute
Recovery: 3 motes per minute
[ Magic Missile (bronze) ]
'A dense ball of mana that deals a blunt impact.'
Magnitude: 1.0
Mana Cost: 10
The Wooden Totem never needed to move, so it required no Strength or Agility. It did need a minimum of 25 Control for its Bronze Tier Feature, and 10 for its Vitality, but that was all.
With that aside, Gilgamesh put the vast bulk of its Attribute limit into Force and Spirit. 25 Spirit would allow it to cast Magic Missile 12 times, and with 90 Force, each one of them would count.
[ Roaming Throne - Golem (Low Grade) ]
Attributes:
Strength - 10
Agility - 100
Vitality - 10
Perception - 0
Force - 0
Spirit - 5
Control - 25
Willpower - 0
Feature: Rush (bronze)
Material: Wood (inferior)
Mana Capacity: 250/250
Consumption: 4 motes per minute
Recovery: 0.1 motes per minute
He took Roaming Throne specifically to pair with the Totem, and gave it the same Attributes as Snake Tail. Gilgamesh had some concerns over how he could remain seated at this speed, especially if it were to make sudden changes in directions, so he opted to change its design slightly. The armrests now bulged inwards to serve as guardrails for his body, though that did add to his distracting pain.
Naturally, as his strongest and most versatile golem, his Shifting Sand took a place in all formations. That would certainly change in the future as he acquired more Mid Grade golems, but for now, it was the most optimal. With his new formations finalized, Gilgamesh headed back into the sparring ring at once to test them thoroughly.
[ Some gods are interested in your development. ]
