Chapter 74. The Silver Bet

Chapter 74. The Silver Bet

Magical circles appeared in front of Rem again.

Ten of them. Each about a meter in diameter.

Stone golems emerged from the circles.

But they were different from the ones she had summoned before. These were slimmer. Their legs looked bulkier than the legs of her previous golems, but overall their bodies were narrower, lighter. They no longer gave the impression of sturdy, lumbering giants. On the contrary—they looked more agile.

As soon as they fully formed, they lunged forward.

Damn… they were running. And pretty fast. Faster than an ordinary human.

The first one was already right in front of me.

CRASH!

Of course, to me it was far too slow. With the very first strike, it exploded into pieces.

CRASH! CRASH!

Right after that, I finished off two more. And that was it—no golems left. Naturally, Sherial had already destroyed the rest.

"That’s amazing, Rem. With golems like these, fighting monsters will be completely different," Sherial said.

"Yeah, they move really well," Rem agreed. "It’s just a shame I can only make Rank-1 golems like this," she added.

"Well, that’s exactly why we’re here—to fix that," Sherial said. "Alright then, let’s start the training. You ready, Alisar?"

Wait… start? Haven’t we already started?

"Yeah, I’m ready," I answered.

"Oh, one more thing. Let’s make it a game—who destroys more golems," Sherial suggested.

"Alright," I agreed.

Considering how Sherial used to destroy most of the golems Rem summoned, she was probably confident she’d win. Fine, let her enjoy that. Back then I didn’t know the rules and I was being careful.

This time it’s different. Now I’m ready. I think I’ll manage to destroy six… no, even eight out of ten golems Rem summons.

Magical circles began appearing around Rem—but not ten this time. There were hundreds… no, more than a thousand.

The same type of golems emerged—slimmer, but much faster. The first few hundred fully formed and charged straight at us.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!…

Sherial was the first to burst forward, smashing golems with her bare hands and fists.

Alright… I’m not going to lose.

I sprinted forward too.

--

[Stone Golem defeated. Level: (Lv.15) ×1,957]
[Received: +48,925 experience points]

Finally, it was over. That was a little insane.

Yeah, destroying them was easy, but Rem never stopped summoning new golems. Even when we wiped out almost half in the first few minutes, the same number immediately replaced them.

I don’t even know how many we destroyed… but I think I alone took down at least fifteen hundred.

"I won," Sherial said.

"Hey! How did you decide you won? Maybe I won. What, did you count every golem you destroyed?" I asked. In that chaos, was it even possible to count anything?

"Yes. I counted," Sherial answered calmly.

"What…? You seriously counted each one?" I asked again, still not believing it.

"Yes. Every single one," she nodded.

"And how many?"

"3,187," Sherial said without hesitation.

Judging by how confidently she said it, she wasn’t joking.

"Alright… I admit defeat," I sighed. Luckily, we hadn’t bet anything, so I didn’t actually lose anything.

"Rem, let’s continue," Sherial said, turning to her.

"My skill has advanced to a new rank. This time the golems will be stronger," Rem replied evenly.

"Perfect. That’ll be even more fun. Alisar, let’s continue our little competition. Try to win this time," Sherial said.

"Yeah… I’ll try," I answered uncertainly. There was no way I could count. Better to just focus on destroying as many golems as possible.

"Oh, one more thing. Let’s place a bet. It’s boring to play for nothing," Sherial added.

"Alright…" I agreed, a little wary. I just didn’t know what we’d bet on… Hopefully she wouldn’t suggest some huge amount or some weird request.

"How about one copper coin?" Sherial suggested.

"One copper coin…" I repeated, not expecting that.

"Mm… actually, that’s too small. Let’s do one silver coin," she smiled.

"Fine," I nodded.

It looked like she just wanted to add some excitement, and the bet was purely symbolic. Even if I lost, I’d only have to pay one silver coin. Still… I didn’t want to lose. Yeah. This time I’m winning.

Magical circles appeared around Rem again—this time they were larger. Golems stepped out, similar to the previous ones, but now they were bigger. Not two meters tall—closer to two and a half.

And the moment they fully formed, they charged at us.

Whoa… this time they’re much faster.

--

[Stone Golem defeated. Level: (Lv.30) ×5,192]
[Received: +2,855,600 experience points]

"That’s not fair. You cheated," Sherial said, breathing hard and wiping sweat from her forehead.

"Nothing unfair about it. I used only my own strength," I replied, also a bit tired—but not nearly as much as Sherial.

This time the fight lasted more than three hours. The golems were far tougher, and Sherial and I battled without stopping.

And also… whenever I started getting tired, I simply drank health potions. Since I could make them during the fight, it took only a few seconds.

Sherial couldn’t rely on potions—almost the entire supply was with Rem.

Yeah, maybe it looked a little unfair. But making potions is part of my ability. So… the win was still mine.

Sherial held out her hand. A single silver coin lay in her palm.

I took it in silence.

The feeling of victory… yeah. It was unexpectedly satisfying.

I created a Rank-3 health potion and handed it to Sherial.

"Thanks," she said, taking the vial and drinking it right away.

Almost instantly, her face looked much more refreshed.

I felt a bit jealous. A Rank-3 health potion restores 100,000 HP, and I have over 15,000,000 HP—that’s not even 1%.

Yeah, when I drink one, the fatigue eases, but the effect isn’t as dramatic as what Sherial just experienced. For her it’s a noticeable surge of recovery; for me it’s only a light relief.

I hope my Alchemy skill ranks up soon.

--

"Alright, you two. Are you ready?" Rem asked.

"Yes, I’m completely ready," Sherial answered.

"Me too," I added.

Magical circles appeared around Rem again. But the golems that formed this time were noticeably different. Overall, they looked like regular stone golems—thick arms, massive legs, solid bodies. But there was one obvious difference: they were holding huge stone shields.

I didn’t even know stone golems could be made with shields. It was probably connected to her new skill leveling up to Rank 2 and unlocking a new type of modification. Rank 1 gave speed, and Rank 2, apparently, gave shields.

The golems fully formed, and I immediately rushed forward.

BAM!

I struck one of them on its shield. The shield cracked and shattered—but something unexpected happened: the golem itself wasn’t destroyed.

So… for the first time, I couldn’t destroy a Rank-2 golem with a single hit.

With the next blow, I did destroy it. And now that I knew they were much sturdier than the previous golems, I started putting in almost my full strength and kept destroying each one with a single hit.

Damn… they’re tough. Scratches and abrasions started appearing on my hands. Sure, everything healed quickly whenever I drank a health potion, but I could still feel it.

Even though these golems were much tougher, they were also much slower. They could barely do anything against me—they didn’t even have time to react.

Alright… this time I’m winning again.

I glanced toward Sherial to see how she was doing.

What?

Why isn’t she fighting at all?

She was standing off to the side. There was a bow in her hands… and it was insanity. She was firing at a furious speed—five or six arrows a second—and every shot destroyed a golem.

Damn it!

I sped up and started destroying golems faster, but I knew it—there was no way I could match her pace.

About five minutes later, there were no golems left.

"Hey, you cheated! There was no condition about using weapons," I said. She was using a bow, and I was using only my fists and my skills.

"I didn’t cheat. I’m an archer. I’m not a warrior or a swordsman—my specialization is bows and arrows," Sherial replied calmly.

"But still… using a bow isn’t fair…"

"Ugh, stop acting like a kid! The rules never said ‘no weapons,’" she said.

"No—" I started to argue, but then remembered she was right. That condition really hadn’t existed.

"Alright, give me my silver coin," Sherial said, holding out her hand.

"Hey, the round isn’t over yet. We fought for only seven or eight minutes," I protested. "Last time it went on for more than three hours. If we keep going, you’ll get tired shooting that fast, and then the victory will be mine."

"No. For today, the golem fights are over," Sherial said calmly.

"Why?" I frowned.

Rem walked up to us.

"So, Rem? Did you reach the rank you needed?" Sherial asked.

"Yes. My skill just reached Rank 3," Rem answered.

A mana potion appeared in her hand, and she drank it immediately.

"Can we continue?" I asked hopefully.

"No. That’s the last mana potion I can drink today. If I drink one more, I’ll pass out," Rem said calmly.

"But you just restored your mana. You can use it," I insisted.

"I can’t leave here without a reserve of mana," she replied.

At first I didn’t get it… then it clicked.

She didn’t want to be left without the ability to summon golems in case of danger. If we got attacked and she had no mana, that would be stupid. Yeah. Makes sense.

"Hey. I’m still waiting for my silver coin," Sherial reminded me.

I had to accept defeat. I pulled out the silver coin I’d only recently won… and handed it to Sherial.

"Perfect!" she said with a satisfied smile, pocketing the coin.

"Next time I’ll win," I declared.

"Dream on. You’ll never beat me again," Sherial replied with a smirk.

Next time I’ll definitely win, I thought. But right now I just felt good—almost like childhood again, when we used to play carefree games with friends.