Chapter 17: Chapter 17
The hand wasn't the only thing that had emerged out of that pedestal.
Tal.
Waves and waves of it flooded out from the top, it was as if the plate had been covering up a geyser, waiting to burst.
The unfamiliar tide threatened to sweep me away as the Tal washed over me.
A snippet of my lessons from Fie triggered alarms in my head.
"In some situations, your condition can be more of a blessing than a curse. The more Tal that an enemy attracts, the stronger it is. You can use this to quickly judge the strength of enemies."
This... This was more Tal than I had ever felt, far more in fact.
This enemy was not to be trifled with.
I stared up at the backs of my comrades.
Bern wore no armor, his back stood impossibly wide and strong, scars trailing down from years of hardship and experience. Hallia stood to his right, her body lithe and poised, muscles tensed like a tightened coil.
These two were strong, far stronger than I had seen.
They had easily dismantled every beast they had come across up until here.
The boss should be no different.
So why did I have this unease in my chest?
A second hand appeared from the gap in the pedestal.
The coil snapped.
Hallia sprung towards the pedestal, brandishing a simple black dagger in each hand.
Bern followed closely behind, flexing his fingers around his violent-looking gauntlets.
And me? I simply sat there gasping for air, trying for all my life not to be pulled undertow.
-
The rogue and the fighter dashed forward.
They didn't need anybody's help to know that this enemy was nothing like the monsters they had fought before. It was because of this that they didn't waste a second, diving toward the golem-like beast without giving it time to prepare.
The closer the pair got, the more of the enemy was revealed.
The thing pulling its way out of the hole was a sandstone golem. Humanoid in shape, but lacking ahead, the dusty-looking golem's body has the physique of a short and bloated bodybuilder.
The monster exuded tremendous heat, creating an extra level of danger for the two close combat-specialized adventurers.
The pair were ill-suited for an encounter like this. While the party at large had not been prepared to engage a boss, the duo currently fighting were quite possibly the least favorable choices. The duo had a strong feeling that the light attacks of their respective classes would bounce right off the hardened sandstone.
That did not mean they didn't believe they could win.
One of the two noticed something critical, and it was through that that they quickly devised a plan.
The veteran fighter seemed to believe that the heat was being pushed out of the monster's core, somewhere in the rock's upper body. He came to this conclusion when seeing its first move, each motion causing the melted rock to seep out from beneath the joints, dripping molten sandstone onto the ground beneath.
This meant that the longer they were able to fight and whittle away at the beast, the easier it would be to crack its surface. Once that was done, the magma could be drained and the core could be targetted.
As long as they could execute the plan, the golem would be as good as dead.
This plan, however, had one variable that they didn't account for.
-
Bern and Hallia fought like something out of a fantasy novel.
Even though the intense Tal, I found myself mesmerized by their battle prowess.
Since the moment the two of them sprinted toward that volcanic behemoth, the two of them had engaged in a sort of dance, kiting the golem back and forth, always teasing it but never stepping within its range.
When the golem began its chase after one, the other would leap in to strike, feigning enough intensity that the monster had no choice but to reply back.
They continued this game for a few minutes, skirting death countless times as the two weaved in and out of the golem's grasp.
The monster did seem to hold some intelligence, it's movements were getting more erratic and powerful as the dance frustrated it to no end.
Crack.
One of Bern's glancing blows managed to leave a thin crack along the golem's left elbow. A brutal grin spread across his face, matching one creeping onto my own.
The two of them were incredible, they had the golem in checkmate.
Under my breath, I breathed, "Wow..."
The golem froze as if its power had been pulled.
It may have not had a head, but for a moment I could feel its gaze fall onto me.
A chill ran through my veins. For a moment, there was no fight, no Tal poisoning, no dungeon, just me and the golem.
Hallia reacted first. She didn't sprint toward the golem's opening.
No.
She ran towards me.
The golem followed directly behind.
Fear gripped my slow beating heart. The horror wasn't a product of the golem nor my imminent death. It was because of Hallia's mistake.
Even I could see it.
Hallia's weakness.
Her back was left entirely open as she sprinted to my aid, she had abandoned their bait and switch timing to try and save me.
Only, it wasn't me that needed to be saved.
The giant stone hand descended on her within a moment.
My eyes widened as I saw her fall into its grip, lifted helplessly within its grasp.
A crunch echoed through the hall and blood splattered to the floor.
I knew what I had just witnessed, but my brain struggled to comprehend it.
Hallia.
Strong Hallia.
Silent and stoic Hallia.
Kind and gentle Hallia.
My stomach upturned, but there was nothing left to vomit up, so my body used blood instead.
Why had she done that?
Didn't we agree that I would be the first to die?
Didn't we agree that no one would try to save me?
Didn't I promise to sacrifice my life for everyone?
I couldn't comprehend why it was the other way around.
Bern tried to launch a counter-attack from behind, but it was futile. His punch was too strong and lodged itself in the stone, having broken all the way through.
A morbid smile crawled onto my face. It was so cruel, it was almost funny.
Right in front of Bern hovered the exposed giant's core.
Congrats guys, your plan worked.
The blood-covered fist swatted away at the trapped fighter, sending his body flying across the room.
The indestructible Bern slammed into the wall with a skull-shaking crash, then crumpled to the floor, totally still.
Oh.
I couldn't handle the sight in front of me. I couldn't watch the golem as it raised its fists far above my head. I couldn't watch my own life end.
So I chickened out, I let the Tal wash me away, just like I had the night prior.
-
Something was wrong.
Instead of a violent ocean, parts of my body were met with silent pools, the same as the crystal I had drawn from the night before.
But these, these pools were larger. Much larger.
If the crystal last night was a puddle, then my body was currently encapsulated by a silent pong.
There was only one issue, I didn't have any such crystal.
My bloodshot eyes flew open.
The room was incredibly large, and the golem wasn't the fastest of runners. I still had a few moments before he reached me.
I visually scoured the area around me. There was only dust and sand and me.
It had to be something I was wearing. Something on my person. If it wasn't someone slipping some secret artifact onto me in the night, then I had no clue what it could be.
I looked down at myself.
My entire lap was caked in blood.
My blood.
My Tal poisoned blood.
It was glowing yellow.
Yellow wouldn't be enough.
-
Fight or flight kicked in.
I scrambled to look for a rock, anything with a sharp edge.
Right there. Only about a meter away from me laid a jagged piece of broken stone. My luck had finally turned.
Using the endorphins rushing through my system, I dove towards the rock, just barely landing in reach.
I looked at the rock, and I looked at my thigh.
Focus.
You can do this.
Do you want their sacrifices to be in vain?
I plunged the rock into my thigh.
Pain. Pain, unlike anything I had ever felt shot up my spine.
If it wasn't for the adrenaline, I may have gone into shock right there. Somehow, I was able to hold on.
Without a moment to spare, I ripped the stone from the fresh wound and tossed it aside.
I couldn't bring myself to look. I simply had to trust that the job was done well enough. Through gritted teeth, I repeated the actions of the night prior, but this time, my eyes stayed absolutely glued to the oncoming threat.
There was no lake of Tal now, just a simple hole, one I couldn't see the bottom of.
I had no other choice than to start pulling from it. I could only pray that it would be enough.
[ Local Tal source found... Start? ]
[ Yes ] [ No ]
Something appeared on the edge of my vision, but I couldn't pull myself away from the well of Tal.
Focus. Focus. Focus.
As much as possible, that was the only way.
The distance between us was now less than a dozen steps.
I was in a horror movie, trying to take one last breath before drowning, fighting desperately for air.
There was no time, I had to start the incantation. However much I had when it ended would have to be enough.
I panicked slurred out the incantation. It didn't matter, it couldn't matter.
In my hand, a sphere of pure Tal slowly gathered.
It quickly gained a yellowish hue.
The golem was 6 steps away.
It sat there, growing and growing.
5 steps away.
The color darkened slightly.
3 steps.
The ball formed completely.
2 steps.
" [ MAGIC MISSILE ]! "
A ball of deep orange light pierced the golem's exposed core.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone