Chapter 15- Rock Golem

The rock golem towers twelve feet in height. Its black iron body blocks both physical and elemental attacks. Weighing over a ton, this monster is an immovable object standing in our path. Layers of rock converge at each point of its body strengthening and condensing each other. The only weak point is its core that is hidden deep within the many layers of rock wrapping around it.

As it takes a step out of the gates a deep whaling thud echoes into the stadium. Each slow and heavy step shakes me to the core with fear. I strengthen my grip on the silver dagger in my hand. A cold sweat slowly creeps over my body. I don’t know if we can defeat something like this. I look over to Aarushi who is standing firmly in place. No fear is seen in her eyes. I cannot see her mark through the heavy rock gauntlets she wears. Lucarus takes a step back and nervously checks his surroundings. As our eyes meet I see a mix of negative emotions. His mark is covered by wolf fur gloves. Rhea standing in the very back simply stares toward the beast looming in the distance.

All of us are still tired and breathing hard from the previous fights. I contemplate throwing in the towel when Rhea yells words of motivation. “Don’t give up, that creep is slow and stupid. If we can find a way to crack it open and destroy the core we win!” My spirts feel slightly refreshed knowing that she still has belief in us. The ground shakes once more as the golem steps closer to us.

The shadow of the golem seems to block out the sun as it gets closer. The beast moves slowly giving us time to avoid its attack but one wrong step would mean death. It raises the mass of rock that would be considered as its right fist, over its head. The beast strikes in Aarushi’s direction. She darts toward me to avoid the attack. As the fist hits the ground, the ground indents slightly as a shock wave radiates outward. The air around the attack fills with dirt and debris. The golem becomes motionless for several seconds as the air clears. When he picks up his massive fist he leaves a crater three feet in diameter in the ground. Aarushi would be dead now if she tried to block the golems attack.

I try to calm myself by breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth. We need to end this quickly. I rush up toward its leg. One of the massive arms swings behind me. The air pressure from the arm pushes me forward tripping me. I fall to the ground and slide several feet. I roll over and see a giant black rock above me. I blast a ball of hot air out of my side while raking my arms into the ground pulling myself out of the rocks path. I miss death by a hairs width. Even so the blast from the impact behind me launches me several feet away from the golem. Like a cat I regain my bearings midair and flip into a crouched position on my hands and feet as I land.

Trying once more I charge toward the golem. Lucarus charges with me. As we near the gigantic beast he swings one of his limbs at us again. This time I am prepared. I dodge the limb and strike it with my silver knife to add to the momentum of the wind current. Lucarus does a diving roll to get far enough away and avoids the blast of air. As I get flung to center of the beast I ignite my blade and using the combined momentum from my own strength and his own wind pressure moving me forward I strike at its mid-section. Chipping away several small pebbles from the massive body proves the strength of its defenses. Lucarus rolls out of his dive and stabs at the same portion I did. Even fewer chips fly off but Lucarus and I continuously strike at it hoping to make a dent. After a few seconds of striking the beast begins its movement to retaliate. We jump back and run from the spot. The beast slams its fists into the damaged midsections making more rocks fall down.

A grin unconsciously forms on my face. If we keep carving away at the same spot we will eventually reach the core. We might be able to do this!

“Everyone attack the same spot!” I lunch one of my explosive daggers at the spot we earlier damaged once again releasing an eighth of my power into it. I will have slightly less than half my remaining power after this. A large explosive power forces the golem back a step and makes him crouch to the ground. “Attack now!”

Aarushi runs in and slams down with all her force. She can also use explosions, but they are not as strong or precise as mine. She unleashes a barrage of several explosive punches into the spot that the golem was damaged. Dropping her guard she putts everything she has into attacking. The golem begins to crumble around her as she attacks without mercy. A glowing red light slowly shines from under the many layers of rock falling from the golem. This light is coming from the golem’s core. Before Aarushi can land a strike at the core the golem slams a fist into her sending her flying across the arena into a wall. The impact of her body sends cracks across the wall and floor.

Almost instinctively I cry out. “Aarushi!”

Ash and dirt fill the air around the cracked wall making Aarushi invisible. Staring at the horror of where she landed I start to run toward her.

Rhea calls to me from behind. “Focus on the golem, I’ll do everything I can to heal her!” I stop in my tracks putting my trust in Rhea. If Aarushi survived the impact then there is still hope for her to be healed. As long as she was able to avoid hitting her head she may have survived. I pray for the best silently in my head.

Turning back to the golem I see it standing back up. The glowing red light has vanished and rocks that were crumbled are now reusable and float back into place. Dam this thing can heal its self. If we are going to beat it then we have to do it in one big attack.

“Lucarus don’t let it hit you but distract it while I build up power. If we don’t open its shell of rock in one strike we won’t be able to win. When I give you the signal I want you to unleash all of your power and strength into one blow at the same place that I attack.” Without making any signs of confirmation Lucarus begins to attack the golem.

Knowing the dagger in my hand can increase my power I begin to dump all the remaining power I have into it. I don’t know how much it can strengthen my powers but if it could at least double it then I can expose the core and have Lucarus finish him off. I must clear my mind and porject all my strength into explosive power. I cannot watch over Lucarus or Aarushi. I must let them handle themselves for the first time if I want to be able to kill this beast.

I put both my hand around the handle of the silver blade. The three red rubies burning with power glow like ambers in a fire as I build the power inside of them. The white tribal symbols on the blade begin to charge with energy and shine like a bright orange streak of lightning. The silver metal hardens and becomes heavier as I saturate the sixteen inch blade with all my power, emotions, and hope. When the strength inside my body dwindles down to almost nothing I stop. I need to still have enough power in me to jump onto its back.

With a weakened and raspy voice I cry out “Lucarus now!” I look up from the blade to see Lucarus has turned the golem around leaving its back facing me. Now all I need to do is plunge this into its back and let Lucarus finish it off. I start running at it. With every gasp of air passing through my dry throat the taste of blood fills my mouth. Every step shoots pain into my body as my muscles cry. The blood in my body lacking power scrapes across my veins. Memories of roots breaking out of me come to surface. I brush the pain away and concentrate on the task in front of me.

I jump onto the black golem’s wide back. It feels like climbing a mountain. The smell of sulfur and ash leaks from his body. When I reach its center I wrench the blade into a crevice and release the power stored in the sword. A blinding white flash fills my vision. The sword is ejected from the rocky surface and drags me across the sky with it. I sail through the air for several seconds before slamming into a wall. My eyes too heavy to keep open close as I fade away.

…

I wake up in the familiar inn with the green sheets. My shirt and pants have been removed leaving only my underwear. Aarushi lies next to me with her head on my bare chest with an unusual smile on her face. She looks as if she has taken no damage. The healing magic in this world is truly on another level. I put my hand on her shoulder. She shoots her head into the air as she looks up at me.

“You’re finally awake! Lucarus and Rhea said they wouldn’t tell me what happened until you woke up! And since Rhea has no abilities to heal fatigue or energy loss I had to wait for so long!”

I think for a moment before speaking. “If Rhea didn’t do any healing then why are my clothes missing?” Aarushi looks down at my chest then back at me. She begins to Blush to the extreme of her whole head looking like a tomato. I raise my eye brow. “Why are you turning red? Did you not notice or something?”

She shakes her head and mumbles something inaudible. Then looks back at me and squeaks, “Pervert!” while covering her mouth with her hands. She stands up and runs toward the door but stops and looks me over once more before rushing out the door.

What was her problem? I decide to dismiss it as her hitting her head when she got flung into the wall. I put my clothes back on and head downstairs to grab some food. I see everyone at a table and decide to sit down next to Lucarus. “So can you guys explain what happened to Aarushi and I now?”

Lucarus puts a huge grin on his face. “I’ll let Rhea tell her part first.”

Rhea shrugs her shoulders and blatantly states. “I went and healed Aarushi, she was near death but I managed somehow. Ok your turn.”

Lucarus gives a sour face before continuing. “Well I’ll start back a little for Aarushi. You got flung into a wall and passed out after revealing the weak point to us. That’s when Deadra told me to distract it. I bravely followed his orders and dove head first into the blazing fire of battle. Heroically diving and dodging the golem for almost a minute I realize I can guide its back toward Deadra.”

Rhea interrupts with a cough into her closed hand. “Ahem, stop lying you were running around like a chicken with its head cut off.”

Lucarus crosses his arms and leans back. “Fine your right, I don’t want to lie and get bad karma. I was scared shitless and just kind of ran around aimlessly. When Deadra gave me the signal I was completely out of breath and didn’t really know what to do. I realized you we on the other side of it and figured your explosion would knock it on its belly and decided I would back up so it doesn’t fall on me. I was planning to run up and stab its core after it collapsed but well.” Lucarus rubs the back of his head and gives off an extremely cheeky smile. “You completely eradicated the golem so I didn’t have to do a single thing. Not only did you break its shell open and destroy its core you also evaporated most of the rocks it used for its whole body.”

Aarushi tilts her head and places her finger on her lips. With her most adorable puppy dog eyes she says. “You did all that for me.”

Although that isn’t entirely true I don’t want to crush her feelings so I give her a big nod. I have trouble believing what happened. I did not have enough power to do something like that. How strong is this dagger? Also where is my dagger?

Rhea noticing my confused look and explains. “If you’re looking for the dagger we decided to have it appraised. Somehow after you unleashed the attack it grew in length and more symbols appeared on it. Now it more closely resembles a short sword.” She stands up and pushes her chair in. “If you want I can bring you to the shop, and while we’re at it everyone should buy some more equipment with all the gold we gained.”

We all go to the shop and I receive my weapon back. The shop keeper explains the rarity of the item to us. “The rubies in the base are fire multipliers. Since they are high quality ones your sword can make any fire attack become thirty two times stronger. The symbols on the blade allow one to store energy and power into the blade and also act as a recoil reduction. They prevent the user from injuring themselves from using to strong of an attack and also weakening any push back from explosions caused by the weapon. The silver is made from a rare metal that becomes stronger and sharper as power is inserted into the rubies or it is heated up. It also has a small coating of magic on it that prevents wear and tear so you never have to clean or sharpen it. By my estimate the sword would be worth about ten thousand gold coins.”

I almost drop the sword after hearing the shop owner explain everything to me. The sword is completely over powered. I can’t believe Mica was able to make something like this. Just what other abilities does she have? How many life times has she perfected her skills? Did she learn these skills from the first two worlds that I died instantly in? Are all the people from purgatory as over powered as she is? Not only can she kick my butt without any magic or weapons but she can also build such fine weaponry.

We thank the shop keeper and buy a few small items. We all decide to keep fighting in the arena, but will avoid the golem for the time being. Over the next six months while waiting for the tournament to happen we all become stronger. Our power level and quantity increased much faster than usual due to excessive fighting and the healing abilities of Rhea. Our gear also increased greatly from makeshift rock weapons to iron. Although iron is the lowest level it is still vastly improved.

Aarushi has replaced her rock fists with proper weapons. She wears heave metal gloves and metal braces that extend to her elbows. A small three inch knife protrudes from around her pinky out and back toward her wrist. This increases the strength of her hammer blows and catches enemies that only barely dodge her regular punch. The knuckles have one inch razor studs to add piecing power to her punches. Her boots have also been reinforced with some iron; making them heavier and stronger.

Lucarus switched to higher quality leather armor that is both stronger and lighter weight. His rock sword has been replaced with a double edge iron blade that is about four and a half feet long. Leather is wrapped around the handle to improve grip and striking speed. A small red jewel is placed in the blade that amplifies fire strength by fifty percent.

I also improve the leather armor I own. I get put metal panels on the back of my gloves to help me guard against small attacks. I have a similar gem sewn into the palm of my left glove. This will double the power of fire attacks in my left hand. I still keep the same silver sword.

Rhea does not change any of her equipment since it is better than anything this store has to offer and instead saves her money.

After fighting several more wolves, bears, and Shieks through six months the time of the tournament finally approaches. We will be competing separately in the tournament. What kind of opponents will we encounter? Will we end up having to fight each other or will we be eliminated before getting the chance?