Chương 11: Golems

Time until next Elemental Storm: 5 Days and 10 Hours The cover of the wooden tent shook as something banged on it from the outside. The shaking loosened leaves from the ceiling, raining them on Ethan. Usually the cover would slide, but Ethan had found a way to lock it into place so the monster couldn't open it.

"What the hell…?" he let out after his legs gave up from under him. Not just because of the giant rocky ant trying to break in. Not because he was tired from the fighting, and wished so sorely to lay in the leafy bed the tent had provided him. But because the whole dungeon had changed, and now he had another type of monster he had to take on. He clenched his spear tightly, but then laid it out on the ground. He did the same thing with his duffel bag, after taking a few sips of water.

Don't know how tough it is, but if it's anything like real rock, my spear might slide right off. And that'd waste a DE Overlay strike. His Talent pierced through the entangled life essence in the sliding tent cover, and outside where the monster was moving. The monster looked like a giant insect the size of a car, with a large abdomen, six legs and a triangular face ending in small mandibles. Life force flowed across its body from a single source embedded under its stomach, one which Ethan recognized.

It's got a heart too? Then it's the same as the treants, just made of rock. That gave him some modicum of confidence. He just needed to get to the core, and he'd beat the giant monster. He raised his hands, covering two fingers on each with thick death essence. The first he aimed above himself, while the second hand pointed forward. Ethan watched the monster's movements through his Talent, adjusting the aim for a perfect shot. After that, all that was left was the execution. He breathed out, steadying his aim.

I didn't die to the direwolf, I'm not going to die here either, he told himself. The rock ant reared back for a slam, and that's when Ethan fired. His first shot blew apart the latch holding the cover in place and it slid back down. The cover opened, revealing the giant monster behind. Golden gems took the place of eyes, locking onto Ethan as its mandibles clicked together. DE Shot. A second blast hit the chest, spreading death essence and cracking the rock into dust. But just barely.

Ethan readied another DE Shot immediately, and fired again into the chest. But then the ant's legs were coming down, and he had to run. He dashed past the rock ant, staring into the hole where his death essence had spread. It was shallow and wide, where he needed it to be thin and deep. The ant turned around, stomping on the wooden platform and shaking it even more than the direwolf had. The shaking even reached Ethan, making him stumble on his feet. Damnit, it's too heavy for the platform to hold it up!

The ant stepped towards him, using the shaking to keep him from running too far. Life reinforcement, Ethan chanted, and the ability spread across his body in a blanket, strengthening muscle and bone, and keeping him just out of reach of the giant ant. But it forced him on the run, and that didn't leave many opportunities to attack. Ethan readied another DE Shot, firing it behind him as he ran. The shot was meant for its heart, but the ant brought forward its legs to block it.

Ethan grunted in annoyance, turning right when he reached the end of the platform and readying another shot. Two more landed on the monster's legs, only creating thin cracks within. It's too fast to react! The giant monster cut him off once he reached another end of the platform, and readied a leg to punch him. Ethan narrowly avoided the slam, firing another shot at its eyes and cracking the yellow crystal there. The ant tried to pull its legs back up, but the entire appendage snapped off instead. What?

Ethan took the opportunity to gain some distance, and watched the ant scramble to get its foot back on. Maybe the connections between the limbs are weak? Can I cripple it that way? He watched the joints, but they didn't look like they'd so easily snap off. Then what is it? Ethan wondered, glancing back towards the broken appendage. Where the truth revealed itself. The leg had broken along where Ethan had landed his DE Shot. The death essence! That's why it wasn't working!

Instead of rotting and breaking away the wood entirely, the death essence for the rock ant had instead created a hundred little fractures inside, turning the area into thinly connected gravel. And if its legs are in that shape, then the heart… Small bits of dust fell from the ant's chest with every movement, where the heart resided. A good hit's all I need then. Not with my essence, but with something solid. The shop thankfully didn't need him to be safe to access.

He pulled it up while still in a run from the rock ant, and smashed in the letters for what he was searching. [-50 Credits] He barely gave the item's description a glance before purchasing it. A beam of light appeared over him as he was running, and a heavy sledgehammer fell into his arms. That one item set his equilibrium awry, and he had to roll out of the way as the ant stomped and smashed the platform. Giant holes appeared where its legs landed, and it let out a shrill humming that sounded like frustration.

He landed under the ant's chest, and brought up the sledgehammer in a swing. The hammer hit cracked bits, and let loose more gravel from inside. But it didn't break through. The overreaching cost him. The ant thrust one free leg under itself, hitting Ethan and sending him rolling across the platform. The blow took the air out of his lungs, and the spinning made him feel like throwing up. His only reprieve came in the hammer, which he still held onto after he stopped rolling.

He rose up on shaky feet, life force failing him. Damnit, I can't force any more life essence through my body like this! Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators! It wasn't news that his life reinforcement technique was shoddy at best. But Raphael couldn't really help him refine it in the little time he had. Not like he'd needed it up to this point. But if I'm going to break through the core, I do. Note to self, Ethan, fix your shit techniques.

He raised up the hammer, ready for the ant. DE Overlay added extra power to the weighty weapon, and Ethan charged towards the monster with it. The monster was either too stupid or too angry, because it mimicked Ethan and charged ahead. The platform bobbed up and down from their run, and when they met, Ethan ducked. The ant slammed its head down to catch him, but he was already to the core by then. Shit for leverage here, but— He reared back the hammer as far as it would go.

The Ant reacted with another shrill scream. And then Ethan swung. The hammer hit the ant's chest and exploded. Death essence spread on impact, dropping stones and the heart inside. Only it wasn't the oaky orange mass that Ethan was expecting. It was a shining gem instead. DE Overlay. He applied it again, while the monster was stunned. Another swing cracked the gem in half, and a burst of essence exploded from the monster. The rock ant shook from its legs to its abdomen, and Ethan jumped out from under it.

A second later, the entire body collapsed on the platform, tilting it slightly. [Bestiary Updated!] [+50 Credits] He landed and took heavy breaths. A metre or two, and his entire body would've been crushed under the ant's. Instead, he lifted himself to his feet, using the hammer as support. Ethan gathered up the pieces of life force that still remained near the pile of boulders which made up the monster's corpse. The force from his hammer blows were still shaking through his arms, even minutes after.

Ugh, I can't tell if that's any better or worse than the treant's. What's this thing even called? He pulled up the bestiary entry while assessing his wounds. [Monster: Golem Ant Credits Dropped: 50 Description: A giant ant golem animated through the amber heart that beats in its chest. Its massive size makes it a threat to the treant monsters of the jungle, and the material of its body is susceptible to many different forms of acid. It is quicker than its size would suggest, owing to the relative lightness of the rock from which it is composed.] That's why it was chasing me around the damn place so easily. Still, acid? Should've thought of that myself. While he read, Ethan felt around his body for pain points, finding one right near his left side. Another cracked rib? Seriously? Ethan pulled out some life force and after moving it through the skin, applied it across the ribs.

He held them in place with the other hand, making sure the connection wasn't wrong. That was the biggest mistake a life practitioner could make in the Samsaran Order. Incorrect Healing. The only way to fix it was to break the area all over again, and Ethan was in no mind to send death essence through his body. He walked back to the little wooden tent where he'd left his duffel bag and spear, and strapped them both to his body. The sledgehammer weighed him down, but Ethan kept it in his hands.

There was a good chance that wasn't the last golem he'd have to beat up. Then, he pushed on towards the next closest holy seed, hoping he'd be proven wrong.

Moving with his heavy equipment in tow really made Ethan understand just how weak his body was. A few hours of walking with the sledgehammer made his arms and shoulders ache. He wanted nothing more than to throw the thing into the spike pits, but every now and then he'd hear the sound of a boulder breaking in the distance, and he'd clench it tighter. A few times, monsters did appear, running right towards him. They'd been running before they even spotted him, however, so something else was clearly on their minds.

That fear disappeared as soon as they met Ethan. Two wolf treants and two monkey treants all glared at him once they clocked his position. The monkeys were new, with the skull and bones of simians wrapped around their branches. They climbed onto a high vine and began to throw smaller fruits at Ethan. The wolves were on the ground, hounding him physically. Dealing with both was a pain, so Ethan hit two DE Shots on either side of the vine, dropping the monkeys.

[+20 Credits] After that, he smashed in the wolves' skulls with his hammer infused with death essence. [+20 Credits] Their essence wasn't as strong as the direwolf or ant, but he absorbed it all regardless. His proficiency with Life Control made it easy to string the disparate threads of essence into one, and merge it with his being all in the matter of seconds.

[Internal Skill: Life & Death Control - Rank F Progress to E-Rank: 25%] It was going way faster than his Talent, but that didn't really matter unless the Talent itself caught up. If the Talent isn't at E-Rank, I can't get my skills to E-Rank either. If it had been any different, he'd be solely focusing on his skill on the chance his mysterious Skill Stone was compatible. He cleaned the sap-blood of the wolves off his hammer and continued on.

Another hour passed, and Ethan came upon another golem ant, only this one looked meaner than the last. He watched from a high ledge as the rock ant swept half a dozen wood monkeys off the platform, sentencing them to crash against the spikes. It was gruesome seeing the monsters impaled, and smoke rise from their body as the acid coating the spikes burnt them. But it was for the better. Had the monsters just been normal animals, he would've been more than happy to help them.

But the treant and golems saw him as nothing more than prey. The only downside of the situation was that Ethan really needed to get past the golem ant, and the next closest path would be a massive detour. Now, how do I deal with you? He'd face the monster if he'd have to, but Ethan still looked around for another way. Thankfully, he found one, in a giant lodged orange. It looked like the remnants of the last fruitfall, wedged between a tiny branch that was barely holding it back from falling.

The best part was, it was hanging right above the ant, who was stomping around. Each stomp sent a little tremble through the platform it was on, and those thumps gave him an idea. Looks like two things on the brink of breaking down. Let's hurry it up a bit. He pointed a DE Shot at the faraway branch, using his other hand to still his aim. Ethan fired, and the shot sailed twenty feet before fizzling out. The ant stopped abruptly and turned to the skies. Ethan ducked back in the ledge so it wouldn't see him.

After a moment of silence, the ant continued stomping around the platform idly. Should have thought of that, Ethan. What were you thinking? He stood back up and readied another DE Shot. Only this time, Ethan thickened the death essence as far as he could bear to, making his fingers take on a blackish tinge. He aimed it towards the branch, and stretched his Talent in a similar way, hoping it would let him glimpse the centre of the branch's life force, and hit it.

The more Ethan stretched, the more strain he could feel on his body. Skills and Talents used up the user's soul to exert, and Ethan was bottoming his out for the shot. Until he finally glimpsed something. But not what he'd aimed for. In the corner of Ethan's vision, he saw that disappearing life force again. But when he looked to the side of the treebark it had come from, it didn't disappear. ….. know…. recreating…. they….. not special…. golems…. It unfolded instead, into lines and lines of…. Text?

The colours swirled and changed, the letters never stood in one place, and yet Ethan thought he could almost understand the language, if he just came closer. There was a hole in the tree and some footing in front of the writing, like someone had expected it to be read, which was even more confusing. But a shrill scream knocked him out of the confusion. Ethan looked down, and the golem ant had spotted him. Instantly, Ethan shot death essence to the branch.

The ant began stomping towards him, right as the essence hit and the branch cracked. The giant orange boulder dropped, landing on the disc-like platform just as the ant was about to exit it. It tilted the entire thing downwards, and the ant went up on the opposite side. It tried to hold onto the sides for leverage, but it slipped, and slid down the lopsided platform. Ethan watched as both the orange and golem ant rolled off and broke apart on the spikes.

[+50 Credits] Once both were gone, the platform returned to a relatively normal position, although it was battered from one side. Letting myself get distracted like that was a big mistake. But what the hell is that? Ethan stared back up at the writing, and moved down from his ledge. He crossed the platform towards the tree where the writing was, and saw a hole near him. Opening it, he found a small tunnel inside, leading upwards. This probably leads up to that writing. But should I even be wasting time with it?

He wondered. He still had four seeds and pedestals left to go. Two days for one seed wasn't setting the best pace. But on the other hand, he remembered the words he'd seen up there. The writing was in… a mix of life and death essence? Or some form of it. And only someone who can sense those essences can read it. That means it was someone from the Samsaran Order, right? Someone of Alphome's? Maybe someone had left him a note on the mechanics of the shrine and why the ground was splitting apart.

And if he read that, Ethan could have a better chance of clearing it. With that decided, he walked into the tunnel, and started upwards.