After analyzing the damage that he caused after his third attack, Kane confirmed that blunt trauma would work best to destroy the core of the golem. Although his claws were his best weapon, his headbutt caused the same amount of damage… So, in order to make things end quicker, Kane would have to accept the damage he would suffer by using his head as a weapon.
"Shit… it looks like I don't have any other choice."
Although Kane had used only thirty percent of his stamina, he was feeling that his body was becoming a little heavier the more he ran. He was in a world that had magic and monsters, but his body could still get tired the more energy he spent. Although stamina could be recovered much faster, the golem wouldn't let Kane rest.
Kane was running in a straight line but had to turn to the right side again. Although it would be a pain to do the same thing because the golem would be waiting for him there, Kane didn't have any choice. Suppose he tries to keep running until the Earth bullets lose power. In that case, he will use too much stamina… and as expected, the golem was there in the same direction he turned to, ready to attack… but Kane still charged forward like a mad bull and attacked the beast using his head and claws.
"Shit… I went too far."
Kane could tell that he landed a good hit, but the impact on his head also made him see the world spinning. Despite that, he got up and turned around to run. However, he didn't gain speed as fast as before… one of the earth bullets hit of Kane's paws and crushed it into bits.
"Ugh! Damnit!"
Trying to ignore the pain, Kane kept running, but with one less leg, his balance became messed up, and his speed dropped considerably. Running away or zig-zagging to survive wasn't an option. So, he just turned around to face the damn golem directly. The very moment he did that, Kane saw an earth bullet flying toward his face. However, he used his claws to attack the projectile… in the end, four pieces of that stone dropped nearby him while he was feeling his arms trembling.
"Ouch… did that actually work?"
His claws were quite sharp, but Kane didn't expect they could be that durable… it was clear that the earth bullets could fly at the very least at forty meters per second. So, the power behind those was the real deal… despite that, Kane managed to destroy the projectile.
"Well, I can't run… might as well die while fighting or trying to do something stupid."
The golem fired another earth bullet aimed at Kane's head, but he didn't even have to follow the projectile with his eyes. His claws protected him and destroyed the earth's bullets again. The creature shot another earth bullet after adjusting its aim a little bit. Still, Kane followed that movement and noticed at the time that the next target would be one of his legs. Blocking the projectile would be impossible, but Kane still managed to attack it and crush it to bits before it could damage him.
"I have to end this fast… You can do it, Kane."
Kane wasn't spending much energy, but his claws were trembling the more he approached, and he was also losing the sense of touch. It was clear that his claws weren't supposed to be used like that.
After blocking three more projectiles, Kane was close enough to jump and attack the golem's core, and so he did it before the golem could have the chance to smash him. This time, Kane just slashed it using both claws because he couldn't afford to get dizzy in front of the enemy.
Instead of retreating after attacking, Kane attacked again and saw a piece of the core falling on the ground. However, this time the golem finished his attack movement before the thing could get paralyzed. However, Kane charged forward even more, and thanks to it, he only lost another leg that was crushed by one of the golem's arms. The creature couldn't attack something so close to its body; it seems… otherwise, it would risk breakings its own core with its attacks.
Kane didn't waste that chance and slashed using his claws several times in the blink of an eye. However, without the momentum of his movement, he barely caused any damage. Still, even after being hit several times, the core began to fall apart. The golem didn't let that happen… if crushing the enemy with his arms wasn't possible. The creature just closed his arms in front of this body and imprisoned Kane.
"Oh, shit… this is bad."
Kane could feel his body getting smashed, but he still had some time before collapsing. Besides, that bear hug worked well for him; by putting his claws between himself and the golem, the creature was smashing him but also giving Kane the boost that he needed to crush the core.
Little by little, Kane heard the sound of the core breaking and falling to the ground, but he also saw his health reaching dangerous levels. He barely had recovered any mana and stamina, and he wouldn't be able to move his claws in that position, but Kane still activated Steel Claws. As expected, his claws became sharper, and the power behind them increased.
The system recognized that as an attack, but it hadn't been enough to deal the finishing blow before Kane could feel his conscience fading away. He already knew that he tried to bite more than he could chew, but he still didn't regret his choice.
"This is bad… really bad… I have to see the second floor, at least… I can't die here... yet..."
(Congratulations! You killed an enemy. You received fifteen reincarnation points.")
"You died. Earth Golem killed you… you lost five reincarnation points."
That was the last thing Kane saw before he got enveloped by darkness, and the next sentence was what he saw after things suddenly got bright again… he had returned to that annoying white world.