The golem was cold and smooth, with a tingle of magic as Tom’s fingers touched it. His senses probed the feeling as he sent his consciousness into the stone structure to probe how effectively he could pilot it. A force opposed him strong and impenetrable like he would expect from a golem under active control of another.
Concern flooded through him.
He dived backward, wondering if this stage’s challenge was actually to fight the golem he had constructed instead of accompanying it to the end of the stage.
Options to disable the construction flashed through Tom’s mind. Unfortunately, he had built a golem with few obvious weaknesses. His spear would damage it at least while Power Strike was active. Once the enhanced blows ran out, the spear could not hurt the rock and there were too few empowered strikes to destroy it fully.
Throw Rock?
A heavy stone appeared in his hand. Six, seven, eight might be enough to break it open and inflict sufficient damage to crack the animation spell.
Stop. The word was pushed straight into his brain.
Tom’s mind struggled to understand what was happening. The rock was above his head was ready to be thrown at a moment’s notice. The golem shifted backward from him and given its lack of ranged options that was a gesture of peace.
Joke Sorry.
The voice continued. Tom’s eyes narrowed. It was coming from the golem. He did not lower the stone and used Remote Earth Manipulation in a pulse to let him sense everything within ten metres. He was partially restricted by the barrier that was stopping him from entering the next stage, but despite that multiple retreat vectors existed. With the golem’s capabilities, retreating upward to the roof was probably the best tactic, but if it was talking, he would engage. What’s happening? Explain?
Joke.
A connection opened up in his mind.
It went through a pre-established link, which was terrifying, because none should have existed. But it was there, constructed presumably by the trial and excessively intimate. He tasted the nature of the contact. It was with an earth elemental. Smug happiness with a tinge of regret radiated back at him. A jumbled host of thoughts gushed through the connection. It had been playing a harmless joke and hadn’t expected things to get out of hand. It had been deliberately hiding its presence. Knowing full well that Tom would panic but it hadn’t foreseen him to revert instinctively to violence so quickly. It was a joke that had regretfully back fired.
Tom understood the attempt. Part of him even found it funny but forty years alone on a knife edge had trained him to react in only one way when surprised and it wasn’t to stand meekly and offer the monster about to eat him an invitation to have a cup of tea.
“Why is the elemental here?” He asked Susie out loud, seeking independent confirmation. “My contract should have ended.”
Tom, as he asked simultaneously prodded the connection to the elemental the place where the details of the contract rested. Something was there, but the minutiae were shrouded. The only information he could glean was that it was available to help him until the end of the stage.
This challenge requires the golem to be reset back to its state prior to starting the previous stage. This is to match and score your attempt against preceding sapients.
“How many people have…?”
Done this exact trial?
“Yes, it can’t be many. It would need people of similar strength to ask to progress.”
Trillions of people have completed challenge trials. Only a tiny fraction walked your path, but it was enough for precedent. But we are digressing from the core considerations.
“True. What is the nature of the contract? It’s no longer the one I wrote.”
We were aware of the contract that you formed with the elemental prior and its expiry. We formed a new contract with it.
There was a throb of satisfaction from the elemental, which was almost overwhelming. Tom remembered it had the characteristics of helpful, detailed, and intelligent. He would not like to be in the position of negotiating a deal with that personality when he was desperate and presumably had an unlimited budget.
The contract negotiations were tough and in the end the challenge trial was forced to escalate the issue.
“Sorry, Susie. Isn’t that bad?” Inside Tom was laughing a bit probably because of the leaking thoughts from the elemental. It was extraordinarily pleased with itself.
You’re a competitor race. Escalation is not as unusual as it sounds. My superiors and I both agreed that you as the ‘Challenger’ were faultless. However, the challenge required the golem returned to the same state as before the last stage.
“Time magic?”
No experience earned by the golem is required to carry over. Despite those considerations, the demands of your lesser elemental were unreasonable.
The golem mentally did a somersault in glee.
It was escalated further and fairness and impartiality of the trial was deemed more important than wasted resources.
We made one last offer, and it was accepted.
Satisfaction radiated up from the elemental. Tom got the impression despite getting little from the stage because of how long it had taken the elemental had actually enjoyed the work. It would have been willing to pilot the golem for a lot less than it was paid.
Your elemental is so happy because it upgraded itself from lesser to standard.
“Oh.”
You have been very lucky, though a lot of its increased power has been suppressed.
An emotion came from the elemental that was at complete opposite to what Susie was saying. A bit was not all. Despite the restrictions, it was substantially stronger and that would help him ace the next stage and the ones after it. Briefly the thoughts of him spending all of his fate crossed his mind. This outcome was not as surprising as it might have seemed. He avoided smiling. “It seems I have been very lucky.”
I’m going to restart the timer.
The next stage starts in 3, 2, 1
The barrier in front of him rippled and disappeared. Tom did not immediately rush forward. What can you do? He thought.
The impression of exactly the same as last time with the occasional scouting adding into the mix came to him.
“Is that all?”
There was an embarrassed feeling in response. A number of restrictions had been placed on it to limit the elemental in how it could help. Basically, it could do the same as previously, but with increased control and slightly more power.
“So you’re restricted from new stuff and as you weren’t relying on your own power but rather the golem, the upgraded capability from my perspective is minor?”
Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
More uncertainty. No, it was better than that. The scouting boost by itself would make a difference.
Tom flexed his mind, and five pebbles manifested in his hands. Armed and ready to face whatever challenges that awaited he went to step around the corner, but the golem stopped him with an arm that abruptly appeared.
An image of their first challenge was shared with him.
It was a big cave. Three sonic bats were on the far wall and maybe a dozen of the centipedes.
There was an impression of the golem crushing the centipedes while his rocks took out the bats. The dimension of the room was clear, and Tom could immediately plan out his next movements. He skipped around the corner and cocked his arm back confident in what would have been an impossible throw on earth. The cavern roof was too low and the human arm not physically strong enough to hurl anything not aerodynamically designed to provide lift across the hundred metres separating them.
Luckily, power triumphs over little things like science and air resistance.
He threw, aiming his flat throw slightly above his target.
Throw rock activated.
The instant the pebble left his hand it both weighed more and sped up to be significantly faster than when he had thrown it.
Tom immediately moved on and threw two more before preparing a fourth. The first bat was a bloody mess as it slid down the wall that it had perched next to. Dead or as good as, before it had launched itself. The second was intact and flying towards him. He tossed another rock at that one and saw the third bat get smacked high on its shoulder, snapping a wing and causing it to crash to the ground.
The second bat dodged his throw, but Tom did not panic even as it pulled up in the air to prepare to launch its sound attack. Its cheeks wobbled as it sucked air in.
Tom launched the stone, knowing it would be deadly against creatures that were this weak.
Then he watched as the pebble hit its face. There was a boom as the creature’s head exploded as his pebble disrupted its strike.
He manifested an extra pebble ready to kill the bat that had crashed. It had fallen almost sixty metres away from them, but it was struggling away, clearly uninterested in using its sonic attack.
Mine, the elemental told him even as it rolled towards it.
Tom shrugged. He didn’t care who did the killing, and it was better to preserve his mana. He walked into the cavern, studying the options. There were three exits from the large room all of them on the far side of the space.
With panther like arrogance, he paced across the open cavern confident that the enemies had been dealt with. Unlike in a typical situation, he knew the challenges he would face in these caves. The bats were large and visible and could not sneak up on him and the centipedes, while more of a threat about bursting out in ambush if they were hidden under a ledge or something, were not the type of animal that could threaten him. Worst case, he would run till the golem squished them.
By the time he reached the first exit, his mana was almost topped up again, and the golem was back at his side.
Convenient. The golem thought after its senses swept through the third exit.
Artificial, Tom responded. The exits each had a small tunnel that opened up into larger longer series of connected bus sized caverns. All three tunnels had both bats and centipedes, but only one of the spitter or launcher varieties. Which would be best, standard spitters, launchers or lava spitters? Tom considered going with spitters but to pass through effectively the golem would have to protect him or he would need to regularly use Stone Skin.
“Launchers then.” He pointed at the target. From what he understood, the elemental should be able to destroy them easily and even if it couldn’t Tom’s own spell had a range advantage over them.
He moved forward, stepping into the first of the caves. There was a cascade of explosions as the elemental went to work. The golem was frozen next to him while it was out of its shell. The bat leapt off the ceiling and then flapping, held its position as it prepared an attack. Tom did not miss the throw, and the golem was moving before the centipedes got close enough to threaten.
There were disturbing sounds of crunching as an enthusiastic Golem crushed the otherwise dangerous critters. A golem that Tom noticed had quietly doubled its weight to destroy them easier. They moved through six identical layouts each as simple as the first.
The tunnel opened into another large open space that was almost a hundred metres long and thirty high. It was also filled with bats, and one look told Tom what the strategy was going to be.
His hand landed on the golem.
Images flashed across. Tom ducking out of the cave and then throwing as many rocks till they responded and then they would run back the way they came. Multiple turns because he was worried about how the sonic attacks would travel down the winding tunnels. He doubted that a slight twist in a tunnel would stop the sound. That was not how sound worked it would bounce off rock and in a confined space its range would be increased no manner how many turns and shifts there were. Three turns and then they would crouch behind a stone wall.
Affirmation came from the elemental with a modest change. The golem would always be cave side of Tom to absorb any sonic strikes that got too close.
“Because of the point system?”
There was a mental nod of affirmation. And another image running back through the tunnel for twenty meters and then ducking into a small room off to the side. The sound would keep going in a straight line and they would be safe in the room. And if not, they could close the room off afterwards.
“That room doesn’t exist–” Tom stopped the speaking and wanted to slap himself. “We make it ourselves in advance.”
They retreated to the bend the elemental had indicated. The moment he extended his earth manipulation skills Tom could feel that it was a different type of rock to most of the tunnel. It was almost porous. “Let me do this unless you’ve got an overflow that would go to waste.” He muttered.
The golem shifted and settled on the floor more firmly. It was no longer animated as it rested while recharging its batteries.
Tom’s power reached out, and the stone flowed. He created the opening and then designed the room like the elemental had suggested, including the half tunnel on the opposite side to the exit. That was filled with soft dirt and it believed it would help absorb any stray sonic attacks that went through the entry point to the wider tunnel.
The elemental bumped up against him and pushed another image. It wanted him to build a smaller alcove for him to hide behind, positioned almost next to the door. Once more, it was the safest spot once you factored in how sound waves bounced.
With a shrug, he created it. At worst, it would not be used and only had a cost of thirty seconds. For something that might save him from unexpected damage, it was an obvious investment once the opportunity was pointed out.
With the room prepared, they moved out to start the fight. As they tracked back to the room filled with bats, Tom let his hands trail along the stone walls. His mind pushing into them and assessing the rock. The native rock was hard. Then he discovered a chunk of iron ore. If he was stronger and had time, then incorporating that into the golem would be beneficial. Another section of different stone, this one even harder than the normal stuff. There was no more of the softer rock. If the tunnel had been that hard all the way through, then it would have taken three or four times the energy to create the safe room.
Fate? Or had the elemental been aware of the spot before suggesting its plan?
He wondered to himself and then decided it did not matter. They reached the massive cave, and he started throwing his rocks. Three at once, all of them boosted by the Throw Rock spell.
Tom didn’t have time to watch them, but he knew they would spread out in lines of deaths and there were sufficient bats that they would all hit a target, probably multiple.
The fourth throw reduced his reserves to twenty percent. He didn’t bother assessing the number of dead and injured among his enemies, but there were lots of them. None had hit the ground yet, and the last spasms of life meant they were all still moving. Casualty estimates would need to come later, but for now he needed to run. Because for every bat that was falling injured there was another unaffected by his barrage. About a third were dead or dying, a third flying towards him and the rest preparing long distant sonic attacks.
It was time. He sprinted away five steps to the first twist then four to the second. He had to put as much distance between them as…
Vroom.
The noise almost tossed him off his feet and his ears ached. He stumbled into a wall his shoulder banging painfully into the rock.
A long range sonic attack and it had almost knocked him over. Tom recalled the description of the bats and that they could damage the stone.
He had thought that was a sort of special frequency effect, but now he had a different fear.
A stone hand righted him. The golem was abruptly pressed up right against his heels and he got the sense that it was a creating a shield behind it.
Vroom.
Pressure built in his air, and they popped. Scratches were torn into the stone walls ahead of him. He ran harder, saw his cave, and ducked into it.
Personal alcove. The thought slammed into him.
Tom listened and piled into the space he had created for this purpose feet first. It wasn’t even a proper room just a slightly swallowed out space which you would slide a corpse into. He wished he had built it deeper maybe with a turn or something. Both sonic attacks had been launched at range and had still powerful enough to cut into hard rock.
Vroom.
This one was muted, but soft dirt in the tunnel puffed up as something hit it. No reflections hit him. It was possible that the elemental had known what he was doing when he had constructed this layout.
The elemental was next to him having left the golem briefly where it blocked the entrance to their hideaway. It touched his head.
Close your box.
The instruction was insistent and more than reasonable. Tom’s mana flowed out of him, and the rock deformed and folded over to encase him. His heart hammered and Tom was aware of oxygen issues, but he doubted the sonic strikes would persist for long enough to worry.
His forehead was pressed up against the barrier stone. He could feel vibrations as forces struck the defences. It was like it was being struck by a couple of swords. He wondered if this was part of the attack or if all the attack was making it into the room. He suspected it was the former, but prayed it was the latter. It was much better that their ploy of entering the side room had failed versus the alternative that the small amount of energy sneaking in could be that destructive. If this was just a fragment of the power, the challenge that had been set was far harder than he had suspected. Which made sense because he was doing stage nine having earned a tier four spell two stages prior.