Unbound

The chamber door shut behind him in relative silence, and Felix was faced with a large square area. Approximately two hundred foot square, by his estimation, it seemed designed for larger battles than just squad versus squad. The floor and walls were tiled with whitestone—imported, he surmised though Voracious Eye didn't say—which was apparently highly resistant to physical and magical damage.

Interesting. Must be expensive, or else they'd make more things out of it.

It was all pretty impressive. Felix suspected that they had been excavated from the rubble as opposed to built from scratch. The sigaldry that he sensed lacing the walls and floors spoke to that as well. Inscriptionists could push out sigiladry fast, but to do something like this while everything else was being done? He found that unlikely.

Felix was considering going back out and asking the attendant about it, when a door opened on the far side of the chamber. The door slid up, revealing an unrelieved darkness, and out stomped six Steel Golems.

Voracious Eye!

Name: Steel Golem

Type: Construct

Level: 55

HP: 6600/6600

Lore: Golems are constructs built in the image of the mortal Races and designed with complex sigaldry to mimic them further. Most Golems have a measure of autonomy, as dictated by their sigaldry, but are almost always under the ultimate control of a mage.

Strength: They do not feel pain or fear and are highly resilient.

Weakness: Limited cognition.

Felix's Voracious Eye had grown stronger, and his own analytic prowess had advanced in lock step. It had taken him a bit to realize it, but the details of an enemy's Strength or Weaknesses had more to do with his own ability to read a target rather than any magic.

The Golems walked forward, moving far more fluidly than their Wood or Clay counterparts. They looked basically like mannequins—as he'd noticed before—oval, featureless heads and slender bodies that operated on ball joints. The Steel, however, had some extra heft to their frame in the form of rivets and raised ridges. It gave them the illusion of having armor, in addition to the steel shields and longswords they held in either hand.

Felix quirked an eyebrow. Are they the strongest she has? He doubted it. Guess I'll find out. Let's start slow though. There was a reason he'd left his weapons in his rooms. No Skills. Just stats.

The Golems closed in.

"Look at him, he's frozen with fear," Kylar said with a laugh. "Move it, newbie!"

"Six Steel Golems," Kikri said, her voice a mixture of fear and amusement. "It'll be over before he can move."

Vyne looked at the attendant. She was roughly his age, though Tempering made that hard to tell. Her face was serious, and the sigaldry of the controls glowed beneath her fingers.

Was she trying to kill the guy?

"Oh Night," Davum said with a laugh. "Did anyone tell him the surrender sign?"

Nevia cackled, leaning against her staff. "Absolute nitwit!"

They definitely moved more quickly than the Clay Golems.

Felix ducked beneath one blade and deflected the next with the flat of his hand. The longsword clanged and smashed into the whitestone floor, sending up sparks. Another thrust forward, this time going lower in what Felix recognized as the Second Form of Crane Style.

The Golems know Sword Forms? Felix thought as he twisted around the strike. It wasn't fast enough to hit him, but the surprise of seeing even a basic sword kata meant it had cut the front of his tunic. That's amazing.

Felix kicked backward, putting distance between himself and the Golems. The lithe steel constructs followed on stuttering limbs. They were faster, but their movements weren't anything like a normal human combatant. They came at him fast, but he exploded forward.

The ground shattered behind him.

Pushing his Agility, Felix tore through the intervening space, flexing his Dexterity and Strength as he jumped up and through the wide swing of the lead Golem. Still mid-air, he kicked outward, connecting with its featureless steel head and using it as leverage to spin. Felix's entire body rotated while his arms and legs lashed outward in a storm of strikes. Flesh met metal, again and again, until he slid through the gap he'd made and landed cleanly on his feet.

Behind him, the bodies of five Steel Golems burst apart. They collapsed, no more than silvery scrap.

Hm. I didn't have to push myself at all with them. Felix frowned. He'd have to tell the attendant to give him better constructs.

THWAP!

Felix caught the descending blade in his bare left hand, his fingers tight around it's sharpened edge despite the last remaining Golem's attempts to pull it free.

"You're very loud," Felix said. "Stealth isn't really an option for you."

The Golem suddenly let go of his sword and brought his shield around to bash him, but Felix already moved. He spun, letting his entire Body gather behind a massive backhand. The impact was like thunder, and the Steel Golem flew backward. Right into the reinforced glass, sending cracks spider-webbing across its surface.

"I thought I said 'tough'?" Felix said aloud, looking to the attendant. The woman simply stared at him, as did the guards that had stuck around. The Steel Golem slipped to the ground, it's shield and torso completely sundered. He frowned.

Can she hear me?

"Blind gods..." Nevia hissed. She touched the cracks that had formed on the thick, enchanted glass.

"Did you—did you see what he did?" Vyne asked.

"No, I missed it. I blinked and they were all on the ground!" Davum grunted in surprise. "Was it a Skill?"

"I didn't see any Skills," Kikri said. "That was just him. Blighted Night, how?"

Vyne looked to Kylar, but the man had gone absolutely pale and his fists were wrapped tightly around the handles of his twin swords. "Ky, did you spot it? He had to use a Skill, right?"

Kylar didn't answer, instead he looked over to the attendant and licked his lips. "Who—who is that?"

The mage glanced at their group and Kylar in particular. "Someone I should have listened to," she muttered. She flicked a sigil and Kylar heard a hum of energy. "I am sending the strongest in now, sir."

"Sir? Who—Wait, the strongest? Truly?" Kylar stared at the attendant in shock. "He—I don't care who he is, he won't survive!"

"You tell him that," she shot back and activated the array.

"I am sending the strongest in now, sir."

Felix smiled and nodded at the attendant. She'd heard him after all.

The Steel Golems hadn't ever been a real challenge. Though they had known some Sword Forms, the constructs hadn't been fast enough or strong enough to take advantage; Felix had destroyed them before any of their moves could matter. While it felt pretty cool to tear through an enemy, all Felix could think about was the bill he'd owe Cal by the time he was done.

And the attendant said fixing the Steel ones was trickier than Clay. Felix groaned and looked at the gleaming metal parts scattered around him. Maybe I can fix a few? Might give me a chance to see their insides in a more...constructive way.

Felix was poking at a glimmering piece of sigaldry when the far door opened again. This time the darkness disgorged seven more constructs, each a head taller than the seven foot Steel Golems. Those in the lead were made of a translucent material that was filled with a haze of bubbling vapor. They were broader across the chest and arms, with thicker legs and wider feet. The stomped into the whitestone room, multi-hued Mana vapor boiling within their frames, swords and shields in all of their hands.

Voracious Eye!

Name: Glass Golem

Type: Construct

Level: 72

HP: 7100/7100

SP: 5400/5400

Lore: Golems are constructs built in the image of the mortal Races and designed with complex sigaldry to mimic them further. Most Golems have a measure of autonomy, as dictated by their sigaldry, but are almost always under the ultimate control of a mage. Glass Golems are made of glass imbued and tempered with Mana vapor.

Strength: Need more information

Weakness: Need more information

Glass Golems? Magic glass, clearly. Felix watched them file into the room, neither rushing nor dawdling. They prowled and spread out, as if they considered him dangerous. His Affinity pinged off of their Aspects, a strange music returning to his senses. Advanced Minds and complex Spirits. Their Bodies feel strong, even from here. This—ooh, what is this?

As the group spread, a Golem in the rear stood out. It was made of a similar transparent material, except with large plates of red-gold metal formed to its body, almost like armor plating.

Voracious Eye!

Name: Orichalcum Golem

Type: Construct

Level: 76

HP: 7904/7904

SP: 5900/5900

Lore: Golems are constructs built in the image of the mortal Races and designed with complex sigaldry to mimic them further. Most Golems have a measure of autonomy, as dictated by their sigaldry, but are almost always under the ultimate control of a mage. Reinforced with orichalcum, this style of Golem is a powerful combatant.

Strength: More information needed

Weakness: More information needed

"Now this is more like it," Felix said with a grin.

The enemy engaged.

The leading Glass Golem reached him in seconds, and Felix slipped aside of its vertical chop. He pushed off the ground, cracking it and sending his knee hurtling into the Golem's midsection. He felt it crack, but the constructs only reaction was to smash Felix with its shield. Felix dropped low, the tall Golem missing him by over a foot, and launched a right jab into its knee. The joint bent, shattering like the glass it was and letting loose a boiling steam of Mana. He would have done more, but his Perception twinged and Felix threw himself into a forward roll, narrowly evading another glass sword.

He rolled to his feet and immediately parried the blows of three more glass blades. The Golems had lagged behind on purpose, choosing to surround him instead. Felix dodged what he could, but several of the glass longsword cut through his tunic and trousers, and one left a thin gash on his right thigh.

"Tch," he hissed. They were strong enough to break through his Armored Skin. "I guess I have to take you all seriously."

Unfettered Volition!

Felix moved like a whirlwind, slipping between their thrusts and slashes in unerring precision. He reached out and grappled with one of the Golems, grabbing their left arm at the bicep. Flaring his Strength, he tore it clear off. Glass tinkled and purple-blue vapor billowed out. He spun, still holding the arm and the shield attached, using it to block three oncoming strikes before hurling it into the face of the fourth Golem. It stumbled back, unbalanced and cracked from the impact.

It never recovered.

Felix leaped atop it and pushed his Affinity and Intent. Within his core space, a symbol gleamed with blue-gold light and Mana streamed from his core into his channels. Sounded by his Affinity, Felix's Intent shaped the Mana into the pattern he desired. Virulent green vapor burst atop his hands, mingling with his fists as they lifted into the air. It all took less than a fraction of a second. Felix brought both of his fists down on its chest.

The Glass Golem exploded beneath him.

Corrosive Strike is level 49!

Corrosive Strike is level 50!

Journeyman Tier!

Congratulations! You Have Reached Journeyman Tier with Corrosive Strike!

You Gain:

+10 STR

+10 PER

+10 END

Corrosive Strike is level 51!

Yes!

He had finally, properly activated a Skill without using the System. Felix had fought off and on, trying to utilize his Intent and Affinity to achieve that result. He'd only managed weak versions before, unable to access the entirety of his Skills' power. And this time the Skill felt stronger than ever before.

Distracted by his victory, he was caught off guard by a Glass Golem as it tackled him.

"He's going to die!" Vyne said. He'd watched the man fight through the press of the Glass Golems, but it was hopeless. He was fast and strong, but their blades moved too fast. Vyne already saw crimson staining the whitestone. He didn't want to watch a man perish because he didn't know his limits. "Stop the Golems!"

"He called it on himself, Vyne," Nevia said. She was scowling at the pile of Glass Golems. They couldn't even make out his figure anymore, so tightly did they press him. "Not her fault if he dies."

"This is a training facility, not an execution chamber," Vyne grumbled before marching himself to the attendant. The woman was sweating, busily tweaking shining parts of the array before her. Each touch sent shimmering trails of magic into a part of the array. "You have to do something. Stop this."

"I can't," she said. Her eyes flicked between the glass and the array. "He asked and—and don't you know who he is?"

Kylar looked up at that. "Who?"

Beyond, the chamber filled with a sudden, brilliant blue-white fire.

Okay, he thought. Okay, not quite as easy as I thought.

Influence of the Wisp is level 45!

Influence of the Wisp is level 46!

Influence of the Wisp is level 47!

The Golem had brought him to the ground, only to be joined by every single other one in a massive dogpile. He'd had to Enthrall them to get out, kicking all the way. The blue-white flames flickered and faded after only a few seconds, but it was enough time to get to his feet.

The Golems followed, a little scuffed, but most unharmed.

"Fire doesn't do much to magic glass, huh?" Felix asked them. Maybe if he could get it hotter? But then the Glass Golems were far more resilient than their Steel brothers. Each time he hit them, they regrouped and came back for more, moving faster and faster. He saw none of that jerky, puppet-style movement. Even the one without an arm and the other with a busted leg moved fluidly. They all dropped low, shifting into what he recognized as Boar Stance.

Felix copied them, setting his body low to the ground and spreading his arms wide. Rory had taught him this, though he hadn't tried it out in a fight. It was a Stance that preferred quick, full-frontal assaults and charges, prioritizing finesse for direct lethality. They came at him, an onrushing tide.

Affinity. Intent.

Focus on Adamant Discord...

One of the largest patterns within his core space lit up with power, and Mana poured into his channels. Far more than before. He shaped it, sounded it, Willing it to do as he intended. Sparks crackled across his limbs, brilliant blue-white bolts hotter than any flame. Cords of invisible steel tightened across his chest, and Felix let loose.

The light sparked weakly ahead of him, barely gouging the whitestone floor and leaving the charging Golems untouched.

Great, he grumbled. Back to failure.

Unfettered Volition!

Felix leaped straight up, unassisted by his Skills, soaring thirty feet over his enemies.

Shadow Whip!

A single tendril of shadow Mana manifested in his grip before splitting in two with a flex of his Will. The two pieces whipped down, latching onto a single Glass Golem, and redirecting Felix's considerable bulk back down into the fray. With the speed of a falling boulder, Felix crashed into the back of the Golem.

Corrosive Strike!

The Golem broke beneath him, his weight and blow too much for its enchanted glass. Felix only had moments as the Golems recognized his presence and twisted around. The threw out his hands, and purple-white Mana flooded outward until it enveloped all of them.

Mantle of the Long Night!

The ground flash froze as frost crawled up the Golems' bodies, slowing their movements by the tiniest fraction. Felix ducked and dodged, sweeping their legs out with kicks and well-placed punches. Glass shattered and Mana vapor swirled. There were no screams, no roars of pain, just his own heavy breathing and the relentless onrush of Glass.

It was fantastic.

"Haha!" Felix laughed, bursting another Golem's smooth-translucent skull. "Hahaha! Keep 'em comin'!"

"Is he...laughing?" Kikri asked in disbelief.

"What is he?" Davum asked. His face was all but pressed to the glass. "All those Golems..."

Kylar was pale as he repeated his question. "Who? Who is that?"

Mantle of the Long Night is level 44!

...

Mantle of the Long Night is level 47!

Shadow Whip is level 41!

Shadow Whip is level 42!

Shadow Whip is level 43!

Five down. Two to go.

Felix cut off his Mantle, letting the arctic winds die down. They were helpful to slow the Golems, but after a while all they did was create a fog that made it annoying to fight in. Warm air meet cold air. He could hear their Spirits—after a fashion—and his Perception could pick them out, but after a while it all became interference that took more and more concentration to separate.

The fading fog revealed the last Glass Golem already swinging at him. Felix caught the blade with a hastily shaped column of whitestone. The rock was tough, but the glass blade still cut halfway through it. Disarmed for a moment, Felix juked around it's shield and kicked a hole into it's pelvis. Hips shattered, it listed to the side and threw its arms down to balance itself. Felix's uppercut took its head clean off.

Okay. That just leaves....The fog swirled and cleared. The Orichalcum Golem stepped out, perhaps a hundred feet away, still bearing it's sword and shield. Felix squared himself against the construct, considering his options. It had been faster than the Glass Golems, moving out of his reach every single time he had retaliated. It was likely stronger. But was it stronger than him?

Let's find out.

The Orichalcum Golem charged, shield up and sword held to the side. It was fast, and it's long legs ate up the ground between them.

Adamant Discord!

The ties that bound him and all things to the world vibrated. Invisible cords of unbreakable metal stretched between them, Primordial and Construct, and Felix gripped them tight. And pulled.

Lightning burst, an orb of electricity that flowed along their connection as the Golem's entire body was lifted off the earth. It merely reoriented itself, raising its red-gold sword and shield.

He pulled harder.

Wild Threnody!

Mana surged, filtering through the pattern of Adamant Discord before pumping through his looping channels. The power spooled out onto his fists. Electricity and undulating waves of distorted force swirled atop his knuckles. Felix screamed wordlessly and the Golem screeched, a sound like distressed metal.

They hit.

"Down!"

Lightning and thunder boomed outward, cracking the floor and walls and ceiling. Dust kicked up in an expanding ring, and the thick, enchanted glass blew out completely. Vyne braced against the stone lip at the bottom of the observation window, his shield held above him and Kikri. Still, the crackle of power nearly threw it from his grasp.

"Are you alright?" he asked the Elf.

"Y-yeah," she said, before wincing. A shard of glass had cut a line across her cheek. "What in Siva's name was that?"

"That...that isn't something that should happen, right?" Davum said from beside them. He'd already stood up and was staring into the training chamber. Vyne helped Kikri stand and looked himself.

"Twin's teeth," Vyne whispered.

The entire room—a room constructed of whitestone—had been split in half. A massive crevasse had formed across its expanse, and pieces of pulverized whitestone were everywhere.

And in the center, amid a field of scrapped constructs, stood a single man with eyes that burned like blue flames. Completely unharmed.

"No. That's impossible," Kylar said. "That's—"

"That," the attendant interrupted, stepping forward with a look of awe and fear on her face. "That is the Blue-Eyed Fiend."

Felix looked around him and sighed.

"Cal's really gonna be mad about this."

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