While Isa was, uh, meditating, I had one of the golems connect to my subconscious and try to extract information about martial arts.
– Fhssss –
Suddenly, the golem’s energy started to emanate to the outside. Around its head, a white mist floated while around its body a metallic aura appeared.
—– START OF STATS —–
« General Information »
Type: Black Iron Armored Golem
Element: Metal (Copy)
Master: Shen
« Skill Points »
HP/MP: 499.520 /500.000 (-4.000/s)
STR: 200
AGI: 200
DEF: 300
VIT: 400
INT: 100
Avg Attack Power: 999
« Status »
Combat XP N/1000 (Incalculable: Critical condition)
—– END OF STATS —–
“!”
He feels completely different!
I was thunderstruck at the monstrous difference.
Just how many years of martial arts has it absorbed from my subconscious? And Over Capacity? Does that mean it absorbed more than it should’ve?
“Well… Now that you absorbed my past life knowledge about fighting, how about sparring with me?”
I can see his mana its evading him. I have to fight with him a little, then feed him another Energy Stone.
[…]
The golem said nothing and simply stood tall in front of me, as if waiting for me to attack.
Did it take my arrogance too?
I felt quite irritated.
“Alright. I won’t underestimate you, take this!”
I instantly got close by using an evolved version of [Sliding Step]. I made a hard step on the ground and then rode on the shockwave that was created, appearing in front of the golem with the speed of sound. This moving skill is named [Wave Step].
-Zuuumm!-
I appeared in front of the golem in less than half a second then punched hard in front with [Emperor’s Fist].
-BOOM!-
The fist exploded in front like a huge cannon.
What? Something’s wrong…
When I punched out, I felt no impact. After the dust settled down, I was completely shocked by what I saw. The golem simply redirected my fist with one finger to the side, throwing all that power behind him.
“Oy oy… for real?”
[…]
-Tzun-tzun-tzun-
« MP/HP: 441.520/500.000 »
With one finger, he pressed on my two shoulders and my left hip with speed faster than a bullet.
“UGH!”
I fell on my one knee, unable to do anything. The three points he pressed were acupoints that paralyzed the limbs for a period of time.
I knew this kind of martial arts?! How is it so powerful in this world?
[…]
The golem looked down at me, his finger held like a sword.
…It really pisses me off.
“I don’t need my limbs to beat you, Ah!”
From under me, a huge arm made of dirt appeared and rose me up. Then I created a claw with sharp stone-nails of the same dimensions with the one that held me, to attack the golem.
« MP: 130.000/150.000 »
-THUD-
The golem punched right in the middle and I was able to see how energy permeated the hand looking like a blue shockwave.
« MP/HP: 402.000/500.000 »
-Voom-Voom-Voom-
The energy pulsated for a few times then the huge claw crumbled like a pile of dirt.
“W-what the hell?! Was that [Vibrant Palm]?!”
I never expected to see Kung-Fu now. How can it change the flow of chi so fast?
“Just from how many past-lives did you absorb for the fighting styles?”
« Vibrant Palm » was a Kung-Fu move that focused the chi on top of the palm, then sending inside the object or person that was touched by it. If the chi weren’t ejected in time, the object will crumble while the person will die from internal bleeding. But to use the [Vibrant Palm] right after the acupoints attack, one has to change the flow of their chi with incredible accuracy and speed. Otherwise, an internal injury would be inevitable.
I looked at the golem with some envy. I wished to have all that martial arts knowledge. The golem looked up at me, then from its own energy, it created a 2-meter long spear.
-VHOOM!-
He then pouched at the hand and, rather than using the spear to destroy the hand, it used it to launch itself toward me by stabbing the hand then pulling hard, making the spear tense enough to send the golem flying.
“H-holy crap!”
I was shocked and I hastily commanded the dirt inside the hand to form spears at the forearm that sustained me.
– Tzung!-Tzung! Tzung! Tzung –
More and more such spikes-like spears appeared on the huge arm but the golem simply avoided them midair then used them as stairs.
« MP: 122.000/150.000 »
“Damn you’re persistent!”
He’s like a cockroach that won’t die!… Actually, that’s the idea of martial arts, to not die or get hit, right? He’s doing an annoyingly good job.
I used my last unbroken leg to jump high then commanded the dirt to envelop the golem. The Earth morphed into a huge mouth, which tried to swallow the golem whole.
-ZWING!-
The golem then transformed the spear into a two-handed sword and cut the mouth in two. The cut was so clean, not even a bump was visible.
…Is called martial ARTS for a reason it seems…
I was surprised in more than just one sense but I regained my focus and tried to attack again. I opened my limp palm and tried to aim right at the golem.
“[Energy Beam]”
« Mana: 10.000 »
-VHOOOMM!!-
A huge beam appeared in an instant and shot right at the golem.
[…]
The golem saw my movements in time and he swung the sword to redirect himself mid-air. When the beam was shot, its shoulder already left the danger zone.
“!”
I looked with big eyes at the golem.
Did it just foresee my next move from the tiny-bit body-movements I did while being in the air?
Such a thing was rare even at the most powerful martial masters.
“Alright… I want to see how much more it can do.”
It still has around 350.000 HP. And from what I saw, more than 1.000 MP of it its equal with around 100 or less MP of mine. That explains why his consumption is so high.
After that, I regained my feel in my arms and leg then landed lightly. The golem looked at me, his hands behind his back and his back straight. Even though it looked full of openings, in truth it had none.
However, from what I saw from Isa, even with 10.000 MP of mine, I wouldn’t be able to show such destructive might. In the end, it matters how that energy is used and not how much there is. And this golem also knows that.
“Now how should I attack… I know.”
I used the same sliding step but this time, when I was only 4m away from the golem I stepped hard on the ground.
“[Dust Screen]”
A huge cloud of dust rose and covered both of us. Because the golem was shining from the energy it emanated, I was able to find its location with no difficulty.
“Let’s see how you’ll deal with this.”
The golem stood in the cloud of dust without even flinching. The previous position didn’t change and it simply waited for me to make my move.
– Rumble-Rumble –
The legs of the golem got swallowed by the ground.
-Zhhung!-
A shining projectile was launched toward the golem from its right.
-Wosh!-
Another laser beam appeared from the left.
-Tzung!-
Two earth spears shot up from the front and from the back towards it.
-Vvvvvhoooomm!-
A huge fireball was right above its head, covering an area of 6m around the golem. All of these attacks have been sent at the same time, not leaving any kinds of openings.
[…]
The golem finally made its move. First, it used vibration on its legs to destroy the dirt that locked its movement, then at the same time it inclined its body toward front-right. The two spears did not even graze the armor while the beam missed its mark. The shining object was actually a legendary knife from the armory that has been levitating by inserting my energy inside its circulations so I could control it with my mind. The golem simply caught it through the middle and index fingers, the knife that could cut black-iron like butter, because the fireball was the slowest, the golem did not stress over it, looking at it only when it finished with the more imminent attacks. After catching the knife, the fireball was already right over the golem, making it unable to dodge.
[…]
The golem then raised its palm and focused its own energy, ready to confront the fireball head-on.
“…”
This is no more about martial arts now, this is only about who has a stronger mana… I won, the fireball can’t be blocked by a mere golem.
« MP: 65.000/150.000 »
Even though the golem had more energy than me, my mana was of a superior essence than the energy made from the stone. It might be able to imitate any kind of element, but it won’t be able to show the same might.
– Tzun~!-Cut –
“Ugh! What?!”
I looked with incredibility at my left arm. There was a cut from something sharp that just flew by, the blood was flowing even though the cut didn’t seem sharp at first. I looked back and saw far in the distance, my legendary knife, stuck in the mountain-wall with the blade inside the stone until the hilt.
“It threw my knife as a last resort? Damn it. As I said, persistent!”
-BOOM!-
The fireball fell and exploded right on top of the golem.
I still feel my connection with the golem being unaffected… was it not supposed to end if the golem were destroyed?
I had sweat fall down my back. I was 100 percent sure the fireball would destroy it even if it used all its energy as a barrier.
-Fhom!-
Suddenly, from the fire and smoke, the golem jumped upwards, having the armor burnt here and there but anything else, still standing tall.
« HP/MP: 80.000/500.000 (-4.000/s) »
This… I don’t get it. How did it survive?
I was confused. Not even a miracle would’ve helped the golem at that moment so how was it still standing?
[…]
The golem made a gesture with its hand, pointing at its own head.
“…”
Is it making itself smart? What the hell is that gesture supposed to mean?
The more it remains standing, the more annoyed I get by this golem. Then I get some memories from the golem. It actually tried to tell me to read the memories from a few seconds ago.
“… I’ve been outdone by a golem… I think I lived enough.”
I felt like bashing my head on something. The memories then showed me what happened when the golem was right under the fireball. With the last moment it still had, it threw the knife at me to be sure I won’t move and try a sneak-attack, then it used its own energy under its legs. The energy was something like a mini-explosion that boosted the golem’s speed. The golem reached at the edge of the fireball with the help of that explosion but there were only two more meters until it reached the ground while only half the meter until it touched the golem. In the end, the golem focused the energy on its hands and jumped high in the sky.
At the moment of the impact, it used [Iron Body] to strengthen its body while the focused energy on its hands tried to penetrate the fireball and reach the other part. Targeting the edge of the fireball was the best idea at that moment, the middle having the strongest power. From the impact on the side, the huge fireball deviated even so slightly and missed its mark, exploding right beside the golem. Before the fireball could explode, the golem focused the remaining energy on its side while it crouched, making the defending area smaller and the barrier stronger. After the explosion, the golem jumped so the remaining fire won’t bring any more damage to it.
“…”
I was completely flabbergasted. To do all that you needed a mental processing-speed to an inhuman level. Not even I would be able to do such a thing, even though this brain has a processing speed of a Grandmaster, being able to see bullets flying in slow motion, such fast thinking, calculating and processing the best route would make even the experts of this world envious.
”How did you think of all of this so fast? You didn’t have even 2 seconds for thinking all of that, together with the four other attacks.”
[…]
The golem then pointed at me and then at its own head, because of the connection I had with the golem, I knew what it tried to say. It seems it used the reflexes from my past live and combined them, resulting in a monster that could almost foresee the future with more than two seconds before an attack could actually happen.
“Then why did you leave yourself to be caught?”
[…]
It wanted to show me its reflexes?… That was indeed useful. Even though the spar was a short one, I can tell the monstrous power this combination of martial arts actually has.
The fact that it could kill me with just one finger was the most terrifying.
“If I’m right, then nobody should ever be able to confront you.”
I just have to feed him some more energy stones now-
[…]
The golem shakes its head.
“No time? What?”
[Psssst!]
Suddenly, the red cracks around the helmet started to redden more and more.
Overheating?!
“Huh!? Are you some kind of PC?”
The cracks all over around the armor started to deepen and redden. The aura around the golem pulsated as if being unstable. In the end, the armor cracked more and more. The golem bowed its head lightly then exploded.
« HP/MP: 0/500.000 »
« Combat XP: n/1000 (Incalculable: Critical Condition) »
-BOOM!-
“…”
Overheating… So that aura around the golem was actually mental information that couldn’t be stocked inside the armor.
I started to think about what I just saw, because the information was too much for the armor to handle, the information remained around the head, where memory is supposed to be stocked while the reflexes were left around the body, where it was supposed to integrate with the non-existent muscles. In the end, because the golem had to use more information and reflexes that it could actually handle making it at a speed beyond its limits, the armor’s circulation system overheated, making the armor crumble and the energy disperse in the form of an explosion.
“This… then that means either only the living could handle my past-life memories, or a normal armor wasn’t enough for this.”
Either way, I lost a damn good golem, damn it…
