“Don’t act cheeky with me now boy,” Hands retorted taking a step forward.

‘If only I had the staff,’ Rick thought, looking around before realizing. ‘Oh wait!’

Rick immediately looked over Hands’ shoulder.

“Who are you looking for?” Hands asked in a worried, his hand reaching to the hilt of the long-sword by his waist.

He quickly retreated back a step and looked around warily.

He immediately pulled out the World Map and with one eye on Rick made sure that Samira and Jay were not around. Once he saw that they were still far away, he finally relaxed.

“I have already checked out the place, there is nothing you can do to take me by surprise” Hands said with regained confidence.

“Oh! Is that so?” Rick asked, before calling aloud. “Pip are you awake?”

‘Rick stood still praying with all his hopes that she was over her teleportation sickness.

“Hah! You are still pulling your bluffs kid,” Hands snarled drawing the long sword from his waist.

“Hey! Hey! Listen. Let’s talk some sense. This won’t even end well,” Rick quickly backed up.

Hands held the long and tapered blade with both his hands and pointed it straight at Rick. The crossguards itself had two intricately crafted heads of eagles on them while the pommel was adorned with a blue ruby..

“I thought you were a gun guy!” Rick tried small talking him out of coming after him

“Fuck you,” Hands barked and swung the sword furiously.

“Aah!” Rick quickly took a step back, his back to the kitchen counter.

He barely dodged the swing as the sword tore into the side wall.

As Hands struggled to pull the sword out, Rick tipped the showcase by the side on him before quickly rushing into his room.

“Pip, we have to leave now,” Rick said he in a hurry bursting through the doors into the room.

He glanced towards his bed where Pip was still sleeping, curled into a tiny ball.

“Pip, hey Pip!” he said picking her up.

She slowly opened her eyes.

In a tired voice, she crocked, “Peep!”

“We need to leave,” Rick said in a hurry walking over to the Portal.

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“Peep! Peep!” she protested.

“We don’t have time for this, Pip,” Rick explained as he could hear Hands walking up.

“Peep! Peep!”

“Are you serious?” Rick asked.

Pip nodded her head yes.

“Then I am staying with you. We will find another way out!” he added

“Peep! Peep! Peep!”

“Ah! The staff- it’s a long story. But I still have the golems remember,” he assured her.

“Peep! Peep?” she asked.

“I have not put their commands obviously, I was planning to sell them remember,” he said in a hurry. “Don’t worry I will manage.”

“Arg! You slippery bastard,” Hands roared walking into the room blade raised. He rushed in towards Rick in a fury.

“No more running now then,” Rick said looking at Pip with a smile.

Slipping Pip into the pocket of his packet and at the next moment, he had two golem cores on the left palm.

“Eat this,” he said and tossed them at him.

Right as the first golem core hit the ground, the ground shook, throwing Hands off balance and breaking his stride.

“What’s-” he grabbed onto his desk for support.

Then the second golem core hit the ground closer to where Hands was and suddenly the room felt much more stuffed and humid.

But before Hands could make any move, shock registered on his face.

Before him, two creatures appeared out of nowhere.

“What are these things?” he breathed.

Holding the log sword ready, he eyed the two creatures standing motionless. The first was a creature around his height with a body of rocks, tile and soil, mashed together into the shape of a two-legged creature, while the other was a flaming dog.

He waited warily for the creatures to make a move, but when they did not move, Hands immediately rushed at the flaming dog and ran its blade through it.

“That’s. That’s it?” Hands wondered as the blade when through the golem’s body without any retaliation.

Excited with his new discovery, he rushed at the Earth golem sword at ready. But right as he reached close, the golem suddenly started swinging its arms around!

Hands backed a step but soon enough realized that it was just random actions of the golem, with no concept of attacking.

“Is this all you got?” he asked mocking Rick standing a few paces behind the Earth Golem.

But right after, the words disappeared out of Hands' mouth.

In a choreographed motion, the Earth golem stopped spilling its arms and rushed in and grabbed Hands in a bear hug, while at the same time the Flaming dog that Hands was so sure he had crippled grabbed him from the back.

“Aah!” Hands screamed in agony as the Flaming dog burnt his skin while the Earth golem held him at a death grip.

“Let’s go!” he said making his way towards the door.

He quickly left his room and ran towards the front door.

“Peep! Peep!” Pip squeaked poking her head out of the pocket.

“It was simple. I instructed the Rhimonkey Golem to swing his arms for ten seconds and then grab then grab the biggest thing moving before him.” Rick explained, “The Flaming dog was simpler. It just had to leap at whatever the Rhimonkey grabbed.”

Rick quickly walked past the broken main door of the house and looked back one last time.

“Peep! Peep!”

“Well if that had not worked out,” he said rushing across the road and peering back from behind a tree. “I would definitely not be in one piece anymore”

Although Rick said so, Rick’s heart burned thinking of the waste of his only Common ranked golem, the Rhimonkey Golem. The Earth Element Golem with the nimbleness of the monkey and strength of a Rhino!

“I didn’t want it to come to this Hands. But I have learnt not to let my enemies walk away,” he spoke into the air before closing his eyes. He grabbed the trunk of the tree hard enough to turn his knuckles white and murmured, “Immolate”.

Rick felt the consciousness thread with the Golems snap as he uttered the word. An eerie silence enveloped the air before a bang echoed through the silent air.

The house was in seconds engulfed in flame and break apart into pieces. His childhood house broke down into a pile of rubble by his own hands.

Rick stood up from behind the tree and after one last glance back, activated [Stealth Walk] and slipped away from there.