Before the shapeshifter managed to wake up, loud bangs sounded at his side, forcefully waking Prometheus up. Four forms moved at the edge of his sight before he could recognize them, The General and the three Majors. Soon after, five other shapes fell down from the tunnel in the ceiling, revealing themselves to be Theo's companions. Sayuri, the samurai, gracefully landed on the ground without much of an issue. Zilch, the white dog-sized earthworm, clumsily fell, but without any damage sustained. Buzzelina glided down while Splash and Lunch impacted the ground quite heavily, worrying Theo. Oh, they're doing fine. The improvements in their genetic code are showing themselves.
A large web of mental connections appeared, linking everyone present, "Major Fern, activate the golem, in Measuring Mode. Soldiers, form a line in front of the training golem." Said the General, walking to the back of the room with a tablet made of wood. Major Fern, one of the three Flytrap monsters went to the back of the black cube and pushed various buttons, which made it emit steam from openings along its surface. The cube opened up into the torso part of a humanoid shape, a shield in its right hand and, a tower shield in its left. A shimmering rectangle was placed on the golem's face. A red, bright light engulfed the shield, blinking slowly.
Prometheus was the first in line, and the General said, "Attack the shield with as much power as possible. You can use multiple attacks, but you only have one second to deal as much damage as you can. Start." Prometheus shifted immediately into his Goliath form, the one he had used in his last few fights. Using additional stored biomass in his inventory, he was able to reach three tons of weight. Theo reared his right arm back, and let it loose on the shield. Unfortunately, he still couldn't use [Enhancement], so he had to strike normally. Before it even impacted, he slightly moved his hips, positioning his left leg to strike with it. No tremors came from the shield when he hit it, instead a couple of symbols appeared on the golem's face. The same thing happened when he kicked, the shield absorbing all the vibrations and different symbols replacing the old ones. Before he could throw another punch, the red light from the shield shut off.
"Next." Exclaimed the General. Should I have used another form? The Goliath is probably not the absolute strongest form I can make, but it's definitely the most versatile and the one I use the most. Prometheus stepped back, allowing Zilch to step up and do the same. The soft monster tried hitting the shield with his body like a whip, realizing it did nothing. Panickingly looking around, Zilch jumped on top of the shield and bit down on it with his sharp teeth in his circular mouth. That made a single symbol appear on the 'screen'.
Sayuri hit the shield with her katana with an [Enhancement], making two symbols appear. Prometheus had never seen those symbols, so he had no idea what they meant. The General said that the golem is in 'Measuring mode', is it measuring the damage of our attacks?
Buzzelina tried stinging the shield, and once again a single symbol appeared. The feathered lobster and the water spider didn't manage to make any symbols appear. When they were all done, the General finished noting down something on his tablet, putting it away on his back. "What you just punched is the training golem, and on its face appeared the damage you did to it in a simplified manner. There are many other important factors other than raw power on the battlefield, so we usually use the golem to measure relative growth," Prometheus nodded and asked, "What do the symbols mean? Are they numbers?"
The General nodded and pointed at the wall behind him, where his hand blurred to inscribe sixteen symbols. He went through each of them while saying its corresponding name through the mental connection. Ah, so they use a base-sixteen number system. Other than that, it is similar to the one Earth used by the fact that numbers on the left are higher in value. Got it. From then on, Theo's translation algorithms automatically translated the monster number system into the decimal system, the one he preferred using. Technically, using the binary system would be more efficient for me, but it's so clunky. I like the decimal one better. Now, how much were my attacks worth? Theo thought back to the symbols on the golem's face, which amounted to 101. What that number meant, he didn't know, but it was a start. It means Zilch did 11, Sayuri did 39, Buzzelina did 14 and the other two did nothing.
"General, if I may?" Asked Major Vine, raising a leaf to catch the tree monster's attention.
"Go ahead."
"I believe the three monsters under my command are not fit for combat under any circumstance, so I believe integrating them with the mushroom Workers would be the most effective measure to make use of them." Said the Major, pointing at Buzzelina, Lunch, and Splash.
"I see your point, Major. You think it's a waste of time and resources to train them." asked the General in a half-question.
"Correct, General. I believe that their characteristics would be more useful outside of combat."
"I understand. Go ahead, then."
Major Vine told the three monsters to follow him, and with a large leaf coming out of the ground, they exited the chamber. I hope they'll be okay. He had always known that the three monsters weren't made for combat, but seeing them go away still left a sour taste in his mouth. Only Sayuri, Zilch, and Prometheus remained in front of the golem.
"Returning to us, you will start fighting the golem as a team. Any injuries you sustain while the golem is in 'sparring mode' will not be fatal, and you'll return to a healthy state just seconds later. Any questions?"
Zilch slowly moved forward and asked, "How, how strong is the golem?"
"The golem is designed to be a good training tool for most monsters. Every time you defeat it, which is done by either damaging the weak spot once or its overall body a set amount, it will repair itself and become stronger. Now, please go and set the golem to sparring more, Major Fern. Disable the automatic restart. Just the first stage will be enough."
The three young monsters moved back slightly, readying themselves. Sayuri held her katana in front of her, focusing intensely on the golem. Zilch was retreating slowly, making sure the two monsters in front of him were between him and the golem. Prometheus walked closer, ready to strike the golem. "Get ready, you two," Theo said, hoping the worm would walk up and challenge the golem head-on. Major Fern finished setting the golem up, after which he returned to the general's side. Then, the golem opened up further, revealing a pair of legs under the torso. All in all, the golem was now four meters tall. Prometheus took the initiative, running up to the monster with his fists raised, preparing a strike. His heavy body caused small tremors with each step he took
Sayuri was just behind him, running up to his side with her katana drawn and ready. Zilch sighed and began moving closer at the sight of his two companions engaging the golem. Prometheus focused on the black shine covering the golem's surface, admiring it, Is that obsidian? It looks so clean. He had already disabled the toxin production in his body, as it was useless against an inanimate being. His fist impacted with the large shield, which caused small tremors around them. Before the sword descended on him, Prometheus quickly sidestepped the strike with his huge frame and moved to hit the golem's head. That was when he noticed something red on the construct's back. Is that the weak spot the General talked about?
Before Theo could try and reach for the weak spot, Sayuri ran under the monster's legs, jumping with [Enhancement] to reach and strike the red plate. With a surprising show of quickness, the golem sidestepped in a blur of speed and kicked Sayuri away, shattering her left arm to bits. Prometheus turned his head at the samurai, noticing how the pieces of her arm were coming back together, leaving her intact in just half a minute.
Zilch recoiled when he saw the bamboo monster get kicked so strongly, so he slowly slithered around Theo and the Golem, analyzing the situation to find an opportunity. The next few minutes passed with Theo and the golem exchanging blows while Sayuri tried striking the weak spot, which the golem always hid with sudden bursts of speed.
After Theo began running out of patience, he angrily glanced behind him, eyes focused on the worm. Why is he not doing anything?! He knows nothing will happen if he gets hurt!
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"ZILCH! COME HERE AND FIGHT!" Shouted the shapeshifter mentally at the trembling worm.
---
Zilch moved his glance between the angry shapeshifter and the black golem, deciding whether joining in the fight was worth it, What can I even do against that thing?! It looks so durable, I shouldn't even waste my energy on it. I'm sure that Theo and Sayuri are enough to take it out.
"If you don't engage in combat, you'll be terminated," explained Major Thorn, the monster that Zilch had been tutored by the last couple of days. A jot ran through the worm's body, freezing him in place like a statue. Why do I always get in such scary situations?! The world hates me, I swear. It's not fair. Not at all. With those thoughts, the worm unfroze and slithered forward, wincing at each strike dealt at the golem.
"HIT THE RED SPOT ON ITS BACK!" Screamed Prometheus in the mental connection, further speeding up the worm's decision-making. He was too weak to engage in direct combat, he was well aware of it, so he tried circling the battlefield to have the red plate in front of him. The head of the golem began slightly rotating toward him, always following his movements all the while engaging in combat with the two other monsters.
The cycle continued a couple more times, with Sayuri getting beaten around, Theo trying his best to create an opening and Zilch circling around the large construct. Then, the golem changed its approach, throwing a swiping kick at the shapeshifter, causing him to stumble. Sayuri was just about to jump at the red plate, instead getting swatted away by the shield. Oh no, were the only thoughts going through the worm's mind as the golem shifted its attention to him, beginning to charge at the small scout. he even tried using the natural camouflage he had obtained from Theo's procedure, but he couldn't get it to work in the heat of the moment.
Zilch hurriedly looked around him, hoping for some miracle to save him from imminent death. The tremors of the golem's run got stronger with each step closer. He didn't manage to move his sight above him that the sword was already descending like an executioner's blade.
What?
The next moment, Zilch's body was neatly bisected in two, blood and organs slopping on the ground, painting the smooth stone with a deep crimson color. Zilch emotionlessly observed his organs fall out of his body, while a sensation of cold began spreading around the top part of his body. He couldn't formulate another thought as he fell into unconsciousness, shock and blood loss taking their toll.
---
Fuck!
Theo turned to look at the bisected Zilch, who couldn't avoid the golem's devilish strike. The shapeshifter had just recovered from an unexpected low sweep, so he couldn't have prevented it.
Why did he just stand there while the golem charged at him?! Does he have no sense of preservation?! Other angry thoughts flashed in Theo's mind, fueled by the long battle. A small part of him suggested he use the Tribulation, which would end it all. No! Where did that thought even come from?
While the defeated worm slowly healed, the two remaining monsters continued their unrelenting barrage, just as unsuccessful as always. Sayuri managed to anticipate the golem's dodge for the first time, immediately moving where she thought the construct would be.
Theo smiled upon seeing the golem stumble awkwardly at the unexpected outcome, allowing him to run up to the enemy with the intent of making it fall to the ground. Sayuri moved to the back of the golem, using Enhanced legs to jump into the air with her blade raised, aiming for the weak spot. At the last possible moment, the torso of the construct rotated wildly, independent of the legs, to bash away both of them.
This is getting annoying.
Theo glanced at Zilch, who had finished healing and was looking directly at him, words coming through the mental connection, "Theo, I have an idea." Prometheus narrowed his eyes at the worm's words but relented. Not much to lose. Might as well try whatever he's thinking.
He ran up to the static worm, who was standing much stiffer than usual. "What's your plan?" He asked.
"Grab me and throw me at the thing's chest. If my plan works, we'll win. If it doesn't, it'll provide a good distraction."
Prometheus smiled at the insane plan, anger slightly abated, nodding deeply at his friend, "Sure." Without wasting more time, he grabbed the worm in one hand, aiming like he was about to throw a javelin, and launched. The invertebrate remained stiff during the launch, rapidly approaching the construct. It immediately noticed the flying projectile, so it raised its shield. Unfortunately for the golem, Zilch activated his power. The transparent worm phased through the shield, and the chest and finally deactivated the power only on his teeth just as he passed through the red plate, causing a lash to appear on it.
Both Sayuri and Prometheus stopped in their tracks to intensely look at the golem, searching for any reaction. The black, shiny construct began jittering slightly and then shaking, closing in on itself, and returning to its cube shape.
"FUCK YEAH!" Exclaimed Prometheus, raising its fist to the sky. I never thought winning in a team would be so amazing! he ran to the worm first, bumping his fist against the worm's head in celebration. Zilch didn't react, instead, he just stared at the ground. Theo ran up to the bamboo warrior, who sheathed her weapon and bowed slightly. Theo made his form smaller to reach Sayuri's height and raised his hand for a high-five. She looked at his hand confused, tilting her head.
"Why are you showing me your palm?" Asked the plant monster.
"It's a... forget it. We won!" Exclaimed Prometheus, hoping his friend would react similarly.
"Correct," replied Sayuri, deflating Theo's excitement.
Two loud claps rang, attracting their attention to the General, "Well done, soldiers. That took more than I expected, but you still succeded. First, each of your instructors will give you a detailed overview of what you did right, and what you can improve upon."
Prometheus and the General moved to a corner of the chamber, specifically the same one where Theo had tested his [Matter Multiplication] technique. The tree monster began by sitting down on his throne of roots and sighed. Why is he sighing? I did amazingly!
"Prometheus, how do you think you did?" Asked General Espanto neutrally.
"I know I did very well, General. If it wasn't for my compan-"
"Stop it there. Do not blame your teammates ever again. Is that clear?"
"But why? They were useless! Sayuri at least tried, but Zilch did not do much except that last stunt."
"Do you think you'll have time to blame each other on the battlefield? You can't afford to criticize your companions when you yourself did not do your best. Private, you're capable of changing shape into anything you want, and you settled on a large, clunky brawler? A more nimble and agile form would have suited that battle much better. Your biggest strength is your versatility, so you need to leverage that. Are you following me?"
"I think so."
"Perfect. Your training will focus on changing forms as quickly as possible to confuse and overwhelm your opponents, as well as better communication skills. When you noticed that your two teammates didn't take the leader's position, you should have stepped up."
Prometheus tried to protest that last part, but the General raised his hand, "I know that you tried, but it wasn't enough. First, practice using your [Cellular Surge] as much as possible during battle, to train your Soul. We saw that your limit is three uses before you have Soul fatigue. You'll train that technique until you manage to use it four times back to back, is that clear?"
Theo nodded weakly, not managing to find any holes in the General's argument.
"Good. You can start now, against this puppet of mine. It should be around your level in terms of strength. I have some matters to attend to, I'll return later. Ask the Majors if you need anything." In front of Theo, a humanoid form made of roots grew from the ground, slightly over a meter and a half tall.
After the General left the chamber, Prometheus looked down at his opponent in his Goliath form, then glanced at his own palms. Am I really not enough?
He shifted his form's size to match his opponents, taking a combat stance. This time, he planned the next form, keeping his Influence ready to jump at his signal. The puppet mirrored Theo's stance, raising its stance and throwing punches occasionally. Theo focused on dodging, and he began shifting his cells around his body. That left him vulnerable, as his body was being reconstructed, so the puppet attacked him and did massive damage to his cells. I can't shift fast enough!
Anger at his own inability to shapeshift quickly enough raged through his mind, all the while the puppet was continuing to stomp on the weakened, paste-like form Theo was in. My technique is the key, I need to speed it up!
Prometheus focused on his technique accelerating past normal limits, his influence refusing to go faster. Any progress he made was being deleted by the puppet, who was skillfully striking the places that were being regenerated, denying the shapeshifter any freedom to act.
What the fuck am I even supposed to do?! This thing keeps hitting me anytime I start shifting!
Rage and humiliation flowed through Theo's mind, who imagined himself grabbing his influence by the neck. You're MY Soul. You're MINE and you'll do what I want. His Influence began flooding much faster through his body, outpacing the damage the puppet was dealing. Prometheus felt Soul fatigue immediately after, but now the technique allowed him to shift a form that weighed one thousand kilograms in slightly more than a minute and a half, while normally, the technique allowed him to change form in five.
The cost of changing forms quickly is using up all my Influence. Worth it.
Prometheus jumped back from the puppet, admiring his new form: A creature resembling a massive tiger with gold and silver fur charged at the puppet with malicious intent. The shapeshifter continued his training by attacking the puppet in his current form, waiting for his Influence to restore, and then pushing his technique to the limit to change into other forms, such as a golden bear or even a large snake. The two other monsters were being trained in other ways, specifically, Zilch was being trained to overcome his fear. The Major in charge of the worm did so by throwing him at the golem, who kept killing Zilch over and over. Sayuri, on the other hand, was being trained in sword styles, and various techniques that would be useful for a swordwielder.
The General walked in a couple of times to check that Theo's training was going well, nodding at his progress. With that, the three monsters continued training incessantly until the Unsafe Hours came, ending the day.