A large red boar with long barbed tusks barreled towards Gilgamesh. His Bolt Viper spat out an iron arrow but it merely ricocheted off its tough hide. What little damage it had inflicted did not even slow its charge.
The Forest Hand deftly scooped Gilgamesh out of its path, and the boar smashed straight through the tree behind with ease. The tree had barely crashed to the ground before it turned and charged again with rabid vigor.
Gilgamesh aimed the Bolt Viper himself, and this time aimed for the legs. The iron bolt broke between its charging legs, but it was enough for the boar to trip. It thrashed back to its hooved feet immediately, but its movements had been stalled just long enough for him to wield his Boulder Ape to snatch it up with both hands and wring its neck.
[ Master Golem Core has reached level 2. ]
'5 Attribute Points rewarded.'
“Is it 5 points for each level?” Gilgamesh wondered as he put them all into Spirit.
[ Spirit: 12 -> 17 ]
Gilgamesh took control of his Boulder Ape again and tested the extent of his newly gained expertise, finding a small but meaningful difference in the precision with which he could wield it. Next, he tossed out a fourth golem core but the strain against his soul prevented it from forming as it always did.
“So I am limited to three, no matter the mastery…”
The potential to wield a larger number of golems was Gilgamesh’s primary motivation for leveling the Trait, although it appeared that would not be part of his reward.
Master Golem Core was surprisingly difficult to level. Mere mindless usage of it did nothing. He actually had to explore the depths of his ability and exceed his current limits. Rather than having been bestowed with higher skill, it was as though he had finally broken through a bottleneck that he had been pushing against for a while.
In that regard, these ‘levels’ were more like recognitions of his current ability, and proficiency was a task that bore a resemblance to spells and ritual conductions.
[ Barboar - Monster (Low Grade) ]
Attributes:
Strength - 26
Agility - 19
Vitality - 38
Perception - 13
Force - 4
Spirit - 11
Control - 9
Willpower - 15
Talents:
Rush lvl. 8 (bronze)
Traits:
Tough Hide (bronze)
[ Tough Hide (bronze) ]
'Holder's skin is as durable as hardened Low Grade leather.'
The Barboar’s base Agility was not that high, but its charge had looked blurry to his eyes. Gilgamesh took note that his Perception was somewhat lacking. He could still manage enemies of this speed, but only with keen concentration and through predicting their next move.
“I’ll have to invest into Perception at some point...”
Gilgamesh would have liked more time to train, but he had cut it close enough as is. With the backdrop of the setting sun, Gilgamesh headed back to the outpost. He let his golems roam with him to scare away the desperate stragglers who had accomplished nothing these past seven days, and passed through the red gate without hesitation into a simple dirt road within that same forest.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
[You have passed the Second Trial.]
‘Rewarded 10 Attribute Points.’
“Congratulations, heroes!” Nem appeared with great enthusiasm. “You have passed the test of ‘Resourcefulness’!”
Nem made the word appear in dazzling lights above the sky.
“Did you make good use of your time? Did you do everything you could possibly do? If you are unsure, then the answer is no! Well, to be precise, the answer is no for all of you. After all… an inferior’s work is never done.” Nem’s conceited smile seemed profoundly insidious.
“Still, I suppose you have earned a reward for making it this far…” Nem mused. “Here’s a piece of advice, foolish heroes! Talent can be improved. Train well, inferiors~”
With those words, Gilgamesh suddenly found himself in the center of an ancient battlefield. At first, he thought the combatants were other heroes, but he quickly saw them to be the same manner of featureless puppets that patrolled the Frontier Outpost walls.
These puppets here were equipped in armor of antiquity and wore one of seven distinct colors. Each faction attacked the others in a frenzied melee, but no matter how many fell, no one side ever seemed to gain supremacy.
[Third Trial - Battlefield]
‘Distinguish yourself in battle.’
Having received the quest of the Third Trial, the first thing Gilgamesh did was activate his three main golems. But he did not rush into action. He merely waited and observed. None of the puppet soldiers turned their spears towards him, nor did they even show the intention to do so.
In the peripheral of his vision, a fellow hero cut down a random soldier and all of that same color turned hostile to him. The man fought off all who attacked with the cocky grin of a common bandit, and cut down a soldier of a different color.
That army turned hostile as well, but the man didn’t seem to notice such details. By the time he had incurred the aggression of three armies, his enemies overwhelmed him and the fool was mercilessly butchered.
[ Control: 10 -> 11 ]
Gilgamesh put 1 Attribute Point into Control and tested his direct control for a moment. There was a certain improvement but it was slight. Too slight to consider Control as a priority.
[ Spirit: 17 -> 26 ]
[ Wooden Scarecrow ]
Mana Capacity 250/250 -> 160/250
[ Gilgamesh ]
Mana Capacity 170/260 -> 260/260
[ Gilgamesh - Hero (Iron Rank) ]
Attributes:
Strength - 2
Agility - 7
Vitality - 10
Perception - 7
Force - 3
Spirit - 26
Control - 11
Willpower - 14
Traits:
Incomplete Stigmata (???), Master Golem Core lvl. 2 (silver),
Material: Clay (inferior)
Mana Capacity: 260/260
Unalloted Attribute Points: 0
With his mana capacity bolstered, Gilgamesh headed off to a side. He had barely taken two steps before a typhoon surged over the land just in front of him. Once it passed, Gilgamesh could see the extent of the devastation that claimed the lives of many heroes and puppet soldiers. He followed the direction of its source, and saw a magical eagle cloaked in wind just before it vanished.
“Another Rhun…” Gilgamesh surmised. “He must have passed. Was it the number of puppet soldiers, or the sheer display of might?”
Gilgamesh assessed the area of the aftermath and estimated it must have been one or two hundred soldiers. Easily achievable without much danger if he targeted only one army.
He was about to enter the fighting himself, but caught a glance of a puppet grander than the common soldiers, riding a puppet horse-drawn chariot. It raised a spear in its hand and hurled it with shocking speed to impale an oblivious hero who had drawn too close.
Gilgamesh watched as the Charioteer rode through the battlefield without hurry, killing all heroes that it came across. Its spears materialized out of thin air and easily pierced through armor similar to his own.
“Killing that would be more of a distinction than mere soldiers...” Gilgamesh determined, as he made the Charioteer his target. It was stronger than any monster he had encountered in the forest, but Gilgamesh moved as though he were the hunter.
Gilgamesh advanced behind the Boulder Ape with the other golems, which he wielded to crudely shield its torso with both of its arms as the Charioteer set its sights upon them.
With a flash of motion, it launched a spear that struck the stone golem like lightning. Even after losing power from striking the arms first, it still pierced into the Boulder Ape’s torso. But not deeply enough.
Gilgamesh made the Bolt Viper dart out from the sides in the opening and fire iron arrows at the Charioteer. But the puppet blocked each one with its large circular shield.
Gilgamesh took only an instant to adjust his plans. He broke down his Forest Hand back into a core, and activated Wooden Scarecrow to run out into the open. As he hoped, the Charioteer took the bait and hurled a spear to destroy the wooden golem in a single strike. And in that small opening, an iron bolt impaled the Charioteer in turn.
Gilgamesh was transported away instantly, but not to the next trial. To his surprise, he found himself atop a chariot surrounded by 100 other heroes equipped just like the regular Puppet Soldiers of the last battlefield.
[Third Trial - Battlefield]
‘Distinguish yourself in battle.’
The words were exactly the same, and Gilgamesh understood them perfectly. The previous stage was just the prelude to sort the ones who passed. This was the true part of the Trial. And now he had to kill a fellow Charioteer.
“Hear me, soldiers!” Gilgamesh shouted boldly at the confused and panicking heroes to gain their full attention. And in the next breath, he shamelessly lied. “Heed my commands and we will all pass this trial! You are fortunate to have me as your champion!”
