Since his arrival, Dallion had seen many guardians. After a few mishaps in Nerosal, he had made a point to read more about them in the ring library. The information had proved useful, though not as much as one would expect. In general, most awakened got to see most of the common guardians after a few months of item improving. All the rest described in the scrolls were like exotic creatures and curiosities that Dallion skimmed through, more out of interest than anything else. It was a good thing he had, since the guardian he was facing now was nothing like anything else he had encountered. According to the brief mention in the scroll, the metalins were one of the few artificially created guardians of the age.

I really did it this time, Dallion swallowed looking at the ten-foot colossus facing him.

If the writing in the scrolls was to be believed, the first metalin was created by emperor Tamin the second. The design was later improved by the mage Academy, who had sunk vast amounts of time and resources in the research, all with the goal of turning the metalins into viable familiars. The fact that nothing else was written on the topic suggested that the mages most likely had failed. Even so, there were more than enough nobles who wanted to have items with the new toys. Apparently, that desire wasn’t unique for the imperial capital.

“You don’t see this every day,” Celia said. “Fought one before?”

“No,” Dallion replied. Technically, he had seen one, though. Back when he had fought the village elder of Dharma, there was a similar entity placed in his realm. At the time, Dallion thought it to be an echo. Now he knew better.

“Why is it just standing there?”

“It’s evaluating us,” Dallion replied.

The only way to describe the guardian was like a cross between a suit of armor and a shapeshifter. Pieces of metal created the various armor segments composing the entity, and each of them had the ability to change form. Restrictions of unknown nature kept the guardian from freely shapeshifting, however, it had the ability to change the functionality of every piece it was composed of.

Before Dallion and Celia’s very eyes, one of the metalin’s hands morphed into gauntlet swords.

“Move!” Dallion shouted, splitting into instances and not a moment too soon. Three of the instances were skewered as the massive guardian rushed forward, far faster than one might expect.

It was mostly luck that Dallion’s last instance remained unharmed. Celia was no better. Her speed provided an advantage, though not enough to remain completely unscathed. The tip of the blade sliced through left shoulder, causing more damage than Dallion had managed to inflict so far.

Anything you can help, Nil? Dallion asked, shooting two bolts at the guardian. Both bounced off, dealing no damage whatsoever.

Go for the joins, the echo replied. That should be the weakest point. I’d recommend using the dagger. The harprissowrd won’t help much at your present level.

Unsure whether that was a subtle criticism, or actual good advice, Dallion let go of his dartbow, then summoned the Nox dagger. His perception and mind attributes were high enough to allow targeting markers to cover all areas where the armor components connected.

“Lady Marigold, go somewhere safe!” he shouted and dashed forward.

Splitting into seven instances, Dallion targeted the ankle of the metalin. To his surprise, none of the instances were blocked. In every single case, he reached the metal being without issue and managed to jab it with the Nox dagger.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Damage dealt has increased by 50%

Initially, Dallion found the success to be suspiciously easy. Splitting into five new instances, he performed several more strikes, culminating in a multi attack. Once done, he leaped back. At that point, things got into perspective. The total amount of health he had managed to reduce with that series of attacks was less than five percent. Meanwhile, Celia was doing everything in her power to avoid the metalin’s strikes.

It doesn’t consider me a threat? Dallion wondered.

Most likely not, Nil said. Metalins are limited creatures. That’s one of the reasons their popularity didn’t pick up. For the most part, they can only focus on one thing. At present, it seems that the semi-fury is considered a greater threat.

That sounded very much like an automaton. A possible way to proceed was to let Celia continue to act as bait, while Dallion slowly gnawed at the guardian’s foot to the point that—

The upper part of the metalin’s torso violently turned around. Targeting Dallion as its enemy, the creature performed a vertical slice aiming at chopping the target in two.

Both shield and harpsisword self-summoned, blocking the attack faster than Dallion could react. However, their intervention came at a cost. Instead of one red rectangle, there were two.

MEDIUM DAMAGE

HARPSISWORD’s health has been decreased by 10%

MEDIUM DAMAGE

ADMADIL SHIELD’s health has been decreased by 10%

Lux! Dallion shouted. He had no intention of risking the state of his gear, regardless of circumstances. Heal Harp, then move to shield!

Blue flames surrounded the harpsisword. Meanwhile, Celia had a go at the guardian, throwing three knives in the crack of the armor’s neck.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Damage dealt has increased by 50%

This time the health the guardian lost was double what Dallion had caused.

Nil, is the neck it’s vital spot? Dallion asked.

The metalin’s entire inside is its weak spot, the echo replied. It’s just a construct. It has no organs, so what’s keeping it whole is the energy stored within.

So, all I have to do is create a big enough crack for the magic to trickle out?

Magic isn’t like water…

Dallion, however, was no longer listening. Magic might not be the same as water, but it was very likely to be similar to electricity. Dallion had never poked around generators, but even he knew how to short circuit one. There were two problems with that: one, how was he going to get close enough to perform such an attack, and two—what would the consequences be.

“Celia, retreat!” Dallion split into four instances, each moving back. “It can’t chase after both of us at the same time.”

His former opponent did as instructed. In the blink of the eye, she was nowhere near the guardian. This caused a lot of confusion, just as Dallion thought it would. The metalin looked around, measuring the distance to Celia, then turned around and looked at Dallion. Somewhere deep in its mind, there was a calculation going, determining who to attack.

This one was very different from the entity Dallion had seen in Aspion’s realm. The one at the time didn’t have any problems determining its course of action. More than that, it was sapient, capable of leading a proper conversation. At present, Dallion had no idea what had occurred with it. In theory, the echo should have ceased to exist when the former village chief’s awakening powers were sealed. Considering that realms could be unsealed, though, there was a chance that it had remained locked within the walls of Aspion’s realm.

What will happen if I defeat it? Dallion asked.

The same thing that would happen when you defeat any guardian. Metalins aren’t anomalies, dear boy. They are just guardians that were artificially constructed. The same rules apply.

That was good, at least it meant the realm wouldn’t crumble as a result. All that Dallion had to do now was—

He caught a glimpse of motion next to him. Instinctively, Dallion swung in that direction. His sword was blocked by a clink by a large dagger held with both hands. The person holding it was Celia.

“Easy there,” she said, a tense smile on her face. “I’d say the fight is over, don’t you think?”

“It isn’t.” Dallion glanced at the echoes.

The three committee members had moved much closer to Lady marigold, but kept on observing the fight. Dallion could see fear within them, the size of watermelons. Even Constanza felt a bit nervous. Lady marigold, on the other hand, was calm as could be, looking forward to what would happen. Seeing Dallion look at her, the old woman smiled.

“They want to see us get through this,” he replied. “There still must be a winner. Only difference is that now there’s another participant.”

“Me, you, and an item guardian,” Celia mused. “This year the festival is full of surprises.” She glanced at the guardian, then back at Dallion. “Any plans?”

“Just one,” Dallion replied. “Get close enough to stick a sword in its helmet.”

“In that case—"

Before Celia could finish, the guardian dashed forward again. Its left hand morphed into a crossbow, showing a volley of arrows in their general area.

Shield, cover me! Dallion shouted.

The armadil shield expanded to the size of his torso as Dallion. Bolts splintered into slivers, scarreting throughout the entire area around Dallion with exploding strength. Even protected by the shield, Dallion was barely able to withstand the attack, which pushed him back half a dozen feet. Thankfully, the shield hadn’t received any additional damage.

Meanwhile, Ceia changed the trajectory of the bolt fragments so as to avoid her. Most of them were scattered anywhere in the vicinity. A small percentage were redirected straight at the guardian, hitting its chest and even pushing it a step back. Unfortunately, not a single rectangle appeared. Whatever the armor was made of, it was impenetrable. Even the Nox had failed to cause any damage, which suggested that the sphere must have been an artefact at one point.

Contract, Dallion ordered, feeling the attack over. As the shield returned to normal, he played a series of chords, adding weight to the guardian’s gauntlets. The metalin’s massive hands lowered for a few seconds, then moved back up. It was going to take more than a bit of weight to hinder it.

“Attack its neck,” Dallion shouted. He already knew that Celie was capable of that much. If his order managed to confuse the guardian for a moment, all the better.

The woman didn’t need telling twice, disappearing before Dallion could finish his sentence. That left him the main target of the metalin. Normally, Dallion would charge forward and try to take off its head with a leap and circular slash attack. With his current stats, the combination was no longer risky, what was more, combat splitting ensured that he’d get at least a few instances to hit the mark. This time, though, Dallion hesitated. He wasn’t the only one who could use combat splitting. Just because the metalin hadn’t didn’t mean it couldn’t.

Planning was always better than reckless actions; determination was always more effective than constant second guessing. The border between the two was the difference between success and failure. Not too many knew where that lay, but those that did were on the path to greatness. Now was time for Dallion to see if he was among them.

The layer of blue flames shifted from the harpsisword to the shield. This was it! Dallion wasn’t going to get a better chance than this.

By the Green Moon, Dallion thought as he charged forward.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Damage dealt has increased by 50%

A red rectangle appeared above the metalin’s head. Celia must have hit her mark again. Unlike before, the guardian didn’t flinch. Blades emerged from its entire body flying out like arrows.

Damn it!

MAJOR WOUND!

Your health has been decreased by 50%

The hit left Dallion at less than ten percent health. The outcomes of the other two instances were even worse. There wasn’t going to be another attack after this one. Win or lose, Dallion had no alternative but to finish what he had started.

I’ll need you on this one, Harp, Dallion thought.

Red, white, and green markers filled the air, showing him how to twist and turn mid air, using the shield to deflect the flying blades. They also showed him the position he had to reach to perform the strike.

Focusing on what mental strength he had, Dallion split into two instances. Both reached the head of the metalin. Both kicked the helmet with a circular kick, then thrust the harpsisword in the opening between the helmet and the breastplate. And both got pierced by a blade from the guardian’s armor. However, only one instance lost all its health before the harpsisword began to vibrate.