Chapter 80 — The Great Tree

Chapter 80 — The Great Tree

I thought those ten golems would completely wipe out the remaining monsters, but that didn’t happen. After some time, once each of them had killed several dozen enemies, the monsters surrounded them and eventually destroyed them.

Still, before their destruction, those ten stone golems managed to kill more than two hundred monsters.

Rem immediately summoned nearly a hundred new golems — fourth-rank golems focused on speed. And that hundred was enough to completely clear out the remaining monsters.

Hey, wait a second…

Her skill:

— at Rank 1 created speed-oriented golems;

— at Rank 2 — defensive ones, the ones with huge shields;

— at Rank 3 I never quite understood the specialization. Rem hardly used the new type, preferring the fast golems.

And now her skill had reached Rank 4.

I wonder what other golem modifications she can create with her skill? Maybe sword-wielding golems… or even archer golems. I don’t know. But that seems entirely possible. For example, Rank 3 — sword golems, Rank 4 — bow golems. That would be awesome.

What kind of strategies could be used with such a variety of types… The possibilities are almost limitless. Like commanding your own army.

Though she can already create entire armies now, it’s not just about numbers — it’s about formations.

The first line — shield-bearers taking the blow.
The second — sword golems engaging in close combat.
The third — archer golems raining attacks from afar.

Real battlefield tactics.

Maybe I should ask her right now?

No. She said revealing all the secrets of your skills was foolish.

"Hey, Rem, let’s spar against your new golems," Sherial said.

"Are you sure?" Rem asked. "They’re quite strong right now."

"I’m sure. Right, Alisar?" Sherial turned to me.

"Yeah," I replied. "I want to fight those fourth-rank golems too. They’re pretty fast. It’ll be much more interesting than fighting these monsters."

— —

In front of us stood one hundred four-meter golems. Yes, these were speed-oriented golems.

They rushed forward — and so did I. Sherial joined the fight as well. Though this time, she wasn’t using her bow.

Alright… this should be an easy victory.

I slammed my fist into the first golem with all my strength. Its body shattered into pieces. A faint ache spread through my hand, but it was nothing.

[Stone Golem defeated. Level: (Lv.93)]
[Received: +50,516 experience points]

What? Only 50,516 experience points?

Damn… these are fourth-rank golems. They’re far stronger than those third-rank wooden monsters, yet I’m getting almost half the experience.

Though… thinking about it, that makes sense.

If summoned golems gave the same experience as dungeon monsters, we wouldn’t need to enter dungeons at all to level up. We could just endlessly train by destroying summoned golems.

Second, third, fourth.

Yeah, I had to use nearly my full strength to destroy each of these golems with a single strike.

A faint numbness began creeping into my hand.

Damn, their bodies are tough.

Thud!

The blow hit me directly.

Damn, I missed it. And I felt that hit clearly.

Yeah, it probably didn’t break anything, but I’d definitely have a bruise.

I need to be more careful. More cautious.

I clenched my teeth and rushed forward again, continuing to destroy golems one after another.

— —

Sherial held out a silver coin to me.

Yeah, I finally won.

My mood was great, even though my hand still ached a bit. I created a health potion, drank it, and the numbness quickly faded.

Though… what am I even celebrating?

I beat an archer who wasn’t even using her bow. Damn.

"Alright, second round. Rem, please summon the shield golems," Sherial said.

Oh, we’re having a second round? Fine. I’ll win this one too.

Another hundred golems appeared before us — but now they carried massive shields capable of completely covering their four-meter bodies.

Damn. They looked imposing.

I charged forward.

They began moving too, but noticeably slower.

I struck the first golem’s shield with all my strength.

The golem staggered back several meters, but the shield held — only a crack appeared.

Damn. Couldn’t break it.

Well, even at Rank 2 the shield-bearers were sturdy, and now this is Rank 4.

Though one thing was reassuring — they were very slow.

So one strike wouldn’t be enough. Not with those shields.

I drank a health potion to restore my hand. No broken bones, but better safe than sorry.

I jumped, trying to circle behind.

The golem raised its shield overhead — and another instantly covered its back.

What the hell? They’re acting too coordinated.

Oh… Rem must be commanding them.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I looked toward the explosions. One after another, golems were shattering.

Yeah, that was Sherial.

I turned toward her. She was using her bow.

Her shots weren’t as rapid as before, but each arrow glowed faintly — and whenever one struck a stone golem’s shield, an explosion destroyed both shield and golem.

Damn.

I clenched my fists. No distractions.

I struck the nearest shield again.

Second hit — the shield cracked.
Third — the golem shattered.

Alright… need to work faster.

— —

The golems were gone.

I stood there with bloodied fists, breathing heavily. Damn… at some point I’d even activated Berserk.

And now that the effect faded, my hands began hurting badly.

One health potion wasn’t enough — I had to create and drink several Rank 3 health potions before the pain finally subsided.

"Are you okay?" Sherial asked.

"Yeah, I’m fine."

"Well… you didn’t look fine. You looked like a madman while fighting," she said.

"Oh, sorry. I just got carried away and activated Berserk."

"Ah, that explains it," she said and held out her hand.

I looked at her.

Why was she holding out her hand? Palm open, like she was asking for something.

I stared at her in confusion.

"My silver coin, please," Sherial said.

"Oh… right."

I took out a silver coin and placed it in her palm.

I lost that round.

"Alright, third round. Rem, summon a new type of golem," Sherial said.

Rem drank a mana potion, and hundreds of magic circles appeared around her once more.

New four-meter golems emerged from them.

They were noticeably different.

Broader shoulders, sharp protrusions on their shoulders and heads — they looked far more massive and dangerous.

But the most noticeable part — in their hands were enormous hammers.

Flat on one side for crushing blows, and on the other — sharp stone spikes capable of piercing armor.

Damn… they looked incredibly cool.

And now I have to destroy them, right?

Yeah, I do. And I need to do it as fast as possible if I want to win this round.

They started moving toward us, and I dashed forward at full speed.

One strike — first.
Second.
Third.

Damn… after the shield golems, these feel soft.

Even though they look far more intimidating.

But in terms of durability, they’re clearly weaker than the defensive ones.

That’s actually nice.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Explosions again.

Sherial was using her bow once more.

Alright, need to move faster.

Thud!

I was sent flying.

I flew about thirty meters and landed on my feet.

Damn… took a hit to the side.

Ugh… that probably broke a rib.

I quickly created a health potion and drank it.

The pain eased, but I immediately created and drank several more.

Only then did the pain disappear completely.

Can’t afford to take hits like that.

About thirty of those golems were already moving toward me.

Alright… hey, I don’t have to fight them in close combat.

I have a great move I haven’t used in a while.

I teleported into the training room, stepped aside while memorizing the nearest golem’s position, and instantly returned, striking.

Immediately after the strike — teleport again.
Training room.
Memorize the next golem’s position.
Return. Strike.

Now I have a chance to beat even Sherial with her bow.

— —

I handed Sherial a silver coin.

Yeah, I lost… but I was close.

Alright. Next time, I’ll definitely win.

"Rem, then fourth round. Can you summon another new type of golem?" Sherial said.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea," Rem replied calmly.

"Why? Are they that dangerous?" Sherial asked.

"Yes. They’re not suited for training. If something goes wrong, one of you could be seriously injured… or even killed.

But I can summon one. Just so you understand how dangerous they are," Rem said.

So there wouldn’t be a fourth round.

Damn… I was hoping to end it with a victory.

"Oh, come on, show us! I really want to see this dangerous golem," Sherial said.

Damn… now I was curious too.

What kind of golem is it, if Rem speaks about it so cautiously?

A golem emerged from a magic circle before Rem. It looked mostly like the standard ones she usually summoned — no visible modifications. But on its back was a massive stone pack, larger and thicker than its torso. Yeah, "stone pack" felt like the best description. It was filled with something sharp, like elongated stones. Most likely stone spears.

The golem raised its arm over its head, as if reaching for a spear from the pack. At first, I thought it wouldn’t work. But in the next moment, one of the spears lifted itself and slid directly into its palm, allowing it to grip it easily.

It grasped the weapon. Yes, it was a stone spear — about two meters long. In its hands, it didn’t look that large, but in reality, it was taller than me.

The golem stepped forward and hurled the spear toward the forest. The projectile smashed through one tree trunk with a dull crack, then another, and vanished somewhere deeper in the dense vegetation. From here, it was impossible to see where it landed.

"Now do you understand?" Rem said calmly.

"Yeah, I get it," Sherial sighed.

I understood too. If a hundred of these golems started throwing stone spears at us, dodging would be extremely difficult. Especially for Sherial. I might be able to teleport into the training room… but if one of those spears actually hit me…

It would definitely pierce me.

No, I wouldn’t want to fight hundreds of those.

Suddenly, Sherial looked strangely toward the clearing.

I followed her gaze.

Monsters were beginning to appear in the center of the clearing. That was strange, because the last time the golems had wiped them out less than an hour ago. That meant we should’ve had about an hour before the next respawn.

But even stranger — the monsters were only appearing in the center.

And then something else appeared.

It was enormous — about fifteen meters tall. At first, I thought it was a monster, but no. It was a tree.

But a strange tree. Its trunk was too thick, almost unnatural. And yet, it was still a tree.

"Why is the dungeon boss here…?" Sherial murmured.