Hold the cage! I said hold the cage, you flat eared mongrel! If you give that beast even a second's respite it will remove your innards and tie a knot with it right in front of your eyes! We don't see these everyday folks! So be careful with the fucking cargo, that thing's a goldmine! Off! Off!

- Caged Monsters, Testimonies of the Crescent Massacre

Usually, controlling the golem would be the easier and more intuitive task. Only the most advanced constructs could interface directly with the mind. Upper-tier constructs followed voice or gesture. The most basic form of direction was through a series of magical inputs that pertained to symbols on their body. The ones found in the library could do all of this.

As was intended for consumer use, the interface with the mind was the easiest. Unfortunately, since creating that method of direction was strictly not a possibility for me, I'd need to stick with the magical inputs, which conversely, were the hardest to direct with.

The little golem I had created was a modified version of the most basic example golem. Between The Language of Enchanting and Advanced Constructs and Golemancy, I was able to obtain references to less niche books. The example golem was one often used, and detailed, thoroughly.

Originally it would respond to four magical inputs that corresponded to the direction. Mine was modified as it was made to wander aimlessly if not given an input. I stood the golem up, initiated a connection, a rudimentary one unprotected from any usurping mana signatures, and simply directed it forward.

The little golem walked like a [Soldier], purely mechanical a way that was almost military. When my breath caught and arms froze, the golem didn't care.

It walked straight through the breach into the unknown darkness beyond.

I kept directing it forward, unsure where the cave ended. At this point, the golem, enchanted to lightly glow, wouldn't last longer uncharged. It had maybe a few minutes before it deactivated, but that was fine for these purposes, it was made to be disposable. It glowed a delicate blue, the color of unaltered mana, and it lit the cavern beyond in the hue.

I let go of my control and watched the golem turn acting on random inputs for random intervals, rather than any true exploration algorithm. Perhaps that apparent free-thinking was what triggered it.

A shadow, elongated and monstrous appeared on the far wall of the cavern. A piercing howl of the likes I had never heard but only read about. Shattering wood and angry, vicious snarls. I felt the small link to the golem dissipate.

Then the body of the golem sailed through the portal, ragdoll in every aspect.

I watched it fly horizontally from my position. A perfect arc to land where I had last been when I viewed the breach. By my estimates, it would've been right at my feet previously.

From the side, bathed in shadow and low-light, I shuddered and revised my search. I fingered to another section of Creatures of the Depths one labeled intelligence. My [Reader's Eyes] helped me despite the shadows. It had remembered me. That was the worst part, the part that sent shivers down my spine. It mocked me too, remembered exactly where I was and mangled my creation, sending it to the exact spot. I'd be foolish to show myself there twice. Through the emotion and fear, I knew it had mistaken me. I was not some meek prey, and it had given me clues.

It was not a pack animal. I saw no other shadows or heard any other sounds. Communication between pack animals was crucial, to not hear a single thing was telling. This was a lone hunter, a predator. An intelligent one, no less. Dangerous. It was something to go on, but the number of creatures that fit that criteria were still quite large. It could be a ripper, or a rock sly.

I smiled though. Because the creature past the breach was no longer unknown. I was weak and it was strong. But it was no longer a mystery to me and I would not underestimate it as I was sure it did me. I bookmarked a few pages with potential and closed the encyclopedia. [Reader's Eyes] were useful for reading in the dark, although I didn't know how often that would be it certainly helped me remain unseen as I observed my little golem pass through.

Back in the central room, I examined the little golem's damage. I had sent one of the wooden constructs to retrieve it for me. You could tell a lot from the type of wounds a creature might inflict. Although, this was less than ideal since the golem was made of wood and not flesh.

It was the main reason I handled the golem with metal artificer tools. It was held at length. There was a mild sizzling and I noticed the tongs appeared to wear. Acid saliva, clear color. The bite marks were curved indents, deep furrows. Bladed fangs. There didn't seem to be any claw markings so perhaps I was looking at something with some dextrous appendage given the arc of the throw. That would fall in line with my previous assumptions of intelligence, a creature needed a larger mind to handle, a monkey's tail say.

I knew some behavioral traits too. The golem didn't immediately die, which meant it was a patient or cautious predator. Either it happened that its lair was right outside, or the creature tended to stake out its prey. If not that, then a routine hunting pattern.

That allowed me to narrow down the list of potential candidates. I sighed, wholeheartedly understanding this would only be the first creature I'd encounter on my way to the surface, but nonetheless a method of dealing with it was to be valued.

My finger roamed down the page, tapping on a potential entry. A reaver. Specifically, a silver reaver since that was the archetype most likely to dwell in caverns like this. It said they were often hunted for use in [Gladiator] arenas. But they were an intelligent species and confirmed on par with one from the Learned Races. If not for their propensity for violence and moral disregard they would be. Silver reavers often dwelled in caves, all of my gathered data fit in so far, but the book covered what would've been potentially lethal not to know.

The silver reaver, as its name perhaps misleading implied, was coated in silver. The coating itself was not predominantly silver, the silver reaver instead gets its name from the color it shines. Its armor, being unnaturally tough and durable despite its propensity for holding mana, was highly coveted. The silver reaver, of all reavers, was usually magically inclined. Add to that the lethality inherent in all of their archetypes, I'd get nowhere brute-forcing forward.

I shut the book and stared at my notes. No other candidates aligned fully with what I had gathered. Nonetheless, ever cautious, I began to formulate a plan that would be sufficient for all cases. While it was possible it could be the others, that eventuality would be in my favor. The silver reaver was the worst case of all of them. The others would have more mundane workarounds, the reaver would not. Preparations were in order. I was far from taking my first step outside of the breach. But with this, I'd be able to figure out how. There was still a myriad of things I'd need to account for, but surviving immediate death was priority one.

Over the course of the next few days, I trained my body's endurance and stamina, observed the breach, and studied as if my life depended on it. Countless bouts with the training dummies, watching the breach for any movement from the shadows of the shelves, reading up on and applying the various Skylight Bladeforms and techniques of Barrier and Warding Magic.

My life revolved around these things and if I ever stopped, I felt like I would die.