After the kid read the Blot’s description, he gulped loudly.
“But first,” I muttered, hiding the sphere. “We have to find out how the golem will react to my offensive spells. I used Ram and Lightning on a copy of a distant relative of his before and, as far as I can remember, it worked perfectly. To tell the truth, though, it only ever sent its icy carcass flying back three feet at most. So we’re gonna have to really jam to take this titan down.”
Based on the baffled expression on the gremlin’s little snout, he wasn’t understanding much of what I was saying.
“Okay,” I waved a hand and, with a nervous chuckle, added:
“The sooner we get started, the sooner it’ll be over.”
I gave Gorgie a command to stay put and started off. He wanted to attack the golem himself, but I said no. The harn would have to get close to the beast to hit it. Beyond that, I had my doubts he’d be able to do even minimal damage. The monster’s hide just looked too imposing.
And another thing. I shouldn’t forget that the monster could cast ice arrows. The cat’s scales would hardly be enough to save him from the high-level monster’s gigantic icicles. And that ice breath, too... Nope. If anyone was going to be playing on the golem’s nerves, it was going to be me.
Trying not to make any noise, I carefully crawled out of our shelter and went down onto the narrow ledge. I slowly crept up to the entrance, which our pursuer had been trying to enlarge for almost an entire day. And by the way, it had stopped making noise. Its energy supply must have been down quite a lot. The golem was taking a breather.
In no rush, I peeked out from behind a stone. Exactly. The monster, breathing heavily, was standing still at the wall. Its small closely-set eyes were smoldering with malice. There were wisps of dark gray fog emanating from its mouth, blanketing nearby stones with frost.
Like I said! There’s more to this breath than meets the eye!
Well, what now? A good opportunity to run a test.
I feel my heart beating out of my chest. I raise a shivering hand. Lilac smoke immediately enshrouds my palm. Let’s get started.
— You have attacked Ice Golem (30)!
— You have dealt 0 damage!
Entirely as expected, the Ram didn’t do any damage. It was also not able to knock the creature off its feet. The ice giant just teetered slightly and took a clumsy step backward. But the fifteen-second stun worked exactly right!
Sticking to the plan, I activated lightning before the monster could come to its senses. Great! The behemoth was stuck again!
Okay, that was it for me. Based on the way its eyes were circling in rage, the cave was about to take another pummeling. But before going into our shelter, I left a whole five Blots on the narrow ledge.
The monster’s first powerful blow after coming to its senses came when I was midway up. It took me some effort to keep hold and not fall. With a sigh of relief, I kept scrambling up but, at that very moment, the golem landed its final blow.
The rocky mass shook hard. My right leg lost support and slipped. I painfully hit my forehead on stone then grabbed on and hung by my arms.
Breathing heavily and trying not to look down, I started probing the wet stones with my feet for a good ledge or crack. Just when I thought a fall was unavoidable, an unseen someone grabbed me like a kitten by the scruff of my neck and pulled me upward. A second later, panting, I was lying on the stone floor of our cave. Turning onto my back, I saw a fearful look on the gremlin’s face and Gorgie’s scaled snout looking at me with reproach. And he was partially right to do that.
The sound and snapping of falling stones forced us to quickly look outside. Next to me, just a few yards away, I saw an icy gray body in the smashed passage.
Finally having broken out of the cave, the golem found itself right in the Blots I just set. The five spheres must have all hit at once, completely draining its energy supplies. The monster lost the ability to move and slowly started falling to the ground below. Gorgie, seeing our enemy’s state, quickly went down and landed a few blows. But alas, as expected, he wasn’t doing any damage. Their levels were just too mismatched.
Not wasting any time, I kept the harn safe by lashing the golem with an eel lightning. The spell gave us twenty seconds. Gorgie realized he wouldn’t be able to get through the beast’s defenses and switched to tactics I thought might be more effective. After a short acceleration, his scaled body rammed the icy side of the incapacitated giant. Great! The golem stirred a bit.
When the harn started a second loop, I began feverishly trying to come up with ways I could actually damage this ice chunk. And suddenly it dawned on me! After a moment’s thought, I started activating.
— Would you like to summon Snow Ghoul Spirit?
“Yes! Now!”
As soon as I assented, five hundred points were drained from my mana crystal. For a moment, I felt a slight burning in the place where the otherworldly creature’s spirit once bit me.
The familiar pale silhouette seemed to appear from out of nowhere and stood to my right. Somewhat confused and not knowing what to do, I froze. But as soon as I thought about attacking the golem, the Snow Ghoul Spirit tore off and slammed into our enemy at full speed.
The Great System immediately told me I’d just taken thirty-five percent of the ice beast’s life and it abruptly gave a loud disgruntled roar.
In a single burst, Gorgie and I landed a double blow, making the monster start to slowly topple over. Teetering, the golem started falling toward the chasm like a big chunk of chopped ice. A second later, its body was reeling down toward the sharp stones that jutted out at the foot of the cliff.
A fearsome thundering, squealing and scraping of stones informed us that our enemy had landed. We watched it try to tumble over and escape for a few minutes but, in the end, it fell silent. Too many wounds. Plus an empty energy supply. Its regeneration was simply not up to the task.
— You have killed Ice Golem (30).
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Experience essence (6000).
— Gold tablet of Intellect.
— Silver tablet (10).
— Monster Hunter Token (55).
— Attention! The Higher Powers smile upon you! You have replicated the legendary feat of Dalia the Magnificent! You defeated a creature more than 30 levels higher than you using a magic spirit!
— Congratulations! You receive:
— Experience essence (3000).
— Iridescent Tablet “Ice Golem” (1).
While I came to my senses, breathing heavily, Gorgie dove down the passage the golem had created. And a few minutes later, the gremlin and I watched him carefully studying the lifeless body of our vanquished foe.
— Attention! Your pet has discovered:
— Sapphire Ice Golem Horn (1).
— Gray Ice Golem Claws (10).
Whew, so much loot going to waste. Although… I glanced at the gremlin, who was pressing himself up against my arm. If the horn and claws were epic rarity or higher, it was worth thinking about levelling the kid’s Butchery.
Alright, let’s see what the ice golem has to offer. I’ll start with “Spells.”
— Ice Arrow.
— Level: 0. (0/20)
— Type: Spell.
— Rarity: Epic
— Description:
— Using magic, the ice golem can cast an ice arrow at a target.
— Effect:
— Deals 150 damage.
— Weak Magical Frostbite is left in the damaged area.
— Weak Magical Frostbite.
— Removes 15 life points from target every 5 seconds.
— Duration: 30 minutes.
— Requirements:
— Intellect — 9.
— Expends 100 mana points.
— Note:
— Range: 40 ft.
Smiling wearily, I opened the ice golem’s “Skills and Abilities.” And wouldn’t you know it, I was right! I had good reason to b
e suspicious of that breath!
— Ice Golem’s Breath.
— Level: 0. (0/20)
— Type: Magical ability.
— Rarity: Rare.
— Description:
— Using magic, the Ice Golem exhales a cloud of ice that slows down enemies and takes their mana.
— Effect:
— Reduces enemy speed by 50%.
— Takes 15 mana points every 5 seconds.
— Requirements:
— Intellect — 7.
— Expends 80 mana points.
— Note:
— Duration: 30 minutes.
— Radius: 13 feet.
And I’d made up my mind on characteristics before.
— Attention! You have unlocked the Wisdom characteristic!
— Present value: 10.
“Well?” I turned to Mee, who had been transfixed on the iridescent tablet in my hands that whole time. “Should we go down and look at the loot Gorgie found?”
Once down, not paying any attention to the rain, we looked over the ice giant, dumbfounded. Perfectly still just an outstretched hand away from the monster, it looked like Mee wasn’t breathing. Compared with the gray carcass, the gremlin boy looked like a bug.
“You are a Great Shaman!” he whispered yet again.
“That may be,” I winced and rubbed the Snow Ghoul’s mark. “But the truth is we just got very lucky. To be honest, brother, Gorgie and I walk a razor’s edge just about every day.”
Having stared long enough at the vanquished beast, I decided to start looking through the loot.
Sapphire Ice Golem Horn.
— Type: Universal ingredient.
— Rarity: Legendary.
— Requirements:
— Butchery — 30.
— Additional information:
— Being a creature that uses ice magic, the golem is highly sought-after by rare-ingredient hunters. Its horns are of particular value, more specifically Sapphire (legendary), Gray (epic), Snow (rare) and Ice (normal).
— Recommendations:
— If you manage to find an ice golem horn, the first place you should take it is a knowledgeable jeweler — they’re sure to give you a good price.
Gray Ice Golem Claw
— Type: Universal ingredient.
— Rarity: Epic.
— Requirements:
— Butchery — 30.
— Additional information:
— Being a creature that uses ice magic, the golem is highly sought-after by rare-ingredient hunters. Its claws are of particular value, more specifically Sapphire (legendary), Gray (epic), Snow (rare) and Ice (normal).
— Recommendations:
— If you manage to find an ice golem claw, the first place you should take it is a knowledgeable alchemist — they’re sure to give you a good price.
Opening my backpack, I checked how many silver tablets I had and took a heavy sigh. I have to raise the gremlin’s Butchery. Something is telling me this loot is worth much more than twenty-eight silver tablets. Well, or so I’d like to think.
Chapter 8
REASONABLY FIGURING that it would be better to divvy up tablets in a dry cave than under the pouring rain, we went back up. The golem’s body was probably not going to attract any creatures looking for a meal. Between the cloudy whitish slime that seeped out of its wounds instead of blood and its rock hard flesh — this monster was definitely not edible. And if someone came by and wanted to make off with our loot, we’d have a bird’s eye view.
I found a comfortable spot to sit at the far wall of the cave, then turned to the gremlin sitting next to me:
“While I sort through all the tablets, you better eat up. After improving characteristics, your body will need lots of nourishment and energy.”
“Alright,” Mee answered, undoing the drawstrings of his small knapsack.
And meanwhile, I opened my ephemeral backpack.
— Experience essence (51430).
— Gold tablet of Intellect (2).
— Monster Hunter Token (590).
— Hunter’s Fury (13).
— Blot (5).
— Small Potion of Satiety (14).
— Ferocious Harn Summoning Amulet.
— Silver tablet (55).
— Stone tablet of Agility (14).
— Stone tablet of Strength (14).
— Stone tablet of Endurance (14).
— Stone tablet of Wisdom (14).
— Stone tablet of Accuracy (14).
— Stone tablet of Speed (14).
— Stone tablet “Fisher” (14).
— Stone tablet “Hunter” (14).
— Stone tablet of Mind (14).
— Clay tablet “Hiding Spot Maker” (2).
— Clay tablet of Observation (2).
— Clay tablet of Mind (2).
Bringing the gremlin’s Butchery to the ceiling would take twenty-eight silvers, but that wouldn’t be the end of it. It was hard to imagine him taking out the horns and claws of a golem with just three points of Strength and Agility. Considering the Stones we had for those, it was going to take another ten Silvers. Beyond that, I couldn’t forget about Endurance and Health. Starting tablet activation without deepening his supplies would be a huge risk to Mee’s life.
I glanced dubiously at Gorgie’s stats. Fifty-five points would significantly improve our tank.
— Ferocious Harn.
— Name: Gorgie.
— Level: 7 (25300/36000).
— Status: Loyalty to master (permanent).
— Mind: 1/1
— Strength: 69.5/105
— Agility: 70.4/105
— Accuracy: 5.8/105
— Intuition: 7/7
— Wisdom: 14/14
— Animal instinct: 14/14
— Speed: 68.5/105
— Flexibility: 46/105
— Intellect: 38/70
— Mana supply: 430/430
— Health: 70/70
— Endurance: 60/70
— Life supply: 750/750
— Energy supply: 650/650
— Scale armor: 35/35
— Defense: 350/350
— Damage: +191.5…+605.1
— Bite: 35/35
— Paw swipe: 35/35
— Pounce: 7/7
— Animal regeneration: 14/14
— Hunter: 27/35
— Fisher: 15/35
— Resistance to Hexapod poison: 7/35
Wait a second! I’m lost here. Where did he get so much experience? After the battle with the hyenas, he was at just over twenty thousand five hundred. Checking it all over yet again, I scratched the back of my head pensively. Hm, he also got another few points to main characteristics. What is going on? But then it finally hit me! I quickly opened the system message tab. I found the messages about the battle with the golem and smiled in satisfaction. In the end, the harn was able to land crits and deal a bit of damage! And he received his reward for doing so.
After a bit more thought, I make up my mind. I’m going to stick to the plan. If I don’t, I’ll be sorry I didn’t try.
“Okay,” Mee announced, wiping his lips on his sleeve. “I can’t cram any more in.”
“Alright,” I nodded, activating lair. “Let’s start with Mind.”
Over the next few minutes, I fed the gremlin all my clays and almost all my stones.
There’s no way to activate Wisdom without Intellect. I could have sacrificed one of my gold tablets, but the gremlin didn’t have any need for a mana supply without having magical abilities or spells.
I had my doubts about who best to give the Hunter and Fisher tablets to — Gorgie or Mee. I had enough of those for almost three points per ability. But in the end, I decided to improve those skills for the harn. He was mostly the one finding legendary horns and hooves for us anyway. So he got preference.
The Wastes Page 10
