"Not again," Meera groaned.
She sat up and focused with her Nimble Ears to find out which direction the golem was coming from, but it was Eagle Eye that did the trick. It helped discern the shaking of leaves coming from her right, and a moment later, the golem appeared, reflecting the sun's light in such a manner that if she were standing a little more to the right, she would've been blinded by it.
Meera stepped behind the tree, breaking the creature's line of sight, and Stepped up to the branches again and waited.
The golem was near now, and Meera used Identify on it, but it was the same as before.
[Mirror Golem – Level ??]
But instead of stopping as it should have, the golem rammed his shoulder into the tree. Meera yelped and nearly lost her balance. The tree tipped over but did not fall, so the golem hit it again and again until the tree fell, and Meera along with it.
She used Shadow Step to land in the tree's shadow and then used another Shadow Step to get behind another tree. The golem roared and came for the tree she was hiding behind.
How does he know where I'm going?
Meera was gone from the tree's shadow before he even arrived there. She was in the tree's shadow that was directly behind him. She could see her haggard form on the creature's back. She almost used Monkey Fist and Primal Power combo again, but she didn't want to be within range of its attack. It was a good thing, too, as when the golem was done with the tree, it turned on Meera. But it was a little too late.
Four chakrams hit the creature's face one after the other. Each one found its mark, leaving deep gashes. The last one even trimmed its head down a little at the top. She roared and ran at the golem, confusing it, but he readied his arms and threw a punch.
All it hit was smoke. Meera used Shadow Step at the last moment to appear on the thing's shoulders. She ripped out two chakrams and began hacking at it like a mad woman and did not stop until the thing shattered.
She landed on a knee in a million pieces of mirror. She huffed, stood slowly, and put her chakrams back on her wrists when she heard another roar.
"Just how many of these things are there?"
This time, she didn't wait to see which direction it was coming from. She took off at a run in a seemingly random direction. It wasn't so random as she took off deeper into the woods, but the roars of the golem grew closer. She climbed a tree regularly to avoid wasting Mana.
The sounds of the golem were growing closer, but it was still a little way off. She had time to check her notifications and the skills she had stolen quickly. After all, these golems seemed to learn from their last brethren's mistakes, and she could come up with only so many variations with her current skills.
*ding!*
[You have killed a Mirage Golem – Level 78. For killing an enemy forty levels higher than your own, you have gained bonus experience.]
[You have killed a Mirage Golem – Level 79. For killing an enemy forty levels higher than your own, you have gained bonus experience.]
*ding!*
[Congratulation. Image Stealer has reached Level 39. You have been awarded 3 stat points]
[Congratulation. Image Stealer has reached Level 40. You have been awarded 3 stat points]
.
.
[Congratulation. Image Stealer has reached Level 47. You have been awarded 3 stat points]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Chakram of Echoes effect activated. Upon reaching Level 40 in your main class, you have earned a fifth Chakram.]
Just like the notification stated, a fifth chakram appeared on her arm, making Meera grin.
*ding!*
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
[Congratulations. Mirror Affinity has reached Level 26. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 26% boost]
[Congratulations. Mirror Affinity has reached Level 27. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 27% boost]
.
[Congratulations. Mirror Affinity has reached Level 33. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 35% boost]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Shadow Step has reached Level 4]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Nimble Ears has reached Level 9]
[Congratulations. Nimble Ears has reached Level 10]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Eagle Eye has reached Level 9]
[Congratulations. Eagle Eye has reached Level 10]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Primal Power has reached Level 13]
[Congratulations. Primal Power has reached Level 14]
.
.
[Congratulations. Primal Power has reached Level 17]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Monkey Fist has reached Level 8]
[Congratulations. Monkey Fist has reached Level 9]
.
.
[Congratulations. Monkey Fist has reached Level 14]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Wild Instincts has reached Level 4]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Ambush Tactics has reached Level 13]
*ding!*
[Congratulations. Identify has reached Level 3. You can now Identify people up to forty levels higher than you.]
Meera stopped her notifications to check on the golem quickly. It had grown closer but still had not got the lock on Meera's location. She could almost see it through Eagle Eye. The thing was roaming about shaking trees, trying to find out which tree she had hidden. With that squared away, she rubbed her fingers and opened the notifications she wanted to see.
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill, Mirror Shield. Mirror Shield – Type: Active. You can form a shield that manifests as a large, curved surface resembling a mirror and can protect against a wide range of attacks and magical spells. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
Meera most definitely did, but she didn't know which skill she would like to give up for it. She kind of liked all her current skills. But this was a mirror-related skill that, combined with her Mirror Affinity, would make it stronger if she understood it correctly. Even if that were not the case, she needed defensive skills.
She looked at all her skills, and the only one that stood out was Tracking Scent. She had only used it once to track the blood of Gidran, the logger's master. It had worked wonders, but that was the only time she had used it. There was a loud roar from the Golem, which sounded closer than before. She sighed and reluctantly gave up Tracking Scent and accepted Mirror Shield.
*ding!*
[You have acquired the skill Mirror Shield – Level 1]
*ding!*
[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the general skill Tactician's Gaze. You can visualize all the tactics of any enemy you or your party has already fought and devise the attacks they will use. Would you like to acquire this skill?]
*ding!*
[You have acquired the skill general Tactician's Gaze – Level 1]
Meera figured that was how the second Mirror Golem knew about her strategy to climb up a tree and fall on an unsuspecting enemy. But this was limited to the attacks she had already used, or they would've figured out about her Fireplosion and kept their distance.
The Golem was still a bit out but well within sight that if she made too much of a move, it would see her. Whoever created these must've linked the golems together. If one saw something, the memories of it would transfer to another, which was why this knew she would be up in the trees.
So, if it doesn't see what killed it, then it cannot transmit that to the next one…I seriously hope there isn't a next one.
She climbed down from the tree and jumped from one shadow of the tree to the next, using Shadow Step. She stopped when she was close enough to the golem. He sauntered over, shook her tree, groaned in an echoing voice, and moved on. Meera slipped out from the tree's shadow and tiptoed behind the golem and, at the last moment, lunged for the golem's back, hoping to catch it in an embrace, but the golem turned around at the last moment, swinging his club-like arm.
She activated a Mirror Shield right before the club crashed into her. The shield held for a moment before the golem's arm crashed into her and sent her rolling on the ground. By the time she came to a stop, a big chunk of her health was missing, and she was sure her arm was broken.
She was about to activate Vitalize, but she had a feeling she would need the Mana, so she used Shadow Step multiple times to put some distance between them. The golem roared and charged after her. She quickly opened her belt and pulled out a regular healing potion which healed her almost completely. The pain in her arm subsided to manageable levels.
The golem was almost on her. The massive thing didn't run around trees but straight through them, toppling some and uprooting others. It was a mad charge to end her life. She waited until he was close enough, used Shadow Step, and teleported herself into the air in the tree's shadow. The golem paused and looked around.
Before it could figure out where she went, she dropped on his shoulder, hooked her arms around its absent neck or where it should have been, and unleashed Fireplosion.
In the next moment, the Mirror Golem blew to pieces. She shut off the attack right away to not cause any more damage.
She fell to the ground on a knee, huffing. There was a silence that followed the explosion. She had just about convinced herself no more golems were coming for her when she heard two distinct roars coming from two different directions. Her eyes widened as she felt vibrations of two golems coming towards her.
What have I gotten myself into?
She straightened and cracked her fingers. If nothing else, she was getting mirror-related skills from killing these things, so she might as well kill them all and hopefully get a plethora of skills that will help her in forming more of a structured lineup of attacks versus having only Fireplosion and her chakrams as a mode of attack.
She cracked her fingers. Come on, you bastards, I have skills to steal.