Meera huffed as she hid behind a tree and quickly checked her stats.

Stats

[Health: 108/280]

[Stamina: 74/390]

[Mana: 42/210]

She was just about done in every sense of the word. Her arms were bloody, her fingers twitched from the pain, her nice new armor was ripped in several places, and she had gone through most of the potions. She could not have survived as long as she had if not for the potions.

She had killed nine golems so far, and the tenth one hunted her. She took deep breaths and did her best to make as little sound as possible. With this low Mana, her Fireplosion would be as strong as a half-worn grenade if she could get in position to do some damage with it. She had killed three of their kind with the skill, and the rest had wised up to her attacks. This was the last one, or rather the last one she could take on before she collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

These things hadn't even given her enough time to check her notifications, so she could not know if she had received a new skill good enough to kill these things. The earth thrummed underneath her feet, and leaves quivered overhead.

She pulled off all her chakrams and readied herself. This was it. Either she was going to kill this thing or get killed by it, and if there were any more of these things, then she was as good as dead.

Meera opened her belt and pulled out a couple of swords. She laid them flat on the ground and stuck them in the ground one by one, with the pointy end up, like stakes. The two swords were enough to close the gap between the two trees.

She did the same with the following two trees but with spears. She had effectively closed the gap between the trees in this small clearing. Now, all she needed to do was lure her prey, which was even easier.

She whistled loudly, something Neel had taught her. Thanks to Nimble Ears, she heard the golem's momentum shift as it ran directly for her. She stood her ground, trying to hide the swords and spear at her back.

A moment later, there was a small glare, almost like a lens flare, and the golem showed itself, charging like a mad bull. She took notice of all the shadows. When the golem was twenty feet away, she let three chakrams fly. They hit the thing in its chest, and it didn't even flinch, but it must've taken a notch out of its health.

The golem charged between two open trees. Splinters flew everywhere. Meera took a few steps back. The golem was on her, and at the very last moment, she used Shadow Step to jump behind the spear.

The golem tried to stop and turn in her direction, but it was too late to prevent itself from running straight into the swords. They impaled themselves deep in its gut, cracks racing outward from the point of impact. But not enough to kill the thing.

She ripped the spear out of the ground and activated Primal Power, and stabbed the monster in the face with the spear, but it was still not done. She got behind the monster and recalled her chakrams. They ripped through the glass monster, cleaving it in two. The golem shattered but not before smashing his arm into her side.

If not for Primal Power, Meera flew into a tree and would have died on impact. She shut it off as she slid down the tree and spat blood.

After taking a few deep breaths, she stood and recollected her weapons, put them in her belt, and limped toward the village. She had almost crossed the forest in her fights, which was good as she couldn't fight anymore. If another golem showed itself, it would be the end of her.

It didn't. She didn't hear anything for a long time. She almost thought to stop and check her notifications, but she was unwilling to risk it here. Once she cleared the forest and got a good night's sleep, she would check her prizes. For now, she walked—or limped, hoping she wasn't ignoring any major injury.

She had two enhanced quality health potions remaining, but she didn't want to waste them now when she was almost out of this infernal forest.

Then the earth shook beneath her feet once again. This time shaking even worse than before, as if the golem had gotten heavier and faster. Meera didn't wait long enough to find out.

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She used the last of Mana to jump from one tree's shadow to the next, which had elongated as the evening sun had almost set. The Mirror Golem appeared to her right. It teleported almost right on top of her.

That was not even the most surprising part about the golem. She was right when she felt the golem's footfall to be heavier. This Mirror Golem was about ten-foot-tall and twice as thick as the others.

She hurriedly ducked his sweeping blow and avoided it by pure luck as she tripped on a rock and went rolling. She stopped and rolled to the side on instinct, and it saved her once more as the golem tried to stomp her into the ground.

She took off at a run, but the thing was always on her. It had a teleportation skill like her, and she used the last of her Mana to stay one step ahead. Even then, she barely managed. She was almost to the forest's edge, and it looked like it was trying to cut her off and prevent her from escaping. In frustration, she launched all her chakrams at the golem. Out of the five, only three connected, but they gave the thing enough pause that Meera made it out of the forest by activating Primal Power.

Once she was under the open sky again, she kept running, even though the golem no longer chased her. She glanced behind her, and indeed, the golem had stopped at the wood's edge. Meera came to a slow stop and recalled her chakrams.

She huffed as she stared at the Mirror Golem, and even despite the distance between them, she could see her reflection in its body, and she almost didn't recognize herself.

Then the golem turned and walked off into the woods. Meera waited for a few minutes before she could stand no more. All the adrenaline left her body, and she collapsed on the spot.

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The next time Meera woke, she was in a dimly lit room. It took her eyes a moment to adjust as she took in her surroundings. She was in a wooden hut. There was a fire crackling in the fireplace, a table with four chairs, some cabinets, and what looked like a closet. A somewhat chubby woman was snoring away on a chair beside her bed.

Meera was lying in bed with the covers drawn to her chin. She tried getting up and winced, but the blanket fell, and it turned out she didn't have a shirt on. Meera held her breath as she slowly checked under the blanket, and she had nothing on. Aside from her underwear, she was completely naked.

The blood drained from her face as she pulled the covers back on and screamed. The woman shook awake, nearly falling from her chair.

"W-Where am I? Where are my clothes and my things? Who are you? What am I doing here?" Meera shot questions at the woman rapid-fire.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, you're safe. I am Yoana, and you are in my home in the village of Cliffmere. Your clothes were ripped in several places, so I gave them to the seamstress to fix them after I washed all the blood and dirt off them. As to what you are doing here, well, I found you lying half-dead on the cusp of the forest. So, I rounded up some of the girls and brought you here. Bathed you and got Ruby, our healer, to heal you." She counted off something on her fingers. "Oh, and those sharp circlets of yours and your belt are in that cupboard. They looked important, so I kept them safe, and your boots are by the door." She frowned lightly but with a smile. "I think I've just about answered all your questions."

Yoana had an innocent way of talking that disarmed Meera, but still, she Identify'd her.

[Farmer - Level 18]

Meera sighed, knowing all her things were safe.

"Miss, I hope you don't mind answering a few of my questions?" Yoana asked.

Meera nodded. "Go ahead, and you can call me Meera."

"Hmm, that's a strange name." She started. "Not that it's strange, strange, it just doesn't sound like it's from around here."

"You got that right."

"I see." Yoana nodded. "Then I hope you don't mind me asking what you are doing here. We are far away from just about every stretch of civilization."

Meera hadn't decided on a lie as she hadn't expected to run into anyone who wasn't the witch, and she didn't want to say that she was looking for the champion without learning more about where she was. In the end, she decided on a partial truth.

"I came looking for the witch that's in this valley. I heard she's powerful."

"Oh," Yoana's face fell. "You must be an adventurer. Come to seek a favor from the witch."

"Something like that."

She stood and turned away from Meera, her shoulders stooped, as she sighed.

"What's wrong?" Meera asked.

"Well, you're the first outsider to make it past the forest in a while, thanks to witch's golems."

Meera frowned and got up on an elbow. Her cover fell, and she quickly dropped down to a lying position. "Those were hers. I killed ten of those things."

Yoana gasped as she turned. "No wonder you were so injured. Now that you're up let's get you to the sauna. It'll be good for you, and we can talk more there." With that, she headed for the door.

"Umm, Yoana, I'm not wearing any clothes," Meera reminded her.

"Oh, right. You can drape yourself in that blanket. The sauna is not too far from here."

Meera frowned. "But-But what about the boys outside? I don't want to risk it all on a blanket. What if I accidentally drop this thing?"

"You don't have to worry about them. You can wear my slippers. Might be a little big for you, but I'm sure you will manage." With that, Yoana walked out the door.

Meera sighed and stood with difficulty. She was still not back to feeling like herself again. Some parts ached as if the pain was in her bones. She winced through covering herself with the blanket and held on tight. She wore the slippers and headed out the door into a chilly evening. A chill went up her spine as the cool air hit her legs.

"Come, it's this way." Yoana led the way, and Meera was only too happy to follow.

The houses were like the ones she had seen in Belacre—some made of bricks, others wood but no mud houses. Everywhere they walked, people stopped to stare. It took Meera a moment to realize that only women were out. She saw one chopping wood, another pushing her animals in a pen. Another was tending to her garden. Meera turned her head from side to side and didn't see a single man. She saw some little boys, but that was it.

"What's happened to all the men? Where are they?"

Yoana kept walking as she said, "The witch took them all."