Chapter 11: The Lady of the Golems

The battle with the two golems continued with each team of two doing what they could to take the other out. Harmony was able to make great use of her Extract skill to give them the upper hand. Much to her annoyance, she was used as a weapon to deal damage to both her and her teammate multiple times.

After a few rounds they managed to take out one golem and were down to the last one. Just one more attack and it was finished, but the same could also be said about the two survivors.

After all they didn't get this far without any risks, so it was somewhat expected. The timer for Harmony's turn began. She wasted no time charging at the golem and placing her hand upon its chest before activating her skill. The golem's body exploded into shrapnel and the iron ore was pulled into Harmony's hand.

System notifications began emerging as the battle concluded. They had both leveled up, but this time they had also acquired a new skill.

“Acquired Two Iron Ores”

“Harmony has now reached level 5 and Vault has now reached level 8.”

“Extract skill has ranked up”

“A new skill has been unlocked. Manifest Merge is now available.”

“A new skill has been unlocked. Reinforcement Upgrade is now available.”

Momentary relief washed over them but quickly faded away. Not only have they survived, they have also gotten a little bit stronger and picked up a new trick on the way. They were not out of danger yet though. They still had a dungeon to escape.

It took a minute to catch their breath, but they immediately felt on edge when they heard footsteps approaching once again. The steps of the golems sounded loud, slow, and heavy like somebody constantly dropping something that weighed a ton.

These steps sounded much lighter and a bit faster. Almost human and as if they were someone walking with a purpose. They waited a moment as a shadowy figure came into view from further within the cave. They saw the cloaked figure that had been watching them the first time they had come here.

The darkness of the cave, the black wind flowing through the air, and the way their cloaked moved almost made them seem like a ghost. “You two must be players, or should I say representatives, in the survival game. It's nice to see the competition in person.”

Vault took an uneasy step back, but Harmony took a step forward. “Are you from Earth just like us? You should be careful, there's a lot of monsters in here.”

The cloaked figure put a hand to their chin as if pondering on what she just said. They turned their attention to Vault. “Judging from the way you're moving, I can tell that you must be the brains between the two of you.”

Harmony gave the cloaked figure an irritated look. “Well that's just rude. What the heck did I ever do to you?”

The wind in the dungeon suddenly stirred up even more as if in response. The figure's cloak got pulled back and exposed their face. They saw a woman with pointy ears, long brown hair and glowing brown eyes.

She smiled at the two other worlders. “Who do you think has been instructing these golems? This dungeon represents my source of power and chances of winning the game. At the moment the range is just within the dungeon itself.”

She crossed her arms and leaned against one of the dungeon walls. “Very soon though, however, the creatures from this cave will be able to spread further out into this world. Nowhere will be safe and no one will be able to hide.”

Vault clutched Harmony’s wrist and tugged her towards the exit. “We need to go right now!”

The sound of footsteps approaching from the distance echoed throughout the hallway of the cave. More golems were coming their way. The woman continued just leaning against the cave walls with an amused smile on her face.

Even though she claimed to want to destroy them, it seemed like she was just taking it easy. Maybe it was because inevitably her golems would overwhelm at some point. They wouldn't be able to keep fighting against someone who could keep creating monsters in their current condition.

Harmony turned and ran with Vault. They made their way towards the exit of the cave, but for a moment, she looked back to see the woman's face. She held up her hand and made a teasing goodbye gesture.

The woman mouthed a single name before she was completely out of sight. “Felicia Forge.”

They sprinted with their battered bodies towards the exit.

Don't look back…!

Every step hurt and their breaths felt like fire in their lungs.

Don't look back…!

The steps became louder. As they reached the exit, Harmony decided to steal a glance behind them. She instantly regretted it.

She saw multiple golem hands, just inches from her eyes. She let out a scream before tackling Vault to give themselves one last boost of speed.

They tumbled over each other and stopped a few feet outside the cave entrance. Vault was lying face first on the floor and Harmony was sitting on his back.

Before they could get their bearings, one of the golems lunged for them. She shut her eyes bracing herself for the impact, but nothing happened.

She opened them and noticed the golem’s hand a few inches from her face. Vault looked up and saw the golem struggling to touch them.

“That lady mentioned that the golems had limited range. This must be their limit. At least for the time being.”

His words hung in the air with a sense of dread and eeriness. They were still alive, but this was not a problem they could ignore or even delay for too long. If they left that lady and the golems to do as they pleased then they would become an immense threat.

It would threaten any and all survivors across this land of fantasy as the whole place would slowly get overrun by them. They helped each other stand up and gave the golems a cautious look as they backed away. They finally fled the scene.