The rock golem swung down hard, denting the ground and kicking up clouds of dirt. With two hands firm around the hilt, I slammed the mace into its extended arm, sending flakes of stone scattering across the ground. It was barely a chip. Even if I whacked away with that same force, it would take until sunset to deal any lasting damage.
I avoided the golem's backhand, backstepping it and casting [Sharp Claw]. The skill tore across the ground and crashed into the golem's leg. The four claw marks shattered against its stone body like glass against a brick wall.
“Dammit,” I said. I figured that might be the case. Not only was I weaker than them, but I was also using a skill that was the equivalent of trying to cut a rock in half with a kitchen knife.
The golem swung for me a few more times but I dodged it with relative ease. Quick as they were, their movements were sluggish and exaggerated. It was like a car speeding down the road; it moved fast but had little hope of making sharp turns.
That also meant they were at their most dangerous when they charged me head-on.
A golem came barreling from the left. There wasn’t enough time to dodge it. I brought my arm up to shield myself but there was little difference. The impact threw me from my feet and expelled all the air from my lungs, thundering pain making me grimace, as I was sent tumbling across the ground. It took everything I had to not lose consciousness. The third golem came at me from the left, swiping at me with its lumbering arms. I smashed the mace to parry it, the shock reverberating through my body.
This wasn’t going to work.
They kept attacking me, alternating swings and stomps; charging me down when I finally had a chance to catch my breath. I jumped back from an attack but was caught by a golem that appeared behind me. It grabbed me, stone fingers wrapping around my ribs like a vice grip.
My fists pounded at its hand, doing everything they could to weaken its grip and failing miserably. The crowd loved this turn of events. This was probably the loudest they had cheered.
Crush him! Crush him! Crush him! Their chants were in harmony.
And it compiled, squeezing as much life out of me as it could manage. I began to panic. My legs flailed. I kicked at it in desperation, feeling stone repel my feet with minimal effort.
But then I hit something. It felt as if my foot had sunk into molasses but I instinctively knew that wasn’t the case. The golem let out a cry and dropped me, stumbling back and clutching the gem in its chest.
It grunted and groaned, crying in pain and putting some distance between us. The other two golems slowly circled me, clearly wary of my actions. So the gems were their weakness? If even a little kick from my foot made it keel over in pain, what would a strike from a mace do? I needed to get close but the golems were sure to be on guard, and I didn’t want to experience having the life squeezed from my body just to get a chance to strike them.
The crowd booed as I got to my feet.
A strike came from behind. I jumped over it and kicked off the golem's arm, charging at the one directly in front of me. It went to grab me and I ducked low, swinging the mace at its chest and missing as it stepped back.
There was a back and forth as I tried my best to make contact with one of their gems, coming up short every time. My body was getting worn down. Trying to avoid their attacks while making precise strikes of my own was not an easy task. They landed hits on me every time I tried, although I did a good job lessening the damage.
But that wasn’t going to work. No matter how I racked my brain, there was no scenario where I made contact with one of their gems without getting hit in the process. If I was going to end this, I needed to take a risk, regardless of how big that risk might be.
I ran at one of the golems, feinting an attack as I prepared to dodge. It smashed its fist into the ground and I jumped atop it, perching on its forearm like a crow. I didn’t kick off this time. The golem’s yellow eyes flickered in rage as it flung its arm up, launching me in the air as if I were weightless.
Every time my situation seemed perilous, the crowd just had to cheer.
I flailed through the air before plummeting back down. I gripped the mace tight in my right hand, locking eyes with the golem right below me that prepared a fist to break my defenseless self. And I was going to let it.
I tumbled towards it and stuck my left arm out. The golem smashed its fist into it, shattering the bones and spinning me in the air. The momentum carried me. I fought the tears in my eyes. Biting back pain, I spun around and swung my mace, driving the iron ball into the golem's chest with the full force of momentum.
The gem shattered, chunks of sapphire scattering across the ground and erupting with energy. The golem roared. Its eyes blazed like a rampant fire before burning out in their sockets. With a thud, it fell to the ground, unmoving. A hush fell over the crowd.
My left arm was dripping blood. There was so much adrenaline flowing through my body that I couldn’t even feel an ounce of pain. I stared at the golem’s fallen body, watching the blue energy that was stored in its chest leak into the air. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I reached my one good arm towards it and spoke my spell out loud.
“[Blood Drain],” I said.
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No crimson liquid leaked from its body, so no pillars of red spun towards my outstretched palm. Instead, the blue light that spilled from the golem’s body floated towards me like a plume of smoke, infusing with me. My arm crackled and popped, shooting pain through my body as if it were breaking again, and fixed itself—good as new.
Power level was just a number when your level of intelligence was no greater than a toddler’s.
Blood Shard Acquired {Rock Golem: 1/2}
Power Level Increased: 86-90
The orc lord burst into laughter, filling the arena with an uncanny mix of emotion. “Good!” he shouted, voice gruff. “Entertain me!”
And I planned on doing just that. I clashed with the golems, drawing them both into the fight at the same time in hopes they would miss blows and strike each other. The more my power increased, the faster I became. The clearer my sight and other senses were. The better my decision-making was.
We fought for a while before they made the first mistake. I swiped with my claws, using [Sharp Claw] on one of the golems’ eyes. It wouldn’t hurt him but it would blind him for long enough. The skill crashed against its face and burst into dazzling shards of light. The golem swung haphazardly, aiming high and low and missing me completely. I was too agile. The second golem was not. They collided with each other, the blinded golem swinging fists of stone into the other's head and knocking it off balance.
I wouldn’t miss my chance. My mace sunk into the golem's chest in an instant, shattering the gem and filling the stadium with the creature's death cry. Its eyes went hollow as its magic flowed to me. I could hear the other one running at me from behind.
Blood Shard Acquired {Rock Golem 2/2}
New Skill Acquired: [Stone Arm]
Power Level Increased: 90-93
The knowledge of the skill filled my head. As I spun to meet the approaching golem, I yelled out its name. “[Stone Arm],” I shouted as I swung my left at its approaching fist. An array of rocks coalesced from thin air and wrapped around my hand, stretching down my arm to my elbow and encasing it. We collided. Rock shards scattered through the air. Neither of us outpowered the other, the skill allowing me to match fists despite the gap in our power.
With all my strength I threw my left arm outwards, taking the golems with it and revealing its chest. A swing from its other arm approached. I was faster. I threw the mace from my hands and watched it crash into the golem’s chest. But the gem didn't shatter. The mace lodged itself in, hanging out of its chest like the tag of a shirt.
“Dammit!”
I casted [Stone Arm] on my right, blocking the attack and feeling my body rattle from the blow. It nearly took me off my feet, but I held my ground. There was no time to remove the mace and strike again; I needed to lodge it deeper.
With my left arm, broken rock coating my fist like brass knuckles, I threw a punch at the head of the mace. My fist hit and I felt the resistance push back against me. I roared, pulling my arm back and throwing all my weight into my next punch. Blue mist burst out around me as I broke through the gem and opened a hole in the golem's back.
One final roar filled the coliseum and a loud thud signaled the death of my final competitor. Surprisingly, the crowd cheered. They rumbled and stomped. I heard chants start and get overwhelmed by other chants, all the orcs and goblins’ voices melding into one.
[Blood Drain], I thought, absorbing the energy from the golem’s fallen body.
Power Level Increased: 93-95
The rocks around my arms crumbled and fell, revealing the healing bruises below. Fist tight, I raised my right arm into the air, hearing the bellows and hollering showering me in favor.
Three sound-offs from that massive horn fought to quiet the crowd. “Silence!” the announcer orc yelled. An orc behind her swung a mallet against the massive drum next to the horn, ground shaking thumps rattling the ground.
“The challenger has surprised us with his victory. Our Lord was pleased with his fight. Congratulations are in order!”
The crowd responded back with applause.
“But your fight in the coliseum is not over! You have earned the right to face one of our champions, and only if you defeat them in combat shall you receive your chance to speak.”
The drumming continued repeatedly as the announcer shouted“Champions!”
Four gates rose around me. In each stood a beast of an orc that could rival the Lord himself in size. They were all a different color and wielded different weapons; the red one carried two wooden clubs, the pale one held a decorated lance over its shoulders, the purple swung around a massive great sword made of stone with serrated teeth at its edge, and the green one carried two daggers at its waist, a gargantuan bow at its back.
They emerged to applause and marched towards me, stopping just a few feet away. I dared not identify them. Even in their presence, I could feel the massive gap in our power levels. Outsmarting my opponent would not win me another battle.
“I present to you the four champions of the coliseum! The four tribes have polished these warriors to be among the greatest our race has to offer. Ven’neer the red! Kal’ta the pale! Jaku the black! Hekk’ton the green! One of these great warriors will grant us the honor of watching them do combat with the challenger! Now choose! Who do you wish to test your skills against?” the announcer said.
“Wait!”
The words caught the breath of everyone in the coliseum. No drum or horn or thundering applause could match the command it had. The Orc Lord rose from his throne. Any piece of extravagance that would not suit a warrior in battle he removed from his body, leaving solely the fur armor that covered him.
“There is one more name to be thrown into the mix,” he said. His bedazzled tusks glistened even in the dreary light. He leaped from the veranda, crashing down into the coliseum and kicking up dust.
“Maw’ra the bold!” he roared. Whispers broke out amongst the spectators. Gasps and sounds of disbelief.
“That is my name, vampire. If you make it through this final battle, I will give you the honor of telling me yours. Now choose! Which of us five do you wish to do battle with?”