[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-wizard-building-a-golem-legion-from-zero":3,"chapter-wizard-building-a-golem-legion-from-zero-wizard-building-a-golem-legion-from-zero-chapter-6":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Wizard: Building a Golem Legion From Zero",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},722060,961,"Chapter 6: Mediocre?","wizard-building-a-golem-legion-from-zero-chapter-6",6,"\u003Cp>As Gray finished speaking, a side door in the hall slid silently open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind the door was a corridor. One by one, lights on the ceiling flickered on, illuminating the path.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Follow.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gray turned and stepped into the corridor first. At his side, a silent, dark figure had somehow appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the black-robed guide from yesterday. He was like a living shadow; wherever he passed, the very light seemed to dim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a brief stir, the crowd had no choice but to brace themselves and follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the end of the corridor was an even more spacious circular hall. Ten stone pedestals stood in the center. A fist-sized crystal, containing a trace of gentle Magic Power, floated above each one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The first test: Magic Power affinity,\" Gray said, his voice calm and steady. He pointed to the pedestals. \"Ten people, step forward. Place your hands on the crystals.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first one to step forward was a blond-haired boy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a deep breath and placed his hand on the crystal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One second.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two seconds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crystal began to emit a faint glimmer. Beads of sweat formed on the boy’s forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"C-rank,\" Gray declared, sealing his fate. \"Extremely low Magic Power affinity. Next.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No! Sir, please give me another chance! I...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gray ignored him. The black-robed Wizard at his side merely lifted a hand, and the boy was thrown aside by an invisible force. He stumbled and fell, his face ashen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hall fell deathly silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the next few dozen people, some managed to make the crystals flicker erratically before quickly dying out. But most were judged C-rank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sense of unease in the air grew heavier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, it was Allen’s turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stepped forward and gently placed his right hand on the crystal’s cool surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, a gentle, pure energy flowed up his arm and into his body. It wasn’t violent; instead, it carried a tingling sensation, like a bio-electric current, that quickly spread through him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every cell in his body seemed to awaken, crying out with a thirsty hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He made no attempt to control it. He simply treated his body as a vessel, allowing the energy to circulate freely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crystal beneath his hand began to emit a soft, steady glow. The light wasn’t strong, but it wasn’t weak either—like a silent star hanging steadily in the night sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flicker of change crossed Gray’s perpetually indifferent face. He exchanged a glance with the black-robed Wizard beside him and gave a slight nod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Magic Power affinity: A-rank. Not bad,\" Gray announced. \"Go wait at the side.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the assessment was given, dozens of gazes—a mixture of curiosity, envy, and jealousy—fell upon him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a dozen consecutive C-ranks, Allen was the first to receive a high assessment of A-rank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Allen stepped aside, his expression maintaining a noble’s composure, but his mind was already racing, analyzing the result.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’A-rank means I’m excellent, but not top-tier. So what’s the difference? The intensity of the light, or the speed of the resonance?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The test continued. After Allen, a few more people passed, but they were mostly C or B-rank, their crystals glowing weakly or flickering on and off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the first test concluded, out of the original group of several hundred, only seven people—including Allen—had received an A-rank. Not a single S-rank had appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Reality was just as Gray had said: cruel and unforgiving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Very good. It seems the quality of this batch of prospects is acceptable,\" Gray said, scanning the room. \"Next, the Meditation aptitude test.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He briefly taught them a convoluted and obscure \"entry incantation,\" then had everyone sit cross-legged in groups of ten. They were to hold their dorm keys and attempt to enter a state of Meditation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Block out your five senses, focus your consciousness, and find the ’singularity’ in your sea of spirit,\" the black-robed Wizard said, speaking for the first time. His voice was dry and raspy, like two pieces of sandpaper grinding together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Allen closed his eyes and began to chant the incantation silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, there was a problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a modern soul from the information age, his mind was too active, making it difficult to focus.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Why this specific incantation? Is there a link between the vibrational frequency of its syllables and brainwaves...?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’That black-robed Wizard’s vital signs are strange. He doesn’t seem to be breathing, and I can’t detect a heartbeat. Is he a cyborg? Or a non-human species?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’The \"singularity\" of the sea of spirit... is that just borrowing a concept from physics, or is there a genuine spiritual core of infinite density?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless stray thoughts surfaced one after another, flooding his mind like the scrolling comments on a video. Instead of focusing, his consciousness was scattering even faster.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[DSeek: Warning. Severe thought fragmentation. Unable to enter an ordered state. Recommend activating ’white noise’ background for forced noise reduction.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Execute immediately. Dammit, my occupational hazard is kicking in,’ Allen cursed to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>DSeek swiftly intervened, generating a pure ’zone of silence’ in Allen’s mind that helped him suppress the chaotic thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, he had already missed the optimal window to enter the meditative state. By the time he finally managed to condense his consciousness into a single thread and delve into the depths of his mind, the test was nearly over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, the Runes on the silver metal plate in his hand only displayed a somewhat orderly ripple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Meditation adaptability: B-rank.\" Gray’s assessment held a hint of subtle disappointment. \"Mediocre aptitude. A waste of that A-rank affinity.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few stifled snickers could be heard from the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those who had just been jealous of Allen’s A-rank affinity now wore expressions of pure schadenfreude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Allen wasn’t too bothered. ’B-rank. Not too high, not too low. It doesn’t draw attention,’ he thought. He just wondered what impact it would have on his future as a Wizard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The laughter hadn’t even died down when a commotion erupted from the front row.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Allen looked over to see a girl with frizzy, straw-colored hair and a few prominent freckles on her face at the center of the crowd’s attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had her head down, her hands clutching the silver metal plate so tightly her knuckles were turning white. She looked unassuming, even timid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Runes inscribed on the metal plate in her hand seemed to have come to life, constantly twisting and re-forming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gray, who had been adjusting his cuffs, paused to study the unassuming girl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-robed Wizard beside him strode forward, his dead-fish eyes fixed on the dancing Runes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"S-rank.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A smile spread across Gray’s face. \"You might not find one person with such talent in a thousand apprentices.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not even one in a thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The same few who had just been mocking Allen’s poor Meditation skills now stood with their jaws on the floor, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Your name?\" The sandpaper-like rasp in the black-robed Wizard’s voice had softened considerably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl, startled by the sudden attention, shrank back. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. \"Ve... Vera.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Vera. A good name. Stand behind me. You’ll form your own line.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd erupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Envy, jealousy, curiosity—countless gazes fixed on the trembling girl. A moment ago, she was a weed in the mud; in the blink of an eye, she had become a priceless pearl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Allen, standing at the edge of the crowd, didn’t lose his composure like the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stroked his chin, lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’It seems that compared to a ’complex brain’ like mine, riddled with holes from the modern information deluge and needing a chip for forced noise reduction, someone like Vera—with a mind so simple it borders on slow—is actually one of the chosen ones in the realm of Meditation.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Some people are just born with it. You can’t be envious of that.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Allen made a mental note to keep an eye on Vera.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll have to pay more ’attention’ to this Miss Vera from now on,\" he thought, moving with the crowd, his gaze profound.\u003C\u002Fp>",1340,"2026-06-02T10:46:12.574Z",1,"novelbin.me","35c88aee2a35fb7ff5a8452142d919e13c3b2e2d5505752577c7898e279f6e7e","wizard-building-a-golem-legion-from-zero-chapter-7","wizard-building-a-golem-legion-from-zero-chapter-5",201,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fwizard-building-a-golem-legion-from-zero-cover.jpg"]