Ellis silently glared at the approaching Golem. Its movements were a bit rigid, but the pressure that it exuded was overwhelming.

Off in the distance, the second Golem slowly picked itself up. Right now, it was currently embedded deep within a shallow hole in the ground all the way on the other side of the river. It struggled with trying to regain its footing. Every time it moved to stand, the earth underneath its feet would crumble due to the force.

Still, slowly but surely, it climbed its out. It would take some time, but without a doubt, it would eventually rejoin the battle.

Let’s not worry about that. First, find a way to deal with the first Golem. Ellis shook his head and cleared his thoughts.

Calm down and think. He forcibly suppressed the helplessness within his heart. What can I do in this situation?

A near-indestructible Golem with an incredible healing factor. All signs seemingly pointed to how it was practically impossible to defeat. Ellis agreed too. This was a major hurdle that the current him found impossible to overcome.

Killing it is one thing, but… if it’s just entering the city, then I don’t even need to actually defeat it.

There were many ways for him to ‘win’ without having to enter a life or death battle with this thing.

Just of the top of his head, he could lure the Golems away while the others entered the city. He could also dig up a deep enough hole and trap them inside. Truth be told, there were countless possibilities, but…

I don’t want to win like that.

A deep-rooted frustration simmered within his heart. Even as the seconds passed, it only continued to intensify.

Recently, Ellis noticed something.

Everyone else steadily grew stronger, but he was different. The further they traveled up the river, the more his limitations came to light. The battle with the Slime was one example of that. His lack of magic had placed him in a grave disadvantage.

Magic was one thing, but now, with this current battle… even his strength, the only thing that he really had going for him… even that was no longer enough.

No. He did not want that.

Ilpin Forest was just one area within this wide, wide world. If he could not overcome even this, then what qualifications did he have to face off against a God?

Even though Ellis was not actually planning on fighting this world’s God, it was undeniable that he would soon come into conflict with said God’s chosen champions. At this point, it was not a matter of if, but when.

“…”

Whenever he pictured the future, he could only see one outcome: suppressed by God and bullied by Lull’s Heroes!

Ellis gritted his teeth. He was determined. He would do everything in his power to prevent such a miserable end.

As such, he shifted his focus. Right now, he only had one goal: challenge his own limits and grow stronger through battle!

Wight was able to do it, so surely, he can too!

Ellis suddenly let out a guttural roar.

Without warning, he sprinted forward.

The rigid movements of the Golem left it quite exposed. Even when it tried to react, Ellis was simply too fast! In a blink of an eye, he was already on top of it.

Ellis jumped up. With a spear in his hand, his small frame rocketed towards its head.

In one swift motion, he plunged the tip of his spear directly into its skull. Like before, the blade penetrated the wooden surface and sank a good 20 or so inches deep. Still, Ellis was not satisfied. He balanced himself on top of its head and gripped the spear’s shaft with both hands.

With a savage glint in his eyes, he twisted and turned, driving the blade even deeper into its head. The further it traveled, the more resistance he met. It felt almost as if something inside was actively pushing back against the blade.

In response, Ellis simply added more strength into his push. Inch by inch, second by second, through sheer force of will, he plunged the spear even deeper into the Golem’s skull.

For a moment, the Golem’s body jerked. Unfortunately, it did not fall nor falter.

A low grumble leaked out from its mouthless face.

Without warning, numerous spikes suddenly grew out from all over its upper body. The ones on its neck and shoulders were especially dangerous. Like jagged wooden lances, they shot through the air and hurtled towards him.

They pierced his skin and turned his body into a pin cushion.

Ellis spat out a mouthful of blood.

Over a dozen baseball sized holes littered his chest and legs. If it was just that, then it wouldn’t be so bad, but unfortunately, there was more. He suddenly felt it. An uncomfortable wriggling underneath his skin.

As the seconds ticked by, it proliferated and grew, both in scale and intensity.

Soon, the discomfort morphed into unimaginable pain.

Ellis unconsciously howled.

The spikes, they were growing within his body, some even branched out and disseminated like roots deep beneath the earth.

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He gritted his teeth.

A problem… this was definitely a problem.

Even if it couldn’t kill him, it was more than enough to immobilize him. It felt like hundreds of calcified worms crawling through his blood vessels.

His muscles turned rigid and his movements stiffened. With difficulty, he yanked his black spear out from its head and swung it around him. Ellis quickly broke free from all the spikes that had previously restrained him, before he abruptly jumped off its head.

The Golem tried to throw a punch at his retreating figure, but luckily, Ellis deflected the blow with the edge of his spear.

A few seconds later, he crashed on the ground with a dull thud. Dust and debris circled around him, while Ellis panted heavily. Sweat dripped down the back of his neck.

He breathed out a heavy sigh. The moment he did, he suddenly coughed out a few twigs. Seeing the blood splattered twigs on the ground, he couldn’t help but shudder.

In that short span of time, the branches had managed to worm their way into his lungs.

Fortunately, the moment he separated from the Golem, the branches lost their vitality. They were not nearly as sturdy as before, nor could they continue growing. It was a stroke of luck on his part, otherwise, he would have spent the rest of his life trapped and immobile, courtesy of the Golem’s parasitic spikes.

As for the few remaining branches still stuck inside him, he could only hope that his body possessed a solution, because he sure as hell didn’t.

Ellis quickly picked himself up. He glared at the Golem. It poked at the new hole in its face, but it did not look overly worried. After a few seconds, the hole began to close and the Golem suddenly lowered its head. It ‘stared’ at him.

Even though the Golem did not have eyes, he couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of peculiarity from its gaze. Ellis quickly shrugged off the strange feeling. He once more prepared to throw himself into the fray when suddenly, he frowned.

“What the hell?”

The world abruptly darkened.

No, to be more precise, something was currently blotting out the sky.

Ellis hurriedly looked up. There, he saw it. Something large and unmistakably wooden dropped from above. What’s more, it was falling directly towards him!

He hastily retreated. A half second later, the Golem crash-landed on the exact same spot where he previously stood. The ground fragmented underneath its weight. Chunks of loose earth flew through the air.

“That’s—!”

Ellis narrowed his eyes. He was quick to notice the fact that this new Golem was actually the same Golem that was supposed to be on the other side of the river.

It had actually jumped all the way here!

He furrowed his brow. For such a large and bulky creature, it certainly has an amazing set of legs…

Before he could think about it any further, the Golem quickly picked itself out from the rubble and immediately attacked him.

It’s left arm suddenly morphed. Its fingers sank beneath its palms, while a sharp and pointed protrusion grew out from its wrists like some sort of malignant tumor. A giant wooden blade had replaced its hand!

The Golem swung its arm.

CLANG!

Ellis received the blow with his spear. His feet slightly sank into the earth as he deflected the slash away from his body. Within the short span of time it took for the Golem to recover its stance, Ellis took the opportunity to rush at the creature’s body.

Unfortunately, it suddenly let out a low rumble before several spear-like protrusions shot out from its chest.

Ellis was reminded of last time’s debacle. In the face of such an attack, he could only dodge.

Meanwhile, the Golem’s arm quickly reverted to normal. No, that wasn’t quite right. The arm once again transformed. Its hand suddenly morphed into a large ball with spikey protrusions all over its surface. It somewhat resembled a morning star, and it wasn’t just one hand, but rather, both!

Like a wild beast, the Golem rushed at him. It continually swung its arm, damaging the nearby surroundings in the process.

He continually dodged. At the same time, from the corner of his eye, he noticed the other Golem quickly makings its way towards them.

Ellis frowned.

He knew the dire circumstance of his current situation. He was not afraid of the Golem’s strength, but its durability frustrated him and its ability sent shivers running down his spine. The way it could penetrate a person’s skin like that and continue growing… it was nothing short of a nightmare.

Such a method of attack and entrapment was quite scary. It would not kill him, but there was a high possibility of it forever immobilizing him within a shell of near-indestructible wooden branches.

No, I can’t go on like this…

Even his caution brought on a great sense of frustration.

What’s more, there wasn’t just one Golem…

One is already bad enough, but two…

Ellis knew he needed to do something and he needed to do it fast.

His mind churned. In a split instant, he came to a decision. It was a decision that once again frustrated him, but nevertheless, it was a necessary move.

He knew that fighting two was a near impossible task. As such, he needed to somehow find a way to fight these guys one at a time.

First, let’s separate them again.

Ellis stomped on his feet. He suddenly rushed forward and in a blink of an eye, he appeared right in front of the first Golem’s chest.

Almost immediately, he felt a surge of pain all over his body. Numerous spikes had sprouted out from the Golem’s chest and now, quite a few of those spikes had pierced his body. His newly healed wounds reopened.

Ellis did not stop though. Without wasting a moment’s time, He swung his arm and punched out with all of his strength. The force of the punch was enough to dislodge him from the creature’s spikes. What’s more, it also sent the Golem flying a good thirty, fifty meters back.

Ellis fell to the ground in a bloody mess, but that did not dampen his mood.

He suddenly shouted, “Ena, Wight, come here and distract that one!”

The grey-haired youth called out to his companions. Out of everyone within the group, Wight and Ena were the only ones that stood a chance against an enemy of this level.

Off in the distance, Wight let out an excited bark and immediately sprinted towards the battlefield. As for Ena, she was clearly not as excited. In fact, she had a rather reluctant expression on her face. Still, she begrudgingly moved in to help.

The little fox lifted herself up with wind magic and floated through the air. She stayed at a relatively safe distance away from the Golem and quickly conjured up a few fireballs. They floated all around her body like ominous will-o’-wisps.

Seeing the contradicting attitudes between the two, Ellis couldn’t help but raise a brow.

Still, he did not have the time to pay their unusual dynamic much attention. There was still a lumbering Golem heading his way.

“Wight, don’t get hit by that thing!” Ellis took a step back and readied himself. He did not forget to remind the eager little wolf about the dangers that this particular enemy brought about. “Whatever you do, don’t ever let it touch you! Just find a way to kite it and keep it preoccupied. Focus on avoiding its attacks! As for you Ena, focus on support!”

His words echoed through the forest. Wight let out an understanding bark before she quickly sprinted towards the second Golem in the distance. At the same time, Ena let out a soft grunt before she sent out the first of many fireballs.

The two girls were well into the battle, while Ellis prepared to confront his own enemy.

“…”

Dark and negative, the frustration within his heart simmered to a new high.

He took a deep breath and exhaled.

This time, for real.

He clenched his knuckles, psyched himself up and vowed to kill the creature in front of him.

Just before he started, he suddenly noticed slight movement on the top of his head. Ellis subconsciously looked up.

“This feeling…”

Soft, squishy, jiggly, and soft. Ellis felt that it was all very familiar.

“Mumei? You were there the whole time?” He was completely shocked to find a slime roosting on the top of his head.

Throughout the whole battle, he really had not noticed Mumei’s presence. Rather, he was quite surprised that it somehow managed to stay on his head despite all the ruckus.

As if in response, Mumei slightly jiggled. Ellis felt the sensation on the crown of his head. It was a rather peculiar sensation, one that reminded him of a certain body part…

Before he could think any further, the Golem had already arrived. Without hesitation, it launched its attack. Ellis was dragged back to reality as he once again entered another life-or-death battle.