Kai and Sverik slowly made their way toward the Monten Training guard, where dozens upon dozens of both adults and children of the dwarves trained diligently. Some, to keep in shape while some got ready to face their competition in a few day’s time. Moaning and grunting echoed in their ears while walking toward where the stone golem was located. It had a room of its own, the radius almost as big as Zarman’s courtyard and even taller than his house. The golem sat still in the middle, not even the dust on its body moving as Sverik equipped himself with a sword and a shield, completely forgetting any sort of armor. “Are you sure you’re not going to get hurt? A hit from that thing is bound to leave some crushed organs, Also it seems like nobody else is using it?” Kai asked, slightly concerned yet excited to see the bio-magical and mechanical creature come to life.
“Yeah, I’m tough enough. No one is using it because they think it’s useless, since this thing can easily wipe out armies in its unmodified form. However, I know this one has to have some sort of weakness, besides its reduced strength!” Sverik gripped his sword and shield and stared at the golem with battle intent. “Besides, the last time I fought it was when we started training, I’m not the same anymore. And I’m also on the cusp of a breakthrough… I… for some reason I can’t manage it!”
Kai took on a contemplative expression and asked Sverik after a short while. “Could you explain that in more detail? I feel like that’s some valuable information I will need when I finally form my core.”
“When you finally…what?” Sverik’s mouth stood slightly agape, almost completely forgetting about the fight he was about to be in. “Right…” he mumbled, slowly coming back to it. “As you know, to advance to the next stage, you need to manifest around a star around your core, but due to the body mage's low amount of mana and magic prowess, it’s pretty difficult to do that. That’s when the technique comes in… once the star appears you fuse it into your core. When the core changes size, the stars melt and coat it, possibly changing its color as well.
The problem is that I can’t manifest that third star and I have no idea why… but I must try still, though I have an idea.” He explained, saying the last sentence with a suspiciously calm tone.
“Which is…?”
“Beat myself until it appears!”
“What?” Kai gasped, surprised that he’d see someone with an idea half as insane as his. “Are you stupid or something?”
Sverik smiled softly, letting out a light chuckle as he stared at the golem, the will to fight and win within his soul burning brighter than ever. Slowly approaching it, the golem seemed to have sensed the challenge and began shaking to life. A small cloud of dust rose along with it, and its eyes shone with an ethereal green light, letting out a roar that shook the entire cave. Countless eyes turned toward it and the two boys, slowly dropped whatever they did and gathered around. Observing the small crowd building up, Sverik’s heart raced as he began approaching the golem, only to be stopped by Kai, who grabbed him by the shoulder. “If you ever think you’re in danger, eat this.” He handed Sverik one of the Inner Balance Pills he had, sneaking it into his breast pocket without anyone seeing. “Now, good luck!”
“Uhh, thanks?” Sverik shrugged off whatever Kai did, trying not to think too much about it.
He sat at the edge of the golem’s arena, watching it with anxiety and caution. Gulping, he took the final step, fully indicating to the golem that he was ready to fight. Sverik’s body glowed several times as the golem dug into the ground, picking up a good handful which it then compressed into a rock. Throwing it toward the boy, his figure turned into a blur as he dodged the projectile, causing it to smash against an invisible barrier and get crushed to bits.
Sverik dashed toward the golem, taking advantage of its low intelligence, and gained ground as it thought about what to do next. The golem’s eyes dwindled for a second before lighting up again and taking on a combat position as it detected Sverik’s rapid approach. Raising its foot, the ground shook slightly as it slammed down, and tracked the boy’s position like a viper, its giant earthen arms ready to strike at any time.
Sverik circled the creature, looking for any gaps in its defense or any obvious weak spots. However, regardless of how much he tried, he could not see any such thing. Without giving it a second thought, he grit his teeth and sprinted forward, preparing to dodge the golem’s obvious attack and counter with one of his own. Just as Sverik expected, the golem sent a punch flying right toward him as soon as he got in range, and just as he planned, he stepped to the side. Pulling out his sword, he thrust it at the stone elbow, aiming right between a small ridge connecting it to the forearm. It was a risky move as he could easily lose his sword with the slightest faux pas. Fortunately, his precision had greatly improved and the blade masterfully penetrated the thin spot, earning a cry of what seemed like pain to echo from the golem.
Kai’s pupils constricted as he observed the man-made beast, drowning in fascination at its mechanical movements yet a thought process comparable to the AI in his old world. Sverik only told me how they’re produced, and that very vaguely, and nowhere did he mention its intelligence…
Grunting, Sverik twisted the sword, however, instead of a pained yell, the golem only let out an angry scream as it retracted his hand, hoping to catch Sverik and throw him in the air. Before that could happen, however, Sverik quickly pulled out his sword and retreated briefly before charging once again. His blurry figure didn’t escape the golem’s sight, and it kicked toward the boy with a strangely fast speed despite its large size. Sverik jumped up and braced for impact, using the shield to absorb most of the impact as he used the momentum to fly in the air. Gulping, he tried maintaining a stable form as he fell, aiming at the creature’s eye.
Is he an idiot? Kai thought, slapping his face and praying that Sverik was really as tough as he said he was. In that same moment, what seemed to be a smirk creased the golem’s rugged lips, and, without any hesitation, slapped Sverik out of the air like a fly. He blocked with the shield, which absorbed most of the impact as it broke into pieces. Sverik felt like a mountain had hit him, and got sent flying toward the walls. A magical barrier that absorbed most of the damage appeared behind him, causing him to fall to the ground. The crowd watching him all let out a collective gasp, some of them even looking away at the moment of impact.
Did that thing just… smile? Kai raised an eyebrow after observing the golem’s behavior, shocked yet intrigued even more. Interesting… these things are more than they seem. Letting out a sigh, he turned to look at Sverik, who barely got up while coughing madly.
Leaning on his sword, he threw away the shield, or what remained of it, and wiped his mouth as he glared at the magical creature. His entire body trembled, however, he didn’t show any signs of giving up and immediately approached the thing once again. He clutched the hilt, softly murmuring something under his breath as he brought his hand to where his core was located. Sending a trace amount of mana, he felt something forming around his core, and a smile creased his lips as he straightened his back. “Is that all you can do!?” He yelled, causing the golem’s expression to change to one of annoyance, much to the onlooker’s shock.
“That thing can show such emotion?!”
“I don’t believe it! I heard of golems sometimes lashing out but this one is just too… human!”
“Bullshit! I’ve worked with these golems for hundreds of years, and none of them acted any differently than an expressionless and soulless tool!”
“Soulless tool…” Kai repeated in a mumbling voice, his eyes widening at the sinister thought he just had. Could it be… However, before he could think about it further, another roar echoed in the training area, accompanied by a light thump and the muffled sound of a rolling body. Sverik got up from within the cloud of dust created by himself scraping against the ground, coughing up a wild storm as he brought his hand to his chest once again. However, he missed by a few centimeters, and he found himself feeling up the pill Kai placed in his front pocket.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“What is this…” He held the weird-looking sphere between his fingers but shrugged and swallowed it without much thought. Almost instantly, the two energies within the pills coursed through Sverik’s artificial mana veins, accompanied by an unsuspecting amount of pain. Kai observed his friend, taking note of the changes he could observe from afar. It shouldn’t hurt him a lot… hopefully. Interested in the effects the pill had on an actual physical mage.
Sverik charged the golem, tightly holding the sword as his mind raced with ideas. His eyes jumped from location to location, trying to find a way to best the creature, which in turn eyed him like a viper. It prepared once again to hit the boy, its right arm moving back as it waited for Sverik to get in range. Squinting its mechanical eyes, the fist arrived in front of the boy before he even had time to process it, only able to raise his sword to block what little damage he could last second. “Damn it!” He grunted as he got shot backward, his landing accompanied by a snapping noise. Standing up and letting out a low growl, his hand rushed toward his ribs. Gritting his teeth, he leaned on the now-bent sword to recuperate his breath. However that seemed like an impossibility as the ground shuddered below his feet, and he watched with widening pupils as the golem slowly approached him.
“What?!” He exclaimed, his heart racing. “He’s never done that before… just what’s going on?! Why is it so weird today??” Picking up his sword, he retreated toward the edge of the arena, taking advantage of its slow movement speed to recuperate. With each heavy breath, he took, the energy within the pill gathered toward his ribs, sending a small amount of warmth in that area. “Hmm?” He grunted, looking at this mid-section, however he had no time to question the changes within his body as the ground trembled once again.
Watching in horror as the golem dug into the earth and picked up a large amount of earth before compressing it into a dense, almost rock-like ball and sending it flying toward Sverik. He murmured under his breath, causing his body to become a blur as it glowed with a yellow light, instantly disappearing from his previous location and appearing a few meters ahead. The boulder slammed against the ground and then the barrier just as he disappeared, turning to fine dust upon impact.
“So fast…!” Sverik gasped, sweating profusely as he ran away, afraid for his life. “That thing isn’t training me anymore, it’s out to get me!” He yelled toward the crowd, but no one could hear him due to the barrier separating them. “Fuck!” Cursing, he once again murmured under his breath, picking up speed as his feet glowed, and so did his arms after chanting another spell. Running in circles, he kept a safe distance between himself and the golem, however, he and the crowd knew he couldn’t last long enough.
“Hey, what rank is Zar’s pupil again?” One of the onlookers asked with a perplexed expression.
“Uhh… close to Three Stars, right?” Another answered, biting down on a fruit. “Why?”
“Then how did he consecutively cast ‘Instant Transmission’, ‘Speed Enchantment’ and ‘Strenght Boost’? He cast two Two Rank Spells and one Third Rank spell, shouldn’t that be impossible?”
“Now that you mention it…”
“He’s holding up pretty good for a Mix-Blood…” A short dwarf with a golden eyepatch said, a frown creasing his lips.
“Yeah, show that even trash can become something under Zarman.” Another one wearing black attire with skin as pale as the moon said.
“Shut it you two!”
Discussion broke out in the crowd as soon as the man finished his sentence, gasps of shock and questions swam through the people, eventually finding their way to Kai’s ears as well. He frowned upon hearing the not-so-nice remarks, however, he knew that there was nothing he could do about it, so he focused on the pill’s effects instead. So the pill allows him to cast more than he normally should? Makes sense considering the amount of concentrated mana inside, but just how much is the question… Kai took a mental note as he watched Sverik fight the golem, rooting for his friend to defeat the creature as soon as possible. The sooner he’s done with it, the sooner I can inspect it… He thought, wearing a mix of excitement and curiosity on his face, his weird expression luckily hidden by the mask.
Sverik hadn’t yet realized that his actions had caused a stir among the onlookers, nor did he care as the golem seemed to pick up speed with every step it took. Cold sweat ran down his back, however, he refused to give up, he knew that it was either advancing in rank now or giving up on his goal forever. “That damned magic academy! This damned clan!” He yelled, burning through mana as both enchantments remained activated, his current spells only running on the mana from the pill. The heat spreading throughout his body stopped, with the remaining life energy idling within his veins, waiting to heal any new wound that may be created. Gritting his teeth, Sverik started chanting the technique taught to him by Zarman as he rushed toward the golem, who also approached him. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, and along with it so did the mana and life energy. He suddenly picked up speed and felt his body become lighter as the star he desired began forming next to his core. His heart started racing as the euphoric feeling of finally breaking through filled his brain. However, the star started fading away as soon as it appeared, causing despair to replace his happiness.
“Daaaaamn itt!!!!” Tears streamed down his cheeks as he slowed down, the desire to give up and let the golem defeat him flooding his head. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the golem’s punch arrived before him, this time hitting him square in the chest, right where his core stood. The star that began to fade suddenly stopped as life energy rushed toward it, reconstructing it instead of healing Sverik’s newfound wounds. Spit and blood instantly rushed out of his mouth as he got sent flying backward, crashing against the barrier, which absorbed most of the otherwise fatal damage. A clanging sound rang in the silent arena as he dropped his sword, and the golem scoffed as it went back to an idle state.
A collective gasp of shock rang among the crowd as they inhaled sharply, and some of them, Kai included, tried rushing in to help.
“What’s going on??” One of them yelled, punching at the barrier. “Shouldn’t it have done down by now?! That boy is almost dead!”
“Tsk, it only goes down when one of them admits defeat or the barrier detects death or loss of consciousness.” The paled skin dwarf said. “Looks like that Lechiar isn’t either of those just yet.”
Some of the people in the crowd frowned upon hearing his words, however, none dared say anything more than a whisper.
“That damned son of the captain hasn’t worked a day in his life and yet…” A dwarf close to Kai whispered to another, his wavering tone showing the fear he held toward the pale man.
Hasn’t given up yet? A smile formed behind Kai’s mask as he stared at Sverik. That’s more like it!
Meanwhile, as the crowd either laughed at his misery or watched him silently, Sverik feigned unconsciousness and observed what happened within his body. Although he couldn’t see as clearly as Kai or the others could, despite having a mana core, he could still see enough to make out what was happening. A six-point star formed close to his heart, using whatever life energy the pill had left within to take form and solidify. Unlike the other two stars already fused with his course, this new one took on a color similar to the twilight sun - a beautiful yellowish-orange. A light chuckle escaped his body, causing the golem’s eye to open slightly, briefly looking in his direction. “To think such a thing would happen… I have to thank him later hehe.” He whispered, standing up as the star fully solidified.
The golem’s eyes fully opened, and a surprised, almost shocked noise seemingly escaped its body. “Now let’s see if you can help me again!” Sverik yelled, rushing toward the creature as fast as he could, his speed increasing rapidly as he clutched the bent sword in his hand. Quickly standing up, the golem tracked Sverik’s movement and instantly sent a punch toward the boy, however, before it could make contact, his body shone with a yellow hue as he disappeared from sight. Reappearing a few meters ahead, he jumped, aiming the sword at the golem’s chest. There, hidden beneath a thick layer of stone and ore, lay its core. A pulsing, heart-like purple crystal, only visible to a small gap in his chest, which fueled its movements and thoughts. It gasped and tried retreating, however, due to its size and weight, it was impossible to do so in time.
“Again?!” The crowd gasped, their hearts beginning to race. “He’s not even a Three Star yet! This should be impossible, and yet!”
Ignorant to the crowd, Sverik’s sword rushed straight at the narrow gap and made contact before the golem’s hand could grab him. A shower of purple light exploded forth, hiding the boy’s figure, which shot backward as the massive amounts of energy blasted him away. A defiant roar echoed in the small area, causing his ears to bleed slightly as the ground shook violently. The golem fell to the ground, its body spasming briefly before it lay unmoving. As the barrier shone with a soft light, it disappeared, allowing the crowd to enter the arena. Kai rushed to Sverik’s side, catching him before hitting the outer walls, as this time there was nothing but hard rock upon landing.
A smile creased his lips as he observed the changes within Sverik, most notably his core, where an orange star with a hint of purple now stood right next to his two yellow ones.
“You did it… you crazy son of a -” However, before he could finish his sentence, the sound of shattering glass echoed in Kai’s ears, his head snapping toward its source with widened eyes.