Broken stood tall in his full armor, the shiny black metal gleaming as if freshly forged. Beside him, Polly, the four-tailed fox, stood proudly. Her tails fluttered like war banners, ready to signal the start of the battle.
“Alright,” he said gravely. “It’s time to take on the challenge.”
Polly stayed motionless and silent. She seemed to be waiting for his command.
“Are you ready?” Broken asked her softly.
She nodded silently in reply.
“Yeah… being a little dramatic in this kind of situation is alright,” he continued. “Let’s make every moment count and enjoy each battle as if it were our last!”
His chest heaved up and down as he took a deep breath before dashing forward. He swung his sword fiercely at the boulder ahead several times until it shattered apart and scattered across the ground.
Confused about why no monsters appeared, Broken backed away slowly from the pile of stones. “Where is the damn monster?”
Suddenly, the scattered pieces of boulder began to move on their own, shifting and rolling over one another to form a large, daunting shape. In the blink of an eye, a golem-like monster towered over them, composed of gray and black rocks that clanked together eerily. Its arms were huge and heavy, and its eyes were two small pits of deep darkness. The sight was intimidating, sending shivers down their spines.
[Elite – The Guardian Golem Lv. 160]
The Golem let out a loud roar, making the ground beneath them shake.
“Golem? And level 160?” Broken looked dumbfounded by what he saw. He immediately climbed onto Polly’s back, prepared to keep his distance from the Golem.
“Golems are by far the most troublesome adversaries I have ever known. Golems can’t be slain by simply cutting off their heads-you must destroy their core. Until then, it will keep regenerating and moving.”
“Alright, Polly, let’s put our new skills to the test. We’re going to find and destroy that core!”
Polly multiplied in a flurry of motion, splitting into five clones that seemed just as real and alive as the original. These clones moved in unison toward the Golem, each radiating a silver light that illuminated the area. As they neared, they slammed their bodies into the Golem from several directions, their combined strength becoming a formidable force.
Broken immediately strung his bow. “It looks like I need to create another set of equipment better suited for an archer since I’ll be using this kind of weapon too,” he murmured to himself.
With his Hawk’s Eye skill, Broken could see with astounding clarity. He quickly drew his bowstring and took aim from a distance. “I’ll try to find out where the golem’s weakness lies,” he said.
A robotic sound emanated from the Golem. “You will not be able to run from this place; you will die miserably,” it declared. The Golem then moved quickly, striking every Polly clone that attacked it.
[Piercing Arrows (Active Skill)]
Broken kept running, maintaining his distance and shooting piercing arrows from his bow. The arrows split into five in the air, each one carefully aimed at a different part of the Golem’s body.
His arrows whizzed through the air with devastating accuracy, yet the Golem refused to fall. It moved with incredible speed and agility, blocking or dodging Polly’s clones’ powerful attacks. Each clash reverberated through the air, creating a symphony of battle.
With a thunderous roar, the Golem launched its massive arms to the ground, sending razor- sharp spikes of earth hurtling toward Broken. He managed to evade each one by a hair’s breadth, but the relentless onslaught was beginning to take its toll.
The Golem redoubled its efforts, running faster than ever toward Broken in a desperate attempt to end the fight. But no matter how hard it tried, it was never quite able to catch up.
The Golem attacked savagely, swinging its massive hand at Polly’s clones with wild abandon until it obliterated them all. In that moment, it turned its attention towards Broken and charged.
“Polly, let’s keep our distance and attack from two sides!” Broken shouted, offering his strategy.
He gripped his sword firmly and attempted to parry a massive boulder hurled by the colossal Golem, but the force sent him flying uncontrollably. He tried to anchor himself by plunging his sword into the ground, but even then, he couldn’t halt his trajectory.
As soon as he regained control over his body, a barrage of rocky spikes erupted from the ground, hurtling towards him. Broken deftly dashed and slashed at the spikes with his sword, avoiding their deadly points.
Meanwhile, Polly seized the opportunity and launched an attack from a different angle, successfully diverting the Golem’s attention towards herself.
Seizing the moment, Broken sprinted towards the Golem, aiming to strike a weak spot in its leg. However, despite his efforts, the damage he inflicted seemed insufficient to even dent the Golem’s sturdy leg.
“I need to end this fight faster,” Broken muttered, his mind racing for a solution. His eyes darted around, examining the Golem for any sign of weakness.
Broken chugged a Mana Potion, feeling a rush of energy course through his veins. The battle had been intense, with him constantly dodging the Golem’s fierce attacks. He could see Polly tiring quickly by his side.
His heart raced as he desperately tried to find the Golem’s weakness before they ran out of resources and were annihilated by the towering foe. He narrowed his gaze, scrutinizing the creature’s every move, firing arrows with sharp accuracy that almost seemed to be in tandem with the Golem’s actions.
“Its eye sockets… could they be its weak point?” he muttered as he pivoted and redirected all of his attacks to those vulnerable spots.
The Golem roared in fury as it lumbered towards him, evidently detecting Broken’s intent. Determination hardening his resolve, Broken intensified his barrage of arrows, hoping that one would break through its defenses. An arrow sprang from the bowstring and cut through the air in a blur. It punctured the Golem’s eye, which appeared to be carved out of dark green crystal stones. The massive creature stumbled back, its heavy body shaking the earth beneath
it.
“Master, the weakness.” Polly shouted, her voice echoing throughout the area as her duplicate clones lunged toward the crumbling Golem. They pounded on it with their bodies, weakening it further.
Broken quickly switched his weapon to his sword. He moved swiftly, slicing through the air with every swing. He leaped towards the fallen giant and stabbed at its remaining eye with relentless determination.
“You will not survive another day!” he declared, his voice reverberating against the towering
Golem.
With what felt like an age of persistent strikes, Broken finally drove his sword into the Golem’s eye, causing its crystal orbs to shatter. The Golem let out a deafening roar as it crumbled, its once menacing form now reduced to a pile of rubble.
“Is it finished?” he wondered aloud, panting heavily.
The dust began to settle, and for a moment, there was an eerie silence. Broken and Polly stood
still, their eyes fixed on the remains of their colossal adversary.
Then, a faint glimmer of light emanated from the core shards lying amidst the rubble,
signaling the end of the Guardian Golem’s reign of terror.
“We did it, Polly,” Broken finally said, offering a relieved smile. Polly’s tails wagged in
triumph, her fiery spirit undiminished by the grueling battle.
“Yes, Master,” she replied contentedly. “We did it together.”
[You have successfully slain Elite – The Guardian Golem Lv. 160]
[You have obtained 1 Elite – The Guardian Golem Lv. 160 Golem Core]
[You received 4/10 of the Lone Survivor of a Forgone Era tale sheet]
[The fourth challenge has been conquered.]
[Your Courage Points have been doubled as a reward.]
[Name: Broken]
[Courage Points: 85,600]
He couldn’t believe it; he had actually managed to defeat a level 160 Elite-grade Golem. A huge smile spread across his face as he exclaimed, “This is truly amazing!”
Broken continued to face the challenge, overcoming a series of tricky combinations and even higher-level Golems. Each battle tested his resolve and pushed him to his limits. But with perseverance and Polly’s unwavering support, he managed to prevail each time.
After an arduous struggle, he had finally made it to the tenth island. Standing at the edge, he
looked around, feeling the weight of all the battles behind him. He knew that this would be the last and most formidable challenge.
“So, this is it—the final challenge!” he exclaimed, a mix of excitement and determination in
his voice.