I strode confidently towards the towering golem, studying it as I went. It looked much like all the others, but through the mask, I noticed a slight glow emanating from it. ‘’Grim, what is that glow?’’

Grim cackled, ‘’That is the aura of the soul, partner. It is a testament to its strength that it's visible at all.’’

I nodded. In the end, it didn't really matter how strong it was. It had to be destroyed either way.

I checked my ether stores. They were comfortably around 90%, so I summoned my images and got to work. Grim sped off at high speed with all three images, and I watched him go about his business for a bit. Grim had definitely received a power-up. He was faster with the images, and when they struck a leg, chips of stone actually came off.

I nodded in satisfaction when the golem turned away from me and began stomping after the images. I concentrated on my new spell. I didn't just want to call a bunch of spirits; I wanted to summon a specific number. Perhaps just six. I cast the spell and carefully counted the spirits appearing: one red, two purple, then a blue one, and finally two yellow ones. As the sixth spirit appeared, I cut off the spell and smiled. The portal disappeared, and I checked my ether, which was down to around 60%.

I created 20 illusions of myself and had the spirits take over six of them. Then I had them all surround the golem, and its movements began to look mighty confused. As it stomped on an illusion, I cast "Slippery Footing," causing it to crash to the ground with the sound of a train crash.

Both the spirits and Grim's images fell upon it, quickly climbing and going to town. Stone chips flew everywhere, but they weren't going to break through anytime soon. Then the golem roared and slammed the ground, causing the area around it to rumble.

‘’This can't be good,’’ I whispered to myself and held my hand out just in case. Boy, was I right. Stone spikes erupted from the ground, shooting in every direction. I saw a literal wall of spikes coming at me and cast "Mirror Mirage." The translucent screen appeared in front of me, and I crouched to make myself as small a target as possible. A few spikes grazed me, but most were sent right back at the golem.

Fist-sized holes were punched through the golem's right arm, and its structural integrity was damaged enough that it crumbled, sending the golem back to the ground.

Most of my illusions had vanished, but I still had two images and five spirits. They had been on its back when the spell went off. They gave the golem another pummeling, and it began to roll, forcing them to get out of the way.

I checked my ether, and it was still over half. I glanced over at the other golem; it was looking pretty battered, but it still had some fight left in it. As I watched, Isabel smashed one of its legs while dodging the golem's attacks, and Lyra used a variety of explosion attacks to chip away at its thick stone armor.

‘’Grim, I think it will be a while before we get help. Should we risk it and go all out, or should we keep doing what we are doing?’’

Grim's voice laughed in my mind, ‘’I say go all out, partner. You still have those potions!’’

I shrugged and prepared myself. First, I summoned another round of illusions: six water elementals. They would definitely draw some attention. I sent them off to distract the golem and open it up for an attack from behind.

For some reason, it didn't work. The golem focused on me, and I gulped. ‘’Um... Grim?’’

Grim laughed, ‘’It figured it out!''

‘’Shit, no time to hesitate.’’ I reached out to the spirits and activated Conjurer's Wrath.

Immediately, I felt them weakening, and a surge of energy rushed into me—enormous, greater than anything I had felt before. ‘’Grim, I think this might be a bit too much...’’ I struggled to keep it under control as the power continued to grow.

I held my hand over my head, and a spear of purplish energy interspersed with glowing motes of light began to materialize. I poured every scrap of energy I took from the spirits into it, and it didn't grow in size, but in density, in potential.

I stumbled as I felt my own ether begin to drain, but Grim appeared next to me with the two images, supporting me. The spirit was cackling maniacally, ‘’I told you this class was the one to go with!’’ Grim said, but I had no time to tell him that wasn't the least bit true.

The golem rushed at me, the ground shaking beneath me, threatening to make me fall. But the images held steady, ensuring I didn't. Finally, the last scrap of pure magical energy was drained from the spirits. It went into the spear, and with a roar, I sent the spear flying at the golem.

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It struck so fast that it was nothing more than a line of purple light through the air. As it impacted with the golem, it exploded in a magnificent release of power. I was blasted off my feet, the images dispersed, and I landed a good twenty feet away. Moments later, another explosion erupted. The core had been destroyed, reducing nearby buildings to ruins.

‘’Take that, you piece of shit,’’ I coughed. Then the headache from ether starvation came, and I fumbled for a vial of condensed ether.

I managed to throw it back, and the relief I felt as my own stores slowly began to rise again was palpable.

I sat up and surveyed the destruction I had wrought. There was a huge crater where the golem had been, and a few rows of houses directly behind it had been reduced to rubble.

‘’Shit... I'll need to be careful with that spell...’’ I mumbled to myself and got to my feet. The square was a mess, and I looked over to see Lyra and Isabel had finished their fight. The young adventurers approached, but they didn't get too close.

The leader stepped forward, ‘’You okay there, Harlequin?’’

I waved my hand dismissively, trying not to sound as exhausted as I felt. ‘’I'm fine, just a bit tired is all.’’

The leader smiled, ‘’What the hell was that spell?’’

I dismissed the mask, then glanced over at him. ‘’A new spell... Wasn't sure what it would do, to be honest.’’

The group just looked at me, then burst out in tension-relieving laughter. ‘’You didn't... You...’’ the leader managed.

I frowned a little as Isabel and Lyra walked over, and they both glanced at the laughing adventurers. ‘’What's going on?’’ Isabel asked.

I just shrugged, ‘’Perhaps they were hit on the head, who knows?’’

Isabel ignored them and looked at me, ‘’That was the new spell?’’

I nodded, ‘’Dangerous, extremely ether-hungry, but powerful.’’

Lyra nodded with a pout, ‘’Not as powerful as my spells, though!’’

I grinned at her, ‘’I can probably make it more powerful, but it emptied my ether completely. If not for the potion, I would probably be unconscious right now.’’

Isabel frowned, ‘’So something to use as a last resort, then. At least until you figure out a way to lessen the strain or get stronger.’’

I saw the icon blinking in the corner of my vision. ‘’Perhaps I already became stronger. I'll have to take some time to check notifications soon!’’

We went back to meet up with Viktor, and the other team followed in our wake. I needed some time to recover, and Isabel decided to spend that time questioning the young adventurers.

As it turned out, the leader's name was Nael, and they had been sent into the trade district earlier by the guild. When Isabel probed him a bit, Nael explained in more detail.

‘’Well, it's as I said. The guildmaster called in every available member. He said he had received information that an attack was forthcoming. Obviously, we had all heard of the horde approaching, so we were thinking we would be sent to the walls. The guildmaster really had some incredible foresight because we were all sent to different parts of the city instead. We arrived only an hour before all this started, and we've been fighting since.’’

Isabel glanced at me, and I shrugged. Then she said, ‘’I see. Well, I'm glad you're here. How does the rest of the district look? There are still sounds of fighting, but it seems to be dying down a bit.’’

Nael shrugged, ‘’I think it is. It was pretty hectic to begin with, but the monsters have grown increasingly stronger, like they are drawing in power somehow. Those two you fought just now, they were the strongest we've seen. Don't know about the other districts, though.’’

Isabel paced back and forth in thought, then she said, ‘’Alright, your team will stay in the area, Nael. We'll move into the high district to see if things are under control. Check the shelters; most citizens will have taken shelter there.’’

Nael looked worried, ‘’And if we meet another one of those big ones?’’

Isabel smiled, ‘’Then you draw it away from the civilians, Nael. This is a battlefield right now, and we need to do what we can. There are other more powerful adventurers in the city; they will deal with the big ones when they can.’’

Nael looked uncertain but nodded, ‘’Suppose we can do that... Just hope we don’t run into any more of them.’’

Isabel walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, ‘’Nael... They've had time to gather strength now. Most of them will have grown to that size, I reckon. If things go poorly, get into one of those shelters and guard the citizens there.’’

Nael sighed and looked a little relieved, ‘’Alright, good luck out there.’’

We waved our goodbyes to the group as they headed toward the nearest shelter, and our group made our way to the largest residential district.

Viktor walked next to me as we trudged along, ‘’Where is your weapon, David?’’

I blinked and looked at him, ‘’I broke it. Didn't have time to get a replacement.’’

Viktor looked surprised, ‘’How? I enchanted it for durability. It should have been very sturdy.’’

I shrugged, ‘’Don't know what to tell you, Viktor. I smashed it into a giant at full force, and I was left with only stumps.’’

Viktor sighed, ‘’It likely couldn't handle the stress of your ether infusion then. I'll help you make a new one when we have time.’’ I smiled and nodded but didn't answer.

My mind was churning. This all felt too easy. I had a feeling we were missing something.