'What is that?!' Zan exclaimed, mostly to himself, but also to others. Whiskey and the rest did not hear but pointed out the oddity to the rest: "What is that?" "Wait, what?" Jiehong joined. "That golem, see? The one just behind the line advancing to us." Jiehong, Zan saw, used his hand to make a cover for his eyes, so he could better see. He strained and said, "Oh! Crap! A new golem variant!" Zan whipped out a spying glass to get a better look at the new golem despite the dozen-golem strong lines heading his way.

"It's platinum coated. I think?" Zan said to the group.

Moving back a few steps while telling the scouts and Jiehong to retreat several paces, Zan took another brief look through the spyglass. He saw a golem with a magical core on its body, crudely hammered into it, by the looks, too. There was no mistaking it: when Zan saw the cackles of electrical-energy bursting from its body like a petite-star in the cosmos, Zan knew the golem was imbued with electricity-magic. Seeing such a weapon on the battlefield shocked Zan; electricity was a known phenomenon in the world. But harnessing it for war? That was something else entirely.

"It has electro-magic. the platinum-golem." Zan continued leading his team back before he halted. "Jiehong! Response? I think we should keep it at a distance but otherwise treat it like a normal golem. Maybe take it down with arrows?"

"But what if one ambushes us? It might electrocute us to death if it touches us," Whiskey said, her face flush from her exertions.

"I think that's a big if! but we have to act; look, the time for talk is over!" Jiehong said, yelling.

"I agree! Scouts! Launch an arrow volley! Whiskey, reinforce the volley. Jiehong! Prepare to storm!" Zan yelled, taking control of the situation.

Between Whiskey and her scouts, their volleys decommissioned over two dozen automotrons. Thus, it was with such effort, which the line of golems which had been advancing toward them moments before, were destroyed en mass.

Jiehong acted next, as Zan ordered, and burst himself upon the next group of red-painted golems. Spinning his axe in the air, Jiehong built up speed; then, launching himself at his foes, Jiehong exploited gravity itself. Zan thought some of his attack had to be magic assisted. The way which Jiehong effortless spun his axe and himself as one did not seem natural. Zan remained impressed, however, with Jiehong's form and the way he smashed his 'axed-body' into the enemy, turning to pulp a half-dozen golems. While Jiehong made his murder move, Whiskey and the scouts rained a final sum of arrows into the enemy, clearing the space between Jiehong and the platinum-golem.

The platinum golem is the objective, Zan told himself.

Halting by hacking his axe into a golem, Zan next moved into action. "Scouts. On me," he said.

Stepping into the field, he saw Jiehong and Whiskey fall to his flanks, protecting him from the stray golem attempting to intercept. 'Thanks, friends,' he said under his breath, thankful for his dedicated battle companions.

Zan entered the field, drew his sword, and made a beeline for the platinum-golem. The efforts of everyone fighting together made his approach easy.

Coming within striking distance of each other, Zan pivoted and rolled on his heels, narrow avoiding its armored arms, each of which consisted of two constantly rising and falling blades threatening to sever the unsuspecting limb of a soldier.

Or a civilian...

"We have to kill sick feck like this," Zan said. "Golems like this are too dangerous to be left functioning."

He heard his teammates agree. Drawing his bucklered arm close to his chest, Zan reflected for half-a-moment on how little he had used his buckler in engagements lately. But lots has happened, Zan lamented. Not all of it called for a buckler. At least I have it now.

Although Zan took caution to ensure his legs or sides were not caught in the automotron's blade-arms and their repetitive motions, he still thrust his buckler-protected arm into the bot's blades, testing their endurance. "Careful Zan!" Jiehong yelled. "Don't worry! I'm being careful!" Zan yelled back.

The golem's blade hit and refracted back to the golem. 'What is that thing's blades made from?!' Zan wondered. Zan tested it again; once more, the moment the golem's blades hit Zan's buckler, some force repelled the golem back, as though its own blow had turned against it. However, this was not a pleasant experience for Zan, who, upon the blades hitting his buckler, felt an intense vibration drill through his bones, causing him to feel the innards between his skeleton with disquiet awareness.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

After this second test encounter, Zan knew he had to end this creature and fast. He saw its sparkling electro-magic jump from its lopsided magic core. Zan saw the core mangled inside its body; absently, Zan wondered why the manufacture process of these golems seemed so rough.

Zan stretched his arm and focused for intense heat. He ignited the magic flowing through his hand and the golem's body caught aflame.

Yet the golem did not perish...

The flames consumed what wood existed within the body was this platinum-colored golem. But the golem's superstructure was made also from enough non-wooden materials that if remained functioning. "Fine," Zan said, rearing his blade toward the enemy. He approached and kept it at a distance from his tip. Zan crossed stepped and circled his way to its side; watching the golem as it attempted to keep track of Zan, its body clumsily honking and clonking as it tried and failed to keep up with Zan's footwork, Zan gleamed its weakness. Its weakness was the same as the golden-golems. Too one-sided for its own good.

Moving to capitalize on his discovery, Zan cried as he struck out. "Take this! That!" he yelled while he hacked into the platinum-golem's backside.

Tragedy! Zan's blade struck true, but his flesh fared less so; the moment Zan's sword met the golem's spirit core, a recursive surge of electricity surged through Zan. Pim, the scout, luckily saved Zan and pulled him free of the electro-magical current, so he suffered little more damage than frayed nerves.

Backing away from the golem, Zan thanked Pim for her quick thinking.

"Zan!" the Screen Master suddenly spoke into Zan's ear. "Be careful. Electro-magic is among the most dangerous magic to living creatures. After a close encounter like that, your body will be in a shocked condition. I will skip the explanation of what that means as you are currently feeling it."

Each step he took was labored. Moving his body after coming into direct contact with electro-magic proved hard. Zan could do it, but it made him feel weird. Like his skin was moving without his input and forming wrinkles within seas of perspiration. He nearly puked but held it in as he forced movement to return his body to normal. He could have used the Screen Master's warning about electro-magic earlier, like when he was testing his shield against its blades, but maybe Simulacrum thought Zan already knew? No sense in complaining, Zan knew, but still! Early warnings helped!

He had to move; Zan knew he had to force his body, as the Screen Master said. Electro-magic was among the most dangerous magic in existence. On his next attempt at the golem, he couldn't miss. He had to destroy it.

Taking great care to avoid the electro-spackle emanating from the golem's body, Zan struck his blade through the golem's non-sparking elements. Dislodging something, Zan heard a clatter within the machine, as a fire then caught and burned its insides into a melt.

"Gross," Zan said of the once fierce enemy. Its body was goo. "Take note, team: while their combat abilities are high, platinum-golems are built shoddily, with hardly any effort put into their long-term operation."

Clearing out the square as the encounter with the platinum golem ended, Zan's team converged on his location before they stormed the main villa hall.

"Yikes, that is gross!" Whiskey said, turning away at the acrid and very unusual odor wafting off the now blackened slime.

"Status check!" Zan called. Zan thought it good design when the System did not perform a check upon him calling for a check to his friends. The System knew, then, some contextual information. As it ought to, Zan thought, considering it was literally inside his head.

"Phew. Breaking a sweat enough for a whole team, coach," Jiehong said comedically.

"Yeah. I am tiring myself out. I can still go, though. The crackers are keeping me going," Whiskey said.

Zan heard his team and saw the markings on their status windows. That tall, slim box to Zan's lower-right contained an energy bar split into a number percentage. No one was above fifty percent.

"Jiehong. Grenade check. I have two," Zan said.

"I have two as well. So, four in all?" Jiehong replied.

"Four in all. Honestly, going into close quarters? It might be too contained in there to justify using grenades. Though I guess we don't have to worry about them lobbing it back at us or anything since they literally can't, not with their pudgy excuse for limbs.

"Let's use those grenade things," Whiskey said, still unsure what the weapon was. "Until we have no choice. Last ditch. Though if we see another platinum-golem, I think lobbing one of those off is a no-brainer. Right?"

"Absolutely!" Zan said. "I just need some water from my sieve," gulp, gulp. "Okay. Ready. Ready?"

Finding agreement, Zan ran up the steps leading to the villa-inside and charged down the door. Flying inward, Zan couldn't take the bad-ass credit as the door was already partially bashed in.

[Heat Advisory Warning: Fire Near!] the System notification popped up and announced.

"Heat? But where is the fire?" Zan asked as he entered. "Be on the lookout for fire, guys! My headset says there is a massive amount of heat somewhere nearby!"

Zan and Company ran into the villa, finding it nearly as empty as outside. 'Nearly,' because many golems had entered the villa already and had to be dealt with as Zan and Friends searched for the interior. The secure room.

"Zan." The Screen Master spoke into his ear. "Remember to use your map-in-miniature. If you are going to succeed in this endeavor, you must use every tool at your disposal as effectively as possible with every other tool! Never get complacent."

"I will, Screen Master. I promise," Zan said softly. "Over and out."

Zan looked to his map-in-miniature. He noticed it now highlighted which passages he and his team already traversed.

Zan called to his friends about his discovery. "Oh, crap. Guys!"