In a flash, Murai faced the cold stone with his face. It didn't feel great, and as he gasped for breath, he truly felt like a helpless duck. Fuck... me. I forgot about that golem. He complained and tried to feel where he was, or what even happened.

It didn't take long to figure that out, as the surroundings became clearer in a mere moment. Murai did take some damage, yet his mind flickered and his vision blurred to stability. He heard a loud thud not so far from him, coming from a golem that stood like a massive mountain before him, eying and topping over him, and it wasn't stopping from its purpose.

The point of wanting to mop the floor with Murai's innards wasn't a joke, but a serious attempt at mocking this small enemy.

Clumsy... Right. It is like a mountain before me. Does this make sense? 3 meters versus 30 centimeters tall myself. Fine... I've seen worse things and felt them too. Murai thought.

“This fucking thing wants to mop the floor with me? You damn wished for such a thing, you large shit! And you, you stupid machine with no feelings.” Murai quacked loudly. “I will destroy you so damn hard your past owners will cry in their tombs or Afterlife. Well, screw the latter, tombs are enough.” Murai joked for his sake and got to his feet while ignoring whatever injuries he suffered from this heavy blow.

This battle was disadvantageous for him before it even started.

What a terrible time indeed. He realized it too late and the first couple of moments turned out to be quite terrible. He didn't even know how to properly work around such a vast land and enemy with such a small body.

But he had no choice. The whole level difference was quite big, compared to his level 7, which provided him with some Attributes and boosts in them, but it wasn't a lot. Though, he had some other ways to work around the status quo of this mess. Murai already proved that point since he moped the floor and crushed his foes in the 1st Trial without suffering any injuries.

Now, it was a bit different, as his body suffered a reality check.

Lisa was far away in the air, watching the situation, and cursing herself a little. She screwed this up since she was supposed to give him some help. She realized that, but she was also glad that Murai was safe, and didn't suffer much as she saw it. Well, he is an Anatidae, so I shouldn't worry too much, but he is a small step in that vast Path of the divine beast. It's fine... I hope, even without a proper Path. She thought to herself.

The golem down below gave itself a casual spank with its fists. It stomped the ground as it closed to Murai's body, which should be good at taking such blows thanks to his fluffy feathers, but that didn't mean the force didn't penetrate his body. Only so little can change the limitation of the physicality, and differences in levels. Murai felt this difference a lot right now, and no amount of feathers would help him. His insides moved, bones creaked and who knew what happened to his organs, Core, and blood.

He felt like throwing up.

W-what now... I thought he would take the blow a bit better but he didn't. Lisa made another small excuse in her mind, and she noticed Murai glaring at her from below. He may not have heard her right now, though, she did imagine he could.

The golem stomped towards him and brandished its fist for an upcoming attack. Dozens of possible ways to attack and defenses went within Murai's mind in a singular moment, but almost all of them were crossed by simple logic.

The golem was too strong and straightforward to make anything work. Changing the course of the battle was due, and it needed a good strategy.

How am I supposed to destroy this thing? My magic isn't enough. No. Maybe it is. That may... No! I need to figure out a method to work around my current circumstances, and not make stupid mistakes or do further experiments. Like the past life, Murai... doing things slowly by making the change. Ambushing will work too. That has been my Path in the past life as the greatest assassin for my sake! He thought as he forced himself to his feet.

Murai felt the previous direct force hit his core, destabilizing his bones and body. Nothing broke, but he felt as if something did. It was either his comfort, ego, or something small inside of him.

“Murai Hisagi!” Lisa sent him the message through her soul. “20 minutes. Remember that and I am sorry. This isn't an easy trial since the time limit is essential and I bothered you. I think it's one of the harder ones in the notions of this weird Tower, while anything before was just a path to get here. Because the trials of the Will of the Battleworld are like this, you shouldn't waste time. You need to come up with some method of weakening its movements, making it immobile, or something. This is an endurance fight, unlike the Trial from before. Got it?!”

Her message was rather clever, jolting and calming Murai which wasn't something he expected to occur. Her reasoning was clever. Maybe too clever for the lack of his care for her.

Endurance fight? My patience is endurance, you prick. This fight... goddamnit! Murai scowled, thinking this was his mistake more than anything else. Fucking gods... It's all their fault. I always hated these kinds of fights when it's so unkept like Chaos. There is no Order or care put to this.. and... Murai began to complain, and mumble in his mind.

I was always the kind of guy to forget the bothersome aspects of fighting until I was strong enough to get it done easily. Be it with technique, or brute strength. This, on the other hand, is a different story. The World itself is forcing this upon me, but I am also deciding to act according to it, so who am I kidding? I chose to do this... I came here! No need to feel upset.

Murai calmed his mind along with his pain. It happened as fast as the disappearance of his shocked head and vision.

The enemy is a tough nut to crack, and I fear I am too weak to meet its attack head-on or force its defenses away. Wait... Why should I meet the attacks of this golem, or destroy its defenses? It's so large while I am too small for it and the solution for the accomplishments had 3 possibilities to finish this Golem. Right. It should be more than easy to outmaneuver it with my lighter and smaller body and come up with a way to get this golem out of the picture. Murai thought and decided to act according to his Will.

He couldn't flee from the golem at all because his legs were too small, and it was massive, even though it was subjectively slow in normal circumstances. The reason? Murai wasn't the usual enemy it met, and his work on his feet was way out of normal proportions. Any adventure or Blessed human would be fine to dodge these sorts of attacks, but destroying it was another thing. It was hard, since this Golem was somewhat of a treasure, albeit forgotten and past its prime.

Regardless of its low dexterity, the basic principle of its mass made the difference against Murai alone. The golem will act faster and reach him quicker because of its reach, and physical size.

Murai hated it, so he had to figure out how not to be hit and go head-to-toe with this golem. Both figurative, and literary speaking, which sounded crazy in his mind, but that was what he decided on.

After all, he was tiny like a part of its massive legs. His beak was barely above its feet which was one massive boulder. He was a small target, which was both, an advantage and a disadvantage.

So, Murai watched the golem's attack come and used one ability that made him focus on his surroundings as well as on the golem itself.

That was the Mana Detection which was perfect to use in the current circumstances. His core shook, but mana was fine to use when one's mind was clear. The previous aftereffects of the heavy blow were long gone. Thanks to the surge of adrenaline, or the calmness that Murai felt, he was getting back to his regular fighting form. That, or the blood of Anatidae was the cause of everything, or his Robust Spirit?

Mana Detection was effective against the golem's movements and sought out a greater move of mana around it. Murai also detected the flowing mana that made many cycles inside its body. There were veins of mana as well as a deep flow of bright light. It was an artificial way to make the body of a golem move, and using the Artificial Core in this manner was natural, and only possible because of certain rules. That was: using the mana to fuel a complicated system of runes, making the golem fight and move according to them.

Although the mana was encompassing energy, the use of the rune's complex mechanisms and materials with rich mana properties achieved some harmony.

In fact, it was a bit more complicated than that, but the golem's power spoke for itself, even though it was squished to level 23. The source of everything that made this Golem move was these purposeful runes, but the Artificial Core was still the main thing that made it work and move.

Golem swung its arm upon noticing the standing enemy. Like a mountain, the massive fist with the appearance of a boulder enveloped Murai's vision, but he was able to jump aside, dodging it unscathed. This swipe right here was nothing special and he could've sensed it from a mile away. It was slow to his senses, but for his body to move was another thing. He had to think twice to move, and great foresight was important. Mana Detection detected accumulating mana around its shoulder when it made that swing, helping with strategy and doing.

It swung with a simple physical-based strength attack, and he sensed it before it started. There was not much mana involved in this fist, since the power of this golem wasn't something magical per se. The base strength and earth element with the focus on brute strength were all to it. The only notable thing was its core, which was quite rich. Murai had to come to terms with these facts and use them to his advantage.

It was the kind of situation he met a few times, which invoked old memories. He was familiar with unfavorable battles, but his past lives made sure he started to dislike them. The problem was, that the present life was a different story, filling him with different kinds of visions and attitudes. As for power and opportunities, it was about the average one, while his body wasn't even worse than he had ever felt.

Murai should use his profound knowledge of his many lives to his advantage, but how to go against reality?

Easy anwer. He had to overcome it.

With the successful dodge, Murai used this opportunity to use his Beak's Fury thrice in succession against the pushing boulder. Striking one join of the golem's arm—which had the mana veins underneath the tough stone—was a great target for his attack. However, the 1st attack felt like he struck the iron anvil. Then it was like a tough rock in the 2nd hit, but the 3rd attack cracked it a little.

Unfortunately, even though he struck the usual place for weakness, this was a golem, and no human opponent.

The stone wasn't as tough as he feared if he cracked it a little after the 3rd successive Beak's Fury. There was a catch. Murai felt it after he retreated further back, fearing another arm coming. He left no damage apart from those cracks, but they healed in a few moments, leaving some pebbles crumbling down from its body, but that was it.

The small cracks soon changed back to a normal outer appearance, as if they were never there, to begin with.

It was about a 4-second swipe and a 3-second healing time. That's... Not a lot. Workable. Earth affinity has a tough regeneration effect. It is something I can work with. Alright. I think I have a plan to aim for at the moment, but it's a rather crazy one... Am I crazy?

Murai jumped away from his attempt to see how much damage he could deal.

Of course, I fucking am! Heheheh. He answered to himself, grinning in unhinged mockery. Turning his beak to a strange smile of resolution and confidence, he felt he was back in the past.

All the residual doubts, pain, or confusion caused by some stupid balance or the system of this world disappeared in his mind. Right now, Murai was himself. The same as usual, but the duck nonetheless. This enemy was already dead in his eyes. It was the same as usual, or so he thought and hoped.

If someone or something pissed him off, it made him mad!

It was a simple emotion that fueled his soul.

A strange thing occurred, unlike the usual. Golem seemed to be more clumsy than before and took its time to adjust its attacking patterns after another swing that Murai dodged.

It was a perfect time for Murai to begin circling the golem in hopes of seeing some solutions and possibilities. He figured one surprising effect of his small size. The golem wasn't fast enough to react or do fast enough movements to catch him or figure out his location. The reasons should be his sensors or complex runes that were making each attack follow his own.

Golem couldn't attack properly, since the core vision of the golem of such size and style was something akin to the Mana Detection.

However, it was more complicated than what a living and thinking being could do since it acted by Rune Formation, and many rules within it. For this Acaman Golem, it was a series of sensors, and many calculations depended on hundreds of runes and diagrams. The makers of this golem used all of them in complex manners of controllability and complexity, ensuring the golem sensed the enemy in all sorts of manners. It sensed the surroundings and made serious adjustments in real-time.

Pointing a precise attack against such a small enemy wasn't the easier, since it wasn't something this golem wasn't meant to do. A duck wasn't meant to be its opponent. However, when it would hit, it would be a devastating blow.

Murai realized all of this, but when it came to the knowledge of the golems, he wasn't the brightest but not stupid about them. Although he didn't need to be the master, he recognized some things, the moment he started his encirclement.

Right... This is really funny but understandable. It is old... Clumsy too. I feel you, the makers of this golem. None would consider a duck as an opponent. This golem is like a toy for me now, but... Isn't it more of a huge castle? I can't damage it properly, but if it can hit me, I am in trouble. If it had a brain, I would've been dead for sure, but lucky me! It's so dumb in its runes. Murai thought to himself, running as fast as he could around it, while the golem barely reacted by placing its feet further around the left side.

The question is, how to actually destroy this golem without injuring myself? Figuring out how to destroy it seems plausible if my previous thoughts were right. It will be tough with my current mana flow alone but... fire? Flame? Earth against fire? Well... I can give it a try since it's the most powerful form of my mana for the time being and my Beak's Fury is limited but usable to a small extent.

With these thoughts and decisions, Murai circled the golem for a whole 2 minutes. At this time, he noticed it was increasing its movements, and through his Mana Detection, the golem's Artificial Core began to flare up. The further it did so, the faster it moved and the more responsive its turns were.

Murai began to panic a little. The movements of the golem's inner structure had more mana within them, causing this strange change, which was harder to predict.

Is it starting a Frenzy? Is this the basic panic skill when the Golem is restrained? It seems the makers weren't that stupid and made this golem better than I thought, but... Why in the seven hells I didn't hear it has this ability! Fuck you, Shittyworld!

Murai complained again, and no wonder he did. Will of the Battleworld didn't tell low-level abilities and the kind that didn't matter or didn't choose to tell under unique circumstances. It did include some hidden stuff beyond specific circumstances, however.

He was right. This was a Frenzy. An ability that Golem had at a level 10 which only flared up if certain conditions were met within its runes and calculations. It was a very low-level Ability considering the other abilities, so its effectiveness and power were kind of low. In fact, it was the poorest of its abilities, albeit the effects Frenzy had were quite large. It allowed the mana to seep quicker from the core, turning the golem into a killer machine, but it was taking some time and some toll on its internal structure.

This will become a bother the more I will waste my time. This is bad. I will gamble on this chance I have then.

Murai stopped circling the golem. Instead, he fled around the wall, which was the tall platform. Using the terrain as an advantage was one thing he could use, so he didn't hesitate to do so.

Alas, due to his lack of care to watch the golem behind his back, Murai didn't notice the golem, who was still turning around in circles, as if possessed.

“Murai Hisagi!” Lisa shouted to his soul. “The GOLEM! Its sensors are in shambles because of the Frenzy!” she explained since she was watching everything from far away, allowing her to see everything. It was a nice help indeed, and Murai noticed it right away.

It does what? It can't sense the opponents properly because of mana overflowing its sensors. It's faulty golem then... Or it was too focused? Neither of that matters with my plan, but it makes it much more plausible.

Murai stopped running and looked back. Lisa was right and so was he.

The golem had problems undergoing the Frenzy since it was old and hadn't activated in a long time. Mana that came from its core wasn't anything artificial after all. It was the mana of this world, which in turn, can cause any machine to turn bad over time. It was a manmade object after all, while mana wasn't meant to be wielded by non-living objects of this complexity.

Mana had some restraining rules, and its power could be within the palm of one's hand, but to what extent can it be outside of that realm?

The golem was a machine. It was no human with proper control, care, or body. Its runes and diagrams can turn bad over time, making the proper sensors malfunction, which happened from time to time.

It took around 7 seconds until the golem stopped turning. After regaining some sense of its sensors, it charged at Murai's location right away. That was quite a long delay in complicated attacking patterns, so Murai watched it in silence but didn't attack or use this chance for his plan. The golem had no intelligence, so he could recreate this process again to his advantage.

For now, he put forth his full attention to the complex insides of this golem with his Mana Detection. Mana diagrams filled with glowing runes around its core were within his vision, which was something he needed to see for his plan along with the rest of the veins and mana flow.

The structure of this golem was a complicated thing, and it wasn't easy to explain or figure it out right away. Each golem could also be special in its own right, since making one could require years of research, countless materials, and the efforts of mages.

Murai saw the upcoming charge, so he Conjured his mana forward, Shaping it into a meter-long Mana Javelin. It wasn't that firm or strong enough against the golem, but Murai wondered about its effectiveness.

So, he waited until the golem arrived, smashing its fist toward him. Murai countered with the Javelin to its limb's joint. The force was quite large, but force pushed him further away, but did not damage him.

As expected, the Mana Javelin that he loved according to his memories, scratched the surfaces less than his own beak. It even crumbled back to mana, making it no longer stable according to his Shaping.

I see. Alright. Not bad. So Beak's Fury it is. This leaves this plan better, but more dangerous, which doesn't make me any bit happy, but I am not choosing this any longer. Let's hope to have enough time to do this... It can take some time to strike it enough times while any attack can force my body beyond the limits.

Murai unhappily started his plan and once again circled the enemy around its legs.

Sometimes he hit the golem, other times he had to dodge a swiping hand since the Frenzy was becoming quite harder to predict. It was like a dance. A mad dance of a massive golem that couldn't catch a fly that was bothering it.

Murai used his Beak's Fury dozens of times in the following minutes. This already started to take a toll on his battle fatigue, but his Will was firm, and so were all of his choices. This will be his longest physical battle, and he was surprised by how low his stamina was.

Still, he was doing his best, but half of the time was soon gone.

Lisa was unable to give him any advice any longer. She observed the battle a couple of meters above with a frowning and nervous expression.

I knew it.. this Battleworld made it too tough for such beginner-level Anatidae since they are... this or it is Murai who they fear? Why? I know how strange and powerful they can be, but Murai is a Citizen! Not a native, nor a proper family member of his species. I never heard of a Blessed Anatidae, but I didn't know enough when I was alive about their tribes. What about.... his Mother?

The world is a big place, and almost all basic Anatidae I heard were the native souls, and each was unique to their ecosystem and power. Murai's familiarity or fundamental instincts are all weaker compared to the normal ones, but his soul... It is making a true difference, but major disadvantages as well.

He lacks the instincts, I fear. His strange aptitude for the mana is another issue. It is bigger than what a normal Anatidae can have. Including the Evolution of Panacea or others... Well... I didn't know the Evolutions of such rare species all that much so my knowledge is rather limited. Lisa thought and watched the minutes ticking by in her own nervousness.

Murai was breathing heavier and heavier, and the golem's body was like a furnace. It was long seeping with powerful mana. So much so, that the Frenzy couldn't be any higher. Murai reached the maximum threshold of what this golem was capable of using, but in turn, the options to counter were less than 1 in 10 chances.

Its attack and use of mana were large, but it had enough fueling mana for the whole 20 minutes even in the midst of the Frenzy. Unless, of course, some more instabilities will occur. From the start, Murai's beginning idea of tiring it out was out of the question, but he never intended to do this fight like that. It was too unfit and questionable to succeed. He wasn't sure about it until now, but it didn't change anything.

He didn't have to kill it, but he was no coward before a challenge!

He will destroy this freaking toy.

After all, Murai didn't give up even though his continuous failures to find the correct timing were becoming harder. He continued attacking the vital areas with his Beak's Fury, and a few Mana Blades from time to time.