Chapter 36: Resolve

"Such formidable pressure..."

It wasn't until Panni emerged from the underground chamber, clutching a stack of scrolls, that Eucrus uttered these words.

"Pressure?"

"Didn't you notice? As a fragmented soul, and while being confined, he couldn't possibly have access to the magical network, yet he managed to create such illusions in the basement," Eucrus remarked. "His power of thought is too immense, capable of influencing reality. If I had gotten any closer, I would surely have been detected."

"Perhaps it's all the reminiscences of these three thousand nine hundred years," Panni recalled his conversation with the mummy, feeling somewhat moved, he sighed.

"Do you truly believe him?" the elder asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

"Even if he deceives me, I have no other recourse," Panni shrugged helplessly. "The worst outcome would be him discovering it's me, the golem person."

"You truly are indifferent to life and death. Earlier, when he offered to guide you, you could have simply left... No one would have blamed you," Eucrus fell silent for a moment. "The young Paladin girl was urging you to depart."

"Fleeing might not ensure escape, after all, this demi-plane is under the control of that golem," Panni chuckled softly. "Besides, I disdain playing the coward."

"...You are a noble soul," Eucrus spoke again after a pause.

"Perhaps, but truth be told... my courage isn't as abundant as it may seem," Panni's eyes gleamed with determination. "But I believe that miracles, as they say, only come to those who dare to create them."

"Well, brave lad..." Eucrus sighed.

"Go forth and create miracles."

...

Three days later, as scheduled, the golem Pascal arrived. Panni had slept for two days straight, diligently repeating the spells every morning. The mnemonic spell's effects were remarkably excellent. Panni didn't spend much effort reading through the materials carefully, yet he felt as if he had been familiar with them for thousands of years, believing that deceiving the golem Pascal's experiment was sufficient.

Naturally, he was unaware that his excessively vast soul had aided him. For an ordinary person, digesting and absorbing such information would be impossible without several months. There was even the possibility of mental collapse due to the injection of overly massive information. From this perspective, the actions of the golem mechanist were not entirely beneficial.

It was evident that Pascal, the golem, had no intention of exchanging pleasantries. With a teleportation spell, they arrived at a door. The mechanist tapped on the door, and the runes on it began to activate automatically. The door was incredibly thick, seemingly taking a long time to open.

"His laboratory is heavily protected by magical runes. I have never dared to explore it deeply, so I cannot assist you any further," Eucrus had told Panni three days ago.

Now, everything relied on Panni alone.

The massive metal door of the laboratory emitted a heavy "thud" sound. The mage adjusted his breathing, striving to calm his emotions. He stood behind the golem mechanist, staring at a point on the abdomen of this metal shell, recalling the words of the mummy mechanist: "The soul connection point is at the center of the abdomen... Don't expect me to help you. You should know, by the definition of living beings, I am just some soul residue; he is the main body."

"...If destroying this corpse could kill him, I would gladly do it, but unfortunately, it cannot. He has placed dozens of soul vessels inside this base. Even if the golem and this body are damaged, he has a place to hide, and he will not truly die..."

"So the best course of action is for you to find a way to break through its golem body, which will inflict immense damage on its soul. Then, undoubtedly, it will drift back into this body—because this is its original flesh, and the instinct of the soul will compel it to return here... After that, I will attempt to suppress him, while you seize the opportunity to destroy this demi-plane. Then, escape from the top-level teleportation array of the base. The self-destruct device is..."

Panni gazed at the soul connection point of the golem, speculating on how many spell barriers protected it, and when would be the opportune moment to throw out the scroll of spells he had hidden in his sleeve...

"Oh, I suddenly remembered something, my assistant," Panni was thinking, when the golem suddenly turned around, speaking to Panni in a mechanical, ethereal voice, "Though I believe you to be an intelligent individual who wouldn't joke with their own life, I know that many intelligent individuals in this world often make mistakes due to certain confusions. I am very concerned that you might ruin my experiment for some inexplicable reason, so I am going to cast a spell on you."

Panni's heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged. "I do not jest with my own life."

"Then, do not refuse. My experiment is crucial, and I do not wish for any mishaps," the golem didn't wait for Panni's response, raising its two iron arms and beginning to cast a spell. It was evident that he had no intention of further consulting Panni. After a few seconds of hesitation, a beam of light shot out from the golem's fingertips, penetrating Panni's mind.

In Panni's mind, there seemed to be a thunderous roar, while simultaneously feeling a thread of thought wrapping around his soul. He instantly became alert.

He recognized this spell—it was a fifth-level "Dominate Person" spell, which controlled the actions of the recipient through a soul link, while also providing insight into the recipient's thoughts. Once entangled by this spell, any plans for assassination or ambush would be completely thwarted, and Panni's life would be in jeopardy.

In this tense moment, Panni's thoughts whirled rapidly as he began to devise devious plans.

If this soul link were fully formed, he would be irretrievably lost, and thus it must be destroyed by any means necessary.

He could already feel the soul chain of the artificer beginning to infiltrate a corner of his own soul. The willpower emanating from a quasi-legendary spellcaster was formidable and pure, something he simply could not contend with.

In the struggle of wills, when one's strength is lacking, one must find a way to exploit the weaknesses of the enemy's psyche— as stated in the "Tome of Arcane Protection: Enchantment Chapter": "You see, he has completely abandoned his emotional reasoning. However, even if he hides within a mechanical shell, he is fundamentally still a human. Therefore, strong mental stimuli can still provoke emotional fluctuations in him. And his method of dealing with it is to immediately discard them— including certain memories. That's how I came into being." Suddenly, a flash of enlightenment sparked in Panni's eyes as he integrated the images of the ancient empire seen in the basement, releasing them into the point of mental intrusion!

The tentacle immediately ceased its invasive progress.