“Doing it!”

  Nearly falling forward, I catch myself before I can face plant into the stone floor, grinding my teeth as hard as I can in an effort to feel anything other than my lungs attempting to strangle me-actually, no, I’ve used this descriptor one too many times. This is no longer a mere strangulation.

  Each and every one of the virtual muscles in my body have currently begun placing themselves into a proverbial joint lock. So much as twitching them is now enough to send liquid agony through my being. Each separate part being one of the many cumulative locks currently restricting my center of gravity, that center being the aforementioned lungs which currently find themselves throttled to such a degree as to pop off their proverbial head.

  And y’know fucking what? I may damn well just be exaggerating because I’m not used to suffering like this in my games, but there’s no way allowing pain like this to be in your game is legal! At the very least, I'm gonna be seeing some controversies about this…

  Whatever… time to face the music!

  “Did it! You have ten seconds.”

  “Got it.”

  No time for cheeky banter, no time to complain about there only being ten god damn seconds. With what little brainpower I have at my disposal, which isn’t currently being distracted by my inordinate lack of virtual oxygen, I cast up a silent prayer as I take off running towards the three and reach for the handle of Phantomcleave.

  I obviously won’t be able to bludgeon my way into hitting the cores, they’ll just regenerate whatever damage I manage to deal to them within the few seconds I have to deal it. But at the same time, just slashing into them won’t work either. I need a focused point of impact… and in this regard, I might have a solution? I will if the description of this item is accurate anyways…

  Pulling Phantomcleave out with both the physical maneuver and a continued prayer, my eyes flicker to the blade’s edge, or, more accurately… the lack of it. As long as the desired blade fits within the sheathe… it can transform into whatever I so desire. So… hello Rapier-cleave! Or, more accurately, instead of a rapier… it’s a nail. Now… with nine seconds remaining, it’s go time.

  Turning my gaze back from the modified Phantomcleave towards the golems, the first thing I notice is an even more odd lump of stone that didn’t previously exist on any of the three. It’s clearly noticeable, a small, yet rounded sphere. I’m honestly not even sure if that’s not just me seeing things with how delirious I no doubt currently am, but I’m not going to question it.

  The second thing I notice, is the three of them once more preparing for liftoff.

  Without fail, every single time these three have attacked, they’ve aimed for center mass. So as the legs of the first one tense, I already know how I’m going to avoid the attack.

  I could try to catch it on its way in, skewering it through its right hand where its core is, but then I’d still be left with the other two coming after me, and even if I managed to one shot kill it, I’d just get done in immediately afterwards and it’d all be pointless. So no, evading the first one entirely, I strafe to the left, shifting myself away from its flight path.

  [Summon].

  “Keep it occupied.”

  I don’t even need to hear Jasper speak to understand that she gets the task at hand.

  Eight seconds.

  In predictable fashion, the second of the trio comes rocketing towards me, even adjusting for my adjusted momentum, clearly on its way to blast straight into my ribs. Though what it clearly didn’t adjust for was the fact that as I broke left, I also pivoted on one foot, beginning the motions of yet another spinning flourish.

  It’s certainly a risky gamble to try and predict its exact path like this, especially with how erratic my movement must be right now, but it’s the only path I see forward. But regardless, directly according to plan as I complete 240 degrees, the second of the golems appears right in front of me right on schedule, just about to slam into my body like an eight hundred pound hunk of steel would a deer on the road.

  Though, in this case, the deer is armed with a battering ram and equivalent counter force to trash a BMW.

  Completing the turn, my staff slams into the golem at its midsection-27!-managing to completely knock it off course, though my right arm too is sent shivering back from the recoil, which does me no favors as I am, believe me.

  Seven seconds.

  Not even bothering to maintain my grip, I just let go of Wailing Hunt and don’t even bother to watch it clatter to the floor, instead bringing my left over to my right as quickly as I can to grasp Phantomcleave with both hands to deal with the incoming third.

  The lump indicating where its core is is just below one of its ruby red eyes, so I’m going to have to aim for a headshot. Difficult, but it’s the way it is.

  At the very least, I’ve bought myself the time needed to go for a riskier stab, having knocked the second golem off balance, and having sicced Jasper on ol’ righty. I know she’s giving it hell, because there are distant hit register notifications ringing off in my mind that I really just can’t pay any attention to right now.

  Sucking in a breath so as to not start taking damage from oxygen deprivation, even though it feels like I might fall over and die for doing such, I slide my right foot back and let go of Phantomcleave with my left, instead raising the arm to get a better balance for the incoming rock of doom.

  I’ll already have all the force I need, with the golem being so kind as to generate it for me… all I need to do is just… not break under the strain.

  Breathe out.

  And… THRUST!

  For a second, I’m worried the razor sharp tip of the nail might just break on the golems' tough exterior, but that concern is quickly relieved as the implement begins to pierce through its face. The real concern however, hits me like a sack of rocks. Which is fitting for obvious reasons.

  As all of its kinetic energy begins to transfer from it, to me, I quickly realize that taking a hundred and thirty nine damage in one attack was indeed, not a coincidence, nor a critical hit.

  Without any room to resist, my arm buckles under the pressure of the impact, Phantomcleave quickly being torn from my grasp, lest I attempt to hold on and have it jammed up my bones. Even having let go, it still ended up dealing a solid 31! damage in the process.

  However… HOW, FLIPPITY DIP DAP DOOP DIPPING EVER, I DEAL not one, not two, but 314! DAMAGE IN RETURN. FUCK YEAH! CORE SHATTERED BITCHES!

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  And in a turn of even more good news, +41 exp! IT JUST DIED! INSTANTLY! YA, HOO!

  Not even bothering to pull Phantomcleave out, cause I already know I’m not pulling the sword out of that stone, I just unequip and reequip it in short order, turning my gaze to the golem that still finds itself pushing up and away from the floor.

  Five seconds remaining. My body feels like it’s breaking.

  Tossing Phantomcleave up and into the air, I scan over the still recovering golem as I snatch up my weapon in a reverse grip, placing my left hand over the pommel as I prepare to stab it downwards with as much force as I can muster.

  Before it can properly get back to its feet, I SLAM the nail directly into its back, parallel into the marking where its core should be.

  348!

  +41 exp!

  And evidently, I hit it dead center, the golem spasming for a moment, but ultimately falling limp, Phantomcleave pinning it to the floor.

  With one final target remaining, I turn my attention back to Jasper and the final golem, suppressing the urge to throw up from exertion as I do so.

  …I don’t think I actually could do it, but it’s not a pleasant feeling.

  My legs feel as if they’ll simply invert under the strain as I put them back to work, and for but a faint moment I’m tempted to listen to every nerve in my body screaming at me to sit down and stop. But as previously elaborated on, I am not a lesser man. Nae, a lesser gamer.

  So I step forward, again, and again, and despite being on a mere 7/140 remaining stamina, I grit my teeth even harder than I already have been, reequip Phantomcleave and Wailing hunt, shove Phantomcleave back in its sheath to repair any damage it may have incurred so far, and take off running towards my final target.

  Two seconds. I’m going to die.

  Despite its no doubt superior physical stats, these golems, or I suppose, the one remaining golem, has no actual mobility. They’re always constantly shambling, their forms are poorly sculpted and their agility is likely at a straight up zero. Their superiority in combat came from having a group to protect themselves.

  So, with Jasper getting her paws on one all on its own… it’s not really much of a match, being battered left and right like a cat playing with a mouse. Of course, the issue is that she can’t actually put it down. And once the lights go out, if it has better dark-sight than us, which I find highly plausible, then we’re… not QUITE as doomed anymore, because the other two are already dead, but better not to leave loose ends.

  One second.

  “Knock it up!” I all but scream as I rip Phantomcleave from its sheath.

  At my command, another [Hunter’s Mark] slams into the prone golem’s underside-70!-sending it airborne. It flails for a moment as I line up my strike, but…

  The mark on its hand disappears.

  “I-” Screech begins, her voice drained and her consciousness fading, but I don’t wait to hear her explanation, and instead sheathe Phantomcleave once again.

  With the sword having a handle, I’m not sure if it’ll work as well, but… time’s up. Screech is going to pass out. Breathlessly, I pull Phantomcleave out with the edge of a katana as opposed to a blade or a nail, aiming for the golems arm with a sword draw.

  Were this either of the other two golems, this wouldn’t have had a snowball’s chance in hell of working. But in this case, its core is in its hand. Jasper’s doubtless been stacking up more Echoing Pursuit on it, so it’s damage vulnerable right now, and the extra damage boost from Phantomcleave might just be able to push it over…!

  The edge of the katana soars through the air for a brief moment, aimed at the golem’s fat wrist as it falls, which still looks like the thinnest part of its body. And… Screech’s light finally winks out.

  “-m sorry…”

  In pitch blackness, illuminated only by the golem’s ruby red eyes, the edge of the blade makes contact.

  145!

  With an impact silent yet deafening, Phantomcleave passes clean through with a critical hit.

  “Jasper, can you still see!?”

  I didn’t think the eyes would be so bright, and whilst I can still barely see jack shit, cats are notorious for having good night-vision, right?

  “Mm!”

  “KILL IT DEAD!”

  Its core hasn’t been properly destroyed yet, but as long as it's not in its body, it shouldn’t be able to regenerate! And if Jasper can still see it and hit it, then…

  [Hunter’s Mark]!

  69!

  Before the thought even fully clicks, I immediately [Fable Bringer] and funnel as much MP as I can towards Jasper so she can keep up a full offensive. I’ll be DAMNED if it all goes to shit at this final moment.

  A powerful blow slams into it at some point that I can’t see, and then another-72!-and another-70!-and

  82!

  With a thunderous cracking, I hear the stone shatter to bits.

  +41 exp!

  Ahhh… God is good.

  Now, without further adieu, I faceplant into the ground.

  12.

  Well guess what? YOU'RE WRONG! HERE'S THE SWAP GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

  Just saying, If you don't read this one you're chopped.

  Personal score 10/10

  Similarity score 7/10

  This one is unironically really really good you should go read it posthaste. That's why it's at the end of the chapter, so you have no excuse to go do anything else. Now, back to end of chapter notes as usual...

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