Chapter 88

It took Lyn a total of ten arrows to bring down the Lesser Golem. That brought us to two down, and twenty-one to go. If I was being honest, I didn’t know if it was purely the arrows that killed the Lesser Stone Golem either. Every single one of her shots had hit center mass, slowly growing a larger and larger crack. And every time the rocky orb was knocked off the golem’s body, it fell three or so feet to the stony ground and hit with a loud crack. If I had to guess, the creature’s head took a bit of damage from that fall each time, likely adding to the total damage the monster was taking.

The whole exchange made me think back to our shopping trip yesterday. There had been a pendant for sale, for fifteen gold, that could apparently show the health and information of monsters in the Tower. A helpful tool, no doubt, especially for higher floors.

“You’re up.” Lyn said as the creature’s body fell apart into a pile of unmoving rocks. She walked towards its and placed her hand on the pile, the creature’s body and any potential materials or loot magically transferring to her inventory. She made a cross face as she seemed to inspect what she’d received. “Go get yourself a literal… worthless pile of stones.”

“Is it really just stone?” I asked as I looked around the area. Considering how sturdy the creatures were, it was clear we wouldn’t be able to take them all down at once. Sure, the first two we’d killed hadn’t gotten close enough to threaten us, but that didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous. And with how durable they were, if they swarmed us, we wouldn’t have a way to handle them. Their low mobility, thankfully, made that outcome less of a concern. And, at the moment at least, it didn’t seem like they had a ranged attack. They were just slow, sturdy, monsters. If we had an easy way to kill them, this would be a cinch.

“All I got was Golem Stone and Golem Powder,” Lyn said with a shrug. “No idea if those are useful back in town.”

“Same with mine,” Nyle confirmed. “Curious to see if any of the others have anything unique or useful on them.”

“No time like the present then,” I said with a shrug, my target spotted. Unlike Nyle and Lyn’s method of attacking, mine required me to be up close and personal. At least for now. I was still working on a plan to eliminate these monsters with ease, but knew I needed to test out Claw and Fang as well. Lower leveled monsters, in a relatively safe situation, was the perfect time to experiment. I needed to know how effective my daggers would be against creatures as tough as the Lesser Stone Golems, for any future monsters we ran into on higher floors.

“Try not to get yourself killed,” Nyle said with a friendly laugh, “we’re not waiting around for you to respawn.”

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“Glad to know you’re such a great friend,” I laughed in return as I drew Claw and Fang. I’d only had the weapons for a few days, but already they felt familiar in my hands. Like trusted friends. Holding them gave me confidence as I made my way towards a Lesser Stone Golem about fifty feet away. The creature’s shaky, staggered, way of moving, at the moment, was aimless. As I neared it though, its head rotated magically to look at me with its empty eye marks, and it began to move in my direction.

Logically speaking, use daggers against a creature made of stone made little to no sense. Lyn’s arrows had shattered against the monsters made of literal stone. And while I knew Claw and Fang were magically forged weapons, I was a bit hesitant about the whole situation. Weapon care was important. You always wanted to ensure your weapons were in perfect condition, for any situation. Smashing my metal daggers against stone, seemed the exact opposite of that line of thinking. And I could practically feel Command Phyr, wherever he was, preparing to scold me for what I was about to do.

On the other hand, we were within the Tower. Things in the Tower, I was quickly realizing, didn’t always follow logic or reason. The Tower’s magic permeated everything. It breathed life into the impossible. It’s power literally gave Climber’s the impossible ability to shrug off death’s embrace. It granted people like Jade the ability to cleave a Titan in two. Surely, my special daggers, therefore, could handle striking stone.

I slowed my approach as the distance between the golem and I closed. I brought my daggers up and took up a proper fighting stance for the last dozen or so feet. Even though they didn’t seem like much of a threat, I knew better than to underestimate the Tower’s monsters. I had full essence still, and if things got tough, I had every intention of running away, healing myself, and choosing a different, safer option, for taking these creatures down. Learning was important, but staying alive was even more important. Not only did I not want to lose my essence progress towards level 11, and then 12, but I definitely didn’t want to deal with Nyle and Lyn’s mocking if I did end up dead.

“Let’s see what you can do then,” I whispered as the golem made another awkward step towards me. We were about five feet apart now. The creature’s diminutive size meant its reach was nowhere near as long as mine. However, because of how low it was, I felt the need to crouch lower myself, ensure I could block any attacks or dodge if needed. My hamstrings and calves groaned in response. I had just climbed a mountain, after all. And in an environment with thin air. The third floor was not physically kind to Climbers.

The golem said nothing. Considering it didn’t have a mouth, I hadn’t bene expecting it to, honestly. Yet it seemed to have heard me, somehow… as it shambled forward. I watched, somewhat intrigued, as its body tilted, the leg ripping free from the ground in its heavy, twisting, way of walking. As it rotated around, slow and awkward, I made a move. I shot forward, staying low, and struck swiftly at the creature’s massive chest with Claw. A screech of protest, a spray of sparks, accompanied the blade as it scratched against the stony chest of the golem. The blade bit, barely, into the stone, but bit, nonetheless. I felt myself grin, as I stepped backwards. There it was, a long slash mark, shallow for sure, across the creature’s chest. My daggers could work. They would work. With that question answered, I had only one more to go, before my experiment would be complete.

How many attacks with Claw and Fang to get to the center of the lesser stone golem?