(59)
＜ 11. How to overcome fear (5) ＞
The golem’s attack was massive, but not that fast yet. However, Marco, who confronted him, was not so quick in his reflexes. Marco burrowed under the golem and barely escaped a blow .
bang !
Scattering dust. I broke out in a cold sweat when I saw the sunken floor. Marco decided to save his thoughts. Only as the instinct to fight follows. With only the will to face the enemy. Forced to erase the fear .
Marco twisted his upper body and accumulated strength, then vigorously swung his hammer at the golem’s fist .
Kwa-ang !
There was a deafening shockwave. The golem’s fist cracked lightly, and the outer part came off slightly. Qwarutai’s voice trembled slightly .
“ What is this man? Why are you so ignorantly strong ?”
Read from noble mtl dot com
Net fluid –
“ Huh !”
Qarutai looked in the direction the arrow flew with a cold expression. Trisha was biting her lips, perhaps regretting missing out on a golden opportunity .
“ Benefit! Cowardly attacking when you are careless !”
On the surface, it looks like he was lucky to avoid it, but it was absolutely not. Trisha’s aim was accurate, and the golem barely moved. That’s what Qarutai reflexively sensed and dodged the arrow .
‘ After all, just like the game, I’m not an ordinary Jammin .’
Still, the key to the strategy was to hunt Qwarutai first. Golems are never easy opponents to fight against, and as long as Qarutai is alive, they will be reassembled even if they are destroyed several times .
However, ignoring the golem and only targeting the golem master was not an easy path either. Qarutai is also fully prepared to see if he has learned anything from the surprise attack .
“ Earth shield, protect me !”
Stones scattered on the floor soared up and wrapped around Kwarutai in an instant. Trisha’s arrows could have been pierced without difficulty, but it seemed unlikely that the arrows would do any damage until they were layered like that .
Andrea looked at Trisha and said .
“ Tricia, as I said before, aim for the boulder protruding from the golem’s chest .”
“ Okay !”
It was difficult to shoot arrows at any part of the golem and inflict damage, but it was possible to some extent with the protruding ‘nucleus’. As Trisha draws and aims her arrow, Andrea rushes to Marco’s aid .
bang !
The golem’s movements were still sluggish, but the range of its movements was as wide as its size. After narrowly dodging another punch, Marco slipped backwards and struck the golem in the crotch with his hammer .
Kwa-ang !
Another shockwave exploded. Marco vigorously swung the giant bottle as if it were limbs. A golem that gets down on one knee and leans over .
Andrea stepped on the golem’s arm and lightly climbed up. The plan was to give Kwarutai a blow before the golem started moving again. However, when the owner was in danger, the golem did not stand still .
Coo-goo, whoo-ooh !
A golem that quickly moves its other arm and shakes off its shoulder. Andrea had no choice but to jump down to avoid the attack. But it was enough just to turn his nerves to himself .
Wedge – Puck !
An arrow that flew through the air hit the golem’s core. The golem’s body, which was about to stand up, staggered greatly. He put his hand behind his back and didn’t fall at all, but he had to admit that he was on the defensive quite a bit .
“ I just knew I was suffering !”
Green and red lights flashed above the golem’s head and beyond the barrier of swirling stones. This was the beginning of a full-fledged pattern .
‘It’s gradually strengthening the golem. If it’s green and red… it means I’m going to strengthen my speed and power .’
The rising light enveloped the golem’s body and was absorbed as it was. The core of the golem in his chest shone in various colors .
The golem slowly lowered its head and looked at Andrea. It was a completely different atmosphere from the stone giants who greeted me with slow and stupid movements until now .
The golem started moving. The target was Andrea .
Kwa-ang! Quaguagua !
The destructive power of the enhanced golem was unparalleled. This time, it didn’t end at the level of being completely turned off. The floor sank as if it had been hit by a meteorite and turned over .
The momentum of an object is proportional to its mass and velocity. Increased speed and increased strength mean that the destructive power has been doubled in the end .
Andrea became a ghost and evaded the attack, but could not overcome the change of the ground and collapsed backwards. He didn’t run again, but first fell back .
‘ Golems are the strongest because they receive additional buffs immediately after being strengthened. First of all, I’ll look at the situation… and then I’ll have to face it before the next reinforcement takes place .’
Wedge – Ting !
Trisha again aimed for the core and fired an arrow, but it didn’t help. The golem lightly deflected the arrow just by raising its arm. Still hiding behind the stone wall, Qarutai gave instructions to the golem .
“ Golem! Organize the archers first !”
The golem followed the master’s command. He picked up fragments from the floor that had been broken by his punches and threw them at Trisha with all his might. Tricia was dumbfounded when she saw a stone the size of a gate flying lightly like pebbles .
Quaang! thud! Koo Goo Palace !
Read from noble mtl dot com
Not even once. The golem seemed to have decided to pour all the fragments into Trisha. Even if you somehow avoid it at first, you will have no choice but to hit it someday .
Marco was conflicted. According to Andrea, the golem is strongest right after it is strengthened, so I had to step back here. But if left as it is , Tricia might die .
The trouble was short-lived. Marco gritted his teeth and charged, striking the golem’s forearm with his hammer. Andrea saw it and shouted .
“ Mr. Marco !”
bang !
Because the defense wasn’t strengthened, I was able to give quite a shock this time. Fragments of the golem that cracked slightly and fell. However, the speed of reaction afterward was much faster than before .
The golem’s fist soars toward Marco at once. The shadow of the heavy stone fell on Marco. My body stiffened with fear and I couldn’t move .
The situation I experienced when I met the Guardian and when I met the Minotaur. At that moment, Marco had a hunch .
‘ I’ll die again like this .’
When he participated in the crusade against Nelas, Marco was troubled by looking at the bloody fields every day. What should I do to get rid of the alternative fear .
Whenever he went to the battlefield, Marco was always terrified. I had a lot to lose, so I was afraid of death. Just the thought of never seeing his wife and daughter again made him shiver. The desire to survive made him shrink .
Fear creates inertia. After entering the dungeon, Marco was able to come back to life even after dying, but his body still retained the memories of that time. His shouting at his enemies and his pretending to be brave were, in fact, a defense mechanism to hide the trembling in his heart .
Sometimes on the battlefield, there were people who stood in stark contrast to him. Soldiers who really don’t look scary. Those who do not care about their own safety and are eager to inflict even one more blow on the enemy .
It wasn’t because his personality was cruel or because he had nothing to lose. They too were ordinary people with families to feed and a home to return to. Marco asked them how they could fight like that .
‘ I’m not sure either .’
‘ Wouldn’t it be okay to just fight without thinking ?’
Read from noble mtl dot com
No one had a good answer. Except for one person .
‘ Hmm… Mr. Bruno. Isn’t Bruno afraid of dying and not seeing his precious people forever? It’s the same for me too. Nevertheless, the reason I fight like that… is because I think that’s the only way I can protect it .’
‘ What does that mean ?’
‘ Think about it. I have to kill the enemy first to protect the people next to me, and I have to protect the people next to me to win the war, and only if I win the war can I protect my family back home .’
‘···.’
’ And the more people who see me muster up the courage to fight like me, paradoxically, the higher my chances of surviving. If you get to that point, the fear of death will no longer be a big deal .’
Marco couldn’t understand the answer for a long time. It was such a leapfrog and loophole way of thinking. Besides, it seemed that he was the only one who had such thoughts .
But now, Marco seemed to know a little bit about what that meant. I didn’t understand it with my head. It was understood as the uniform beat of a heart that was still beating strongly .
There is no need to be firm in fear of what is yet to come. It doesn’t matter if you’ve already experienced it. Those who are alive have a chance to protect precious things .
As long as he didn’t give up, he still had infinite opportunities left .
‘ This time… it will be different. I wo n’t die this time .’
Marco took a big step forward. Time passed slowly, and the hand holding the hammer was burning hot .
I fixed my legs firmly, twisted my waist briefly, and gathered all my strength to strike back at the golem’s hand .
Kwa-ang !
At the moment of collision, a powerful shockwave occurred. Qarutai was shocked. He was mentally linked to the golem, so he knew what was happening even if he couldn’t see it .
One hand of the golem struck by the hammer was completely shattered .
Marco himself didn’t realize it, but a blue aura was raging along his hand holding the hammer. Only Andrea knew what that meant .
‘ Hammer Mastery has leveled up! But I haven’t even strengthened Marco’s summon card, so how …?’
A summon’s unique skill usually only becomes stronger when the card is strengthened. What happened to Marco now was hard to understand at first .
However, the situation was too urgent to think about what was going on. Andrea set aside her doubts and predicted what would happen next .
Marco’s hammer mastery was like a gangster even at level 1. If he got stronger from there, he wouldn’t be able to stop Marco with only 2 reinforced golems. Perhaps the golem would collapse soon .
‘ Then I’ll have to wait for that moment while using this card and finish off Golem Master.’
Andrea used the ‘Shadow Concealment’ in her hand. Andrea’s appearance turned black and translucent, and then became completely invisible and transparent .
Marco became one with the hammer. Every muscle in his body swelled up. All fear was washed away, and only the single thought of destroying enemies and protecting allies remained. The golem had no choice but to be beaten helplessly by the rushing hammer strikes like a battering ram .
bang! bang! Kwa-ang !
A golem that ends up collapsing in half. Qarutai screamed in a shrill voice .
“ What, what! Nonsense! My golem !”
Tricia was looking for a chance after drawing a card. Bright yellow sparks flew from the tip of the arrow on the bowstring. Aim the golem’s head precisely and release the bowstring .
Read from noble mtl dot com
Net – liquid
Whoo !
“ aaagh !”
The arrows of the explosion pierced the barrier of stone. The golem master fell from the golem with a loud scream. In a hurry, Qarutai forgot the pain and quickly got up .
‘ Damn, damn, damn! But if you ride the golem again, you can restore what’s broken! The fight isn’t over yet !’
But in fact, the fight was already over. A hermit hiding secretly in the shadows was waiting for him to fall .
Quarutai gulped at the sight of the ghastly blade suddenly hanging over the nape of his neck .
“ I’m glad we can end the battle here. If the golem was stronger there, Marco probably wouldn’t have been able to crush him like that .”
Kwarutai kept his head still and rolled his eyes to look back at Andrea. His voice trembled badly as he spoke .
“ That, that, isn’t it too boring? Eh, if it ends like this, you guys won’t have fun again. Ah, ah, I haven’t even shown half of the golem’s true power yet… Ha, can you take a look at it ?”
Andrea shook her head horizontally with a solemn expression. Although Qarutai could not see it, the .
” No, we’re not fighting for fun .”
Bright red blood splattered along the white blade. Qarutai dropped to his knees and collapsed helplessly .
Andrea let out a bitter laugh. Although he has lived for over hundreds of years, his appearance and behavior were like that of a child, so he felt guilty .
‘ It’s so bittersweet to feel this way even though I have no choice but to die if I don’t kill .’
Andrea didn’t bother trying to shake off her guilt. It’s a problem to hesitate to cut with such pity before dealing with the enemy, but it didn’t matter after dealing with it .
And remembering what I had just realized, I could have endured that level of guilt .
Marco takes a breath while carrying a hammer on his shoulder, Trisha runs around trying to retrieve an arrow, and Andrea looks at them .
Andrea and the others cleared the boss monster for the first time without anyone dying or getting hurt .
＜ 11. How to overcome fear (5) ＞ End
Finally, we making some progress.