One of the things that Serph has been up to

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Serph had been training his Divine Energy on his own since Akiza left. At full strength, he was a match for an Emperor, but he also lacked something important. There was something else he needed to do in order to become stronger. That was to acquire an Artifact. One day, he asked one of the Masters.

"Master Pai Mei," said Serph.

"What is it?" Master Pai Mei said.

"How can I acquire an Artifact weapon?" Serph asked.

"The best quality materials are in the Immortal Realm," said Master Pai Mei. "You take the items to someone who can help you make it. Master Shifu knows a few people near here than help if you need it."

"That means I have to wait another year to go to the Immortal Realm," said Serph disappointedly.

"There are other places too," said Master Pai Mei. "But they are rare."

When Serph looked around, he heard rumors of an Emperor golem in the desert to the South. As he looked into it, he discovered that it was a golem made entirely out of swords. "A Sword Golem," he thought.

Serph had difficulty in the past fighting with other Spirits, but since he learned to regulate his Divine Energy, he had become a lot stronger. This time, he was determined to defeat it alone.

Serph arranged for a leave of absence in order to pursue it. As he headed South, there were fewer and fewer people. It turned out that the Sword Golem was on a rampage because it was protecting something, and someone had stolen from it. As a result, the Sword Golem began to move on its own to search for the stolen object. That was when Serph tracked it down to an abandoned village. A group of bandits had raided the tomb, stealing the treasures inside and the golem destroyed everything in its path to get to it.

When Serph found the golem, it had wiped out the bandits and now guarded the empty village. The golem was quite tall. It was not as big as the stone one he fought with Akiza, but its arms, legs, and body were made of swords. The only weak spot was the red core of the golem at the center of its chest.

As Serph approached the golem, the golem sensed him and turned to face him. Serph Armatized into his suit of armor. It was the first time he would fight in it. His opponent, a creature made up of swords. This ran in contrast to his armor that was made of smaller shields.

The golem began to run towards him, it was quite slow. Serph readied his sword. The golem swung its arm out and its arm split into the four swords that made up the arm with an empty center. Serph blocked using the gauntlet of his armor, but the golem was stronger. BOOM. Serph was knocked off his feet and onto the ground.

But, the damage was not enough to actually damage Serph's armor. Serph's Divine Energy had enhanced his armor greatly. He still felt the pain of the blow, but no serious injuries. He readied his sword again. The golem came again with the same attack. This time Serph ran forward instead of waiting. The arm of the golem split up into four swords again. "Sonic Thrust!" Serph shouted as he lept into the gap created by the four swords. He stabbed his sword into the opening, disabling the golem's arm.

Serph pulled another sword out of his storage. Now, the Sword Golem was crippled, he just needed to hit the core.

The Sword Golem exposed its core. Eight swords began to spin around its core as it walked towards Serph. The golem was trying to back Serph into a corner, but with his armor, Serph could charge right in. CLING. The high speed of the swords had knocked Serph away. The rotation of the swords made it so that if he tried to jump in, he would just get pushed back. He needed to stop the swords.

Serph removed his armor. In its place, he created numerous smaller shields. He charged forward again. The speed of the golem's swords sped up. Serph surrounded himself with the shields instead of with a full suit of armor. He charged in once more.

"Sonic Thrust!" Serph shouted as he pushed through. The swords of the golem all came close. CLING CLING CLING CLING CLING CLING CLING CLING. His shields had blocked all the spinning swords as Serph pushed through and pierced the core of the golem. "Got you!" he said.

The golem fell to the ground and its pieces disappeared. In its place was a Spirit Core. It was Serph's new Spirit. It was not the Artifact that he was hoping for, but there was also what the golem was protecting, another Spirit Core. He had no idea what it was, but it contained a lot of Internal Energy. Someone else would have to help him analyze it.

Serph quickly absorbed the Spirit Core from the golem. When Serph armatized, he could also generate a sword in addition to his armor. The Sword Golem had actually given him the ability to create more swords at the cost of his Internal Energy. "This will be useful," he thought.

As Serph looked through the village, he found the corpses of the bandits. It was there that he found were just a bunch of random weapons that included sword. It was not an Emperor Stage weapon, but it was something.