"Phew, that was close…" I limped a bit as I started to run away from the golems. If I stay in one place, they would kill me. I need to get close and strike. The golems were about eight feet tall (243cm) and they kept trying to throw rocks of all different shapes and sizes. I could barely avoid each one, due to my injury, but I get closer and closer. I rush towards the closest Golem and strike it with a horizontal slash on the center of its body, but nothing happened. "What the?!" I said shockingly; the slash didn't even cut, mark, or faze the Golem—just a spark of light.
The Golem swung its arm to hit me away, and it was surprisingly fast. I had no time to react, so I held my sword towards it and used it to block. I felt as if my sword was going to break by how much force the Golem used to send me flying a couple of feet away. "Damn it, what now? I thought this sword was strong enough to cut through anything. It's a freakin' beam!" I said in frustration.
"You still have a long way to go, Mr. Kima," Arial spoke in my head once again.
"Oh great! Just in time Arial, I need your help to defeat these things," I said in a desperate tone.
"Unfortunately, I cannot help you. This is your test, Kima. You must prove yourself and be able to strategize in the midst of combat. I can, however, tell you why your attack didn't work, so you don't recklessly keep attacking," she offered.
"Yes, please. But wouldn't this be considered help though?" I said.
"It is, but you're not from Nuvia. Hence, why I will only offer some assistance just this once. Understand?" She asked me in a serious tone; it seemed like a gesture to not tell anyone she did this.
~~~~~~~~~Back at the Enrollment Trials Facility~~~~~~~
"Ms. Arial, forgive me, but you can't be doing this. Helping him violates the policy of enrollment. If the Board Director of Enrollment finds out, he could have you out of this Academy for good!" my colleague, James warns me of an inevitable consequence if word gets out.
"And I understand that but have a look at this," I drag a screen of Kima's current data of stats and status in front of him. His eyes bulge out in shock and says, "This is unbelievable! How can a human, who's from another world, show such rapid growth in such a short period of time? These numbers were close to zero a few minutes ago." I start to think about it, and I don't even know the answer myself. "I can't seem to figure it out myself. However, I do have a theory…"
All my colleagues surround me for what I'm about to say, "Call me crazy, and I didn't think it was possible, but this kid might actually have a natural affinity…with Pure Magic itself," James got up from his chair and retorts, "With all due respect, Ms. Arial, but that's impossible. No living creature or person on this planet is capable of wielding Pure Magic. If that was the case, he would be a God, and the only God/Goddess who was able to do that is Nuvia. Our creator," he tries to shoot me down with logic. "That is true, but once Pure Magic enters our body's Magic reservoir, it becomes normal Magic, the kind that we are able to wield. It is said that if Pure Magic was somehow obtainable, it would unlock the body's full potential. Physically—blessing one with the ability to heal wounds at an astonishing rate and enormous strength, mentally—blessing one with amazing intellect and adaptability, and the power to wield and withstand all types of Magic. Turning the individual into a Godlike state. Kima hasn't realized it yet, and we haven't seen him display too much, but his movement, reaction time, and his sense of battle are slowly becoming sharper. Let alone just watching, his stats on the diagram have increased and there is no way that's possible without a transformation or a power-up of some sort. He is just a human from a different realm who didn't even know Magic existed."
Everyone gets quiet, then Kima starts to yell in panic, "Um! Arial! If you're going to help me, It would be much appreciated if you did so now!" I watched as he dodged multiple boulders that flew at him. "He stopped limping…" James commented, and kept observing Kima dodging, rolling, and evading. "See what I mean? His growth isn't natural, but to him, it feels and looks natural. We just need to observe him and take notes on our discovery," I smirk in excitement.
~~~~~~~~~Back at Cerene Monster Plains~~~~~~~~
I'm huffing and puffing, trying to catch my breath; running away and waiting for Arial's advice. I tried analyzing the Golems myself to see if I could find any weaknesses, and I notice that the Golems all have crystal balls embedded into their heads. "Is that where they can perceive things?" I ask myself, but I am sure that's where their vision lies. "Mr. Kima, sorry for the delay. I was held up by my colleagues, but the reason why your attack didn't faze them is that they have an aura. Aura is what helps your body become more durable in battle, it's a protective barrier on your body and when your Magic runs low—so does your aura," she explained pretty quickly.
"I knew Magic had something to do with it…but I think I know what to do now," I quickly rush down the Golem in front of me with my sword to my side—ready to swing. I suddenly realize that the pain in my legs begins to vanish. I disregard it for now and see that the Golem going for a downwards hammer fist attack to squash me. I come to a stop before it hits me and evade to the side. I jump on top of its arm and jump off it for some height before it swats me away. I thrust the sword as deep as I could into the crystal ball and hanged there, waiting for something to happen. The Golem collapsed on its knees, then crumbled into dust and rock—lowering me to the ground.
The ground trembled slightly by the stomps of the Golems getting closer. They all dug up rocks and threw them at me. From all directions, they came at me and I had nowhere to run. "Shit!" I shouted, and jumped up into the air, letting the rocks hit each other, scattering into bits and pieces. "What the?" I look at the palm of my hand and I feel a rush of energy surging through me. I close my hand and continue to fight. Their moves seem slower for some reason, I should keep counterattacking rather than getting the first hit.
Once again, I run towards a Golem, but this time it retaliates with a swing to the ground; this causes grass blades to disperse all around me. I jumped over it and as I'm close enough I attempt to pierce through its eye, but it covered its face. I hit its huge arm instead, "Damn…it knows," I step back, and I sense that the other four Golems are coming for me. It keeps covering its face until it knows I'm far enough away.
"What now?" Out of nowhere, I get an idea. That's it! If I can't hit them, then how about making them hit each other. I smirk at my reckless plan. I see a Golem digging into the ground again to reach for a boulder. How many rocks can they find down there?
I stand right in front of the Golem and it's trying to aim. I look behind me and see the other Golems coming to prevent me from dodging. "Perfect," I say as I run towards the others and jump on its head. Just as planned, it covered its eyes fearing death and the Golem already had thrown the boulder at me. However, I jumped off just in time and it knocked the Golem to the floor. "How does it feel?" I arrogantly added as it was stunned on the floor. I stabbed it in the crystal ball and walked over to the three left. I pointed my sword at them and fearlessly, they charged at me.
Using the same plan, they couldn't stop it from happening because of my swift timing and judgment. Leaving only one left, "Okay big guy, you're the last one." It looked angry and if it could speak, it would be shouting right about now. It didn't leave any openings for an attack on its eye. Therefore, I stepped back until it revealed its eye again and I ran around it; as planned, it kept following me until it got dizzy and collapsed. My opportunity came to strike, and I took it.
~~~~~~~~~At the Enrollment Facility~~~~~~~~
"Impressive. He figured out how to kill the Golems without any Magic or brute strength. All the other students used just Magic or strength to overpower the enemies. Yet, Kima here has none of those and succeeded," I spoke pretty highly of him, but this praise is simply because I've never seen a human from another realm perform so well. "Technically he is using Magic, Ms. Arial," James had to ruin the mood.
"Shut up, he doesn't know that. It doesn't count," I said and he just shrugged. "Keep going, Kima. I want to see what more you can do," I let out a small laugh.
"Talk about an evil laugh. He's still a student, not your lab rat," James said. I rolled my eyes and watched Kima taking a rest on the ground.
~~~~~~Cerene Monster Plains~~~~~~
"Ughhh…I keep forgetting it's still not over," my rest once again gets interrupted by another wave of monsters. This time, there were more than usual—about eight to be exact. It was a mixture of Goblins, Kobolds, and Golems. I stretched a bit and didn't feel at all tired for some odd reason. I'm freakishly getting excited and feel much more confident. My fear has suddenly vanished and all the thoughts in my mind are battle tactics and passing this trial. I got up and fought once again with all my strength and I had little time to waste due to the time limit. Using my experience from the last two waves. I kept up—wave after wave, I succeeded until it was the last and final round.
I was sitting once again, on my sixty-second break and realized that my legs and wounds were healing rapidly. "What's going on? During the second wave, I could walk again just fine. Even the holes where I was stabbed is gone," I lifted my pant legs to have a good look. "Clearly this is Magic, but I don't how to wield it yet. Am I just passively using it?" I investigate the distance to get ready for another fight.
But nobody came.
"Is that it? I'd love it if they just stopped here," I sarcastically said.
A similar tremble shakes the ground, but they felt heavier. "More Golems? They're so annoying, geez," I facepalmed and suddenly I remembered one thing that most RPG and MMO games have in common. "A boss…" for some reason I said that under my breath. I closed my eyes, then picked up my blade, and before turning it on, I spoke to myself.
Just do what you have been doing all this time, you can do this... One mistake could lead to death Kima… I tightly gripped my weapon and finally opened my eyes to see an ogre with huge horns, dual spiked clubs, and it was about the size of two of Golems on top of each other. It wore just a dirty and ripped up piece cloth around its waist, with a rope that tightened it like a belt.
"Boy, that thing is huge…why did they think it was okay for me to fight this thing?" I said.
~~~~~Once again at the Enrollment Facility~~~~~~
"Now that the time is ripe, Kima. Show us how much you've grown and let us witness your Pure Magic!" I shouted in joy and laughed hysterically. My colleagues looked at me as if I were crazy.
"What? Let a girl have her fun." I turned away, slightly embarrassed.